I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 622 Grass is a plant

Ren Boan looked out from the half-open window and saw a blue wool sedan stopped at the entrance of Jishidi Hall. The sedan tilted forward, and a maid reached out to lift the curtain, and a woman came out.

The two maids on the left and right reached out to support her, and the other four strong women stood around, blocking the gazes of many people.

The four followers stood on the periphery, with their backs facing inside and out, staring at the people passing by with fierce eyes. Their vicious expressions seemed to say, if you look again, I will dig out your eyeballs.

Due to the two layers of obstruction, one could only vaguely see the graceful figure of the woman as she entered Jishiditang, surrounded by her maids, strong women and followers.

Ren Boan asked: "Who is this?"

Liu Huan introduced: "Li Shan's Madam Ru, the sixth concubine, was married to the most beautiful woman on the Qinhuai River when he was the Minister of Works in Nanjing. It is said that she is still as beautiful as a fairy in her thirties."

"Why did she come to Jishiditang to see Tang Yiba for treatment?"

"I don't know. Just ask Tang Yiba later." Liu Huan smiled.

The two of them sat by the window in silence.

Ren Boan looked up and saw the streets of Changsha city, near and far, unfolding before him.

"Well, it is said that the earth vein of Changsha City came from the north and was originally led west by Yuelu Mountain, but was blocked by Xiangjiang River and could only continue to the south, and finally twisted and turned in Xiangtan. The spiritual energy of the earth vein is accumulated here, and over time, it will eventually become the king's energy."

When Liu Huan heard this, he couldn't help but become very interested.

"Manager Ren also knows Feng Shui?"

Ren Boan smiled faintly, "Brother Liu, have you ever heard of Jiangxi Feng Shui Master Zhou Jixuan?"

Liu Huan's eyes lit up. "Is the Master Ren talking about the famous Mr. Ding Xing who is proficient in the Mysterious Woman's Land and House Classics, good at Feng Shui and geography, and changed Yingtianfu to study Feng Shui?"

"That's right. Old Zhou once wandered around the southeast to make a living and nearly starved to death. By chance, I saved him and he survived. So he taught me a little bit about Feng Shui."

Liu Huan's eyes lit up even more. "Does Manager Ren know about Mr. Dingxing's Feng Shui improvement for Yingtian Prefecture?"

"know."

"Manager Ren, we have nothing to do, why don't you tell me about it."

Ren Boan looked at the entrance of Jishiditang and said happily, “Okay.

It is said that in the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the academic achievements of Yingtian Prefecture were at their peak, and many people passed the examinations. The peak was in the fourth year of Jingtai, when 200 people passed the Southern Examination, and 29 of them were from Yingtian Prefecture, which caused a sensation at the time.

Liu Huan couldn't help but be amazed. "Nanwei is the provincial examination of Southern Zhili, which gathers the best scholars in the world. It is known as the most difficult provincial examination in the world, even more difficult than the imperial examination. Among the 200 candidates, 29 are from Yingtian Prefecture. It's really amazing."

"Yes, in such a prosperous place, I don't know when and why, but the number of successful candidates has been decreasing year by year. In the 37th year of Jiajing, the students of Yingtian Prefecture School were shaved bald and no one passed the exam. There was an uproar at the time."

Liu Huan shook his head in disbelief. "Not a single one? That's really outrageous."

"At that time, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, Zhu Jian, invited Lao Zhou by chance and asked him to survey Yingtian Prefecture and learn Feng Shui.

After some investigation, Lao Zhou discovered that the Confucian Temple is located in the Qian position and faces the Xun position, with the Xun gate on the left and the School gate on the left, which belongs to the Zhen position. Both gates belong to the wood position.

Behind the temple is the Mingde Hall, and behind the hall is the Zunjing Pavilion. Originally, there was a high hill. During the Zhengde period, the Chief Censor Chen Fengwu leveled the hill and built the Zunjing Pavilion on it. It is tall and has a copper roof and an iron foundation. As a result, the earth turned into gold.

The door is the breath of a house. If it is strong, it will bring good fortune, but if it is weak, it will bring disaster. Previously, Yingtianfu School was very prosperous because there was soil behind Mingde Hall, and soil gave birth to wood. If both the temple gate and the school gate were strong, the blessings would continue to grow, so many people passed the exams in every subject.

