Da Suining

Chapter 111

On July 12th in the [-]th year of Xuanguo, it was cloudy and rainy.

This year's Xuanguo summer seems to have more rain than usual.

On the same day, Xu Jun was released from the prison cell. Master Nie was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for ordering his slaves to commit murder. Bai Er and Bai Si were sentenced to one year and four months in prison, and four ten.

The corpses of Yueniang and Baxi were buried in a cemetery in the west of the city with the help of Xu Jun. A big hole was dug, two coffins were bought, the two coffins were put into the big hole, incense candles and paper goods were burned. , It can be regarded as the fate between their mother and son.

Baxi also managed to get a good end, at least she was not thrown into a mass grave or buried with a group of eunuchs like other lonely eunuchs after death.

Eunuch Chang was not burned as Baxi said, but according to the emperor's wishes, he was buried by the Ministry of Rites in the cemetery where the eunuchs in the palace were.

On the day of Eunuch Chang’s funeral, the coffin was dense, the paper figurines and horses were plain and vivid, and the paper money was thrown like flakes of winter snow.

The person who played the suona raised his neck and his face turned red, and the person who played the suona nearly shed tears when he played the suona.

The yellow paper burned by the sacrificers fluttered in the air, and the hot sparks lasted for a long time. The group of people, either in white robes or white hats, looked from afar as if they turned white overnight.

The coffin was carried out from Baolong Street, the busiest place in Qingcheng, along the Yongan River, crossed an arch bridge, crossed two or three long horizontal streets, passed the city gate, and walked three or four miles to the cemetery.

Almost half of the people in Qingcheng were mobilized, adults with their hands behind their backs, children standing on tiptoes, or riding on adults' necks and being carried by adults. People in teahouses forgot to drink tea and rushed to the street. Everyone went up to the second floor, sat by the window and looked sideways.

The flyover, which is the busiest place on weekdays, was also very deserted this day. Those dancers or snake charmers closed their business one after another, and squeezed into the crowd to watch the huge funeral procession.

In these years, except for the princes and his like, those bureaucrats died, so there may not be such a scene.

Although Qingcheng is at the foot of the emperor, the emperor has not many brothers, and the princes and generals live a long time. Such a funeral is really rare in decades.

There are more people talking about it.

"The emperor still loves Eunuch Chang the most. When he was alive, he gave him a mansion, which was bigger than the mansion of a fourth-rank official. When he died, and he made such a great impact, the coffin would cost a lot of money."

"It's not in vain to live like Eunuch Chang. Our emperor is a benevolent king."

"Who says it's not." An old man stroked his beard and said, "Don't count Xuanguo, but let's go forward. In all dynasties, how could anyone treat eunuchs so well? It's a pity that Chang Gonggong's fortune is poor, and he raises tigers. She raised a white-eyed wolf, treated him well, but was killed by him in the end."

After sending off Eunuch Chang, Xiang Suining went to Liuyunfang.

Tong Siyue invited her to look at the latest materials, saying that autumn is coming soon, new Shu brocades are on the market, and two horses of materials have just been shipped from the south to make autumn and winter clothes. Because there are few materials, there are many noble women who want to make autumn and winter clothes. So I greeted Xiang Suining in advance.

The Shu brocade material is indeed very good. It was used as a tribute in previous years. It is woven with cooked silk thread and flowered with warp thread. The four directions are continuous and the colors are bright. The clothes made are comfortable and colorful. A very bright presence.

To be a human being is to be nice to yourself.

Shu brocade materials are expensive, and it costs eight liang of silver to make a dress.

It's okay, there is money.

Ever since the emperor cared about her, he called Xiang Daying over several times quietly. Xiang Suining had no way of knowing what he said, but he must have helped her to speak, because after returning from the palace, Xiang Daying sent her monthly The pocket money has increased several times. It used to be good to get one tael a month, but now it is five taels a month, not counting the money for rouge and gouache.

The emperor is wise, there are many treasures in the palace, and he is also generous in rewarding people. In this July, he has rewarded Xiang Suining twice.Although the things are not very expensive, but fortunately, the craftsmanship of the things in the palace is very good, very eye-catching.

After walking out of Liuyunfang, Prime Minister Suining remembered the eight-treasure silver hairpin given by the emperor, which was now inserted into her head, so she took it off and handed it to Tong Siyue. The silver hairpin was also inlaid with rubies, which were bright and warm, This hairpin costs at least ten taels of silver.

Tong Siyue refused to accept it anyway.

"Why do you and I care about so clearly?" Xiang Suining inserted the eight-treasure silver hairpin into Tong Siyue's hair with his own hands, it was so dazzling, so eye-catching, and so beautiful.

