At dusk, in order to avoid violating the curfew, Wang Shizhen and Zhang Siwei left together, and agreed to take Zhu Pingan to tour the capital city soon.
At this time, there were fewer people in the inn, and those who stayed stayed overnight like Zhu Pingan.
When Zhu Ping'an was about to get up and go upstairs, the innkeeper came over with the shop assistant. The innkeeper was an old man who was about fifty years old and well-spoken. He bowed his hands and apologized to Zhu Ping'an:
"This young master, it is because of my failure to discipline you. I apologize to you on behalf of the boss. This arrogant guy will be kicked out of our store to correct the store rules. I hope you will forgive me."
As soon as the shopkeeper finished speaking, the clerk next to him hurriedly apologized to Zhu Ping'an. His expression was as if the world was about to end. "Sir, I was blind and didn't recognize a great man. I looked down on people and offended you! Sir, please be magnanimous and forgive me this time~!~!~"
Looking at the shopkeeper who bowed to apologize and the shop assistant who looked as if it was the end of the world, Zhu Ping'an was stunned at first, then he raised the corners of his lips and shook his head with a smile.
The incident had already passed, and he had not suffered any loss. He also had a month of free food and lodging. Why would he still care about such a small matter? Looking at the doomed look on the shop assistant's face, he should have remembered the lesson. Why should he kill him so completely
So, Zhu Ping'an bowed to the shopkeeper in return, shook his head slightly and smiled indifferently, and casually let go of the shop assistant next to him who looked down on others.
"Thanks to your store, I have a place to stay. I am grateful for your safety, so how can I say I have offended you? As for this clerk, a small punishment will suffice. If he makes the same mistake again, it will not be too late to expel him."
After hearing what Zhu Ping'an said, the shop assistant next to him, who was feeling as if the world was coming to an end, breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at Zhu Ping'an with gratitude, feeling ashamed and regretful.
"Your Excellency is kind and benevolent. This is rare in the world."
The innkeeper looked at Zhu Ping'an with a sigh, and said sincerely, "If Zhu Ping'an's talent and learning shocked the innkeeper just now, then at this time, Zhu Ping'an's character shocked the innkeeper again."
"Why don't you thank me quickly? If you hadn't pleaded for me, I would have kicked you out of the store." The shopkeeper turned around and scolded the clerk next to him.
"Thank you for your generosity, sir. I will definitely change my ways. I will never forget your kindness."
The shop assistant's face turned red, and he looked at Zhu Ping'an with shame, and was very grateful for Zhu Ping'an's magnanimity.
"The customer is the Jade Emperor. Don't do it again."
Zhu Ping'an shook his head indifferently, patted the shop assistant on the shoulder and said something.
The customer is the Jade Emperor. After hearing this, the shopkeeper on the other side's eyes lit up, as if he was quite touched, and then looked at Zhu Ping'an with even more respect.
Zhu Ping'an also spoke to the shopkeeper on his behalf because he saw that the shop assistant was remorseful. Zhu Ping'an's tolerance of others is not unprincipled accommodation, nor is it the compatibility of good and evil, but rather the unity of tolerance for others and criticism of mistakes. If the other party is stubborn, he will not condone it.
After this incident, the shop assistant seemed like a different person. After leading Zhu Ping'an to the room, he immediately ran downstairs to get a bucket of hot water for Zhu Ping'an and brought it to Zhu Ping'an's room.
As soon as Zhu Ping'an entered the room, he couldn't help but admire the generosity of the inn.
The room is decorated with carved beams and painted buildings, and is roughly divided into three parts: bedroom, living room and balcony. As soon as you enter the room, you can smell the faint scent of sandalwood. The decoration inside the room is also extremely luxurious, with flowers carved from gold blooming enchantingly between white stones. There is also a small rockery bonsai in the living room, which is probably a scene of winding water flowing wine cups, and there are many other similar decorations.
The most valuable thing is that the room is luxurious and comfortable. The porch and hallway stretch to the north and south, the tables and chairs in the room are also arranged to give people a comfortable feeling, and there are various living facilities.
