In the fifth year of Taihe, October Gengchen, the beginning of Hai.

Chang'an, Wannian County, Xingning Fang.

Zhang Yijun and Li Shangyin drilled out of the culvert and left Xingning Fang, the hour had come to the end, the night sky seemed to be soaked in thick cloud ink, and there was no moonlight.

On the way out, they were unlucky, and they were interrogated twice in a row by the Jinwu guards.

Chang'an City, like Chengdu Mansion and Taiyuan Mansion, is a curfew every day from the next day to the next day, if there is no evidence of important matters, rashly walk on the streets and alleys, and be caught by the night patrol Jin Wuwei will really suffer thirty boards. Fortunately, Zhang Yijun wore sixteen house seals, otherwise even if he was exempted from beating, he wouldn't want to go home tonight to rest.

The two of them left Xingning Fang, then turned into Qixiamen Street along Tonghuamen Street when they came, and walked south along the Fang wall.

Li Shangyin, who has always been talkative, has rarely spoken since he left the culvert, as if he has something on his mind, his thin eyebrows are slightly frowned, and he has been silent side by side with Zhang Yijun for a long time. Zhang Yijun was not reluctant, because he knew that the amount of information he told Li Shangyin at that hour was far enough for Li Shangyin to digest.

But after a whole day of playing, it was another day without clues. Zhang Yijun thought that he could get some unknown information from King Ying, but it backfired. Zhang Yijun couldn't help but sigh in his heart, if the "ghost soldier" really had a big plan and was scheduled to do it tomorrow or even tonight, then all his previous efforts would be in vain.

"Ghost soldier", an ethereal synonym for nothingness, is like a long sword hanging high, which makes him uneasy for a long time.

"Brother Yijun......" After a long silence, Li Shangyin finally spoke, "Can I ask a question?" ”

Zhang Yijun was stunned when he heard this, Li Shangyin asked himself questions this morning, when did he start to be so formal?

"Just ask."

"Brother Shicai Yijun said, whether it is 'ghost soldiers', Xichuan, Victoria...... But is it true? ”

Li Shangyin's voice trembled slightly, which made Zhang Yijun want to comfort him politely, but he thought about it for a while, but he couldn't think of a suitable sentence, and he felt that he was too rash to tell this young man who was not crowned at the age of just now.

"It's true......" Zhang Yijun turned his head to look at Li Shangyin, but felt a little strange.

The expression on Li Shangyin's face was a little ...... than he thought It's not quite the same.

I saw Li Shangyin's eyes shining, and his handsome face showed a trace of excitement, as if a long drought was in nectar, and what he said afterwards surprised Zhang Yijun.

"Good! Good! ”

Li Shangyin was a little eager to try, and his pace was unconsciously a little faster, and he ran in front of Zhang Yijun in a moment, "If you catch the thief, it will be a meritorious move, and you will inevitably become a famous Beijing teacher. ”

If Zhang Yijun had heard Li Shangyin's words this morning, he would probably have only laughed, but after the turmoil in the culvert and Zhang Yijun's later description of Li Shangyin, Li Shangyin reacted like this, and Zhang Yijun was half surprised and half suspicious in his heart at the moment.

"Sixteen Lang," Zhang Yijun interrupted Li Shangyin's thoughts, which had already drifted out of the clouds, "You are right...... It's just this first step, how easy is it to catch the thief? ”

"Won't His Highness help you?"

"It is inconvenient for His Highness to meddle in this matter at the moment, we can only rely on our own ...... for the time being," Zhang Yijun poured cold water.

"Then ......" Li Shangyin thought for a moment and said, "Brother Yi Jun must have some clues?" ”

Zhang Yijun spread his hands and poured a basin of cold water on Li Shangyin, "I can't do anything." ”

"Ah, this ......" Li Shangyin's expression was a little unconcealable after hearing this.

After a few sentences, Zhang Yijun felt that the urgency and anxiety in his heart weakened a little, and the corners of his lips were rarely hooked up with a light smile......

Thinking like this, Zhang Yijun also sped up his pace and said to Li Shangyin: "It's time to turn right......"

Zichu.

By the time the two of them returned to the Guangdefang house again, the sound of the second watch drum had already been heard in the streets and alleys, and the long day was over. Li Shangyin was already yawning, and the housekeeper Zhang Xi then greeted him and bowed to Zhang Yijun and Li Shangyin.

"Awn?" Zhang Yijun thought that everyone in the house had already slept, so he was surprised, "Why are you still awake at this hour?" ”

"Hey, isn't it that Xiao Langjun and Sixteen Lang haven't come back yet, it's still early, and the old man is not sleepy......"

Zhang Xi smiled innocently, then turned inward and led Zhang Yijun and Li Shangyin into the second gate. Zhang Yijun wanted to go to the stable to see the "Sa Yuqi" before resting, so he asked Li Shangyin and Zhang Xi to go back to the room to rest first.

Zhang's stable is very wide, occupying a small half of the side courtyard wall in the back garden, Zhang Yijun has heard his sister talk about it, Grandpa loved horses when he was young, so he raised several famous horses here, but later a few years after the death of Grandma, Grandpa actually seemed to change a person, even the favorite horse was given to others, only indulged in the purchase of other businesses, drinking and feasting.