In Xiang Suining's wallet, there are still four or five taels of silver. It feels good to have silver by his side every day, and there is no need to dig and search.

In the past, when I saw rouge and gouache in a jewelry store, or saw big fish and meat in a restaurant, I could only drool through the door.

Now I am not afraid, if I have money, I will be tough, and now I can go in and swallow my saliva.

"The real culprit about Eunuch Chang's matter has been eliminated, sister can rest assured." Tong Siyue blessed Xiang Suining with a blessing.

Xiang Suining returned the gift.

Only she knows the truth.

She didn't want to tell Tong Siyue the truth. The more she knew, the more dangerous she would be.

"I've got to go back. Grandma will miss her after she's been out for a long time." Xiang Sui Ning blessed him.

Tong Siyue personally sent her out of the door and looked around. The windows facing the street were all lowered. In the past, the windows of these shops were erected early to welcome customers. These days, everyone lowered the door panels and closed the windows early, which seemed a bit depression.

"Sister, be careful on the road." Tong Siyue told her: "Qingcheng is not very safe recently."

Xiang Suining thought she was talking about the murder of Eunuch Chang.

Tong Siyue looked around again. Although many shops facing the street were closed, the pedestrians on the street were still calm, and the number of them was not less than before, so she finally settled down.

But she still told Xiang Suining: "Recently, many relatives of the city guards have come to the shop. I heard from them that there are always unidentified people coming to Qingcheng these days. Some say they are from Changzhou, and some say they are from Luocheng. Yes, after all, they are refugees fleeing from famine, dragging their families with them. As soon as they came in, they hugged people's legs and refused to let them go. A lady was hugged by her legs, and she was so scared that she went back and fell ill. It stands to reason that my sister should not be allowed to come I'm from Liuyunfang, and I'm afraid that my sister will be lonely at home, and I miss my sister too, so..."

Xiang Suining had heard the term "refugees" from Xiang Daying.

The refugee thing has been going on for several days.

It is said that as soon as it got dark, the city guards drove people out of the city with whips.

I never thought of throwing it so many times, and I haven't finished throwing it yet.

It's better to be careful.

"Girl, please do me a favor—the child is starving to death—" A ragged woman limped to the gate of Liuyunfang with a child in her arms, a broken bowl in one hand, and a stick in the other.

The woman was disheveled, her back was missing a piece, her dirty skin was exposed, her hair was messy and withered like weeds, perhaps due to malnutrition and fear, her complexion was dull, her lips were chapped, and there were many bloody cuts on her hands , she is so thin, almost as thin as a stick, and she can't stand still with the help of a stick. The pair of shoes on her feet, said to be shoes, have long since lost their soles, and they are all walking on the soles of her feet. The shoe covers on her ankles are a bit funny.

The woman shrank her toes back and licked her lips. Her eyes were dull, as if she was so tired that she could fall asleep all the time.

Only the crying of the child in her arms can cheer her up occasionally. The child's suspenders are so dirty that they can't see the color, and the cross hangs on her chest. Stretched out his little hand to touch her chest, but couldn't touch anything, the child opened his mouth to rub, but couldn't rub anything, the child started to cry.The crying sound is very small, just like a cat meowing.

It seems that the child is hungry.

The woman stretched out her finger. There was a wound on her finger. She put her finger into the child's mouth.

The woman is feeding the child with her own blood.

A woman is weak, but a mother is strong.

Xiang Suining couldn't stand it anymore, gave Mingzhu a tael of silver, and told her to go to the restaurant in the back alley to buy some food.

Mingzhu came back soon, bought lotus leaf chicken and cooked beef, and bought a basket of steamed buns.

Tong Siyue had already brought out tea from Liuyunfang, and the woman's eyes were straightened. Xiang Suining stopped Tong Siyue, picked three or four leaves from the tree and put them in a tea bowl before handing them to the woman. After a long time, when she sees water suddenly, if she drinks it too quickly, it will kill her, so she has to drink it leisurely.

The woman drank a large bowl of water "gudong gudong", and her lips gradually became moist.

Mingzhu handed over the food, and the woman opened the lotus leaf chicken with trembling hands, the smell almost made her drool, she wiped the corners of her mouth with her sleeve, and her eyes shone brightly.

Xiang Suining thought that she would tear off a chicken leg and eat it, or hold the lotus leaf chicken and eat it, but she didn't want her to wrap the lotus leaf chicken again, stuff it into her clothes, and touched the cooked beef lovingly, then put the cooked beef in the Tuck it into your clothes.

