Chapter 13 A few happy families and a few sad families
The Chinese New Year is in full swing in Beijing.
Sporadic sound of firecrackers spread in the streets, more and more children were laughing on the streets, shops were decorated with lights, and people poured into the streets to buy new year goods despite the severe cold.
The Chinese New Year is approaching, and there is also news that the Jinren Peace Conference and the war will cease, bringing smiles back to people's faces.
With a snap, half a piece of dry biscuit was thrown into a broken bowl.
This made the half-dead beggar wake up, grab the pancake with great joy, and kowtow excitedly to the chubby passerby.
"Thank you, uncle, thank you, uncle." He said excitedly, not sure if it was because of the northern dialect or because his tongue was frozen and unclear.
The passers-by don't care either.
"I'm happy today. I'll give you a bite of cake to eat." He said and walked over unsteadily.
The beggar then got up and ate the cake eagerly. Although it was no longer hot, the cake was still soft, unlike the food he had received before, which was harder and colder than ice cubes.
It had been a long time since he had eaten such delicious food. As he was eating, the beggar suddenly shed tears. In fact, it had not been long.
Just two months ago, he had a home. Although it was not very wealthy, it could provide shelter from wind and rain. Although the home did not have much money, it could still provide two hot meals a day.
Pancakes like this are usually used to feed pigs or chickens.
The beggar holds the pancake in his hand.
"My home is in Liujiazhai, Bazhou..." he murmured, "I once yearned for the capital, but I never thought I would come to the capital like this. Now I miss my home more than the capital..."
Someone stopped in front of him.
"Where do you live from?" A gentle male voice came from above.
He spoke with the same accent as the beggar.
The beggar raised his head excitedly.
"Are you from Bazhou too?" he asked.
When he raised his head, he saw a young official with a gentle and handsome face, followed by a man and a boy.
Ning Yunzhao shook his head.
"I'm not," he said, returning to his official tone, "I have a friend who is."
The beggar didn't know what to say. It stands to reason that he should seize this opportunity to beg. After all, it seems that these two men are very rich, especially the young man next to the official. He is dressed in luxurious and dazzling clothes. I don't know what he is.
Who did you learn it from? I smell like copper.
But the beggar just doesn’t want to beg today. Beggars also have the right to do whatever they want.
He just lowered his head and ate the pancake blankly.
The little official leaned over and put a bag of money into his arms.
"Get through this winter and live well." He said, pausing for a moment, "Your home will no longer be there."
You can still hear the beggar crying until you walk out for a while.
Chen Qi clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"Ning Xiaoguan, you are so bad." He said, "This person is already pitiful enough, and you still tell others this news."
"I gave him money." Ning Yunzhao said, "Sooner or later he will know the news, but by then no one will give him money if he cries."
Chen Qi chuckled.
"My dear Master Ning Shi," he said, putting his hands into his sleeves and avoiding several children running towards him, "Is your uncle okay?"
"It's not bad." Ning Yunzhao said, "I will personally burn the poems he writes every day."
Chen Qi laughed again.
Obviously, Ning Yan was very angry at home, cursing heaven and earth, and scolding the emperor. Naturally, these poems could not be leaked out, otherwise he would be accused of who knows what crime, and the Ning family would be really doomed.
"Master Ning Shi, are you okay?" Chen Qi asked in a low voice.
Ning Yan was deposed, but Ning Shigongzi was still an official in the court.
"How can something happen to me? I haven't said a word from the beginning to the end." Ning Yunzhao said, "I do my job diligently and conscientiously. You can't dismiss me just because I am my uncle's nephew."
Or should he be demoted? What my uncle committed was not a serious crime by implication."
He said and smiled slightly.
"What's more, Your Majesty is a benevolent king."
Chen Qi laughed again.
"Ning Xiaoguan is so nice to talk to. No wonder everyone likes you," he said.
Although Ning Yan was deposed, Ning Yunzhao's popularity in the court increased instead of falling, mainly because many of the young lower-level officials were reminded by him and did not participate in the war.
