It is said that Liu Jing and others found a nunnery in Qinghua Mountain and learned that someone pretended to be the king of Qin for a talent show and deceived countless officials and ladies. Then he ordered the girls to change into Ziyi clothes and escorted the old lady, thugs and others quietly.
After leaving. It took a lot of effort for the young lady to get down the mountain, and she managed to get down to the foot of the mountain at sunset. After randomly finding a village to eat some snacks, Liu Jing sent someone to a nearby farmhouse to hire a carriage; if there was no carriage, a donkey-cart or an ox-cart would do, and the price was not charged.
What was so unexpected was that Qinghua Mountain was located in the north of Chang'an City, and they did not enter the city gate until the second watch of the day.
Liu Jing discussed with Eunuch Li and Aunt Feng: "It's getting late and it's not convenient to send the girls home. It's better to let them stay in the post house temporarily. I'll go back to my house to discuss with Zhu Tong.
Go back and report to the Prince and the Queen Mother. We will meet at the Prefect’s Yamen tomorrow morning." They both agreed. Then they escorted the old lady and the thugs to the prison, Liu and Feng returned to the Qin Palace, and Liu Jing sent the ladies off.
Go to the inn.
The post house was very quiet at the moment. Liu Jing asked the girls to walk softly so as not to wake others. A small official led the way and sent them to a large courtyard. Liu Jing said, "Let's stay here for the night. We will talk about everything tomorrow." Everyone.
They all saluted and thanked them.
Liu Jing turned around and was about to leave when she suddenly heard a "bang" next door. She was startled and shouted: "What's going on!"
A young woman next door shouted: "Sorry, sorry! I made a mistake and disturbed you."
Liu Jing frowned: "What is this sound? I have never heard it before." Most of the girls showed fear. Liu Jing asked loudly, "Who lives next door?"
The woman next door said: "The person staying here."
"Why are you up late at night and making so much noise?"
"Your Majesty, aren't you asleep too?"
The girls snickered. Liu Jing snorted, "What a clever mouth." He simply climbed up the wall and looked over there, "What are you doing in the middle of the night? Huh? What kind of lamp is that? It's brighter than an oil lamp.
.Who are you?”
The girls all pricked up their ears and listened to the woman next door say: "I neither steal nor rob, and I work openly and openly in the courtyard. But I climbed the wall without any reason, crossed the boundary of the courtyard wall, and invaded my private space. With my authority
What told you? Why do you ask? Shouldn't you be the first to report your family name?"
Liu Jing crossed her arms and said, "My man is Zhu Tong, the political advisor of the Qin State." The girls gasped for breath. Along the way, they heard Eunuch Li and others calling her "Mrs. Zhu." They didn't know which Mrs. Zhu it was. It turned out to be Mrs. Zhu.
Mr. Zhu Tong's wife. After hearing this, it is obvious that Zhu Tong has already retired from office.
Then I heard the woman next door say: "Oh. Then?" After waiting for a moment, "What about you? No matter what your man's status is, what about you?"
Liu Jing was stunned: "I am his wife."
The woman smiled and said: "That means you don't have an identity that can interfere with my identity? Your man is involved in political affairs, but you are not."
Liu Jing tilted his head and looked at her: "Are you from Yan country?"
"no."
"That's weird." Liu Jingdao said, "If you are not from the Yan country, how can a woman from any other country have such thoughts?"
The woman raised her eyes and looked at the wall: "I am from the Chinese Federation. If you want to elaborate, I am from Guangxi and studied at Chengtian Mansion University."
Liu Jing nodded: "I see. From Starship Academy?"
The woman suddenly became a little depressed: "...No. The Starship Academy exam was too difficult, and I failed. I went to Chengtian Institute of Technology."
Liu Jing said "Oh": "This school is not bad." Then he turned around and climbed down from the wall.
Before landing, the woman next door heard a long sigh: "Thank you for the praise. Our school is worse than Starship, I know it well."
Liu Jing smiled slightly, pointed at the wall and said to the girls: "If you can live like her in many years, our Qin country will be rich and powerful."
A girl wondered: "Isn't our Qin country rich and powerful?"
"It depends on who you compare with." Liu Jing said, "Of course it can't compare with the Chinese Federation, but it is still stronger than some small countries." Then he turned and left. Everyone was talking about it.
After talking for a while, she suddenly heard another "bang" sound next door. The girl Gao shouted: "Hey~~ sister next door, what are you doing?"
The woman next door said: "I'm really sorry, I won't do it. I don't know why I didn't get it done."
Miss Gao said: "Sister, don't get me wrong, I'm just curious."
The woman next door said: "I am repairing something. If you are curious, come and take a look?"
Miss Gao's eyes lit up: "Seriously? Can I go and see it?"
"Yes! It's not a rare thing."
Sure enough, Miss Gao ran over, and two brave girls followed her. Others were reluctant to leave, and stood by the wall with their ears pricked up. Then Miss Gao and others exclaimed: "It's so bright! What kind of light is that?"
