Xiang Nan walked out of the inn with Chen Er. The street was very quiet in the winter morning. Most of the shops were not open yet. There were only hawkers carrying burdens, laborers working in a hurry with tools, and watchmen leaving work at night with a few...
Walking by tiredly and yawning.
They were all busy with their livelihoods or anxious to go back to rest, and they did not pay special attention to this young man in white robes who was walking leisurely.
There are also many powerful people who come to Gwangju Prefecture. Even in troubled times, the powerful people always live a better life than ordinary people. No matter what time, people are still different.
The government office was open day and night. At this time, there were officials waiting at the door. When they saw Xiang Nan coming, they came forward to salute.
"Master Xiang, please go this way." He said, not entering the government office but turning back.
Xiang Nan knew that it was the back door he had visited before.
When I see Mrs. Wu on official business, I want to go to the government office. For private matters, I ask through the back door. Mrs. Wu distinguishes between public and private matters, respects the government office, and is low-key and restrained.
The crowded businessmen in front of the back door disappeared, but the men with swords were still there. Everyone clearly remembered Xiang Nan when they saw him. After all, he was so good-looking that it was difficult for people to ignore him. Because there were officials guiding the way, they were just vigilantly scrutinizing Xiang Nan and him.
Chen Eryi said nothing.
It was the old servant who opened the door. When he saw the official smiling, he said, "I'm going to greet you."
The official smiled and said: "Where is it?" He turned sideways and said, "I have sent Mr. Xiang here."
The old servant smiled and saluted Xiang Nan: "Master, please."
Xiang Nan and Chen Er went in, and the officials bowed out without following them. When the door closed, it was Mrs. Wu's little world.
The old servant arranged for Chen Er to have tea with the concierge. In addition to tea, the concierge also had some snacks and was considerate and polite to see if he had breakfast.
The back house of the government office is not big. There are many flowers and trees planted, high and low, and the morning mist lingers in it.
Xiang Nan walked in with the old servant. As soon as he stepped through the courtyard gate, he saw a woman walking from the corridor. The mist made her vaguely visible.
Xiang Nan recognized it at a glance, and it was indeed the fairy she had seen by the lake.
Xiang Nan stopped and heard the old servant call out, "Young Madam."
The young lady looked over, her long eyelashes fanned away the mist, revealing her face, but before she could look at each other, there were footsteps coming from behind her. They were two children about ten years old, holding up a flower basket with a bunch of flowers inside.
There were bunches of red, yellow and white plum blossoms, and half-open camellias of various colors.
"Young lady, we just picked the flowers." they stammered.
Li Minglou reached out to take it and smiled at the two children.
They are orphans. Their parents died in the war. They stumbled here with the refugees and managed to escape here. Sometimes they ate porridge and sometimes they went to pick up work on construction sites, but they survived. The day before yesterday, they were eating porridge at the city gate when a housekeeper called them away and said
Do some work for the young lady.
I originally thought it was a dream, but I didn't expect it to be true, but I still thought it was a dream, especially when Mrs. Wu smiled at them.
The two children turned around and ran away.
Li Minglou did not call them back, nor did he look at Xiang Nan again, but walked into the house carrying a flower basket.
"Master Xiang, please." The old servant smiled.
Xiang Nan followed the old servant through the courtyard and walked in. It was a small study room. The outside room was used for reading, and the inside room was used for drinking tea and resting. There was a bead curtain hanging down, and the young lady sat inside, half-leaning in front of the mirror.
Dressing on the dressing table, picking flowers in the basket.
"Mrs. Wu, Xiang Nan is polite." Xiang Nan saluted.
Mrs. Wu glanced over through the bead curtain and nodded slightly in return.
"Mr. Xiang, what do you mean when you say that my young lady is in danger?" The old servant stood by the bead curtain and asked, and then saluted apologetically, "My young lady is alone and she is ill. It is inconvenient to talk to her husband.
, I’ll let the old servant speak for me if I have anything to say, please forgive me.”
"Originally, I was rude." Xiang Nan replied simply and neatly without guessing their true intentions, "Young Madam is compassionate and caring for the refugees, but she is too harsh on the rich and powerful. In doing so, Huainan Road in Guangzhou Prefecture seems to be peaceful.
, in fact, there is a strong undercurrent, and the young lady is in danger."
Li Minglou pinched the camellia and threw it back into the flower basket. What, he said this when he was in danger. It was in vain that she had prepared so much.
She really thought that Xiang Nan knew her identity, and she had no scruples anymore. She could meet him whenever she wanted. As soon as he revealed her identity, she would kill him.
Li Minglou looked out the window. The small courtyard shrouded in morning mist was like a fairyland. There were many soldiers all over the place. There were more than three of them in the room. As soon as he called out the three words "Li Minglou", they hacked him to death with swords.
Killed by an arrow.
She didn't want places such as Huainan Road and Yizhou Xuanwu Road to be stable, because Xiang Nan got into trouble alone, and it was very likely that the Ankang Mountain rebels would take the opportunity to attack. Countless people were killed, and she would also face death again.
.
But even if she still wants to die, this time she must let Xiang Nan die first!
Didn't he see through her?
"Master Xiang, what do you mean by this?" The old servant was puzzled, "What does it mean that the young lady is harsh to the rich and powerful?"
Xiang Nan smiled: "People in the Ming Dynasty don't tell secret stories. Don't say that these are all done by the government. What the government can do now is inseparable from the young lady's guidance behind the scenes."
Without giving the old servant a word to ask questions or excuses, he continued talking.
