For the recovery of Zhou Yanru, Wu Changshi moved around Beijing. He was an idle official of the ninth grade in the pedestrian department, and when he encountered the issuance of edicts, canonization of the clan, condolences, sacrifices, envoys to the feudal lords, etc., the imperial court sent pedestrians to go or participate, which was really not very productive. Wu Changshi was unwilling to be so obscure, but he was a small official, needless to say that he shouldered the heavy responsibility of recovering his old minister, that is, he was moving upward, and he had to make strong friends. Fortunately, Dong Tingxian has silver there, so as to cling to the palace, make friends with Dajue, and collude with the factory guards, so as not to worry about opening up a road. According to the solar terms, he regularly sent silver to the eunuch Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun, the commander of Dongchang, according to the solar terms, and the two great eunuchs Tang Zhizheng and Wang Zhixin also had a copy. However, Wang Dehua and others were confined to the old system of the imperial court and did not dare to easily intervene in political affairs, so they could only wait for the right time and quietly make suggestions to the emperor, so Zhou Yanru had no clue about the resurgence. Before the end of the year, he received a secret letter sent by Zhang Pu, urging him to ask how things were going, he smiled indifferently, and he didn't have much in his heart, he didn't plan to reply to the letter, just said a word, and waited for the opportunity. As soon as the words came out, I felt that I really lacked pride, so I picked up the pen and wrote eight big characters: Everything is ready, only the east wind is owed. It was torn by hand, mixed into the cotton robe of the comer, and instructed to bring it with Zhang Pu, and then restore it with the cloth framing method when he went back. After sending the visitor away, he was distraught and stared at Zhang Pu's poem.

Zhang Pu's poem is specially dedicated to Wu Changshi, "Sending Wu Laizhi": Red leaves trace the embankment from the wind, and the spring returns to the Yange Pavilion. It is difficult to say that the road of plain heart is good, and good things are waiting for the sub-topic. A promise has been known for a long time, and the three autumns have been two peaks since then. Pingzhang Meixue looks at the gentleman, and is endowed with a golden voice to report Zini. Wu Changshi watched it for a long time, and complained in his heart: I'm more anxious than you! was depressed, and his nephew Wang Majesty came to worship, and he guessed that he was here to borrow silver for the New Year. Although Wang Mayan is a cabinet secretary, he meets with the ministers all day long and knows a lot of confidential matters, but the amount of money is very low, and it is not enough, so he often comes to ask for it. Wu Changshi was originally annoyed, but the cabinet secretary missed a few words, and those few taels of silver were worth it. Sure enough, Wang Qiyan sat down, and did not open his mouth to borrow silver as usual, but talked about Qi Wan's donation, and said with a somewhat mysterious expression: "The fifth son of the emperor, Cihuan, suddenly had a strange disease, as if the ghost of the Empress Dowager Xiaoding possessed his body, and kept persuading the emperor not to treat his relatives lightly. ”

"Is there such a thing?" Wu Changshi seemed to be very interested, but in fact he was not moved, closed his eyes perfunctorily, and lured him to reveal more information.

"It's a pity that Marquis Wuqing's fate is not good, and he is destined to not be able to escape this catastrophe. He heard that Tian Guifei only said a word of pleading and lived in Qixiang Palace, he was very frightened, and he was desperate, and he committed suicide by swallowing gold in Fusi Prison in Beizhen last night. ”

Wu Changshi opened his eyes and said, "He is very stupid!" It will cause endless trouble. ”

"Isn't it! When the emperor heard that Li Guorui had committed suicide, he was angry and remorseful, and rushed to the Fengxian Hall to kneel in front of the god of the Empress Dowager Xiaoding, burn incense and pray, in order to ask for forgiveness. In fact, the emperor secretly hated Li Guorui in his heart for not knowing the current affairs, and he dared to fight to the death, sacrificing his life and wealth, and did not repent. He is a hundred, but where to put the emperor, wouldn't it damage the emperor's holy virtue? I heard that the emperor has changed his mind again, and plans to send Li Guorui's son to prison, continue to pursue it strictly, and seize the family property! ”

"He brought it on himself, and he can't blame others. It's ridiculous that a relative who has lost power dares to be honest with the emperor! Wu Changshi shook his head. Before he came to Beijing, he wanted to cling to Shangtian Guifei and ask her to talk to Zhou Yanru in front of the emperor, but she lived in Qixiang Palace by herself, and she was still too busy to take care of herself, so I was afraid that she didn't have the heart to care about other people's affairs. I couldn't help but blurt out a sigh: "It's really difficult......

