In July of the fourth year of Renshou, Emperor Wen Yang Jian died, and the crown prince Yang Guang ascended the throne. The Great Sui presented a prosperous situation.

On the ninth day of the first month of the fifth year of the Great Cause, the whirring cold wind blew the withered grass on the bank of the Luoshui River. In the winter in the north, everything withered, except for the vast white snow and a lonely tree in the distance, there was no life.

Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Great Sui, is standing in the cold winter wind.

In Luoyang City, there is a mansion of blue bricks and gray tiles, the high walls of this mansion are thick and strong, more than two zhang high, which can be described as magnificent.

In front of the gate of the mansion, there are two stone carvings of the lion of the town house, and the steps are facing a vermilion lacquer gate, on which a huge hot stamping plaque is hung, and the four big characters of "Xu Guogong's Mansion" are written on it.

Just by the momentum of this mansion, it can be seen that the owner of this house must be a powerful person in the DPRK and China, and his status is extremely prominent.

And in the depths of this Xu Guogong Mansion, in an ordinary blue brick courtyard, a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy was slowly walking over.

This young man has fair skin, clear eyebrows, and a pair of black and white eyes, although bright, the whole person looks a little haggard. When he walks, his steps are frivolous, giving people a feeling of recovering from a serious illness.

The young man was also dressed very simply, with a wooden hairpin on his head to hold his hair in place, a very ordinary gray cotton jacket on his body, and a pair of cotton pants with many patches sewn on his legs. It looks shabby.

A cold wind blew, and the boy couldn't help but tighten his clothes. This padded jacket is indeed a little thin, and it cannot completely cover the cold of winter.

When he walked through a long corridor and walked to the entrance of the courtyard, the young man was stunned for a moment, raised his head and looked forward for a moment, then stepped back and leaned against the wall, as if to avoid someone.

After a while, two round-faced girls dressed in the costumes of the maids in the house came laughing and came together, one in green and the other in purple. The two girls are between fifteen or sixteen years old, and they are quite beautiful.

As they walked through the doorway, they glanced at the boy who was avoiding them, let out a chuckle, and walked on without looking back.

At this moment, some looming gossip came intermittently from the direction where the two maids left.

"He came to collect the money in person again, this is a unique special case in our house!"

"His identity is so special, who dares to help him get it?"

"Hehe, Sister Peach, I met him again this time, maybe it's your fate and opportunity...... How can I say that he is also a young master......"

"Sister, what are you talking about! I don't want it, this kind of sick and cowardly young master, maybe it will be blown away when the wind is stronger, it is better to find a young steward with a little real power......"

After hearing these disdainful voices for himself, the young man could only show a wry smile. He patted the clothes that had been stained with some wall dust because they were clinging to the wall, and then continued towards the inner courtyard.

After passing through the two connected courtyards, he walked to the door of the storeroom in the mansion, where two tables were placed, and a middle-aged man in a blue shirt with two whiskers was sitting behind the table.

The young man hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, and said with a smile on his face: "Steward Ma, I'm disturbing you!" ”

The steward glanced at him, and said with a slightly moved expression: "Amin, you came so early this time!" I remember that the news of the early payment was only announced less than an hour. ”

"Steward Ma laughed, after the news was announced, it happened that Sister Xiaohong was passing by my residence for something, so I notified the ...... by the way," the young man named Ah Ming sneered.

The steward shook his head, then took out a money bag from under the table, checked it in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then turned around and took out a slightly yellowed blue cloth from a large worn box behind him, and handed it to Ah Ming along with the shriveled money bag.

Amin looked at the shriveled money bag, hesitated for a moment, and then took the money bag and the blue cloth with both hands.

At this time, he heard the sigh of the steward Ma in his ears: "Ah Ming, the old lady originally explained that because this month is the first month, the young masters and young ladies in the house have doubled their money, and the regular money of their subordinates, servants, and family members has also been increased by half, as a reward for everyone to celebrate the New Year...... But your situation is a little special: your name is not in the statistics of the Yuwen family in Fushang, and there is no you in the list of subordinates, only your mother's name, so ......"

