Although he was reluctant, Xue Jingxian did not dare to openly disobey His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's order. He found an appropriate time, prepared a generous gift, and visited Wang Xun's home as Wang Xun's old friend.
Because of the words of the eunuch named Yu, "be generous with your money", he certainly prepared a lot of gifts this time. The golden nanmu box alone to contain the gifts was worth more than 500 guan.
The sparkling fragrance in your hand can definitely make ordinary people dizzy.
Yinliu drove a carriage to the Kaiguohou Mansion in Chongrenfang. As usual, he told the concierge his surname and ordered his servants to bring the gift list. A moment later, the main door of the Kaiguohou Mansion opened wide, and more than a dozen servants filed out and laid out the shop.
He opened the red carpet, held the incense burner, and respectfully welcomed the "distinguished guests" who spent a lot of money in.
It was still the same courtyard, and the layout was the same as when Xue Jingxian came last time. However, this time, he felt an aura of wealth, arrogance and luxury rushing towards him. He could hardly open his eyes.
Walking around the screen wall and through the flower gallery, people were cheering and crowding all the way. When they arrived in front of the main hall of the Wang family, Mrs. Wang Chen, the second-grade imperial concubine, had already changed into her official uniform, was supported by four beautiful maids, and greeted her personally.
At the door, Xue Jingxian was half a step ahead, bowed and gave a full salute, calling him junior. Mrs. Wang Chen turned sideways, knelt down and returned the half salute, thanking her and saying she didn't dare. Then she let the door open and invited the distinguished guests to come in. Xue Jingxian bowed again.
, please go first. Wang Chen declined again, and Xue Jingxian gave way again. In this case, the host and guest came and went, and the whole etiquette routine was completed to the fullest.
The etiquette was enough, and the cold wind of the twelfth lunar month blew through the clothes. Xue Jingxian shivered as he walked in and sat down. Aunt Yun held the frame of Mrs. Gaoming and directed the maids to serve tea and snacks. After a while, several maids and servants brought the tea and snacks.
, then gave a gentle salute, and carefully retreated outside the door to wait for orders. The two people who stayed inside the door each held tea cups and began to stare at the steaming water mist in a daze.
The wind was very strong, and there was a wet earthy smell in the air. Together with the gloomy sky outside, it was obviously a sign of falling snow. After a while, Wang Ming Chen raised his head from the tea and looked outside.
Breaking the silence with a smile, "Mr.
"Yes, yes!"
, the gentry worked together, and could barely distribute a few bowls of porridge to the victims. In some states and counties, alas..."
"Didn't the imperial court allocate money and food?"
"Isn't this a war? Most of the money and food have been transferred to Tongguan, and the local government treasury is basically empty."
"Oh!" Ms. Wang Chen suddenly realized, and then frowned and asked, "It turns out that it is a natural disaster and a man-made disaster combined! Do you think the rebels can defeat Tongguan? I am a woman and can't see the current situation clearly.
.”
"In fact, the junior can't see clearly. Probably, probably not! After all, there is General Ge Shuhan on the Tongguan side. However, it's hard to say. I met several convoys on the road, and they were all
Large families are afraid of being affected by the war, so they are rushing to relocate to Guangnan! If Madam is interested, you might as well make a plan early, after all, you will be prepared, right?!"
"Guangnan?!" Wang Chen frowned again, "Is Guangnan definitely safe? If the rebels turn around and go south, can they go further south?"
Further south, there is the sea. Xue Jingxian smiled awkwardly and could not answer.
"The imperial court should have enough countermeasures, right? Otherwise, it will be imminent. The capital should not be so lively!" Madam Wang Chen also lowered her head and continued to drink water to moisten her throat.
The tea was very strong and had a very strong bitter taste when it was drunk in the mouth. Xue Jingxian drank several large sips one after another, and his heart ached from the bitterness.
Yes, it's time to raise eyebrows. Several immortals in the capital are still busy trying to trip each other up. It seems that after the rebels take Luoyang, they will be satisfied and stop heading west. No wonder Aunt Yun's words contain a gun.
With the baton, everyone’s performance in recent times is really hard to look down upon.
I felt ashamed in my heart, and it was even harder for me to say some words. For a moment, the air in the lobby began to feel cold again. The chill penetrated through the silk coat under the official robe and penetrated into people's bones bit by bit.
If he continues to sit down like this without the host seeing off his guests, Xue Jingxian will run away. After taking courage in his heart for a while, he finally spoke for the second time, "Junior..." He had obviously practiced it many times against the wall last night.
When it came time to say it out, it was extremely difficult, "Junior and Governor Wang once fought side by side in the Anxi Army. They took great care of him, so..."
"Master Xue seems to have already said these words when he sent a letter home to Mingyun last time!" Mrs. Wang Chen gently put down the tea cup and reminded in a low voice.
"This..." For a moment, Xue Jingxian blushed. He really wanted to get up immediately, hold his head and run away from Wang's house. After hesitating for a while, he mustered up the courage for the third time and explained in a low voice, "
When I come here this time, I actually just want to say hello to my friend and greet my elder. After all, he has already left..."
