After Zhou Xiuying left, Ji Qingwen did not fall asleep.

He was full of concerns, sat at the table with a pen and paper, and wrote down the interrogation of Yuan Chonghuan a few days ago, the attitudes of Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren, Gao Qiqian and others, the change of Emperor Chongzhen's mind, the timing of the appearance of Dolgon, Ao Bai and others, and the investigation and disposal of Luo Yangxing, etc., all on the paper, and carefully reviewed them carefully.

Ji Qingwen was a programmer before he crossed, and what he was best at was sorting out logical relationships, after his review, he only felt that these things were inextricably linked, but people's hearts were too complicated, and it was not a program or a set of logic that could explain clearly.

Looking at the large and dense words on the paper, Ji Qingwen, who had been tired for a day, finally fell a little drowsy, and his upper and lower eyelids couldn't help fighting, and the words in front of him that were originally written crookedly became even more blurry and twisted, and they were already mixed up......

Suddenly, he heard a few crisp and melodious rod sounds in his ears, Ji Qingwen immediately woke up from his sleep and asked, "Huang Degong, what time is it?" ”

Huang Degong was still guarding the door and said, "Boss, now...... It's almost five days now......"

"Oops! How overslept! Ji Qingwen said secretly, "Emperor Chongzhen is always meeting the ministers at the end of the day, and the fifth watch is already in the middle of the day, and if he is going to be late, I am afraid that he will not be able to meet the emperor in time." ”

Fortunately, Ji Qingwen didn't untie his clothes yesterday, and he was still wearing the court clothes he wore when he met the emperor, so he immediately got up and went out, let Huang Degong escort him and walked quickly to the palace.

When Ji Qingwen hurried to Zuo Shun Gate, there were already five or six officials waiting at the gate of the palace, all of whom were high-ranking officials such as the Six Books of Shangshu and Shilang. These officials had received Chongzhen's decree the day before to be questioned by the emperor. As soon as I thought of Chongzhen, a young and vigorous and mean emperor, I had to ask myself face-to-face, these officials who were originally commanding in front of their subordinates and the people had ugly faces like dead old women.

Ji Qingwen greeted them hastily, then walked to the palace gate and said to the eunuch guarding the door: "This father-in-law, please make it convenient, I want to meet the emperor." ”

The eunuch thought for a while and said, "Sir, it's not that the miscellaneous family doesn't give you old face. Today, the Lord of Long Live did not pass on the will of the Lord, and the miscellaneous family did not dare to let you go in! ”

"Who wants you to let me in? I just want you to report it, and I'll just say that I, Ji Qingwen, am waiting to see the saint. You just ran a few steps and helped me bring this sentence to the emperor, and then you broke your dog's leg? Ji Qingwen scolded.

The eunuch said: "I heard that last night, the emperor did not sleep well all night, and his face was as black as a dark cloud early in the morning...... Long live the temper of the lord, you always know, I'm afraid that if I go up like this, the emperor will be unhappy, reward me with a few sticks, and the miscellaneous family won't be able to keep this ass......"

Ji Qingwen didn't think about it, so he took out a silver ticket of one hundred taels from his sleeve and stuffed it into the eunuch's hand: "This is one hundred taels of silver, plug your babbling mouth." ”

After that, Ji Qingwen took out another silver ticket of one hundred taels and said, "This is the money for you to run errands, is it enough?" ”

It is said that the newly promoted Fu Lu Bo Ji Qingwen is rich, but he didn't expect to be rich to such an extent, and the power of the two fluttering silver tickets of one hundred taels is much more powerful than that of Emperor Chongzhen, and he immediately smashed the eunuch into a mess, and immediately smiled and said: "The lord is generous, and the villain is naturally willing to do his best." The villain will run for the lord. ”

With that, the eunuch turned around, slipped away from the smoke, and ran away.

But when he came back, he was carried back by several little eunuchs.

I saw that the eunuch's clothes were also torn, his hat was lost, and his pants were also stripped off, only the blood stains on his buttocks were eye-catching, and he trembled and said: "Sir, if you are old, the miscellaneous family will bring it to the long-lived lord for you." Long live the Lord said...... Say...... I don't see the lord......"

Then the eunuch passed out.

When I asked, I found out that Emperor Chongzhen was in a bad mood now, and when he heard Ji Qingwen's request to see him, he was even more furious, and without saying a word, he asked the palace guards to beat the eunuch with twenty court rods.

Ji Qingwen saw this tragic situation, gasped, and thought: Chongzhen's sticks are obviously for himself, to understand for himself, if he dares to intercede for Yuan Chonghuan again, then he will end up like this-it's just that he pity this eunuch and made a sandbag for no reason......

Thinking of this, Ji Qingwen couldn't help but feel compassion, and gave the eunuch another hundred taels of silver, and then turned around and left.

When the officials outside Zuo Shun's door who were waiting to be summoned saw this scene, they gasped in fright, and thought: The emperor is in a bad mood today, and he can be regarded as unlucky.

Ji Qingwen walked towards the Yunlai Inn dejectedly, but heard a familiar voice in his ears: "Lord Ji, why are you leaving so early?" ”

Ji Qingwen looked up, but it was the old Zhang Tou and his daughter-in-law who sold wontons each carrying a burden to the gate of the imperial city - their husband and wife set up a stall outside the gate of the imperial city to sell wontons, and they were extremely famous in Beijing, known as "a product of wontons".

