In the late days, the rivers and mountains are beautiful, and the spring breeze is fragrant with flowers and plants.

The mud melts and flies the swallows, and the sand warms the mandarin ducks.

The whole body seemed to be wrapped in a warm swaddling cloth, he didn't know how he was breathing, he didn't feel much, or he couldn't feel it even if he wanted to, he couldn't open his eyes, his mouth couldn't open, the range of movement of his hands and feet was extremely narrow, and there was a heartbeat that drove his heart to beat.

The whole person is - it seems to be - curled up.

But one thing can be determined, he is alive, originally darkness is the source of fear, on the contrary, he is not afraid of the current state at all, and sometimes he feels that it is good to stay in this state forever, this feeling is amazing, he feels the most solid and pure sense of security, there is no win or loss here, there is no victory or defeat.

How long has this lasted? He himself did not know.

But he still remembers the things before this very clearly, he is just an ordinary college student who has graduated for a few years, the kind of person who is more than the upper and lower than the bottom, he has always been eager to be a big winner in his life, but when he looked back, he found that he lost most of the opportunities, and the natural winner needs talent, which he obviously does not.

Life is made up of countless multiple-choice questions, and he often chooses the wrong multiple-choice questions, not to mention that most of the time it is multiple-choice questions, which makes it even more difficult to get it right.

If you don't have talent, you can't fight your father, so you have to be an ordinary person in a down-to-earth manner.

He knew that as long as he didn't encounter a special situation, he might be like most people, get married, have children, have children and grandchildren, lie on the recliner in the small courtyard in the warm sun of one afternoon, take a nap, and live his life peacefully in his sleep.

One day, in his spare time, he had the idea of writing a historical novel.

He clearly remembered that he quickly typed the title of the book on the keyboard - The Rise of the First Century.

Then the mind went blank all of a sudden, and when I became conscious again, it had already become the current state of curling.

He didn't even know that he was involved in a big time.

February 2, 1870 A.D. (the ninth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty).

Spring returns to the earth, and the grass is green.

At this time, it is noon, it is the time for lunch, wisps of cooking smoke float out of the chimneys of each house, the white walls and black tiles of the alley, the big tree at the mouth of the alley, the church not far away, the faint sound of the bell, this alley in Tianjin city, the beauty is like a landscape painting.

This alley is called Dashu Hutong, and it is basically an official gentry's house, with twenty or thirty households, and the Xuan family is in the middle of the alley.

The black lacquered gate, the gate is a pair of golden lion copper rings, the gate is closed, and the two sides of the gate are sub-couplets: Fu Linmen is full of joy, and the spring is full of joyful singing. On the lintel is a horizontal batch: Five blessings and four seas.

Inside the gate is a partition wall, there are two big characters of "Yingfu" written on it, there is a large courtyard house inside, there are several large water tanks in the middle of the courtyard, there are all kinds of goldfish in the water tank, the north room is an open flower hall, the two sides of the flower hall are two arches, and then go inside, the door is a large third courtyard.

The east head house of the third courtyard was busy, and the whispering of a woman continued.

Xuan Huang was sweating profusely and was in pain.

Midwife: "Hard, hard, I see the head." ”

Xuan Huang clutched the sheets vigorously, gritted his teeth, and then screamed, and then collapsed and leaned on the pillow.

"Born!"

The midwife cheered, skillfully pulled out the child, and cut the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors, "Ah, congratulations to the young grandmother, it's a big fat boy, it's a little young master." ”

The midwife is naturally happy, the big family delivers, the reward will be more than that of the small family, this is a child, the reward should be more.

Xuan Huang didn't have the strength to speak, and Xiao Cui, the maid next to her, smiled at first, and was about to congratulate Xuan Huang, but then she found a problem, frowned, and said softly to her wife: "Auntie, why doesn't this child cry?" ”

Xuan Huang and the midwife suddenly became nervous, it can't be dumb, right? Mother and son were connected, and Xuan Huang's eyes were still a little wide open when he was weak.

He was thinking about why he wrote a question about why he had become like this when he wrote a 'Rise of the First Sino-Japanese War'! I only felt that the whole person was suddenly made to the ice and snow from the air-conditioned room, it was cold, squinted, from a blurred light and shadow, it seemed that he saw the face of a middle-aged woman in front of him, and only felt that his whole person should be in the palm of this woman's hand.

