In the middle of summer in June, melons and fruits are fragrant, all kinds of new fruits appear on the fruit stalls on the side of the streets of Beijing, women and girls can often be seen carrying small baskets, carrying red peaches and yellow apricots to sell in the alleys, and the crisp sound becomes a pleasant note in the streets and alleys.

Honey water jars have become ordinary goods, the trade routes of Miao Village have been opened, rock sugar has been continuously imported into the mainland, and the price has dropped sharply, and the production method of honey fruits is known to even the people of the Western Regions, all the states of Zhengguo are making honey fruits, and the fruits that were originally difficult to store have a way to preserve, and there are more fruit trees in front of and behind the houses of ordinary people, and there are more fruit trees in the barren mountains and wilderness, and there is more hard-earned money for selling melon seeds. However, the climate of Huazhou is unique, melons and fruits are sweeter than other places, and Huazhou Guo Fatzi honey cans are still better than other honey fruits, and the palace is designated for exclusive supply.

Xinglufang and Taiping, Xingdao, Wuben and other squares face each other across Suzaku Street from the imperial city, which is the first choice for court officials to live. The price of land in the imperial capital is expensive, and the price of houses in the fang market near the imperial city is four or five times that of the remote fang market, and there is no market, and most of the houses in these neighborhoods are officially owned, and the Son of Heaven is used to give them to the ministers of the court and the central government to live temporarily, so that they can go to the court and run errands.

In April this year, Taichang Shaoqing Cheng Mingdao moved to the Sanjin Mansion in Xinglufang, and then the errand of the draft envoy fell on him, and the people in Beijing knew that this Cheng Daren was so red that he was purple, and the carriages and horses in front of the house were lined up outside the house. Taichang Temple Zhanglile, suburban temple, Sheji and other things, there is nothing to do on weekdays, Cheng Mingdao goes to the official party every day on time to drink tea, waiting for the Zichen Hall to be summoned by the Son of Heaven, and when the Son of Heaven is not summoned by the Zichen Palace, he can go home.

The situation in front of the house was clear, half proud and half vigilant, and instructed the door to invite the guests to the side hall to drink tea and wait after receiving the post, so as to save people from being arrogant and rude. As soon as he sat down in the study, the steward held a thick stack of worship posts on the table, and Cheng Mingdao drank tea unhurriedly. Cheng Mingdao thought to himself that he was valued by the Son of Heaven, and he couldn't accept all the money, otherwise the Son of Heaven would dislike it and lose a big deal because of a small loss.

There will be a big change in the DPRK and China soon, and many positions will be vacant, and Cheng Mingdao is of course unwilling to stay in the idle position of Taichang Shaoqing. Yu Zhijie, the head of the household department, has resigned for the fifth time, the Son of Heaven is considering the candidate to replace him, Cheng Mingdao said several times in front of the Son of Heaven, the rite said: Only the food of the king and the future generations, no, the Son of Heaven is majestic in all directions, Fang Xian is rich in the Central Plains, and Sirong should look at the wind and worship him. Shi Chongwei was obviously very interested in his words, and left him alone several times to summon him, and Cheng Mingdao happily felt that he was getting closer and closer to the position of the head of the household.

Picked up the top post, it was Huangzhou Sima Yao Shiyu, no need to ask if this post could be placed on the top, the housekeeper and the door have received a lot of benefits. He understands the truth that when the water is clear, there is no fish, and he always has to give his subordinates a mouthful of soup when he eats meat, but two days ago, the Son of Heaven laughed at him when he called the right person, and even the gatekeepers became rich and prepared to buy a house in the market.

As a courtier, every seemingly unintentional word of the Son of Heaven should be vigilant, otherwise the head-killing knife will soon fall, Cheng Mingdao returned home and opened the door, warning the servants not to be too presumptuous, it seems that his words are not as effective as silver, Cheng Mingdao has a secret fire in his heart, and throws Yao Shiyu's worship post aside. It seems that a few people should be deliberately snubbed, so that those dogs who have taken advantage will have some complaints.

Quickly flipped through the prayer post, Cheng Mingdao's hand stopped, and this worship post read, "Si Nong Temple Chengtian Shoulou worships". Sinong Sicheng is just a petty official from the sixth grade, and he is inconspicuous in Beijing, but the figure behind him is Jiang Anyi. Tian Shoulou was originally just an unpopular official in the Ministry of Rites, and when Jiang Anyi was a member of the Ministry of Rites, he took refuge in his disciples, and with the rise of Jiang Anyi's high official positions, he also moved all the way up, especially Jiang Anyi's perennial position outside Beijing, Tian Shoulou became Jiang Anyi's spokesman in Beijing. This Tian Shoulou has Jiang Anyi's financial help, has a wide range of contacts, and is a long-sleeved and good dancing figure in Beijing.

