The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Although the annual gift was not distributed, Wei Guangde could not wait for the money to be distributed before starting to give gifts.

After writing the letter, Zhang Ji asked Zhang Ji to pick out a few ginseng plants, wrap them up, and hand them over to Zhao Hu to take with him to meet up with the caravan returning to Jiujiang.

The reason why Zhao Hu was arranged to go with the caravan was mainly because he had something to take to Nanjing and asked the people in the caravan to help. Wei Guangde was not at ease.

Of course, the caravan has been setting off for more than half a month, and it should be near Henan by now, not too far from home.

The New Year's Eve issues back home have been settled, and what's left is the relationship that needs to be maintained in the capital.

Yan Song's family will definitely give gifts, and they shouldn't be too thin.

The search for old-year ginseng in the capital these days has caused a shortage of high-quality ginseng, so the price has naturally changed a bit. However, because there are still a lot of ginseng in general years, the overall price has not changed much.

But because of the shortage, these old ginseng naturally became a good gift in the capital during this period.

Xu Jie, Lu Ben and other pavilion elders, and Wei Guangde also went to see them off, but no one was seen. It was family members or housekeepers who sent Wei Guangde back.

Weng Pu had been back from Xuan Mansion for a few days, and Wei Guangde took advantage of the upcoming New Year to make a trip to deliver gifts.

The remaining time was to wait for the money to be distributed from the government office, and then the government office would be sealed, so that he could enjoy the longest rest since he became an official.

Wei Guangde was naturally surprised that there had been no news from the palace, and Li Bin was still serving as eunuch Bingbi, Supervisor of Ceremonies. This made Wei Guangde think that something had gone wrong with Lu Bing, so he didn't take action.

According to Wei Guangde's analysis, Lu Bing probably wanted to get some profit from the process of ransacking his house. Is there any better time than the Chinese New Year?

Only as time passed quietly, and after Wei Guangde received his salary and annual gifts, did the New Year atmosphere in the capital officially reach its climax.

This year's officials in the capital are still very satisfied, at least the Qingliu people are very satisfied. The thing they have been worried about that the court will not be able to pay out salaries and rewards has not happened.

With money in hand, officials also began to purchase New Year goods in the capital's markets. Restaurants and teahouses were already full and unable to receive new customers, while warehouses and shops were even more crowded and overcrowded.

Beijing at this time is certainly one of the most prosperous cities in the world in this era.

There are still about ten days before the Chinese New Year, but in the eyes of the people in the capital, it is already the Chinese New Year.

Pedestrians are crowded on the street, and vendors take this opportunity to sell their goods along the street. Business is prosperous, and people live and work in peace and contentment.

Although in the eyes of later generations, the people of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be very poor, in fact at this time, the people of the Ming Dynasty were the richest in the world during this period.

Although it is not yet the New Year, the Capital City God Temple Market and Dongyue Temple Market have already opened, and there are already many citizens of the capital who come here every day to lose money.

Wei Guangde has already spent the Chinese New Year in the capital, and this time it is no exception to go around with his friends to watch the excitement.

Nowadays, various ministries and yamen are no longer as usual. Most people go to Dianmao and then go off to do their own things. The Tang Guanye doesn't care, because he has a lot of things of his own.

The outside of Chengtian Gate has been sealed off, and the craftsmen in the palace have begun to build lampstands here to prepare for the Aoshan Lantern Festival.

There wasn't much going on in the Hanlin Academy, but there were more things going on at Taichang Temple, but they had nothing to do with him. The drum music prepared for the Aoshan Lantern Festival was prepared in an orderly manner under the supervision of Taichang Temple Minister and Shaoqing, and the personnel were deployed. It's been completed within months.

However, Wei Guangde did not hear the news of Li Bin's downfall until all the major yamen in the capital were closed.

Naturally, the outside world didn't know what happened in the cabinet and Xiyuan before the holiday. Everything was kept hidden, and only a handful of people knew about it.

Wei Guangde didn't know how much evidence Lu Bing had found about Li Bin's crimes. He just guessed that there should be a lot of corruption and perversion of the law. Naturally, Lu Bing would not tell him his plan in detail.

In fact, what Wei Guangde didn't know was that the criminal evidence of Li Bin discovered by Lu Bing actually contained the backstory of Emperor Jiajing.

After a lively New Year, all the government offices in the capital reopened, so Wei Guangde naturally rushed to the Hanlin Academy early to order.

It is worth mentioning that in Wei Guangde's first year as an official, he also went to the two major court gatherings that he had to attend, but lined up outside Fengtian Gate and made five bows and three kowtows to the palace in front of him where there was no emperor.

The major court gatherings that a seventh-grade sesame official like Wei Guangde needed to attend were naturally the two on the Winter Solstice and Zhengdan. However, Emperor Jiajing was no longer interested in these false rituals at this time, and had stopped attending them a few years ago.

