The villa of King Wei of the Fujia family, located to the north of the Daxiangguo Temple, is now the residence of Guo Shao, the chief officer of the Inner Palace.
This house covers a large area, but in a royal family, it can only be considered a separate courtyard; even if it is a separate courtyard, it is still full of elegance and refinement. The house can be divided into three parts: the front yard and the main yard, a gatehouse in the middle, and a garden in the back; there may be dozens of houses in total. The gatehouse in the middle is built like a quetai, with a square frame and smooth lines. The enclosed corridor upstairs is an arc like an arch bridge, and the rough structure has a sense of magnificence.
The back garden is centered around a pond, and a spring dug in the middle shows the careful selection of the location. Deep groundwater flows out of the ground through this rare spring, forming living water; the living water is poured into the pond, and the water in the pond is connected to the drainage canal of Tokyo, and the Feng Shui is suddenly alive.
No wonder Empress Fu only let Guo Shao live there and didn't give him the land deed. Although the yard is not big, maybe the Empress was a little reluctant to give it up.
Guo Shao took Yulian here. Yulian was very happy today, and just after getting off the sedan chair, she whispered to him: I will repay you.
Guo Shao was also thinking of another surprise for her, and couldn't wait to call Dong the tile maker and Dong Sanmei out to meet her. He guessed that Dong Sanmei was Yulian's sister. They had the same surname, and the place belonged to Gaoping. Yulian once mentioned that her hometown was in Gaoping, Hedong. Then Dong Sanmei had an older sister who was married. Guo Shao saw that Dong the tile maker wanted to sell his daughter, and he suspected that Sanmei's sister was sold.
Many signs gave Guo Shao reason to assume that his third sister and Yulian were from the same family. Although it seemed a little coincidental, Yulian used to be a maid in Li Shouzhen's house in Hezhong Prefecture. It was hard to say whether they could meet in Tokyo. Besides, there might not be many people with the surname Dong in Gaoping.
Unexpectedly, when the three met, none of them recognized each other. The three looked at each other, and Yulian and Sanmei looked at each other. The atmosphere was really weird.
Seeing this, Guo Shao understood: they were not from the same family. If they were sisters who grew up together, they should be able to recognize each other after being separated for a few years; moreover, if Dong the bricklayer was Yulian's father, an old man could not have changed beyond recognition in a few years, and Dong the bricklayer was not disfigured.
However, when the two girls stood together, Guo Shao found that they did look a bit alike. It was because he guessed that they were sisters that Guo Shao brought Dong the bricklayer and his daughter back to Tokyo; otherwise, there were too many poor people in the world who could not afford to eat, and he could not bring them all back home to support them. Thinking of this, his guess had accomplished a good deed.
After a while of awkwardness, perhaps Dong the bricklayer noticed that Yulian and the third sister looked a bit similar, so he started to chat. As they talked, they finally found a connection. They were really from the same place, and they were also somewhat related. But even they themselves couldn't figure out which generation of the Dong family they were from. Yulian's father and Dong the bricklayer were acquaintances. They had worked together and performed corvee labor. Yulian's home was behind the mountain where Dong the bricklayer lived. There was a village called Ao Shang. But according to Dong the bricklayer, there was a disaster in his hometown a few years ago, and Yulian's parents had died of illness and starvation.
Dong the bricklayer talked flatteringly for a while, and then he couldn't help asking: "Did Yulian marry a good family? Is she the noble lady of the master?"
Yu Lian pursed her lips and shook her head in denial. Her face looked bad, probably because she had heard the news of her parents' death, but she didn't act too exaggerated and said nothing.
Guo Shao understood that they were just from the same hometown, not from the same family, and immediately lost interest. When he left, he said: "When I'm not at home, Yu Lian has the final say here. You have to listen to what she says, and don't run around and cause trouble."
Bricklayer Dong nodded quickly and said: Yes, yes.
Then he handed Yulian some things he had brought back from the blacksmith shop, and a cloth bag containing some broken gold and silver, as well as fifty strings of copper coins he had received from the Palace Front Office. It was very inconvenient for him to carry such a large bag.
He grabbed a handful of gold and silver and put them in his pocket, and said, "Yang Biao and his friends have found a shop and are inviting everyone to a buffet. I will go and pay first and come back in the afternoon." Lao Huang led the horse to the door.
When Dong the tiler saw Guo Shao grab a handful of gold and silver, his eyes widened. This guy didn't know how to hide it. Guo Shao looked at him calmly, but didn't have time to pay attention to him for the time being. He walked to the door and couldn't help but said to Lao Huang: Dong the tiler has not been with me for a long time, keep an eye on this guy, and wait for me to come back.
"Hey." Old Huang responded.
