A middle-aged scholar wearing a square scarf gathered all the idle people in the teahouse celebrating the first lunar month with just one sentence.
Most of the idle people here are relatively well-dressed and clean, with rosy faces.
Mixed in were a few ordinary people wearing blue trousers and long black cotton-padded jackets.
"What? What happened?"
"What did you hear?"
The crowd surrounded the middle-aged scholar and started asking questions.
The teahouse waiter squeezed in from behind the crowd with a rag on his shoulder, a tea bag on his waist, and a large teapot in both hands.
The waiter took a separate tea bag from the tea bag on his waist and gave the middle-aged scholar a cup of tea.
"Are you going to talk about the massacre at the prefect's Yamen yesterday?"
The middle-aged scholar took a sip of tea.
The individual tea bags in the store are indeed more fragrant than the tea in the ordinary big teapot.
The middle-aged scholar had a happy expression on his face after sipping tea.
Putting down the tea cup, he patted the table gently with his palm and started to move his fingers.
"But I just wanted to talk about the massacre on Fuya Street yesterday."
The gossipy expressions on the faces of the onlookers suddenly became stronger.
Before the middle-aged scholar could speak, the crowd was already discussing quietly.
"What I heard is that there was a group of bandits from the mountains who came from nowhere. They felt that there was a lot of cash in the capital during the Chinese New Year, so they rushed into the house regardless and looted everything inside."
"Where are the robbers who are so cruel? They only want to loot property, but how come they kill all the people?"
"Then you don't know something. These bandits in the mountains are all capable of eating human flesh alive! What does it mean to kill a few people? If you don't eat those who died tragically alive on the spot, you are considered a gang of bandits.
It’s because the bandits wanted to run away early.”
There was a gasp in the crowd.
These days, especially those in the capital, they have the most intuitive feeling about the arrival of the Ming Dynasty.
Nowadays, in the streets and alleys of Yingtian City, in the kitchens of teahouses and restaurants, a lot of food leftovers are thrown away every day.
In Yingtian City, we haven't seen a beggar again for many years.
Whenever you wear ragged clothes, your complexion will look sallow.
As long as someone from the government in Yingtian City sees him, he will be dragged to the government almshouse without saying a word.
No matter what happened.
A new set of clothes, a spare set of clothes, and enough dry food for several days are the minimum guarantee.
If it is confirmed that he is a commoner living in the capital, the government will directly send this person to a government-run factory.
It is precisely because of this kind of generous treatment that in the early stages of the implementation of the policy, countless Yingtian people disguised themselves as people in distress and took the opportunity to get this kind of treatment.
It's just that the government is certainly not a fool.
After several follow-ups and verifications, it was found that although this group of people had not been punished, all their wages for working in the government-run factory had been fined.
I thought I was a little clever, but I didn't expect that I would end up working for the government for free.
After the initial rectification, the relief benefits provided by Yingtian Mansion were truly implemented.
Yingtian City is indeed very different now from before.
That's really the best place to be.
I haven't heard of bandits killing people and intercepting goods for many years.
But soon, a different voice came from the crowd.
"What I heard is different from what you heard."
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details!"
"This is actually what happened..."
As a result, a story about a vendetta quickly spread in the teahouse.
The three families living in the house across the street from the government office did so because they had offended people in the past. The three people who died the day before yesterday were only warned for the first time.
Those enemies are also very particular.
As long as these three families can apologize, they will stop killing people.
But these three families were all stiff-necked, but they remained unmoved. They even threatened the enemies on the opposite side to kill them if they could.
Now, how could the enemy on the other side endure it anymore?
So what if we moved to Fuya Street?
It's not like I lived in a government office.
kill!
So, what happened yesterday was that thirty-seven people died in that house.
This person is probably a storyteller.
A story about a vendetta was told so vividly that it was as if it had been witnessed with one's own eyes.
And the middle-aged scholar was not upset either.
Only after these people finished speaking, did they put the empty teacup on the table and take a look.
"Brothers, you are just hearing this. Let me tell you why."
As he spoke, the middle-aged scholar glanced at the waiter beside him.
The waiter was very sensible and immediately stepped forward to refill the scholar's water.
