Da Suining

Chapter 162
Qingcheng Mountain is shrouded in clouds and mist.

It's a cloudy day.

There seemed to be heavy dark clouds in the sky. This cloud was full of water and hung heavily in the air. It seemed that the next moment, it would squeeze out rainwater to water all living beings.

It was originally a sunny day, but suddenly, it became dark for some unknown reason.

Probably because this autumn, there is more rain than in previous years.

Just after the rain a few days ago, the moss in the corner of the city wall grew wildly. After the rain, the moss was green and wet, plump and fat.

After only a few days in the sun, the sky has changed again.

The Xiangfu's carriage passed through the city, and the long street was bottomless, and it took about a few cups of tea to get to Changxinhou's Mansion in the carriage.

After crossing Baolong Street, I met a wheelbarrow, which was full of loads and covered with pieces of white cloth. Undoubtedly, it was still a corpse.

These days, corpses are being transported out of the city one after another, and the people who transport the corpses are getting thinner.

People in the city are no longer afraid when they see such a car, they seem to be used to it.

Most of the shops are still closed, and the business of the coffin shop is still booming. There are not enough paper figurines to make, and whoever goes first gets first.

In the past, when buying paper figurines, you had to pick and choose. If the length of the tie was uneven, or the mouth was crooked and the eyes were squinted, customers didn't want it.

It's very different now, paper figurines are scarce, as long as they are pricked things, they will be gone as soon as they are put out, and some people only care about seeing what they have caught when they buy it home.

It seemed that the owner of the coffin shop had some troubles today, Xiang Suining was sitting in a carriage passing by the door of their shop, and heard some loud noises.

A woman in a sarong knelt in front of the coffin and cried: "Our family is poor, we couldn't afford a coffin, and we didn't have to hit the face on the door of the shopkeeper. It's just that my son is only ten years old and died of the plague. , I have been morgue at home for four days... I am his mother, I was pregnant in October, and I was almost killed when I gave birth. I'm sad, I don't want to wrap my body in a straw mat and finish things hastily, but I beg the shopkeeper to pay me a thin coffin on credit for the sake of the neighbors, and when I have money in the future, I will definitely return the money to the shopkeeper with interest Yes. If there is half a lie, it will not end well."

The business of the coffin shop is good, but the money can't be collected, so how can it be credited to others?
Furthermore, the plague was rampant, and the coffin was precarious, and the coffin was bought on credit. I don't know how long this woman can live. Where can I find the money for the coffin?Isn't it a waste of time?

The shopkeeper was unwilling in his heart: "The profit of the small shop is thin, and today's business is to hang your head on your trouser waist to earn some scraps of silver. Besides, these coffins have all been ordered. In the past half a month, there are no coffins left. Go ask elsewhere."

The shopkeeper's words obviously angered a man.

The man lifted the woman in a sarong from the ground, and smashed the paper figurine at the door of the coffin shop with his fist, then waved to two or three people, grabbed a small coffin, and carried it out of the door: "My child! If you are dead, you won’t even take a coffin on credit, but I can’t just sit and watch the child die.”

"You dare to snatch the coffin?" The shopkeeper waved, and soon three or five guys rushed out: "Put it down."

"I won't let it go unless I die."

A group of people writhed, and in the end it was the man who had the upper hand, carried the coffin to the woman and ran away.

The coffin shop was trampled in a mess, and several employees leaned against the wall and cried out.

The paper people and horses all over the place have no place to stand.

After passing Baolong Street, there is a rice shop at the corner of the street. The size of the rice shop is not small. During the Taiping period, the grain stored in this rice shop filled the warehouse. There are not only all kinds of fine rice grains, such as long-grain rice, black rice, Red beans, Chixiaodou, also sorghum, barley, millet, corn.

The business of this rice shop is pretty good. After all, the location is good, the product range is complete, and the shopkeeper is friendly, so everyone is willing to come here to buy.

Because of the plague, the shopkeeper of the rice shop had already set up a big pot at the intersection, and every day at noon, he served two big pots of japonica rice porridge.

There were quite a few people who came to get the porridge, and today there were three or four people queuing up to get the porridge and drink it, and seven or eight people who looked like flowers poured into the rice shop: "The shopkeeper, I can't afford it anymore. Poor, poor."

"There is a porridge shed outside. If you are not full, you can go to make another bowl. There is no limit to the number of times. If you are full, cook two pots a day."

"I know the kindness of the shopkeeper, but there are still young ones at home, and the little ones are waiting to be fed, and the seriously ill parents can't get up. The rice grain is about to run out, so I come to get some rice."

