The end of November in the twelfth year of Zhenning.
Emperor Zhenning restructured the Dongjishichang, and the 24-year-old Deng Ying rose to the position of the eunuch commander of the Dongchang amid widespread criticism from the Donglin Party.
The notes written by Yang Wan finally turned over the chapter on the Tongjia tragedy.
She took advantage of a few days of free time at the end of the month to lock herself in her room and carefully review the history of Zhenning twelve years ago.
From the investigation of the Liulichang corruption case by the Three Departments, to Deng Ying's trial in the Ministry of Justice, to Zhang Zhanchun's assassination by the Imperial Household Department, the civil servants' collective turmoil was triggered. Under the suggestion of He Yixian, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, Zhang Luo killed more than 80 teachers of Tongjia Academy in order to suppress the civil servants' turmoil within the court. In the end, he was feared by the emperor and the Eastern Jishi Factory was established to monitor the Northern Pacification Department.
Link by link, it gradually filled the gaps in the literature of modern research and also added a layer of "heavy color" to the seemingly clean spring and summer of the past twelve years.
Yang Wan put down her pen, sat under the lamp, rubbed her dry eyes, closed her notebook, stood up and walked to the window.
It was snowing that day, but the snowflakes were very fine, like dust, and only formed a thin layer on the pine branches.
Li Yu suddenly popped his head out from under the window, "Hey!"
Yang Wan was so frightened that she almost closed the window.
"You little brat, you're going to die."
Li Yu picked up a basket of charcoal and said, "Keep your voice down. I'm here to bring you something good."
Yang Wan looked down at the charcoal basket and saw that it was of good quality. "Are you going to embarrass Chen Hua again? The palace hasn't put charcoal in the basket yet."
Li Yu curled his lips.
"What are you thinking? There are none in other places, how can there be none in the Imperial Household Department? Several scribes have to be collected, one basket is Deng Ying's... No, bah, look at my mouth, one basket is our Deng Changchen's, I went to Xixinsi to get it myself, but he didn't keep it and asked them to be sent to you."
Yang Wan gathered her clothes and said, "I am afraid of the cold. What are you doing for me? His injury is not fully healed yet."
Li Yu sighed, "Indeed, Sheng Bingbi is the person in front of His Majesty. Even if he is in bad condition, he has to struggle to get up. I think his injury will be difficult to recover."
Yang Wan didn't respond. Seeing that he was shivering from the cold, she said:
"If you want to come in and sit for a while, I'll pour you a cup of hot tea."
Li Yu was about to nod, but suddenly remembered something and continued standing under the window, saying, "I dare not. The ladies in the Shangyi Bureau are all fairies from heaven. Your house is a fairy palace. If I, a lowly person, step on your land, the Jade Emperor will shorten my life."
Yang Wan said helplessly: "What nonsense are you talking about? This is also your sister's house."
Li Yu curled his lips and said, "That's right. Although I am a dung ball, my sister is a fairy."
After hearing this, Yang Wan suddenly remembered what Deng Ying had said and fell silent.
Seeing that she suddenly stopped talking, Li Yu asked tentatively, "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
Yang Wan lowered her head to cover up, "Is Deng Ying still living there? I heard from the people in the Imperial Household Department that they are going to move."
Li Yu nodded, "Yes, originally he was going to move to the duty room near the north gate of the Yangxin Palace, but he said that the whole place would be demolished in the future to place the auspicious jar, so he still lives next to the Chengyun Division. But don't worry, which ancestor of the pen doesn't have an outer house? Even if he saves money, the masters outside will compete to give it to him. The hardship will not last long. By the way, how can you go to see him in a few days?"
Yang Wan turned her wrist which was a little sore.
As the year draws to a close, sacrificial ceremonies are being held in various places in the inner court. The ladies from outside the palace have to come into the palace from time to time to pay their respects to Concubine Ning, the Empress and others. Yang Wan and Song Yunqing have been busy for quite a while.
"It's the end of the year, and the Shangyi Bureau is busy."
"oh."
Li Yu hesitated for a while, "To be honest... he is also quite strange. The inner school picked two eunuchs aged 12 or 13 to serve him, and he didn't let them do any work. After a while, he felt better. The day before yesterday, when it was sunny, he even starched the quilt by himself."
Yang Wan smiled and said, "You mean you want me to help him?"
Li Yu said hurriedly, "I dare not. I have to go to work. I'll leave some charcoal for you under the wall. Remember to move it in early and dip it in snow so that it can be lit."
After saying this, he hunched his neck and shivered as he walked into the snow.
Yang Wan closed the window, dragged the basket of charcoal into the house, and turned around to wash her hands.
The cold water stung her bones and she quickly pulled her hand back, remembering what Li Yu said about Deng Ying washing the quilt cover herself, and she pursed her lips.
She looked up out the window and saw snow covering the ground like fine sand.
It was such a cold day, and he said his walking stick was injured, and the old wound on his ankle was not healed at all.
Yang Wan thought about it, went in, put on a fleece jacket, put her hand warmer in her pocket, closed the door and walked out of the room.
She went to the Imperial Pharmacy.
Imperial Physician Peng told Yang Wan that since she had asked Deng Ying to see him for his foot injury, he had obediently come to the Imperial Pharmacy every month to get medicine for his foot injury. Yang Wan asked, "How about next month's medicine?"
Imperial Physician Peng asked the young eunuch, "Is the medicine left for Deng Ying still there?"
The young eunuch quickly responded, "It's still there. Deng Changchen hasn't come to get it yet."
Yang Wan said, "Then give it to me."