Wang Qiyan only said that he was saying that Chongzhen was in a dilemma, and echoed: "It's not! Seeing that it was a stalemate, the emperor had to grit his teeth and chase after it fiercely, otherwise why would he be mighty? ”

"There are a lot of money in the palace, why should the emperor ask for help?"

"You still don't understand the emperor's thoughts? He regarded the internal money as the inheritance of his ancestors, and he could not bear to use it no matter how much he could. If he even uses up all this silver, he can't be a king who keeps the promise, what can he say about being the master of Zhongxing? Therefore, as soon as the elders proposed to donate to Qi Wan, the emperor immediately nodded. Wang Qiyan leaned forward and said in a low voice: "I heard that the emperor is quite dissatisfied with the first minister, and he intends to change people." "There was a lot of color on his face.

"He gave the emperor a strategy of borrowing silver, so that the emperor was in a dilemma, and it was natural for his favor to decay."

Wang Qiyan smiled and said, "Uncle! You don't know what's going on, let's be honest with you! Ordering Qi Wan to donate was actually Xue Ge's idea, how could Zhang Zhifa, that old fool, come up with it? It is precisely because he is in the first place and has no proposition that the emperor intends to change people! ”

"Which one, is Yang Wen weak?"

"Although the emperor relies on him very much, he will not teach him to be the first to do it."

"What's the reason?"

"If it is a peaceful year, the emperor will definitely use Yang Wenweak. But now that there are fights in all directions, the emperor's generals and soldiers are more important than ever, and there is no one among the ministers who are capable and knowledgeable. Yang Wenwan made the first move, and according to the old practice, he would be in charge of the ministry, how could the emperor be relieved? For the sake of Jiangshan Sheji, he had to be wronged. ”

"So Xue Ge wants to ......"

Wang Qiyan took out a few silver tickets from his arms, lined them up in front of Wu Changshi one by one, and said proudly: "Hehe...... Uncle said it very well. In the blink of an eye, it was time for the Beijing inspection examination, and the courtiers knew that Xue Ge treated me like a son, and they begged me for more kind words. There was only a hint of rumor, and before Xue Ge Lao was the first to do it, I received thousands of taels of silver. Alas! I don't have to live those days of poverty again! As he spoke, he pushed a silver ticket of five hundred taels to Wu Chang and said: "A few years ago, I always ran to my uncle with my empty hands, begging for food, and wanted to teach people to live a shame!" Now, I have the money to honor your old man. ”

Wu Changshi knew that his nephew was running from time to time, twisted the silver ticket with his fingers, and said with a smile: "Your mother and I are sisters and brothers of the same mother, as long as you can get ahead, I can't help but be happy!" If you take this money back, you should also change the house and take my sister to the capital to receive a few days of blessings. He got up and took out two silver tickets from the bookcase, handed them to Wang Qiyan, and said, "In the future, you will be different from before, and you will have more things to do with entertainment, and you must have money in hand." You can take this thousand taels of silver, and give these five thousand taels to Xue Ge Lao, so that you can have a great future. ”

"How can I ask for my uncle's money again?"

Wu Changshi sighed and said: "Seeing you come out, my uncle is also happy and ashamed, he has been running on the road of fame for many years, and now he is still a small pedestrian, with a low grade, no power, how much cold eyes have he suffered from others?" Soon it will be Jingcha, and my uncle also wants to move somewhere. You are Xue Ge Lao's confidant, and it is always useful to say a few words for your uncle. ”

Wang Qiyan teased: "Oops! Like an uncle, he has an idle errand, and there is no shortage of silver, and he is as happy as a fairy, why bother with those red dusts? ”

Wu Changshi smiled bitterly: "How do you know your uncle's suffering?" This petty official who has no grade is just better than the ordinary people, but if it comes to treating people coldly, it is not as good as swimming under the forest! Besides, you watched your uncle make a lot of silver, and his brows didn't wrinkle, in fact, it was just a hard support, and it cost a lot of silver to build that garden on the Nanhu Lake in his hometown, and the usual cost was a lot, and if it continued like this, it was only like Wu Qinghou who sold it to others at a price. ”

A beautiful picture appeared in front of Wang Qiyan's eyes, facing the Mandarin Lake, and the north was surrounded by the moat; Towers and pavilions, rockeries and steep cuts; Pitang winding path, misty and misty; lotus in the pond, willow on the shore; The green pines are verdant, and the autumn maples are red and drunk; Celebrities wander, beauties linger; The scenery is beautiful and the scenery is excellent...... This is another spoon garden built by Wu Changshi on the edge of Mandarin Duck Lake in imitation of the Mi's spoon garden in Beijing. Yes! The huge garden is a lot of silver just for sprinkling and repairing. He asked cautiously, "What kind of errand does my uncle want to get?" ”

"One has oil and water to fish, and the other is someone who looks up to me and snorts."

