The room felt a little strange, and then I remembered that this was my brother-in-law Ma Zhou’s guest house.
Brother-in-law Ma Zhou and Huaiyu both live in Xuanyangfang. Now Chang'an City has demolished the wall of the place. The city gates are closed at night and no one is allowed to go in and out. King Wu cannot help but stay in the city. But the eldest sister and brother-in-law wanted to stay with him yesterday, so he also
Didn't reply.
I chatted with Ma Zhou until very late last night,
Ma Zhou is now the most powerful person in the imperial court. He is the minister of Zhongshu who is in charge of all confidential edicts. He knows the details of the court. Huaiyu will not stay at home for long this time. Important matters have been arranged. He successfully promoted the warrior Xun to the political affairs hall.
As prime minister, there are still many places that need to be arranged.
The two of them chatted until midnight,
In fact, Ma Zhou is not pedantic, otherwise it would not have been possible for him to go from Baiding to Zhongshu Shilang in seven years. He knows how to make contingency plans. Ma Zhou, Wu Huaiyu and the Wu family have both prospered and suffered losses. Even now, he and the Prince of the East Palace are completely
Bound together.
It’s cold at high places,
Although you can see far if you stand high, it will hurt to fall if you stand too high.
"Alang,"
The beauty sat up on the couch and whispered hello.
This girl's skin is fair and tender, she can pinch her hands, her arms are like two tender lotus roots, she has jet black hair and big eyes.
White, tender and beautiful,
This girl is only one or two years older than her niece, and is about a beauty in her mid-20s.
This is the maid from my brother-in-law's house,
Judging from this appearance, it seems that the eldest sister originally bought it to serve Ma Zhou, but after hearing from the younger brother that Ma Zhou had to stop drinking and having sex, at most two or three times a decade, he usually had to sleep alone to recuperate, so he arranged for this delicate girl to serve him.
Brother.
Huaiyu chatted with Ma Zhou until midnight last night. Ma Zhou drank tea and he drank. When he came back, he was slightly drunk and the delicate beauty went to bed without refusing.
Anyway, this kind of thing is the basic behavior of aristocratic families,
Ma Zhou's maid is not a concubine, nor is she even a housekeeper.
Lift the thin quilt,
A red plum blossoms on the bed sheet.
The girl's pink neck suddenly turned red until her whole face was crimson.
When Huaiyu got up, she quickly got up to serve and change clothes.
After washing, the eldest sister had already prepared breakfast for him.
"Did that girl serve you well last night?"
The girl clenched her hands nervously and stood there very uneasily.
Huaiyu glanced at her, smiled and said to the eldest sister, "Very good, what's your name?"
"Hongmei, if I like it, I will give it to you."
"Okay." Huaiyu agreed. Since she had already served him, she would be in an embarrassing situation if she stayed in Ma Zhou's house and continued to be a maid. Huaiyu felt a little sorry for her, and he didn't want her to entertain others in the future.
"Let me change your name. How about you be called Shuying from now on?"
The girl was surprised and happy. She was originally a humble maid, but she was bought by the Marquis of Gaotang County. Lady Wu treated her quite well.
But after all, she is just a maid. Although she is lucky enough to serve Wu Xiangguo, most aristocratic families can only add some monthly money or give some rewards afterward.
"All the fragrances are swaying and blooming alone, occupying the small garden, sparse shadows are slanting across the clear water, and the faint fragrance is floating in the moonlight at dusk...
This song of Shanyuan Xiaomei is given to you."
The girl was stunned.
Not only was Wu Xiangguo willing to take her away, he also gave her a nice name and even wrote a poem for her?
The sparse shadows are slanting across the clear and shallow water, and the faint fragrance is floating in the moonlight at dusk. This poem is so beautiful.
The girl remembered a poem she had heard before. Last year, today, in this door, the human face and the peach blossoms reflected each other's red color. The human face did not know where to go, but the peach blossoms still smiled in the spring breeze. It is said that this poem was written by Wu Xianggong to the Peach Blossom Creek in Fanchuan at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain.
It belongs to a girl. When he was still practicing Taoism with Yinxian in Zhongnan Mountain, he went down the mountain and passed by Peach Blossom Stream, and begged a girl for water...
That peach-blossom-like girl has long since disappeared.