Ji Qingwen was very familiar with the husband and wife of the Zhang family, and when he saw them greeting, he stopped, took a chair from the burden by himself, sat down on the spot, and said: "I didn't expect your husband and wife to come so early every day, and now it's not yet time, so you come to set up a stall." ”

Lao Zhangtou simply put down his burden, set up a stall where Ji Qingwen was sitting, and said, "It's too late." I have a stall here, a fire, boiling water, and a ravioli, why does it take an hour, if it is too late, how can the adults eat this hot ravioli? But why did Lord Ji leave the palace so early today? ”

There were some words, and Ji Qingwen was inconvenient to say to this old man, so he said a few words, and said: "It's just right, I'm hungry, let me eat your bowl of wontons today." ”

After that, Ji Qingwen said to Huang Degong, who was guarding beside him: "Degong, what are you still doing in a daze?" Still not working for this old man? Look at you, you can't see it! ”

Huang Degong leaned the iron rod he was carrying to the side, and began to help Lao Zhangtou do things, and he didn't forget to mutter: "The owner is really good at instructing people, and asked me to set up a stall again." ”

Ji Qingwen scolded: "Huang Degong, what are you talking about? Am I letting you do it for nothing? When you're done, why don't you eat a bowl of wontons? ”

Huang Degong said again: "A bowl of broken wontons, what's so delicious......

"Okay! You've got a kind! Then don't eat it, watch me eat it. Ji Qingwen said.

Huang Degong touched his empty stomach, but he was still deflated, muttered a few words of complaint in his mouth, and lowered his head to work.

In a moment, Lao Zhangtou brought the wontons to Ji Qingwen.

Ji Qingwen was hungry for most of the night, smelling this bowl of fragrant wontons, and ate half a bowl, and suddenly remembered the matter of Yuan Chonghuan and Emperor Chongzhen, and couldn't help but sigh again.

At present, the officials have all entered the palace but have not yet come back from the palace, and Ji Qingwen is the only one on the wonton stall, so Lao Zhangtou listened to Ji Qingwen's sigh and couldn't help but come over and ask, "Lord Ji, what's wrong with you?" Isn't there anything bothering? ”

Ji Qingwen raised his eyes and glanced at Lao Zhangtou, and said, "Lao Zhangtou, since you can set up a stall in front of the palace to sell wontons, you must have seen the world." I'll just ask you a word, this Yuan Chonghuan, should he be killed or not? ”

Lao Zhangtou didn't expect Ji Qingwen to ask such a question, so he hurriedly said, "Lord Ji asked the wrong person, right?" I, a wonton seller, don't know these things? ”

Ji Qingwen said: "There is a saying that 'the rise and fall of the world, the husband is responsible', you are also a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, tell me what's wrong?" ”

The phrase "the rise and fall of the world, the husband is responsible" is from Wang Fuzhi's "Rizhilu", although there is already Wang Fuzhi, but "Rizhilu" has not yet been written. Therefore, Ji Qingwen said this famous sentence, which made Lao Zhangtou can't help but move in his heart.

I only heard Lao Zhangtou say with emotion: ""Zuo Chuan Cao Di Polemic": 'Meat eaters are despised, and they can't plan far'. It is said that scholars may not necessarily have much knowledge, and ordinary people can also have great knowledge. Lord Ji's words are quite in the style of an ancient benevolence, and the villain is admiring it tightly. ”

The article "Cao Di's Polemic" can be regarded as a good article that has been passed down through the ages, Ji Qingwen studied it in high school, but after the college entrance examination, it was returned to the Chinese teacher long ago.

Now listening to Lao Zhangtou reciting the words and sentences in it again, Ji Qingwen really had a strange feeling of familiarity and strangeness, and after reminiscing for a while, he suddenly smiled and said: "I didn't expect Lao Zhangtou to actually read, I think your knowledge is also quite remarkable." ”

Lao Zhangtou's wife answered: "Sir, you don't praise him less." In Lao Zhang's family, he is the worst at studying, and he listens to the adults talk about the government and politics on weekdays, and only listens to a sentence or a word, what insight can he have as a wonton seller? ”

"Whoa! Lao Zhang's words are not right, knowledge is knowledge, and it has nothing to do with what you do. Ji Qingwen said, "Old Zhangtou, let me ask you, do you think Yuan Chonghuan should be killed?" ”

Lao Zhangtou was stunned for a while, and then said: "Sir, this is a major event in the court, the lord asks the villain, how dare the villain talk nonsense?" ”

"What does it matter if you talk nonsense? You see, the adults haven't gone down to the court yet, and there is no one else except for a few of us, so you can talk about it. Ji Qingwen said.

Lao Zhangtou rubbed his hands a little crampedly, as if he was trying to muster up courage, and then said, "Yuan Chonghuan should be killed." This person exaggerated, joked about military affairs, and did not have the courage and ability to clean up the situation, such a person who opened his mouth did not kill him, but still let him tell stories and play? ”

Ji Qingwen knew that what Lao Zhangtou said was psychological, so he couldn't help frowning and said, "Could it be that the people of Jingshi also think the same way?" ”

Lao Zhangtou said: "The common people hate Yuan Chonghuan more than me." For those who do a small business like me, all they save is cash, and they buy a small courtyard house in the city to live in, and no matter how powerful the Tartars are, they can't get into the city. But those people whose industries and land are outside the city were looted by the Manchurian Tartars last year and suffered heavy losses, didn't they hate Yuan Chonghuan to death? ”

Ji Qingwen ate the wontons silently, and realized that this old man's words were not covered up by half a word - taking people's money is like killing their parents, as if Yuan Chonghuan has become the murderous parents of the people of Beijing, and in the face of the enemy who has the hatred of killing his father, the people really can't wait to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin......