"Seriously, Deng Ying."
Yang Wan tried to tidy up the pen holder that she had messed up, and gradually lowered her voice, "Are you going to carry it like this?"
Deng Ying noticed that she was suddenly a little depressed. He lowered his head and looked back at the picture of Yang Wan. He leaned on the table, bent down and took a pen from the pen holder, spread out a new piece of paper, and dipped his sleeve in ink. "Why do you say that?"
Yang Wan watched him copy his drawings on another piece of paper and actually didn't want to talk about this topic anymore.
The detailed details of life can kill many obsessions in people.
The way he ate nuts, the way he held the pen, the living spaces he allowed access to, his underwear, the shoes and socks he wore in his spare time, and the small objects he took time out of his busy schedule to draw, all made the boundary between him and Yang Wan increasingly blurred in time.
"What can I do if I don't take responsibility? The Ministry of Justice has finally caught the Shandong line through Liulichang. Even if Yang Lun wants to help you, he dare not do it too obviously."
Deng Ying sketched the framework on the paper, occasionally turning his head to refer to Yang Wan's drawings. His voice was not loud and calm: "Actually, although you just said that, I am willing to listen. But in fact, I don't want Lord Yang to help me. At this time, the best thing for him to do is to face me together with Minister Bai and others. For him, even avoiding me is wrong in the eyes of the cabinet."
Yang Wan watched him imitate her messy drawing in just a moment, "Who are you thinking of when you say that?"
This question seems too specific and is not suitable to be asked in a research.
After all, man is a historical individual, and most of his decisions are related to his own identity, position, and social relations.
Yang Wan didn't want him to answer seriously.
But Deng Ying stopped writing, looked at the drawing and thought seriously for a while.
"I don't have many friends, and not many people recognize me. I don't say that I do this deliberately for them, but now, I myself..."
He paused as he spoke.
The ink had gradually stagnated on the tip of the pen. He lowered his head and rolled up his sleeves again, then scraped the ink off the pen. "I don't care about it anymore, so I want to do something I can still do. What I'm worried about now is that the project of the three main halls is huge, and involves many accounts. My teacher has already returned home, and I don't know if my teacher and I have missed anything over the years."
"If there is."
Yang Wan asked.
Deng Ying smiled, bent down and continued to sketch, "Then it's just like you said, bear it."
After he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a cold pain coming from the injury on his ankle. He had to close his eyes and endure it for a while. He smiled self-deprecatingly and asked himself, "I don't know if I can get through this."
"Yes."
Deng Ying walked around Yang Wan's back and took the paperweight beside her, then asked her, "How did you know?"
How to tell Deng Ying
Because the spring of the twelfth year of Zhenning was calm and blank in history.
The Imperial Household Department was still in its heyday, the cabinet was calm, and people like Yang Lun, Bai Huan, and Bai Yuyang had not experienced any ups and downs in officialdom. Therefore, based on the existing situation, it is not difficult to speculate what choice Deng Ying made behind this blank period.
When Yang Wan was taking notes about this passage afterwards, she always felt a little reluctant to write it down.
She can remember simpler ones.
For example: In the spring of the twelfth year of Zhenning, Deng Ying was tried by the Ministry of Justice for covering up the Liulichang case.
That's enough.
What historical research requires first is historical facts, and then human nature.
But after she finished writing this paragraph on paper, she felt that its meaning was far from complete.
"aunt."
Yang Wan looked up when she heard the sound under the lamp.
The moonlight was bright, and as the door opened, the fragrance of various flowers wafted in.
Yi Lang ran to her side, "Where's mother?"
Yang Wan put down her pen and hugged him, "The queen has just fallen asleep after taking medicine."
"oh… "
Yi Lang quickly lowered his voice.
Yang Wan raised her head and asked the eunuch who followed him, "Why is it so late?"
The eunuch replied, "Yes, Your Highness spent a little longer studying today."
"OK."
Yang Wan took Yi Lang's hand and stood up, "You two go down and rest.
The eunuchs bowed and left the inner hall, and Yi Lang lay down beside the table to read the notes that Yang Wan had opened.
"Aunt, are you studying too?"
Yang Wan held him and sat him down in her chair, "Yes."
Yi Lang raised his head and said, "Aunt is a woman, why did she start studying so late?"
This is quite interesting. Yang Wan even couldn't help but want to break the rules and brainwash this little kid.
It was such a long time ago that this child would never have imagined that six hundred years later, when the privileged classes had all disappeared, there would be a bunch of girls fighting for the college entrance examination like them, and then fighting their way into the fields that they had controlled for many years, competing with them for the right to speak.
"Then what should my aunt do if she doesn't study?"
"My aunt wants to marry a good man."
It’s hard to say, it’s different from the 20th century.
This is truly the most sincere blessing she can receive at this moment.
Yang Wan put away her pen and ink, squatted down and patted the dust that had stuck to Yi Lang's legs from somewhere.
"In your Highness's mind, what kind of person is a good person?"
“Anyone who works for the welfare of the people is a good person.”
"So what kind of person is a bad person?"
"People like Deng Yi are bad people. They make life difficult for the people."
Yang Wan nodded, "Why would Your Highness say that?"
Yi Lang pulled Yang Wan's sleeve, "Because my teacher taught me, 'The people are the most important, the king is the least important.'"
Yang Wan followed up and asked, "Which gentleman?"