She took a steamed bun and ate it, and gradually her hands stopped shaking, before she spoke, "Thank you girls for your kindness, if it wasn't for you, I would have starved to death."

"Why don't you eat meat?" Xiang Suining was a little puzzled.

"Meat...is a good thing, and I want to eat it too, but...the people who fled with me, and seven or eight fellow villagers, slept under the bridge hole in the south of the city. Dare to come out all of them. I took the children with me. If they don’t eat, the children will starve to death, so I took the risk to try it out. I didn’t expect to meet a kind girl... But my fellow villagers are also starving to death. I have to give They bring back something to eat." While speaking, the woman swallowed a steamed bun into her stomach.

The steamed bun was too dry, she choked and rolled her eyes, Tong Siyue poured another bowl of water and brought it out.

The woman soaked the steamed buns in a tea bowl, made a small piece, and put it into the child's mouth. The child's mouth wriggled and stopped crying.

"Where are you from?"

"We came from Changzhou. When we came, there were not many refugees, so the gate of the city was not closed. Now there are many refugees crowded outside the city, and they are no longer allowed to come in. We can only sneak around a few miles outside the city. They live in shacks, and they are always chased away here in Qingcheng."

"Qingcheng drove away, why don't you go to other state capitals to try? What if there is a way out?"

"I have tried the nearby state capitals. Lizhou, Chuzhou, and Anzhou have more refugees than Qingcheng. In the past, the gates of these state capitals were also open, but now they are closed. , Let us refugees fend for themselves, if we go back to Changzhou, we will only die, we are hungry, tired, and weak, even if we go back to Changzhou, we will not be able to return, we will only die halfway.”

Worried.

How difficult people's livelihood is.

Suining, the Prime Minister of other prefectures, is not clear that Qingcheng has a surplus of refugees, one is unstable, and the other is affecting the image of Qingcheng, Master Zhou will naturally drive them away vigorously.

Who cares about the life and death of refugees.The most important thing is to keep the safety under your own rule.

Xiang Suining took out the only silver left in his purse and handed it to the woman, but the woman waved her hands and dared not take it.

"You take it, how long can you last for a meal? This money is enough for you to live for a while. It's hot now, things are easy to spoil, I dare not buy you too much food, I'm afraid you won't be willing to throw it away If you eat again, your stomach will be ruined. After you take the money, try to avoid being hunted and arrested, and go shopping secretly."

The woman knelt down holding the silver.

Xiang Suining helped her up, she was so thin, only a handful of bones remained.

"I'm going back. I'll bring some food to the villagers earlier. To tell you the truth, my child's father is about to starve to death. They will be very happy when they know that I'm coming with beef and chicken." The woman stroked her bosom. The meat in the meat, with a contented smile on his face.

Xiang Suining watched the woman turn her head and leave before she bid farewell to Tong Siyue.

Just a few steps away, I heard a woman's call and a group of men's voices.

"My lord, please spare me my life, my lord—I don't dare anymore."

"How did I tell you to let you take the initiative to go out of the city and ignore the wind, didn't you come out to beg again if you couldn't tell?"

"Okay, don't talk nonsense to her anymore, just ask her if she can get out of the city, if she can't get out of the city, take her back to the cell, beat her to death and throw her into a mass grave after dark."

Xiang Suining watched all this from afar, and couldn't help being startled.

The woman was frightened like a frightened bird in the rain. She almost fell on the ground, and the child in her arms was frightened and began to howl again.

The four yamen servants surrounded the woman there, the knife was out of its sheath, they pressed the point of the knife against the woman's chin, the point of the knife was sharp, the woman's chin was bleeding, she didn't dare to move, she was just trembling, her eyes were full of fear with pleading.

"Guy, the child needs to live. I beg you not to drive me away. If I leave Qingcheng, I will only die... I promise, I will come out again when it is dark, and I will come out when it is dark."

"Whether you die or not has nothing to do with us. You refugees can't move around Qingcheng, and you can't come out to beg, don't you understand?" A yamen servant picked the woman's arms with the tip of a knife, almost picking her chest away. The lotus leaf chicken and beef hidden in the woman's shirt fell out.

The woman wanted to protect her, but the yamen guard picked it up with a knife, and the lotus-leaf chicken and beef flew to the opposite side of the road. Several wild dogs on the other side were looking for food, and when they saw the meat, they jumped on it. abdomen.

There were only a few steamed buns left in the woman's hand.

The yamen servant knocked the steamed bun to the ground, raised his foot and stomped on it a few times.

The woman cried and wanted to pick up the steamed bun, but the steamed bun was flattened and stuck to the ground, and she couldn't even remove it, so how could she pick it up?

(End of this chapter)