Daming Yinghua

Chapter 35

Ma Xianglin and Zheng Haizhu have only been in Wudi for less than a year, and they have a lot of fresh sympathy for the Susong Second Mansion, which is well-shaped in the south of the Yangtze River.

And their hometowns, Shu and Zhangzhou, are also prosperous places, and their respective customs and customs are very interesting.

In this way, the two talked happily.

Until the cloth on the bullock cart was taken away by the sergeants one after another, Ma Xianglin glanced at the word "Han" on the wheel, and suddenly remembered something, his smile faded, and he said to Zheng Haizhu seriously: "Miss Zheng, after you leave that day, I interrogated several surviving bandits, and they all said that I don’t know who paid Qiu Wanliang to attack Miss Han’s family. They are all little Luoluo, and they rob the most silk ships on weekdays. I really don’t know. It’s a pity that Qiu Wanliang Wan Liang and Xu Ah Liu are all dead."

Zheng Haizhu nodded and said: "When Xu Ah Liu robbed the ship, he could call out the lady's boudoir's name by opening his mouth. It is so strange that there must be a ghost. Although the lady and I have returned home now, we can't just sit back and relax. We must try to find out the clues. , otherwise there will be a next time."

Ma Xianglin's tone is earnest: "Fortunately, Brother Huang is an official in Songjiang. He has personally experienced how the Shen family cheated in the scientific examinations, and he also saw Xiao Xiao's people frame Dong's house with his own eyes. He should understand that your worries are not groundless. Gui The family business of the mansion is not under Dong's mansion, and Mr. Han is not an ordinary scribe, and the cotton cloth business is so big... Miss Zheng, if you have the opportunity, you might as well ask Mr. Huang more, or you may find some clues."

"What General Ma said is that Mr. Huang is upright, and we believe him."

"Well, I hope that my Daming will have more good officials like this."

"I heard that Mr. Huang's family members are still in Yuyao. I don't know when they will come over."

"Oh, I did ask at the banquet yesterday, and the family members should have already left. His eldest son is called Huang Zongxi, and he is five or six years old. Three months ago, his second son was also born, and he just happened to come to Songjiang to make a hundred-day wine."

"That's great. I'll report to Miss when I go back today to see what gifts I have prepared. By the way, may I ask, has General Ma married yet?"

"Uh, um, I haven't said dear..."

Deep in the shade, cicadas are singing.In the clear and shallow pond, water lilies bloom.

Ma Xianglin hoped that the conversation in Ninghe Jingjing could last longer.

Whether it is calm or eager, even if there is a slight embarrassment at times, it is better than those negotiations full of temptations and threats.

However, the sun always sets.

Songjiang cotton cloth always has to be distributed.

The horse of the old lady of the Gu family was always drawn.

At the gate of Wenzhe Academy, Ma Xianglin sighed with a sense of regret after watching Gu's carriage and Han's ox cart go away.

Just as he was about to turn around and go in, a little doll holding a lotus pod in his hand and peeling the lotus seeds jumped over, raised his face and said to Ma Xianglin, "General, the chickadee flew down from the willow branch."

Ma Xianglin's heart trembled, and he asked, "What did you say?"

Wawa pointed to the big willow tree by the river pond not far away: "Over there, the general will go and have a look."

After finishing speaking, he still lowered his head and concentrated on peeling the lotus seeds, eating bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang

Ma Xianglin patted the boy's head, knelt down and peeled a few lotus seeds for him, then straightened up, and walked towards the river bank like a leisurely stroll.

In the setting sun, an old man wearing a bamboo straw hat is fishing.

Ma Xianglin stopped by his side, looking at the thin fishing line, as if lost in thought.

A soft and peaceful voice came from under the straw hat: "Why isn't General Ma wearing a flying fish suit today? How majestic that suit is."

Ma Xianglin said indifferently: "Ma will cherish the objects bestowed by the emperor. In order to save people, he has to take them out and show them."

The fisherman smiled softly: "General Ma is really addicted to saving people. He also saves low-level civil servants and weak girls. When he meets an old man like Dong Qichang who is involved with Guoben, it doesn't matter whether he is a good person or not. He didn't even ask a few more questions, just put on the flying fish suit and went to rescue him."

Ma Xianglin's face darkened when he heard the word "national capital".

On the river, the last psychedelic scene before the end of the day reminded him of the turbulence and turbulence of the capital.

It also made him suddenly wake up.

After his father's accident, he, who was already young and mature, paid more attention to the intrigue stories inside and outside the courts of the past dynasties, which were like mud at the bottom of the river.

That day in front of Dong's house, he felt strange.Those gentlemen from officials to magistrates and fellow magistrates are not human beings. How could they let a clerk who didn't even have an official status incite a group of local ruffians to besiege the prince who had lectured to the current prince and was once an official? Not a little Dong Qichang?

Then Ma Xianglin tilted his head slightly, and asked: "Mr. Cui, is it possible that this unreasonable disaster in the Dong Mansion is something that the imperial concubine is happy to see happen?"

