As the name suggests, a hotel is a place where guests are invited. In the Ming Dynasty, every state and county government had a hotel.
But the hotel does not accept everyone. Only foreign officials or cultural celebrities can be accommodated in the hotel - note that businessmen, no matter how rich they are, are not qualified to enter in principle.
Yu Hong, courtesy name Yuantu, is a graduate of the Yinyang County School. His official position is the rotating manager and waiter of the Yuhang County Hotel (equivalent to the official concierge of the county magistrate).
This job is inherently lucrative, at least in the northern region. For example, if a guest asks for something from a local official, he or she has to give a red envelope to the onmyoji in charge of the hotel. If he doesn't give the red envelope, he will simply announce the hotel is closed in advance, or he will suppress the guest's invitation.
It was never handed over.
But this is Jiangnan, Yuhang County, Hangzhou Prefecture, where there are countless unruly people. The disobedient county magistrate has to pack up and leave, let alone the small receptionist of the county government hotel.
Yu Hong has worked in the hotel for several years and has never received a red envelope. As an official, he is considered to be incorruptible!
Alas, for the same scholars, graduates of Confucianism have a bright future, while graduates of Yin-Yang Studies are just miserable.
Clean, set up tables and chairs, and prohibit casual entry and exit.
Yu Hong stayed up from evening to noon, and finally waited for his colleagues to change shifts. He immediately left the hotel happily.
After going home for a meal, Yu Hong put on his Yin Yang robe and immediately transformed from a hotel waiter to a fortune teller. Waiters are servants of the government, but fortune tellers are their own job. This is also the livelihood of most Yin Yang masters.
Yu Hong was born in a Yin-Yang household, the third eldest in his family. He had two choices since he was a child - to attend the county Yin-Yang School for free, or to study the Four Books and Five Classics at his own expense.
The eldest son of a Yin-Yang family was not allowed to take the imperial examination, just like the eldest son of a military family could only serve as a soldier.
As the third son, Yu Hong studied Confucianism for several years. Unfortunately, his family had financial difficulties, so he could only study Yin-Yang. If he had done well in his studies, he might have had the opportunity to be sent to study in a state school, a government school, or even enter the Imperial Academy to do royal astronomy.
official.
But those are rare, and most Yin-Yang students are randomly assigned jobs after graduation.
Yin and Yang studies at the prefectural level are treated the same as those in medical schools and monk gang divisions. The chief officials are all from the ninth rank. At the state and county levels, they are not popular at all and belong to the category of miscellaneous officials. If you can spend some money to support connections, you can get there.
Work in Qiaolou.
Qiao towers are often the tallest buildings in major cities, and Yin Yang School is also located in Qiao towers.
The Qiao Tower is equipped with various astronomical and timing equipment. Bell and Drum Towers or watchmen tell the time to the people, and they must obtain the exact time from the Onmyoji in the Qiao Tower. They are also responsible for observing astronomy, recording earthquakes, etc. Local sacrificial activities also require the full efforts of the Onmyoji.
Cooperate.
Where is the most lucrative Onmyoji position?
Cash pass!
For example, Nanguan and Beiguan in Hangzhou have several onmyojis who take turns calculating opening and closing times every day, and even directly serve as customs clearance registration personnel.
A fortune-telling stall was set up on the roadside, and Yu Hong sat there and read a book, "Mathematics" written by Governor Wang.
The two books "Physics" and "Mathematics" have been promoted in the Yin and Yang system by the emperor's order, and Yin and Yang schools in all prefectures, states, and counties across the country use them as official textbooks.
But Yu Hong graduated early. In order to keep up with the times, he could only improve his skills through self-study.
After doing two math problems in a row, a customer finally came to my door.
A middle-aged man in a cotton robe sat in front of a fortune-telling stall and said, "Mr. Yu, could you please help me tell my fortune?"
Yu Hong immediately put down his "Mathematics" textbook, stroking his beard to look like a master, and asked: "What does Mr. Li want to ask?"
"Ask about fortune," Li Yuanwai said, "Mr. Yu, as you know, I do some small business all year round. This year, my fortune has been very bad. Governor Wang opened a sea in Hangzhou, and many merchants made a lot of money, but I can still lose money.
.Do you think this is strange?”
Yu Hong said: "The horoscope of birth date."
Li Yuanwai quickly presented his birth date and birth date.
Yu Hong calculated according to the horoscope, quickly wrote half a page, frowned and said: "...Jiamu was born in the Xu month, so there is no moon order. The autumn soil is heavy, the fortune star is in order, the official kill is sometimes prosperous, and the sun master has no roots.
Qi, it is necessary to stand shoulder to shoulder to help the body suppress wealth and ward off the murderer...the body is weak but the wealth is heavy, the sun master cannot bear the wealth...eh?"
"What's wrong?" Li Yuanwai asked quickly.
