Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 118

Then there was a strange scene, such a lively and bustling street, the crowd avoided far away, the road ahead was empty, only Hai Rui led the horse and the carriage, and one Jin Yiwei walked to the other side of the street.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were very strict regulations on the carriage of sedan chairs and horses within the nine gates of Beijing, especially on Tongqu Street. Non-ranked officials were not allowed to take sedan chairs carrying more than four loads. Except for the infantry commanding yamen and patrolling the streets, no horses were allowed. To ride, you can only lead and walk.In a place like Qianmenwai Street, those who dare to ride horses either have an urgent letter from the Ministry of War, or they are key figures with a strong background.Just now the eunuch Ti Xingsi galloped away, already frightened many people to give way.At this time, in the direction that the eunuch was galloping, that is, the direction behind Hai Rui's carriage, there was another rush of horseshoes on the street.Just dodging because of avoidance, the crowd who were about to come over now dodged again and made way, only to see San Qima trotting all the way towards this side.

The three rode horses trotted closer and closer, all three of them were also wearing casual clothes, obviously their backgrounds were not small.

"It's a big fuss! The Thirteenth Master is here too!" A tea customer in the teahouse opposite Liubiju blurted out as he watched San Qima trot past.

"Which one? Which one is the Thirteenth Lord?" Another tea guest asked hastily.

The tea guest went to the door and pointed, and many tea guests crowded to the door to watch.

The tea guest: "The one at the front is the No.13 Tai Bao Lord appointed by the Lord Long Live. He must have arrested that person."

Everyone was astonished, the three riders had already chased Hai Rui's carriage and slowed down.

"Master Thirteen!" A brocade guard following Hai Rui hurriedly saluted, "Stop first." Then he asked Hai Rui to stop the carriage.

"Master Thirteen, well!" Another Jinyi guard following Hai Rui rushed to salute.

The thirteenth master reined in the horse, and asked tightly, "Is it the head of the household department who was in Liubiju just now?"

"Yes." A Jin Yiwei quickly replied, "The Thirteenth Master will know so soon?"

The thirteenth master immediately looked at Hai Rui who was wearing a bamboo hat. Although he couldn't see his face, his figure was still familiar. He immediately got off his horse and looked closely: "What a benefactor!" Then he knelt down in the street.

His sudden kneeling startled the two guards in brocade clothes.The other two Jin Yiwei who followed him were also a little surprised.According to the etiquette system, the Jin Yiwei of the Zhenfu Division could only kneel up to the emperor, and kneel down to the chief of the Supervisor of Rites and the Zhenfu Division. Other officials of various ranks just raised their hands and saluted when they saw it, and did not kneel at all.

Seeing their superiors kneel down to this small official of the household department, the guards in Jinyi also called them "benefactors". They kneeled privately and had nothing to do with their positions. They couldn't kneel with them, so they had to stand sideways and bow their heads. on the side.

Hai Rui looked at Qi Dazhu who was kneeling in front of him - the Thirteenth Master. His eyes were also filled with emotion, but soon calmed down: "Get up quickly. This is not the salute place."

Qi Dazhu stood up excitedly: "Where are Mrs. Tai and Mrs., and Miss, are they all in the car?"

"Who is it? Ruxian, why did you stop again?" Haimu asked inside the car curtain.

"Ma'am! It's my son Qi Dazhu who picked you up!" Hearing Haimu's voice, Qi Dazhu hurried towards the curtain.

A corner of the car curtain was lifted, revealing the white-haired face of Haimu.

"My son Dazhu kowtows to you." Qi Dazhu took a step back and knelt down again.

"I said it's not the salute place." Hai Rui waved his hand to stop Qi Dazhu, and hurried over to lift the car curtain, holding the arm of his mother who was about to come out, "Mother, it's Dazhu."

"Dazhu?" Haimu looked at Qi Dazhu.

Qi Dazhu stepped over in one step, stretched out his big hands to support Mother Hai: "Mrs. Tai, it's me. I heard that Mrs. Engong and Mrs. Tai have arrived these few days. My son has rented a yard for Mrs. Tai. After washing it, I have been waiting at Dongbianmen Wharf for the past two days. Who knows that you have gone by land."

Mother Hai smiled: "It's rare that you care about us like this. Where's your daughter-in-law?"

Qi Dazhu: "I'm waiting at home. I heard that Madam Tai and Madam came to Beijing, and I couldn't sleep for several nights."