"
In the dead of night, what the woman next door said clearly was: "This is a horse lantern, also called a boat lantern. It is lit by oil and can be hung on boats and horses. The battery I use is connected. The battery is too big and is not easy to hang."
Mount your horse, but still call the lantern."
"It's so bright!" "It's so bright!" There was a burst of chirping and croaking from the next door.
Another girl couldn't stand it any longer and ran over. Not long after, she exclaimed again: "It's so bright!" The girls were all around fifteen or sixty-seven years old, and there was no one who was not curious. They all ran over in the blink of an eye.
After standing around the electric horse lantern and marveling at it for a long time, I remembered that I hadn’t asked about this woman’s surname. It turned out that her surname was Song, and she was an engineer sent by the Dajiala Safe Factory to repair the safe. She asked everyone to call her Song Gong. Miss Gao immediately said
: "But the safe in Fuyuntang? Mr. Zhu brought all the locksmiths from the Qin Kingdom, but they couldn't open it."
Song Gong said proudly: "The safes in our factory are extremely safe. If they are not professionals, no one else can open them."
Another girl asked: "So, Sister Song is from Dajiala? What is Dajiala like?" She looked at Song Gong's clothes for a few times, "Are you all wearing this?"
Song Gong said: "This is my work clothes. It is convenient to wear when doing work. We call your kind Hanfu, and few people wear it. It is too troublesome."
Miss Gao asked in surprise: "Why is it troublesome to get dressed?"
Song Gong smiled and said: "You don't have to worry about wearing new clothes. People in Dajiala are very busy. Students study and adults work very hard."
Miss Gao said proudly: "That's not as good as our Chang'an."
Song Gongdao: "Everyone has his own way. Most of the women in our Chinese Federation have their own careers and can be independent in their marriages. You can cut flowers and cook tea and live leisurely instead of burying yourself in machines all day. But whoever your father and brother want you to marry, no matter who you marry,
No matter whether you are old or ugly, you have to marry. After you get married, you have to get up early to pay your respects to your mother-in-law. Unlike us, you can sleep until noon freely on rest days. You can’t complain if your husband takes a concubine at home and takes a second wife, and raises a pink actor outside.
No matter what kind of grievances you suffer from your husband's family, you can only endure it. If you are unlucky and don't have a boy, if you can't keep it, your concubine will take over. Just like the third wife of your imperial censor, Mr. Ding, has only one daughter, and that daughter is still young.
It is so miserable to marry a dead man at a young age. Furthermore, if the relationship between us and our husbands fades away, we can break up, and if we fall in love with another man, we can divorce, but you can't. If you don't like that man anymore, you will have to wait until death. In the long run, after all
It makes our life better."
All the girls were dumbfounded. After a while, it was the girl Gao who woke up first and shouted with a red face: "We are all girls from good families, how can we like other men! We will never recognize the stinky men outside!"
The Song Gong said: "No! You don't know other men at all, how can you choose the one you like? It's not a canary in a cage. The owner goes out to buy a male bird for breeding, and that's the only one."
Miss Gao was at a loss for words for a moment. Others were about to pick up the conversation, but Song Gong had already packed up the things on his desk and said, "We are strangers, so there is no need to tell lies about face. The Master said, food and sex are the same. Think about it for yourselves, if you can
Choose for yourself, would you like to marry an old scholar who is nearly middle-aged, or a young scholar of similar age?"
Miss Gao excused herself: "Of course we are of the same age."
"However, the old Jinshi was only a scholar at the age of the young scholar." Song Gong said, "Are your fathers and brothers willing to take the risk of marrying their daughter to a scholar?"
Miss Gao thought for a moment and said: "My father and brother are right. After all, you will be married for life. What if that little scholar doesn't make a difference?"
Song Gong smiled and said: "That's the difference. We don't have to be married for life. We can choose to stay together, or we can choose to forget each other. Because we don't need monthly money from my husband's family to buy makeup, we earn money to buy clothes ourselves." She said.
He raised the lantern and raised it above his head, "And because the women of the Chinese Federation don't have to waste their days in the backyard and can only display their talents, Starfleet Academy can make electric lamps so quickly. When Qin State didn't even popularize clear oil lamps, Da Jiala
Cables have been laid in the government buildings and electric lights have started to be used. Girls, please say something conscientious. Do you really like to embroider and make clothes? Is there anyone who doesn't?"
Miss Gao immediately said: "I don't like it, I really don't like it."
Song Gong said: "I don't like it either, and I don't know how. Can you?"
Miss Gao pouted: "Yes. My mother forced me to learn it."
Song Gong said with a smile: "Same! My mother also forced me to study, but I didn't listen to her. I study the hardest. I just know in my heart that if you don't study hard, you won't be able to get into university, and if you don't get into university, you won't be able to find a job.
Good job. If you can't find a good job, you have to learn embroidery. Repairing a safe is much easier than embroidery." She took two steps with the lantern in hand, turned back with a smile, "Would you like to come to my room and sit for a while?"
