Chapter 74: Lotus Pond in Front and Bamboo Forest Behind (Two Chapters Combined into One)
Nie was ill, and Zhao Tingxuan had to take care of her, so he could postpone his trip to Beijing.
Just when everyone thought that Nie would be ill for at least a year and a half, she recovered as if she had been injected with chicken blood!
At the end of September, the cold air came, the red and green faded, and everything was withered. Zhao Tingxuan, the younger brother of King Liang, set out on the journey to Beijing.
The news that Zhao Tinghan inherited the throne and that Zhao Tingxuan went as a hostage reached Wu almost at the same time.
Zhao Shiqing was first happy, then worried.
The joy is that the eldest brother has finally inherited the throne, and their hard work these days has not been in vain.
What worries her is that she has been to the capital and witnessed with her own eyes what life is like as a hostage. Her second brother grew up in luxury, and getting his skin scratched is a big deal. How can such a second brother protect himself in a den of tigers and wolves like the capital? She hopes that the Nie family will not be confused this time and send some useless people to accompany her second brother to the capital.
As expected of someone who was regarded as a witch by the Nie family, Zhao Shiqing guessed everything right. Nie family was just as she worried. She replaced all the people arranged by Zhao Tinghan and Zhao Yunnuan for various reasons and replaced them with her so-called confidants.
Zhao Yunnuan originally selected four secret guards for the palace. These four had followed his father for many years. They were not only excellent in martial arts, but also loyal and reliable.
In addition, Zhao Yunnuan also came forward and persuaded Mr. Shi, who was preparing to retire, to accompany Zhao Tingxuan to Beijing.
Mr. Shi was once their father's aide and watched them grow up.
When Zhao Tingxuan learned that these five people were going to Beijing with him, he had no objection. After all, since he could remember, these five people had been by his father's side. People who had been used by his father were of course reliable.
However, after going to Suining Palace, Zhao Tingxuan became depressed. His mother said that he was too stupid. Although these five people had followed their father, they had already defected to the new master. All they had in their eyes and hearts was their eldest brother Zhao Tinghan, so they would never take him seriously.
Since ancient times, there has been a saying that servants bully their masters at home, let alone in the capital?
After thinking about it for a whole night, Zhao Tingxuan finally mustered up the courage to find Zhao Yunnuan: "Sister, I, I heard that Mr. Shi, Mr. Shi, has not been in good health. The capital is cold, he, he, he..."
Having grown up together from the same mother, Zhao Yunnuan guessed what Zhao Tingxuan was going to say as soon as he opened his mouth, and a wave of disappointment welled up in her heart: "You don't want Mr. Shi to go to the capital?"
Zhao Tingxuan's face flushed, a thin layer of sweat seeping out of his forehead: "No, that's not what I meant. We have to think about Mr. Shi. He is old and in poor health. Leaving his hometown... After all, it's not good..."
Zhao Tingxuan's voice became smaller and smaller, and in the end only he could hear it.
Zhao Yunnuan's voice was cold: "Did your mother tell you this?"
Zhao Tingxuan quickly explained: "Mother didn't say that. This is all my own thinking. Sister, you misunderstood Mother. We are all Mother's flesh and blood. She only cares about us."
In an instant, Zhao Yunnuan didn't want to say anything.
She resisted the urge to kick Zhao Tingxuan out and said, "Where are Chen Fei and the other four? If you don't want them, you can replace them."
"Yes, yes, I don't mean anything else. I just think it's not good to make them leave their hometown..."
A hint of sarcasm flashed in Zhao Yunnuan's eyes. Zhao Tingxuan was talking about "they", and this "they" certainly did not refer specifically to Mr. Shi.
"Let's change people. The families of the four of them are all in Liangdu. Who wouldn't want to be reunited with their family?"
Voice-over: Who wants to go along and be a hostage?
Zhao Tingxuan hurriedly said that he would not replace them, but on the day before departure, he still gave each of the four families a generous gift and replaced them.
In this way, the people who followed Zhao Tingxuan to the capital were all those who had always been by his side. There were his current teacher and two retainers. His two original companions were both children of officials in Liangdu. When the news came that he was going to the capital as a hostage, these two companions were taken back by their families. So Nie rushed to send a letter to her parents' home, asking them to select two Nie family members to be Zhao Tingxuan's companions and send them to the capital.
In addition to these two Nie family members, the Nie family also invited the second master of the third branch of the Nie family and the two companions to come to Beijing together.
Second Master Nie was a scholar, and Zhao Tingxuan had neither a title nor an official position. According to the rules, he could not keep those with more than scholar-level titles as his aide. Besides, Second Master Nie was Nie's cousin. If Zhao Tingxuan was the Prince of Liang, it would be understandable for his uncle to serve as his aide. However, Zhao Tingxuan was just a commoner, and letting Second Master Nie be his aide would definitely cause controversy.