"Zhang Cong, Elder Zhang."
Oh. Zhang Luo's father.
He was also the first prime minister during the Jinghe period, a treacherous and treacherous person who was as famous as Deng Yi in history.
Yang Wan discovered that although the course of history has certain regularities, it can be a bit magical if one pays close attention to individuals.
For example, no matter what the character of the imperial tutor was, they would work hard to guide the ruler of the dynasty onto the right path. No matter whether they themselves were always squandering money on the people or having affairs with prostitutes, they would still demand that their king be a wise ruler, even if one day they would die at the hands of the king.
In this respect, the eunuch group is completely different from them.
The life, death, wealth and status of these eunuchs all depended on the king's mood, so they were always committed to paying attention to the king's joys and sorrows.
This is also the reason why the civil service group has never been able to completely destroy the eunuch group in the Ming Dynasty for a hundred years. Human nature always tends to mindlessly care about the people who care about them, even if the people themselves know that this is wrong.
Yang Wan squatted in front of Yi Lang with her knees hugged, and finally figured out why she felt that the content of the record in the notes was incomplete.
What Deng Ying did was contrary to the historical law summarized by later generations. If we want to analyze it in detail, it involves not only the choice under the torrent of the times, but also the reverse externalization of a person's spiritual world.
"Auntie...what are you thinking about?"
Yi Lang pinched her fingers, "Why don't you speak?"
Yang Wan came back to her senses and said hurriedly, "I am thinking about what your master taught you."
"aunt."
"ah?"
Yi Lang's little face suddenly moved closer to Yang Wan, "Aunt, you really like to think about problems."
"ha."
Yang Wan held his chin and teased him, "How did you know that?"
"Because you often stare blankly at the book, Mother said that you are very smart, but you don't want to tell me and Mother what you are thinking about. But Mother also doesn't let me ask you."
"Why?"
"She said that if she asked you, you would become the same as those who said bad things about you, but I don't understand why they would say bad things about you, when your aunt is so nice."
Yang Wan stood up and took advantage of the fact that no one was around to touch Yi Lang's face wantonly, "You will understand when you grow up, Your Highness."
"oh… "
***
By early April, the roof construction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was basically completed.
The enthronement ceremony of Concubine Jiang also ended in six rounds of chaos.
On this day, Yang Wan was exchanging documents with the eunuch in charge of the seal at the Gujin Tongjiku. The two groups were arguing over something that seemed to be wrong. The eunuch Wu, the seal holder of the Tongjiku, closed the doors and windows, pinched his nose and walked to the file rack, avoiding the dust while saying to Yang Wan, "You haven't been idle in the Shangyi Bureau yet, have you?"
Yang Wan responded, "We're almost there, there's still a lot to do in the other five games."
"Oh, I heard that Empress Ning was ill. Is she feeling better now?"
Yang Wan nodded, "It will be much better when the weather gets warmer."
"That's good. It's not good to be sick all the time."
Yang Wan understood what he meant and replied with a smile, "You should also think about the palace."
Eunuch Wu smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Excuse me, maid. Although we don't even get dirty with the dust on the feet of the ladies here, we have seen a lot of ups and downs. I didn't dare to say anything before, but now I rely on my old age and sometimes I can't help but say a few words."
Just as he finished speaking, the voice outside became louder.
Eunuch Wu frowned. "During this period, the guards at the four gates have become more strict. I see that there are two more guards on duty every shift."
Yang Wan stood by the desk, filling in the records with the light from the window. As she wrote, she asked, "What are they arguing about?"
Eunuch Wu poured Yang Wan a cup of tea and said, "Hey, Huiji Gate has always been guarded by the Jinwu Guards. In the past few days, the four gates have been adjusted and replaced by the Yulin Guards. They follow the rules very strictly and are inflexible. That's why the general had a dispute with the officers from the outer yamen. Now that they are changing guards, they may not have made it clear."
Yang Wan stopped writing and was about to ask another question when suddenly someone knocked on the window.
Eunuch Wu asked, "Who is it?"
The person outside the window responded carefully: "Is Sister Wan from the Shangyi Bureau in there?"
"I am here."
Yang Wan put down her pen and said to Eunuch Wu, "I'll go out and ask, and come back to write later."
Eunuch Wu nodded and said, "Yes, maid, please do as you please. We are very free here on weekdays, and we are just waiting to serve your Shangyi Bureau."
Yang Wan smiled and walked out of the door, where she saw a young eunuch in gray standing at the door.
"Is it Sister Wan from the Shangyi Bureau?"
Yang Wan nodded, "Yes, I am, you are..."
"I agreed to this in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Junior Eunuch Deng asked me to tell you a message. He has finished the things you asked him to make, but he dare not send them to your bedroom privately. So he temporarily put them in the felt tent in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Please come and get them when you are free."
Yang Wan was startled, "Your Young Supervisor Deng..."
"Today, the Ministry of Justice sent someone to ask Junior Supervisor Deng to leave."
After listening to this, Yang Wan glanced at the gate of the meeting place.
Although she was not surprised, she felt a slight shudder all over when she thought of what Deng Ying had said before.
"elder sister."
"Oh, go ahead."
"I have one more thing to tell you, Sister. During this time, Deng Shaojian said that there were too many things to do in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and he was in a hurry. If there is anything wrong, please make do with it. He will make a new one for you when he comes back."