When I lost it, it was easy and casual;
Now when I pick it up, it feels extremely heavy, like a hot potato.
What a painful realization...
Yan Nian nervously picked up the visiting card on the ground and handed it to the maid in front of the sedan chair with both hands. The maid took the visiting card, wiped it with a handkerchief, and then put it into the sedan chair.
Yan Song glanced at Yan Nian outside the sedan, then took the visiting card.
The visiting card is rectangular, seven inches long and three inches wide, which is the standard visiting card style used in the Ming Dynasty. However, the difference is that this visiting card is red. In the Ming Dynasty, the paper used for visiting cards was particular. Ordinary officials used white visiting cards, while Hanlin officials used red visiting cards. This was a preferential treatment for Hanlin officials and also a rule in the Ming Dynasty officialdom.
oh
It turned out that he was a Hanlin, no wonder his handwriting was so beautiful. Yan Song nodded and opened the visiting card.
"I, Zhu Ping'an, hereby pay my respects to Lord Yan. This letter was sent by Zhu Ping'an, a reader in the Hanlin Academy, on May 20, the 31st year of the Jiajing reign."
No
Zhu Ping'an!
This visiting card is actually from this kid Zhu Ping'an!
When Yan Song saw the three words "Zhu Ping'an" on the visiting card, he thought of Xu Jie's Qingci "Turning a tiger into a dragon and returning to heaven". It was this Qingci that turned decay into magic because of the line "Turning a tiger into a dragon".
This imperial city is really evil, and it appears as soon as you mention it. I was just thinking about this restless boy, but I didn't expect that he was right under my nose.
good
Then meet this scratchy stone.
We are still young. We can even lose our visiting cards while waiting in line.
Yan Song stroked his white beard slightly, folded the visiting card and put it aside, then he opened the curtain of the sedan chair and said to Yan Nian outside, "Go and call Zhu Ping'an, and come with me into the mansion."
ha
Call Zhu Ping'an? ! Enter the mansion together? !
When Yan Nian heard this, it was as if a thunder had exploded above his head. His face suddenly turned dusty. He could hardly believe his ears. He didn't expect that his worry would come true. He had just fired a small official of the sixth rank. It was nothing unusual. He had done this many times before and nothing had happened. Why did it happen today
This damn Zhu Pingan!!!
Yan Nian gnashed his teeth in hatred towards Zhu Ping'an.
"What? Hmm." Yan Song hummed and asked again, "Has he entered the mansion? This kid is quite quick."
Have you entered the mansion yet
How is it possible to get in? I have chased everyone away.
Upon hearing this, Yan Nian felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave. He felt a chill from the soles of his feet to his heart. His mind was at a loss, and he didn't know how to answer. He just stood there stupidly, like a piece of wood stuck to the ground.
"Speak..." Yan Song was a little impatient.
"Master, Zhu Pingan, he just left. He saw that there were many people in line and wanted to cut in line. I thought it was against the rules and didn't let him. I didn't expect him to get angry and throw away the visiting card and leave."
Hearing his master's angry tone, Yan Nian stammered and organized his words, then cleared himself of all blame and pushed all the responsibility onto Zhu Ping'an.
All the blame was put on Zhu Ping'an.
No one knows a son better than his father!
No one knows his servant better than his master!
Yan Song was able to reach his current position because of his unparalleled discernment in the Ming Dynasty. If he had believed Yan Nian, he would not have been able to reach his current position.
"Tell the truth..." Yan Song glanced at Yan Nian.
"Master, I, everything I said..." Yan Nian said without confidence.
However, Yan Nian was interrupted by Yan Song before he could finish his words.
"You speak, I want to hear the truth." Yan Song pointed at the doorman standing behind Yan Nian and said lightly.
"Yes, sir." The doorman who was called by Yan Song stood out from behind Yan Nian in a daze. He always wanted to show off in front of Yan Song, but at this moment, he was really upset. The doorman looked up at Yan Song, then at Yan Nian, and was a little undecided whether he should tell the truth.
Yan Song is the eldest master, and Yan Nian is his immediate superior. What to do
"Ahem..."
At this moment, a gust of wind blew, and Yan Nian coughed softly at the right time.
The cough made the doorman tremble all over. He gritted his teeth as if he had made some kind of decision, and prepared to speak as if he was going to the execution ground.
"Remember your last name..."
Yan Song glanced at the doorman and pointed out the little tricks between the two.
"Yes, sir. This is what happened..."
The doorman stopped thinking after hearing this. He was just a small doorman and yet he wanted to cover up in front of the master. He really didn't know his place. It was better for him to tell the truth.
When the doorman told the truth, Zhu Ping'an had already walked out of West Chang'an Street, turned a corner to another street, and returned to Linhuai Marquis Mansion along the same route.
I am not the protagonist after all. I was even driven away when I went to pay a visit...
Zhu Ping'an smiled self-deprecatingly and returned along the same route. When passing by a tavern, he sneezed twice for no apparent reason.
Is someone thinking about me
Zhu Ping'an touched his chin, then shook his head and smiled. Why should he be so superstitious
As usual, Zhu Ping'an walked past the tavern and turned into a street next to the tavern. There was a small alley at the end of the street, from which he could walk to the Linhuai Marquis Mansion faster, shortening the distance by about ten minutes.
When Zhu Ping'an turned into the street next to the tavern, seven or eight people with camphor-combed hair came out of the tavern and followed Zhu Ping'an from a distance.
When Zhu Ping'an walked into the alley, he realized something was wrong. Normally when he passed by this alley, he could only hear his own footsteps, but today he heard several footsteps behind him, and they were deliberately suppressed.
Why do you have to lower the sound of your footsteps when walking
Either a traitor or a thief!
Zhu Ping'an realized something was wrong, and glanced behind him inconspicuously while walking. He found that there were a few guys with rat-like faces following him, who looked like they were not good people at first glance.
Speed up your pace
The people behind also quickened their pace.
This made Zhu Ping'an more certain of his guess. He looked at the alley in front and thought, well, this is a good place to hit someone with a club.
However, now that I have just entered the alley and am relatively close to the street, they probably won't take action here. But if I walk for a few more minutes, I can't say for sure.
So, there are still a few minutes of golden reaction time.
calm
Don't be in a hurry.
How about just running
Zhu Ping'an thought about it and rejected this idea. Although he was not a weak scholar, he was definitely not as good as them in terms of physical fitness. If he started running, they would definitely chase him directly. This would be using his weakness to fight against their strengths, and he would definitely be caught up.
Find a house to hide in
This is possible, but Zhu Pingan walked a few steps forward and denied it. This alley is mostly the back door of the house, and the back doors of the few houses passed by are also locked from the inside. If you can't get in, how can you hide
So the question is, how to break this game