Loyalty in the Time of Tyranny Chapter 5

It was early morning when Adrian Tang arrived at Gusu Prefecture.

At this time of year in Zhaojia Village, the villagers were all working in the fields, and no one was seen on the streets. However, the city was already crowded with people, with vendors selling their wares for breakfast, and peddlers carrying goods from one end of the street to the other.

In a short while, two carriages drove past the brother and sister.

"Man, there are so many cars, so many!"

There wasn't a single carriage seen in Zhaojia Village for a whole month, but the gates of Gusu Palace were filled with carriages and horses.

Adrian Tang: "You probably looked like this when Granny Liu entered the Grand View Garden."

"What Granny Liu, Grand View Garden? What are you talking about?"

"I compliment you on your beauty."

Ivy Don: ...Why don't I believe it?

In ancient times, it was not easy to find a house to live in. Mason Yao had stayed there for a month and was familiar with Gusu Prefecture. He took Adrian Tang to find a manor house dental shop.

Yahang is equivalent to the real estate agency in ancient times, and Yalang is the intermediary agent. In the Song Dynasty, it was illegal to buy and sell houses privately without going to a Yahang.

After looking around for a whole day, Adrian Tang and Tang Juan chose a tiled house with four courtyards. The house was very small, with a kitchen, a main room and a side room. Many of the tiles on the roof were rotten, and there were a few small holes in the wall. The broker asked for three taels of silver a month.

Adrian Tang was not good at bargaining, but fortunately Aunt Yao was there, and he finally settled on two hundred yuan a month, and had to pay a deposit for half a year.

In the blink of an eye, half of the money was gone. The miser Ivy Don was stunned and held on to the purse tightly.

Because there were only two rooms, Adrian Tang asked Mason Yao and himself to sleep in one room, and Tang Juan and Aunt Yao to sleep in another room. Aunt Yao said repeatedly: "This is unacceptable! How can two young masters sleep with us? San'er and I can just go to the side room."

Adrian Tang: "In the sixth year, we teach them numbers and names. In the seventh year, boys and girls do not eat together. Although our family used to have several thatched houses, we had many rooms and everyone had a place to sleep. Now we only have two rooms. Luna Ah is already nine years old. I can't sleep with her anymore."

Aunt Yao said, "How about San'er and I go to the kitchen and make a bed on the floor?"

Ivy Don: "How can that be possible! Aunt Yao, please sleep with me."

Mason Yao: "Mom, we all listen to the young master."

After allocating the rooms, handling the moving, and cleaning the house, Mason Yao approached Adrian Tang: "Young master, I will go to the city tomorrow to see if there is any work to do. I will find a job to supplement the family income."

Adrian Tang said: "What kind of job do you want to find?"

"Guardian. Don't laugh, I'm a rough guy with only a little strength, and I can only do this. They didn't want me before because my mother was there. Now we have a place to live, and I can live with you, my young master, so it's easy for me to find a job as a guard."

"Brother Yao, don't worry, I have something for you to do."

Mason Yao was stunned and asked, "What's the matter? What do you want me to do?"

Adrian Tang thought for a moment: "Do you know where in Gusu Prefecture is the most crowded?"

"Of course it was the Brocade Street in front of the Qingguan that day!"

Gusu Prefecture, Tianqing Temple, Suijin Street.

Tianqing Temple, also known as Xuanmiao Temple, was built during the Western Jin Dynasty under the order of Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan. The most popular temple in the entire Gusu City is not the Hanshan Temple outside the city, nor the Xiyuan Temple inside the city, but Xuanmiao Temple. There is a long street in front of Xuanmiao Temple, named "Tianqing Temple Front Street", which is called Suijin Street by people in Gusu.

Aunt Yao took Ivy Don out to buy some household items and took the little girl shopping, so Adrian Tang and Mason Yao went to Suijin Street.

