"Mr. Luo, get up quickly!" Yunxi stepped forward to support him before he could kneel down, and said at the same time: "Mr. Luo is over seventy years old and has become a well-known person. Even ordinary old people do not need to kneel down for me.
As a courtier of the Ming Dynasty, the old gentleman should kneel down!"
"Your Majesty, you can't do it!" Luo Guanzhong shouted. His "can't do it" does not mean that he must kneel down to Yunxi. All dynasties have given preferential treatment to older people, and exempting people over sixty from corvee is
Under normal circumstances, some dynasties would even exempt taxes. The Ming Dynasty also had corresponding preferential treatment policies, so he did not have to kneel when he saw Yunxi.
But His Majesty personally supported him, which was a great favor. Under normal circumstances, the emperor ordered people like him not to kneel down, or asked his servants to help him. To help him personally only appeared in front of important officials of the court.
At that time, Luo Guanzhong thought that he was not an important official in the court, so he was a little uneasy.
"Old sir, you don't need to be like this," Yun He said with a smile, "Although old gentleman has never gone to battle to kill the enemy or stabilize the country, his contribution to the Ming Dynasty is not small."
As he spoke, he motioned to his guards. One of the guards came over, and Yunxi handed Luo Guanzhong to his support. He helped him to sit down next to the nanmu chair in the hall. He also sat next to Luo Guanzhong, smiling.
He continued: "The old man compiled opera scripts and scripts and broadcast them throughout the Ming Dynasty to educate all people. He is extremely good and deserves my support."
Luo Guanzhong wanted to say something more, but Yunxi didn't want to continue this topic. He looked around and saw only two servants of the Luo family, and asked: "I remember that Mr. Luo's youngest son also came to the capital with him, and he has been
I'm serving the old gentleman in Beijing, why haven't I seen him now?"
"My youngest son, ahem, I sent him out to buy a pen." Luo Guanzhong replied.
"Why, aren't the pens issued by the Cultural Propaganda Department good?" Yunxi immediately turned to Chen Xingshan and asked, "What kind of pen did the Cultural Propaganda Department provide them?"
Before Chen Xingshan could answer, Luo Guanzhong rushed to say: "Your Majesty, ahem, it's not that the pens issued by the Propaganda Department are bad. It's just that I have lived in Suzhou and Hangzhou for a long time, and I am used to using the pens commonly used by the locals.
It didn't go well, so every time I asked people to buy pens produced there in the market. I also asked my servants to buy pens, but they had never used them before. It was easy to be mistaken and deceived by unscrupulous traders.
Twice. Ahem, so I sent my youngest son to buy it."
He then bowed to Chen Xingshan and said, "I have not seen Chen Shangshu just now. Please forgive me."
Yunxi waited for him to finish the exchange with Chen Xingshan, and then asked: "Mr. Luo often coughs. What's going on? Do you need me to send an imperial doctor to diagnose the old man's pulse?"
"No, your Majesty does not need to bother the imperial doctors in the palace." Luo Guanzhong said quickly: "This is just an old problem. I cough when the weather is cold."
"But it's April now, and the weather has warmed up."
"Your Majesty, after all, I am getting old, and my body and bones are different from when I was young. Even when I first visited Your Majesty ten years ago, it is far different. Therefore, it takes summer to stop coughing these years. Your Majesty does not need to bother the imperial doctor.
These are all diseases of the elderly and cannot be cured even if the imperial doctor comes to see them." Luo Guanzhong said again.
Yun He was silent. He was right. As people age, all body functions deteriorate. No matter how superb medical skills or precious medicinal materials, some diseases cannot be cured.
"Let the imperial doctor come and take a look." But he still said. Even if he can't be cured, he can live for a few more days. Luo Guanzhong seems to be in very poor health now and may die of illness at any time. He doesn't want Luo Guanzhong to die like this.
.
"Your Majesty, I am not dead yet, I still have a book..." At this point, he stopped talking as if he had made a mistake, and abruptly changed the subject: "Your Majesty, although I am recuperating at home these days, I am not completely idle.
The former Minister Chen once ordered the compilation of a book about the continent of Hanzhou, which is full of gold and silver and has fertile fields and thousands of miles. I will write a few strokes these days when I am well at home."
As he spoke, he stood up tremblingly and went back to the house to get it. Yunxi advised him to let his servants go get it, but Luo Guanzhong said that the servants were illiterate and had clumsy hands and feet, and he was afraid that they would damage it, so he insisted on going and getting it himself.
Yunxi had no choice but to let his servants come in and help him into his house to get it.
