Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 32 Chips
Changshoufang is located in the south of Xishi, under the jurisdiction of Chang'an County.

Xue Bai entered the workshop from the east gate, crossed the long cross street in the west, and looked south, and he could see the Chang'an County Government Office.

But he turned north with Uncle Xue Geng, turned into Xiangqu, and entered a residential area in Beili.

Xue Guang's house is the first house at the entrance of the alley. It looks like a big house from a distance, but when you get closer, you can see that the original big house has been divided into several houses, and the rest is less than half the size of Du You's neighbor's house. Three into the hospital.

The arches at the eaves of the roof, the decorations on the eaves, and the stone-carved screen walls all indicate that this place was once a well-off official family.

After entering the door, the decoration style is somewhat similar to Liu Ji's house, and the emphasis is on "removing the complicated and simplifying it".

There are weeds growing in the courtyard, and the traces should have been decorations, such as a large water tank; the lobby is empty, and there should have been a screen in the middle of the layout; the multi-treasure shelf is still placed in the corner, with scattered Books, but no classics that can be bound into volumes... probably all sold.

"Liulang wait a moment."

Xue Gengbo led Xue Bai into the hall and hurried to the backyard.

Seeing that he was walking unsteadily, Du Wulang quickly shouted: "Slow down, slow down."

The door of the ceremony "squeaked" opened, and a forty-year-old woman with a haggard appearance rushed out with several children, big and small, and asked eagerly, "Liulang? Is it Liulang?"

Xue Bai had already heard from Uncle Xue Geng on the way here, and knew that this was the family mistress Liu's family.

Said to be his biological mother.

Her complexion is sallow, her expression is haggard, and she can still vaguely see some of the elegance and beauty of her youth in her demeanor. Wearing an old narrow-sleeved jacket and long skirt, she looks rather downcast.

Looking at each other, Xue Bai crossed his hands politely, with a decent smile on his face, and said: "I am a lost person, I have no memory, it is not clear whether it is the Liulang of the Xue family."

"Not Rokuro?"

Liu Xiangjun was staring at Xue Bai deeply, with eager anticipation in his eyes, which quickly dimmed after hearing the words.

She didn't know what to say for a while, she turned to the children behind her and said, "Go and lie down, don't be hungry easily."

The children were not curious either, they responded feebly, and shuffled back to the backyard.

"How could it not be?" Xue Gengbo was stunned, stepped forward and said with an apologetic smile, "It's Liu Lang."

There is only this sentence over and over again, and there is no more evidence.

Xue Bai looked at Liu Xiangjun and asked, "Is your child lost?"

It's not like looking for relatives, but more like a government visit.

Because of this, Liu Xiangjun's excitement subsided a lot, and he was a little disappointed. He replied: "It's almost ten years. In the summer of the 24th year of Kaiyuan, my uncle was promoted to be the master of ceremonies. Mr. Lang took his concubine to Chang'an. After resting for two days before setting off, I never thought that the horses and chariots would get stuck in the mud, and everyone was just pushing the carts, but they didn't notice that Liu Lang was lost... I thought I was swept away by the Weihe River."

"The water of the Wei River has been swept away?" Xue Bai asked, "Didn't it be stolen by human traffickers?"

"It was stolen by human traffickers." Xue Gengbo hurriedly said: "There were many vendors on the official road that day, and they were all business travelers whose journey was blocked by the heavy rain. Some people must have seen Liu Lang's powder carving jade carvings and became malicious. At that time, the eldest lady did not believe in people's hearts. It is so sinister that I mistakenly thought that the Weihe River would sweep it away."

"That's right." Liu Xiangjun wiped away his tears and nodded repeatedly.

Xue Bai asked again, "Is Liu Lang also named Xue Bai?"

Liu Xiangjun shook his head, and replied: "Back then, there was only the baby name 'Sickness'."

Bingji means recovering from illness, and is often used as a nickname for frail children.It's just that she was so sincere, which surprised Xue Bai slightly.

Xue Gengbo said: "Ma'am, Liulang has a name now, and the single name is 'Bai', so elegant."

"Feng Ya?" Jiao Nu snorted coldly.

Du Wulang hurriedly stepped forward to resolve the embarrassment, and asked, "Then where has Xue Bai been during the past ten years?"