The room may have hidden ground dragons between the walls, and the room is warm as spring. Zhu Ping'an walked to the balcony and saw a small chimney made of glazed tiles on the outer wall. The location is quite secret. It is indeed a ground dragon. The owner of this inn is really willing to spend money. Ground dragons are the wisdom of the ancient working people in my country. The walls of the room are built into hollow "sandwich walls", commonly known as "fire walls". There is a fire channel under the wall, and the charcoal mouth for adding fire is set under the eaves outside the house. Charcoal fire is burned in the charcoal mouth, and the heat can warm the whole room along the sandwich wall. In order to make the heat circulation smooth, there are air holes at the end of the fire channel, and the smoke is discharged from the outlet under the base. With heat circulation, the whole house will be like spring all year round.
Of course, this is also very expensive and most people can’t afford it.
The city knows how to have fun!
But I am very satisfied.
Zhu Pingan finished his tour of the room with satisfaction, and then took a hot bath to wash away all the dust from the journey. After the bath, he changed into some light and clean clothes, took out the books, pens, etc. in his bag and put them neatly on the desk.
Then, he lit the oil lamp, sat at the desk by the window, laid out his writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and recorded what he had seen and heard in recent days in a thin book.
After writing his experiences, Zhu Pingan casually opened the Analects, found a sentence from it, and tried to write an eight-part essay. After a long time in the Ming Dynasty, he was familiar with the eight-part essay. The more he wrote, the better he became at writing eight-part essays. He picked up his pen and wrote an eight-part essay in time, then read it carefully by lamplight and revised its shortcomings.
By the time this eight-part essay was revised and perfected, the entire capital city was shrouded in endless silence and darkness.
Turn off the lights and go to sleep, and have a good night.
The next day, before dawn, around six o'clock, Zhu Ping'an had already gotten up, washed up, and went downstairs with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder and a piece of black wood under his arm. He walked out of the inn and along the street. The night curfew had already ended. The night curfew regulations of the Ming Dynasty were very clear. At 1:30 a.m., the evening drum was struck, and the night curfew began; at 5:30 a.m., the morning drum was struck, and the night curfew ended. 5:30 a.m., which was around 5:10 a.m. Beijing time.
It was still dark outside. In this season, the capital city would only get light at around seven o'clock. But even though it was still dark, there were already quite a few people on the street outside. Zhu Ping'an walked forward aimlessly, carrying a cloth bag across his shoulder and a black wooden board between his legs.
After turning left and right, I somehow arrived at West Chang'an Street. West Chang'an Street is close to Xiyuan, and most of the people living on this street are high-ranking officials and dignitaries.
At this time, the eastern sky was slightly red with a hint of black, and the sky gradually brightened, but visibility was still low.
A hazy red dot appeared in front of Chang'an Street, and five or six lights appeared, coming from the south to the north. When people nearby saw the light, they consciously moved to the sides of the street to avoid it. Zhu Ping'an was also pulled to the side of the road by a white-bearded old man.
As the red light got closer, I realized they were six big red lanterns.
Six big red lanterns surrounded a curtained sedan chair carried by eight people. On both sides of the sedan chair stood guards with swords. On both sides of the sedan chair followed two maids holding big red lanterns.
Zhu Ping'an narrowed his eyes slightly and watched the grand sedan chair slowly approaching.
When he was almost in front of Zhu Ping'an, Zhu Ping'an heard an old man coughing in the sedan chair. After the cough, he saw a maid holding a lantern naturally stretched out her jade hand to open the curtain of the side window of the sedan chair, then bent her knees gracefully with her face raised at a forty-five degree angle.
Almost at the same time, half of the old man's face appeared from the side window of the sedan chair, and he looked very kind.
Then, a spitting sound was heard.
As if she had done it tens of thousands of times, the maid outside the sedan raised her face at a 45-degree angle, slightly opened her red lips, took the thick liquid that the old man had spat out into her mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Then the curtain was closed and the sedan chair continued to move forward.
vomit
This scene appeared too suddenly, and caught Zhu Ping'an on the street by surprise, causing him to vomit in disgust.
A guard with a sword standing solemnly beside the sedan heard the sound, glared at Zhu Ping'an with a warning look in his eyes, and then continued to move forward with the sedan.
Damn it, the city knows how to have fun!
Zhu Pingan watched the sedan chair going away, and a thousand horses were galloping through his heart. (To be continued.)