Therefore, when Mr. Nie came to Beijing this time, his identity was not as a staff member, but as Zhao Tingxuan's elder, a good uncle who was worried about his nephew.
As for the guards, according to regulations, there cannot be more than ten of them. After all, there are also guards in the Prince Liang’s Mansion in the capital.
Zhao Tingxuan replaced the four people assigned to him by Zhao Yunnuan and took his own ten guards with him. However, Nie was not at ease, so she sent her four companions to the team going to Beijing as attendants.
This was the first time Zhao Tingxuan left Liang. He had never been to the capital. Although he knew that being a hostage was not easy, he could not hide his excitement about the new life that was about to begin.
Along the way, every time he arrived at a place, he wanted to go out for a walk and take a look at the customs and habits that were different from those in Liangdi. However, within ten days, once the novelty wore off, Zhao Tingxuan felt bored.
When he was in Liangdu, whenever he went out, he would be greeted with respectful smiles. When his carriage stopped on the street, other carriages would consciously make way for him. The top shops in Liangdu would give priority to him for their comments on any new rare items or new dishes or snacks they had introduced.
But once he left Liangdu, especially Liangdi, no one recognized him. Initially, he'd thought it was fun, but when he faced a packed restaurant and was told by the waiter to wait outside, the fun was gone. He wanted to get angry, but it was useless. "Who are you? Do you even know who owns this restaurant? You think you're the boss here? Take a piss and look carefully."
Zhao Tingxuan had never suffered such injustice before. When he arrived at the next city, he didn't want to go out for a stroll, and even had someone buy food from the restaurant and bring it back.
The closer they got to the capital, the colder the weather became. Although Zhao Tingxuan brought enough warm clothes and hand warmers, he was almost blown away by the howling north wind.
"Why is there such a strong wind..."
Before he could finish his words, a gust of cold wind blew into his mouth, chilling him to the bone and making his heart soar.
So Zhao Tingxuan didn't even want to get off the carriage, he just hoped to reach the capital as soon as possible.
At this time in Wu, it had just rained and the weather had turned cooler.
Zhao Shiqing brought her team into a clothing store, waved her hand, and bought four sets of thick clothes for each person, and also made two sets for Dapang and Xiaoyao.
Everyone happily came to their newly rented courtyard, where there was a lotus pond in front and a bamboo forest in the back. Lingbo calculated that renting a courtyard would be much cheaper than staying in an inn, so Zhao Shiqing rented the courtyard.
This was their third residence since arriving in Wu. Before, they had always stayed in inns. Later, they learned that not every household in Wu had a loom, but in Qinglu and Bailu, two of the five counties in Luzhou, every household had a loom. For example, the Yinghuaji that wove floral cloth was from Luzhou.
Luzhou is the provincial capital, and has jurisdiction over five counties: Qinglu, Bailu, Yunlu, Gaolu, and Qiulu. Twenty years ago, the previous King of Wu issued an order to abolish the weaving tax for weaving households with less than five looms. At that time, people in many places bought looms, hoping to make a fortune with them.
However, when there are too many things, the quality will be mixed. After several years of survival of the fittest, only Qinglu and Bailu in Luzhou survived.
In Qinglu and Bailu, whether in the county town or in the countryside, every household has a loom. The women here have a high status, whether in their parents' home or in their husband's home, because they can make money and are the pillars of the family, so they have a say.
Upon learning that the looms in Wu were concentrated in Qinglu and Bailu in Luzhou, Zhao Shiqing brought her team to Luzhou.
When Zhao Shiqing first arrived in Luzhou City, he took a liking to it.
In addition to the fact that the food in Luzhou suits her taste, she is also attracted by the local customs and culture.
For example, on the first day she arrived in Luzhou, she witnessed with her own eyes the scene of his wife and sister-in-law beating her husband in the street.
The man of that family went to the gambling house. When his wife found out, she brought her two sisters-in-law to catch him.
Each of them held a stick and beat the man so hard that he begged for mercy in the street.
Zhao Shiqing was amazed. Both his wife and the two sisters-in-law had slender waists and pretty eyes. No matter how he looked at them, they had nothing to do with being shrews.
But when their seemingly fragile arms dragged the man up from the ground, Zhao Shiqing saw in them the same aura as Lu Zhishen uprooting a weeping willow tree.
"Xiu Xiu, Ling Bo, did you see this? Learn from this. If your husband doesn't obey you in the future, you should also beat him like this."
Ling Bo and Xiu Xiu both shook their heads: "We're not getting married. What's so good about getting married?"
Zhao Shiqing gave them a thumbs-up: "Good children, it's no wonder that the Second Miss loves you so much."
The yard they rented was located on the edge of Luzhou City, which was very convenient for both leaving and entering the city.
