Ping An Biography

The two entered the city from Qihua Gate (Chaoyang Gate) at the east gate, and walked west along the main street.Today's weather is clear and cloudless, and the line of sight is quite good. Zhang Ning can see the tall and majestic buildings in the imperial city from a distance. Compared with the imperial city in Nanjing, it is even worse. It is easy to spot Emperor Yongle just by looking at it from a distance. It took a lot of work to move the capital to Beijing.Along the street, it seems that the prosperity of commerce and trade is still not as good as that of Nanjing. It is said that Yongle moved rich households and people from all over the country to Shuntianfu in order to avoid the five-year tax exemption. .Zhang Ning came from Nanjing, and felt that there was a little less romantic beauty here, except that the colors around the imperial city were relatively monotonous, but there was a bit more square and domineering momentum.

The road of Qihuamen Street is wide, and there are sedan chairs, carriages, horses, and donkeys, and most of them ride donkeys. Zhang Ning and Luo Yaoniang walked along the street until they reached the intersection, and then turned south into Dongsi Pailou South Street. There is a memorial archway, and you can know the name if you can read.The farther you go south, the more people flow and the more shops you get when you get close to Dengshi. There were not many aborigines before the capital; however, the most common voice was Mandarin, which was not much different from Nanjing Mandarin, but it was completely different from the later generations of Bei Jing or Mandarin. The same accent made Zhang Ning less unfamiliar feel.

The two rode south to the Dongdan Archway, then turned west and entered Jinyu Alley.There are many houses with vermilion lacquer gates in this alley, apparently some dignitaries lived there.For officials, this location is really good: Jinyu Hutong goes straight to the west, and after passing Dong'anmen Street is Dong'anmen, a city gate of the imperial city. Ministers often go through this gate; The Liubu Yamen and other government offices in the southern part of the imperial city are not far away, so it can be said that the transportation is convenient.

After they entered the city, they talked very little. At this time, Zhang Ning saw the scene of Jinyu Hutong and thought that maybe Yang Shiqi lived here, so he wanted to go directly to Yang Shiqi's house?He couldn't help but kicked the horse's belly to catch up with Luo Yaoniang and turned to ask: "Master Yu, can you explain beforehand, where are we going after we enter the city? I don't think we should go to your house."

Lu Zhen, who was still eating in prison and waiting for others to rescue him, the root cause of his misfortune was not accepting bribes, but because he was suspected of secretly voted for the prince, which touched Emperor Yong Le's nerves and was beaten. According to Zhang Ning's It is assumed that Emperor Yongle must not trust his own son very much, he is afraid that he will gather ministers for a coup | to seize power, that's why he is like this; and Yang Shiqi's official position is Zuo Yude, that is, the prince's teacher, he is obviously an official of the East Palace, and now he is a "witness" "Run to live at Yang Shiqi's house... The final result may only prove that Lu Zhen is indeed flirting with Donggong, not that he has not accepted any bribes.

"Of course not to my house, why should I invite you to my house?" Luo Yaoniang said in a bad tone, she might still care about Zhang Ning's relationship with his daughter, "Master Hu Ying, Minister of Rites, came back not long ago Jing, you will come to ask for an interview by yourself in a while, and it will be useful to ask Mr. Hu to write a letter if you have witnesses, and my father will not do it either."

When Zhang Ning heard this, he suddenly realized, and felt more at ease.Since Mr. Hu Luo Yaoniang mentioned can concurrently serve as the minister of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Propaganda, he must be a person trusted by the emperor, and he has enough weight. If he goes to the top and has real evidence, it is estimated that this matter is very reliable up.

Luo Yaoniang sneered: "You have never been an official, why do you feel so slippery?"

"Where is it, I'm just a smart reader, but I'm not stupid. Lord Yang and Lord Yu don't want me to be like a pig?" Zhang Ning said seriously.

Hearing that you are like a pig, Luo Yaoniang couldn't help laughing, and gave him a blank look: "I think you are like a pig."

Zhang Ning took the opportunity to inquire again: "How is the personal relationship between Mr. Hu and your father?"

Luo Yaoniang said: "There is nothing to do. Although Mr. Hu is an official in the capital, he has not been in the capital for a long time. The most important thing for him is to find the real person Zhang Sanfeng. The emperor believes in building Wudang Mountain Dao Palace, you know?"

Zhang Ning said "Oh" and nodded quickly, not because he knew about the Wudang Mountain Taoist Palace, but because he knew that Mr. Hu might be someone who was looking for Emperor Jianwen.Zhang Ning is a little more optimistic because he must be a trusted confidant who can be ordered by the emperor on a secret errand.It's just that if Mr. Hu really has nothing to do with the East Palace, why should he care about this shit?Since Yang Shiqi chose him, he should have considered it.

There are a lot of bureaucrats in the capital, as can be seen from the wealthy families in Jinyu Hutong, and the relationship may be more complicated. Zhang Ning thought that it would be better for him to speak less and keep a low profile.

After walking for a while, Luo Yaoniang said: "Get off the horse and give me the post-horse. Lord Hu's mansion is right in front of you. Go by yourself. I'll take you here as a humane act. From now on, you go your way and I'll pass me by." bridge!"