The hill was shoveled and a pavilion was built, and the earth turned into gold. The two woods of the temple gate and the school gate were suppressed by gold, so the chances of passing the exam became increasingly rare.

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on. Someone with a curious mind checked the records and found that the decline of Yingtian Prefecture School began with the construction of the Zunjing Pavilion.

Liu Huan slapped his thigh and said, "This is truly amazing. Manager Ren, how do you resolve Mr. Dingxing's situation?"

"Haha, don't worry, let me explain slowly.

Zhu Jian, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, and other Confucian scholars sincerely asked Lao Zhou to solve the problem. Lao Zhou used the method of drawing hexagrams and changing images to supplement and drain the qi. A high pavilion was built in the Kan position of the prefectural school, named Qingyun Tower, which was higher than Zunjing Pavilion and was used to drain the Qianjin Qi.

Use Kan water to generate Zhen and Xun wood to help the two gates. Build a huge archway in front of the temple gate, standing side by side with the archway in front of the school gate to enhance the power of Zhen and Xun. Build a star-gathering pavilion in Li position to make Zhen and Xun wood generate fire to bring out the beauty of civilization.

Considering that the water of Panchi River should not be stored at the bottom, a Wende Bridge was built to stop the flow of water. There was a screen wall at the school gate, which was removed by Lao Zhou. Then he said to everyone that Yingtianfu School was a place of great talent and beauty. In the past few years, the spiritual energy had leaked and stagnated. Now it has been restrained and broken, and the vitality has been introduced. It will be prosperous and may produce a top scholar.

In the second year after the completion of the palace, in the 40th year of the Jiajing reign, the Fuxue student Shen Shixing ranked third in the Nanwei examination, and in the second year he became the top scholar in the Renxu examination.

Liu Huan was stunned and it took him a while to come back to his senses. "Mr. Dingxing is really a land immortal!"

His eyes rolled, and he asked curiously, "With Mr. Dingxing creating Feng Shui, how come Yingtian Prefecture School was implicated in the Nanwei cheating case in the first year of Longqing?"

Ren Boan smiled coldly: "After all, human greed is unsatisfactory. In the 43rd year of Jiajing's reign, 19 people passed the imperial examination at Yingtian Prefecture School, and in the second year of the reign of Renxu, 5 people passed the imperial examination.

But the scholars were not satisfied that they did not get the top three in this subject. They remembered what Lao Zhou had said before about the Feng Shui of Yingtian Prefecture, and that the root of all this came from the Zunjing Pavilion behind Mingde Hall. So they dismantled the Zunjing Pavilion without authorization.

At that time, Lao Zhou was invited by a nobleman to survey a grave, and he was far away from home.

When he rushed back to Yingtian after hearing the news, he found that the Zunjing Pavilion of the prefectural school had been demolished, and he could not help but sigh repeatedly. When others asked him why, he just said it was time, fate, and destiny, and did not say anything more.

In the first year of the Longqing reign, twenty-one students from Yingtian Prefecture passed the imperial examination. Some people secretly sneered at Lao Zhou, saying that he had made a mistake and that his performance was nothing special.

Unexpectedly, three years later, Mr. Hai went to the south of the Yangtze River to investigate the old case.

There was a widespread case of cheating in the Southern Examination. Thirteen candidates who passed the examination at the provincial school were beheaded, and the rest were stripped of their titles and were never allowed to take part in the imperial examination again.

As for the other professors and great scholars, more than ten were beheaded and more than twenty were exiled. The Yingtianfu School was in a state of collapse and was taken over by Zhuo Wugong and renamed Jiangning Public School.

Liu Huan's eyes widened, "Mr. Dingxing is so amazing, I wish I could see him in person.

Manager Ren, you have received advice from Mr. Dingxing, can you please take a look at the Feng Shui of our Changsha City and see if we can benefit from it?"

"I dare not speak nonsense about Feng Shui."

Ren Boan refused to say anything and Liu Huan didn't dare to ask any further questions, so the two were speechless for a while.