But Yunxi waited for a while but didn't see Luo Guanzhong come out. When he asked, he learned that Luo Guanzhong couldn't take it out because he was not using his hands and feet and moved slowly. Yunxi was anxious and simply got up and walked to Luo Guanzhong's house.
Luo Guanzhong was still slowly packing up the manuscripts in the room, at least arranging them in order. When he saw Yunxi walking in, he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, why did you come in! How can this be done!"
"What's wrong with this?" Yunxi said, "It's just a room, and there won't be assassins hiding in it. Why can't I walk in?"
"Moreover," he pointed to the bed: "Mr. Luo is not in good health. It would be better for him to sit by the bed and talk to me. There is also an Arhat bed in the house, and it would be easier for me to lean on it." Yunxi said as he sat down.
Arriving on Arhat's bed.
Luo Guanzhong tried to persuade him a few more times to no avail, so he could only bend down slightly and bowed, then sat on the edge of the bed and introduced the notebook he had written to Yunxi.
"Your Majesty, this book has a rather grand narrative. It begins with Your Majesty sending His Royal Highness the King of Xiang to lead troops to explore eastward, to the discovery of the Hanzhou continent and the surrender of the local indigenous people. Later, he discovered mountains of gold and silver and sent the governor back with gold and silver.
."
"This book is written from the perspective of a soldier who accompanied the army to the Hanzhou continent and returned to Beijing with Governor Fang's ship. He gave all the gold and silver he received to his family and returned home in rich clothes."
"This one..."
While listening to his introduction, Yunxi opened the book and took a quick look. "This book is well written, and it can actually be revised. It is not necessary to write that Fang Mingqian is unwilling, but that Zhu Bai is unwilling and even deliberately seeks trouble."
I wanted to find fault with Fang Mingqian. But after discovering the beautiful and fertile land of Hanzhou Continent, my anger turned into joy. However, people in this era dare not arrange the members of the royal family at will, which I can understand. Tell him and let him
Just change it.'
'This book is well written. It should be like this. Let everyone know that going to Hanzhou Continent can make a fortune and return home in fine clothes. But don't mention the fact that some people died in Hanzhou Continent, so as not to make people hesitate.'
‘…’ Yunxi commented in his heart.
After that, Luo Guanzhong introduced to him the books he had written on other aspects, and Yunxi also took them one by one and looked through them briefly.
At this time, a guard came in and whispered in Yunxi's ear: "Your Majesty, Luo Guanzhong's son is back."
"Ask him to come and serve!" Yunxi ordered. He raised his head and smiled at Luo Guanzhong: "Mr. Luo, your youngest son is back."
After a while, Luo Guanzhong's youngest son, Luo Rong, came over. When he saw Yunxi, he immediately knelt down and said, "The common man Luo Rong has seen your majesty. Long live, long live, long live!"
"Get up." Yunxi told him to stand up, then turned to Luo Guanzhong and asked: "Mr. Luo, your son is not married yet?"
"Already engaged." When mentioning his son, Luo Guanzhong couldn't help but sigh: "Although my youngest son also loves to write and write like me since he was a child, the things he writes are far different. I know that he is not the material.
I just want him to study hard and take the imperial examination."
"But he doesn't like to read the Four Books and Five Classics. He has achieved nothing in the past ten years. No one is willing to marry their daughter to him. It was not until the end of last year that a family agreed and the marriage was arranged."
"Why, Mr. Luo is an official, and he can't arrange a marriage for his son?" Yunxi was confused. Even if Luo Rong is really useless and can't do anything, Mr. Luo is still an official at least, so he won't
You can't even marry a daughter-in-law from a commoner family.
"Who told the old man that he only wants those from Dongping Prefecture..." Luo Rong muttered a few words unsatisfied, and was immediately scolded by Luo Guanzhong. Yunxi hurriedly tried to persuade him, and then asked: "I heard that he only wanted those from Dongping Prefecture.
,What does it mean?"
"Your Majesty, you also know that I am from Dongpingzhou, Shandong Province. Although I have been in Suzhou and Hangzhou for several years, I still miss the water, soil and people of my hometown. I also want to have a daughter-in-law from my hometown, so I have been looking for my son to come from my hometown.
The daughter of a family from Dongping Prefecture in the capital." Luo Guanzhong explained.
'No wonder it took so many years to get engaged!' Yunxi thought in his heart: 'Dongping Prefecture is far away from the capital, and it is not an economically developed place, nor an important transportation place, nor a provincial seat. Except for officials, how many people can there be in a year?