Mason Yao took Adrian Tang to the most prosperous alleys of Suijin Street, where there were tailor shops selling silk and satin, rice shops, grain shops, wine shops, and various small stalls. At noon, the two sat down in front of a wonton stall. While eating, Mason Yao followed Adrian Tang's instructions and said, "Shopkeeper, your wontons are so delicious that I almost swallowed my tongue. It must be a time-honored brand in Gusu Prefecture."

The wonton vendor smiled and said, "You are a good talker, sir. My wontons are also a specialty in Suijin Street. They have been made since my father's generation, and have been for more than 20 years."

Adrian Tang: "Oh, is this a craft passed down from our ancestors?"

"Of course not. If you go and ask which shop on Suijin Street sells the best wontons, nine out of ten will say mine."

Mason Yao: "You have to pay a lot of revenue every year for this stall, right?" He rubbed his fingers together, "You also have to pay something privately?"

The vendor shook his head, "No way. Ever since Liang Daru became the prefect of Gusu Prefecture, everyone knows that he has always cared for the people. Those hooligans on the street have long since dared not bully us. As long as we pay the government a fixed fee, we will be protected by the government." He spitted, "Who dares to act so presumptuously in Gusu Prefecture? You are from other places, right? Gusu Prefecture is different from other places."

Adrian Tang: "We are from Wu County."

"No wonder, our Gusu Mansion is doing well."

After eating a bowl of wontons, Adrian Tang and the other man put down the money and left. Mason Yao calculated, "Young Master, the money collected by Gusu Mansion is not much, but we only have 15 taels left. After buying various household items, I don't know how much will be left. Gusu Mansion has no fruit trees, and we have to buy fruit from others to make fruit juice, which is a considerable expense."

"Who said we were going to make fruit juice?"

Mason Yao was stunned: "What to do then?"

The two stood in the center of the bustling Suijin Street, and Adrian Tang said, "Brother Yao, do you see any difference between Gusu Mansion and Zhaojia Village?"

Mason Yao looked around for a long time and said, "There are a lot more people here than in Zhaojia Village, and there are even more people selling things."

"Gusufu has osmanthus lotus wine and Jinling Bamboo Leaf Green wine from Jinling. There are seven or eight shops selling these two kinds of wine on Suijin Street alone. Zhaojia Village doesn't have much wine, only homemade rice wine, and anything more is just a cup of cold tea. Villagers can't drink anything tasty. Our fruit juice is fine in Zhaojia Village, but in Gusufu, it will be squeezed out of Gusufu and moved back to Zhaojia Village before it has been sold for a month."

"What should I do?"

Adrian Tang and Mason Yao walked slowly on Suijin Street. Adrian Tang looked carefully at the vendors on both sides. His eyes lit up: "Brother Yao, you are from the north, can you make pancakes?"

At night, the family returned to the house, and Adrian Tang arranged for Mason Yao to buy some buckwheat noodles, black rice noodles, mung bean noodles, and some flour the next day. He asked Aunt Yao to take some money and go to Suijin Street to have a look, eat, and taste the flavors of Suzhou people.

Ivy Don said happily: "I will go with Aunt Yao."

Who wouldn't want to take money and eat on the street?

Adrian Tang said calmly: "You come with me."

Ivy Don: "Ah?"

"We're going to visit relatives."

Tang Juan didn't understand Adrian Tang's meaning at first, and subconsciously said, "How can we have any relatives in Gusu Prefecture?" After a while, she reacted and hurriedly said, "You, you really want to visit relatives? When my father was alive, he said he would starve to death and would not go. Why did you go!"

Adrian Tang looked at her: "So our father is gone. Boss Tang, do you want to starve to death too?"

Ivy Don: ...

After a while, the little girl muttered: "How could we starve to death?"

Adrian Tang touched his sister's head and said, "We have no hatred, so why don't we visit relatives?"

The mother and son of the Yao family looked on in bewilderment. Before coming to Gusu Mansion, they had never heard Adrian Tang say that the two siblings had relatives in Gusu Mansion. In fact, even Ivy Don had forgotten that he had such a relative.

