Chapter 66 Arrival at Hanyun City
The prefect of Hanyun City was called Cao Gurui. After the prefects of surrounding cities were successively dismissed, he had been very uneasy for several days. What official was not greedy? Gifts from subordinates during festivals, exchanges with officials in other cities, and then sending holiday gifts to the capital, and occasionally doing favors for individual officials.
As the old saying goes, a person with an upright character does not fear his shadow’s crookedness; what he fears is a person with an unrighteous character!
"Ah——" That day, Cao Gurui woke up from a nightmare again. He sat up from the bed in a sweat.
Cao Gurui's wife, Ren Shuchang, was woken up by him and slapped him in dissatisfaction, "What's wrong with you in the middle of the night?!"
Cao Gurui covered his face and finally woke up from the nightmare. He shook his wife awake, "Madam, take the children and leave Hanyun City as soon as possible. Your father-in-law had several properties in the capital. Those people can't find them. You should go there to hide."
Mrs. Ren then realized that something was wrong with her husband. She sat up and called the maid who was keeping watch in the outer room to light the lamp, "What happened?"
Cao Gurui was originally a poor man, but later he accepted the invitation of Miss Ren, the eldest daughter of the Ren family, the richest man in Hanyun City, and became a live-in son-in-law of the Ren family. With the financial support of the Ren family and his father-in-law, and he himself was clever, although there were twists and turns, but in the end Cao Gurui actually became the prefect of Hanyun City. Everyone thought that he would divorce his wife first after he got a high position. After all, being a live-in son-in-law was a huge stain for him now. Who knew that Lord Cao didn't care at all, and loved his wife as much as day one for decades.
Cao Gurui never paid any attention to those rumors and even dealt with a group of people who gossiped about him. How could others know that without the support of his father-in-law and the reliance of his wife's family, how could he have achieved what he has today?
"I'm afraid my husband is going to die." Cao Gurui had been hiding it from his family. Even his children were kept at home and not allowed to go out during this period, for fear that Mrs. Ren and the others would worry after knowing it. When she said it this time, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
Madam Ren slapped him again, this time symmetrically. Cao Gurui yelped and feigned anger, saying, "Madam, don't hit people in the face. I, your husband, also have a temper."
Mrs. Ren said coldly, "What unlucky words! It's because of this. Xin'er, blow out the lights."
The room was dark again. After a long while, Madam Ren sighed, "As for Emperor Muzong, I've long told you to have less contact with him. He's a bad man to the core, but you refused to listen. The Imperial Guards could easily find your dealings with him in his account books... And then there's Hongfu. You attended his banquets several times and had pleasant conversations with him. Now, they're coming to capture you and behead you."
Cao Gurui was shocked and asked, "Madam, you actually know all this?"
So what's the point of him concealing it all this time?
"Do you think I am confined to the backyard?" Mrs. Ren said unhappily.
Cao Gurui was even more sad when he thought about Madam Ren's words. "It's too late to say anything now."
Madam Ren chuckled and changed the subject, saying, "Don't worry. You've never done anything against the will of heaven or oppressed the people. What are you afraid of? The fact that the Jinyiwei didn't come to Hanyun City first is the best proof of this."
Cao Gurui just thought that his wife was comforting him.
When he was about to secretly count and pack up his family's assets, preparing to have the people in the mansion escort his family out of Hanyun City, Madam Ren saw that he didn't take her words seriously at all, so she said, "Since they want to search and confiscate, they must have secretly gathered intelligence a long time ago. They may not know the exact amount of assets in your mansion, but they know a rough idea. If you behave yourself, maybe the Jinyiwei will let us go."
Cao Gurui had no choice but to give up.
However, as the months passed, he heard one thing after another about other cities, such as the prefect of Jinning City being beheaded and the people throwing vegetable leaves at him; and the Jinyiwei going to Xianqin City and having their homes confiscated.
After living in fear for several months, the Jinyiwei finally arrived at Hanyun City. Cao Gurui's death was clearly imminent, but he felt as if his heart had finally settled down - the most painful thing was not the certainty of death, but the process of waiting without knowing when he would die!
To Cao Gurui's surprise, the Jinyiwei hadn't even set foot in the prefectural governor's residence! They only wanted to see him at the Hanyun City government office. Cao Gurui quickly changed into his official uniform and hurriedly set off from the prefectural governor's residence in a carriage.
When we arrived at the government office, we saw a large group of people standing inside.
Cao Gurui's legs felt weak, thinking that he would be stabbed if he drew his head back or stuck it out, so he pretended to be calm.
Seeing him arrive, the leading Jinyiwei started talking about things and asked the clerks of the Hanyun City government to write them down, such as building a study and repairing official roads. Cao Gurui had heard a little about these things, so the Jinyiwei's words were not difficult for him to understand.
After saying these things, the leading Jinyiwei stood up, and Cao Gurui was startled. Following him, the other Jinyiwei also stood up. Together with the large group of people in the yard, it would not be a problem to capture Cao Gurui, and even turn the prefectural government upside down.