Coming to the capital alone? But a civil servant with an imperial examination background would not be willing to marry his daughter to a family like Luo Guanzhong, so it is strange that he did not choose after so many years.'
He couldn't help but feel sympathy for Luo Rong, thought about it and said: "Mr. Luo, how is Luo Rong's handwriting?"
"Your Majesty, although my youngest son's handwriting is poor, he has practiced his calligraphy very well over the years. Luo Rong, write a few words for Your Majesty to take a look at." Luo Guanzhong said.
Luo Rong agreed, picked up the pen and paper and wrote a few words. Yunxi took it over, looked at it, nodded and said, "It's really good." He turned to Luo Guanzhong and said, "In that case, when the old gentleman gets well, let's
He works as an errand in a factory, I will give him a job as a errand boy."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty." Luo Guanzhong saluted hurriedly and said.
The so-called Jingchang is a place affiliated to the Twenty-Fourth Supervisor of the Imperial Palace, which specializes in printing the documents required in the palace. Although the Jingchang is an imperial office, except for a few leaders who are eunuchs, the other staff are also eunuchs.
A person with sound limbs.
This is not a good job, but it is an iron rice bowl, and no one will care if you steal a copy of any books printed in the palace. It is very suitable for people like Luo Rong who have no ability but like to read miscellaneous books. And if you can
If you become familiar with a certain eunuch, you may have other good fortunes in the future.
"Mr. Luo, there is no need to be polite," Yunxi said.
"Luo Rong, why don't you kneel down to thank His Majesty for your grace!" After Luo Rong finished his salute, he saw Luo Rong still standing aside and shouted angrily. If the emperor was displeased, the job he had just asked for would be very serious.
He might have slipped away. When he introduced Luo Rong just now, he said so many words, which implied that he was asking the emperor to arrange an errand for Luo Rong. It was not easy to get His Majesty to relent, so what if he lost it again?
When Luo Rong heard what Luo Guanzhong said, he woke up and knelt down and shouted: "The common people thank the emperor for his grace." There was joy in his voice, but looking at his expression, there was no joy.
However, neither Yunxi nor Luo Guanzhong could see his expression. Luo Guanzhong was very happy about this: 'Finally, I have arranged an errand for my youngest son. Even if he dies, there is no need to worry.'
But then something very tragic happened. Luo Guanzhong suddenly coughed loudly, and Luo Rong hurriedly walked over to rub his father's back, but it didn't have much effect. Luo Rong suddenly muttered to himself: "Medicine, medicine."
He started rummaging around on the table. Luo Guanzhong's coughing became louder and louder, and Luo Rong became more and more anxious. At first, he was careful not to mess up the drafts on the table, but soon he couldn't care less and pushed the paper aside.
, rummaged around vigorously. Then he found the medicine bottle, poured two pills out of it, and stuffed it into Luo Guanzhong's mouth; he also brought over a water glass and asked him to take the medicine.
Luo Guanzhong took the medicine and his cough gradually stopped. But he said with an angry face: "Who asked you to mess up dad's draft!"
"Mr. Luo, Luo Rong was also in a hurry because of the old man, so don't blame him." Yunxi advised.
After hearing Yunxi's words, Luo Guanzhong did not dare to reprimand anymore, but looked at his pile of drafts and worried: 'How long will it take to sort them all out?'
"Mr. Luo, my guards are all literate, let them help Mr. Luo sort it out." Although Luo Guanzhong didn't speak just now, Yunxi guessed what he was thinking and said. After speaking, he called out without waiting for Luo Guanzhong's response.
A third of the guards came in to collect the manuscripts.
There are a lot of scattered manuscripts, and they can't be sorted out in a while, but Yunxi doesn't plan to stay here any longer. His time is precious, and since he has already seen Luo Guanzhong and expressed his condolences, he plans to
and if he doesn't leave, Chen Xingshan can't leave either. Chen Xingshan has other families to visit, so he can't go after dark. As for these guards, they will stay at Luo's house and wait for the manuscripts to be sorted out.
Return to the palace.
So Yunxi said a few more words to Luo Guanzhong and planned to leave. But at this time, a guard slipped for some reason. Although he did not fall, some of the manuscripts he had already held were scattered on the ground.
Yunxi said, "Be careful," and bent down to pick up a few manuscripts from the ground. He was about to hand them to Luo Guanzhong when he glanced at the manuscripts and suddenly felt something was wrong. "Mr. Luo, this is
This manuscript seems not to have been shown to me just now.” (To be continued)