"As much as you want, the price is fair."

"I've already spent all my silver to treat my parents, and I don't know where my next meal will be. I only have a few copper coins in my hand." The man spread his hands, and there were seven or eight copper coins lying in the palm of his hand.

The shopkeeper took a scoop of rice and gave it to him: "Our life is not easy, the situation is not good now, and our store is difficult to support. Why don't you go to other places to see if there is any way to survive."

"I'm so hungry that I can't walk, and there is nothing in my stomach. The shopkeeper will give me some rice noodles. We don't do it for our own mouths, but for the old and the young at home. If the shopkeeper is willing to help, when the times are good, we will definitely Give it back twice."

"It's easy to talk about." The shopkeeper laughed along with him, "Wait a minute, everyone, I'll open a bag of new rice and fill it with you."

"The treasurer's great kindness...you can't repay a cow or a horse." Several people knelt down with their pockets in their hands.

"The shopkeeper..." A half-grown child ran into the rice shop, out of breath, and poured a full ladle of water before panting, ""The shopkeeper asked me to move it." Rescue soldiers, I ran to the yamen, and according to the shopkeeper's original words, said that some unscrupulous people wanted to grab our rice, but the yamen guard stopped me, saying that Mr. Zhou was sleeping and had no time to care about our sesame seed-sized matters. I hurried to get out, and if I said one more word, the yamen servant drew a knife and wanted to chop off my head...so I came back. "

"Oh, Sibao, you are trying to kill me." The shopkeeper nodded to Sibao's forehead, while accompanying several people in the rice shop: "This guy is young and ignorant. He was never asked to hire a yamen servant."

Apparently Sibao's words angered a few people, they pushed away the shopkeeper, picked up their pockets and began to pack rice: "Although we are shameless, we want to ask the shopkeeper for some rice to save our lives, but you, the shopkeeper, are not righteous. , We are not unreasonable, you shouldn't be double-faced, coaxing us, and secretly calling the yamen servant, isn't this trying to ruin the brothers? If this is the case, we will not be polite."

Several people filled several bags full of rice, and before leaving, they carried an extra bag of black rice and threw it on their shoulders.

The shopkeeper stamped his feet distressedly, but he didn't dare to catch up, so he could only pat the clerk on the head and said, "Oh, sin, I told you to go secretly to invite the yamen servants, go secretly, you are good, you are useless, follow me For so long, I haven't learned a little bit about city government."

"It's not just us who are the shopkeeper, the noodle shop in Qianjie was also robbed."

"Ok?"

"A lot of people went in to grab the flour, and the flour shop was emptied, and the shopkeeper was sitting on the steps, patting his legs and crying."

"The folk customs are tough, the folk customs are tough." The shopkeeper of Mipu sighed. After living for decades, how have you ever seen such a situation?
Judging by the appearance of this group of people, they can't wait to take all the shopkeepers of the grain shop to cook and eat them.

The carriage galloped along the moat, the sky was cloudy, the light was heavy, the moat as long as a ribbon was rushing, and the water was also gray.

The flower boats that floated on the river all the year round have disappeared.

The brothels and brothels along the street were no longer as grand as before. Because of the plague, there were heavy casualties, and how many people dared to risk their lives to come out to drink flower wine.

So the girls don't have to stand at the door and laugh.

The business used to be good, and I could pick up three or four customers a day, tall, short, fat, and thin, and there were people queuing up outside the door, but now it's idle, and I can't touch a man for three or four days. You say it's irritating or not.

Who would have thought that there would be times in this life when the oiran lady in the brothel would not be able to catch a man, and would have nowhere to use her martial arts?
It's rare for the girls to be free, and it's hard to find such a good time in a lifetime, so they went together and stood by the moat to throw bait to feed the fish.

A reckless man ran out from nowhere, rushed out and hugged the girl to gnaw. Although the girls were well-informed, they were all collecting money. It was somewhat unexpected that a raw gnaw suddenly popped out.I still have to pretend to be reluctant: "Come here, molestation... Brother, do you have any money? If you have money, please come into the room to play..."

"There's plenty of silver, no problem at all." The reckless man gnawed on the girl, laughed and ran away. The girls came back to their senses, touched their waists, and the purse was gone.

The color is also lost, the money is gone, and the girl blushes angrily: "The thing smoking from the ancestral grave has been snatched from the old lady."

So he asked Mr. Gui from Chunhualou to chase after him: "When you see that man, cut off the meat from his mouth and fry it to eat. You're robbing us for money."

In the past, whoever dared to eat free food, a few tortoises pushed him to the street, guaranteed to beat him so that his mother would not even know him.