The middle-aged scholar saw everyone looking over again, and then he spoke slowly.
"This is not about killing people for cash, nor is it a so-called vendetta."
"There is a big secret in this matter!"
"I'm just afraid that you won't dare to listen to it later, and you won't dare to close your eyes at night after listening to it!"
The sense of mystery was suddenly evoked by this middle-aged scholar.
The onlookers squeezed in again.
"Say it quickly!"
"Brother, just say what you say. When it's almost time, I'll treat you to drinks and meat next door!"
"Yes, yes! We are all Yingtian people, how can we still be afraid of trouble? It's impossible!"
The middle-aged scholar raised his eyebrows and said, "Then I'll say it."
"explain!"
"Say it!"
The middle-aged scholar chuckled and began to talk: "Do you know who are the people in that house?"
"Of course they are from the Song family in Wuxi, Suzhou Prefecture, the Luo family in Changsha Prefecture, and the Qi family in Ji'an Prefecture."
As soon as the man finished answering, he continued: "These three families all entered Yingtian City years ago. The young ladies of the three families are the only three female officials in our Ming Dynasty today!"
The middle-aged scholar just smiled and asked softly: "Do you know why these three families came to Beijing near the New Year's Eve?"
The crowd whispered for a while.
Someone came in and whispered: "I heard from my second uncle's third sister's sister's husband's brother's old cousin, who works in the palace, that these three families escorted the ladies from each family to Beijing to wait for the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
As soon as His Majesty abdicates and the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he will present it to the palace to become the empress."
"That seems to be the case..."
"Speaking of which, in two days it will be the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Recently, many officials from other places in our Yingtian City have returned. I heard that they are all busy waiting for the abdication ceremony."
The middle-aged scholar tapped his fingers on the table: "Yes! These three families came to Beijing just for this matter, to climb the dragon and the phoenix!"
The onlookers had a look of disdain on their faces.
But in my heart, I also lamented that girls from ordinary families like them had no chance to think about such things as climbing up the dragon and adhering to the phoenix.
The middle-aged scholar took a sip of tea and continued: "But you also know later that His Highness Taisun left the palace when he had a conflict in the palace. The West City project was started only after His Highness Taisun had a conflict with the palace.
Construction started.”
His Royal Highness Taisun!
The matter was suddenly brought up to the head of the emperor's grandson again, and the people watching were suddenly ablaze with gossip.
The middle-aged scholar added: "Perhaps you don't know that our Highness, the grandson, has never returned to the palace since the conflict with the palace, even on New Year's Eve!"
"Is there such a thing?"
"This is really unheard of!"
"The royal family has always been harmonious, how could this happen?"
"..."
The onlookers began to chatter again.
The middle-aged scholar said calmly: "Further on, the great-grandson got the news from unknown sources, and learned about the entry of these three young ladies into the capital. Then...these three young ladies also entered.
After arriving in Xicheng, I stayed in a house on the edge of a beautiful scenic lake that I heard was built."
"The beauty is hidden in the golden house! We all know this!"
When the middle-aged scholar mentioned this matter, the common people immediately agreed and laughed in a way that only men could understand.
The middle-aged scholar smiled, shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about the hidden beauty in the golden house for now. We don't know what happened in the west city.
Let’s go on to talk about the tragic death of these three families. You may not know that after the little girls of the three families were taken away by His Highness the Grand Sun a few days ago, the mothers of the three families came to Yingtian Mansion, but Yingtian Mansion did not pay attention to this matter.
, and drove the three families out.
Then I thought everything was fine, but who knew that the three nuns who went to the government office that day actually died together the day before yesterday.
Finally, yesterday, the three families had just moved to the house opposite the magistrate's office, and I heard that Xinruan didn't even have time to clean up, so they all died in that house."
This middle-aged man seems to be recreating this incident.
But between words, the tendency is already there.
The onlookers began to speculate.
"Could it be..."
"This Ying Tianfu is serious! You are a coward!"
"Speaking of which, does this matter still have to fall on the great grandson..."
"How to say?"