"Why don't you thank Erlang quickly?" the eldest sister said with a smile.
Shuying thanked him a little slowly.
Brother-in-law Ma Zhou went to court early, and Huaiyu was free. He resigned as prime minister. Although he was added to the official position of Kaifu Yitong Sansi and Prince Taibao, these were idle posts with empty titles. He is now a local official, although he is an envoy.
Job, but after all, the job is local.
I have no specific errands in Beijing.
After chatting with the eldest sister for a long time, and playing with the nieces and nephews of the Ma family for a while, I said goodbye and went out.
Not in a hurry to return home, he took Shuying to go shopping in the Dongshi next door.
Although Chang'an has now demolished the walls, and all the neighborhoods have built markets and shops to do business, which is much more lively than before, but to really say that it is lively and prosperous, it has to be the east and west cities. Nan City cannot compare, let alone the neighborhoods.
.
Dongshi is located in Dongcheng, and Dongcheng is either rich or expensive, so Dongshi also has the most famous luxury goods stores in Chang'an, with all kinds of good things.
Wu Huaiyu himself owns many shops in Dongshi, such as the medicine shop Qianjintang, as well as various shops such as sugar, wine, tea, silk brocade, gold, silver and jade, etc.
I haven’t returned to Chang’an for a long time.
Huaiyu also liked the bustling bustle that came to him. Lingnan really couldn't feel it. There were not only all kinds of merchants here, but also all kinds of people.
Even though Chang'an is now full of street shops, the East and West markets are more prosperous and lively. After all, the Tang Dynasty is now so powerful that the real overlord of the East, even the Turks, have to kneel down and lick it.
No one will block the Silk Road anymore.
Shuying felt a little uncomfortable walking, so Huaiyu thoughtfully rented a donkey for her at the gate of Dongshi. There are many donkey renters in Chang'an, which are equivalent to taxis. Donkey rental transportation in the city is very convenient.
The price is not expensive either,
There were many women like Shuying riding donkeys to the market in Dongshi. Huaiyu found that there were many women in the market, including those running shops and doing business, as well as those doing shopping. There were both lower-class civilian women and many middle- and upper-class ladies.
Women and so on,
It seems that nowadays, the atmosphere is becoming more and more open. Rich ladies may even wear a veil or a veil. Ordinary women are not so particular and just blend into the market.
He even saw a woman getting into an argument and fighting with someone. She was very tough and would not let a woman down.
Even in the Hu Si in the Western Regions, not only did Hu Ji, dressed boldly and coolly, solicit business at the door, but there was also a ring built in front of the shop, and there were actually two women sumo wrestling on it, wearing very little.
The fight was very exciting, but Huaiyu could tell at a glance that it was a performance, not a competition, but everyone still liked watching the two young women wrestling, especially since they were wearing so little, and the various moves were so fancy and beautiful.
, which attracted bursts of cheers.
Shuying had never seen such a battle before. Seeing the two women wrestling, going back and forth, pulling the already thin and short clothes even more messy, she was so happy that she couldn't help but blush.
The maids at the gate of the mansion have many rules, but they have never seen such excitement in the market.
Huaiyu just took her to look around here and there, buying some clothes, shoes and socks, some jewelry, rouge and so on.
When I was tired from shopping, I found a shop to eat something and drink some tea. I continued shopping until noon before returning to Xuanyangfang.
Xuanyangfang is also close to Dongshi, just to the west of Dongshi and to the south of Pingkangfang. Now there are no square walls and it is convenient to travel. The Wu family occupies one-eighth of Xuanyangfang, compared with one-quarter before.
First, I later donated half of it to build the Longmen Temple.
Now in the sixth year of Zhenguan, Xuanyangfang is either rich or noble, and there are no ordinary people anymore. The commoners in the place before have now been demolished and moved to Nancheng. After demolition and reconstruction, the current Xuanyangfang has become a famous place in the east city of Chang'an.
Noble Square.
Princes, princes, princesses and county lords, there are many high-ranking officials above the fifth rank.
Ordinary people cannot live here at all, nor can they afford the houses here. The land and houses here are now very expensive.
Even the street shops near Xuanyangfang and the street shops in Fangli are much more expensive.