"Mother." Hai Rui looked at his mother, "Da Zhu is now an official of the Zhenfu Department, and he's working exclusively for the emperor. We can't delay his work. Let him go first."

Haimu understood some meaning from her son's words and eyes: "I understand. Let him go." Then she put down the car curtain.

Hai Rui looked at Qi Dazhu: "The past is over. From now on, you will be your servant in the Zhenfu Department. Don't come to me. If you look for me, I won't see you either."

Qi Dazhu was dumbfounded by what he said: "Grandfather..."

"I'm not anyone's benefactor." Hai Rui's face became more serious, "You go. You two, let's go." Then he took the reins of the horse and walked forward with the carriage.

The two guards in brocade clothes were a little bit embarrassed, they watched the carriage and wanted to follow, but they didn't know how to tell the Thirteenth Master.

Qi Dazhu heard in a hurry just now that Liubiju was taken away by Jin Yiwei, an official from the household department, so he guessed that it might be Hai Rui who he was waiting for, but he didn't understand why, so he stared at the two Jin Yiwei: "What? It’s a big deal, are you making a big deal out of a molehill?”

The two Jin Yiwei looked at each other, a little embarrassed, one of them said in a low voice: "Back to Master Thirteen, this master said some taboo words in Liubiju, and even wrote a picture of taboo words, and the sentence is raised." Eunuch Si Huang asked us to send him home first, and then send him to the household department to wait for disposal."

Qi Dazhu was startled: "What's the word for a picture? Where is Mr. Huang?"

Another Jin Yiwei: "It's another explanation for the word 'must' that the emperor changed. What he said is for the sake of 'rectifying people's hearts and calming floating words'. Eunuch Huang has already sent that word to Eunuch Chen, the supervisor of ceremonies. went."

"Too bad!" Qi Dazhu stomped his feet, "How long has Eunuch Huang been walking, did you ride a horse?"

A Jin Yiwei: "If you ride a horse, you will not be able to catch up."

Qi Dazhu thought anxiously for a while: "You guys should follow along and send Master Hai home properly instead of going to the household department."

The two Jin Yiwei: "Got it." The two quickly turned around and chased after the carriage.

"Go back to Zhen Fusi!" Qi Dazhu stepped on his horse and galloped towards the west front door.

The two Jin Yiwei hurriedly got on their horses and galloped after them.

In the distance, many people who were hiding and watching rushed out.

It was the day of summer training, and Beizhen Fusi happened to be on duty on this day, with his bare arms showing his tendons like iron lumps, facing the sun, two huge big stone locks were being strung together on a thick bamboo pole. Carried on the shoulders, one foot is raised, and the other foot is independent, and the "horse pile skill" is practiced there.

Qi Dazhu came in through the courtyard gate, sweating profusely, so it was not easy to interrupt his practice, so he stopped beside him and waited silently.

Zhu Qi propped up the bamboo pole with both palms, one leg still didn't move, he just changed his shoulder and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Master, this disciple is in trouble." Qi Dazhu said clearly anxiously.

Zhu Qi was still carrying the bamboo pole, and cast a glance at him: "Is it about dead people?"

Qi Dazhu: "That's not true."

"Why are there no dead people?" Zhu Qi changed his leg while carrying the stone lock.

Qi Dazhu: "This matter is about Liubiju. Someone made a fuss about the word 'must' that the emperor changed."

Zhu Qi was stunned for a moment, dropped his legs to the ground, propped up the bamboo pole with both palms and threw it on the ground, and immediately looked at Qi Dazhu: "What article? Is it spoken or ink eats paper?"

"The ink is gone. The people who have been mentioned in the Criminal Division have been sent to Chen Hong and Chen Gonggong." Qi Dazhu said very anxiously, "Master, the person who wrote this word is the disciple's benefactor."

Zhu Qi: "Which benefactor?"

Qi Dazhu: "Master Hai Hai Rui."

"It's him? Isn't he in Jiangxi?" Zhu Qi's face also became serious.

Qi Dazhu: "After killing Yan Shifan, the cabinet transferred a group of people to Beijing, and Master Hai also transferred the head of the household department."

Zhu Qi knew that the matter was serious: "Do you know what they wrote?"

Qi Dazhu: "It is said to give another explanation to Liubiju."

Zhu Qimo thought about it there.

"Master." Qi Dazhu looked at Zhu Qi anxiously, "Could you please find Eunuch Chen and suppress this matter?"