Wang Qiyan secretly laughed at him for not being satisfied, and muttered: "Then I can only enter the cabinet to worship the prime minister." ”

Wu Changshi knew that at this time and that time, he didn't dare to put out the elders' shelves, so he didn't think he was angry, and shook his hand and said: "What is the benefit of entering the cabinet to pay respects to the prime minister?" Looking at the dignity and power, in fact, it is not as comfortable as the Lang officials in various departments. I don't have any other thoughts, as long as I go to the ministry to be a bureaucrat, I will be satisfied. ”

The Ministry of Officials is the head of the six ministries, and the dismissal, transfer, promotion, demotion, and dismissal of officials in charge of the world are hot. Although the officials are only from the seven grades, they are the "officials" and the ministers of the attendants, not only have the responsibility of supervising the officials, but also can also advise and comment on the government, which is valued by the imperial court, and naturally there are indispensable opportunities for bribery, extortion, and extortion, and the future is also wide. Wang Qiyan secretly admired his uncle's old spiciness, patted his chest and said: "Don't worry about this matter, this is Xue Ge's old words, and it is wrapped up in his nephew." ”

Wu Changshi was overjoyed, but he said: "If things don't work well, I can't spare you!" Watching Wang Qiyan put the silver ticket in his arms and sent him out in person.

Wu Changshi has been paying close attention to Zhang Zhifa's stay for several days, and he can't calm down to think about Zhou Yanru's recovery, he even thinks that after doing the official department, the next step is to worship under Xue Guoguan, win fame and fortune, and don't have to die for Zhou Yanru, I don't know how to be flexible, and hang myself from a tree. After another two days, I really waited for the news that Zhang Zhifa went home to recuperate and Xue Guoguan was promoted to the head of the government, but then I waited for a bad news. Although the head of the Ministry of Rites is the sixth grade, the Ministry of Rites is a cold yamen, and the chief is the minister Cao under the hall official, so he does not have much real power, but it is better to be valued from the seven grades. Wu Changshi was indignant, secretly resentful of Xue Guoguan, but he was helpless, and wanted to scold Wang Qiyan with his head and face, but Wang Qiyan hid and disappeared, he had nowhere to vent his anger, so he went to the alley of the division alone to find joy and relieve his boredom.

The Hutong of the Division is commonly known as the Fan Hutong, which is the location of the Jiaofang Division, adjacent to the Yanle Hutong and Goolan Hutong, since the Yuan Dynasty, there have been many male and female artists, singing and dancing, singing and dancing all day long. Emperor Zhengde likes to be lively, it is inconvenient to go out of the palace to watch the play, and many artists are summoned into the court, these alleys are declining day by day, and the surrounding Ma Girl Hutong, Song Girl Hutong, Fan Zi Hutong are the same, it has become a prostitute who sells laughter and seeks pleasure, plus Shaanxi Lane, Baishun Hutong, Stone Hutong, Hanjiatan, Wang Widow Xiejie, Wanfosi Bay, Dawailangying Hutong and Rouge Hutong in the south of Xuanwu Gate, and there are many Beijing teachers for a while. It's just that most of the alleys that go to Xuannan are merchants or peddlers, and most of the people around the alleys of this division are officials and scholars.

Just after the time, Wu Changshi walked into the alley of the company, chose the house with a beautiful door to enter, and no one greeted and shouted: "A certain sister has a guest ----", entered the hall, and felt that it was extremely deserted, and there was no lively scene on the Qinhuai River of "the sound of pulp lights and shadows for ten miles, and the singer and the boat playing turbidity". While he was hesitating, a little maid carrying a bucket came out and said in surprise: "Who is the master looking for?" ”

Wu Changshi almost laughed dumbly, and secretly wondered: What kind of rule is this? When you come to the Qinglou, you still need to ask who to find, so naturally she is looking for a fan, she is doing so much, she must be a young chick who has not yet debuted and broken melons. He immediately found it amused, and said with a smile: "I saw my brother-in-law come in, but I asked so thoughtlessly, but I wanted to ask my sister to beat me." ”