"Think about it, if the grandson had not taken away the young wives of these three families, wouldn't it be possible for the mothers of the three families to go to the prefect's Yamen to look for them? Is it possible that these three families would not have died tragically in the
In that house?"
"No! You are talking as if the murderer was His Highness the Grand Sun!"
"Then even if Taisun didn't kill the person, he could still appoint someone to kill him."
"..."
The teahouse suddenly became lively.
"Everyone! Are you suspecting that the murder was instigated by His Highness the Grand Sun? Then you have not seen that the three young ladies have now become court officials? How can His Highness kill anyone if the court is like this?"
Some people are doubting, and some are explaining.
The middle-aged scholar looked at the chaos in front of him, always smiling.
When the quarrel in the crowd subsided a little, the middle-aged scholar put down the teacup in his hand.
"Everyone, I just listened to what my acquaintances in the palace said."
"I heard that there is a lot of turmoil in the palace now, and there are great conflicts. From what I said, it seems that I am not very optimistic about my grandson's future... well... how should I put it?"
"Why did the imperial court suddenly do something that has never happened in thousands of years?"
"Think about it. Originally, the ladies from those three families were all in Xicheng. No one knew what would happen."
"What about now?"
The middle-aged scholar interrupted and finally asked a question.
The surrounding onlookers fell silent.
But soon, someone raised his head.
"Now those three little ladies have become officials, right under the noses of all of us! Whatever we do, whatever happens, we will all know!"
"So, what does this have to do with this matter?"
"..."
The onlookers looked at the middle-aged scholar sitting at the scene.
The middle-aged scholar looked at the guy aside.
The waiter immediately came forward to refill the bottle.
The onlookers stared wide-eyed.
It was only when the middle-aged scholar took a sip of tea that he heard him speak slowly: "Isn't this reason enough to seize love with a knife, to have anger in your heart, and resentment in your chest?"
The middle-aged scholar dropped a word mysteriously.
Then, before the onlookers could react, they stood up and walked away.
Wait until a long time later.
The whole teahouse seemed to be exploding.
"There was a conflict between the emperor's grandson and the palace. The two sides were in a stalemate and fought with each other. The palace fought for love. The emperor's grandson became so angry that he killed thirty-seven people in anger!"
Soon, people came to such a conclusion.
In the blink of an eye, the guy who had originally hoped to win more business today saw everyone recede like the tide.
After a short while, rumors were rampant throughout Yingtian City.
An incident involving many parties, complex content, and involving the royal family spread throughout Yingtian City in the shortest possible time.
And at the Xicheng project construction site.
Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Shangbing, together with a team of Jinyi Guards and Yulin Guards, hurried in from outside and rushed all the way to the house on the edge of the Scenic Lake.
There was no sign of Zhu Yunxi, so the two of them led people to the Scenic Mountain.
By the time the two of them rushed to the top of the mountain, they were already sweating profusely.
Only then did I see that Zhu Yunxi was sitting in the pavilion on the top of the mountain, drinking tea and watching the scenery.
Zhu Shangbing was about to speak, but Zhu Gaochi stopped him with his hand.
Zhu Gaochi turned back and looked at the Jinyi Guard Baihu and Yulin Guard Baihu who were following him: "Surround this place and no one is allowed to enter. If you dare to get close to the spy, take it down!"
The two hundred households immediately took the order, held their knives, and turned around to go down the mountain to arrange the manpower.
Only then did Zhu Gaochi lead Zhu Shangbing into the pavilion.
As soon as Zhu Shangbing arrived at the pavilion, he shouted to Zhu Yunxi: "Something bad has happened! You are really in trouble now! Let Brother Chi tell you the rest."
After finishing speaking, Zhu Shangbing held up a cold teapot on the table and filled his mouth with water.
Zhu Gaochi sat in front of Zhu Yunxi and looked at Zhu Yunxi with a calm face seriously.
"You know everything?"
Zhu Yunxi blinked, put down what he was holding, and clapped his hands.
Only then did Zhu Gaochi see that Sun Cheng, the governor of Fusiyuan Town in Jinyiwei North Town, actually walked out from another direction.
"Why are you here!"
Zhu Gaochi narrowed his eyes and looked suspicious.