"Confused." Zhu Qi's eyes were shining, "Who dares to suppress the matter of Tongtian? Besides, Eunuch Chen is eager for this matter."

Qi Dazhu: "Then the emperor has seen it, and the disciple's benefactor will be punished."

"Don't say any more benefactors!" Zhu Qi's voice became severe, "Only the emperor is on the job here, and he doesn't have any benefactors!"

Qi Dazhu lowered his head.

Zhu Qi softened his tone: "Do you know why he wrote this word?"

Qi Dazhu: "The disciple was not there at the time, and the people below heard that Master Hai said that he wrote these few words to 'rectify people's hearts and calm false rumors'."

Zhu Qi stared at the front and thought about it carefully.

Qi Dazhu became even more anxious, sweat streaming down his face.

Zhu Qi suddenly turned to look at him: "Understood. This Hai Rui was recommended by Prince Yu, and has nothing to do with you. You only have one thing to do, so hurry up and tell Elder Xu Ge about it, and then go back to Stay here and don't see him again. Bring me the clothes."

Qi Dazhu immediately went to the eaves, picked up Zhu Qi's clothes and spread his hands.

Zhu Qi stretched out his arms and put on his underwear, Qi Dazhu picked up his long gown and unfolded it for him to put on.

"Let's go." Zhu Qi walked towards the gate of the courtyard while wearing his belt.

"Where are you going, master?" Qi Dazhu followed closely behind him.

"Where else can we go? The matter got to Chen Hong, so of course we have to see our ancestors!" Zhu Qi said and stepped out of the courtyard.

In the Ming Dynasty, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was born in abject poverty, and won the world. The salaries set for officials were almost harsh.The local officials are good, and the cars, sedans and horses for household use are all supplied by the government office.When you become a Beijing official, especially a small official below the fourth rank, your annual salary is only a few dozen taels of silver. If the national treasury is in short supply, you may even exchange pepper, cloth, etc. for your salary.Chang'an is expensive, and you need to prepare your own house, car, and long-term companion, and it is even more difficult to support a family.

Hai Rui worked as a teacher in Nanping, Fujian Province for several years, and served as county magistrates in Chun'an, Zhejiang Province, and Xingguo, Jiangxi Province for several years. He was "untouched by silk". When the political situation in Beijing changed dramatically, he suddenly received an official letter to be transferred to Beijing. , is empty.Carriage and horse fees are limited, and I can't afford a boat, so I have to go by land, relying on a post station dozens of miles away, according to the level of the seventh-rank official transfer, to have food and lodging, and change trains at every station.Before leaving Xingguo, the first thing he did was to write a letter to Wang Yongji, who had been transferred to the censor of the Beijing Metropolitan Procuratorate the previous year, asking him to find a small house on his behalf, and said that the monthly rent should not exceed five hanging copper coins.This is a little difficult for Wang Yongji, even if he finds a simple courtyard in the northeastern city far away from Liubu, the minimum monthly rent is eight hang.Wang Yongji had a brainstorm and was going to sign two contracts with the landlord, one with the real number of eight pennies written on it, and he would covertly subsidize Hai Rui's three pennies every month; the other was that Hai Rui had to sign with the landlord himself. The monthly rent is five hangs, which will be paid by Hai Rui on a monthly basis.

The house I found in this way was only a small courtyard with three rooms in one entrance and three directions. It was empty, with no furniture, and the doors and windows were dilapidated, and the inner walls were peeling off.It took quite a while, and Wang Yongji paid for a mason and carpenter, and it was not until this morning that he rushed to repair it.

"People are coming soon, don't nail there." Wang Yongji said to the two carpenters who were still nailing the windows, and then shouted to the main room on the north side, "There are still people inside, hurry up and pack up the utensils, you guys." let's go."

The two carpenters finished nailing the last window, and several carpenters came out of the house, and the leader walked up to Wang Yongji and bowed: "Master Wang, then we will leave."

"Pay them the rest of the wages." Wang Yongji said to a long follower who was standing outside the courtyard gate.

The chief attendant came in, took out five slings of copper coins from his skirt and handed them to the leader.

The leader said, "Thank you, Mr. Wang, for the reward." He led the group of masons and carpenters out of the courtyard gate carrying the guy.

Wang Yongji gave instructions to the chief attendant again: "Ask the outsiders to bring in all the leftovers! Also, hurry up and wash the floor of the main room in the north house!"

"Yes." The long follower hurriedly ordered a few helpers outside the courtyard gate, "immediately move in the remaining household items! Clean the floor of the main room in the north house!"

