(Three chapters, 17,000 words. The next chapter will be around noon.)
The spring rain in Great Peace City had just stopped, and the entire capital seemed to have become much cleaner. No matter how noisy the court was, that was the business of the officials. The common people had to eat and sleep, and most of them had to obediently live their days of waking up early and sleeping late. However, there were some who had nothing to do. However, these people who had been belittled as playboys were also divided into three, six, and nine classes. Those who had the ability to play with courtesans were the first class. Those who played with famous horses and antiques were the second class. Those who were slightly worse off would go play with handmade walnuts. At the very least, they would get a few fish and insects to keep up appearances. However, there was a young man who lived in a shabby alley in the southwest corner of the capital. He was completely out of class. However, since he lived in an alley where the common people lived, it would be strange if he could play with good things. If he wasn't reincarnated well, then he had to accept his fate, right? This young man was like the other common people in the capital with the surname Zhang. He had been given one of the most famous surnames in Li Yang, but he couldn't have any great prospects. He didn't do any proper business all day. Other than borrowing money and drinking with women, he only knew how to wander around aimlessly with a pigeon whistle. He couldn't even afford to raise a decent pigeon. If this was in Great Peace City, it would be called that you had to pay attention to the poor even if your face was swollen. Even the poor people who didn't pay attention to anything were disdainful. Zhang Bian Guan was this kind of prodigal that everyone looked down on. In the eyes of the neighbors, this guy was lucky that he had accumulated some good fortune in an unknown lifetime to be able to marry a beautiful wife. Zhang Bian Guan never knew how to be content. He still refused to stay at home and roll in the sheets with his wife. He only knew how to run outside every day, leaving early and returning late, going out empty-handed and returning home empty-handed. As time went on, even the kind-hearted old neighbors gradually became too lazy to pay attention to him. Not long ago, Zhang Bian Guan seemed to have been beaten by someone. His nose was badly bruised and his face was swollen. It had only gone down in the past few days, but he was still laughing and joking around. He greeted everyone he met with a smile, calling uncle and aunt attentively, not caring if other people paid attention to him or not.
As the weather got hotter and hotter, Zhang Bian Guan wore cooler and cooler clothes. The time Zhang Bian Guan spent away from home also grew longer and longer. After all, the capital was so big, how could there be a lack of young women on the streets? As dusk approached, Zhang Bian Guan wandered back to Squinty Street not far away. He heard the sudden and melodious chirping of pigeons above his head. He habitually raised his head and smiled. There was an old pigeon bell wrapped in green silk on his wrist. He had been playing with it all year round. He just stared blankly at the sky with narrowed eyes. For so many years, he had been ridiculed as someone who couldn't even eat leftovers and step on dog shit. No one knew what he was thinking. Anyway, no one was interested. Those who had a general understanding of his temperament only knew that this useless coward probably still wanted to play, but he didn't dare to accompany the rich to play in those high-class snowy places. In the end, he could only look at those dead things that didn't cost money. The colorful attics, the gray and unknown alleys, the Chongwu Gate that brought soldiers, the Chaoyang Gate that brought grain, the Dingshan Gate that brought wine, and the stone qilin that squatted on the drum tower for a few years after Li Yang established the dynasty. The chirping of the pigeons drifting in the sky began and ended. Zhang Bian Guan reluctantly withdrew his gaze, feeling that it was still early and not yet time to go home. After thinking for a while, he ran to the side of the Lock Dragon Well on Squinting Street and squatted beside it. This ancient well had been dry for a long time. Beside the well, there was a judge made of yellow mud bricks. According to the rumors in the marketplace, Li Yang suppressed the water in the world with fire. This clay statue was as tall as a person, sitting with its chest and stomach exposed, and laughing with its mouth open. Every mid-autumn, the common people would add firewood to the fire, and flames and smoke would rush out from the mouth and nose of the clay judge.
Zhang Bian Guan squatted beside the well as usual at the foot of the clay statue, occasionally raising his sleeve to wipe the corner of his mouth. A few days ago, he was beaten up quite badly by a group of people. They probably mistakenly thought that Zhang Bian Guan's father was about to lose his power and that it was time to teach this bastard a lesson that disgraced the aristocratic families of the capital a lesson. However, after satisfying his craving with punches and kicks, he discovered that the weather in the Liyang imperial court was still the same. This brat's father was even more ruthless for the first time, beating up a large group of people until they cried for their parents. As a result, the people who relied on these groups of people to eat and drink immediately hid. They didn't even have the guts to apologize to Zhang Bian Guan. Later, they trembled in fear for a good half of the day, and didn't even wait for the slightest bit of revenge. Only then did they all let out a collective sigh of relief. They gathered together and increasingly mocked this person surnamed Zhang for being a big piece of trash. He had a father that they couldn't even pray for even if they burned incense and prayed to Buddha. He didn't know how to use the tiger's skin to enjoy his life. He deserved to be treated like a pile of rotten dog shit that even stepping on would dirty his shoes.
