Gonggong Cao smiled, and returned to his usual expression as the chief of the Ouchi, "Where does the prince speak, what is convenient, but after serving the saint for a long time, everyone respects the saint and treats the slave as a person." Where do the minions dare to investigate the public case? ”

Seeing that he was wary and modest, the prince couldn't help but slow down his tone, and said solemnly, "The court case has its own criminal department inspectorate Dali Temple, if the case is really wronged, the father-in-law is still open to submit a review and review, and it is not only against the law of the country, but he also knows that it is a serious crime." ”

Seeing his sincerity, Gonggong Cao hurriedly got up and replied, "What His Highness said is very true! Seeing that the prince motioned for him to sit down, he said again, "It's just that the prince misunderstood, and the slave didn't have any intention of clearing his name." ”

The prince took a sip of the tea on the table and motioned for him to continue.

"I don't know if there is any other inside story in the case, but the slave's father is an out-and-out sinner." Father-in-law Cao smiled bitterly, "I am my father's youngest son, I have lived and studied in the house since I was a child, and I didn't know until I was old enough to go out to play with my playmates that a piece of clothing on my body was a price that ordinary people could afford without eating or drinking for two years." My father has more than 60 mansions in Chengdu Mansion alone, and each house has two or three aunts, although I thought it was normal at the time, but I also knew a little about things and knew that this was by no means something that the official salary of a six-grade official could afford. ”

The crown prince was also shocked by the poverty and luxury he briefly described.

"Two years before the case, there was a great drought in Chengdu Prefecture, followed by a locust plague, and the fertile land of Tianfu was often thousands of miles without villages, hundreds of miles without people, and the third year was a torrential rain that had not been encountered in a hundred years. When you go out of the city gate, you can see the people boiling pots, and there are everything in the pots, including wild vegetables, dirt, and children. ”

Father-in-law Cao seemed to be caught in a memory, and his expression was painful: "When my father was arrested, the ragged people all over the city threw stones and spat at us, and one by one the skinned and bony people followed behind our prison car, shouting the most vicious curses hoarsely. ”

"I was seven years old, and I had nine older brothers, eight older sisters, and one younger sister below. The executioner who cut off his head was like chopping cabbage, and his head fell off one by one, and the onlookers didn't even have time to applaud. ”

Gonggong Cao couldn't help but think of the scene at that time, first the execution of his father and relevant officials, and then it was the turn of their families.

When it was his turn, the rain in the sky became heavier and heavier, and the people finally lost their enthusiasm for onlookers, and slowly dispersed, leaving him and his sister alone in the middle of a pool of blood, looking back left and right, the heads of their relatives were rolling in the rain.

When he was young, the young prisoner looked as majestic and handsome as a god, and he couldn't look at him directly, he stood up and said, "God has the virtue of a good life, although Cao deserves death, but the young son can be forgiven. ”

A cadre of officials has already been stimulated by the bloody execution in front of them almost want to vomit, but when the prince has the intention to kill the chicken and set an example, they have to sit and watch the execution, at this time seeing the prince say so, of course, they all seconded the proposal, praising the prince for his kindness.

Gonggong Cao smiled bitterly, "This is how the slave brothers and sisters were picked up by the saint and took back their lives." Sister she was young, frightened, all the way to high fever and convulsions, unconscious at that time as the prince of the East Palace, was ordered to try the case, and then rushed to Suzhou to inspect the disaster, the trip was urgent, my sister's life was worried, just on the road to meet the Tang girl from Suzhou hometown to the uncle's house in Beijing, so I handed my sister to her. ”

"Miss Tang? What are you talking about? ”

Gonggong Cao nodded: "It is the later Mrs. Xue." ”

The more the prince listened, the more curious he became: "What about Sister Ling?"

"There are many brothers and sisters in the slave family, the men's names all have a wooden character, and the women's names all have a cursive character, and my sister's name is Cao Fang. Later, I heard from my sister that Mrs. Xue said that her surname was too heavy and her name was too sloppy, so she changed her name to her surname, and everyone in Xue's mansion called her Aunt Fang. ”

"Aunt Fang?" Of course, the prince knew that General Xue had no children under his knees for many years, so Mrs. Xue raised a girl who had been serving her for many years as a concubine, and gave birth to the only male son in Xue's mansion, who was also Xue Ke's younger brother who he hated and protected when he was a child.

"No wonder you maintained her well that day, it turned out to be an old favor."