The sun was shining brightly, but the streets in the distance were dark and cold.

There was a group of beggars under the eaves of a house on the street. They were skinny, ragged, young and old, huddled together with broken bowls in front of them, their eyes were dull and their faces were ashen.

"There are still so many beggars in Changsha City?"

Ren Boan asked.

Liu Huan curled his lips and said, "There are beggars everywhere in the world. I heard that even at the feet of the emperor, the capital, the best place, is full of beggars."

"it's gone now."

"No more? All driven away?"

"No, they were all taken to the poorhouse. The poorhouse, which used to be run by the Donation Bureau and is now managed by the Ministry of Finance, is doing very well. The elderly are taken care of, the young are cared for, and those who still have some strength are arranged to work in the Kailuan factory.

The same is true for Shanghai and Qingpu.”

"Is there really a place in this world without beggars?" Liu Huan couldn't believe it.

Ren Boan didn't want to argue, so he just asked, "What about the local poorhouse?"

"They only gave away two meals of porridge every three days, barely keeping their breath from starving to death. The big landlords in the north and the big mine owners in the south would rather donate a lot of silver dollars to Yuelu Academy and Shigu Academy than give a penny to the orphanage."

"Donating to Yuelu Academy and Shigu Academy can bring fame and profit, but donating to the poorhouse is a waste of money. Are these beggars living in the poorhouse?"

"Yes, the poorhouse at least provided shelter from the wind and rain, especially in autumn and winter, when Changsha was still very cold. There was straw in the rooms of the poorhouse, so at least you wouldn't freeze to death if you got inside. But the doorman of the poorhouse charged money at that time."

"Charge money? Even these beggars have to pay."

"Yes, the gatekeepers of the poorhouse were mostly beggars in the past. They became gatekeepers by chance. Once they had power, they would extort money. Each person was given a penny, and only those who paid would be allowed in."

"What if there's no money to give?"

"I just dug a nest in the dry manure pit and hid there for the night. I barely wouldn't freeze to death. But I had to act first, or there would be no room left.

Picking up frozen corpses and starving people in winter, I did this job a few years ago."

Ren Boan said nothing.

On the street, a sedan chair would pass by from time to time, and the bearers would be sweating as they tried their best to carry it steadily.

The porter was carrying a load so high that his figure was almost invisible. He looked like an ant crawling on the ground carrying a stone much larger than himself.

There was a farmer carrying two bundles of firewood, standing on the roadside, with his hands cupped in his tattered sleeves. He smiled ingratiatingly at everyone he saw, but dared not utter a word.

There was a peddler carrying a load of all kinds of goods on it, walking back and forth, shouting loudly.

"Come and buy some colorful threads from Shanghai and good steel needles from Luanzhou."

"Cloth, cloth, authentic Shanghai cloth, no fading and no shrinkage, selling at a low price."

"It's a candy, a mint candy. It's made with sugar from Southeast Asia, mint juice from Sichuan, and orange juice from Jiangxi. It tastes sour and sweet. One can soothe your throat and nourish your spleen and stomach."

A group of mud-covered children followed the candy peddler, chirping and circling around him, like a group of sparrows trying to beg for a few mouthfuls of rice.

"Go, go! Ask your parents to buy it."

A gust of wind blew, bringing with it the sound of gentle singing.

"Take off your hairpins and earrings and worship the lotus platform. Stop eating meat and eat vegetarian food. Stay away from dust and dirt and keep the precepts. Emptiness is emptiness and color is color. Both cannot be eliminated. Lovesickness is difficult to cure, and there is no medicine to cure madness, so it is better to keep your head."

Ren Boan, who heard it, couldn't help but ask.

"Is there a nunnery nearby?"

Liu Huan's eyes were full of surprise, "Manager Ren is an old hand.

There is a nunnery across the street. Those scholars, especially those landlords and mine owners, are tired of playing in brothels and looking for something new, and recently they like to go to nunnery.

The head of the nunnery next door was a clever man. He went to Wuchang and other places to buy a few prostitutes. After they shaved their heads, put on their robes, sang some songs, and chanted Buddhist mantras, they were very charming. They immediately attracted many gentlemen to gather around them like flies, including many famous scholars.