Those who advocated war were lucky, and those who advocated peace were also lucky, because His Majesty was very fair and punished the officials of Ning Yan's faction by deposing them, and also punished some officials who advocated peace, which showed that the emperor was not punishing his ministers because they violated his will, but
It's because the officials were derelict in their duties or disrespectful.
Although he seemed a bit spineless, no one wanted to make fun of his official career when he entered the level of a Beijing official, so they all expressed their good impressions of Ning Yunzhao, whether openly or covertly.
Of course, more people think that this was Ning Yan's idea. He took the lead and worked hard, knowing that he couldn't do anything but doing it.
Although he lost power in the court, Ning Yan's reputation among scholars increased greatly.
After hearing Chen Qi's words, Ning Yunzhao smiled.
"How can everyone like it?" he said. "In that case, everything would go well. Even saints and gods can't do that."
For example, there is someone who doesn't like him after all, and it happens to be the person he likes.
Even though there are millions of people in the world who are happy for him, in the end it is still a missing piece of his heart that cannot be filled.
"Mr. Ning." Chen Qi suddenly changed his face, leaned over and lowered his voice, "I think you are the best, and I am definitely on your side."
Ning Yunzhao laughed.
"Because I just introduced you to a big deal?" he said.
"Business is business, and favor is favor." Chen Qi said hehey.
"People and things, people and things are always inseparable." Ning Yunzhao smiled and patted his shoulder, "I introduced this business because of Miss Jun, just to make her happy, I can
Don’t want to deny this.”
Chen Qi surrendered to him.
"Sure enough, a gentleman is magnanimous." He said after plastic surgery.
"Is she still in Qingyuan Mansion now?" Ning Yunzhao asked.
As expected, a gentleman is magnanimous, so he took advantage of it and inquired about Miss Jun's whereabouts.
Chen Qi surrendered again.
"Still in Qingyuan Mansion, chopping firewood, feeding horses, hunting and farming." He said.
"I wonder who those mountain people are." Ning Yunzhao said with a smile.
"Poor mountain people, Mr. Ning, doesn't he know that Miss Jun is kind-hearted as a doctor..." Chen Qi said
Before he finished speaking, Ning Yunzhao smiled and shook his head.
"I really don't know her benevolence." He smiled, "As the same saying goes, everyone is different and there are no people or things without a reason."
Chen Qigan laughed twice, so it is really not easy to deal with these officials. These people have all kinds of ideas.
"It's just that the Northland is about to be in chaos, can she still be a mountaineer with peace of mind?" Ning Yunzhao said.
Chen Qi looked a little uneasy.
"Shouldn't we stop fighting after we have made peace? Wouldn't that mean peace?" he said.
Ning Yunzhao had a faint smile on his face.
"Peace is for those of us who are not in the North," he said, "but there is no peace for the abandoned people in the North."
Seeing the young official leaving with the boy Shi Shiran, Chen Qi stood still in the street for a moment until the tip of his nose felt cold.
He raised his head and looked at the snowflakes floating in the air from nowhere.
"Auspicious snow heralds a good harvest."
Children holding Rabbit lanterns laughed and ran by.
Chen Qi walked into Jiulingtang in a hurry.
Jiulingtang is quiet and warm as spring, exuding the fragrance of medicine. Fang Jinxiu is sitting behind the counter, fiddling with the chips.
"Jinxiu." Chen Qi did not joke as usual, but walked over quickly, "Why does Miss Jun spend so much money? What on earth is she going to do in Beidi?"
Fang Jinxiu didn't even raise her head.
"She can use her money however she wants. It's none of our business," she said.
At the same time, at the Fang family in Yangcheng, Mrs. Fang also threw the thick account books in front of Fang Chengyu with a serious face.
"Why does so much money go to Hebei Road?" she said. "It's really ridiculous. Has she spent all the money on Hebei Road?"
Fang Chengyu smiled and held down the account book to prevent it from slipping and falling to the ground.
"Mom, money is just for spending, how can you say it's ridiculous?" he said. (To be continued)