At the gate of the Luo family’s old courtyard, the whole family, young and old, knelt on the ground to welcome the emperor.
Guo Shao quickly strode forward, bent down to help an old woman up, and sighed: I am ashamed of the old lady.
The old woman also sighed and said: The emperor has been very kind to our Luo family. His kindness is as heavy as a mountain.
Guo Shao pointed at Yang Biao behind him and said: This is General Luo’s sworn brother Yang Biao. If the old lady needs anything in the future, just send someone to tell Yang Biao. Yang Biao can see me almost every day in the imperial city, and he will speak for the old lady.
The old woman said: Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for taking care of our Luo family. Everyone in the Luo family is grateful for your kindness.
When everyone heard this, they were in awe of the old woman. Guo Shao's words were said lightly, but it gave Luo's mother a direct way to heaven, which was not an easy matter at all.
Yang Biao bowed and said: "From now on, I will treat Yang Biao as my son."
Seeing that some people were still kneeling on the ground, Guo Shao said to the others: Get up quickly and don't be so polite.
There was a young woman inside who was the widow of Luo Mengzi. Guo Shao and other brothers all knew her name as Tangbing Xishi, but no one would call her that now. She had the status of a noble lady and was a true noble lady in Tokyo.
Guo Shao also said to Mrs. Luo, the soup cake lady: General Luo died in the Northern Expedition fighting for my country and me, I am very sad.
Mrs. Luo said: My late husband always said that Your Majesty treated him well. He was a military general, and it was his duty to go to the battlefield.
What she said in public was quite decent, so Guo Shao looked at her seriously. Mrs. Luo used to be known as the soup and cake beauty, and she was indeed fair and beautiful, but even though she became a noblewoman, her appearance and demeanor were not quite right, and her expression and behavior were a bit like the straightforward and spicy style of an ordinary woman.
Mrs. Luo was not like a noblewoman who lowered her head and behaved cautiously in front of the emperor. She seemed to have noticed that Guo Shao was looking at her, so she tugged at the corner of her clothes and whispered: "I just heard that the emperor was coming, and I was in such a hurry that I forgot to change my clothes. It's a bit embarrassing to see the emperor like this."
Guo Shao hurriedly said: General Yang and I just came to visit General Luo's family privately. General Yang is also General Luo's brother, so Madam, there is no need to be too formal.
The old lady of the Luo family said: Why let the nobles stand outside the house? Come into the main hall and sit down.
Guo Shao, Yang Biao, Jing Niang and others stepped into the threshold.
At this moment, an old woman in cloth clothes suddenly ran over from the side of the road. Jingniang immediately looked at her. The old woman said nothing and probably couldn't say anything. She ran straight to Mrs. Luo and whispered a few words.
Mrs. Luo's face turned pale immediately. She picked up her skirt and ran forward. After taking two steps, she turned around and knelt down and said, "Sir, my child has climbed up to the pavilion. I'm afraid he will fall. What should I do? I have to go and see him."
After hearing this, Guo Shao said: Let's go together.
He was also a little worried. If anything happened to Luo Mengzi's son again, he would not be able to explain to his spirit in heaven.
After that, he and Yang Biao and others strode under the eaves and entered a dilapidated moon-shaped door with a courtyard inside. Guo Shao then heard a baby crying.
Following the sound of crying, the crowd rushed to the pavilion in the yard, where they saw a boy of about five or six years old sitting on a wooden beam in the pavilion, crying.
The people below the pavilion immediately became very anxious. Luo's mother grabbed the old woman and asked: "How are you looking at the child? How did he climb so high?"
The old woman was so anxious that she almost cried: "I just went to do some other work, and when I turned around, the young man climbed up. There is a circle of hemp rope here. He must have tied the rope around his ankles and climbed along the pillar. I saw him doing this yesterday."
Mrs. Luo said anxiously: Oh, don’t worry about this for now, go get a ladder.
After hearing this, the old woman quickly ran out of the pavilion.
At this time, Guo Shao had already walked under the wooden beam. He looked up and said: Xiao Mengzi, jump down.
Mrs. Luo turned pale after hearing this: His arms and legs are too tender.
Guo Shao raised his head and paid attention to the child, and said calmly: "Let me take over, it's okay."
The people around quickly gathered around, looking up, and some even stretched out their arms.
Mrs. Luo hesitated to speak, looking worried. Guo Shao encouraged her again: "Xiao Mengzi, your father is not as timid as you."
The child was indeed a daring and mischievous child. Upon hearing this, he tried the wooden beam and really jumped down towards Guo Shao's arm. Everyone stared with wide eyes.
Guo Shao caught him and touched his head with a smile. Mrs. Luo immediately hugged him in her arms, and the child turned back to look at Guo Shao.
Guo Shao said: At this height, there is no way I can miss.
Mrs. Luo quickly knelt on the ground and said: Your Majesty, please punish me.
That’s all. Guo Shaodao, I still want to go to Luo’s house to have a drink.
The group went to the main hall while talking. When Guo Shao turned around to talk to the old woman, he found Mrs. Luo looking at him secretly from time to time. When he moved his eyes to her face, she looked away in panic, but the next time she looked at Guo Shao secretly again.
No one else noticed this subtle movement, and no one dared to stare at Guo Shao. Only Jingniang frowned and said nothing in the back.
