As soon as the curtain was raised, a middle-aged scribe in his thirties poked his head out and said, "Oh, it's here so soon." ”

At that moment, two soldiers guarding the city gate ran forward and blocked the way.

The middle-aged scribe frowned and said, "I heard that Xiangyang City is free to enter and exit, but it seems that it is not worthy of the name." ”

The soldiers were not upset when they heard him, and one of them said very politely: "This gentleman, you have misunderstood, we are not stopping the car for inspection. The east of the city is mostly the residence of officials, and the businessmen and people generally do not take this road, we see that your car is very angry, it must be the first time to come to Xiangyang, and you are not familiar with the situation in Xiangyang, so come to ask, lest you take the wrong road. ”

The middle-aged scribe still didn't believe it, but when he saw another carriage passing by them, he entered the city gate without the slightest hindrance, and then said: "I see, we are here to visit relatives at the house of Cai Duwei of the Navy Army, and entering through this gate is not the wrong way, right?" ”

The soldier smiled: "Since you are going to Lord Cai's house, it is good to go from here." You enter the city, follow the avenue, turn right at the second intersection, and after entering it is not far away, there will naturally be someone there to inform you. ”

When they had entered the city, they were not allowed to ride their horses, so the coachman jumped down, led the horses, and walked along the path pointed out by the soldier, and after a short journey, a group of soldiers came out in front of them, and stopped them.

The middle-aged scribe had no choice but to lift the curtain again and asked, "What's the matter?" We're here to find Captain Cai. ”

The first person stepped forward, arched his hands, and said, "May I ask what is the relationship between this gentleman and Lord Cai?" ”

These people are obviously much stronger and stronger than the soldiers guarding the city gate, and the middle-aged scribe knows that they are all rough people, and it is not good to worry too much about them, so he said lightly: "My surname is Huang, and I am the sister-in-law of Cai Duwei." ”

When the leader heard the scribe call himself Cai Mao's brother-in-law, his expression did not change in the slightest, and he bowed to him without humility or arrogance, and said, "Sir, please wait here for a while, and I will help you report it." ”

The middle-aged scribe surnamed Huang was a little surprised, he was also well-informed, and if the soldiers in other places knew which adult's relative he was, they would have been smiling all over his face, but these people in front of him seemed to be indifferent to his identity. The scribe lowered the curtain and said to the woman sitting beside him, "Madam, I am afraid that your brother's situation is not very good. ”

The woman burst into tears and said resentfully, "Chengyan, I asked you to bring me back to see my family a long time ago, but you just refused." I heard that De Jue is now under house arrest by the state shepherd because of his mistakes, and you are often conceited to learn, if you can help him with a point or two, why is he here. ”

Huang Chengyan grabbed the woman's hand, patted it, and said, "Yue'er, don't worry, I came back this time to help him think of a solution." ”

A little girl sitting next to the woman suddenly raised her head and said in an astonishing voice: "Father, mother, since my uncle has made a mistake, he should be punished, why should we help him!" ”

The little girl was only three or four years old, and she was born ugly, with yellow hair, black skin, and a large red birthmark, which took up almost half of her face.

Huang Chengyan obviously loves this daughter very much, and said with a smile: "Ugly, don't talk nonsense, don't worry about adults, children." But there was no hint of blame in the words.

At this time, the car door suddenly lifted, and a small head poked in, and exclaimed in surprise: "Sister, brother-in-law, it's really you who are here!" ”

The person who came was Cai Mao's youngest brother Cai He, who had just come home from school at the academy when he heard that his sister was coming, so he jumped on the ground to greet him. Huang Chengyan pulled Cai He into the car, and the soldiers who stopped in front of the car also let go of a road, and after a short walk, they arrived at a tall mansion.

After entering the mansion, Cai Yue went to the back house to visit his relatives. In the hall, Cai Mao and Huang Chengyan sat opposite each other. Although Cai Mao was ordered by Liu Xin to think about it behind closed doors, it did not prevent him from obtaining all kinds of information, and even a copy of the Jingzhou bulletin would be sent to him every month. This kind of Jingzhou bulletin, which was only issued in the first month of this year, records the various policies issued by Jingzhou, as well as the major events in each county, and is marked with the word secret and can only be seen by officials of a certain rank.

Huang Chengyan's home is in Baishui County, not far from Xiangyang City, and it is also under the jurisdiction of Xiangyang County, and he also knows the various policies implemented by Liu Xin in Jingzhou and the changes brought about by him, but at his level, it is more difficult to know more details. Now listening to Cai Mao one by one, it is naturally a different feeling. Huang Chengyan couldn't help but be fascinated by it, he really didn't expect that in just over two years, not only Xiangyang City, but also the entire Jingzhou would have undergone so many earth-shaking changes, and he couldn't help but propose to go to Xiangyang Street early tomorrow morning to take a look.

Cai Mao said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, if you want to go and see, you don't have to wait until tomorrow morning, the night market in Xiangyang is very lively, and now it can be regarded as a scene, but it's a pity that I can't accompany you to go, or wait for dinner, I'll let the second brother accompany you." ”

Huang Chengyan heard that the night in Xiangyang was also very lively, and he couldn't help but be very surprised, where could he wait for dinner, he couldn't wait to stand up and said, "Deju, I don't need to be accompanied, I'll just go and see it by myself." ”

Cai Mao persuaded him several times but didn't persuade him, so he secretly sent two family members to follow behind.