Imperial Physician Peng nodded with a smile, "Add an extra dose of Angelica dahurica to the recipe. And remind him to boil it for half an hour shorter than the previous recipe."
Yang Wan took it and replied, "Yes. Thank you, Imperial Physician."
Imperial Physician Peng said, "I also want to thank you, young lady. I feel relieved to have a relationship with this patient. He is an obedient patient, but he seems to listen to everything you say."
Yang Wan knelt down and bowed, "He did it on purpose. Sometimes he just can't take care of it. I will definitely talk to him in the future so that he won't cause you any trouble."
After she finished speaking, the eunuchs and medical officers in the room all laughed.
The aroma of medicine makes the face feel particularly warm.
Yang Wan felt that when Deng Ying had a brief period of recuperation, her own heart also settled down. She even thought about living her life there, reading books with him, preparing some food, cleaning the house, and doing some laundry.
In the past, she was so busy that she never stopped for a moment, thinking that she still had a breath to live, and she would crawl to the research room or the library. She didn't care what she ate, as long as she didn't starve to death, and she didn't care what she wore, as long as she didn't freeze to death. Today, she suddenly wanted to find a mirror to look at herself, and she walked all the way there with the medicine in her arms. Was her hair messed up, and was her hairpin blown off
**
By the time she reached the moat with the herbs in her arms, the snow had gradually stopped.
The yang energy gathered slightly at noon, and the sun actually struggled to stick out half of its head.
Deng Ying's door was open. Yang Wan walked to the door and saw him half-kneeling on the ground, sorting books in the bookcase.
I don't know if it's to facilitate healing, he didn't wear very thick clothes. The wide-sleeved robe was tied with a cotton rope, and most of his arms were exposed.
He knew that Yang Wan was coming, and he read the words in the book softly, while classifying them into categories.
Seeing that the pile of books was tilted, Yang Wan couldn't help but say:
"Eh? Be careful, the book on the table is about to fall."
Hearing the voice, Deng Ying waved his hand and swept all the books that had just been piled on the table to the ground.
Seeing this, Yang Wan smiled helplessly, quickly put down the medicine in her hand, and walked over to help him pick it up.
"I'm sorry I forgot to knock."
Deng Ying blocked her hand and said, "Stand up and sit down. I'll pick it up."
Yang Wan didn't listen to him, but said: "If you want to compete with me, I was trained by the Shangyi Bureau. I am not as good as you in other aspects, but I am better than you in doing this kind of thing."
She said, quickly sorting the scattered books.
"Why are you reading so much?"
Deng Ying squatted beside her and said, "You think there's no need for me to keep them, right?"
"Yes."
As Yang Wan sorted the books, she said, "You should have had a lot of books in your previous room."
After she finished speaking, she picked up the neatly arranged pile of books, walked to the bookshelf, and arranged them carefully.
"You passed the imperial examination at the age of fourteen. You must have pushed yourself very hard when you were young."
"Um."
Deng Ying was still squatting on the ground, looking up at Yang Wan's back, "When I was young, I thought that I could govern the country if I studied well."
Yang Wan looked up to check the spine of the book she had compiled and said casually, "No matter when, this sentence is correct."
After she finished speaking, she turned around and brushed off the dust on her body.
He opened the medicine bag on the table and said, "I'll go get your medicine for next month. Imperial Physician Peng said that he added a dose of Angelica dahurica and it needs to be boiled for half an hour.
Deng Ying stood up and walked to the table. "Okay. But you don't have to do this. I already have a lot of wounds on my body. I can remove them myself."
Yang Wan smiled and said, "I just picked it up for you today. I came to see you because I wanted to do something else."
"What?"
Yang Wan took a step back and sat down at the table. She looked around and rolled up her sleeves. "Li Yu said you were cleaning the house by yourself, so he asked me to come and help you."
Deng Ying was stunned, "We have to listen to what he says."
Yang Wan raised her head and smiled: "Don't ask him when he comes back. He is afraid of you now."
As she spoke, she covered her lips and smiled, but Deng Ying felt a little helpless.
"What about you?"
Yang Wan shook her head. "I was joking. You live like this just because you don't want us to be afraid of you."
Deng Ying was silent for a while, then lifted her robe and sat next to Yang Wan, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.
Yang Wan asked softly, "Tell me, you said I guessed it again."
Deng Ying raised her head. "When I was hurt, I allowed myself to offend you, so... no matter what I become in the future, you can do anything to me."
Yang Wan's heart softened, "I know you sit in this position for yourself and for us, but you have to make your life better. You are now the chief clerk of the Silijian and a factory official. The masters of our Shangyi Bureau have to show courtesy to you when they see you, so don't blame me. Now you say these things to me, aren't you afraid of shortening my life?"
Deng Ying shook her head. "I have always kept in mind the oath I made to Lord Yang. Sometimes, I am afraid that I will really keep the oath. So, Yang Wan, I will redeem myself in front of you. I said that I can't bear anything else, and I can only ask for your mercy."
Yang Wan was silent for a while, looked at his arms lying flat on the table, and called his name, "Deng Ying."
"Um."
"Would it make you feel better if you lived like a sinner?"
She hit the nail on the head, but didn't dare go into further details, for she was afraid that she would hurt Deng Ying.
After being stunned for a moment, Deng Ying slowly nodded, lowered her eyes and said, "Yes, to you."
He avoided Yang Wan's gaze and said, "If this is the case, I dare not see you, and I can also face Lord Yang."
"good."
Yang Wan looked at him with a smile, "Then you will listen to me from now on, okay?"