Speaking of this, the steward Ma paused for a moment, and then sneered: "I thought that there are still some old cloths from previous years in the treasury, and no one will clean them up there anyway, so I will find you an old blue cloth from it, so that you can change into new clothes for the New Year." Ma Mou saw that you have been wearing this dress for almost three years, and you have made a lot of patches, so it's time to change it! ”

An embarrassed expression suddenly appeared on Amin's face. After hearing this, he could only nod helplessly, and then took the old cloth that was a little yellowed, and respectfully thanked the horse steward before taking his leave.

With infinite loss in his heart, after passing through several courtyards, he came to a hut in the outer courtyard.

There were only two dilapidated wooden couches in this hut, and the beams above the head were blackened, and I don't know how many years old.

The door railings and window lattices on the side, although antique, are all dilapidated, and they look a little old.

And a middle-aged woman with an ordinary appearance was sitting on the bed, her fingers nimbly sewing and mending clothes.

She was about thirty years old and had a mediocre appearance, but the clothes on her body were the same as Amin's, a green padded jacket with many patches.

Hearing the footsteps, she raised her head, and when she saw that it was Yu Wenming coming back, Fang hurriedly put down the needlework in her hand and asked happily, "Ming'er, are you back?" This month's case money...... How much? ”

Ah Ming smiled bitterly: "Steward Ma said that I am neither the young master of the Yuwen family, nor a servant, so I am not on the list on both sides...... Naturally, the extra reward will not be related to me. He could only send me an extra piece of old cloth within his authority, saying that I could use it to find someone to make a new dress......"

When the middle-aged woman heard this, she sighed lightly and lowered her head to weave it again. Her expression was calm, and she didn't complain, obviously not the first time she had encountered such a situation.

Seeing that his mother was disappointed, Ah Ming took two steps forward and put the cloth next to her and sat down, and said with a smile, "Mother, this cloth boy sent by the horse steward looks good at the material!" ”

Hearing this, the middle-aged woman took the old blue cloth from Ah Ming's hand, then looked up and down for a moment, and finally said with a happy face: "Although this blue cloth is a little old, the texture is okay, I am worried about making you new clothes and poor fabrics, and now it can be regarded as a charcoal in the snow...... If you save a little, you can not only make a dress, but also pants. ”

Ah Ming smiled: "Mother, since it is enough to make two, why don't you also make a dress for yourself, and we will both change it for the New Year." ”

The middle-aged woman was relieved: "Mother doesn't need it, Mother is just a subordinate, and it is normal to wear patched clothes." And you are the young master of the Yuwen family, you have to pay attention to ......"

Ah Ming still needed to be persuaded again, but his mother quickly diverted the topic and said, "This matter is so decided, don't say more Ming'er...... By the way, when Sister Xiaohong came over, she also brought you two books and some paper, saying that it was for you to read well, but don't stain the book, otherwise it will be difficult for the third lady to explain. ”

"Oh, are there any more books?" Amin stood up with interest.

These three young ladies are his sister Yuwen Yuqing, who is only one year younger than him, but her status in Yuwen's family is much more noble than him, and she is the daughter of her father's wife.

"Look at it!" The middle-aged woman turned around and handed two booklets, neatly stacked and wrapped in thick paper shells, to Ah Ming.

Ah Ming opened the cover of the book and saw the words "Book of Songs" written on it in seal script.

He flipped through it, and felt that the content was no different from the simplified "Book of Songs" in his memory, but the font was different.

Placing this book in his hand, he flipped through the second one, and on the cover of this book was written the two big characters "Analects".

Seeing this, Ah Ming was slightly stunned, and secretly thought that in ancient times, half of the "Analects" ruled the world, from this point of view, Yuwen Yuqing's expectations for himself were quite high.

"By the way, Ming'er, the third lady explained that she wants you to practice more calligraphy, and she said that the imperial court is likely to announce the holding of the imperial examination next year. I heard that this imperial examination is for everyone, no matter what their status, can sign up for it, and those with excellent grades will be hired as officials...... The third lady said that this new imperial examination may be your way out in the future! The middle-aged woman admonished.

Amin nodded, he naturally knew about it.

Nowadays, there are many lowly civilians in the Eastern Capital who are already studying poetry and books, in order to sign up for the imperial examinations, which are very likely to appear in the future. His identity is embarrassing, and it is almost impossible to be appreciated by the head of the family in the Yuwen family and recommend him to the imperial court as an official. If you want to have a good future, you can only rely on yourself to participate in the imperial examination and strive to have a good result.

