Ordinary clear day

Chapter 39
Shengjia left Fengtian City on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, rushing back to the capital for the Lantern Festival.I heard that the Empress Dowager originally planned to celebrate the festival in Fengtian, but the ice lanterns looked a little tired every day, so it would be better to go back to Beijing to see the colorful lanterns.What's more, Fengtian is cold, and the ice lanterns and ice sculptures will release cold air, which is not good for the health of the Empress Dowager and her elderly.She is very old now, but her body is still healthy. It is all thanks to the tonic prescription that Mr. Chen Liangben found somewhere that can prolong life. The empress dowager's body became stronger and stronger.But after all, she is very old, and it is better to take care of her body if she can take care of her body.

The departure of Shengjia made all the officials in Fengtian City breathe a sigh of relief.No one in the family has a happy New Year's Eve. Either they are with Sheng Jia in fear, or they are busy with political affairs and keep their feet on the ground.However, it’s all over now. In order to appease the hard work of the subordinates, Fu Yin Yuheng waved his hand, and the ice sculptures and lamps will not be removed for the time being. Let's withdraw after the Lantern Festival, and have fun with the people.

This news made the people in the city very happy, because after the ice sculptures and lanterns were completely completed, they were strictly guarded so that no one would damage them, and no one was allowed to come close to watch them.Many children even went up to touch the ice sculpture with their hands, and then they were so cold that they stretched out their hands to touch it again, causing the craftsmen who were working to yell and curse, and drove them away.

Shu Ning also took Chun Xing and followed her brother to the street to watch the ice sculptures and lanterns.After all, the original idea still comes from myself.Chun Xing is especially proud, she has become a celebrity among the maidservants of several nearby families, and she made Fengtian's first ice lantern herself!

Fengtian has shown his face in front of people all over the world this time, and ice sculptures and ice lanterns have become more popular since then. It is simple to make, and the shape is not limited. The materials can be found anywhere, and anyone can make their own. ice lanterns.It’s okay to make it simple, or it’s not a problem to make it complicated and gorgeous. It used to be just a "poor stick lamp" popular among the poor in the Northeast, and it has finally become a thing that is appreciated by both refined and popular.

This time the emperor and the empress dowager came to Fengtian, thinking that the internal and external governance of Fengtian city is very good, the officials are loyal to their duties, love the people, and earn face for the court, so the emperor has a lot of rewards, and all the yamen have a share.Even Zhang Bao got a string of court beads and respectfully enshrined them in the main room.

The Earl's Mansion in central Beijing wrote a letter after the year, and didn't mention a word about the annual ceremony, but only asked about the situation of the holy car after he arrived in Fengtian, especially about the ministers, the two elder brothers, and the emperor and the empress dowager Did you say anything to them.Zhang Bao lazily read the letter, and said with a sneer, "Ama thinks highly of me too much. How could I, a little Wupinzhi, know about this kind of thing?"

Tong was a bit worried: "Will the family get involved in any trouble? Sometimes there will be letters from my uncle's house, saying that most of the officials in the court belong to the two factions of Lord Suo'etu and Lord Mingzhu, and they are fighting endlessly. , now looking at the letters from home, could it be that Ama and eldest brother are also not exempt?"

Zhang Baodao: "They are confused. They only want to climb up, but they only go sideways instead of the right way. What's the use of asking about these things? It's better to do their jobs in a serious manner. We don't care about them. Just write back and say that you don’t know, as long as it’s not a rebellion, they won’t implicate us in anything they do.” After saying that, they put their hands aside.

Tong had no choice but to reply to Jingzhong's letter according to his words, but his words and sentences were much more tactful.

Although Zhang Bao and his wife were a little cold, there were still people in the Earl's Mansion in Beijing who were very enthusiastic. Grandma Nala would have a letter every month, telling about the big and small things that happened in the mansion, talking about the popular things in Beijing, or the lace anecdotes circulating in the August [-]th city.Tong Shi was embarrassed to be too indifferent, so she wrote back to her from time to time, talking about her family's gossip and other people's gossip, and sometimes giving her some food or gadgets.All in all, the relationship between the third house and the eldest house is gradually getting better. Not only the two grandmas often exchange letters, but even the uncle Jin Bao sometimes communicates with the third brother.

In April, there were rumors in the government office that Mr. Fu Yin will be promoted soon!When Yuheng went out to meet people, he often had a smile on his face, and all the officials under his command discussed one after another, saying that if the rumors were true, everyone's mood would suddenly become unstable.The promotion of the boss means two situations, one is that competent subordinates will be promoted, and the other is that a new boss will come.In either case, they have to care.

Not long after, Zhang Bao received a letter from his elder brother from the capital, and got the latest news that Yuheng was about to be promoted to be the Minister of the Household Department and concurrently the Governor of Shuntian Mansion. Hearing the rumors from above, it seemed that he could still promote someone from Fengtian's subordinate officials. Continue to assist him, but the news has not been finalized, it is uncertain.

This news spread quickly in Fengtian Mansion, and some people even found out that there is still a vacancy for a Tongzhi in Shuntian Mansion. In this way, Zhou Fucheng's chances are greatly reduced, while Qin Tongzhi's chances are increased. .

Mrs. Qin was so proud of herself in front of outsiders that she was already thinking about what furniture to bring when she came to Beijing and what things could be thrown away. She even told people about her two daughters marrying someone in Beijing in the future. Write down the words "we want to be promoted".Several small officials in the government office, such as judges and experience, were snickering, and they kept trying in secret. Even the masters who followed Fu Yin Yuheng were ready to move, and the atmosphere in the government office was weird.