Xuan Huang was anxious, and his eyes widened weakly: "Why doesn't the child cry?" ”

Xuan Xu, who was behind the midwife, was also worried that he was dumb, so his eyes were red at that time, and he stared at the little guy's little mouth with concern.

The midwife experienced opened the baby's mouth with two fingers and looked at it, felt that there was nothing abnormal, and hurriedly said: "Don't worry, this is a common thing, I haven't been happy through the breath, I will pat him." ”

As soon as he heard that he was going to shoot himself, he had already figured out the situation in the confusion of his thoughts, Mom, am I reincarnated? I'm a little north nose now?

He didn't want to be a maverick baby, let alone be beaten, so he hurriedly opened his mouth wide, luck, "ah"!

How can ordinary babies have such explosive power, this voice was shouted out with breath, and the sound wave directly penetrated the roof and resounded throughout the Xuan family compound.

The midwife nodded happily, "This little young master has spirituality, how about it?" I said I was going to shoot him, and he cried, right? The little master understands what we are saying. ”

Xuan Xu turned crying into laughter, and hurriedly raised the small futon in his hand, "Auntie, wrap the child first?" ”

The midwife answered, quickly took the hot towel from Xiao Cui's hand, quickly wiped his body, and then took the small futon in Xuan Xu's hand and wrapped it for the child, and then took a hat with a little tiger's head for the child to wear, led the child's head, put the child on the pillow of Xuan Huang's family, and waited for Xiao Cui to change the bedding for Xuan Huang's family, and quickly put the child into the quilt, "Congratulations to the young grandmother, congratulations to the fourth young grandmother, congratulations on getting a son, such a handsome young master." ”

Xiaocui also blessed Xuan Huang and Xuan Xu, "Congratulations to the eldest young grandmother and the fourth young grandmother for getting a son." ”

Xuan Huang responded weakly, looked at him next to the pillow with relief, and took a sip of incense on his round little face.

He saw everyone in the house just now, he can be sure that now the person next to him is his own mother, it should be the eldest young grandmother in the mouth of the midwife, congratulations to his own mother and the fourth young grandmother This is a girl, sixteen or seventeen years old, she is definitely not the fourth young grandmother, look at the costume, it should be a maid or something, then there is still a woman left in this house, but this woman is only about ten years old, obviously she is still a little girl, why is she called the fourth young grandmother? And, all congratulations on what she does? What does being born have to do with this girl?

He fell asleep with questions, he really didn't have the strength to think about things, he had made a lot of efforts just now, he only felt that in his sleep, a sweet taste entered his mouth, and he hurriedly pouted and sucked hard, only feeling that it was more delicious than any delicacies from the mountains and seas, he naturally knew what he was holding, but he decided not to open his eyes.

Can't see, can't see.

In the evening, when the lamp is held, the main hall of the Xuan Mansion is bright.

The main owner of the Xuan family is Xuan Zonglu, Zhang Jing, the general office of the Yamen, the minister of trade and trade under the prime minister's yamen, and the general office of the three trade ministers of the prime minister's yamen, the senior member of the three products, and the foreign affairs of the imperial court in Tianjin.

Xuan Zonglu will celebrate his fiftieth birthday in a few months, at his age, to his official position, it is already very good, with Xuan Zonglu's background, it is almost at the top, and it is an enviable fat shortage.

Because Xuan Zonglu's background is not high, he is not even a showman, and it is all thanks to Zeng Zhongtang's promotion, he went from a low-level staff member in the Hunan army step by step from the local to the Ministry of Rites, and then from the Ministry of Rites to the Prime Minister's Yamen.

Xuan Zonglu smoked a hookah, glanced at the two tables in the hall, and the next table was full of children, led by the eldest son Yue Lei of the boss Xuan Hongtao, Yue Lei's daughter-in-law Xuan Zhao, and in turn sat Xuan Hongtao's second son Yue Wen, Yue Wen's daughter-in-law Xuan Qian, Xuan Hongtao's daughter Yu Bing, and the youngest son Yue Wu; Next sat Yujie of the second Xuan Hongbo family; Yue Lu of the third Xuan Hongyu's family, Yu Qing, the daughter of Xuan Hongyu, and Yue Hua, the youngest son.

The eldest of Xuan Zonglu's grandchildren, Yue Lei, is only sixteen years old, Yue Wen is fifteen years old, both of them already have daughters-in-law, in fact, they are still teenagers, and everyone at the table is looking at Xuan Zonglu with blank eyes, waiting for the meal.

