Of course, the name of the inn was not really Room Inn. They spent a night there. Ning Que and Sangsang rubbed their eyes and yawned as they walked out of the door of the inn. They did not remember the name of the inn.
They found a kind-looking old woman on the street and asked for directions. Then they walked toward the South City. They asked for directions again and again through the alleys and streets, and finally saw two big locust trees.
From the moment they saw the locust trees, memories that should have been vague but were actually very clear flooded into Ning Que's mind. He closed his eyes and thought for a while, and then walked over with Sangsang.
There was a quiet alley between the two big locust trees. It was wide enough for a horse carriage to pass, but it did not look luxurious. There was no sound coming from the houses on both sides of the street. Many towering trees stretched out from the walls of the courtyards, covering the heads of people in twos and threes. The trees covered the spring sunshine and gave the place a cool shade.
They walked to the middle of the alley and saw two mansions facing each other. The stone lion on the right side of the steps was very clean, with no obvious dust or fallen leaves on it. The red door was tightly shut, and the brass ring was silent.
On the other hand, the one on the left was in a much more dilapidated state. The paint on the door was peeling off, and the two seals were floating weakly in the wind. There was only one stone lion left, and the other one had been moved somewhere. Even the one that was left was already dilapidated. It was missing an ear and a claw, and the back of the pedestal was covered in black mud that somewhat resembled congealed blood.
Ning Zhiyong looked at the broken stone lion in front of him, and remembered the time when he played with Xiaoshun beside the lion when they were young, and then they were punished by the adults in the mansion. Then they walked through the alley, and he seemed to see the scene when he bravely ran away from home with the little guy to avoid the teacher's wooden board when he was four years old.
Sangsang's eyes moved back and forth between the two doors and Ning Que's face. She felt that he was gloomy and sad at the moment. She did not know why, but she also felt sad and felt that the wind in the alley was a little cold.
That dilapidated yard was the mansion of the former Xuanwei General, Lin Guangyuan. In the first year of the Tianqi era, when the emperor was inspecting the Southern Swamp, a case of treason broke out in Chang 'an. The prince personally presided over the trial, with the Prime Minister and other ministers watching from the side. In the end, Lin Guangyuan was convicted of treason, and the whole Lin family was executed.
This case had long been treated as an ironclad case, and no one in the imperial court thought of reversing the verdict. Even if some people remembered the incident, they would occasionally think of the servants and stewards who should not have died. They would feel sorry for them and hate Lin Guangyuan even more. This man had committed a heinous crime. Not only had he caused his own death, but he had also implicated so many innocent people.
In the ten years after the General's Mansion was taken back by the imperial court, it had been bestowed several times. However, when the officials who received the bestowment heard that it was a dangerous place, they all politely declined. There were many large mansions in Chang 'an, so they were not afraid of not having a place to live. However, as a result, this mansion had long been empty in this street, and it had become more and more dilapidated.
When walking through the gate of the General's Mansion, Ning Que's eyes flashed with sadness, and no other strange emotions could be seen on his face. He did not stop, and even his footsteps did not slow down. He was still walking as usual, so Sangsang, who was carrying the big black umbrella, had to keep up with him as usual. The big black umbrella bounced off the little girl's back and then fell back, making a "pa" sound like a drum that represented the passage of time.
The two of them walked calmly through the long alley, between the vermilion door and the broken door. They were like two ordinary tourists who had mistakenly entered a street in Chang 'an in spring.
…
…
"No one wants that haunted house, but the house opposite is very popular. Why? Back then, the Xuanwei General and the Minister of Counsel lived opposite each other. The Xuanwei General's entire family was executed, but the Minister of Counsel rose to the top and is now a scholar of the Imperial Library. How many fourth and fifth-ranked officials would want to take advantage of the mansion he once lived in? "
At the corner of a restaurant at the end of the street, Ning Que and Sangsang sat at a small table in the corner, quietly eating dishes and drinking porridge, but listening to the idle chatter of the old neighbors. For these old neighbors who had lived in the neighborhood for decades, or even generations, the most worthwhile things for them to talk about were naturally the treason case of the General's Mansion and the path of the Official of Counsel. They did not get tired of talking about these things every day, which suited the master and servant's wishes.
"Speaking of Scholar Zeng Jing, he was just a Official of Counsel back then, but then he suddenly rose rapidly. There's a wonderful thing about this, I wonder if you've heard of it?"
"Back then, this matter was so big that even the Palace made a statement. Who in this market hasn't heard of it?"
A middle-aged man shook his head and said sarcastically, "A dignified Official of Counsel married a fierce wife. The wife of the legal wife, out of jealousy, even tried to hurt the concubine's belly. That's not surprising. As a result, the concubine went through all kinds of hardships to give birth, and she still wanted to hurt the poor child. In the end, if the palace didn't issue an order, who knows what would have happened in the mansion."
"You only know that the palace issued an order, but do you know who did it?" The man who spoke earlier sneered and bowed toward the north of Chang 'an City. "Let me tell you, it was the Empress Saint Emperor who flew into a rage after knowing about this. She personally wrote a letter to Lord Zeng Jing, ordering him to discipline his wife."
"Her Majesty …"
The people who were drinking at the table looked at each other and smiled knowingly. Everyone in the world knew that the Tang Empire had an extremely great Empress who was deeply loved and trusted by His Majesty. She even had the power to read memorials and judge officials. However, this Empress was just a very ordinary concubine in the palace. In the words of the common people, she was His Majesty's concubine, and later remarried and became the legal wife.
With such a background, everyone could guess the reason why the Empress was so concerned about the affairs of the Official of Counsel's Mansion and was so angry because the Official's wife abused his concubine and murdered her child.
"Lord Zeng Jing's legal wife was born in a prominent family in Qinghe Prefecture, and it was precisely because of this that he had been tolerating her. However, he didn't expect that the cowardly civil official in the eyes of others could be so ruthless! After the Empress's letter was sent to the Mansion, Lord Zeng Jing gathered his family that very night and publicly beat three stewards who murdered his concubine's child. Then he sent his wife back to Qinghe Prefecture with two slaps and a small sedan chair. He divorced his wife so cleanly! "
"Speaking of which, the reason why the Official was so decisive back then was probably because he had no choice but to protect himself under the Empress's power. However, he didn't expect that he would do it so cleanly that he won the favor of the Empress. She felt that he was a useful person, and because of some other reasons, the Official was able to become an official and is now in the Imperial Library! It is said that fortune and misfortune come hand in hand, but who would dare to imagine that having a fierce wife who killed his concubine and son would eventually lead to a man's official career? "
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