Unexpectedly, after only half a day, when Guo Shao came home in the afternoon, something really happened. The bricklayer Dong found an opportunity to sneak into the inner courtyard and wanted to look for the bag of money hidden by Yulian. Unexpectedly, Yulian thought he was not honest, so she kept a close eye on him. After a while, she called Lao Huang in and caught the guy red-handed.
When Guo Shao came back, Dong the bricklayer had been tied up and was asking Guo Shao whether he wanted to deliver him to the government shop.
The quiet and honest old man Huang also started to curse: "You can't live a good life, but you learn those sneaky and crooked ways."
Guo Shao also thought: Dong the bricklayer's home is far away in Hedong, and there is no one at home. He is really a barefoot man who is not afraid of wearing shoes. Keeping him here will only bring trouble. Old Huang, on the other hand, is much more reliable. He has worked as a helper in the blacksmith shop for several years. Not only does he know that he is an honest man, but he also has children and grandchildren at home who are all in Kaifeng Prefecture.
Guo Shao turned to Yulian and asked: What does Yulian want to do with him? Then he waited for her answer with interest.
Yu Lian frowned and said: As we are from the same hometown, I will plead for him and don't send him to the official.
Dong the bricklayer thanked him profusely and said that he was blinded by money for a moment.
Yu Lian said to Guo Shao again: But we can't keep him in the Guo Mansion any longer. This is Guo Lang's home. Don't just invite some random people into your home. Just drive him away.
Dong the bricklayer knelt down and begged: "Just give me something to eat. I was just confused for a moment. I will never do it again. Your father and I used to work together. Don't you dare to do it?"
Shut up! Yu Lian suddenly became very angry. She was usually a very quiet and kind person. Today, for some reason, maybe she became very angry because she remembered that she was sold: You are not Guo Lang's relative. I gave you one chance just because you were lucky. You still want a second chance? I have done my best to plead for you and not send you to the police.
Guo Shao said nothing. Yu Lian's words and actions were clear and reasonable, which made him very satisfied.
He looked at Dong Sanmei again. The little girl stood there pitifully, her face pale, looking scared but at a loss. Guo Shao asked Yu Lian: Where is Dong Sanmei
The little girl's eyes were filled with pleading, and she took two steps towards Guo Shao. Guo Shao asked kindly: Do you want to go with your father? Do you have a father-daughter relationship
The little girl did not hide anything at all. She shook her head without hesitation and whispered: Dad will definitely sell me for money when he has no money.
After hearing this, Guo Shao looked at Dong the bricklayer bluntly and said: It's sad, it's rare to see someone as sad as you. Not to mention outsiders, you can't even keep your own daughter.
He was quite polite to Dong the bricklayer on the way, but when he found out that Dong and Yulian had nothing to do with each other, he turned hostile. Even if Dong the bricklayer had not stolen anything, he would have to leave here today, it was just for a different reason.
Guo Shao didn't think he had done anything wrong, he was clear in his thoughts: It has nothing to do with me, how can I care so much? If I can be nice to everyone, then I don't need to do anything else, I might as well devote myself to charity, after all, there are people everywhere who need help from charity.
But he really wanted to help this little girl. Maybe it was because girls were easier to win the sympathy of Guo Shao, who had modern ideas. There was no way Guo Shao was just a vulgar man. Even in modern society, if a little girl with decent appearance encountered something tragic, it would obviously be easier to sympathize with her than other people with the same tragic experience.
Yulian Guo Shao was prepared to give her the greatest possible authority here.
Dong the bricklayer cried out: You can't do this, you bad boy, I've fed you for more than ten years, but I couldn't raise you. If I had known, I would have thrown you to death.
Yulian said: "People in every place have good and bad sides. This matter has nothing to do with Dong Sanmei. If she doesn't want to go with her father, she can buy it."
Dong the bricklayer stopped crying immediately, raised his head and asked: How much do you want to pay
Guo Shao looked disdainful and thought: Can't you pretend a little
He reached into his waist bag and took out a handful of gold and silver. The lunch banquet didn't cost much. The nine tables of buffet in the shop were not expensive. Guo Shao handed over the money in his hand: Don't talk too much. In this chaotic world, a person is not as valuable as a sheep. There are not a few here. He simply said: If you keep talking too much, you won't get a penny, believe it or not.
Xinxin, the bricklayer, was untied and could not wait to hold the money in his hands. He was so happy that he thanked her profusely and said that she would be able to keep him busy for a long time. Then he turned around and left without even looking at Dong Sanmei. Dong, the bricklayer, was so excited to receive so much money that he even jumped up and down when he walked. His words and actions were totally inconsistent with his age.
You are not human beings. Suddenly, Yu Lian cursed excitedly. Guo Shao turned around and saw tears in her eyes. She covered her mouth, turned her head and ran inside.
Guo Shao lowered his head and looked at the girl who was much shorter than him. The girl also looked up at him, her pair of bright almond eyes with distinct black and white opened wide, looking very innocent.
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