Gonggong Cao bent down and replied, "Don't dare to climb the affection." But my sister once told me that Miss Xue had a red mole on her right ear, and such a person was the most soft-hearted, so the slave recognized it at a glance that day. ”

"Thank you." The prince exhaled, said solemnly, and then asked, "That Aunt Fang was also in the Xue Mansion that day?" ”

"The servant knelt at the door of the imperial study all night, and finally got the emperor's permission to send her a message when he had a stick of incense before the factory guard arrived."

"Oh?" The prince couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised: "Aunt Fang is still alive?" That's great! ”

Father-in-law Cao remembered the scene at that time. The little sister who hugged her and cried hoarsely in her voice was already a calm middle-aged woman, pampered and pampered all the year round, followed Mrs. Xue, and her bearing was stronger than that of ordinary government ladies, and the faint fish-eye lines at the end of her eyes made her look both gentle and unpersuadable, "Brother, I don't understand the court, and I don't understand the battlefield." When I was a child, I changed my life, but fortunately I took root in Xue Mansion, I only know that my wife is a good person, what I can do is to serve the general, follow my wife, and raise my children, and now the general, my wife and my son are all facing the disaster of killing, and my brother let me live alone in the world, what is the meaning? ”

"Brother, you have finally served Your Majesty closely, don't think of your sister from now on, and you don't have to burn incense and paper on your birthday, lest others talk about it. The general is mighty, and the lady is charitable, even in the underworld, she will protect her sister. ”

"It's just that my brother is only five years old, brother, is there really no way? Didn't Your Majesty have compassion for us back then? Can't you spare his life? Aunt Fang's tears finally rolled down her cheeks when she spoke of her child.

Looking at his shaking his head, the despair in Aunt Fang's eyes finally became stronger and stronger, and she wiped her tears and said, "Brother, I'm afraid the factory guard is on the way, you go back quickly." While I still have some time, I go and hug the baby. ”

In the past four years, how many times has the back of his sister turned away to appear at midnight, and each time he woke up from a dream just as he was about to pull her sleeve. He sat on the bed, hugging the best brocade quilt, thinking, in this prosperous world, he was finally alone.

No matter how many ups and downs there are in a person's life, it is over in just a few words.

The crown prince and Gonggong Cao fell into a brief silence. At that moment, Gonggong Cao wiped the corners of his eyes and took the lead in speaking to break the deadlock, "The slave should be damned, what he said is a little forgetful!" is old, so the prince laughs. ”

The prince's words are sincere, "Aunt Fang is loyal and tenacious, and she admires her very much!" He ...... the day," the prince thought for a moment and stopped talking.

Gonggong Cao also obediently stopped asking.

"By the way, you just said that the person you respect loves to copy Mrs. Wei's hairpin flower Xiaokai, but you are talking about Mrs. Xue? It's not clear. The prince subconsciously changed the subject.

Gonggong Cao's eyes exuded a distant and gentle look, and he shook his head gently.

No, not Mrs. Xue.

Prince, that's your mother.

That is the emperor's original wife, the mother of the country.

She was the holiesst, most beautiful, and strongest woman in the world.

Cao Song had no way to stay in the local area after picking up a life from the execution ground, first, the local people hated him, and second, the prince said that he would be pardoned temporarily, and it was only a pending state. He begged to follow the crown prince.

The prince was already the one who was rescued easily, and he didn't care about giving more kindness, so he agreed to follow their brother and sister, and giving Cao Fang to Mrs. Xue later was also a chance encounter on the road, and he had no choice but to do so.

The people around the prince saw that there was a little prisoner accompanying him, and they all made fun of him, his father was called "giant beetle", and everyone called him "little poisonous worm" half-jokingly and half-mockingly. He vaguely knew that his father was deeply sinful, and he was a person who had passed through the ghost gate, and he learned to spit on himself without a teacher.

When he arrived in the capital, the world is so big, how can he have a place? Without hesitation, he asked to enter the East Palace.

Most of the people in the East Palace didn't know his details, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he was in the Chengdu dialect, and the slaves and maids of all sizes joked about his accent, so he didn't speak, and slowly, everyone's name for him changed from "Little Nanban" to "Little Dumb".

The palace eunuchs have the favor, even the court officials have to flatter; Of course, there are also those who are not favored, low, and are called and drunk. He is the lowest kind, doing the most despicable work in the East Palace, not to mention seeing the prince and master, even the housekeeper and grandmother have never seen it, and a sixth-class mother-in-law on the second gate can scold him for eating an extra bite of food.

The days seem to have a glimmer of life, but there is no daylight.

