There are two famous streets in the imperial capital, one is the Vermilion Bird Street that Mu Qiuhuang and they walked when they entered the city, and the other is Beichen Avenue located in the north of the city.

Suzaku Street is famous because of its many shops and stalls along the street, which has always been known for its bustle, attracting countless tourists to stop and watch, and it seems to be the most prosperous and prosperous in the world. Beichen Avenue is famous, but it is the opposite of Suzaku Street, which is very wide, clean, and deserted. Generally speaking, except for the morning bell and dusk drum, the carriages and sedan chairs passing on Beichen Avenue are more frequent, and the rest of the time is basically deserted. The reason why this is the case is because the people living along the Beichen Avenue are all high-ranking officials and nobles, relatives of the emperor and the country, if they do not have this identity, let alone ordinary people, even if they are businessmen and wealthy people, they are not qualified to gain a foothold here.

Therefore, these two streets are habitually called by the people of Kyoto: "In the World" and "Ladder to Heaven".

On Beichen Avenue, there will be a house gate every ten zhang, and there will be two stone lions squatting outside each house gate, and according to the identity and status of their own owners, the size and shape of the stone lions are also different.

Taishifu is located in the deepest part of Beichen Avenue in Yuhua Lane, surrounded by lush greenery.

Since the death of the old lady Situ Changqing, Situ Yimai has followed the old lady's last wish, and all of them have withdrawn from the court, and no one has participated in politics.

But when the eldest son of the old lady, Situ Buqi, was ready to return to the little emperor and return to the Taishi Mansion and return to his hometown, the little emperor was grateful for the outstanding achievements of the old Taishi Situ Changqing during his lifetime, and rewarded the Taishi Mansion to the Situ family permanently, and decreed that everything should be kept as it was, and the supply and demand would continue without taking off the plaque......

It stands to reason that in the face of such a long grace, Situ Buqi should be grateful and flattered, but this Situ Buqi actually resigned three times on the grounds that the heirs of the ancestor Yu Yin did not dare to accept it. However, this little emperor is really affectionate and sincere, and he actually rejected Situ Buqi's resignation three times. It's just that when Situ Buqi knelt down for the fourth time to ask Long En to resign, the little emperor was also quite helpless...... In the end, the two sides reached a consensus, because the old Taishi Situ Changqing was the official of the three dynasties, so the Taishi Mansion was rewarded to Situ for three generations and then taken back by the national dynasty.

And this "three gifts from the monarch, three refusals from the courtiers" deeds are also well known, for a while, the good name of the monarch and the courtiers who are loyal and complement each other has completely left a mark in the hearts of the people.

……

The black carriage passed slowly on Beichen Avenue, and the contact between the wheels and the bluestone slab played a special sound, disturbing the silence on the avenue, but fortunately, the people who lived here were already well-informed, so there were no curious eyes on either side.

Ling Hujie drove the carriage into Yuhua Alley, and parked the carriage directly at the courtyard wall next to the two big stone lions at the entrance of the Taishi Mansion.

Mu Qiuhuang lifted the curtain, helped Ling Huji's men get out of the carriage, looked around, there was no expression on his face, turned back to Ling Huyu and said, "I'll go in alone, you wait for me here first." ”

After Ling Hu Ji nodded in response, he leaned on the carriage and began to close his eyes and recuperate.

The gate of Taishifu was closed at this time, and there were no guards on duty at the door, only the two big stone lions chatted in every way, staring at Mu Qiuhuang viciously, Mu Qiuhuang didn't look at the two stone lions, and raised his head and put his eyes on the plaque hanging above his head, staring at the plaque quietly and couldn't help but be a little distracted. Because of the age, the color of the black paint on the plaque has become a little lighter, but the fading of this plaque is not old, but it sets off the historical precipitation of the Taishi Mansion standing in the three dynasties, and the nobility of the Dingshi Zhongming House is also fully displayed in this plaque.

After a while, Mu Qiuhuang retracted his gaze, tidied up his clothes and hair crown, walked straight to the vermilion lacquer gate, pinched the knocker in the bronze lion's mouth, and knocked lightly a few times.

With a creak, the door was pushed a-half open from the inside, and the two porters greeted them, glanced at Mu Qiuhuang curiously, and asked puzzledly, "Who are you?" What happened? ”

Mu Qiuhuang smiled slightly, and said softly: "I am Mu Qiuhuang, the son of Beiyu, and I am here to pay my respects to Uncle Situ." ”

Seeing the people under the gatehouse looking at each other with doubts on their faces, Mu Qiuhuang couldn't help but feel a little strange, but still explained: "Yesterday, I sent someone to send a sticker. ”

Just as the two porters were hesitating, should they let Mu Qiuhuang in? When I was about to go in to report it, I saw an old man coming from the house.

"It's Mu Gongzi, right?" The old man asked before he reached the door.

Mu Qiuhuang nodded and responded, "Exactly." ”

After confirming Mu Qiuhuang's identity, the old man said respectfully: "Mu Gongzi, please come with me, the old man has been waiting in the mansion for a long time." ”

Seeing the old man talking, the two porters hurriedly pushed open the door and welcomed Mu Qiuhuang in.