Cheng Mingdao thought for a while and ordered, "Go and invite Lord Tian Shoulou Tian to come and see him." ”

In the hospitality area of the side hall, there are several rows of chairs, more than 30 people are waiting for tea, acquaintances get together to talk, some are crowded in the corner and whisper, some sit and drink tea, and some talk and laugh. A group of officials gathered around Tian Shoulou to talk about it, and several officials from other places who had come to Beijing invited him to the restaurant for a drink in the evening. Living and moving qi and nourishing the body, Tian Shoulou has already gotten rid of his obscene appearance, his ruddy cheeks are matched with a half-foot-long black beard, and he lives a peaceful and beautiful life at a glance, and his gestures bring out confidence and calmness to make those foreign officials secretly envious.

The steward walked into the house, and all eyes were on him. Cheng Yang straightened his chest, glanced at the people in the room, and said with a bit of arrogance: "Where is Lord Tian Shoulou, my lord invites you to move to the study to meet." ”

One person ascended to heaven with a chicken dog, Cheng Mingdao was an official in the capital, and there were not a few clansmen who came to join him, and Cheng Yang was his brother. Cheng Yang has been with Cheng Mingdao for seven or eight years, and he has to be respectful, Cheng Mingdao is the draft envoy, and the people who come to see him are constant, so he asked Cheng Chang to do the management of communication.

Tian Shoulou stood up, arched his hand to the people around him, and said with a smile: "Master Cheng has a call, Tian will retire first, and then gather with you when you have time to say goodbye." ”

The green shirt fluttered, and in the whispers of envy of everyone, he followed Steward Cheng to the study, Tian Shoulou handed a silver ticket to Cheng Yang, and said with a smile: "Steward Cheng, you have to work." I wonder what Master Cheng can explain? ”

Cheng Yang quickly took the silver ticket, his hand shrunk in his sleeve, and when he took it out again, the silver ticket was gone. Cheng Yang's face changed a smile and said, "Master is going to be the first to see Lord Tian today, which shows that he values it." The lord is in a good mood, so Lord Tian can go with confidence, and everything will go smoothly. ”

Ten taels of silver in exchange for a good mood, Tian Shoulou smiled on his face, and knew in his heart that Cheng Mingdao was going to see Master Jiang behind him. In order to repay the great kindness of the lord, Tian should do his best, that is, to repay him with death, which is also regarded as a happy journey.

Walking into the study, Tian Shoulou bowed deeply to Cheng Mingdao, who was sitting upright, and said, "Tian Mou saw Master Cheng." ”

Cheng Mingdao bowed a little in the chair and beckoned: "You don't have to be polite to guard the building, feel free to sit." I and An Yi are both courtiers of the East Palace, like brothers, but I came to guard the building to bring a letter for An Yi? Time is limited, and there are still dozens of people waiting to meet, Cheng Mingdao doesn't plan to go around in circles and go straight to the point.

Tian Shoulou sat down in the chair and said with a smile: "Tian is a lackey under the lord's door, and he doesn't dare to disturb the lord if he has nothing to do, so the lord asked me to bring a letter to Lord Cheng." ”

took out the letter from his arms and handed it over, Cheng Mingdao read the letter, and Tian Shoulou sat quietly and tasted tea. The letter was written by Jiang Anyi himself, briefly mentioning the feelings of his colleagues in the East Palace, and then talking about the fact that Huazhou had selected twenty show girls to be sent to the palace, and asked him to take care of them. After the letter was a gift list, Cheng Mingdao glanced at it quickly, in addition to some special products unique to Huazhou, there were also jade Buddhas, jade bracelets, jade such as jade, jade pots and other things. Cheng Mingdao's heart jumped, the mutton fat jade produced in Huazhou is the best in jade, and there is a saying that "gold is priceless and jade is priceless", and the value of these jade should be no less than 20,000 taels.

Sending the show girl to the palace is just a matter of effort, if someone else gives this generous gift, Cheng Mingdao will be a little moved, and he will do it easily, but Jiang Anyi is a god of wealth, and he wants to send himself away with only 20,000 taels, hum, he looks down on himself too much.

