The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Chapter 412 Gossip
The further you go in, the lower the houses become. The houses gradually change from brick houses to mud houses, and occasionally there are thatched huts built next to the mud houses.

At first the road was made of bluestone, but it soon turned into land. There were some potholes on the ground, but it was dry and not uncomfortable to walk on.

But when we got to an area where there were more and more straw huts, the road became smaller and muddier.

Many families built thatched huts along the wall, occupying half of the road.

The crying, cursing, and scolding in the shed all mixed together, stimulating people's brains and stirring up emotions.

Bright, clean and normal people like Zhu Qizhen and Zhu Qiyu suddenly appeared in the gloomy space, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

The man sitting on the roadside twisting hemp ropes stared at them quietly, and people in the houses and sheds also came out and looked at them curiously.

Zhu Qizhen's heart tightened involuntarily when he was stared at by them.

He was not short of attention. He ascended the throne at the age of nine and had always been the center of attention. He was accustomed to the gazes of civil and military officials. But at this moment, being silently stared at by dozens of ordinary people made him a little nervous and a little at a loss.

Pan Jun was walking in the front carrying the banner. He turned back and called out to the five people who were walking slower and slower, "Hurry up, we haven't reached the destination yet."

Xue Shao was also visiting the slums of the capital for the first time. He found that this place was no different from the slums of other counties, so he withdrew his gaze and asked, "Where are you taking us, Taoist Pan?"

Pan Yun said meaningfully: "Go listen to interesting gossip."

Zhu Qizhen was puzzled: "Gossip?"

His eyes lit up slightly, "Could it be that there is an expert here who can tell fortunes?"

Pan Yun: "It's not fortune-telling, I can barely be considered an expert, it's just gossip that I heard or saw, in short."

Zhu Qizhen: "...What kind of gossip is this? Gossip includes everything. The universe is so vast, and you have summarized it into gossip?"

"Oh, the meaning of derivation, don't you think they are connected?" Pan Yun shook his head and said, "In ancient times, when Fuxi ruled the world, he looked up at the sky to observe the patterns, and looked down at the earth to observe the laws. He observed the patterns of birds and beasts and the suitability of the land; he took things from his body and from far away, and then he created the Eight Trigrams to understand the virtues of the gods and to classify the emotions of all things."

"So gossip is the emotion of all things. This little news is also born in the world. The ups and downs of the world are certainly included in it." Pan Yun said: "Look at it more openly, look at it more openly, don't be so serious."

Zhu Qizhen frowned and thought about it, and actually felt that what she said made sense.

"Who is that master?"

"It's not far ahead."

Go forward for about 300 meters and turn a corner to find a well, which is a well shared by the entire slum.

There is a large flat stone slab next to the well mouth. Water is fetched, vegetables, rice and clothes are washed from this well.

So at this time there were many people sitting near the well, leaving only two openings for people to go in and out to fetch water, and the rest of the space was occupied for washing clothes.

One advantage of washing clothes here is that you can use the water right after you fetch it, without having to carry it home.

The well was filled with people washing clothes, and behind them were several wooden basins filled with clothes, which were used for queuing.

At this time, the people in the queue gathered under a big banyan tree not far away.

The big banyan tree and the ancient well separate this area into an open space of half the size of a football field, and therefore, this place has become a gathering place for people.

There were even peddlers who specially picked out things to set up stalls here to sell.

This area was cleaned up very well. The ground was still mud, but it was firmly stepped on.

There are obviously many people washing clothes, rice and vegetables here, but there is not a single water stain on the road.

All the water flowed down the stone slabs and into the ditch. Even Zhu Qizhen felt their love for this place.

As soon as Pan Yun appeared carrying the banner, the children who were squatting on the ground throwing stones immediately dropped the stones and rushed over, saying to Pan Yun, "Master, I've saved a good seat for you."

The other kids also rushed over and said, "My seat is better, you can use mine."

Pan Yun waved his hand and said, "I brought five friends this time, so we need six seats."

When the children heard this, they cheered and immediately surrounded them and walked under the banyan tree.

There are many stones beside the banyan tree, and there is a circle of stone platforms surrounding the banyan tree, all of which are full of people sitting on them.

As soon as the children led Pan Yun and the others over, the little ones immediately stood up and waved their hands and called out, "Brother, brother, I'm here."

The little kids pulled up the little kids and asked them to give up their seats to Pan Yun. Two other kids pulled the arms of the two old men and said, "Grandpa, grandpa, please give up your seats to the Taoist priest's friends."

The old people smiled, stood up according to their strength and made room for them.

Pan Yun took out a paper bag from his sleeve and opened it. Inside was more than ten pieces of ginger-colored candy.

Each piece of candy was as big as three fingers, and Pan Yun gave them six pieces of candy.

The children cheered while holding their candies. The older brother broke off a piece and put it into his younger brother's mouth, then broke off a piece and put it into his own mouth. He wrapped the rest in a leaf and hid it in his arms.