If the emperor does not sit on the throne of Fengtian Hall, naturally the courtiers do not need to go in to worship. They can only complete the ceremony by saluting outside.

In the morning, he chatted with his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy for a long time. At about noon, he went to Yin Tai to ask for instructions. In the afternoon, he should go to Taichang Temple for a walk.

Yin Tai had nothing to do. Although the fifteenth year had passed, there was nothing to do since the government had just opened, and no one had taken it back. Besides, there was not much to do in the Hanlin Academy.

When he arrived at Taichang Temple, Wei Guangde felt that from the concierge to the inside, the faces of the people rushing in and out were all happy, as if they had encountered something great.

Wei Guangde didn't know what happened in the yamen, so he just shook his head and walked in.

When he arrived at the Dianbo Hall, Wei Guangde saw Yu Shihui sitting behind the desk, with an uncontrollable look on his face.

"Master Yu, what happened in the Yamen today? I walked in and saw everyone was very happy."

Wei Guangde asked casually after entering the door.

"Master Wei, it's normal that you didn't come in the morning and didn't know. After all, most of your time has to be taken care of the errands of revising books in the Hanlin Academy."

Yu Shihui stood up and bowed his hands to Wei Guangde. Yu Shihui had always been very polite to Wei Guangde. After all, he didn't know when he would grow old.

Wei Guangde didn't let Wei Guangde wait for too long. After Wei Guangde sat down, he also sat down and then said, "Did you know about the Emperor's visit to Chengtian Gate on the Lantern Festival night?"

"I know. I was watching the lantern festival down there that night. What happened?"

Wei Guangde was puzzled and said that Emperor Jiajing loved to watch the fun, but I had never heard of him coming out to watch the Aoshan Lantern Festival in the past few years. He only often set off fireworks in the palace for fun.

At the Aoshan Lantern Festival on the night of the 15th, tens of thousands of people saw the Huagai appear at the top of Chengtianmen City, and they immediately guessed that the emperor was there. Therefore, this year's Aoshan Lantern Festival became the most lively lantern festival.

Tens of thousands of people saluted towards the city head, and the scene was naturally very grand.

Wei Guangde was below. Although he couldn't see where Emperor Jiajing was, he was very sure that the emperor was above, otherwise the ceremonial guard would not be able to appear here.

"The emperor is here. He is very satisfied with the lanterns and fireworks. He is also very satisfied with the drum music and the songs and dances of the palace ladies. This morning, a reward was sent to the palace. You should go and receive your share yourself, haha."

After listening to Yu Shihui's words, Wei Guangde suddenly realized that no wonder everyone in the yamen was beaming with joy, and they were naturally happy to receive rewards.

He went to get Wei Guangde's share, which was not much, only five taels of silver, and he received an extra month and a half's salary.

Naturally, he didn't feel much about receiving this small amount of money, but it was quite a lot for the officials of Taichang Temple. It was all within their scope of work, and there would be rewards for completing the work.

Not long after, Yan Shifan, the minister of Taichang Temple, summoned the officials from the yamen outside. After receiving the reward, they naturally wanted to go to the palace to express their gratitude.

Zuo Shaoqing Li Kaiyuan is responsible for the daily management of Taichang Temple, but when encountering such a big event, Yan Shifan still has to come back in person and take his men to Xiyuan to express gratitude.

"Guangde, I thought you were on duty at the Hanlin Academy today, but you didn't come over."

Yan Shifan was very affectionate when he saw Wei Guangde. Not only was he a fellow villager, Wei Guangde would go to Yan's house during the holidays, and this year's annual gift was a 600-year-old ginseng.

Nowadays, the 300-year-old ginseng in the capital is basically out of stock. Wei Guangde’s gift is a good one and suits his taste.

Ginseng is a nourishing thing. For the Yan family, the health of Yan Song and Yan Shifan is naturally the most important.

As for Ganoderma lucidum, which is now highly praised by the world, well, the medical officials trusted by the Yan government do not highly praise it. Relatively speaking, they trust the efficacy of ginseng more.

As a subordinate, Wei Guangde naturally did not dare to make excuses. After respectfully saluting Yan Shifan, he saluted Zuo Shaoqing Li Kaiyuan, chatted for a few words, and then retreated to his seat at the back.

Taichang Temple is not far from Xiyuan, and a group of them walked there, which took only a quarter of an hour.

However, the time seemed wrong. Emperor Jiajing did not see them. He just bowed outside Yongshou Palace and was about to leave. At this time, several more eunuchs walked out of the gate of Yongshou Palace.

The reason why Wei Guangde could tell at a glance that they were of high rank was not because he knew much about eunuch clothing. The main reason was that these eunuchs were wearing either unicorn or flying fish suits, and were wrapped with jade belts around their waists. Naturally, they were not ordinary eunuchs.