The fisherman in front of him is none other than Cui Wenxin, Concubine Zheng's confidant and servant.

Emperor Wanli had only favored Concubine Zheng for decades, and wanted to make Zhu Changxun, the third prince born with Concubine Zheng, the crown prince several times. Zhu Changluo, the eldest son born to the emperor and the court lady, was supported as the crown prince.

Successive dynasties made the crown prince the "national foundation", so the quarrel that lasted for more than ten years in Wanli was called "struggling for the national foundation". The word "national foundation" mentioned by Cui Wenxin just now also refers to this matter.

Cui Wenshen adjusted his fishing rod and stopped being a stalker: "General Ma, Dong Qichang is a smooth man and a deep official. He is neither the Donglin School nor the Zhejiang Chu School. A lot of them sold his face. Don't look at him returning to his hometown for ten years. After all, he used to be a member of the Eastern Palace, and like his fellow villager Xu Guangqi, he is very prestigious in the fertile land in the south of the Yangtze River. The old guys of the Prince's faction value him very much. "

Cui Wenxin paused at this point, and his tone became more and more cold: "But General Ma, this time, Huang Zunsu, a rising star of the Donglin School, could have died in the bandit's den, but you saved him. You could have saved him. Teach the East Palace a lesson, and you somehow gave Dong Qichang a head. You really hurt the hearts of the noble concubine and King Fu."

Hearing this, Ma Xianglin was silent for a moment, and then spoke again, with a frosty air in his voice.

"Then I will trouble your concubine next time to ask Eunuch Hu Fang to inform Ma Mou first, so that Ma Mou can know which occasions belong to her and King Fu. However, even if you make it clear by ear, Ma Mou may not let go of his business." .”

"General Ma! To be a man, you must repay your kindness!"

The anger in Cui Wenxin's tone was obvious, and with a shake of the fishing rod in his hand, a small fish came up.

Ma Xianglin leaned over, took the fish off the hook, threw it in front of Cui Wenxin, and said mockingly: "Songjiang's four-gilled perch is famous all over the world, Mr. Cui, don't miss it. Mr. Ma went back to rest first."

……

"Miss Zheng, the four-gill perch after the beginning of autumn is about to go to the mouth of the Yangtze River. It is the most plump. Zhuxiang, quickly grab a piece of meat from the back of the fish for Miss Zheng."

In the private room of Zuibai Building in the north of the city, Mrs. Miao sat at the head and ordered her maid, Zhu Xiang, to prepare vegetables for Zheng Haizhu.

At dusk, the oxcart convoy of the Han Mansion left the Wenzhe Academy and walked slowly for half a mile, when they saw the sedan chairs of the Gu Mansion waiting in front of them.Zhuxiang came to invite her in person, saying that Mrs. Miao is from Fujian, and knowing that Zheng Haizhu's hometown is in Zhangzhou, and seeing that her speech and demeanor are very neat and refreshing today, she wanted to invite her to dinner and talk about the hometown of Fujian.

From the beginning, Lao Peng, a housekeeper, naturally couldn't say anything. Although Han Xiying was the head of the house, his seniority was low, so Zheng Haizhu followed Zhuxiang by the sedan chair angrily.

At this moment, Zheng Haizhu took a closer look at Zhuxiang. Although she was about the same age as herself, she was elegant and sophisticated in her gestures. It was obvious that she was not an ordinary maid of the Gu family, just like the mandarin ducks of the old lady Jia in "Dream of Red Mansions".

With my own identity, I am also a servant of the Han family, so how can I sit there and be served by the "Mandarin Ducks" of the Gu family.

Zheng Haizhu hurriedly got up, tugged at Zhuxiang's sleeves, and begged Mrs. Miao that she couldn't afford it.

Mrs. Miao didn't insist either, and said with a smile: "It's a good thing that you value the rules, kid. How about this, Zhu Xiang goes outside and waits outside, just the two of us eat fish and talk, and you'll be more comfortable."

Zhuxiang bowed and exited the private room, only a shadow was faintly imprinted on the door lattice, motionless.

Zheng Haizhu moved her body, took the lotus petal bowl in front of the old lady with both hands, gently picked out two pieces of gill meat of the perch with chopsticks, put them in the bowl, picked up a spoon, and poured half a spoonful of soup on the meat .

In the soup, the freshness of ham, the warmth of ginger slices, the fragrance of scallions, and the gills of sea bass are mixed together, and the taste will complement each other.

Ordinary perch has only two gills, but Songjiang perch looks like a snakehead, and there are two flame patterns on the main gill, so it is called four-gill perch.This kind of perch has a wide, flat and huge head, and the gills are very delicious and tender, and it melts in the mouth. It is perfect for the elderly with poor teeth.

Mrs. Miao looked at Zheng Haizhu peacefully. The habit and propriety in her behavior and the message she conveyed were exactly the same as what she had inquired about. She was a child of a respectable family.

