At the same time, there was a lively atmosphere in the cabinet lobby.
When Wu Ge recovered from his illness and returned to the court, even if it was to put on a face, everyone had to express their congratulations.
Therefore, these old and sophisticated patriarchs thought they were confused, and greeted Wu pavilion well if he was well, and also said some words about the secondary assistant who must take care of his health.
Afterwards, each of them returned to the duty room, and the elders stepped down, and the people from the Zhongshu She in the two rooms went one by one to show hospitality in front of the elders of Wu Ge.
These two rooms are the official pardon room and the system pardon room, which are directly under the cabinet.
Compared with those patriarchs, these people's mouths and faces are much more flattering. One Wu patriarch is His Majesty's minister of arms and shares. If the court lacks, no one can lack Wu pax.
Holding the old man Wu Ge with a red face, stroking his beard and laughing again and again.
Of course, some gossip is also indispensable, such as what happened during the time when Wu Ge was away, who had any changes, and so on.
In this cabinet, apart from Xu Shoufu and Tan Ge, that is, Wu Ge has been in the cabinet for the longest time and has the most seniority. Naturally, there is also a team in this cabinet.
It is estimated that the time is almost there, and Wu Ge left the cabinet lobby and went to the Qianqing Palace.
There is a long distance from the cabinet lobby to the Qianqing Palace. If you think that entering the cabinet is called 'Entering Zhi Wenyuan Pavilion', it is wrong to think that the cabinet is located in Wenyuan Pavilion. In the previous dynasty, the cabinet was indeed in Wenyuan Pavilion. Later, after Dachang established the dynasty, Wenyuan Pavilion lost a fire, and the cabinet was moved from Wenyuan Pavilion to the southern part of the Forbidden City.
That is to say, from the cabinet to the Qianqing Palace, it is almost all the way from the east side of the Meridian Gate, passing through Wenhua Hall, Wenyuan Pavilion, Arrow Pavilion, and Jingyun Gate to reach Qianqing Gate. However, these pavilion elders are also used to walking, and they don't think it will be far.
Along the way, I met many servants and officials. When I saw Wu Ge, they were all respectful, and Wu Ge held his beard and smiled. It was not until he entered the Qianqingmen that he changed to a respectful attitude.
When Wu Ge arrived at the Qianqing Palace, Lin Miao, a member of Zhongshushe, came out of the palace.
Lin Miao, the Zhongshu Sheren, can be different from the Zhongshu Sheren in the two cabinets. The full name should be called Zhongshu Ke Zhongshu Sheren, which directly corresponds to the emperor, not like the cabinet pardoning room and the pardoning room Zhongshu Sheren. It is to assist the elders to complete various government affairs.
In fact, they are all errands, but because the service targets are different, the status is naturally different.
Because of this, Wu Ge also deliberately said a few words to Lin Miao, and greeted Emperor Jiacheng's dragon body on the way.
That is, to give Lin Miao face, and secondly, to show his loyalty to the king.
"Your Majesty's dragon body is in peace. Lord Zhongtang, the subordinate has something to do, so I won't accompany him any more." Lin Miao bowed his hands in a humble manner and hurried away.
Leaving Wu Ge old to look back at him, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
He didn't forget the experience he experienced before, all because of this person's student. Good you Lin Miao, good you Beilu, don't think that if you pretend to draw a clear line, you can erase the relationship between them.
Elder Wu Ge is not an ordinary mediocre person, and he naturally knows that sometimes many things cannot be seen from the surface.
At this time, Zheng Ancheng walked out of the temple quickly, and before he got to the front, the smile on his face was pulled away.
"Master Zhongtang, Your Majesty has been waiting in the hall for a long time."
Seeing this smile, Wu Ge felt more stable in his heart, so he smiled and chatted with Zheng Ancheng a few times, and followed him into the hall.
When he arrived at the imperial study, Emperor Jiacheng was at his desk critiquing the book.