Xuanyang Square is much cleaner and tidier than other squares. Huaiyu returned with a full load, and there was an old man sweeping the street on the cross street in the square.
It was still very hot in the summer afternoon, but the old man was not lazy and worked under the scorching sun. He first sprinkled the street with water, and then swept it with a broom. This could avoid dust flying, but it also added a lot of hard work.
The old man's patched old shirt had long been soaked with sweat, and even had a layer of white salt stains on it.
Huaiyu thought this old man looked familiar.
He walked closer and looked around. The old man looked up doubtfully, with a look of surprise in his eyes. Wu Huaiyu was not wearing a purple robe, and even only had his two adopted sons Shitou and Pang Yanzhang with him, and a sparse figure riding a donkey beside him.
The four of them looked quite ordinary,
The old man asked in a trembling voice, "Is it Prime Minister Wu?"
"Are you Uncle Jiang?" Huaiyu asked.
After confirming his identity, this old man is Old Man Jiang, the original resident of Xuanyangfang. He is from Chang'an and moved from the old Chang'an City when Daxing City was built.
"I have moved to Jinchangfang now,"
Jinchangfang is where the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was later located. It was Xianancheng. It was a ghost town in the past. It was once a place where foxes and wolves roamed. It has gradually become more lively in recent years.
Many poor people moved from Shangdong to Shangxi City, and many houses and workshops were built.
The old man's family used to live in Xuanyangfang, but they were also very poor. They had several old houses and dilapidated houses, and they were all ill.
,
Leaving behind several half-grown children,
If he hadn't met a noble person to help him, Old Man Jiang and his family would have been gone long ago.
Someone was eyeing the few rooms in Xuanyangfang of the old man's house. In fact, they were interested in the land. They first threatened the gangsters and then obtained a fake debt left by his son.
Because we were in Xuanyangfang, poor households like the old man were assisted by the Duke of Jin. Not only were they given some rice and noodles during the New Year, but even the free school in the square allowed his grandson to study for free.
Dian's granddaughter is still working in the Wu family,
After hearing about Old Man Jiang, the Wu family came forward, and all the city foxes and rats retreated.
The Wu family helped the old man sell the shabby houses and the land, and used the money to buy land in Jinchangfang to build a small courtyard. They even found the old man a job as a street sweeper in Xuanyangfang.
At least the family has a place to live, and all the young and old have found a way to make ends meet. They can barely survive and hope that the grandchildren will grow up soon.
The old man is actually only in his fifties, but he is as old as seventy years old. Not only does he have missing teeth, he also has a hunched back. But he is quite satisfied with his current life. He hopes that his four grandchildren will study in a free school for a few years and then
Being able to work in the Wu family's shop is equivalent to having an iron rice bowl. You will not have to worry about marrying a wife and having children in the future.
"All this is a great blessing to the Duke of Jin and his wife, and it is your great kindness,"
"My old lady is in much better health now. Now she can go to the fields and follow me out every day. I sweep the streets, and she collects chicken feathers, duck feathers, turtle shells, chicken guts, gold, rags, rags and the like along the street. She can also resell them to make some money to subsidize her.
"Family expenses," the old man was very happy when he said this. His wife had been ill for many years and still had no money for medical treatment and medicine. It was the Wu family's Qianjintang's free clinic every ten days that helped his family, and now he is slowly getting better and recovering.
As he was talking, his old wife came from the far corner, carrying a wicker basket and holding a wicker basket, followed by a little girl.
The old man waved to his wife and asked her to come over and thank her benefactor.
Suddenly, a group of people came out of the street corner,
Wearing rich clothes and a tall horse.
There is also a group of hounds ahead,
The team was very fast and did not slow down when they turned the corner.
"Get out of the way, old beggar and little beggar, don't block the road!" Someone shouted loudly and came over with a whip.
Seeing that the whip was about to hit the little girl, the silver-haired old woman quickly took her granddaughter into her arms and turned around to get out of the way. The whip was still hitting the old woman's back. Her summer clothes were thin.
The whip made a dull sound, and the old woman and her child were knocked down.
The man was still unforgiving, shouting that it was bad luck to block the road, and ordered the hunting dogs to bite him.
This happened almost instantly,
Old man Jiang hurriedly rushed towards his old wife and grandson with a broom in hand.