Mrs. Miao took a mouthful of fish, tasted it elegantly, and after swallowing it, she smiled at Zheng Haizhu: "The best two halves of the fish have already been eaten by my wife, and you don't have to stand upright." It’s ready, sit down and eat while it’s hot.”

But it was disrespectful and outrageous, so Zheng Haizhu followed his advice and took a piece of fish back.

Mrs. Miao took a sip of rice wine and said slowly: "Miss Azhu, I am a person from the palace. If I care about the rules, I am afraid that no one, regardless of the Gu family or the Han family, is more disciplined than me. But the original intention of establishing rules , is nothing more than teaching people to live comfortably within their limits. Some children, who are clearly well versed in human affairs, turn a blind eye to such simple rules as melon fields and plums, regardless of whether they are intentional or not. Dong treats you to a bite of seasonal fresh fish, I am happy and you are happy, and it does not disturb others, so it is not considered a violation of the rules and a loss of propriety. You really don't have to be too restrained."

Zheng Haizhu was suddenly invited by Mrs. Miao to speak today, and he was already very surprised.

At this moment, listening to Miao's words clearly pointing out Han Xiying's misbehavior, it was actually meant to be shallow and deep, and she was even more surprised why the old lady said these things to herself.

Zheng Haizhu lowered his eyes for a moment, guessed a little bit of the reason, and decided to boldly explore a few steps.

Then he said sincerely to Mrs. Miao: "What Madam gave to Azhu today is not only the teachings of spring wind and rain, but also the delicacies that make people's teeth and cheeks fragrant. What's more, Azhu was lucky enough to walk beside Madam's sedan chair just now. Sister Zhuxiang smiled and caressed her, and the city was busy as she passed by, and all the people in the city watched her. This is what truly benefited Ah Zhu."

Mrs. Miao said with a smile: "You are a smart child. That's right, I just made it for outsiders to see. After all, Ximeng and you are women who have been to the bandit village once. Even if General Ma and Master Huang speak for you, With Ah Qian defending Ximeng, there should still be an elder in the Gu family to stand up and express his attitude. The marriage between Ah Qian and Ximeng is still a certainty. It's a joke."

Zheng Haizhu understood it completely this time, her chest filled with joy for a moment, she hurriedly got up again, knelt down without hesitation, and said gratefully: "Ah Zhu is brave enough to show compassion for my young lady, Mrs. Xie."

Mrs. Miao helped her up, motioned her to sit back, and continued to listen to herself.

"Miss Azhu, I am originally from Ningde, Fuzhou Prefecture. When I was young, I went to Shangqing Temple with my parents to offer incense. By chance, I saw a very beautifully embroidered cassock. It is said that it was given to the previous abbot by the palace. I have since Fascinated by embroidery skills, I begged my parents to send me to Suzhou to learn embroidery, and was sent to the capital by the Weaving Bureau. After entering the palace, I realized that this kind of human heart is not as pure and clean as embroidery. Fortunately, the queen loves me , pointed me to Shang Baocheng as a concubine, so that I could walk out of the Forbidden City and return to the southeast when I was young. Of course I am grateful to the queen, and I am also very grateful to the Gu family. I hope from the bottom of my heart that the Gu family will become more and more prosperous. Xingwang. Miss Azhu, I can’t be wrong when I look at people. Ximeng and you are both good children, and you have groomed yourself and will not remarry. The heart is determined, and it is all on Ximeng. For a family, the glamor in front of the door is innumerable, and the peace in the back house is a blessing. The Gu family should welcome women like you."

In the shadow of the glazed lamp, Miao's face seemed to be inlaid with a soft halo, which was very amiable.

The old man was like this, talking about himself for a while, taking a few sips of wine, and eating two mouthfuls of food. He was easy-going and kind, and Zheng Haizhu had the illusion several times, as if he was facing her grandmother in the present life in her previous life. .

After the hour of You, Mrs. Miao called Zhu Xiang to settle the bill, and sent her and a servant to send Zheng Haizhu back to the Han Mansion.

As soon as he reached the gate of the mansion, Zheng Shoukuan, who was squatting under the lantern, greeted him with a cry of joy.

"Auntie, the eldest lady is waiting for you in the front hall, saying that if you don't come back, she won't be able to sleep."

Zheng Haizhu said goodbye to the servants of the Gu family politely, and walked into the house with her nephew.

In the night sky in early autumn, the stars are shining. In the garden, the sweet-scented osmanthus trees have hung stamens, and the air is soaked with sweet fragrance.

Zheng Haizhu looked up at the crescent moon, and a frame of pictures appeared in front of him: the splendid costumes of Yan Siqi’s house on Daishan Island, the sails of the bird boat, and the backs of Liaodong soldiers. Ma Xianglin said, “If one day our Sichuan army wants to march northward.” The look in the eyes at the time, Huang Zunsu's face when he said "I only care about what is right and wrong", the appearance of Gu Shouqian standing side by side with Han Ximeng, and finally the smile of old lady Miao looking at her.

She said to herself in her heart, this era, in fact, is not so bad.

(End of this chapter)