Old Wu Ge's eyes turned red in vain, he hurried two steps forward, and threw himself to his knees.
"His Majesty."
"Wu Aiqing is here? What... Zheng Ancheng, why don't you go and help Wu Ge get old!"
Zheng Ancheng hurriedly sighed and stepped forward to help Mr. Wu Ge. The old man Wu Ge stood up, faceless, and he was old and sick: "The old minister is ashamed, the old minister is not strict in managing the family, and he actually caused such a major incident, and your majesty still cares about the old minister, and the old minister has no face to face your majesty. ."
Emperor Jiacheng put down the red pen in his hand, crossed the dragon case, and walked over.
"Wu Aiqing is a minister of the imperial court. He has served the imperial court for many years, but the younger generation in the family is ignorant, and I am not a tyrannical monarch. How could I do such a tyrannical thing." After speaking, Emperor Jiacheng sighed: "It's just that Lord Wu has to be considerate of me. After all, I am the ruler of a country, and I have to face the people of the world and the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, so I sentenced your nephew to be exiled for three thousand miles. I hope Wu Aiqing will not blame me."
"How dare this old minister! The old minister also wants to thank His Majesty for opening the door. I have pity on my Wu family. If it was someone else, it would be a big crime to raid the family and destroy the nine clans. It was His Majesty who saved the old minister's face, so he would not let the old minister have this old face. Throw it away, the old minister is really…”
Having said that, Wu Ge was about to kneel down and kowtow to Emperor Jiacheng again, but Emperor Jiacheng asked Zheng Ancheng to help him up.
Emperor Jiacheng sat down after returning to the Long's case and said, "Now that Lord Wu has recovered from his illness and returned to the court, it is a happy event for the family and the family, so don't say these unpleasant words. Lord Wu's loyalty to the imperial court is full of courage and integrity. I know the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, although the laws of the imperial court are strict, but the laws are nothing more than human feelings.”
"Your Majesty Shengming!"
This time, no one stopped Wu Ge from kneeling, until he knelt down and kowtowed again, and Emperor Jiacheng seemed to wake up from a big dream and Zheng Ancheng quickly helped him up. After that, the ruler and ministers said some personal words, and Emperor Jiacheng dismissed Wu Ge.
"Old man!"
After Wu Ge left, Emperor Jiacheng smashed the book in his hand with anger.
"Your Majesty, calm down!" Zheng Ancheng hurriedly advised.
"Zhen, how can you calm down?!" Emperor Jiacheng was so angry that his chest heaved up and down, and he said after a while: "The first emperor was so clever and confused for a while, but he actually moved this stone to hit me in the foot."
There is actually a reason for this. Back then, the late emperor was fighting against a group of civil servants. As the ruler of a country, he naturally couldn't end the battle himself. Naturally, he cultivated his own team to use strength. But that group of people was suppressed, and another group of silverfish was cultivated.
By the time the late emperor reacted, it was too late. After that, the late emperor went to Chenglong, and naturally left the scourge to Emperor Jiacheng.
Zheng Ancheng didn't dare to answer these words, so he could only hang his head in a quail shape.
After speaking, Emperor Jiacheng also knew that he was out of anger, and changed his words: "The first emperor was difficult, and it was this group of civil servants who misled the country and harmed the previous dynasty, and now they have come to harm me, Dachang, and one day I will kill all these old men. Bone to ashes!"
As a ruler of a country, to be able to say such vicious words, it can be seen that Emperor Jiacheng is also in a hurry.
Why don't you hate it? !
The dignified king of a country had no money for disaster relief, so he had to rely on donations from ministers to collect enough silver taels. The national treasury is so poor, and all the ministers are so fat!
In terms of Emperor Jiacheng's greatest wish right now, it is to slaughter these people and exterminate their clans. Even expecting the prince to recover, he was not so obsessed.
Mentioning this, Emperor Jiacheng naturally thought of the Crown Prince again, and his eyebrows tightened.
