Hongwu Survival Guide

Chapter 15 Rewards
Zhu Yuan bid farewell to Zhu Yuanzhang, and the palace had prepared a soft sedan chair for him again, and left Jinling City all the way to Xuanwu Lake in the north of the city.

It is now called Houhu.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Zhu Yuan felt a little drowsy, and the soft sedan finally landed.

The sedan chair curtain was drawn open, and the familiar green-coated maid leaned over from the sedan chair, and said with a bit of joy in her tone, "Little official."

Zhu Yuan smiled back

Stepping out of the soft sedan chair, stepping on the thick snow that no one has cleaned here, I saw the four people who had followed me all the way to Jinling from Shandong, the two servant girls still wearing blue and green jackets, and the other two young servants.

Brothers Xu Wu and Xu Liu are no longer there, so they should return to Xu Da's side.

While Zhu Yuan looked around, the green-coated maid had already taken a bronze hand stove from the blue-coated maid beside her, and stuffed it into Zhu Yuan's hand.Seeing that Zhu Yuan was wearing a light brown fur robe that was obviously more refined and luxurious, he did not take the black bear fur coat that the servant was holding, but said: "Little official, let's go, let's go." over there."

Following the guidance of the green-coated maid, Zhu Yuan looked at the back lake in front of him.

I visited Xuanwu Lake once, because of the holiday, I felt that there was only one, and there were many people.

Now, standing at the southeast corner of Houhu Lake, Zhu Yuan looked around, surrounded by snow-covered undulating mountains, and a secluded pond fell among the vast white snow. The plain-wrapped lake center island looms among them.

Nearby, except for an exquisite boat on the shore, and two felt-clothed boatmen, there is no one else at first glance, but it is really a natural paradise suitable for seclusion.

Nodding slightly in satisfaction, Zhu Yuan walked towards the lake with the careful support of the blue-coated maid, but found that the green-coated maid hadn't followed, turned her head and looked, and found that the other party was talking to a young servant, and then the young servant went to escort him over Several sergeants and bearers took out their purses from their pockets.

Turning his eyes to the green-coated maid again, Zhu Yuan felt that he would definitely not have to worry about his daily life in the future.

The green-coated servant girl quickly followed and supported Zhu Yuan on the other side. Noticing his expression, she was slightly disturbed, and explained softly: "Young official, those sergeants and servants have worked hard all the way, and they are also members of the palace. The slaves made their own decisions. Some tea money."

Zhu Yuan nodded and said, "You will be the housekeeper in the future."

The green-coated servant girl showed joy, but said again: "Young official, the slave is only in charge of the inner house, and the housekeeper still needs to be hired separately."

Zhu Yuan searched his stomach and intestines for three days, and was exhausted physically and mentally. Now he didn't have the heart to distinguish these things from the maids around him, so he walked to the shore by himself.

The green-coated maid thought that Zhu Yuan had lost her temper, so she didn't dare to speak any more, so she accompanied him silently.

Said came to the lake.

Two old and young boatmen with similar faces, father and son, took a few steps forward, bent their knees to salute, Zhu Yuan had already waved his hands.

The green-coated maid gave an order, and the two boatmen turned to hold the side of the boat to fix it.

The two servants have already followed, one got on the boat to receive her, and the other took care of him on the shore. They helped Zhu Yuan onto the boat together, and the others followed one by one.

Although the three-foot-long scenic boat is only a single deck, it is not crowded if all seven people board it.

Everyone boarded the boat, and the two servant girls directly led Zhu Yuan into the cabin. The cabin was divided into two sections. The three of them came to the warm cabin in the front section where the stove was burning. Yuan stretched out his hand to open the window, and subconsciously dissuaded him: "Little official, it's cold outside."

Zhu Yuan insisted on opening the window and said, "Ventilation."

If you are poisoned by carbon monoxide in this day and age, there is probably nothing that can be cured.Moreover, even if the charcoal fire in the stove is very strong, Zhu Yuan really can't stand the charcoal gas, and he will have a headache after a long time.

The green-coated maid also knew Zhu Yuan's habits, but she couldn't persuade her, so she took the bearskin fur coat again and covered Zhu Yuan.