"By the way, Ming'er, do you want to practice calligraphy with sand, or use the rice paper that Miss San brought over?" The middle-aged woman asked again.

Ah Ming hesitated for a moment, but still sighed: "Use sand, rice paper is too expensive." ”

With that, he took a dustpan from the bookshelf in the house, which was full of yellow sand. He picked up the dustpan and walked outside the house to a flower field on the left. Next to the flower field, there is a sandy area that is half an hour square. Amin added the new sand evenly on the sandy ground.

Ah Ming's handwriting is almost always practiced on the sand, and only when he writes formal letters, will he use the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone given to him by the third lady.

After finishing the sand, he saw his mother rushing out in a panic, still holding a brush in her hand.

"Ming'er, it's not good! This pen was gnawed by a mouse, and the tip of the pen was bitten off, alas, it's all to blame, after washing the pen yesterday, I wanted to hang the pen by the window to dry, but I forgot to put it away...... "The middle-aged woman regretted.

After taking the pen from his mother's hand, the entire tip of the brush was almost gone, and now it was a small bare wooden stick. Rodent marks can also be seen on the broken end of the brush, which is indeed caused by the bite of a mouse.

"Soon after the year, it will be the imperial examination, Ming'er, how can you practice calligraphy without a brush? Or ......"

The middle-aged woman took out eighteen yuan from her wrinkled pocket and handed it to her son: "Ming'er, this is the copper coin that came down in the autumn season, you go to Dongdajie to have a look, if it is not enough, come back and take the money of that year to buy it." ”

Ah Ming took the copper coin and comforted: "Mother, don't worry, the child heard that the Sihai Book House on East Street seems to be dealing with old goods a few years ago, I will go and see if there may be old pens for sale, and I will choose a good one when the time comes." ”

He knew that although he had only received the three times of money, his mother did not dare to use it indiscriminately, he was sick a while ago, and his mother had borrowed money from several other people, and most of the three times the money was to be used to pay off the debt.

Ah Ming did not leave the mansion directly, but went to the steward first, took the sign for the door, and then walked towards the gate.

After the porter checked the door sign, Fang waved his hand and motioned for him to go and return quickly.

After Ah Ming bowed to the gatehouse, Fang stepped out of the gate of Yuwen Mansion.

Looking at the sunlight overhead, Amin took a deep breath of fresh air, and his heart was also full of emotion......

He is not from this world, but traveled from China more than 1,400 years ago half a year ago, and his soul is possessed by a twelve-year-old boy who is sick and dying in the Great Sui.

This young man's name is Yu Wenming, and he is the general of Zuo Lingwei of the Sui Dynasty, the grandson of Xu Guogong Yu Wenshu, and the second son of Shaoqing Yu Wenhua, the imperial servant of the dynasty. He also has an older brother and a younger sister.

Originally, as an official position as his grandfather and father, he should have lived a life of fine clothes and food. But his identity is very special and embarrassing.

Because he was not born to Yu Wenhua's wife or concubine, but Yu Wenhua and a drunken disorder and raped a maid named Xiao Wanjun in the mansion, the result of planting.

In the Sui Dynasty, the era when the gate lords and scholars were the most powerful, they were very particular about a person's background.

Yu Wenhua's father, Yu Wenshu, was not only the general of Zuo Lingwei and the knight Xu Guogong, but also the head of the Yuwen valve, the largest family in the Guanlongmen valve. Therefore, the aristocrats like them are stricter than ordinary families in terms of status hierarchy and rules for weddings and funerals.

Yu Wenming's mother, Xiao Wanjun, is an official slave, with a low status and a mediocre appearance. Therefore, it is simply impossible to be included in the side chamber of Yu culture.

Moreover, because Yu Wenhua's wife Yuan is a jealous woman, seeing that Xiao Wanjun was only favored by Yu Wenhua once, she gave birth to a son, and she was also very jealous in her heart, especially worried that she would threaten her son Yuwen Chengdu's status, and she had been suppressing and abusing Xiao Wanjun and Yu Wenming.

The status of their mother and son in the Yuwen family is extremely low, and their daily life is almost indistinguishable from that of the servants in the house.