"Let's go and see the prince."
The prince's situation is even worse.
Those imperial physicians tried their best, but they were helpless, so they began to rely on various remedies. Now that all the remedies that can be used are exhausted, there is no other use except to make the prince's body even weaker.
Now the prince looks very terrifying. The sores on his hands and face are rotten and rotten, and now they have turned into purple scars on the skin, like the poison sac on a toad, which is daunting. He has even become hysterical recently. He is crying and screaming every day. The current East Palace is like a ghost. If it is not really forced, no one wants to come in.
Even Emperor Jiacheng, who has always valued the prince, couldn't help but feel bored after seeing this scene repeatedly.
Originally, Emperor Jiacheng was not in a good mood, and even worse after he came, he left the East Palace after being angry.
After leaving the gate of the East Palace, Emperor Jiacheng asked, "How is the Empress?"
Zheng Ancheng bent down and replied, "Niangniang's phoenix body is much better recently than before. Mabi Niangniang often takes the third prince to visit Niangniang, and now Niangniang is more and more happy."
Emperor Jiacheng sighed: "The queen is also—" After a pause, he said again: "Go and see the queen."
The group then detoured to Kunning Palace.
This woman named Wan Qiong is quite smart, and she can do many things with one stroke.
Afterwards, a guest came, and Zhao'er deliberately asked her to come forward to try it.
Although it is obvious that he is nervous, in the end it can be regarded as a model, and it can be expected that in the future, he will be able to take charge of himself. Zhao'er was very satisfied, so she taught her more carefully, and Wan Qiong also studied carefully, and the two got along well.
At noon, Zhao'er went back to cook, and after eating, he brought a portion to the store.
While complimenting Zhao'er's cooking skills, Wan Qiong asked curiously, "Boss, you are running a shop, don't tell me there are no servants at home, and you actually want you to cook by yourself?"
Zhao'er smiled and said: "We are so familiar with each other, why don't you call me a boss instead of a boss? Call me Zhao'er. You call me boss, and I'm not used to it."
"This—" Wan Qiong hesitated for a while, and finally changed her mind and called for a move.
Zhao'er added: "As for what you said about servants, we are not from a wealthy family. Usually, we are used to doing things ourselves, and I am not used to having servants."
"I don't know what Zhao'er's husband is doing yet? I saw you dressed as a woman and said that you have children, so you should be married, right?" Wan Qiong asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
"My husband? He is a petty official."
Wan Qiong acted astonished: "I didn't expect Zhao'er to be Mrs. Guan, so I can't call you Zhao'er anymore."
Zhao'er waved his hand and said: "But don't say that your wife is not a wife. I didn't say that, my husband is a petty official, and I can't reach the point of being a wife."
The young couple had discussed this matter before. Xue Tingxiang was awarded the title of Liupin Xiuzhuan. According to the system, he recruited his son as his wife. The wife could follow the official position of the husband, and he could be awarded the title of Liupin Anren.
Although it is time and fashion, as long as the husband is an official, he can be called a wife, but seriously, only the wives of the first and second rank officials can be called the official wife. That's why Zhao'er said that.
"Since it is an official family, it should have servants."
Zhao'er didn't understand why Wan Qiong was more honest with the servants, but she answered honestly: "Our house is small, and there are only a few people in the family, so there is no need for servants to wait on them. As for cooking, they The grandfathers are also not used to food made by outsiders, so I usually cook it myself. There is also a servant at home, but there is no girl for the concierge and the driver. "
"Zhao'er, you are really virtuous." Wen Qiong sighed.
Zhao'er was a little embarrassed: "I'm not virtuous."
Afterwards, when Wan Qiong finished eating, Zhao'er packed the tableware and chopsticks back. She took a nap with Hong'er for half an hour. After she got up, she went to the store and saw that Wan Qiong was still holding on. During this period, Wan Qiong also did several businesses, and nothing major happened in the store.