"This……"

Tian Shenyu moved her ears and turned to look at the courtyard gate.

After a while, there was the sound of horseshoes, and a middle-aged man led a thin horse into the yard, presumably Xue Ling.

Xue Ling is about fifty years old, tall and tall, but well-dressed, with dull eyes and puffy bags under the eyes, giving people a sense of emptiness and bewilderment after drinking too much.

"Aron."

Xue Ling raised his hand and shook, stopped Xue Gengbo and Liu Xiangjun who were about to speak, and pointed to his skinny horse.

Xue Gengbo hurried to lead the horse, and was pleasantly surprised to find that there were mustard pans and a bag of corn in the saddlebag.

"Ma'am, Ah Lang has brought food back!"

Liu Xiangjun showed joy on his face, and said, "Your Majesty has finally recovered the debt?"

Xue Ling smiled slightly, looking a little smug, but didn't answer, and walked towards Xue Bai with vain steps, putting his hands on Xue Bai's shoulders.

A smell of alcohol came to his nostrils.

"My Liulang is back." Xue Ling said, "It's good to be back."

Xue Bai was about to speak.

"Hush." ​​Xue Ling shook his head with a smile, let go, patted the wine pouch on his waist, and said, "Liu Lang, listen to my father, let's talk in the hall."

~~
Several wine bowls were placed on the table.

Xue Ling cheerfully poured two bowls of wine, but Xue Bai, Du Wulang, and Jiao Nu waved their hands away, which was disappointing.

Fortunately, Tian Shenyu was willing to drink a few bowls with him, so Xue Ling became interested.

"What a strong man!"

After clinking a cup with Tian Shenyu, Xue Ling said loudly, "You are a hero from Hebei. I grew up in Fanyang. You and I are half of our hometown."

In a word, Tian Shenyu immediately felt that Mr. Xue Xiaolang was a good grandfather, and quickly responded, "Thank you Mr. Lang for giving me the wine."

Jiaonu folded her arms and snorted coldly.

Xue Ling sized up the beautiful maidservant, her eyes fell on the jade pendant around her waist, she smiled unconsciously, and then she began to speak eloquently.

"I was born in the southern ancestral house of the Xue family in Hedong, and I am the descendant of King Hedong of the Northern Wei Dynasty."

"My grandfather kept a taboo on etiquette, with the word Rengui, and he was famous in the world with his name. He once defeated Khitan in the north and conquered Goryeo in the east. Feng Pingyang Duke."

"My uncle is shy, and his words are cautious. The folks call him 'Xue Dingshan'. He defeated the [-] Tubo army and resisted the Turks. His military exploits are illustrious. He was promoted to General Zuo Yulin and attacked the Duke of Pingyang."

"My fifth uncle, Xue Chuyu, served as an envoy from Zeng Guan to Fan Yang."

"My cousin, Xue Hui, is General Zuo Jinwuwei..."

After the wine was finished, Xue Ling hadn't finished introducing his cousins ​​who worked everywhere in the world.

Xue Bai listened silently, and took out charcoal chalk and paper to record.

It seemed that this was what he wanted to do when he came to Xue Ling's house.

If you don't ask about relatives, but only look at family background, the Xue family is indeed the descendant of the general family, with a profound heritage.

Now the most prominent one is the Changfang. Except for the Zuojinwuwei General Xue Hui, the brothers are all high-ranking officials in Chang'an; most of the fourth and fifth brothers are in the army in Fanyang; the second and third are more civil servants.

Xue Ling was born in the second house and was a concubine. His father Xue Shenhuo was not a high-ranking official and had no family background, so he has not yet had an official status.

Of course, with his life experience, he should not have no connections, and he must be incompetent to be able to come down to this point.Fortunately, the family background is good, if the children and grandchildren are up-to-date, there is still a chance to stand out.

"Anyway, don't worry, Liulang, the Xue family has been a family for several generations, and they will never humiliate you!"

At the end, Xue Ling hiccupped and laughed heartily.

The hall fell silent.

Everyone looked at it, but it was Xue Ling who leaned against the railing of the bed, breathed with his mouth open, and fell asleep sitting there.

"Is he drunk?"

Although Du Wulang was from Jingzhao Du's family, he could still listen to Xue Ling's boasting with relish, so he couldn't help feeling a little regretful at this time.