After that, Wei Guangde saw Gao Zhong's figure. Among these eunuchs, none like Chen Ju could even get close to him.

Yan Shifan seemed to be very familiar with them. When he saw them coming out, Yan Shifan stopped and started chatting warmly when they approached.

Wei Guangde and Gao Zhong looked at each other and showed no other signs.

On the fourteenth day, Wei Guangde invited Chen Ju to his place for a drink. During the dinner, Wei Guangde couldn't help but quietly asked his subordinate about the situation of the ceremonial supervisor.

However, it is obvious that Chen Ju did not know the news about Li Bin's crime. He only said that everything was normal in the Li Prison and that His Majesty was very satisfied with the performance of his godfather and the others during the past year.

Then Wei Guangde asked Li Bin about his current situation, and was even more surprised when he learned that there had been no change.

At this time, Wei Guangde could only think that Lu Bing had not collected more evidence to convict Li Bin of his crimes, so he had not yet reported to impeach him.

It was Wei Guangde who couldn't hold his temper and repeatedly asked the Supervisor of Ceremonies, especially Li Bin's situation, which naturally aroused Chen Ju's alert. After questioning, Wei Guangde quietly revealed that he had learned that someone was pursuing Li Bin.

As for Chen Ju's question about who was tracking Li Bin, Wei Guangde would not say anything even if he killed him. He only said that he had heard the news from someone in the same year.

Chen Ju naturally didn't believe Wei Guangde's excuse, but since Wei Guangde didn't tell him there was nothing he could do. When he returned to the palace, he found an opportunity to quietly report to his godfather Gao Zhong.

Wei Guangde didn't know what happened after that. After all, Chen Ju didn't contact him for the next few days.

Even the matter of him reporting Gao Zhong was calculated by Wei Guangde.

However, Wei Guangde, who was standing not far away, did not gain nothing. At least when he heard Yan Shifan talking to them, he took his seat and saw this Li Bin, and stole one thousand two hundred taels of silver from him. Money-grubbing eunuch.

To be honest, Li Bin was really inconspicuous among the eunuchs. He didn't even know how much Emperor Jiajing valued him.

However, after Wei Guangde took a closer look, he discovered that Li Bin was quite upright, except for his most recognizable eyes, which were peach blossom eyes that were rare among men.

The eyes are clearly black and white, with a slight blush around the eyes and at the corners. I don't know how this eunuch maintains himself.

When facing eunuchs and Yan Shifan who were not inferior to him in status around him, he always spoke less and smiled more, his eyes narrowed into two crescent moons.

Seeing this scene, Wei Guangde couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

It's not that I'm jealous of her good birth, but I'm just not used to it. If she were a woman, she would probably be very attractive, and Wei Guangde would be very happy to take a few more glances, but what if she was a eunuch?

Li Bin left a deep impression on Wei Guangde, but what Wei Guangde is most interested in is when this guy will fall.

After waiting for two days, Wei Guangde was on his normal duty. However, when he returned home that day, his servant informed him that Chen Ju was waiting for him in the lobby.

Is Chen Ju here?

Wei Guangde felt a little strange, but he didn't waste time and walked directly into the lobby.

After the two exchanged greetings and sat down, Wei Guangde naturally asked Chen Ju why he was here.

Chen Ju is the imperial chamberlain, but he is different from the little eunuchs in the palace. He is still very eye-catching. Even though he has no rank now, he may be given some official title one day when Emperor Jiajing is happy.

"The thing you mentioned about Li Bin last time we were drinking, my godfather told me about it today. Guess what?"

Chen Ju saw that there was no one in the room and whispered to Wei Guangde.

"What, but what did you find?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously, looking at Chen Ju being so mysterious, as if he had really discovered something.

"I don't know about the situation outside the palace. Inside the palace, my godfather noticed that Eunuch Huang's people were paying attention to Li Bin's every move, intentionally or unintentionally."

Hearing Chen Ju's words, Wei Guangde became convinced. He had already guessed that Huang Jin must be involved in this matter.

No matter how long Lu Bing's brocade guard was, it would be impossible for him to reach into the palace. That was Dongchang's territory, but he didn't know whether Huang Jin's actions had been ordered by Emperor Jiajing.

There is Huang Jin in the palace and Lu Bing outside the palace. Obviously this Li Bin is already a dead fish.

"Do you still know anyone in the palace?"

At this moment, Chen Ju suddenly asked.

Wei Guangde was shocked, knowing that Gao Zhong suspected that he and Huang Jin's people were getting close, and he probably got the news from there.

This time it was a bit troublesome. Failure to explain it well would cause cracks in the good relationship he had established with Gao Zhong.

Wei Guangde was secretly angry at his recklessness and quickly thought about how to explain it.