The Book of Raising Children by Houmen

Chapter 210 Going to the Teahouse to Listen to Books (2)
"The guest officer is right. It's a pity that Zhulei Madam, who is so beautiful, left early. I think back then..." The storyteller paused at this point, and continued with a smile: " I think back then when I was still storytelling in the capital, I heard that she gave birth to a baby girl on the day the Li Dynasty broke down the palace, but it was a pity that the one who rescued her from the palace that day was the eldest princess of the previous dynasty. Although she was young, she was cruel , and threw the baby away."

"Is that eldest princess the princess of the current regent, the one who died a month ago?"

"It's her..." The storyteller gritted his teeth, his eyebrows frowned suddenly, and a guest below threw melons and fruit shells at him, and said with a smile: "You old man, no wonder I never heard you talk about tears before." Madam’s story, I was originally afraid that someone would settle accounts with you, but now that the eldest princess of the previous dynasty is also dead, are you not afraid?”

The storyteller smiled obsequiously, put away the fan and stuck it in his back, and cupped his hands towards the guests: "Guests, if you think the old man's book is good, you can reward me with more money!"

Xu Si'an took out an ingot of broken silver from his purse, threw it down from the second floor, and landed firmly in the copper basin in front of the storyteller's table.Chang Geng led the storyteller up to the second floor, led him to Xu Si'an, and said, "My master has a few words to ask you."

The storyteller took a look at Xu Si'an, he had been in Wenqu Teahouse all these years, he had never seen anyone, and he could see Xu Si'an's extraordinary identity with just one glance.He heard that the [-] troops sent by the capital had been stationed outside the city, did he meet some noble person today?
"Whatever the grown-ups have to say, the little ones know everything."

Xu Si'an raised his right hand to caress his chin, turned his head and looked at him intently, and said, "You said that the baby girl born to Mrs. Zhulei was discarded by the princess regent. What proof do you have?"

"This..." The storyteller's back felt a little chilled after hearing this. Most of the listeners were just curious about the secrets of the royal family. How many of them were so inquisitive? He smiled obsequiously at Xu Si'an Laughing, shrunk his neck and said: "This... the little one doesn't know, the little one also heard it from hearsay, how can I know this..."

Before he finished speaking, Xu Si'an turned his head and snorted coldly: "What a know-it-all, if you really don't want to talk, I'll check the records of the inner government when I go back to Beijing, and I'll know where you come from." of."

Xu Si'an could tell from the moment he entered the door that this person had a white face, a thin body, and a difficult voice. He was obviously an eunuch, and Dayong, apart from the imperial palace, where would there be such a person?From his age of fifty or so, it can be deduced that he must be the former eunuch who escaped from the imperial city in chaos when the previous dynasty broke down the palace.

"My lord, spare me!" Seeing that it was difficult to conceal his identity, the storyteller had no choice but to confess, "Slave... This slave is indeed an eunuch from the previous dynasty, and she was also the eunuch next to Mrs. Zhulei. When the palace was broken, the regent The princess was invited to enter the palace to meet Mrs. Zhulei, but the lady was pregnant with Liujia and had difficulty moving, so the servants worked together to send the lady to the carriage. Later, when the carriage reached Gulou Street, the lady finally gave birth to a baby girl, but at that time The city is full of soldiers and generals, and there are rebels killing people everywhere, so the eldest princess asked the slaves to abandon the baby girl..."

"You lost that child?" Xu Si'an raised his eyes and asked.

"It was lost by the slave. After the slave was lost, he felt ashamed to face his wife, so he didn't go back. Later, when he met the prince and went out of the city, the slave fled to the south with the prince. The prince was hunted all the way, and the slave was afraid of death. He escaped quietly and has been wandering around in Jinling City." The storyteller couldn't help but shed tears when he said this, and said with trembling shoulders: "Ms. Zhulei's kindness to this servant is as great as a mountain, but this servant still treats me like a mountain." I gave birth to her child. When I returned to the capital a few years ago, the slave went to the vicinity of Gulou Street to inquire, but no one knew the whereabouts of the child. The slave only remembered that there was a butterfly-like birthmark on her arm, but the eldest girl’s family, Who can see these things, even if they have, they dare not say, besides, they don't know whether they are dead or alive..."

Xu Si'an didn't know why, but he listened patiently to the end. He turned his head and looked down from the window on the second floor, and the two little beggars who followed him all the way had disappeared.Xu Si'an got up, asked Chang Geng to hand the storyteller a silver coin, and said, "In the future, it's better not to bring these things to the teahouse. The regent princess is dead, but the remnants of the previous dynasty are still alive."

He stood up and went down from the second floor briskly all the way. Outside the door was the bustling Jinling alley, surrounded by vendors doing business. Xu Si'an stopped in front of a jewelry stall while walking.

The boss sells jade hairpins in the shape of jasmine flowers, carved out of sapphire, white jade, hibiscus jade, and jadeite to look like jasmine flowers.Xu Si'an instantly thought of Zhao Jing, her skin was fair and greasy, her eyes were bright, and she was always dressed in an elegant and clean style. If she wore such a hairpin, she would definitely look even more beautiful!

"Guest officer, do you want to buy jewelry for the little lady at home? The jasmine jade hairpins in Jinling City are the best sellers. What color does the little lady like?"

The boss came forward to greet her enthusiastically, but Xu Si'an was stumped. What color does she like?He really doesn't know...

(End of this chapter)