"I haven't said anything important yet."

Xue Gengbo entered the hall with a bent waist, he was a little embarrassed and said: "There are a lot of people in the house, Liu Lang and his brothers squeeze into one room, okay?"

After hearing this, Du Wulang realized that the parting with Xue Bai might be in front of him, and he was extremely reluctant at once.

Xue Bai looked at him and asked, "I haven't decided on my background yet, can I go back to live in Du's house?"

"Ah?" Du Wulang was stunned for a moment, then he felt pleasantly surprised, nodded vigorously, and said, "Of course, you can live as long as you want!"

Xue Bai then smiled at Xue Gengbo and said, "Today I will take my leave first."

"Karou, you are..."

"Don't worry, the future will be long. If I am really the son of the Xue family, I won't be able to escape."

Xue Gengbo rubbed the corner of his clothes with his hands uneasily, looking at the intoxicated Xue Ling, he didn't know what to do for a while.

Xue Bai got up and walked outside the house.

In the courtyard, Liu Xiangjun rubbed his hands and watched this scene, not sure if this was his son, so he was really entangled.

~~
Jiao Nu followed out of the dilapidated small house, her face looking a little better.

"Just to remind you, even if you want to recognize your relatives, you have to ask the right minister first."

"I know." Xue Bai asked back, "Do you have money?"

Jiaonu snorted coldly, took out a purse and threw it to him.

Xue Bai picked it up, but bought a lot of pastries from a roadside stall, asked the vendor to hold them, and returned to Xue's house to hand them to Xue Gengbo.

"Rokuro is this?"

"There are many children in the family, so you should bring some greeting gifts when you come to the door."

"Look at what Rokuro said."

Xue Bai didn't bother arguing with him about whether it was Liu Lang's matter, so he got on his horse and left Changshoufang.

The horseshoe stepped on the long street, and when I returned to Shengpingfang, I heard the sound of the evening drum again, and the day passed like this.

These days, there are few things that can be done every day, but people can slowly experience the passage of time.

~~
In the afterglow of the setting sun, Qing Lan was hiding behind the rockery next to the east hall and wiping tears.

Suddenly someone behind him asked, "What are you doing here?"

"what?"

Qing Lan turned her head and saw Xue Bai standing there, with a gentle and elegant demeanor, like a pine forest in the breeze, she couldn't help but be stunned.

"You, why did you come back?"

"Huh? Otherwise, where are you going?" Xue Bai said, "Even if you recognize relatives, you won't move there on the same day."

Qing Lan smiled and asked, "Then have you found a home?"

Xue Bai shook his head and said, "I still need to think about it."

"consider?"

Qinglan was quite puzzled by this word, and was about to ask more questions, but saw that Jiaonu was already walking this way.

"Do me a favor." Xue Bai whispered: "I need to get rid of her for a while, give her something to eat for dinner."

"Yeah." Qing Lan nodded, "By the way, someone gave you a gift, a small box of pastries..."

~~
At night, Xue Bai was sitting in front of the candle lamp, flipping through the book, turned his head to look at Jiao Nu, and seeing her serious expression, he gave her a puzzled look.

"Humph."

Jiaonu still supports himself.

There was a knock on the door.

Xue Bai flipped through a page of the book, and said calmly, "Open the door."

Jiaonu got up with some difficulty and opened the door.

Xue Bai looked sideways, and noticed that her feet under the robe were already a little slippery when walking.

It was the Du sisters who were outside the door, each holding a few books in their hands, while Qing Lan and Qu Shui followed them with lanterns.

"Send some books to Xue Bai." Du Jin smiled lightly.

After entering the room, she put the book in Xue Bai's desk.

Xue Bai picked it up and saw a copy of "Qie Yun" first, and couldn't help saying: "I need this book, Er Niang is in time."

Du Jin took a look at Du Jin and said, "My eldest sister heard from you that you were worried about writing poems and prose in the exam room, so she went to look for them specially. You need to know that the examination room of the Tang Dynasty has very strict requirements for rhythm."

"Where did you find it on purpose?" Du Yu said in a low voice, "I happened to see it and bought it."

Xue Bai only turned to the first page and asked, "How do you pronounce this word?"