Zhu Yuan did not refuse.

The sound of paddles splashing water came, and the boat began to move forward.

The green-coated maid asked Zhu Yuan if he was thirsty, and when she got a response, she poured a cup of warm tea prepared in advance and handed it over carefully.

Zhu Yuan handed the hand stove that he had been carrying in his arms to the blue-coated maid, took the cup of tea with the right temperature, drank a few sips, held it in his hand, and looked out the window at the dim lake near dusk.

It can be judged that the two islands in the center of the lake closest to the field of vision should be the later Yingzhou and Huanzhou, and a little further north, Lingzhou is half in shape.The other Liangzhou and Cuizhou were out of sight.

As for the current names of these islands in the middle of the lake, Zhu Yuan has no way of knowing.

Moreover, it is easy to distinguish that the shape of the current islands is very different from the appearance after hundreds of years of repeated repairs in memory.

Withdrawing his eyes, Zhu Yuan looked at the green-coated maid sitting on the round stool beside him, and said, "It seems that you will follow me from now on?"

The green-coated servant girl nodded: "There are two slaves, and there are Zhao Xu and Zuo Qi outside."

Zhu Yuan took another sip of tea, and said softly, "Follow me, might you die?"

The green-coated maid heard the words, there was no fear in her eyes, but an inexplicable bleak smile appeared on her fair-skinned face: "Slaves should have died, but they were just greedy for life. If they die with the petty official, there will be a result." .”

This is a story.

Zhu Yuan didn't want to listen to the story right now, so he glanced at the blue-coated maid who had a petite round face, and the blue-coated maid nodded quickly, so she said, "I thought you were just passing by before, so what's your name?"

The green-coated servant girl said: "The slave's name is Xieyi," and she gestured to the side: "Her name is Liu Bai."

"Splash ink with freehand brushwork, leave blank for small poems," Zhu Yuan blurted out, and said with a smile, "It's a very good name."

The green-coated servant girl Xieyi heard Zhu Yuan read that sentence, her eyes lit up, she opened her mouth slightly, but she didn't say anything.

Zhu Yuan thought again, and asked, "What about your age?"

Freehand said: "I'm 19 years old," she seemed a little guilty, lowered her eyes and turned to Liu Bai, and took the initiative to answer for her: "She."

Seeing the freehand look, Zhu Yuan just smiled, knowing what she was guilty of.

In this day and age, a 19-year-old is already an old girl, even if she is a maid, she may be rejected by her master.

Handing the teacup to the blue-coated servant girl Liu Bai, who didn't talk much, Zhu Yuan turned around and lay down on the bed, saying, "I'll sleep for a while, call me when I arrive."

Xie Yi responded, stood up and said, "Young official, just take off your boots."

Zhu Yuan wanted to say no, but felt that Xieyi had already touched his feet, so he let him do what he did.

Together, Xieyi and Liu Bai helped Zhu Yuan take off his leather boots, covered him with fur and bedding, and found that the little official had already fallen asleep in a blink of an eye, so he relaxed his movements, and Xieyi quietly closed the window that Zhu Yuan had just opened.

I don't know how long it has passed, but before Zhu Yuan could conjure up any dream, he was awakened by Xie Yi's gentle pat again: "Little official, you are here, and I want Zhao Xu to carry you in?"

Zhu Yuan shook his head, sat up with force, feeling that the light was a bit dim, and subconsciously wanted to look outside, but found that the window was closed, so he could only shake his head: "No need."

The two maids didn't say much, and helped Zhu Yuan put on the boots together.

Out of the cabin, twilight fell outdoors.

Looking around, Zhu Yuan quickly judged that this should be the northernmost island of Houhu Lake. In the past Liangzhou, boats were leaning against a small stone pier. Water mansion.

Looking at the past, the high walls of the mansion extend all the way to the depths of the snow-covered forest, revealing a sense of coldness that rejects people.

This should be the seclusion that Zhu Yuanzhang gave himself.

So go ashore.

Entering the door, the snow has been cleaned in the mansion, so the road is not slippery.

Go around the screen wall, go through another door, pass through the long corridor, and enter a very grand main courtyard of the main building.Without stopping, go west, pass through the flower hall on the west side of the main courtyard, and then pass a small door, suddenly open.

