In the evening, the streets of Tokyo were crowded with people and the roads were busy. If you only look at Tokyo and not other places in the Zhou Dynasty, you might feel that you are in a prosperous era, not a chaotic era. The weather was hot, Guo Shao had been walking all day, and he was also worried about military affairs. He felt a little tired at this time, and he didn't even notice Yu Lian who had been following him for a long distance.
I left in February and came back in July. Time flies. Half of the year has passed in the blink of an eye. The scene of hundreds of flowers about to bloom is gone, replaced by lush green leaves, as green as a ball of green ink that cannot be dissolved. Guo Shao was reminded of a line from a poem in the Song Dynasty: Green is fat and red is thin.
The soldiers were anxious to get the money and go home to reunite, so they followed Guo Shao to find the location of the new house, and after getting Guo Shao's permission, they gradually dispersed. In the end, only Dong the tile maker and his daughter were left, with Dong the tile maker leading the horse and the little girl following behind.
The house that the Queen had been rewarded with was in the inner city. It was entered from Xuande Road, the main road in the inner city, but it was not on the main road. It was far from the inner city handicraft workshop in the north and close to Daxiangguo Temple in the south. The population here was sparse, mostly inhabited by scholars and wealthy businessmen. The environment was very quiet. From outside, one could hear the monks of Daxiangguo Temple chanting scriptures. The faint chanting was like soothing music, which made people feel at ease.
The Fu family's villa is in such a good location, and it really has the taste of a warlord family. However, this reward is only a symbolic copper key, without a title deed. It is really just for him to live in. Anyway, he cannot sell it as his own property.
The lock on the gate was opened, and Dong the bricklayer poked his head in and asked in a thick Hedong dialect: Is anyone there
The eunuch accompanying him said: "There were a few gatekeepers before, but now they have all left. Guo Yuhou lives here, so of course it is more convenient to use his own people."
You guys are really thoughtful. Guo Shao reached into his purse and took out a piece of broken silver. Zuo You divided it very finely last night. You made a special trip and used it to buy a pair of shoes and socks.
The eunuch was stunned for a moment before accepting it, and hurriedly bowed happily and said, "Thank you, Guo Yuhou, for the reward. Then I will take my leave."
Seeing his attitude, Guo Shao was immediately certain that the eunuchs now were no match for the eunuchs in the Tang or Ming dynasties, and their status must be relatively low. The highest status at this time should be the military commanders with military power.
Guo Shao walked into the gate first, followed by an old man and a young man. He walked for a while and found that there was an inner courtyard inside the outer courtyard. The place was quite large and there was not even a single person inside. At the moment, he was still thinking about something and did not have the patience to look closely. However, the two people from the Dong family stared with their eyes wide open, looking around curiously, and even carefully touched with their hands.
Guo Shao casually grabbed a handful of silver from his purse and handed it to Dong the bricklayer: "Take care of the two horses, pack up the things you brought back, and ask people to find a place to buy some feed. Then you can go to the restaurant to eat by yourselves. When I came here just now, I saw a lot of shops on the street."
Bricklayer Dong held it in both hands, nodded and said: Yes, yes.
Guo Shao taught him to help take off his heavy armor and threw it into the corner. Guo Shao thought again. He had casually inquired about the double salary of the governor of California State, the inner palace guard, and felt that it was quite generous. He was not lucky to get an extra reward. It was not a problem to support a hundred or eighty people with the salary alone. With this thought, he did not want to save money, and immediately led a horse out.
You can ride a horse or drive a car on the avenue, and riding a horse is obviously easier than walking.
Guo Shao first went out of the inner city's Zhuque Gate, crossed the Longjin Bridge, and headed straight for the ironware shop in the outer city's commercial district where he used to live. When he returned to the capital, he didn't see Yulian when he entered the city. Maybe there were thousands of people who couldn't find her at that time, so Guo Shao planned to go straight to her house to check. I guess she had nowhere else to go.
The commercial street of Longjinfang has shops in front and narrow alleys in the back. Guo Shaoxian walked along the street and went to the shop to have a look. His shop was in a good location and could be seen as soon as he walked to the street. It was still open for business.
This was a bit beyond Guo Shao's expectations. He saw that all the stalls outside the shop were set up.
He led the horse to the front of the shop and saw Old Man Huang working as a tinsmith. There was a money jar beside him and the amount of money in it seemed that the sales today were not bad. "Blacksmith Huang," Guo Shao called out.
Old Huang was surprised and put down his work and took over the reins from Guo Shao: "Boss, you're back!"
Tie the horse at the door and come in to talk, Guo Shao said.
When the blacksmith Huang came in, Guo Shao asked directly: "Where is Yulian?"
Huang the blacksmith said: She hasn't been here for a long time. People in the streets were saying very bad things about her. Some people even secretly poured dirty things on her doorstep, saying that they wanted to ward off evil spirits. Not long after, they heard that she had become a nun. Everyone also said that she knew she had committed many sins and went to atone for her sins.
Ah, Guo Shao is standing there, where can he become a monk
Huang the blacksmith shook his head: "I don't know, she didn't say the boss, etc." Then he turned around and walked inside.