"Master Xue is wearing official uniform!" Mrs. Wang Chen glanced at him and reminded with a smile.
"Ah, yes. Yes!" Xue Jingxian looked down at his robe with a blushing face, and then raised his hand, "I shouldn't have worn this. I was used to wearing it, so I accidentally forgot to change it. Negligence!"
Elders, please forgive me, please forgive me!"
Mrs. Wang Chen waved her hand and responded in a low voice, "Master Xue, why are you so polite? Since you have earned the official uniform, you naturally have to wear it to show to others. To tell you the truth, in the past few days, almost all the people who have come to my house have
Everyone is wearing official uniforms. It really makes the Wang family shine!"
"Madam, you are serious. In fact, from the bottom of my heart, I don't want to come here wearing these clothes! But I have no choice. After taking over someone else's job, I have to do things for them. I can't shirk it!" Xue Jingxian felt weak in his heart, gritted his teeth, and simply said
Go to the topic.
"Oh?!" Ms. Wang Chen also gave up her politeness and leaned slightly behind her seat, "Do you want to wear it for others to see? No wonder the gift this time is so thick. To tell you the truth, in the past few days,
, I have accepted more gifts for Ming Yun than during the Chinese New Year. Among them, yours is the most generous!"
"Junior, junior..." Now that the words had reached this point, Xue Jingxian simply gave up, "This gift is actually money paid by His Highness the Crown Prince. This junior is just running errands for others. If Madam feels that the gift is too heavy,
If so, you can just seal it back and let the junior take it back. Anyway, if the junior delivers the gift, it will be considered as completing the task. I don’t want to cause too much trouble to Governor Wang and his wife!”
"Then there is nothing to worry about!" Aunt Yun suddenly smiled, her face no longer young was full of mischief, "Whether it is His Highness the Crown Prince, any other prince, or the Marquis, the reason why he gave it to my family
Isn't the purpose of giving gifts to reward Ming Yun for his contribution to the country's expansion of territory? After I accepted the gift, I wrote to Ming Yun, asking him to put national affairs first, not to always think about his family, and not to let him down.
Isn’t it enough to meet the earnest expectations of all the adults?! Anyway, the territory captured belongs to the Tang Dynasty, and not a single inch belongs to our Wang family!"
"Madam, what you said makes sense, it really makes sense!" After hearing this, Xue Jingxian couldn't help but clasp his hands in admiration. All his years of ups and downs in officialdom were in vain. His knowledge and bearing are really not as good as those who live in a mansion all day long.
Woman, so what if I received a gift? Serving for you sirs is repayment, and guarding the border for the Tang Dynasty is also a way of repaying you. Isn’t it possible that the country under your feet can belong to someone else?
Thinking of this, the sky in his heart suddenly opened up. He shook his head and added with a smile: "Madam's words are absolutely right. Mingyun led the army on the front line in a bloody battle and made great achievements. No matter what gifts the people at the rear give him, he must be able to bear it.
.Xue is stupid. If I had known this, I might as well have just pulled up half a cart of copper coins and sent them in through the side door!"
"Copper coins take up too much space. Nowadays, when giving gifts in the capital, they pay attention to antiques, calligraphy and paintings, or gold ingots, which are beautiful and don't take up much space!" Aunt Yun nodded with a smile, "If you have any other instructions from your highness, you can
Just tell me directly. Stop beating around the bush, let's go round and round and the tea will get cold!"
"I haven't given any instructions yet. Let's ask Xue to come over first and become a familiar face!"
The cannibals may counterattack. I'm afraid Ming Yun may not be able to escape from Dawan!"
This was a very clear message to Wang Xun not to rush back to swim in the muddy waters in the capital. For Xue Jingxian, who was very concerned about fame, this was indeed very valuable. It was such an obvious hint, but Aunt Yun didn't seem to listen.
He came out. He frowned and said in a low voice: "Does the imperial court really want to send troops and horses from Dawan back to support the capital? Is the situation really corrupted to this point? Hasn't General Feng already pushed the rebels back to Mount Wei?
Is it east? Just now you said that General Ge Shuhan organized a second line of defense at Tongguan. The Western Region is a land thousands of miles away. If the imperial court calls back all the soldiers from the Dawan Dudufu, what will happen?
Wasn’t the blood of the officers and soldiers of Dai Anxi Army shed in vain?!”
"This..." Xue Jingxian felt hot under his buttocks, and his body twisted back and forth. He didn't know how to answer Aunt Yun's question. Thousands of miles of sacred land, I am afraid that in the eyes of His Highness the Crown Prince and Yang Xiang, it will never be able to hold up half a foot of authority.
.As for the soldiers who died in the battle, they are just a few vague names on the household register. Who really cares?
After thinking for a long time, he finally sighed and said: "Maybe some people in the court feel that if they are lost in the Western Regions, there will always be a chance to fight back. Besides, the reputation of the Dawan Governor's officers as brave and good at fighting has now been spread in the capital.