The two children also broke off a piece and stuffed it into their mouths, and gave the rest to their grandfather, who pushed it to their mouths, "Grandpa, you eat it too." The old man turned his head away and scolded, "It's not sweet at all, I don't like it, save it, take it back to your brother and sister tonight, and save it for you to eat tomorrow."

The adults were annoyed by the noise of the kids and waved at them, "Take the candy and leave quickly. Go play by yourselves."

The children ran away happily with the candies in their mouths.

Pan Yun asked Zhu Qizhen and the other two to sit on the stone platform, while she stuck the banner into the ground and stood with her hands clasped together.

People around her greeted her one after another, "Little Taoist priest, are you here to listen to stories again?"

Pan Jun smiled and nodded.

There were about twenty people under the banyan tree, including old people, men, women and children.

Everyone either sat on the stone platform or on the scattered stones nearby, and some children even climbed directly onto the branches of the banyan tree.

Zhu Qizhen glanced around and saw that everyone's clothes were patched. The children had carefree smiles on their faces, but their complexions were sallow and their hair was sparse and dry.

Even though Zhu Qizhen was not an imperial physician, he knew that they were suffering from hunger.

The adults had a lot of wrinkles and spots on their faces. Although there was sadness between their brows, they had smiles on their faces.

They were sitting in twos and threes, talking.

Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but prick up his ears to listen.

Many elderly people speak with accents, so he needs to pause before he can understand them, but soon he adapts to their speaking habits, and his ears automatically convert what they say into words he can understand.

Pan Yun was most afraid that Zhu Qizhen would not understand, so she asked, "Master, can you understand their accent?"

"I didn't quite understand it at first, but I understood it after listening to a few more sentences." Zhu Qizhen said: "Someone around me has a similar accent, but it's not as strong."

It refers to the ministers in the court.

The civil and military officials in the court came from all corners of the country, so naturally they had all kinds of accents.

Zhu Qizhen was very talented in this area. After listening to it several times, he could not only understand their accents, but could even imitate them.

Pan Yun's eyes became complicated.

If there was no spiritual energy fluctuation in his body, she would almost suspect that he had innate supernatural powers like her.

[But I’m not bad either,] Pan Yun thought secretly in his heart: [I can understand it after reading it once, I don’t even need to read it a second time, I’m just that talented.]

Pan Yun bought six seats with candy, but in fact only Zhu Qizhen and Zhu Qiyu were sitting there.

Since Cao Jixiang didn't want to sit, Yun Yan was even less likely to sit. He raised his head and looked carefully at the tree branch above his head, making sure that the oldest child on it was only eleven or twelve years old, then he looked away.

But he didn't dare relax.

There are too many people here, and they are all poor strangers.

Zhu Qizhen was sitting among this group of people at this time. Yun Yan was a martial arts expert and was sure that he could fight ten people alone, but he was not sure if he could protect the emperor while fighting ten people alone.

Pan Yun and Xue Shao did not sit down either. They pulled up the two old men squatting on the ground and asked them to sit on the rocks again. Then they asked, "Why did Uncle Tian take so long today?"

The old man smiled and explained, "They had a fight this morning, and his wife scratched his face. He must be too embarrassed to go out."

"Little Taoist priest, if Tian Daniu doesn't come out today, you might not be able to hear any stories. Otherwise, I'll tell you some. I have a lot of stories too."

"Come on, what story do you have? When you were young, you herded cattle for a landlord. When you grew up, you worked as a farmhand for the landlord. Then you married a wife and had a son who also herded cattle for the landlord. Then your son had a son, and the son became a farmhand. Then your grandson also herded cattle. What can you say about your life?"

"That's right. What you said doesn't sound good at all. Little Taoist priest, just listen to me. I have done other things after all. I'm not just a farmhand."

Pan Yun first took out a handful of copper coins from his sleeve and gave them to an old man, asking him to ask Tian Daniu to come out and tell a story. Then he casually asked the old man, "What did the old man do?"

"As for me, I have carried military rations for Emperor Taizong, and I have also been on the battlefield and killed the enemy." He smiled until his eyes were wrinkled, and said happily: "Little Taoist priest, just listen. We are not like Tian Daniu. I won't charge you any money. If you are happy to listen, how about telling me a fortune for free?"

Pan Jun nodded, "Okay."

The old man started talking about how he was conscripted into the army and used as a laborer to deliver military rations, and how he got to the front line and had a fight with the northern barbarians by accident.

"The three of us killed a barbarian together, and took his head to exchange for three hundred coins from a captain. We each got one hundred coins, and I held the money in my arms and brought it back. It was with this one hundred coins that I was able to marry a wife. Otherwise, I would have been single all my life. Hahahaha..."

"You are still proud. If you didn't exchange it for money and recorded it as a military achievement, you might be a general now."

"Hahahaha, that's what I told my wife. She almost didn't get to marry a general."

"Go away, don't be ashamed. You are a general, but you don't know how frugal he is. He didn't spend a single cent of the 100 coins he had when he returned to the capital from the north. When he returned to the capital, he almost starved to death. Only bones were left on his body."

(End of this chapter)