After a while, just as Guo Shao was frowning and thinking about something, Huang the blacksmith came out, carrying a sack, and then untied it. There was only half a sack of money inside. Guo Shao glared and asked: What are you doing
Blacksmith Huang said proudly: The money earned in the past few months was taken from my wages as I was the only one managing this shop, and I also paid the taxes before taxes, and the food money was also paid by my previous employer.
Guo Shao looked at the blacksmith Huang with an incredulous look. He used to treat him as a helper and didn't think he was anything special. But today, he felt that he had some integrity. Although he was rough in words and deeds, he probably understood the truth better than many officials who spoke better than they sang.
Guo Shao thought about it and realized that he only had small change in gold and silver, and it was inconvenient to spend it occasionally. So he reached into the sack and grabbed a handful of coins. The coins were of different sizes, thicknesses, new and old, but they were neatly strung together with hemp ropes. The rest is for you.
The owner, the blacksmith Huang, was surprised.
Guo Shao said: I have been promoted. I will not rely on this business anymore. The deed of this shop is still with Yu Lian.
Blacksmith Huang said: She sent it back.
Then you want it, Guo Shao frowned. Huang the blacksmith said blankly: She is not for me, but for the boss.
Hey, hey, hey, Guo Shao felt uncomfortable and thought, now that he is rich, but without Yu Lian to share it with, his sense of joy immediately decreased a lot, and he felt depressed for a while.
The blacksmith Huang, with his face full of horrible wrinkles, was a little at a loss: What did I do wrong
Guo Shao said: That's all. You can find someone to run this shop in the future, and the profits will be your reward. You can go to the new house to help take care of my new yard. I have made great contributions in the battle and was promoted to the position of Inner Palace Guard. From now on, we will not look down on the profits of this shop.
Huang the blacksmith was not very happy. One could guess from his expression that this old man in his fifties had no idea what the Inner Palace Guards were. It was useless to say anything if he had no idea about it.
Seeing this, Guo Shao could not help but say: There is another official, the governor of Qianzhou. The highest official in a state, the county magistrates of each county below must be respectful when they see me, and they can let the county magistrates know that if a village commits a serious crime and is brought to the hall to be beaten and punished, the official sitting above is the county magistrate.
Now Huang the blacksmith understood and said in surprise: "The boss is more powerful than the county magistrate."
Guo Shao couldn't explain it to him, so he nodded and left it at that. He thought: Compared with the position of the Inner Palace Guard, which has actual military power, the local governor is nothing, not to mention the small county magistrate. But if it were in modern times, being the head of a county would seem to be very impressive. The key is that if you want to show off your power, you still need a ceremonial pomp to scare ordinary people. You have just been promoted and have no time to receive your gifts.
Yulian was wandering on the street and saw Guo Shao returning from the inner city and going to Longjinfang. He came back specially, which gave Yulian a glimmer of hope. But Shao Ge'er was so powerful now that he looked at the sky while walking and didn't even see her.
She stood at the street corner with her head down, looking around, feeling nervous, afraid of running into someone she knew, and very conflicted.
Seeing Guo Shao standing next to the Queen's procession, Yu Lian was immediately given a bucket of cold water to sober up. This Guo Lang was no longer the Shao brother he once was.
When she worked for Shao Ge'er before, Yu Lian had to use his money to buy wine, which made her feel very inferior and ashamed. Now he is obviously rising rapidly: Huang Laotou doesn't understand, but Yu Lian does. She has seen pigs run even though she has never eaten pork. She can speak in front of the empress and the nobles, and can even be awarded a brocade robe. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like an ordinary promotion.
Entering the circle of power, his vision and temperament will also change. Yu Lian thought to herself, what kind of relationship can someone like me have with him? If you were his wife who was married to him in a formal way, you would still have something to say.
If you continue to bother Shao Ge'er, how can you ask others to deal with you? It seems that they can't do anything to you as a maid. After all, you have known each other since you were poor. It is simply a fantasy to ask others to marry you. Even if you go back five or six years, she is not worthy of you when she was a young girl.
Forget it, everything is fate. You should not desire what does not belong to you. Desiring is just asking for trouble and humiliating yourself. Shao Ge'er treated me well in the past. Now that he has become successful, I should be happy for him. It would be nice if I could hear about him occasionally in the crowd.
Just disappear from his side. Staying in Yuzhen Temple is not bad; that is where you should seize the opportunity. In this world of war and famine, being a nun or a Taoist priest has very high requirements, and it is not easy for you to make a living.
People have to accept their fate. Tears welled up in Yulian's eyes, and she turned around with difficulty and wanted to leave.
At this moment, a woman suddenly seemed to have discovered something surprising, and her tone was full of surprise: Oh, isn't this the daughter-in-law of the Chen family? Come back and take a look.
Yu Lian turned her head away, not wanting to say anything to her. She couldn't explain herself clearly, and she felt both ashamed and angry.
Unexpectedly, another voice said: The Chen family's house is a bit shabby, but at least it can be sold for some money. I heard that Yulian has another man outside, so it would be nice to sell the Chen family's house and take it with her to keep as a treasure. Marry once, twice, and then three times, without leaving some money for yourself.