"Oh." Zhang Ning jumped down looking a little dull, handed her the reins, and said with cupped fists: "There will be a period later."

"Who will have a date with you later, Meng Lang's followers! Let's go..." Luo Yaoniang paused, "I'll go back to Ganyu Alley."

After she finished speaking, she walked away without looking back, Zhang Ning looked at her back, feeling a little bit reluctant for a while, feeling a little bit bewildered.Perhaps because he was unfamiliar with the city of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty for the first time, even the city of Beijing in his mind was unfamiliar, and Luo Yaoniang was the only acquaintance he had here.

Strange places always make people feel insecure.

He looked at Luo Yaoniang's back in a little confusion and sighed slightly. At this time, Luo Yaoniang suddenly turned around to look, and when he met Zhang Ning's eyes, he turned his head hurriedly, gave a light reprimand and rode away quickly.

Unfamiliar city with strange door, the red lacquer gate and the size of the hall that represent the status, make Zhang Ning, who is dressed in nondescript messenger clothes, feel very small and insignificant.A servant in soap clothes stood at the door and looked at Zhang Ning, because it was not normal for him to wander around beside the poke light at the gate of the house.After a while, he finally walked up, before the servant asked, "Who are you?"

Zhang Ning said: "Zhang Ning of Nanzhi Li, if you have something to see Mr. Hu, please let me know."

Unexpectedly, the servant suddenly said, "You are Zhang Ning? Come with me."

The corner door was opened, and the two of them walked in together. Of course, it was impossible to enter through the gate. Only those with higher status or equal status were eligible to enter through the gate.Zhang Ning walked along without saying a word, never making a sound if he could not speak, and not looking around, looking very well-behaved.He didn't take a closer look at the courtyard-like house, but at first glance, the house was properly repaired and looked spacious and grand, without the cramped feeling of a courtyard in the south.

The servant took him to a tea room in the inverted room, asked him to sit down, and then went to report.Standing at the door was a little girl with double-ringed hair. After a while, she secretly glanced at Zhang Ning a few times, and finally asked with a concerned look, "Are you thirsty?"

Probably not everyone who comes here has the opportunity to be offered tea, it depends on their status.But Zhang Ning's dusty appearance is really not easy.He responded with a friendly smile, shook his head and said, "Thank you, no need." The little girl's face showed a shy blush.

After waiting for about half a stick of incense, a middle-aged man wearing a Dongpo scarf came in at the door, and before he stepped through the door, he said heartily: "Keep the guests waiting, Mr. Hu is out on business. My surname is Yan, and I am not polite. Zhou Zhi also invites Haihan."

Zhang Ning immediately stood up from his chair to salute, and introduced himself again. No matter what, it is always a polite thing to declare yourself.He noticed that this middle-aged man surnamed Yan had a lame leg, but he spoke with great vigor, and his face was square and square, but it was hard to guess whether he was a servant of the Hu family or a relative.

"Serve tea." Someone Yan ordered, and then politely invited Zhang Ning to take a seat.

Zhang Ning thought to himself that he could not determine the identity of this person, and since he was a commoner who had lost his reputation, he lowered his posture and waited for the middle-aged man to sit first before he sat down.Someone from Yan asked: "I heard that Mr. Zhang came from Nanzhili and asked to see Mr. Hu. Why?"

Thinking of how smooth it was when he entered the door, Zhang Ning guessed that the people in the Hu Mansion had known that he was coming, but now someone from Yan asked knowingly.Zhang Ning pondered for a moment, after thinking about it, he roughly talked about how he was forced, how he hurt the examiner, and so on.

Yan listened very carefully, as if he was hearing about it for the first time, and did not interrupt Zhang Ning's narration. After finishing speaking, he stroked his chin and asked thoughtfully: "Mr. Did you go all the way to the capital?"

Of course it didn't go well, I almost "accidentally died" before I set off on the road, not to mention some dubious people like Peach Blossom Fairy who had nothing to do with officialdom on the road.It is impossible for Zhang Ning not to be angry and revengeful towards those prostitutes, but he appears calm and cautious at this time, probably due to a lack of security and an instinctive defensive attitude.

To accuse Yushi Zhou Na of his unscrupulous behavior to the people of the Hu family?This matter is actually unnecessary, and there is no need to stand out on your own. As Luo Yaoniang said, this person completely disregards the rules of the officialdom game. That's enough; another consideration is how to resolve the danger if you clearly say that you have encountered danger?In the end, Yu Qian and even Yang Shiqi had to be involved, only they have this ability.Apparently the people in the Hu Mansion don't want to make their relationship with Donggong too obvious. After all, although Donggong is very likely to be the future owner, there is a future in the past. The question is, is there any life to wait and enjoy the future?

Although many things are just my own inferences and conjectures, it is not a bad thing to be conservative if you are not familiar with the place, so Zhang Ning thought for a while and said: "I set off early, so there are no twists and turns."

Someone from Yan glanced at him approvingly, nodded and said: "It's related to Lu Shilang's innocence. Since someone has come to the door, Mr. Hu is probably willing to intervene. In this way, you will temporarily stay in Hu's mansion first, and come back to the house." Write a true confession, and when Mr. Hu comes back, I will tell him the whole story."

Zhang Ning hurriedly stood up to thank him.