Zhang Bian Guan's only strong point was that his mind wandered thousands of miles away. When he suddenly discovered that there was an elegant young man beside him, he glanced at him and didn't say anything. After waiting for a long time, he finally smiled and asked, "You really didn't come to beat me to vent your anger?"
The scholar-like scholar smiled and shook his head. "How would I dare to beat up the son of the Grand Secretary? Besides, if we really fought, I wouldn't be your match. Why would I bring shame to myself? Even if you didn't fight back and let me beat and scold you, I would still be treated as an amusing fool by you. "
Zhang Bian Guan made a sound of surprise. "So you're actually a sensible person? You're not from the capital, are you? With your eyesight, if you're from the capital, you wouldn't even come to see me. "
The scholar asked, "You admit that you're a smart person?"
Zhang Bian Guan sneered and said self-deprecatingly, "I'm considered a smart person? Then what would my father be? "
The scholar nodded and said, "That's right."
Zhang Bian Guan lay on the mouth of the well and gazed at the dark and bottomless mouth of the well. He no longer paid attention to this unknown scholar who was boring once he understood things.
The scholar leaned against the mouth of the well and said faintly, "I know you like to see the scheming and scheming in the palaces and pavilions because they only complement each other. Compared to the harm between people, they are much more amiable and lovable. I also know that when you left the Zhang fu to set up your own household, you planted a peach tree at home. The people of Great Peace City all like to have trees in their yards. Pomegranates that give birth to many children, jujube trees that give birth early, persimmon trees are also common, but there are no peach trees because the character for peach sounds like "escape" and is inauspicious. Great Peace City is the root of Li Yang. If the tree is moved, it will die. Where can the people of Li Yang escape to without Great Peace City? You, Zhang Bian Guan, are not stupid. You planted it for your father, but your father, the Grand Secretary of Li Yang, ignored it. He did not escape, so you, as his son, can only continue to stay in Great Peace City and wait for death. Hopefully, in the future, you can at least send him off. It would be even better if you could drink at the Qingming Festival. "
Zhang Bian Guan calmly made an "oh" sound and continued to look at the mouth of the well.
The scholar smiled slightly and said, "You must have guessed that I am that Sun Yin who came from Beiliang to ask Tantanon for an official position."
Zhang Bian Guan turned his head. "Sun Yin, is it? Then tell me, what exactly is that stone qilin on the drum tower silently watching the world for hundreds of years waiting for? "
Sun Yin had already quietly entered the Secretariat and successfully attached himself to the towering tree that was Tantanon. Although he was just a small official, since he had entered Master Huan's discerning eye, wasn't his meteoric rise just around the corner? The few people who understood understood this point long ago, but the vast majority of muddle-headed people would not remain muddle-headed. Sun Yin met the blue-eyed young son's gaze and shook his head. "How would I know what a stone qilin is waiting for? In any case, it's not waiting for the wind to blow and the smoke of war. In the end, the people are in a terrible situation. If it's only exchanged for people wearing dragon robes, is it fun?"
Zhang Bian Guan laughed and stroked his stubbled chin. "It's not fun."
Zhang Bian Guan sat shoulder to shoulder with Sun Yin. He stretched his neck, exhaled, and then inhaled again. Only then did he chuckle and raise his wrist to show Sun Yin the simple and unadorned pigeon bell. He said, "In the past, I received a pigeon as a gift from someone. It's a first-class item, black with a hint of purple. Compared to the King of Beiliang, Hsu Fengnian's falcon, the price is not much different. At the time, my father had not yet become the Grand Secretary, only a third-rank official. My father came to find me, but he didn't scold me. You should know what kind of person my father is. Scolding others would be flattering you. Other than Master Huan, he has almost never scolded anyone in his life. He asked me, 'This pigeon is my father's current net worth. What kind of thing are you, Zhang Bian Guan, to be worth this price? Are you stupid, or are you really stupid? ' That year, I was fourteen years old. In a fit of anger, I returned the pigeon to someone. That person, in front of me, said with a smile that he didn't have the habit of taking back gifts. Afterwards, he used his hand to strangle the pigeon to death. En, he was the current Crown Prince, His Highness, Zhao Zhuan. From that day onwards, I swore that I would never mix with these people again. I would rather listen to the creaking sounds of small doors opening than listen to them flattering each other. I would rather look at those dead objects that no one cares about than look at those children of influential families whose farts can be sold as gold and silver. Over time, no one liked to take me out to play. I was also happy to be alone in peace. "
When his father, Zhang Julu, was mentioned, Zhang Bian Guan couldn't help but sink into contemplation.
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