Here is the garden.

Even though it is covered with snow, it can still be seen that there are all kinds of pavilions, lakes and pavilions, and the rockeries have different flowers and plants.

And, it's huge.

Zhu Yuan, who was so old that his legs were sore and his feet hurt, regretted that he hadn't been carried in by someone just now.

Looking at the inner house in the northwest corner of the yard 80 meters away, Zhu Yuan suddenly understood why the princes and ladies in "Dream of Red Mansions" were out of breath and often fell ill after "walking a few steps".

It's not 'a few steps' at all!
That's a lot of steps!
Feeling that his body was already sweating, in order to avoid getting sick again because of "walking a few steps", Zhu Yuan resolutely gave up and turned to the two servants who accompanied him. He already knew their names before, looked at them a little, and chose the stronger one Zhao continued.

So finally came to the door of the inner house.

Getting off Zhao Xu, Zhu Yuan stepped into another small door opened between the towering walls, and finally came to the inner house belonging to the owner's family. The inner house is three connected courtyards with a compact layout.

With the support of Xie Yi, Zhu Yuan entered the main room in the small courtyard in the middle, and the warmth came over him immediately, and the ground dragon had already been set on fire in advance.

As the twilight deepened, it was almost dark, and I turned directly to the bedroom on the east side.

Lu Bai lit the inner and outer candlesticks, and the light lit up.

Zhu Yuan sat by the bed, let Xieyi take off his boots again, glanced around, and said bitterly: "The atmosphere is good, very suitable for telling ghost stories."

There are only five people in the huge house covering tens of acres of land, and thinking about it, they feel that they will attract something.

Xieyi helped Zhu Yuan take off one of his boots, saw that Liu Bai was already on the other side, and got up and said: "Your official thinks the house is too small, just hire more servants and maidservants tomorrow. We talked about this matter, but we only hired two boatmen, and other officials need to make their own decisions."

The other boot was also taken off by Liu Bai, and Zhu Yuan lay down tiredly, and said, "I've recruited someone, what should I raise?"

"Wu Wang gave a lot of rewards," said Xie Yi, and went to the outside room, and brought a list over in a blink of an eye: "Your official, do you want to see it?"

Zhu Yuan was also curious, sat up again, took the few pages of paper in Xieyi's hand, and began to browse.

Gold, 100 taels; silver, 1000 taels; copper coins, three thousand guan; colored satin, ten pieces; silk, fifty pieces; cotton cloth, one hundred pieces; fur coats, five pieces; leather boots, five pairs; quilts, Twenty sets; stationery utensils, ten sets; paper of various colors, one hundred dollars; rice, one hundred stones; wheat, one hundred stones; millet, one hundred stones; white charcoal, one thousand catties; charcoal, twenty thousand catties.

Seeing the last [-] catties of charcoal, Zhu Yuan couldn't help but curl his mouth.

Also a little moved.

Remembering that Lao Zhu said that these were prepared by the princess for him, Ma Shi was also careful, afraid that he would freeze again.

Moreover, Zhu Yuan can also feel the strong pragmatism style of Ma Shi and Lao Zhu, or it was originally negotiated by the couple.Looking at the list, there is nothing exquisite and fancy, they are all hard goods of this era.

Xieyi waited for Zhu Yuan to see the end, and added: "These are scattered things, and there is also this 37-acre house, the boat that the small official took before, and the ten-acre field in the south of the city. Yesterday I sent Zuo Qi I went to see them, and they are all good paddy fields, which are cultivated by [-] tenants.”

Blank, who had never spoken much, interjected at this time: "There are also the Hanlin confession and official uniforms of small officials, this is the most important thing."

Xie Yi nodded in agreement: "Do you want the slave to show it to the officials? There are also contracts for the house, fields and slaves, all in the Westinghouse?"

Zhu Yuan shook his head: "No need."

The heart is just emotion, nothing else, but the current mansion and thousand acres of fertile land are hard for ordinary people to reach in a lifetime, and it is no wonder that so many people in the past dynasties have to sharpen their heads to become a "goods and emperor's house".

(End of this chapter)