The old man explained to Mu Qiuhuang: "The old man has been closed for many years, so the porter doesn't know that anyone will come to pay respects, and I ask Mu Gongzi to forgive me." ”

"Don't worry, Uncle Lao will lead the way." Mu Qiuhuang smiled and gestured at the old man.

The old man smiled kindly at Mu Qiuhuang, did not speak, and half-bent forward to lead the way,

As soon as I entered the gate of the courtyard, I saw a stone tablet more than nine feet high standing in front of me, which was engraved with a couplet, the upper one was "Optimus White Jade Pillar", the lower one was "Purple Gold Beam of the Sea", and the center of the stele was engraved with the four big characters of "Pillar Stone of the Country".

Mu Qiuhuang also stopped when he saw these four big characters, and was very shocked in his heart, although the erection of the monument has been a common means for the emperor to win people's hearts, but the four big characters of "the pillar of the country" are not something that ordinary meritorious officials can bear. In addition to the four princes of the east, west, south and north at the beginning of the founding of the country, the old lady Situ Changqing is the fifth person to receive this honor...... Seeing that Mu Qiuhuang was stopping, the old man did not urge, but stopped, and looked at the stele with Mu Qiuhuang, with a hint of pride in his eyes. Oh, yes! This stele is the best reward and proof for the old lady Situ Changqing in his life, and he is naturally honored to be an old servant of the Taishi Mansion.

"The kid had the honor to see the old lady when he was a child, and at this time, when he saw the old lady's life and glory, he couldn't help but admire him......" Mu Qiuhuang said in a deep voice, and his tone was full of admiration.

The old man smiled, didn't say anything, and continued to lead the way in front of Mu Qiuhuang.

All the way in, the courtyard is getting deeper, there are rockeries, green pines, red plums, green bamboos, pond koi, arch bridges, small pavilions...... The scenery looks quite elegant, I met some maids and servants along the road, and when I saw someone coming, they all stood quietly on both sides, not seeing half of the chaos, showing the luxury of the wealthy family.

The two of them walked a cup of tea, but they had not yet reached the inner courtyard. However, the prince who was born in the Beiyu Marquis Mansion since he was a child naturally would not take such a grand courtyard in his eyes, you must know that the Beiyu Marquis Mansion is much bigger than this. It's just that Mu Qiuhuang followed the old servant all the way, feeling a little bored, and couldn't help but secretly compare this Taishi Mansion with the Beiyu Hou Mansion. After this comparison, it was found that there were many differences between the two courtyards, and the scenery in the Taishi Mansion was distributed in a reasonable and orderly manner, with more flowers and trees, birds, insects, fish and beasts. The Beiyu Hou Mansion does not pay much attention to these flowers, birds, fish and insects, and pays more attention to the corner tower of the courtyard wall...... In other words, the Beiyu Marquis Mansion was built according to a miniature version of the city.

……

"Mu Gongzi, there are many female dependents in this inner courtyard, and it is inconvenient for the old slave to enter, so you can go in with her......" The old man suddenly spoke, waking up Mu Qiuhuang, who was wandering elsewhere.

Mu Qiuhuang fixed his eyes and found that he had followed the old man to the door of the inner courtyard, and there was already a little maid in green clothes standing at the door, but this little maid turned out to be very childish, with big eyes and a delicate face, although it was a little worse than Su Xiaoxiao, it was almost the same as Mu Qiuhuang's personal maid in spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Mu Qiuhuang stared at the maid for a few moments, and then suddenly remembered the word "inner courtyard" in the old man's words just now, and couldn't help but be very puzzled in his heart, and a puzzled look came to him, and he was about to ask, but saw that the old man had turned around and left.

Seeing this, Mu Qiuhuang couldn't help but shake his head slightly and smiled, although he didn't understand why this Situ Buqi chose to receive him in the inner courtyard of the Taishi Mansion? But the guest changes with the host, and it is not good to say much at this time.

"Miss Lao will lead the way." Mu Qiuhuang smiled at the little girl and said softly.

"Mu Gongzi, please." The little maid said softly, turning to lead the way.

"It's a nice sound." Mu Qiuhuang couldn't help but mutter.

But it just fell into the ears of the little maid, and the little maid glanced back at Mu Qiuhuang, but her cheeks turned red first.

Mu Qiuhuang didn't expect that his casual words would be heard by the other party, and he couldn't help but smile apologetically at the little girl.

When the little maid saw him like this, her face became more and more ruddy, and she quickly turned her head and quickened her pace.

"Interesting little girl." Mu Qiuhuang smiled and said a word silently in his heart.

……

As the little maid walked through the inner courtyard for only a moment, she came to a doorway, which was made of blue bricks, and there was a slightly protruding carved rain eaves on it.

"Mu Gongzi can go in by himself, father...... The old man was waiting inside. The maid was so quick that she almost said the wrong thing, but fortunately, her words changed in time, and Mu Qiuhuang was looking at the carved rain eaves at this time, so she didn't notice the mistake in her mouth.

"Oh...... There's Miss Lao. Mu Qiuhuang nodded at her and walked through the door and inside.

When the maid saw Mu Qiuhuang enter the doorway, she patted her chest, breathed a long sigh of relief, and said to herself: "It's so dangerous, I almost said that I was bald......"