Seeing this, Zhao'er was even more satisfied with Wan Qiong.
When it was almost time for the application, Zhao'er thought that Xue Tingxiang was about to lose his value, and since it was the first day, he let Wan Qiong go home, let her come at the same time the next day, and planned to close the store.
Wan Qiong didn't refuse either, and helped Zhao'er to close the shop door before leaving Wang Ji Huafang.
She walked all the way out of Jing'er Hutong and went all the way to Handkerchief Hutong before getting on a carriage.
In the carriage, the maid Yingge was waiting, and as soon as she saw her, she said anxiously: "Girl, you are back, the slave is dying of anxiety."
Wu Wanqiong said indifferently: "What's the hurry, I'm not asking you to go back first and pick me up in the afternoon."
Yingge said aggrieved: "How dare the slaves leave the girl alone. Besides, if the slaves go back and are found, it is difficult to explain."
In this way, Yingge sat in the carriage and waited for Wu Wanqiong for a day.
Seeing this, Wu Wanqiong said, "Thank you for your hard work. Don't wait here tomorrow. You can find any tea house or restaurant to drink tea."
"Girl, are you coming tomorrow?" Yingge said in shock.
These words were a bit arrogant, Wu Wanqiong glanced at her lightly, and Yingge was too frightened to speak again.
After a while, Yingge said in a low voice, "Girl, you said that you asked someone to inquire about the new champion, and found him in his shop. This person is already married to his own son."
Wu Wanqiong pursed her lips and gave her a cold look: "You are talking more and more!"
Yingge said with a sad face: "If the master knows about this..."
"My dad won't know. Besides, don't think too much about it. I'm not what you think about this person. I'm just curious about his wife."
"Can… "
Yingge didn't dare to say more about the next words, and knew that although the girl had a soft personality, if she angered her, the result would not be something she could bear.
Not to mention these, after that, Wu Wanqiong came to work in the shop every day.
After a few days, Zhao'er almost felt that she could be on her own, so she made an appointment with her that she would be responsible for opening the door every day. Wu Wanqiong came to the store when she was in the morning, and when she was in the afternoon, she could leave work. The rest of the time, Zhao'er looked at the store. .
As for wages, it is one tael of silver a month, but it can be mentioned from the things sold. According to Zhao'er's estimate of the business in his store, Wan Qiong can get three or four taels a month. wages.
This salary is not cheap for the world of the capital, and it is enough for her to live alone.
In fact, Zhao'er planned to invite two more female buddies, but because he couldn't find a suitable man for a while, he could only put it on hold.
Because Wu Wanqiong was off duty at Shen Shi every day, and Xue Tingxiang was also off duty at Shen Shi from the Hanlin Academy, so the two never met. Xue Tingxiang only knew that Zhao'er had hired a female friend, but he didn't know the details.
On this day, when Xue Tingxiang came back from the Hanlin Academy, Hu San was alone at home. After asking, he found out that Zhao'er and Hong'er were both in the store, and he didn't care that he went back to his room and changed his clothes.
At this time, Wang Ji Huafang was busy, and today was a coincidence. When Wu Wanqiong was about to leave work, a few guests suddenly came. In this case, she naturally couldn't leave, so she stayed to help.
There are thousands of people in the world, some people buy things easily, some people are grumpy, and today these female guests are grumpy. It's also that Wang Ji Huafang's items are not cheap, so naturally, more consideration should be given.
After finally serving this wave of guests away, two more guests came. Zhao'er and Wu Wanqiong were busy greeting the guests, and the other was watching the store and watching the children.
Finally, the deal was finally done, Zhao'er said with a dry mouth, and was sitting down to drink water.
Xue Tingxiang is here.
"Why are you so early today?" After speaking, Zhao'er subconsciously looked at the sky outside, only to realize that she was busy and forgot the time.
"Business is good today?"
Zhao'er took another sip of water before saying, "No, business is not bad every day."
"It's time to find a buddy."