Miss Gao hesitated a little, but Song Gong had already walked to the house. Now that the lanterns were far away, the yard naturally darkened, and the little girls were a little timid. Miss Gao clenched her fists and raised her legs to follow. Although the girl next to her just didn't
Interjecting the conversation, he was also quite curious about Da Jiala, so he also followed in.
Early the next morning, Eunuch Li and Aunt Feng rushed to the prefect's Yamen, and Zhu Tong and his wife were also there. Eunuch Li brought the King of Qin's handwriting and ordered Zhu Tong to go with himself to Yunju Temple to capture the Cao family. Zhu Tong accepted the order.
The two of them put on their regular clothes, led more than ten government servants to pretend to be house servants, and headed straight for Yunju Temple. When they arrived at the temple, Eunuch Li showed his ID card from the Prince of Qin's Palace, which frightened the sister-in-law who was leading the way and kept saying "Amitabha". Zhu Tong asked: "Dare I ask?"
Is Aunt Cao in the temple?" The aunt nodded repeatedly. Zhu and Li looked at each other and smiled: "It's not too late."
Mrs. Cao was originally the concubine of the late eldest son, and lived alone in a small courtyard. Zhu Tong and others rushed in, only to see Mrs. Cao sitting in the courtyard in a daze. Eunuch Li walked up and hit Qian'er: "Empress Cao."
Mrs. Cao looked at him, then at Zhu Tong, and stood up. "May I ask who this lord is?"
Zhu Tong smiled and said, "My surname is Zhu."
Mr. Cao smiled: "It would be better if my surname was Zhu."
"Why is the surname Zhu better?"
"The surnamed Zhu is not stupid." Mrs. Cao turned around and said, "Please Master Zhu and Eunuch Li come in with me." Zhu Tong thought for a moment, then asked the yamen servant to stay outside, and she and Eunuch Li went in with her.
Although the room was simple but large, there were only a few pieces of furniture, and it was a bit empty. Mrs. Cao walked to a low cabinet, bent down and pulled out a box from inside. Then she took the box and put it in front of the two of them, and opened it. Only what was inside was seen.
There were more than a dozen locks of hair neatly arranged, as well as three small purses and a cloth tiger. Ms. Cao picked up a very delicately embroidered purse and said, "I made this for my daughter with my own hands." She picked it up again.
The other two were roughly sewn to look like purses. "My daughter learned to make these by herself." She put down the purse and picked up the cloth tiger, "This is what I bought for my daughter too."
Zhu Tong thought: "Could those hairs also belong to the princess?" Ms. Cao nodded. "Someone threatens you to do things for them with the princess?"
Ms. Cao smiled bitterly and said: "I have put in a lot of effort. I will give it a try to any girl who comes, no matter her appearance or temperament. How many court officials are involved, but you didn't realize it until now."
Zhu and Li were shocked. Zhu Tong said: "You... want to report a message to us?"
Mrs. Cao shook his head: "I don't dare. I have no idea who is buried next to my daughter."
Zhu Tong said: "Why didn't you tell the Queen Mother?"
Mrs. Cao glanced at Eunuch Li but remained silent. Eunuch Li thought to herself, "The Queen Mother is not subtle, and it is understandable that Empress Cao cannot trust her. But why didn't she tell the Queen Mother?"
Ms. Cao lowered her head and said, "I thought that the person who had the courage to lie about the prince's talent show to make money is either the brother of the Queen Mother, or the brother of the Queen Mother. Since she is using the name of the Queen Mother, it is obvious that she is not her."
Zhu Tong thought for a long time: "It makes sense. After helping others for so long, it's impossible for Lady Cao to have no clues."
Mrs. Cao smiled bitterly and shook her head. After a while, she said: "Actually, it's not difficult to guess."
Zhu Tong cupped his hands and said, "Please give me some advice."
Mrs. Cao took out a booklet from the kang and handed it to Zhu Tong: "This is the girl who came to my place. I have recorded her name, family background, and age secretly. They all gave money to others, and none of them
few."
Zhu Tong chuckled and said, "I've already guessed it, isn't it just for money?"
Cao said: "Your Excellency, just check which families who are supposed to be well-informed and not very noble have not sent their daughters. That would be suspicious."
Zhu Tong's eyes lit up: "That's a good idea." He turned it over casually. He couldn't help but turn to the last page, laughed, and handed it to Eunuch Li.
When Eunuch Li took a look, he saw that the last one on the booklet was actually the eldest granddaughter of the second master of the Gao family! He also smiled and said, "That little girl is so smart, and she said that my father secretly sent her there behind someone's back."
Zhu Tong looked at Mr. Cao with a smile: "Is there anything else?"
Mr. Cao shook his head: "No more."
Zhu Tong pointed to a box of rouge on the desk: "Here, I just bought a box like this for my wife a few days ago, costing sixty taels of silver."