After settling down, Zhao Shiqing wanted to go to Qinglu County. When Niuqiu went out to buy breakfast, he heard that the heavy rain in the previous two days had damaged a bridge leading to Qinglu from the county seat. Although it did not collapse, it was shaky and very dangerous. However, Qinglu was rich, and a wealthy family had already paid for the repair of the bridge. However, they would have to wait for a few more days until the bridge was repaired before they could pass through.
Since Qinglu can't be reached for the time being, then let's go to Bailu first. Zhao Shiqing felt that it didn't matter. Since they had to go to both counties, it didn't matter which one they went to first.
Zhao Shiqing asked Xiuxiu and Shen Guanyue to stay behind, and she took Niuqiu and Lingbo with her.
The two had no objection. Chen Guanyue was a person who could not sit still. As soon as he arrived in Luzhou, he wandered around. He didn't want to go to a rural place like Bailu.
As for Xiuxiu, after having experienced the days of being homeless and wandering around, both she and Dapang especially cherish the peaceful life at home. Even though this is a rented house and even if it is just a temporary residence, they enjoy it very much.
What's more, there are fish and shrimps in the pond in front of her door. The landlord said that the fish and shrimps here can be caught freely, so she put down a net in the pond last night. Today she wants to cook all the fish and shrimps and keep them as snacks for Dapang and Xiaoyao.
Although there were dried fish to eat, Zhao Shiqing still took Xiao Yao away. There was no other way. Xiao Yao could not tolerate being in the same room with Dapang. Xiuxiu could control Dapang but could not afford to offend Xiao Yao, so Zhao Shiqing had to take her along.
Although Bailu County and Qinglu County only differ by one character, the two counties are not close to each other. Gaolu and Yunlu are between them. It is also the county farthest from Luzhou City.
Zhao Shiqing and the other two rushed into the city before the city gates closed. They thought that Bailu was wealthy and would not have only one inn like Zhaoting Town. Even if they arrived late, they could easily find an inn to stay in.
But they were only half right.
Bailu is indeed wealthy and has more than just one inn, but precisely because it is wealthy, there are a lot of merchants coming and going. Zhao Shiqing and the other two went to several inns in succession, and all of them were full.
Of course, there is still room for a dorm bed, and Niu Qiu said he can do it. Zhao Shiqing has never slept in a dorm bed, and she also wants to try it, but Lingbo disagrees. Her second daughter is a princess, how can she live in a dorm bed?
In desperation, they had to continue looking for a place to live.
After asking several passers-by on the street, they finally found an inn with an extraordinary name, Cyclamen.
The three of them dismounted in front of Xiankelai's gate. Loach handed the reins to Lingbo and went in to ask.
At this moment, an old man came out from inside cursing. Although he came out, he did not leave. He stood at the door and continued to curse.
At this time, the waiter came out and pointed at the old man and shouted, "Old lunatic, if you don't leave, don't blame us for being ruthless. Don't think that just because you are old, you can be lawless."
The old man said: "You are lawless. You dare to call the immortal guest here. What law and heaven are there?"
Waiter: "This inn is owned by our boss. He can call it whatever he wants. It's none of your business. If you really have nothing to do, go home and take care of your children and grandchildren instead of lecturing others here."
The old man said, "What do you think of my children and grandchildren? Go and call your boss over and ask him to change the name. If he doesn't, I will write a new plaque for him and hang it up!"
The waiter spat, "You dare to touch the plaque, you old fool? If you want a fight, just tell me and I'll teach you a lesson for your children and grandchildren!"
Zhao Shiqing was amused by the tit-for-tat exchange between the old man and the young. The waiter actually said that he would teach the old man a lesson on behalf of his children and grandchildren. Haha, interesting, really interesting!
As the waiter was cursing, he looked up and saw Zhao Shiqing and the other two. He said to the old man, "Get out of the way! Stop blocking the door! Make way for our distinguished guests!"
When the waiter looked at Zhao Shiqing and the other two, he immediately put on a smile and said, "Are you here to stay overnight? You've arrived at a great time. Someone just checked out, and now we have two vacancies."
The waiter had developed a good eye in the inn and could tell at a glance that this was a group of three, a master and servants. The maid would definitely live in the same room with the young lady, and the servants would mostly sleep in a large dormitory. However, the young lady was still young, and although the servants were not old either, they were not ordinary people. Most of them were trusted confidants of the elders in the family, sent to follow the young lady. Most respectable servants of wealthy families would not sleep in a large dormitory, and the master would give them a separate room.
Zhao Shiqing had no idea that the waiter had come so far in such a short time. He was delighted to hear that there were still two vacancies. Just as he was about to hand the horse over to the waiter, he heard the old man, who had been left out, start cursing, "You idiot! You just lied to me and said there were no rooms left, and now you're saying there are two! Do you think I don't have the money?"
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