Jiaohua

Chapter 293 Who is the old man
"Girl doll, here, the wine and peanuts you want!"

The guy smiled and handed over the jug and a pack of freshly fried salt-baked peanuts.

Xia Zhaoyi took it, and said with a sweet smile, "Thank you, brother."

The rice wine was hot, the peanuts exuded heat, and it smelled very tempting, Xia Zhaoyi took things out of the restaurant.

There is a small vegetable market at the back, where the vegetable vendors shouted loudly, the butcher in the butcher shop slaughtered meat with a big knife, and the chickens, ducks and geese locked in cages screamed together, waiting for the servants and wives of wealthy families to pick them.

Xia Zhaoyi passed through a group of laughing and beating boys and went to a quiet alley.

The sun was shining warmly on the small courtyard, and the courtyard was exceptionally quiet. There was no smell of smoke or dust. There were no clothes and winter quilts to dry, no pots and pans, and half of the leaves of vegetables were missing.

Xia Zhaoyi approached and stood outside the door, his brows slightly folded.

She didn't like Quan Jiuwei. The last time she came to see him, they broke up unhappy. From Quan Jiuwei's words and demeanor, she also smelled too much wrong.

However, what should be asked still needs to be asked.

Xia Zhaoyi stepped forward and raised her hand to knock on the door. After a pause, she stretched out her finger and wiped lightly on the door knocker. A thick layer of dust accumulated on her fingertips.

Xia Zhaoyi went to the side door on the other side. Again, it was covered with dust, and a lock was left outside the side door.

She looked around, and in the distance, an old man was drying the quilt and turning around with a wooden basin in his arms.

Xia Zhaoyi looked back, and a silver hairpin quickly slipped out of her sleeve. She pierced the door lock with one hand, her ears moved lightly, and the silver hairpin followed the sound.

Soon there was a soft "click", the door lock opened, Xia Zhaoyi caught the dropped lock with one hand, and pushed the door in.

The old man just turned around and looked up to the front, as if someone had just flashed by.

The sun outside the window is good, illuminating half of the room.

Xia Zhaoyi put the jug, peanuts, and sauce pancakes in his hand on the table, and went to the stove.

The stove was empty, the firewood was piled up in disorder, and there were only two or three bowls and chopsticks. It seemed that no one had touched it for a while.

Xia Zhaoyi turned around and walked towards the stairs.

The bedroom upstairs is very messy and has been rummaged through, but the bedding is neat.

The desk was also messy. Quan Jiuwei didn't have many books in his collection. Xia Zhaoyi had a good memory. He came here before and had some impressions of the arrangement of his books. Now he can see at a glance that there are at least five books missing on the next shelf.

Except for the bedding, the tables and chairs are also in order, and there are no traces of scuffling on the ground. It doesn't look like they were killed by someone, but more like running away.

Xia Zhaoyi frowned, and inadvertently moved his eyes to see something under the bed.

She went over and found out that it was a set of men's clothes, high-quality silk material, elegant and luxurious, and the style seemed to be worn by a wealthy gentleman in his forties.

There was a lot of blood on the lining, as well as on the corners of the clothes, but the rest was clean.

Why Quan Jiuwei escaped seems to be somewhat guessable...

The yellow rice wine he brought was already cold, Xia Zhaoyi carried the jug, peanuts and sauce cakes, and left the hut.

Back on the street, she casually gave away the rice wine and other things in her hand, then found a tea house and sat at a window facing the street.

In her memory, the capital in late autumn and early winter was full of the aroma of simmering meat and cooking porridge, and there were people steaming rice cakes and pasting window grilles everywhere, but the streets now are obviously cold.

Xia Zhaoyi withdrew his gaze, looked at the teacup in his hand, shook the teacup gently, and the tea water rippled.

Yu He died, Yu Kai died, and most of the population of Yu Mansion was imprisoned by Li Dongyan and sent to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

But Quan Jiuwei didn't know who he had killed, so he absconded in fear of crime.

There are thousands of thoughts in her mind, which are a little chaotic. She wants to untie one by one, straighten out one by one, and gather all kinds of numbers together to form a matrix.

After a long time, Xia Zhaoyi shook the cup again, and the reflection in the cup was disturbed again.

She put down the teacup, got up and put a whole penny on the table, then turned and left.

"Hey, little guest officer," the guy just brought the fried side dishes, "I have everything ready, why are you leaving?"

"You can eat." Xia Zhaoyi said, walked away.

The waiter frowned, and as soon as he put the dishes away, he was about to teach others a lesson. He paused when he saw the broken silver on the table, and picked it up in a daze.

Looking up again, the girl had already left.

"Queerness," muttered the man.

………………

The sun is getting bigger and bigger, so strong that it is a bit dazzling.

Zhao Neishi yawned quietly, glanced at the guard next to him, and quickly closed his mouth again.

In the main hall behind him, the officials were fighting with red faces, and no one would obey the other.

Zhao Neishi thinks that they are really noisy. He clearly remembers that everyone used to be kind and friendly. Even if there were disputes, they would not quarrel like this. When did it become like this?Seems like it's been years.

The quarrels have become more and more fierce over the years, and several of them have resigned from office.

The temper is really bad, and people are really anxious.

That's right, it's anxiety. Zhao Neishi feels that these ministers have become particularly uneasy and panicked.

"...Your Majesty, the old minister does not agree with Jiang Shilang's words. Now that the slack and the poor tax will only aggravate the conflict. Those who are idle will be more idle, and those who occupy land and land will be lazy. Now it is even more taxing. In today's time, only from these Only those who occupy the land can take food from their hands to help the victims!"

"Your Majesty! This is absolutely impossible. Once the tax is heavy, the poor will become even poorer, and those who cannot afford food will starve to death!"

"Your Majesty, I agree with Lord Yu's words, and I believe that not only heavy taxes are required, but also severe punishments. Recently, the number of refugees in the capital has increased, and there are many looters on the streets. I believe that when the times are chaotic, heavy codes should be used. The current plan should follow the example of Qin. law!"

"My minister agrees! Qin Law has a saying that someone who kills someone but does not rescue those within a hundred steps, someone who enters the house and hurts someone, and the people in the room call for help and the neighbors do not come to rescue, all of them are guilty and should be punished severely. I think so, and it should be so!"

"Ridiculous! You are too ridiculous! Your Majesty, heavy taxes and heavy codes will only make people more dissatisfied. The old minister agrees with Jiang Shilang's words, lightly pay less money, and appease the people's livelihood!"

……

Zhao Neishi sighed, and suddenly felt a sigh in his heart.

I mourn how difficult the people's livelihood is.

At this time, seeing many figures appearing in the distance, Zhao Neishi blinked, suspecting that he was wrong.

Who is that old man being supported by two men?

Mrs. An?
It's only been a few days since I've seen you, and you've become so old and defeated like this?
"Teacher An, please slow down, why don't you stay here for a while, and I will ask His Majesty to see if I can bring you a sedan chair?" Liao Nei said.

An Qiuwan shook her head, said lightly: "Liao Nei's servant is kind, there's no need."

He spoke lightly, but the color of his lips was terribly pale and bleeding.

An Yuchi and An Yudao supported him, one on the left and one on the right. Both of them had ugly expressions on their faces. They took every step carefully, lest they hurt their elderly father.

"That's good," Liao Nei said, "However, the old slave should go and report to the emperor first. I think the court has not yet retreated. Mrs. An, are you waiting here or going to the palace?"

Taifu An looked towards the towering Taiyang Hall ahead, thought for a while, and said, "Let's go to the hall."

(End of this chapter)