Putting the letter on the table, Cheng Mingdao stroked his beard and said: "Master Jiang's meaning Cheng Mou knows, An Yi really sees it, with my friendship with him, what can Cheng Mou do without force, what do you do with these messy things, isn't this a slap in the face of Cheng Mou?" You bring things back, you tell An Yi that Cheng Mou has to live long live, and if you send me the envoy of the draft envoy, you can't live up to the trust of the Son of Heaven, and everything should be done according to the rules. ”

Tian Shoulou has seen those jades, all of which are fine mutton fat jade, and the carvings are exquisite, and the value is at least more than 50,000 taels. He is very clear about Cheng Mingdao's code for receiving gifts, and if more than 10,000 taels are sent to the palace, he can choose whether he can choose or not; 20,000 taels of portraits were given to the Son of Heaven for viewing; Fifty thousand taels was directly in front of the Son of Heaven. This batch of jade was sent according to the high standard, but Cheng Mingdao did not accept it.

After thinking about it for a while, Tian Shoulou understood Cheng Mingdao's thoughts, first, the lion opened his mouth, and second, he didn't understand the value of jade. Putting down the teacup, Tian Shoulou said with a smile: "It's all worthless plays, my lord knows that adults are honest, and he doesn't dare to use a blockage to pollute the innocence of adults." Although those jade are the best mutton fat jade, but it is the compensation for the defeat of the Western Regions, the only desirable thing is the carving, my lord knows that the adult is a humble gentleman, saying that the gentleman is like jade, these jade to others is just a change of vulgar things, but to the adult is an elegant thing, and please accept it. ”

Cheng Mingdao said with a smile: "An Yi knows me, since this is the case, Cheng will be cheeky to stay and play for a few days, and he will definitely return it when he is finished." ”

Tian Shoulou took out a letter from his bosom and presented it, and said with a smile: "My lord knows that Lord Cheng has worked very hard for the country, and I want to invite my lord to visit Huazhou." In addition to Xiangxueju in Huazhou, there is also Luobai Mountain Hot Spring to visit, and the body is tired to take a soak bath in the warm pool, which has the effect of eliminating fatigue and invigorating the spirit. ”

Cheng Mingdao had heard of Luobaishan Hot Springs, when the Huang family and Jiang Anyi failed to compete for Wenchi real estate, and also sued in front of the Son of Heaven, saying that Jiang Anyi was flying high and domineering and forcibly buying land, but the Huang family was reprimanded by Emperor Su, and Jiang Anyi was indeed extremely favored in Emperor Su's heart. It's just that once the Son of Heaven and a courtier, Emperor Su passed away, and the Son of Heaven's trust in him was not as good as before, but he was a bit like Jiang Anyi to Emperor Su back then, no wonder Jiang Anyi sent Tian Shoulou to give gifts to please himself.

I opened the letter with a bit of self-confidence, and inside was a house deed, a manor next to the Wenchi in Luobai Mountain, covering an area of fifty acres. Although the land in Wenchi in Luobai Mountain is not as valuable as in Beijing, the land price in Huazhou has risen rapidly in recent years, especially in places with good scenery, and the land price is frighteningly high, and Cheng Mingdao estimates that this manor will cost at least 10,000 taels of silver.

Seeing Cheng Mingdao accept the title deed with a smile on his face, Tian Shoulou got up to say goodbye, Cheng Mingdao got up and sent it to the eaves, so that Cheng Yang, who was waiting outside, was secretly surprised, how many big officials came to see the lord and didn't see the lord to send him off, this six-grade junior official can actually let the lord send him out, it really can't be underestimated, remember to be more enthusiastic next time you come.

The carriage galloped along Suzaku Avenue unhurriedly, "red peaches, yellow apricots, sweet bites and lost teeth", and the crisp sound of selling came into my ears. When I went out, my wife confessed to buy some fruit for my grandson, and I almost forgot about it.

Stamped his feet, the carriage pulled over, took out a silver ticket or two for the coachman to buy fruit, Tian Shoulou leaned on the pillow and thought about his thoughts. It is rumored in Beijing that the lord is too powerful in Huazhou, and the Son of Heaven intends to transfer Fang Thorn Shi, and after he sent the letter, the lord has been secretly alerted, and this time giving Cheng Mingdao a gift is probably a countermeasure. Cheng Mingdao is a close minister of the Son of Heaven, and with him to help the lord speak, the lord will be better off in the court.

A basket full of fruits was put into the carriage, the car was filled with the unique sweet fragrance of fruits, Tian Shoulou picked up a red peach casually, took a bite of juice overflowing, sweet mouthful, wiped the peach juice that splashed out, Tian Shoulou thought with a smile, following the lord this day is getting sweeter and sweeter, no matter where the lord goes, he will follow.