Zhao'er gave him an irritated look: "You say it lightly, how can it be so easy, even Wan Qiong was invited after a long time. The male guy is easy to find, but the female guy... "
Saying that, she sighed.
Xue Tingxiang always felt that the name Wan Qiong was familiar, but he couldn't remember it for a while, but he didn't take it to heart. Just as he was about to say something, a voice suddenly sounded at the door.
"Look at your dirty hands. Auntie will wash them for you when you go back."
Zhao'er stood up with a smile and said, "In the blink of an eye, this little rascal is gone, thanks to Wan Qiong for your help watching."
"Zhao'er, you are so polite, the customer just now is too difficult to deal with. If you didn't come forward for this business designation, it would be fine for me to help watch some Hong'er..." After seeing Xue Tingxiang, I was inexplicable. lost his voice.
Zhao'er saw that her face was a little wrong, she thought she was nervous when she met a foreigner, and hurriedly said, "Wan Qiong, this is my husband." Then she said to Xue Tingxiang, "Tingyan, this is Wan Qiong."
At this time, Wu Wanqiong had regained her composure, and she pulled Hong'er to stand there cautiously, and nodded to Xue Tingxiang with her eyes half down, but she didn't speak.
Xue Tingxiang's complexion changed suddenly, and all kinds of gloom rolled in his eyes.
At this time, Hong'er rushed over: "Dad Junjun, did you bring me something delicious today?"
Xue Tingxiang was caught off guard. In order to cover up, he took advantage of the opportunity to pick up Hong'er, lowered his eyes and talked to him: "Dad brought you pea yellow."
"Alright then, let's go eat, the puppy is hungry."
"Don't eat too much, or you will eat less for dinner."
"Mother, I understand." After saying that, Hong'er urged Xue Tingxiang to hug him to eat snacks.
The backs of the father and son disappeared behind the door, Zhao'er then smiled embarrassedly at Wan Qiong, and said, "This child is skin, and there are a lot of strange words all day long."
This was explained before Hong'er called Xue Tingxiang as Jun Jun's father. This remark originated from a joke between Xue Tingxiang and Zhao'er, but was heard by the little brat, and then Xue Tingxiang became Junjun's father.
Wu Wanqiong said with some admiration, "Hong'er is really cute."
Hearing this, Zhao'er glanced at her, but said nothing. He just pretended to clean up the table, and told her briskly that it was getting late, and told her to go back quickly.
Wu Wanqiong glanced at the door again, said goodbye to Zhao'er, and left Wangji Huafang.
After she left, Zhao'er sighed.
She could see Wan Qiong's envy, but she didn't dare to say anything more. Wan Qiong was a young widow and had no children by her side, so loneliness was conceivable. She was afraid that she would tell her too much, and she would inevitably feel sad when she went back.
Zhao'er waited for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, he packed up and closed the shop.
After returning, Xue Tingxiang was holding Hong'er and took a book to tell him, and the little guy also listened with pleasure.
One father and son spoke, the other listened.
Listen, listen, when a son asks all kinds of strange questions, and then when a father does not get bored, explain it to him one by one.
Zhao'er smiled, changed into old clothes and went to work in the kitchen.
After dinner in the evening, give Honger a bath first.
In this mansion, there is a special room for the bathroom, and there are two tubs, one large and one small. The small one is for Honger's exclusive use, in fact, it is a small wooden basin.
It was still hot today, so the water Zhao’er prepared was lukewarm. He stripped Hong’er and threw it into the basin. He seemed very excited. , he wiped the bubble on Zhao'er's face again, but Zhao'er was annoyed.
The mother and son were washing like this, like a war, and the laughter could be heard in the study.
The west room of the main room is Xue Tingxiang's study.
At this time, he was sitting behind the desk, and the sky outside had already turned dark, but he did not light the lamp, allowing himself to be immersed in the boundless darkness.
He finally remembered the missing part in the dream, when he saw that person.