The tall Jinyiwei who led the group suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh right, Your Majesty, His Majesty has ordered that all officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty will be evaluated at the end of each year. Who knows, you might see me again then."
Ever since Cao Gurui came to the government office in Hanyun City, he couldn't listen to anything anyone said. He was in a trance. He didn't hear this sentence and just nodded subconsciously.
"Lord Cao." A shorter, baby-faced man greeted him as he passed by. The man was also wearing a black embroidered suit, but a closer look revealed that the pattern was slightly different from those of the people around him.
Cao Gurui came back to his senses a little after being called out by him. He looked at the person who spoke and his eyes suddenly widened!
He had seen this person before!
But compared to his flattering and coquettish look back then, his brows and eyes are now relaxed and he looks quite righteous. His entire facial features have changed, and he almost didn't recognize him.
"It's you..." Cao Gurui murmured, his heart pounding.
This person turned out to be a traveling merchant who came to Hanyun City a long time ago. He claimed that he had done business in the capital and had accumulated a lot of wealth. Now he wanted to find a place to settle down in Hanyun City, so he came to pay a visit to the adults. As a businessman, he would never be able to meet the officials of Hanyun City, but this person was very generous... The red coral he presented was still displayed in Cao Gurui's house!
At that time, some people checked his background and found that it was just as he said. He used to do business in the capital and later went all the way south. This person was indeed very wealthy.
Unexpectedly...
Cao Gurui suddenly felt a chill in his heart. It turned out that at that time the Jinyiwei had already begun to sneak into various cities to secretly investigate them. Moreover, the other party wanted to hide, and they were kept in the dark. The people they sent out could not find anything!
However, that person seemed to be just saying hello to him. The group came quickly and left very decisively.
After sending the Jinyiwei away in a daze, Cao Gurui finally realized that he was fine?!
...
There was the previous example of being beheaded, and he was not a clean and honest official. The Jinyiwei was following the emperor's orders, and they must have spared him now only because he was still useful and had not committed any major mistakes. After all, compared with oppressing the people and causing them to live in misery, what Cao Gurui did could be forgiven for the time being.
Cao Gurui thought of this, so he acted more cautiously. When building his study, he spent a lot of money and donated all the books in his house.
If the entire Great Zhou is in trouble, he will be the one who takes advantage of the situation; otherwise, he will be an honest official.
...
"Chengyu, what do you think we should do then?" Kong Yan rubbed the sore parts of his body, feeling like his whole body was about to fall apart.
Ming Chengyu shook his head: "I don't know either."
"On this journey, I noticed that Hanyun City was quite orderly—at least, it was different from what I had imagined. We saw road construction going on in many cities along the way—probably due to a government order from the capital. The laborers didn't look miserable, and they worked very hard, which shows they weren't being mistreated."
Only when they arrived at Hanyun City did they realize that they were not treated harshly. No wonder everyone worked so hard. It turned out that as long as they registered with the government, they would be paid after completing the work. Although this was not forced conscription, they were still able to gather enough manpower to build the road.
The prefect of Hanyun City had long learned of the news that the three young masters from the capital had entered the city, and he came out to greet them in person, which made the three of them flattered.
"The three young masters have come all the way from the capital and must be very tired from the journey. Our mansion has prepared a banquet today. I wonder if the three young masters would be willing to attend?" The prefect had a kind smile on his face.
Ming Chengyu and the other two said they dared not. They had checked before they set out and knew that the prefect of Hanyun City was named Cao Gurui. Although he had some minor flaws in his official career, he had no major faults, so he was not among those to be searched by the Jinyiwei.
Even though Cao Gurui was not an official in the capital, the position of prefect was still a legitimate one with a certain rank. Ming Chengyu bowed and said, "Master Prefect, you are too kind. You are the elder, so you can just call me Chengyu."
After that, he introduced the other two people. An Yuliang and Kong Yan also followed suit and saluted. After this encounter, both sides knew that the other party did not seem like someone who would make things difficult for them, so they felt relieved and talked and laughed along the way without any awkward moments.
Cao Gurui's skill of speaking differently to different people, which he had learned in his early years in officialdom, was still fresh in his mind. Seeing that the three young masters were all from the capital, they must not know the customs of Hanyun City, so he began to explain it to them in a vivid way.
Hanyun City is located at the junction of three surrounding cities. During the war in the previous dynasty, Hanyun City served as the main city of an uprising army, and later it almost became a deserted city. After the war, a large number of refugees came to Hanyun City, some from the south and some from the north, and settled here until now. Therefore, the people in Hanyun City have complex accents and different eating habits.
"But the most frustrating thing is that after so many years, the people of Hanyun City, who should all be residents of the Great Zhou Dynasty, have actually divided the city into north and south, east and west." Cao Gurui sighed and then laughed. "I've been here for many years and have heard of countless fights caused by such conflicts. Over time, I've stopped caring."
In fact, not many people have made trouble in recent years. After all, people can’t even get enough to eat, so who has the extra energy?
Ming Chengyu and the other two had never heard of such a thing before. An Yuliang was surprised when he heard it and said, "If the government doesn't do anything, won't people die?"