He is the little eunuch of the incense group. The name is nice, but it actually means that the dung truck is pulled to each courtyard to collect feces.

At first, he felt that it stinks, and he had to take a cloth to plug his nose. After a month, he couldn't smell the stench anymore, but people began to avoid him when they walked. Therefore, there are strict rules on the time he walks in each courtyard, just in case he accidentally appears, and the smell collides with the nobles.

The rest of the time, he could only stay in the flower manure room. Because a small part of the manure is fermented into flower fertilizer, the smell here is even more unacceptable to ordinary people, but he is used to it.

No matter how unbearable it is, in the end, it will survive in the cold and cynical sneering of the scraps.

On that day, he sent flower fertilizer to the flower and tree group, and as soon as the sky was bright, a few maids rushed to cut the peach blossoms stained with dew before the sun, which was to be sent to the dresser before the masters of each courtyard made up, and they were not sloppy at all.

He watched from a distance a few teenage girls picking up and picking flowers with scissors, talking and laughing, and couldn't help but look at it a few more times.

"Sister Chun, is this pretty?" A little girl asked crisply.

"I think it's okay, you cut from this branch, so that there are more flower bones." The girl named Chun'er is gesturing with scissors.

He subconsciously shouted, "Don't!" ”

Everyone looked this way. He couldn't help blushing, and he couldn't escape, so he had to slowly walk out from behind a peach tree.

"The slave's name is Xiao Songzi, and he is from the incense group, and he is here to send flower fertilizer." He cowered and tried to speak in official language, with a thick country accent.

As soon as I heard that it was from the incense group, a few little girls immediately subconsciously covered their noses, but listening to his strange accent, it was a young girl, and asked curiously, "Where are you from?" Why are you hiding? ”

He lowered his head, rubbed the corners of his clothes with his hands, and did not dare to answer.

The one named Chun'er couldn't help but ask, "Why did you just say not to cut like this?" Tell me how to cut it? ”

At the mention of this, he raised his head, although he quickly lowered it, and whispered, "Sisters, avoid it, I'll cut it for my sisters." ”

When the little girls heard this, they all got out of the way, and he walked over.

A bold little girl threw the scissors in her hand at his feet and ran back, he picked them up, cut them from another branch at the branch, looked at them for a while, cut two more from the side, fiddled with them a little, put them on the ground, and walked back silently.

The little girl who handed the scissors took the handkerchief and picked up the flower branch he had cut and sent it to Chun'er.

Chun'er and a few girls next to her glanced at each other, and nodded in unison, "Little Songzi!" You also look good when you cut it like this! Have you studied? ”

He smiled bitterly in his heart. If there is anything in this world that you can't learn no matter how hard you try, it's the ability to appreciate beauty. Only those who eat shark fin every day can tell the difference between top-grade shark fin and premium shark fin, and this useless skill happens to be available to him.

He grew up in a kind of poor luxury and jade food, tasting incense and fighting tea are idle, although he does not know much, but he is familiar with it, and his appreciation ability is extremely high.

He looks casually oblique and slashed, but it makes the whole peach blossom have an artistic conception, looks simple and vigorous, and full of vitality, which makes people forget the vulgar and happy.

He didn't dare to deal with it for a long time. The little girls picked up the flower, covered their mouths and walked away with a smile.

After a few days, he was called by the leader of the group when he was working, this person is usually specially assigned to work in the group, everyone calls him "Xiang Boss", in his forties, his voice is sharp and loud, for fear that others will not know that he is in the incense group, and there is a strong incense that cannot be dissolved on his body all the year round.

Every time Cao Song talked to him, he held his breath more than when he pulled a dung truck.

"Little Songzi, where did you accumulate virtue on your ancestors? was actually hit by the Wangchun girl. Let us see, what are your advantages? The undisguised bitterness in Boss Xiang's tone made him scratch his head.

The mother-in-law on the side saw that he was a half-old child at a loss, and in the end she was soft-hearted, and pushed him with a smile and said, "Songzi!" You're in luck! Miss Wangchun said that she was going to transfer you to the flower and wood group, you quickly kowtow to Boss Xiang, pack up your clothes, and I will take you over later. ”

Only then did he understand, and while thinking about what he had to do with the events of the previous two days, he had already skillfully knelt down and kowtowed three times.

Ignoring Boss Xiang's mean words, he smiled at the mother-in-law next to him, "There is Lao Pang's mother!" The little one doesn't understand anything, so please ask Pang's mother for advice. ”

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