In the back house of Cai's house, the little girl named Ugly is clamoring to find her aunt. As soon as Cai Yue saw Cai Mao come in, she pointed at him and said, "Why are you so confused!" How old is Jue'er, you actually gave her to Liu Xin, spread it, where is the face of our Cai family! ”

Mrs. Cai hurriedly explained on the side: "Lord Zhou Mu has long been eyeing the little sister, and the lord has no way to do this. Now the Kuai family and the Wang family are like Zhongtian in Jingzhou, if the lord loses his official position again, where will there be a place for the Cai family in Xiangyang City in the future. ”

Cai Mao was still quite scared of this sister, so she hurriedly explained.

Huang Chengyan is not only in Xiangyang, but also in the entire Jingzhou. There are also several kinds of celebrities, some people want to find an official and a half-job after becoming famous, and seal their wives and sons, while some people like to call friends and talk loudly, and some people would rather live in seclusion in the mountains and forests and be a master outside the world, Huang Chengyan obviously belongs to the latter type.

But no matter what kind of celebrity and celebrity it is, when everyone gets together, it is inevitable that they will have to comment on the current situation. And the most eye-catching thing in the government and the opposition recently is that Liu Xin insisted on not being awarded the title of King of Xiangyang, so Liu Xin naturally became the focus of everyone's discussion.

Liu Xin's behavior in Hejian, except for being very close to Zhang Rang, other things are also decent. But after he arrived in Xiangyang, he carried out a series of dazzling changes, and the government and the opposition talked about him a lot. In addition, the Wei family, Cui Yan and others belittled him everywhere, saying that he was greedy for silver and lustful, oppressed the good, and overtook people's property, and almost criticized him to the point of being incomplete. It wasn't until this time that Liu Xin went to the table five times in a row and took the initiative to ask the emperor to retract his order, which saved him a little bit of reputation in Shilin.

Huang Chengyan originally lived in Xiangyang County, and the people who interacted with him in Pingyue would inevitably beat him about Liu Xin's situation. He came to Xiangyang City this time, on the one hand, he was invited by Cai Mao to help him try to get out of the predicament, and on the other hand, he also wanted to take the opportunity to see what kind of person Liu Xin was.

The night market in Xiangyang City is mainly located on South Street, which is quite a distance away. Huang Chengyan didn't want to stir up the crowd, so he declined Cai Mao's kindness to send him a carriage, and he felt that he might be able to see more of what he wanted to see by walking.

After leaving Cai's mansion, I walked a short distance, and came to the place where I was stopped by the soldiers just now. A few more cars were parked there, all waiting for the soldiers to come and report. Huang Chengyan couldn't help but slow down and observe carefully, only to find that among the people who were waiting, some were looking for Fu Zhu, and some were looking for Kuai Liang, and the soldiers were all such faces no matter who they were looking for, and it was obviously a big mistake for him to judge Cai Mao and the situation according to their attitudes just now.

Huang Chengyan walked down East Street, except for the occasional group of patrol soldiers walking by, but he didn't see many people. Out of East Street, there were gradually more talents, and when he turned into South Street, the scene suddenly changed in front of him.

There are many small stalls on both sides of the street, some selling snacks, some selling all kinds of utensils, some performing juggling, and some selling all kinds of small crafts. Most of the brightly lit shops on both sides of the street have not yet closed, and customers are coming in and out, and business is obviously very good. These open shops not only include green buildings, wine shops, inns, but also grain shops and cloth villages. Even if it's night, almost anything you want to buy can be bought here.

Huang Chengyan has also been to many county towns, and now it seems that those places are not as prosperous as half of the Xiangyang Night Market, even during the day. Huang Chengyan walked all the way, this different scenery, he was dizzying, lingering, until the third watch, Huang Chengyan reluctantly returned to Caifu slowly.

Cai Yue had been sitting in the room waiting for Huang Chengyan, and when she saw him, she couldn't help but complain: "Why didn't you come back now, my daughter waited for you for a long time, and she couldn't hold it anymore before she went to sleep." You really want to go to the streets, and it's not too late to go when it's dawn, how can you be in such a hurry, and run out without dinner. ”

Huang Chengyan listened to her count, not angry at all, still couldn't hide the excitement on his face, and said: "This time I came to Xiangyang, it was really worth the trip, and tomorrow I will accompany you and your mother and son to go shopping on the street." Unexpectedly, after only four years, Xiangyang City has become a paradise on earth. ”

Cai Yue was angry and said: "I invited you to help Deju, it's good for you, you just want to play." I'm going to go tomorrow, you better go by yourself, I don't have time with Ugly. ”

Huang Chengyan took out a pair of white jade bracelets from his sleeves and said to Cai Yue: "What's the matter, angry?" I didn't go to the night market in vain, no, I will bring you a gift, try it, like it or not. ”

Cai Yue took the jade bracelet, glanced at him, and said, "Who is angry, our mother and mother are really not available tomorrow." Tomorrow we are going to the governor's house. ”