"It costs a lot to feed so many refugees and so many troops, and the city must be active and prosperous to provide countless conveniences to the merchants. It is too difficult to rely solely on young ladies and officials, so asking for money from the rich and powerful is, to put it bluntly, robbery.
The rich help the poor.”
He didn't see through his identity, but he could see it clearly. Li Minglou picked up a plum blossom, cut it with scissors and inserted it into a plum vase.
After you have used soldiers and horses to keep one side stable, you need to use the powerful and wealthy people you have stabilized and attracted to raise soldiers, horses and people.
Of course she couldn't raise so many soldiers and horses for the city by herself, and she wasn't really a fairy, especially after Jiannan Road couldn't provide enough money and supplies.
Hundreds of years of stability and prosperity have supported countless aristocratic families in Great Xia, and have accumulated substantial wealth. Under the threat of life in troubled times, they can make them spend money that the previous emperors may not be able to force out.
Of course, taking someone's money is like killing one's parents. The gratitude these rich and powerful people had for being able to protect their families and their families suddenly disappeared. The hard work of the government and soldiers became a matter of course in their eyes, and they also felt resentment.
This is not charity given by them on their own initiative, but something they are asked to give. For them, this contribution is a matter of grievance and resentment.
These emotions were concealed by the troubled times and survival, but they were indeed surging in Gwangju Prefecture.
"Is Mr. Xiang serious?" The old servant was surprised, glanced at Li Minglou, and said to Xiang Nan helplessly, "Guangzhou Prefecture does collect gold and silver from the rich and powerful. That's because the government has been exhausted and the court has no soldiers.
Once the horse grain is paid, we can only work together to have the money and strength to overcome the difficulties. Although the people do not pay for the grain, they have to requisition the land for work and farming."
Xiang Nan did not look at Li Minglou, but looked at the old servant and said: "I know that we can overcome difficulties by working together. What I mean is that besides recruiting, there are other ways to seek help from the aristocratic families. In addition to money, they also have
There are many connections and servants, money is easy to come by, but hearts are hard to find..."
With a clanking sound, Xiang Nan stopped talking and looked at the looming woman behind the bead curtain throwing the scissors on the table. She waved, and the old servant lifted the bead curtain and walked in, listening to her words.
Xiang Nan was not impatient and stopped talking, waiting quietly.
The old servant came out and stood by the bead curtain: "I know what Mr. Xiang meant, he asked me to seek the favor of a wealthy family."
The old voice suddenly became delicate and charming. If you didn't look at the person, it would be a 28-year-old girl talking.
This old servant actually had such verbal skills. Xiang Nan pursed his lips, so now he was relaying the young lady's words.
"My mother-in-law and I have been rich and homeless before. We know very well that the hearts of wealthy families cannot be obtained, so there is no need to be polite to each other. If you feel aggrieved, just leave. Gwangju Mansion can live without them."
The old servant said and smiled, the laughter was crisp but sharp, "It turns out that Mr. Xiang is here to act as a lobbyist for others."
He has lived a long life and has been homeless, and his brief words seem to contain a lot of secrets. Wu Yaer's life experience is indeed very secret, and there should be a story behind it, but Xiang Nan is not curious about this now.
Is this young lady angry?
Xiang Nan frowned and looked at the woman behind the bead curtain: "I'm not a lobbyist. I don't want the young lady's hard work to be ruined, so I'm here to remind you..."
The woman behind the bead curtain stood up, walked over, lifted the bead curtain, walked in front of Xiang Nan, and walked past him.
The scent of plum blossoms and camellias slipped over his shoulders as he walked out.
Unexpectedly... Xiang Nan turned his head, and the sound of clothes fluttering outside the door disappeared.
"Our young lady knows," the old servant said, "Master Xiang, please come back."
...
...
The door was closed behind him, and Chen Er put a handful of melon seeds he had grabbed when he was driven out into his mouth and chewed them loudly.
"Sir, now you have met someone, are you satisfied?" he said.
Satisfied? He didn't know what to say about Mrs. Wu's style. Xiang Nan shook his head and looked at the men outside the door who stood up and held their swords, looking at them carefully.
Seeing that the old servant was not polite when seeing off guests, these people immediately became rude as well.
Xiang Nan said: "Let's go."
When they returned to the inn, the Xiang family's entourage was also waiting, asking how it was: "Young Master is too honest. In fact, I have thanked the government twice and it is enough."
Everyone thinks that he asked to see Mrs. Wu to thank him for saving his life in Surabaya. Otherwise? He couldn't be yearning for the immortal appearance of Mrs. Wu, so don't think too wildly!
"I'd say it's unnecessary." Chen Er is not a follower, so he has the right to complain, "You adults just like these polite things. What's there to say thank you for? What can I get out of thanking you again and again?"
After he finished speaking, someone from his entourage said that the prefect was here.
"Master Xiang." The magistrate came forward with a smile on his face, cupped his fists and saluted, "I drank too much these two times. I didn't wake up until now, and I just learned about the origin of your family. The Xiang family in Taiyuan Prefecture has been a family member for several generations.
I was really rude and rude."
It wouldn't be too rude for a small prefect of Guangzhou Prefecture to know that their family is deep. The Xiang family's entourage looked a little happy.
"That's right, we have a rule here." The magistrate said, holding Xiang Nan's hand, "Every wealthy family who comes to our city must pay an entry fee. Mr. Xiang, I will thank you on behalf of the people of Guangzhou Prefecture.
Already."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the room was stunned.
The Xiang family's entourage was stunned, and Chen Er smacked his lips: "Yes, thank you for the money!"