Liu Huan looked at the city of Changsha outside the window.

The sky was clear and the sun was warm, but the city of Changsha below was grey, as if it was still in a daze and had not yet woken up.

"Manager Ren, you have seen the world and have been to Shanghai. Many people say that Shanghai is like heaven. I don't really believe in all these rumors. There is no such place in the world.

Tell me, what is the difference between our Changsha city and Shanghai city? "

Ren Boan thought for a while and replied: "Shanghai is full of vitality, while here it is full of decadence. There are rich and poor people in Shanghai, but regardless of whether they are rich or poor, almost everyone can see hope. But here, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, no one is willing to look up to see tomorrow."

As they were chatting, four attendants from the Li family stood at the door of Jishidi Hall, keeping the others away. Then four strong women came out and blocked Madam Ru of the Li family inside. She was supported by two maids and walked out of the door of Jishidi Hall and got into the sedan chair.

Ren Boan and Liu Huan immediately stood up, left the teahouse, and went around the alley to the back door of Jishidiang.

There were seven people standing under the courtyard wall. When they saw the two people coming, they immediately bowed and said softly, "I greet the chief steward and the head steward."

Ren Boan nodded to everyone, and then said to Liu Huan: "Let's get started."

Liu Huan nodded and said to his subordinates, "Get to work."

"Yes."

Two people squatted down, and the other two stepped on their shoulders. The two people below slowly stood up, lifted the people on their shoulders to the height of the courtyard wall, then stretched out their hands, hooked the top of the wall, and swiftly climbed in.

After more than ten seconds, the back door was gently opened and everyone walked in quietly.

The four of them led the way, turning east and west in the yard, and soon they were at the middle yard. At this time, a waiter saw them and asked in horror, "Who are you?"

Four guards stepped forward, pressed him against the wall, and showed them their bronze badges.

"Jinyiwei is doing business!"

The man quickly covered his mouth with his hands, fearing that he would make a sound out of shock and be silenced by the Jinyiwei.

The group quickly turned to the middle courtyard, where a scholar in a green robe was walking slowly in from the front courtyard. When he saw them, he was startled. Before he could say anything, two guards came forward and held him on the left and right.

Seeing the Jinyiwei bronze badge shown by the guard, the scholar's face changed several times, and he said with all his strength: "I have not violated the imperial law, what do you want from me?"

Liu Huan looked around and said, "Mr. Tang, let's find a quiet room and talk slowly."

The scholar was none other than Tang Yueliang, the owner of Jishidiang, a famous doctor in central Hunan, nicknamed Tang Yiba.

His Adam's apple moved rapidly a few times, and he pointed to the room next door and said, "Let's talk here."

"it is good!"

Ren Boan, Liu Huan and two other guards carried Tang Yueliang into the room and closed the door. The remaining guards stood at the door like door gods.

"I am Liu Huan, the chief of the Investigation Section of the Hunan Bureau of the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division. This is our chief officer. We are here to see Mr. Tang because we have something to ask you."

Tang Yueliang looked at Ren Boan and Liu Huan in horror, swallowing hard.

"Please ask the two of you."

Ren Boan sat down opposite him and asked calmly, "Just now we saw the former Nanjing Minister of Industry, Shigu Academy Priest, Li Shan, the wife of Master Li, enter your Jishitang.

What is she doing here?"

"To see a doctor. She came to see me for treatment."

"What disease?"

Tang Yueliang hesitated and said nothing.

"I know that if you reveal Madam Li Furu's illness, I'm afraid you will have no business in the future. But I want to remind you, Mr. Tang, if you don't tell me, there will be no future."

Liu Huan cooperated with him and said with a grin, "If others said so, Mr. Tang would definitely be dismissive. But if we, the Jinyiwei, say so, Mr. Tang should believe it, right?"

"Believe it, I believe it!" Tang Yueliang nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"If you trust us, then tell us. We can destroy you, but we can also protect you. Just tell us what you want."

Tang Yueliang wiped the sweat from his forehead and without much hesitation, explained his condition again.

Ren Boan and Liu Huan looked at each other and couldn't help but curse: "Fuck!"

(End of this chapter)