Xiao Wanjun originally did some needlework in the house, and she had a consistent salary for a month. After giving birth to Yu Wenming, Yuan, as his wife, was in charge of Yu Wenhua and the financial power of this house, so he ordered to allocate more money to her every month as a living expense to support Yu Wenming. In this way, the mother and son have two pieces of money to use every month.

However, all the servants in the palace who knew about it were upset for them.

Among the descendants of the Yuwen family, even the most remote lineage, the lowest-status concubine, has ten copper coins a month. What's more, Yu Wenming is still the grandson of the head of the family, Yu Wenshu, and the eldest son Yu Wenhua's parent, only this living allowance is issued, which is obviously bullying people.

But Xiao Wanjun didn't care too much, she still silently accepted this reality. Perhaps in her opinion, two yuan a month is enough for her and her son to live.

These unfair treatments are the result of malicious manipulation by Yu Wenhua's wife, Yuanshi, if it weren't for Yu Wenhua's face, I'm afraid that this matter will not look good. The Yuan family still thinks that it is too much to give their mother and son two copper coins a month.

Yu Wenming will naturally not have a good time in this situation. From the memories obtained, I know that he has really suffered since he was a child, even if he is an ordinary child of a domestic servant, he has not suffered as much.

obviously has a father, and he is still the eldest son of the Yuwen family, but no one has ever called him a young master.

Obviously born in a powerful family, but he never had enough snacks and clothes, just because Yu Wenhua was afraid that people would know that he was his illegitimate son, which would tarnish his reputation and affect his future in the court, so he never visited their mother and son.

Half a year ago, Yu Wenming fell from a tree and fell into a pool because he helped another child named Yu Wenjie in the mansion to trick up bird eggs, causing a serious illness and dying life.

But Rao is like this, Yu Wenhua also ignores him and ignores him, just like Yu Wenming is not his son.

Xiao Wanjun had to go outside the house and begged Jishantang for treatment from a skilled doctor, but was kicked out because she couldn't pay the consultation fee.

After that, she had to find an ordinary lang doctor who was left behind for treatment. Although this person's medical skills are not very good, he is still dedicated, and under the wholehearted treatment, he finally barely saved Yu Wenming's life. But it is far from being completely cured.

According to Na Langzhong, in order to be completely cured, it is necessary to take a large amount of tonic medicine. And the huge amount of money to buy these drugs is not something that Xiao Wanjun can afford.

Fortunately, her determination to seek treatment for her son moved the horse steward in the house, and he found another errand for Xiao Wanjun to sew and mend clothes, so that he could work at home, but while sewing and mending clothes, he could also take care of Yu Wenming.

In this way, Yu Wenming's body finally recovered. But his mother and son also owe a lot of debts for this, and it is estimated that they may not be able to pay it off in two or three years.

After learning about his current situation, Yu Wenming was a little speechless.

Nominally speaking, he is the grandson of Yu Wenshu, the general of Zuo Lingwei, the son of Yu Wenhua, the servant Shaoqing Yu Wenhua, and he can be regarded as a nobleman from the gate. But now he and his mother's status is only worse than some ordinary slaves in the house.

What should a concubine do if he falls into this field? Instead of thinking about how he would compete in troubled times when the Sui Dynasty fell nine years later, it was better to think about how to save his life and improve his life. This is the most important thing for Yu Wenming, who is only twelve years old now.

Walking on the streets of Luoyang, I saw that the streets in the city were straight and wide, and the houses on both sides were newly repaired, and the crowds were weaving.

Dongdu is worthy of being the new capital of today's Shengshang Yang Guang, specially organized by millions of migrant workers. Both in popularity and scale, it is not comparable to the previous Xijing Chang'an.

The place where Yu Wenming wants to go is Luoyang's East Street, which is called Liren City, which sells ordinary firewood, rice, oil and salt, as well as pen, ink, paper, inkstone, tea tools and other daily necessities.

On the other hand, there is West Street, which is called the Metropolitan City, and most of the luxury goods are sold, all kinds of silk and satin, jewelry, jade, gold, silver and jade, as well as special products from the Western Regions, etc., which are mainly supplied to princes and nobles.

When Yu Wenming just walked to the intersection of East Street, his expression suddenly moved. Because there was a sound of people shouting and neighing in front of them, people on the street dodged to both sides.

When he looked closely, he saw a large herd of camels in front of him, and these camels looked very heavy with many boxes strapped to them.