Today is different from the past, Mr. Gui is also a little timid: "Girls, bear with it. At this time, why bother to go out and wander around? There are desperate people everywhere outside. Last night, an old lady in the east alley was stabbed to death by thieves. The house is turned upside down, the girls are just saving money and avoiding disaster, bear with it."

Qingcheng is at the foot of the emperor.

Always peaceful.

Because of the plague, it is different from the past.

Along the way, I have seen so much, and I don’t know what else to do if I haven’t seen it and hidden it in the dark.

Changxinhou Mansion.

Seeing that it was Xiang Suining, the boys let her in without notifying her, saying that it was Lan Fai's intention.

I happened to meet the monks of Huguo Temple. The monks finished reciting scriptures as usual, packed up their things and left. Princess Guo still sent them to the gate: "Masters have worked hard. With your protection, Faier's illness has been cured. I am getting stronger and stronger, and I have slept soundly at night, apart from ordering a cup of tea last night, I almost slept until dawn."

"Congratulations. Your son is auspicious."

After seeing off the monk, the princess received the eunuch from the palace.

The eunuch held a brocade box in his hand. The brocade box contained high-quality ginseng, which was as long as a human's arm. It looked like it was only found in the palace warehouse.

"The old queen was thinking about Mr. Lan, so she asked the servants to search in the warehouse. After collecting this ginseng, the servant sent it to her. She said that it was made with ginseng chicken soup, which is the most nourishing for the body."

"Thank you Empress Dowager for your love, Tuer is already much better, go back and tell Empress Dowager, I will go to the palace to see her when I am free in two days."

The little eunuch bowed and went.

The princess asked the maid to make the best white tea in the mansion, and handed the tea to Xiang Suining herself: "I was thinking about you, but you just happened to come here, how about this white tea?"

"White tea has a red soup and a strong taste, which is excellent."

"This is a new reward from the emperor, alas."

The princess sighed, Xiang Suining put down the white tea, and sat up slightly sideways.

"You drink as you like." The princess said politely, "It's just that the emperor sent someone to deliver tea, and the eunuch who delivered the tea came to pass the word that Qingcheng was in chaos... You were not frightened on the way here, right?"

"It's pretty safe."

"It's good that you are not frightened." The princess sighed: "If you want to come to Qingcheng Mansion, Yin Zhousheng will do nothing. This Qingcheng is in a mess. He should send more yamen guards to patrol for those who rob things and molested women." is.If he can't do it, the emperor will worry about it. You see, the imperial guards have to be used again. This kid can't stay idle, so he goes to work again. "

"Master Xiaolan's body?"

"Miss Xiang, don't worry. Ever since you..." Princess Guo lowered her voice and said, "Since you rescued him from the hands of Hades, his appetite has also increased. These days, the kitchen in the mansion has changed tricks to cook food for him. Well, I slept well, and I feel refreshed."

"Master Xiaolan, as long as there is no problem."

"My only son was saved by you. I really don't know how to express my gratitude to you." Princess Guo put Xiang Suining's hand in her palm and stroked it: "You are a good girl, and I know you saved him." It's not for money, but I always think, I can't let you pay for nothing, what do you want? Calligraphy and painting? Rare medicinal materials? Rouge gouache, hairpin jewelry? As long as you ask."

"Mother, you are offending Miss Xiang by saying such things." Sitting behind the embroidery frame, Lan Ji raised her head steadily, inserted the needle into the ball of thread, and jokingly said, "Miss Xiang saved my brother's life." How can such light and fluffy things as medicinal herbs, jewelry and head coverings be compared?"

"What Xi'er said is that I was the one who was abrupt."

Xiang Suining refused again and again, no calligraphy, paintings, or medicinal materials, and Princess Guo felt even more indebted.

She is not short of money, and if she gets benefits from others, she will always give money in return. This is her way of doing things.

Seeing that Prime Minister Suining declined several times, Princess Guo pulled out the golden phoenix hairpin with pearls in her hair, and gently put it on for Prime Minister Suining.

I don't know what kind of skilled craftsman can create such a perfect hairpin.

The golden phoenix is ​​lifelike, the gold threads on the wings are thinner than the hair, and the pearls in the golden phoenix's mouth are so bright that they can illuminate the skin, making it even and white.

"This hairpin was given to me by my mother, the current queen mother, when I was a girl. I have been wearing it for all these years, and now I give it to you, Miss Xiang."

"Sister Xiang, my mother thanked you sincerely. If you refuse, you will be disappointing her." Lan Yu also persuaded.

So, I had to accept it.

(End of this chapter)