Immediately, several helpers carried the baskets and moved the pots and pans into the east kitchen, and the other two helpers moved the last table and a few chairs on the table into the main room of the north room. He ran out quickly, walked to a well platform on the right side of the yard, put down the bucket on the wheel to fetch water.

The landlord of this house is a middle-aged man in long gown. He has been standing beside Wang Yongji. Seeing that Wang Yongji paid for the house to be refurbished, he smiled all over his face at this moment: "Thanks to Master Wang, the villain is here The ancestral house followed suit and was finally repaired."

"Use two buckets for two people to wash. Hurry up!" Wang Yongji urged the helper who was fetching water and the other was carrying the bucket.

The two helpers no longer carried the water and the bucket, but rushed into the main house in the north with the bucket.

"You don't need to say anything extra." Wang Yongji turned to the landlord, and then took out a contract from his body, "When Master Hai arrives, you can sign another rent contract with him."

The landlord: "Master Wang, didn't you just sign the rent contract with the villain yesterday?"

Wang Yongji: "Yesterday, I signed with you. Don't tell Master Hai. Today, you and Master Hai signed this."

The landlord accepted the contract in doubt, and immediately changed his face: "Master Wang, it is agreed that it is a monthly rent of eight hanging copper coins. Why is it written as five hanging copper coins?"

Wang Yongji: "My colleague is an upright official, and his family has no foundation. He can't afford the monthly rent of eight copper coins, and he can only pay five copper coins at most."

"It's agreed on eight hangs. Five hangs of copper coins will not rent even the young ones." Before Wang Yongji finished speaking, the landlord became anxious.

"Listen to me." Wang Yongji tightened his face, "Eight hangs or eight hangs, he will give you five hangs every month, and I will give you three more hangs."

"Wait, let the villain think about it." The landlord opened his eyes and pondered for a long time, and seemed to understand, "Master Wang said that the monthly rent will be paid according to the eight hangings we signed yesterday, and Master Hai will pay the villain tomorrow." Five hangs, Master Wang, will you secretly pay Master Hai three hangs a month?"

Wang Yongji: "It's good to understand. Don't let Mr. Hai know. Also, you used to say that you used to own these furniture. From now on, Mr. Hai will move to another house, and these things will be left to you."

"I understand, I will do everything according to Master Wang's orders." The landlord smiled again.

"Master, there is a carriage coming, it looks like Master Hai's family." The chief attendant reported to Wang Yongji through the door outside the courtyard.

Wang Yongji strode out of the courtyard gate, saw the carriage rolling slowly at a glance, and also saw the familiar figure wearing a bamboo hat and a Gebu gown, and quickly walked over to meet him.

Of course Hai Rui also saw Wang Yongji who was walking towards him quickly, so he quickly took off his bamboo hat and walked towards him quickly.

Wang Yongji smiled, and Hai Rui also smiled, and the two approached each other, standing a foot apart.

You looked at me, I looked at you, and I was speechless for a while.

"I guessed it. Do you want to say that now that I'm an official in the capital, it's better to give me two sets of silk clothes?" Hai Rui put back his smile and pretended to be serious.

"You guessed it, I won't send it off. Hurry up and pick up Mrs. Tai and Mrs. Sister-in-law." Wang Yongji said, and took a few steps to the side of the approaching carriage.Haimu had already lifted the curtain of the car, and Wang Yongji saw Hai's wife leaning against the car with a pale face, so he walked into the courtyard door with Haimu in his hand and shouted, "There is a sick person in the car, quickly bring a chair!"

"There is no such gift." Hai Mu turned to Hai Rui who was supporting her on the other side, "Ru Xian, you can carry your daughter-in-law into the house by yourself."

Hai Rui glanced at Wang Yongji, and replied to his mother, "Yes."

"No need!" Following this sound, the two Jinyi guards untied their horses at some point, one was in front of the cart, the other was behind the cart, and in a daze they carried the horse and carriage in from the courtyard gate.

Everyone in the yard looked dumbfounded!
Two brocade guards carried the carriage and stood in the yard calmly. The one in front looked at Hai Rui and asked, "Where are you putting it?"

Hai Rui: "Please carry it to the door of the west room."

The two Jin Yiwei effortlessly lifted the carriage and the people to the door of the west wing and put them down gently. They clapped their hands and walked outside the courtyard door, standing there one by one.

(End of this chapter)