Unexpectedly, the little maid sneered: "The master wants to have fun, but he is in the wrong place." ”

Wu Changshi was surprised: "The three big characters 'Sleepless Palace' are clearly written on the door, which must be taken from Su Dongpo's poem: 'Wind flowers compete into Changchun Courtyard, and the lights and candles shine in the city that never sleeps', why did you say that you went to the wrong place?" ”

"I advise you to leave as soon as possible." The little maid turned around and left, Wu Changshi stretched out his hand to stop him, and asked reluctantly, "Why do you want to leave?" Are all the girls here stone girls? ”

The little maid was a little obscene when she heard what he said, glared at him fiercely, but did not argue, dodged away, lowered her head and walked quickly upstairs. Upstairs came a woman in her thirties, dressed very neatly, and when she arrived at Wu Changshi, Wan Fu said: "The guest officer still listens to the maid, we haven't been in the palace for several years." ”

"What is a foreign visitor? Could it be that all the girls in your family are married? Wu Changshi was angry.

"I'm not married, but I can't pick up customers anymore."

"Do you think you give less money?" Wu Changshi took out a silver ticket and handed it to the woman.

The woman glanced at it slightly, and then returned it to him: "I don't need so much, it's just that there is only one daughter left in my family, and someone has already made an appointment." ”

Wu Changshi sneered: "A daughter needs such a big yard, it really has a cash cow." ”

"That's enough." The woman sighed and said, "This is the life of our mother and daughter, and we can't disobey it." No amount of silver will come out today, and her daughter will not come out. ”

Wu Changshi faintly sensed that the woman seemed to be in distress, so he couldn't ask questions, so he snorted coldly: "What a golden daughter, do you still have to count on the elderly?" ”

The woman said: "I persuaded you with good words, but the guest officer spoke coldly, you can do it yourself!" If you cause any trouble, you can't blame me. As he spoke, he shouted upstairs, "Xiaohong, is your sister bathing?" ”

The little maid leaned out and responded, "I'm combing my hair!" ”

"The guests are almost here, hurry up!"

Wu Changshi didn't know what kind of person it was, I heard that the two emperors of Zhengde and Tianqi often went out of the palace in micro-clothes and went to the teaching workshop to have fun, seeing this woman and maid such a pomp, is it that the emperor is coming today? If you have any chances, wouldn't you be very happy! With this in mind, he found a corner and sat down and waited.

In less than half an hour, I heard a shout outside the door: "There is a guest." The eunuch Wang Zhixin of the East Factory swayed in and went straight upstairs. When Wu Changshi saw him at the beginning, his heart beat wildly, but when he saw that there was no one behind him, he realized that this was Wang Zhixin's private nest courtyard. After another half an hour, he heard the sound of the piano coming from the building, and in an instant, the building seemed to be full of wind and smoke. Wu Changshi went upstairs softly, and happened to meet the little maid who entered the house with a tea tray, put the silver ticket on the tea tray, and said in a low voice: "Please be the general gift, Wu Changshi will meet the prince." ”

The little girl was stunned for a moment, and blurted out: "It turns out that you know your father-in-law?" Without waiting for him to answer, he gently pushed the door in, and after a while, he came out and beckoned: "Teach you to go in!" ”

Wu Changshi entered the house to greet him, and Wang Zhixin beckoned him to sit down to eat tea and listen to the piano. Only then did Wu Changshi see that it was a girl who was about twenty-nine years old who was playing the piano, beautiful and beautiful, with a demure demeanor, ten fingers flying, and sitting upright to play music. He listened quietly and knew that he was playing "Zhaojun's Resentment": "Thousands of miles of border cities are far away, and it is difficult to travel in thousands of mountains." Raise your head to see the moon, where is Chang'an. There was no big discussion in the Han court, and Rong Yu made peace first. Mo Xian is captivating, and Zhaojun hates the most. ”

The incense mist is swirling, the sound of the piano is resentful, Wu Changshi is self-sad, and he has sympathy for the same disease, and he actually has a feeling of crying. Wang Zhixin saw that he could listen attentively, and when the song was over, he asked with a smile, "How is it playing?" ”

Wu Chang Shiqiao pointed and praised: "This song should only be in the sky, how many times can I hear it in the world?" My father-in-law really has good eyesight, and he is so beautiful! ”

"Hahaha...... You know the goods. She has won the inheritance of the wonderful hand Liang Sangu, which is naturally extraordinary. ”

"Liang Sangu is a talented person in the Zhengde Teaching Workshop, and the girl is so young......"