In that dream, he entered the Hanlin, but he was just an ordinary sage.
After the museum selection, he hurriedly went home, but he hurried back to the capital without staying for a long time.
Zhao'er and his mother did not come with him. First, the child was too young to travel long distances. Second, the capital had not yet settled down.
After that, the chaos and trivialities of entering officialdom took up all his time.
Wu Ge was always his teacher, and he could not avoid visiting one or two, especially the relationship between the Wu family and the Shen family.
Xue Tingxiang didn't know how the Wu family thought of him. After all, he was really not outstanding at the beginning. There were countless people who were better than him and better than him, but one day someone suggested to him that Wu Ge always had an only daughter. boudoir. Although he was married once before, the man was unlucky, and he died in an accident after only half a year of marriage.
What this means, everyone in the officialdom understands.
But at that time, he was just a fledgling man, and he subconsciously felt that he had a wife and a son. Could it be that he would abandon his wife and his son to climb higher and become richer? refused. Even if he fully understands what it means to him if he agrees, it is a road to the sky before him.
He had thought that he would definitely offend the teacher, but he also thought that the teacher was a dignified second assistant, so he wouldn't care about him.
After that, things really happened. He was expelled from the Hanlin Academy because of his mistake, and was sent to a poor place to serve as a county magistrate.
At that time, he was still a little young and energetic, and he knew that this was deliberate revenge, but he didn't believe in what they could do to him if he was neither greedy nor perverted the law.
He didn't dare to tell Zhao'er about this. He was concerned about his face and didn't want her to worry. So Zhao'er thought he was in the capital, but in fact he had left the capital and went to that small border town to take office.
It was not until he went to that place that he understood how difficult it was to have no background and no backers in the officialdom.
As a farmer, he knew the difficulties and hardships of farmers, so he once thought that he would be a good official who would petition for the people in the future.
It seems easy to say, but it is actually very difficult to do.
To curry favor with the superiors and deal with the lower officials is the first thing to do.
If you don't please your superiors, if you can't get the best grades, you don't need to think about getting promoted, and you may be reprimanded. And there has always been such a saying, let you be an honest official like water, and you can't escape officials slippery like oil. It is said that the local officials are all selected and dispatched by the Ministry of Personnel, and they are appointed for three years. Naturally, they are not as familiar with the local environment as some little-known officials.
If some 'adults' don't have insight into Qiu Hao, they will easily be taken up by some people below. And since Wu Ge wanted to make things difficult for him, he naturally wouldn't choose a good place for him, and that was the case in the small county where he took office.
As soon as he took office, he even suffered several losses.
From being stubborn at the beginning, to dealing with those petty officials, he has learned to be false and condescending, to win over and suppress, and to use power for personal gain.
In the end, when it was clear and bright, he could finally be a county magistrate who was in charge of the family, and he also did a few practical things for the common people, but he was faced with the matter of being transferred out after the expiration of his term of office.
When I arrived at my new position, I faced a situation similar to that before.
Now that he can be considered experienced, he should beat and beat, win over and win over, and the soldiers will block the water and cover the soil. After all, he was exhausted. Occasionally, he thought that if he had agreed, would he not have to go through all this? Is it possible to sit quietly in the Hanlin Academy like those in the same year, drink tea and talk about the sky, wait for the promotion of officials, and go straight up
He didn't dare to think about a deeper place. At this time, he had seen too much human nature, and he was aware of his own changes. He was not confident that if he did it all over again, he would still be able to stick to his original heart as he did back then. .
It has been a few years since Zhao'er had been released. At this time, Zhao'er also knew that he was released, and repeatedly proposed to come to him, saying that Hong'er was old now, but he didn't know what his father was like.
He felt guilty and uneasy, ashamed, and thinking that his situation was much better than before, he sent a letter back and asked her to come to him.
And Zhao'er was on the way to find him, and the boat that he was on had an accident on the way.
Since then it has been forever.