When Guo Shao entered the hall, he saw Luo Mengzi's spirit tablet on the table above him, and his expression became solemn. He and Yang Biao walked up to the table, took the incense from the table, lit it on the candle, and bowed three times to the spirit tablet. Guo Shao said: "General Luo, rest assured, the living brothers will help you take care of the old and the young."
The two of them then stuck the incense into a piece of wet mud.
Then the old woman asked Guo Shao and others to sit down on the chairs, and Mrs. Luo personally brought up tea and water.
Guo Shao was still thinking about what to say. He was sincere to the Luo family, but there was actually nothing to say. He came here today just to express his attitude.
He was speechless for a moment, and then he looked around the furnishings in the hall. It was indeed a very old house with broken windows. Luo Mengzi was already the commander of the Xiangdu during his lifetime, which was a very high position. The Great Zhou court had abundant finances in recent years and did not default on salary, but Luo Mengzi did not seem to have taken the time to buy a house.
Mrs. Luo noticed Guo Shao's gaze and said embarrassedly: Please don't blame me for welcoming you in such a house.
This means that Luo Mengzi is working for Guo Shao and they are sworn brothers. If he is too poor, it will be Guo Shao who will lose face.
Guo Shao immediately sighed: It is really my fault that I let a general like General Luo, who is loyal to the country, live here.
Mrs. Luo finally understood what was going on and said with embarrassment: It's all my fault for not being able to speak. Damn it!
Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said kindly: "The Queen did not come to visit Mrs. Luo today, but she said that she would send Mrs. Luo 10,000 strings of copper coins and silk in two days. When the new mansion of the Luo Mansion is completed, you should also buy some household items as a gift from the Queen."
Guo Shao had to use the name of the Queen, because he was the emperor, and there was no such thing as private gifts. His large rewards were all state acts. Even if Luo Mengzi was his brother, he couldn't treat him too well. But in the name of the Queen, it was barely acceptable; the Queen had a good relationship with the general's wife, and she could reward whoever she wanted.
Mrs. Luo was shocked when she heard this: "I dare not accept ten thousand strings of cash."
Guo Shao said: That is the Queen's intention. Madam, there is no need to refuse. Ten thousand strings of cash is not too much.
Mrs. Luo was a little awkward and said: "It's a lot. Apart from my late husband, who would give a penny to our family for free?"
Guo Shao said nothing when he heard this. He thought to himself that Tangbing Xishi was still a presentable woman. Most of her words were decent in public, but she would still say petty words from time to time. After all, she had not been rich for long.
Of course he would not bring up this matter, and he changed the subject by saying something else.
The old lady of the Luo family started to nag. When the eldest son Luo Mengzi was alive, the person he talked about the most at home was the emperor. Before the emperor became emperor, he was wholeheartedly loyal to you. At that time, his eldest brother was closer to you than his father.
Mrs. Luo nodded and said: It's true, you talk about the government every day.
Guo Shao sighed and thought that Luo Mengzi really didn't have much talent, but his loyalty was rare, and he was a brother who followed him when he was down and out.
The old lady of the Luo family continued to nag: The Luo family met a noble person, and Dalang followed the official to seek wealth and honor. Going to the battlefield to kill the enemy is a job that requires your life to be at risk. If something happens, it is also your fate.
Guo Shao listened patiently. He spent a lot of time listening to the old woman talk, just because she was Luo Mengzi's mother. He didn't need to say too much, his attitude was enough to show his sincerity.
After talking for a long time, the old woman finally realized that Guo Shao was the emperor. She slapped her legs and said, "Oh my, look at my mouth. The emperor is in charge of the affairs of the whole world. Why do I talk so much?"
Guo Shaodao: I would like to hear about Luo Mengzi’s life.
Mrs. Luo looked at Guo Shao with a twinkling gaze and blurted out: "When we heard that the emperor was coming to visit us, we felt proud, but we were actually afraid that the emperor would be like this.
Guo Shao turned to look at her, waiting for her to finish speaking, but unexpectedly she was speechless.
He sat for a while and felt it was about time, so he stood up and said: I won't stay any longer.
Mrs. Luo said hurriedly: "When you are free, please come to my house and sit down."
After hearing this, Guo Shao said: “During the New Year or other festivals, if there is a banquet in the palace, we will definitely invite the old lady, Mrs. Luo, to the banquet, which will also be more lively.
After he said that, he bowed to the old lady and said hurriedly: "Old lady, please stay. It is raining outside. Please take care of your health as you are old."
The group still saw Guo Shao and others out of the mansion.
Guo Shao and Yang Biao got on the carriage and left the gate under the escort of the cavalry. He lifted the curtain and saw that the soup and pancake beauty was still standing outside the door looking in, so he quietly pulled down the bamboo curtain.
He glanced at Yang Biao, and after a moment's silence, he said: "By the way, I haven't met General Yang's wife yet. I remember that you were married."
Yang Biao said: I got married when I was a teenager, and my first wife is dead.
You still need to marry a second wife and give birth to a son. Guo Shaodao, I want you to find a virtuous lady from a noble family and ask the queen to be a matchmaker for you.
Yang Biao hurriedly said: It’s just a personal matter, Your Majesty, I dare not trouble you with your concern.
Guo Shao took it as a polite remark. The rain was still falling, and the water droplets on the curtains splashed into the carriage as the car shook.