The rules of the Xuan family are like this, if the person in charge is at home, the person in charge says when to start the meal and when to use chopsticks.

At the top table sat Xuan Zonglu's wife Xuan Zhou, Xuan Hongbo's daughter-in-law Xuan Yu, the third Xuan Hongyu and his daughter-in-law Xuan Cha, and the fourth Xuan Hongquan's daughter-in-law Xuan Xu.

Xuan Zonglu glanced at the crowd, looked at the vacant seats of the eldest Xuan Hongtao and the second Xuan Hongbo, sighed, and asked, "The old family is born?" ”

Xuan Zhou nodded and responded: "It's born, it's a boy born at noon, can you give it a name?" ”

Xuan Zonglu pondered for a moment, "It's the end of winter and early spring, and everything is budding, so let's call it Yuemeng." ”

Xuan Zhoushi: "I know the master, I'll go and tell the old family that the child has a name, the eldest and the second may have an errand in the yamen, so let's wait, let's eat first?" ”

Xuanzong let out a sigh of relief, waved his hand, and muttered in a calm voice: "I have to wait today!" Boss, what can he do? Haven't you gambled yet? How long has it been? Eighty percent of them are old mistakes again! Although this kid has already said that he has passed incense to the fourth child today, it is his seed after all, right? Daughter-in-law can give birth to a child without coming back!? You haven't been secretly giving him money lately, have you? When do I see when he's back today? The second child may really have an errand, but recently the ground in Tianjin is not very peaceful, and the people and foreigners have been entangled repeatedly, alas......"

Xuan Zhou hurriedly defended: "I haven't given the boss any silver this year, the master said no, I dare to give it?" ”

Lao Sanxuan Hongyu had already seen the errand of the boss Xuan Hongtao in the Tianjin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, and carefully interjected: "Dad, the eldest brother is too roundabout, and the managers over there in the Manufacturing Bureau are all human ghosts, so let me give me the eldest brother's errand?" You've got another errand for him. ”

Xuan Zonglu sighed, "The boss can't be done, but the boss is the boss after all, don't talk about your eldest brother, what about you?" Your eldest brother and second brother have a reputation for showing off talents, you are almost thirty years old, and you are just a child, where do you ask me to give you a certain errand? ”

When Lao Sanxuan Hongyu heard the old man say this, he suddenly wilted a lot, and muttered to himself, "What kind of fame do you want from the Manufacturing Bureau?" I didn't say that you should let me get the manufacturing bureau to be the general office, you are like a big brother, give me a manager first. That second brother is just a showman, if it weren't for your old man's activities, would he be able to enter the yamen of the Minister of International Trade and Commerce? The two elder brothers have good errands, why am I at home, if it really doesn't work, you can get me an errand for Tianjin Yamen, no matter how bad I am, it's okay to be a martial arts leader. ”

Xuan Hongyu's daughter-in-law, Xuan Chashi, saw her husband talking back to her father-in-law, but she did not dissuade her, holding her arms and lowering her head, as if she had nothing to do with herself.

Xuan Zhou saw that the old man's face was not good, and he knew that he was about to have a seizure, so he hurriedly interrupted: "Master, the children are all Russian, don't you wait?" ”

Xuan Zonglu glared at Xuan Hongyu: "Your eldest brother and second brother are so talented, what about you?" You want to go down the official road as a child? When you were the yamen of the Great Qing Kingdom, it was opened by our family? ”

Xuan Hongyu wanted to say more, but was stopped by Xuan Zhou's patting his arm.

Xuan Zonglu looked at Yuehua, who was already stealing vegetables to eat, sighed, and was about to agree to start the meal.

The concierge Lao Xuan and Lao Xuan's son vigorously supported Xuan Hongtao, whose face was covered with blood, and suddenly entered Xuan Zonglu's sight, Xuan Zonglu stood up violently, and the family also found Lao Xuan and Xuan Hongtao, and they all stood up, and everyone didn't know what was going on. Only Xuan Hongyu laughed: "Yes, don't ask, you must be in arrears again, there is a good show." ”

Xuan Zonglu walked quickly to the door of the hall, "What's the matter?" Bet again? Didn't I already let people say hello to the gambling houses in Tianjin, who dared to eat leopard gall and let you gamble? Who would dare to hit you? You brute! ”

Xuan Hongtao was trembling with fear by the old man's questioning, and replied: "I didn't go to the gambling house, but I played with a few stewards in the manufacturing bureau two days ago, and they pulled me to play." ”

Xuan Zonglu almost went crazy and endured his anger, "Playing with Jing Duo's gang? ”

Xuan Hongtao glanced at Xuan Zonglu timidly, nodded, and snorted.