"However, the pearls are still bright, and the rainbow jade is still flawed." Du Jin glanced at it, and said in a low voice, "Bai, read 'tears', which refers to the pimples on the silk. The so-called 'jade is flawed,' There is a silver in the silk'."

Jiaonu snorted coldly, gritted his teeth, squeezed out a sentence, and said, "Heh, if you want to talk about the Xue family, why put on an air?"

"Okay, don't pretend." Du Jin raised her head, showing her slender and fair neck, and asked Xue Bai, "Are you Xue Ling's son?"

Xue Bai was not in a hurry, talking about today's affairs in detail.

Finally, Jiao Nu couldn't bear it anymore, turned around and walked out.

"I'll carry the lantern for you." Qing Lan hurriedly followed.

"Ah."

"My lady, Mr. Xue Lang, when you talk, the slaves will watch." Qu Shui said and ran away in a hurry.

Du Wei was a little worried, and asked, "Will she sue the Prime Minister?"

"Tell her that she is greedy, how many pieces of Touhua Ci are she eating?"

Touhua Ci is made of red beans and glutinous rice. It was sent to Xue Bai by Mrs. Guo Guo today. It is said that when making it, the bean skin in the bean paste must be filtered out to make bean paste, and the glutinous rice cake will be crushed until it is half transparent. It can vaguely reflect the flower shape of bean paste.

Qing Lan noticed that Jiao Nu liked this kind of delicate sweets early on, so she gave her some more.

Xue Bai was not in a hurry, and continued the topic just now: "It can be seen that Xue Ling took the money and recognized me as his son. This person is quite unreliable. Maybe he spent all the money and didn't tell Liu the truth. They can’t even match their words.”

"I just said that I didn't get any clues for many days. Why did the grandfather find a relative for you all of a sudden." Du Yan was a little anxious, and quickly explained, saying: "Second sister and I didn't know about this beforehand. You go away." We only heard later that the second sister had an argument with Grandpa."

"Elder sister." Du Jin interrupted Du Jin, and asked Xue Bai calmly, "Are you sure it's fake?"

"Fake." Xue Bai said.

There was one thing he didn't tell the Du sisters.

In fact, the name "Xue Bai" was used by him in his previous life. In this life, he still doesn't know who his surname is, which is the Hedong Xue family.

Unless it is the person with the same name and surname who made a mistake when the king of hell made a mistake in the book of life and death.

"Donggong found my background for me according to my surname." Xue Bai said with a smile: "It should be to let me stop troublesome Longyou soldiers."

"The reaction was quick." Du Jin had already guessed, and when she heard the words, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, a little sarcasm, and a little bit of revenge, and said: "If you are an ant, it will be the most troublesome for him to step on it. But if you If you are a beast, he can only throw a piece of meat to lure you away."

"That's it."

In the field of power struggle, only interests are concerned. When Xue Bai was still a small person, it would be the easiest to arrange for a few people to bury him alive, but now, he has made Donggong realize that getting rid of him is troublesome, and it is more beneficial to win him over.

Li Heng is a mature politician, he doesn't care about feelings, he won't be swayed by grievances, and he can rationally make the most beneficial choice every time.

Oh, this matter may not have come from him personally, it may have been done by a courtier close to the Eastern Palace, and arranging a father and son to recognize each other will relieve the immediate trouble.

unimportant.As a political force, Donggong will only become more mature and rational.

Xue Bai took out a piece of paper from his pocket and put it on the desk.

On the top of the paper is a chart of personal relationships, and on the bottom is a map.

"Longyou old commander Xue Na; Jinwuwei general Xue Hui; vanguard general Wang Haibin; the prince's righteous brother Wang Zhongsi; the prince's friend Huangfu Weiming; Shanzhou governor Du Hope. Among them, some people arranged for the dead and caused trouble, and some people helped to close it. The relationship is clear?"

Du Jin nodded.

Xue Bai pointed to the map below, and said: "It can be seen that the dead soldiers are hiding in this area. I visited them, so they realized that they need to feed me with meat."

"Then what do we do?"

"Don't worry, they will be cautious when they have the chips in hand. On the contrary, if I really sell them, I am still just a small person." Xue Bai said, "Calm down, wait for them to bid..."

(End of this chapter)