Chapter 1150: Climbing the ladder of fame and wealth (6)
Ao Shiyan took his sister, who had become Ao Shituo, out and began to inquire about the affairs of Rong'an Marquis' Mansion.
They were completely unfamiliar with the capital city, and if they wanted to get any information, they could only try their luck and go to teahouses and taverns to listen to what the customers said, or specifically ask someone. However, neither of these two methods was a good idea, as the former was time-consuming and laborious, while the latter could easily arouse others' vigilance.
"Brother, we won't be able to find out the situation in Rong'an Marquis Mansion if we just wander around like headless flies, right?" Ao Shichu said to Ao Shiyan.
Ao Shichu nodded: "We just arrived in Beijing, we are unfamiliar with the place and have no connections, so we can only try our luck."
"Why don't we go ask some older beggars? Give them some food, they should be willing to talk to us." Ao Shichu suggested. She remembered that in the small town where she had settled after encountering the robbers, she guessed that the robbers were colluding with the county magistrate through the beggars' conversation.
"Okay, this is a good idea." Ao Shiyan thought about it carefully and realized how brilliant his sister's suggestion was. Beggars had to wander around the capital to beg for food, so it was easy for them to know what was happening in the streets and alleys of the capital, from which concubine the emperor favored on a certain day to which butcher was caught from a brothel by his mistress... There was nothing they didn't know, so asking them for news would be twice the result with half the effort.
So the brother and sister bought a lot of steamed buns and found a place where beggars were most concentrated, commonly known as the beggars' den.
It is daytime now, and many beggars have gone out to beg for food. Only the old, weak, sick and disabled beggars who are temporarily unable to get up and move are left here.
Ao Shiyan looked carefully and saw a little beggar, about seven or eight years old, sobbing and sitting next to an old beggar lying on the ground, so he pulled Ao Shichu over.
"Stop crying, you little girl! Your uncle is not going to die for a while, so stop wailing!" Although the old beggar was lying down, he was still not letting people down even though his breath was weak.
"Old man, is your leg injured?" Ao Shichu squatted down and asked when he saw the old beggar's twisted left leg with brown blood stains.
The old beggar immediately stared at her warily: "Who are you? What do you want to do? Don't try to do anything bad. As long as I shout, others will come running over immediately!"
"Old man, don't be nervous. We just want to get some information and won't do anything bad." Ao Shiyan said as he opened the oil paper package. The aroma of the meat buns wafted out. The old beggar immediately stared at the bun in his hand and swallowed.
The little beggar, who was about seven or eight years old, had green eyes and wished he could stick his eyeballs on the meat buns. Even his stomach made a rumbling sound.
But even though he was very greedy, he did not rush over to grab the buns. He just covered his stomach with his hands and stared at Ao Shiyan's meat buns eagerly.
Ao Shiyan handed a meat bun to the little beggar. Just as the little beggar was about to reach out to take it, he suddenly remembered something and looked at the old beggar eagerly.
The old beggar nodded, and he couldn't wait to take the bun. Then, without caring that the bun was still hot, he stuffed it into his mouth quickly, choking and eating.
Ao Shiyan handed another bun to the old beggar, who took it with a snort, muttering, "I'm going to die soon anyway, so it's useless for you to do anything to me. I can have a full meal before I die, and I'll die with my eyes closed..."
Ao Shichu and Ao Shiyan did not start asking them immediately, but waited patiently for them to finish eating the buns. Ao Shiyan left two meat buns for each of them, and distributed the remaining buns to the older, weaker and sicker beggars around them.
The old beggar finally finished his three meat buns. His stomach was full and he felt much better. He was no longer so wary of Ao Shichu and his sister. "Tell me, what do you want to ask this old man?"
"Old man, do you know the Rong'an Marquis Mansion?" Ao Shiyan asked straight to the point.
"Marquis Rong'an Mansion? Humph!" When the old beggar heard the name, he showed a look of contempt on his face. He then looked Ao Shichu and the other man up and down and asked, "Who are you to the Marquis Rong'an Mansion?"
Ao Shiyan was about to answer when his sleeve was suddenly pulled by his sister. Then Ao Shichu said to the old beggar, "Enemy."
The old beggar sneered and said, "No wonder you came to the beggars' den to ask me about the news of Rong'an Marquis' Mansion! Rong'an Marquis' Mansion has many enemies. What grudge do you have against them?"
"The family's land was occupied by people from their mansion. My parents went to seek justice, but instead were beaten to death by their servants!" As Ao Shichu spoke, he did not forget to reveal a look of hatred, and his eyes turned red.
When Ao Shiyan saw his sister's ability to lie with open eyes, he was so surprised that his eyes widened. If he didn't know the truth, looking at his sister's current expression, he would really think that his family's land was really robbed and his parents were killed by the Rong'an Marquis' Mansion.
The old beggar believed it immediately and said, "I don't find it strange that the people in their house would do such a thing. In fact, you are not the only one whose land was taken away by them."
"How much land have they occupied? How many families have been ruined? Is there no one who can control them? The officials and the emperor in the capital can't do anything about their family?" Ao Shichu cursed resentfully.
The old beggar sneered and said, "Young man, haven't you heard of officials protecting each other? The officials are all in the same group, and the emperor is also in the same group..."
Ao Shiyan was so scared that he hushed to the old beggar and said, "Old man, don't say that casually!" Then he looked around vigilantly, fearing that the old beggar's words would be heard by others, and then he and his sister would be in danger.
"Don't worry, no one will come here except beggars." The old beggar said, then paused, "Except you."
"Old man, is there no good person in the Rong'an Marquis Mansion? Even if there is a good person, he can't condone his family members to do evil, right?" Ao Shichu continued to ask.
"Hmph, a nest of snakes and rats! The good people in the Rong'an Marquis's mansion cannot survive. The first daughter-in-law of the Rong'an Marquis was a good person, but unfortunately she did not live long and only gave birth to a son, who died when he was only one year old. Now no one knows what happened to her son, and no news has been heard. He must have passed away a long time ago..." said the old beggar.
Ao Shichu didn't expect to hear the secret of Rong'an Marquis' Mansion. She thought about it carefully. After the original owner and her brother went to Rong'an Marquis' Mansion, it seemed that they did not hear that Rong'an Marquis's current eldest daughter-in-law was actually his step-wife, and she had never heard of the original wife's son. Could it be that he really had died a long time ago?
"Marquis Rong'an himself is not a good person. He is already old, but he still keeps a mistress. It's really disrespectful to the elderly!" The old beggar shouted indignantly again.
(End of this chapter)
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