Xuan Zonglu stomped his foot, "I really want to kill you alive!" What did I tell you last time? Don't mess with him, you can't afford to mess with him, you can't change the ****? How much is owed? People will beat you? ”

Xuan Hongtao suddenly became energetic, straightened his neck and said, "Dad, what do you know?" You will scold me, they are the ones who scold me! He dared to play yin because his father was sublime! Playing cards with them today, I found that they stole cards, and I debunked them on the spot, they didn't recognize it, and they beat people, and forced me to return the silver, they didn't beat me, they were playing your old man's face! ”

Xuan Zong said hatefully: "I asked you how much you owe?!" ”

Xuan Hongtao wiped the blood flowing from his nose, didn't dare to look at the old man's eyes, gritted his teeth, and squeezed out a few words between his teeth: "Three hundred and fifty taels." ”

Xuan Zonglu staggered back, and Xuan Zhou and Xiao Cui hurriedly helped the old man up, "Master." ”

The family nervously surrounded Xuan Zonglu, pouring tea, greetings, and was in a hurry.

Xuan Zonglu was helped to the Taishi chair, drank tea, gasped, and yelled at Xuan Hongtao: "Get out!" ”

Xuan Hongtao slipped away, Xuan Hongtao's sons Yue Lei, Yue Wen, Yue Wu, daughter Yu Bing, daughters-in-law Xuan Zhao, Xuan Qian, all felt their faces hot.

"Let's eat." After Xuan Zonglu scolded Xuan Hongtao, he hated him in his heart, and felt that it was too much to sweep his son's face in front of the eldest son's juniors, maybe he was really tricked by others? But on second thought, flies don't bite seamless eggs! He sighed helplessly.

A large family ate silently, Xuan Zonglu couldn't eat after two bites, and when he stood up, he had to go back to the room to rest, and at this time Xuan Hongbo came back.

The old man has a total of four sons, the fourth Xuan Hongquan died last year, he was only nine years old when he died, among the remaining three sons, the old man is more optimistic about the shrewd second son Xuan Hongbo, the old lady prefers the younger son and the third son, after the younger son died, he gave all the likes to the third son Xuan Hongyu, but the eldest and the second and third sons have not lacked food and clothing since they were young, and they are still full of bad habits in Beijing and Tianjin over the years, and they are all involved in eating, drinking, playing and gambling! The eldest is better at gambling, the second is good at eating and drinking, and the third is fun.

Xuan Hongbo blushed, drank wine, and greeted everyone in a loud voice, "Yo, haven't you finished eating yet?" Ran to the juniors' table and patted his daughter and several nephews on the shoulders, "After a few days, I will send a lot of silver, and I will go to the Drunken Immortal Residence with me to eat, haha, okay?" ”

Xuan Zonglu's anger had just smoothed out a little, but now he almost lost his anger and crooked his face, "Second brother, you come with me!" With that, he took the hookah and went to the back room.

Xuan Hongbo noticed that the old man's face was not good, and hurriedly approached his daughter-in-law Xuan Yushi, "What's wrong?" ”

Xuan Yushi smelled the smell of wine all over Xuan Hongbo's body, and frowned, "I don't know." ”

Xuan Zhou: "Your eldest brother has just been beaten, and your father is angry, don't make him angry again." ”

Xuan Hongbo coughed and slapped his thigh, "Who dares to hit my eldest brother?" When I Xuan Hongbo is a dead man, right? Who is it? ”

Xuan Hongyu said with a smile: "Second brother, it's Chonghou's son Jing Duo, the head of Tianjin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, are you going to come out?" ”

Xuan Hongbo heard it, and it was related to Chonghou, the top spot in his yamen, although he looked down on Chonghou and felt that Chonghou had no ability at all, but Chonghou was indeed a celebrity in the imperial court, he had hosted foreign affairs for many years, and he had been a first-class member for many years, and any finger was thicker than his father's thigh, and he was secretly discouraged a lot, but he patted his chest and laughed, "His family is a fart!" You wait to see your second brother's means! Sooner or later, let Jing Duo kneel down and bully my Xuan family. ”

Xuan Hongyu smiled and said nothing, people who know Xuan Hongbo know his braggart style, he can blow the sky when he goes out, and he can't listen to half of the ten sentences he says at home.