The stables are separated from the library on the other side of the pond in the garden. Late at night, Zhang Yijun walked into the back garden with a lantern, Sa Yujun has always slept very lightly, after seeing Zhang Yijun, he stepped on the ground with his front hooves and snorted again.

Zhang Yijun was carrying apples and a handful of hay as usual, and Sa Yujun was eating vigorously, and Zhang Yijun turned his attention to notice that the library on the other side seemed to be still burning with a candle.

Who forgot to go out?

Zhang Yijun put the apples and hay into the trough, patted Sa Yuqi's neck, and walked to the library.

In front of an entire wall in the library is a bookcase, most of which are said to have been collected by Zhang Yijun's grandfather, Zhang Yi, when he was prime minister, and some of them are even out of print. On weekdays, Zhang's father would randomly draw a book in the afternoon, sit in front of the desk, and read it for an hour with light wine.

Zhang Yijun followed the light and found that the candle on the desk had not been extinguished, so he walked over with the lantern.

The desk was piled with rice paper documents, as well as an envelope that had been enlarged, which had been written to be sent to Luoyang, the eastern capital. Zhang Yijun remembered that his father had mentioned yesterday that there was a buyer for a house in Luoyang. On one side of the letter paper, there are several books stacked together, including "Changqing Official Chapters", "Han Changli Anthology", "Yuanhe County Atlas" and so on.

Zhang Yijun was about to blow out the candle, but the sound of the door opening behind him startled him.

"Jun'er?" Zhang's father was carrying a paper lantern and standing at the door of the library, and then walked in slowly.

"Grandpa...... You haven't slept yet? ”

"I forgot to put out the candle, I lay down, and then I remembered." Zhang's father yawned, walked to the desk and said, "Jun'er, go to sleep, it's not early, I'll clean up here for my father." ”

Zhang Yijun saw that his father was indeed wearing pajamas and did not wear a hat, so he bowed slightly to his father, said good night and retreated.

Zhang's father watched his son step out of the back garden, then blew out the candle, put one of the books on the table into his arms, and then slowly left.

October Xinsi, Yin Zheng.

Chang'an, Daming Palace, Zichen Palace.

Today is the day of the morning pilgrimage. The so-called regular participation is for the civil and military five grades or more in Beijing to the Zichen Palace to discuss matters, the ceremony and etiquette can be simplified, it is a real administrative day.

Before dawn, the Son of Heaven had already gotten up, and it only took a stick of incense to wash, incense, and change clothes under the service of the palace maid.

The fifth watch has arrived, under the signal of the drum beat on the tower of the main gate of the palace, the door of the one hundred and eight squares of Chang'an has been opened, presumably at this time the ministers have set off to the Danfeng Gate in a sedan chair, waiting for the Danfeng Gate of the Daming Palace to open, and then walk through the Hanyuan Hall and the Xuanzheng Hall to the inner court Zichen Hall to discuss the court.

A green-robed eunuch on duty saw that the Son of Heaven had finished grooming and incense, and hurriedly trotted to a half-height black lacquered mahogany cabinet, opened the lid on the top, and inside were two large pieces of frozen ice that had just been changed in last night, which had been stored in the ice cellar near Penglai Lake in Daming Palace since last year. The mahogany cabinet is sturdy and heavy, and even if it is already summer, the ice inside can still be stored for at least two days before it needs to be replaced, and the two heavy snowfalls in the winter months of last year have kept enough ice in the ice cellar to last until the autumn equinox.

The Son of Heaven had already tied his hair crown by the palace maid, wore a red-gold regular robe that had been washed once, closed his eyes and put his palms on the ice, and changed his beard to the back of his hand. Then he put his hands with the cold attack on his face and motioned to the eunuch on duty to close the freezer.

The Son of Heaven closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then slowly spit it out, then motioned to the palace people to bring the jade head, solemnly put it on and tie it. The Son of Heaven casually asked the eunuch on duty: "What is today's breakfast?" ”

The eunuch on duty was in his early thirties, with a flat face and sparse eyebrows. may be a little nervous, or it may be that he hasn't spoken for a long time, and he stumbles for a while, bends down and crosses his hands and says, "Hui...... Back to everyone, slave ...... Just when I saw that the imperial dining room was presented, it was Yujian rice noodles with fresh breeze rice, and everything was simple at everyone's command. ”

"Yujian rice noodles" resemble steamed buns, and the skin is steamed with fine white noodles to be crystal clear, and the size of the whole entrance is just right. All buns are nine pleats, which means sacred and auspicious. The mouth is decorated with fish sauce. The filling inside is quite particular, and it is stuffed with a bear-killing deer. The extremely fat bears are called "elimination", and the intensive breeders of deer are called "stacks". Since it is fat but not greasy, it is most suitable for breakfast.

The "Qingfeng Rice" is a good product for summer morning, which is made of crystal rice, longan powder, borneol, and buttermilk for two hours. Then it must be immersed in a golden jar filled with sweet springs, and then it can be served for royal use after cooling.

"Well, I don't have much breakfast, so I don't have to do it for the sake of pomp." The Son of Heaven looked at the breakfast dishes, nodded, and then asked the eunuch on duty, "What's your name?" ”

"Back to everyone, the little slave's surname is Ma, and his name is ...... The name Yuan Zhen, who entered the palace in the second year of Taihe. ”

"Ma Yuanzhen." The Son of Heaven muttered, "Good name." ”

Ma Yuanzhen was flattered and hurriedly bowed down to thank him.