Yu Hong seemed to have encountered some kind of problem: "You happen to be blessed with the Geng Jin partial official fortune this year, and you can survive with the divine partial seal. You should be able to make a lot of money through official orders!"
Member Li said anxiously: "But I really lost money. I picked up a cargo in the south, and it actually sank halfway to Hangzhou!"
"Let me take a look at your face again," Yu Hong stared at Mr. Li carefully, and suddenly saw a scar on his nose, " Mr. Li, what's wrong with your nose?"
Li Yuanwai said: "I was losing money in business and I was depressed. I drank too much and fell. The wound has healed long ago, but it left a scar."
Yu Hong shook his head repeatedly: "The nose is the Lu Palace. If there is a scar on the nose, I am afraid that I will lose money in the next few years."
"This...how to remedy this?" Li Yuanwai asked hurriedly.
Yu Hong said: "The scar on the nose and the loss of money are just symptoms. There must be another reason. Except Huang, have you ever drowned a baby girl?"
Li Yuanwai was puzzled: "Why is the drowned daughter involved again?"
Yu Hong suddenly took out a book called "The Book of the Heavenly Concubine's Reincarnation to Deal with Disasters" and said: "Liu Yuanwai is also literate. Take a look for yourself."
Mr. Li flipped through the scripture carefully and quickly read the two thousand words of the scripture. He suddenly became even more confused: "What does the reincarnation of the concubine have to do with me, Mr. Li?"
Yu Hong explained: "Tianfei possesses supreme power and can be reincarnated into hundreds of millions of gods. And several provinces in the south of the Yangtze River are the places that believe most in Tianfei, so Tianfei has the most reincarnations in Jiangnan. Except for Li Yuan,
According to my destiny, I was supposed to make a fortune this year, but why did I appear to be losing money again? I’m afraid that the baby girl who drowned that year was probably the reincarnation of the Concubine!"
"Snapped!"
Mr. Li was so shocked that he wanted to stand up, but because he was too fat, he overturned the bench. He collapsed on the ground and said in a daze: "Oh my god... the reincarnation of the imperial concubine? Did I drown the reincarnation of the imperial concubine? This... this this...
I’m afraid there is some misunderstanding!”
Yu Hong sighed: "Oh, the family where the Concubine Tian was born will definitely be rich and noble for ten generations. It's a pity that Li Yuanwai actually drowned the reincarnation of the Concubine. Your luck will decline year by year because of this. This year makes a good start.
I'm afraid it will be even more difficult next year, and within twenty years our families will be ruined."
Officer Li got up in panic, hugged Yu Hong's legs and said, "Mr. Yu, help me!"
Yu Hong pointed to the "Sutra of the Heavenly Concubine's Reincarnation to Prevent Disasters" and said, "Please take this sutra home and recite it day and night to worship it."
"Okay, okay," Li Yuanwai asked, "How much does it cost to return the scriptures?"
This kind of thing naturally depends on the dish.
Yu Hong said: "Mr. Li has a rich family background, so giving too little money does not show sincerity. Just give it yourself."
Li Yuanwai said: "I'll give you five...no, ten taels...no, fifty taels of silver. Doesn't this show your sincerity?"
"Full of sincerity," Yu Hong felt happy. This business could last him for several years. He immediately stroked his beard and said seriously, "After you return the Tianfei Sutra, you must not only recite and worship it day and night, but also accumulate virtue and do good deeds. Remember
Never do that thing of drowning a baby again."
"Promise not to drown babies again," Li Yuanwai asked, "Does this make it possible to transfer the baby?"
Yu Hong said: "It's just that Concubine Tian no longer blames you. Your future fortune depends entirely on yourself. Moreover, within three generations of the Li family, it is impossible for Concubine Tian to bless her. As long as you continue to be virtuous and do good deeds, and never spoil babies, Concubine Tian will do it after three generations."
Then I will fully forgive your sins."
"It's fine if you don't blame me, it's fine if you don't blame me," Li Yuanwai said, "I don't have that much cash with me. Can I write an IOU and ask for the Tian Fei Jing to go home and give it to me?"
Yu Hong smiled and said, "Okay."
Li Yuanwai wrote an IOU and carefully took the Tianfei Sutra home.
Yu Hong looked at the IOU for a long time, flicked it with his fingers twice, and said to himself: "Governor Wang is really my reborn parent. I have tried and failed to scare stupid men and women with the imperial concubine."
"The Sutra of the Reincarnation of the Heavenly Concubine to Prevent Disasters and Calamities" was not only distributed to the Taoist system of the province, but also distributed free of charge to all the onmyojis working in the province, so that the Taoist priests and onmyojis could quickly spread this theory.
After Yu Hong sat at the fortune-telling booth, he continued to take out the "Mathematics" textbook to practice questions.
Suddenly, there was a noise from the front, and Governor Wang was seen arriving quickly with a group of soldiers.