As soon as Xuan Hongbo entered his father's bedroom, he poured tea for the old man first, "Dad, it's okay, Ming'er, you will tell Chonghou about Jingduo beating my eldest brother, you won't talk about it if you have worked with him for many years, the two families live in the same alley, I don't believe that his family dares to be unreasonable." ”

Xuan Zonglu took a sip of tea, put the teacup aside, and shook his hand, "Forget it, knock your teeth and swallow it in your stomach, don't make trouble again." You drink less alcohol, drink it at home if you want to, what do you drink when you go out and drink when you are old? Also, be careful lately, something big may happen. ”

Xuan Hongbo nodded, poured himself a cup of tea, drank the tea, and sobered up a little, "Yes, you are talking about foreign religion, right?" These foreigners are really more and more lenient, and they honestly stay in their concession, and they also walk around everywhere, persuade people to join the religion everywhere, interfere in local affairs everywhere, and promote their foreign doctors everywhere, which is wider than that of the Tianjin prefect, forcing the people to sell things, and forcing the people to buy their foreign gadgets, forcing the people to see their foreign doctors, and the people and foreigners have repeatedly had disputes, and Chonghou has always been an attitude of ignoring them, and I also feel that if it goes on like this, something big will happen sooner or later. But we just do things according to the rules, what Chonghou says, let's do it, and we can't blame us if something happens, right? ”

Xuan Zonglu nodded with satisfaction, "You can see this, it's very good, it was originally for your eldest brother to enter the Sankou Trade Yamen, but others are too honest, I don't worry, let you in, I know that your eldest brother and the third child have opinions on this matter, you have to fight even more, do you know?" You remember, don't stand out in everything, hide if you can dodge, and you'll be fine. I have always known you, and you understand everything, but you can't control a mouth, so you can do it. ”

Xuan Hongbo smiled and opened his voice, "Dad, don't say that, you are the second of my elders, and the errand of the three ministers of trade and trade is rare?" Then tomorrow, you want to swap me with my eldest brother, where is my Xuan Hongbo, isn't it the same? I still want to go to the manufacturing bureau, I don't have to worry about anything, just keep an account book, and get paid every month with my eyes closed. ”

Xuan Zonglu looked at Xuan Hongbo's eyebrows and danced with a smile, and his expression eased a lot: "As far as you can, how much do you know about the affairs of the Yamen?" The Yamen, the Minister of International Trade and Commerce, is more than a hundred times better than the Manufacturing Bureau, and no matter how many Jinshi want to enter, they can't get in! What are you talking about when you enter a show? You are so capable, why don't you directly get a lifter and a jinshi? If you have the ability to take the test yourself, I will directly buy you a four- or five-grade official! ”

Xuan Hongbo laughed, "Old man, aren't you reluctant to pay?" So why don't you donate a candidate to me first? Save me from going to the yamen every day to order it, donate a candidate first, and then donate a real shortage to me after a while, and directly get a prefect. ”

Xuan Zonglu pointed at Xuan Hongbo: "Like a ghost, can you buy the same?" Either it was the entrance examination, or the fame directly rewarded by the imperial court was worthy of it, as long as I do it in this position for a few more years, I can always get you a five-grade one, so in this case, what else do I have to buy? Besides, what's really lacking in your current position? The location is not good, can you go out and drink big every day? Your father is a third-grade member who has been mixed in officialdom all his life, not those rich people in the countryside, remember, donating officials is the lowest thing. ”

Xuan Hongbo's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he nodded yes, while hurriedly filling the old man's cigarette pouch and waiting for the old man to smoke, "It's still good for Dad, please invite your old man to the Drunken Immortal Residence to drink in two days." ”

Between the two of them, they talked about it, and swept away a lot of Xuan Zonglu's unhappiness because of Xuan Hongtao's beating.

The cold air of early spring pressed down on the branches of the trees in the courtyard.

Xuan Yuemeng in the East House cried at this time because of her stomach, and her voice was so loud that Xuan Zonglu was unhappy again, feeling that Xuan Yuemeng's birth brought a bad omen to the family, and naturally linked Xuan Hongtao's beating by his noble son Jing Duo with Xuan Yuemeng's birth, and added dissatisfaction with Xuan Hongtao to Xuan Yuemeng's head according to the same weight.

Xuan Yuemeng closed his eyes and slurped the sweetness in his mouth, he was still looking forward to a rich and noble life, how did he know that he was just born and someone disliked him.