Zhang Bao is actually a popular candidate, but the position of Tongzhi may not be able to attract him. He has always believed that after his tenure in Zhizhong expires, there is a chance to be promoted to the fourth rank with good reviews. Tongzhi is only equal. .But the temptation to return to Beijing made him reluctant to let go of this opportunity, so he has been worrying about gains and losses.

Mrs. Tong discussed with him that it would be good to be able to return to Beijing, but Shuntian Mansion is a Qingshui yamen, and it is easy to cause trouble. What's more, if you are an official under the nose of the Earl's Mansion, you may have to move back. I'm used to being the master of the house, but I don't want to be restrained.It is precisely because the couple are not too enthusiastic about this matter, so in the eyes of others, they feel that they are not excited about the opportunity to return to Beijing to enjoy the blessings, which is really unpredictable.

Yuheng soon officially received the imperial decree, but the imperial envoy who came to issue the decree did not say a word about the promotion of the subordinates, and Yuheng did not specify who he would take away.There was a lot of discussion among the people below, saying that Qin Tongzhi's good deeds might have failed this time.

Mrs. Qin was so anxious that she brought a car full of silks and satins, gold and silver treasures, and blatantly rushed into Yufu, but was thrown out without saying a word, and Mrs. Yu went to the gate with an upright face and shouted: "Our master is upright and upright, and will never accept bribes from others, Madam Qin please please!" Humming twice, he waved his hands and walked in the door.Mrs. Qin was left alone on the street. She didn't realize that she was in full view, but she just yelled: "What's so noble, which official doesn't charge money? Who are you lying to?"

This joke soon became popular in the whole city. Every family was laughing at such a living treasure lady at Qin Tongzhi's booth. Qin Tongzhi was ill again and dared not come out to meet people. Will smile heartily.

Yuheng took office in a hurry. After he left, Zhou Fucheng took charge of the political affairs temporarily, waiting for the arrival of the new governor.But within ten days, a Master Tusanga came.However, this person didn't think highly of the merits left by his predecessor, and he was also sarcastic when giving lectures.Some of the officials found out that this lord belonged to Suo Xiang's faction, and he had never been on the same side as the former governor Yin Yuheng, and they were all worried that the future would be difficult.

The first unlucky one was Qin Tongzhi.Tusang'a took advantage of what his wife said in front of the Yufu gate, "Which official does not charge money", accusing Qin Tongzhi of accepting bribes and intending to bribe officials, often complaining about illnesses, but in fact there is no illness. It is to deceive the superiors and neglect their duties.

This is not a big problem at all, but the new government official wanted to establish his prestige, so he had no choice but to admit that he was unlucky, and because his wife could not be a human being, the other colleagues were alienated from him. There are no people, but it took a sum of money to get rid of the crime, and the official position is lost.On the day he was dismissed, he wrote a letter of divorce and threw it at his wife, ignoring that she was making a scene there, and even ignored his daughter. He only took his son and his luggage to find the next concubine, and went with her mother and son. Hastily left Fengtian.

Later, I heard that Mrs. Qin cried and cursed at the gate of his house for a whole day, everyone tried to avoid her, and those people who used to come and go with her also avoided her.She complained at home that she was sick, and two days later the officials in the yamen came to chase them away, saying that the house they lived in was originally allocated to subordinate officials, not private property.In desperation, she could only cry and make noise, and went back to her hometown with her two daughters and a few servants.

Although Qin Tong knew that he was unpopular, his fate made others feel chilled. He was much more careful in doing things, and was afraid of being caught by his boss.Among the officials in the city, only Suchun Azuo, who leads the army, does not sell the account of the new governor. He has recently been promoted to the rank of the governor, and is at the same rank as the governor. The little Fengtian Fu Yin, even the big palaces in the city, gave him face very much.

Before Miss Su got married, Shu Ning visited her once and gave her some embroidery as a congratulatory gift.On the return trip, she walked with Zhou Yinlan, and when she saw Zhou Yinlan's brows were gloomy, she asked what was the matter.Zhou Yinlan smiled wryly and said, "My good sister, sister Yunzhu is getting married now, I'm afraid we will part ways soon." Shuning hurriedly asked what was going on, and she replied: "My father's term of office is about to expire, and he will be leaving soon. I want to go back to Beijing to report on my work, but I don’t know if I will be able to see my sister again in the future.”

Shu Ning also felt a little sad, but at this moment she could only comfort her and said: "Sister, don't worry, we will definitely meet again in the future, and we can also communicate. Besides, isn't it time yet?" Zhou Yinlan forced a smile , bowed his head in silence.

When Shuning returned home, she didn't even have time to change into her big clothes, so she rushed to the upper room to tell her mother about it.Mrs. Tong sighed, and said, "Emiang already knew about this, and Mrs. Zhou also mentioned it to me. Your Ama is also very reluctant." Then she stopped talking.

Shu Ning went back to her room and was depressed, but she didn't know the whole story about Tong's private talk with Zhang Bao.

Tong Shi asked: "My concubine sees Mrs. Zhou's eyebrows with a little bit of worry. Could it be that this is also the official left behind by Mr. Tusang'a dealing with Mr. Yuheng?"

Zhang Bao shook his head and said: "Who knows? It's true that Brother Zhou is full of office. I heard that our comments this year will not be good. When he returns to Beijing, he is afraid that people from Suoxiang's party will play tricks secretly. He didn't It’s not enough to get it.”

Tong was taken aback: "Master Zhou is not an important official position, why are people in the prime minister's party doing this? Husband will be out of office next year, what shall we do then?"

Zhang Bao was helpless: "I have to see the walking. Our family is not an ordinary family. I don't think they will be so arrogant?"

(End of this chapter)