Cao Gurui laughed and said, "It's just a few people holding rakes and making a few noises. Besides, from the previous dynasty to the present, the people of Hanyun City have become similar from generation to generation."
Entering the streets of the city, Ming Chengyu saw that there were vendors selling snacks just as Cao Gurui had said. She looked closely and saw that there were cakes and rice cakes. There were quite a variety of snacks, but after all, they were the daily food of the people. They looked rather rough and were not expensive.
Compared with these three young masters, Cao Gurui was obviously more afraid of the "assessor" who seemed to have become invisible, but when he saw that he gave a few instructions and left alone as soon as he entered the city, Cao Gurui relaxed.
"Is this gentleman also from the Embroidered Uniform Guard?" Cao Gurui asked tentatively.
Kong Yan shook his head: "We don't know either."
The three of them followed Cao Gurui to the prefect's residence for lunch. Cao Gurui specially found the best chef in Hanyun City to make the whole meal not too extravagant, but also pleasing to the eye and delicious.
However, Ming Chengyu and the other two were used to eating in the cafeteria, which emphasized strong flavor, large portions and fragrance. For example, An Yuliang could eat three of the crispy meat-filled steamed buns at a time, which were so fragrant. And there was also the meatball soup... Now when they ate these exquisite meals again, although they were extremely delicious, they always felt that something was missing in their mouths. However, the three of them kept in mind that they were in the prefectural mansion and could see that the dishes were carefully prepared, so they naturally did not reveal their thoughts at all.
Cao Gurui saw this scene and couldn't help but think to himself, he is indeed a young man from a noble family. Not only is his etiquette impeccable, but his table manners are also top-notch!
After lunch, Ming Chengyu suggested that they go to Hanyun Study. Cao Gurui naturally agreed, but he still had official business to attend to, so he asked a minor official to accompany them.
"Coming to Hanyun City means the assessment has begun. Why aren't you in a hurry at all?" Kong Yan asked.
Ming Chengyu shook his head slightly. "There's no rush. I still don't have any idea about the exam questions. Why not take a look around Hanyun City? I just heard Lord Cao talk about it, and I'm also very curious about what the study looks like."
Kong Yan scratched his head. "Your Majesty has built this study in every city of the Great Zhou. Naturally, there's one in the capital as well, and it's much larger than other places."
"Okay, no matter how big the study in the capital is, we have never been to it in the military academy. It's a good opportunity to go to Hanyun Study and see it for ourselves." An Yuliang has always been open-minded. He smiled and took the two of them in his arms and walked out.
...
There were already quite a few people in Hanyun's study. They found an empty wooden table in the corner and sat down. They found a man sitting opposite them. He was wearing a patched cotton robe and was sitting at the table, writing an article on paper with a brush.
"How many ordinary people can even read, let alone write? Have they ever been to school? Without paper and pen, how can they write?" An Yuliang asked quietly. He didn't mean any harm in his words. After all, by now... his status was almost the same as that of an ordinary person. He was simply curious, because he knew that ordinary people could hardly afford to eat and wear clothes at home. Buying paper and pens? That was even more impossible. So how could they learn to read and write?
He always speaks his mind, so he naturally said it this time, but An Yuliang still remembered to turn his voice down to a minimum.
Ming Chengyu was just about to signal him to be quiet. The study was quiet, and An Yuliang thought his voice was soft, but in fact it could still be heard by people who were closer.
Sure enough, the thin man sitting opposite Ming Chengyu stopped writing, looked up at An Yuliang.
Ming Chengyu quickly whispered, "My sir, I'm sorry. My friend is a bit too straightforward and spoke without careful consideration, but he meant no harm."
The thin man's face showed no sign of annoyance. He knew from the attire of the three men that they were not ordinary people. He nodded, then said with a faint smile, "No problem. I can help this young man understand. How can there be no paper? Sand and earth can all be made into paper. How can there be no pens? Any tree branch or straw can be made into a pen."
All three of them were stunned.
An Yuliang, in particular, felt extremely ashamed after hearing this. When he was a child, his father asked him to practice calligraphy, but he never practiced it seriously. He often lied that he couldn't find the homework assigned by the teacher, and finally angered three teachers and his father no longer asked about his studies.
An Yuliang also apologized to the thin man and apologized for disturbing his peace.
However, for Ming Chengyu and the other two, this was just a small episode. They walked through several bookshelves and were surprised to find many books that interested them. They sat down at the wooden table and started reading. Before they knew it, time had passed and it was time to close the study.
They then put the books back to their original place, and after everyone had arrived, they walked out together with a reluctant look on their faces.
"This is such a great place, quiet and clean. Most importantly, there are so many books here. It's really a great place." Kong Yan said happily.
When Ming Chengyu and the other two walked out of the study, they happened to meet the thin man in the patched cotton robe again, and the other party also saw them.
Ming Chengyu walked over and bowed, saying, "It was inconvenient to speak in the study just now. I haven't asked your name yet."
The man returned the greeting, shook his head and smiled, "I don't deserve it. I'm Tang Xing."
After bowing and saying goodbye, the man's figure slowly disappeared at the end of the alley.
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