Adrian Tang and Tang Juan's father, Tang Xiucai, was actually from Gusu Prefecture.

Two months ago, Liang Daru asked Adrian Tang if he was related to Tang Juren's family in the west of Gusu Prefecture. Adrian Tang only said that they were distant relatives. In fact, they were not distant relatives at all. Adrian Tang's father and Tang Juren were brothers. It's just that one was born of a legitimate wife and the other was born of a Concub!ne.

Tang Xiucai's mother died early, and he was raised by his stepmother since he was a child, so he was considered half-legitimate. The Tang family was a family of scholars, and the family was well-off. Although they were not rich, they were also a family of poetry and etiquette. The stepmother had an average relationship with Tang Xiucai, but she would not let him down, and he had been attending classes in the private school at home since he was a child.

Tang Xiucai was very smart since he was young. Because his mother died early, he was very competitive and felt that he was born out of wedlock and was ashamed. Fortunately, he worked hard and passed the imperial examination at the age of 14, which was considered a great honor for the family. The Tang family had high hopes for him and thought that he could at least pass the imperial examination. However, he failed the imperial examination four times since then.

The fourth time, it was his eldest brother, who was not very smart when he was young, who passed the examination for a scholar in his thirties and became a juren the following year.

Tang Xiucai was so angry that he fell ill. After he recovered, he took his family to his wife's hometown, Zhaojia Village, and vowed that he would never return to the Tang family until he passed the imperial examination.

Within two years, Adrian Tang's mother died. A few years later, Adrian Tang, a scholar, also died of illness before he passed the imperial examination.

When Adrian Tang and Tang Juan were young, they often heard Tang Xiucai complaining about the injustice of heaven, that they did not pass the imperial examination, but their stupid brother did, so the two siblings hated the Tang family since they were young. After traveling through time, Adrian Tang did not care. According to his memory, although Tang Xiucai always complained about the Tang family, he only complained about the brother who passed the imperial examination, and had no opinion on others.

A son should not speak of his father's faults. Only the parties involved know the details of what happened back then. Tang Xiucai has already passed away.

Adrian Tang thought: Dad, I am also your son. I will take my sister to eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks in the future, and I promise not to embarrass you. Finally, he added silently: So tomorrow we will go to the Tang family, please don’t be angry in your spirit in heaven.

After saying this, Adrian Tang looked up at the sky: "If there is no lightning, I will take it as your consent."

Ivy Don happened to be passing by the yard holding a pillow. When the girl heard this, her mouth twitched and she also looked up at the sky.

How could there be lightning on such a sunny day? Is there really something wrong with my brother's brain?

Before he could take his eyes off the night sky, Ivy Don suddenly saw a star falling from the sky and heading north. The little girl had never seen such a thing before, and she was so scared that she threw away her pillow and hugged Adrian Tang's arm: "Brother, what is that, what is that, did you see it, the star fell!"

Of course Adrian Tang saw it. He was just talking to the dead Tang Xiucai in his mind when suddenly a shooting star appeared. Adrian Tang was also frightened and thought: This can't be Tang Xiucai scolding me.

He relaxed and silently recited the Eight Honors and Eight Shames and the Scientific Outlook on Development. He was a materialist and did not believe in these monsters and demons.

"That's called a shooting star."

Ivy Don asked, "Shooting star?"

"A meteor is an astronomical phenomenon. The Earth we are on right now... well, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. Anyway, you should know that a meteor is normal. It's just a star that happens to pass by us and you just happen to see it. Some stars will meet us regularly, for example, there is a star called Halley, which is a comet that will meet us every 76 years."

Ivy Don seemed to understand what he said, but Mason Yao said, "Young master has been educated, so he knows a lot."

Aunt Yao: "That's right. Scholars are different from us."

It was too difficult to explain to Ivy Don what a meteor was, so Adrian Tang gave him a perfunctory explanation and went back to his room to sleep.

At the same time, in the capital of the Song Dynasty, Shengjing.

The royal palace is majestic and the inner court is strict.

In the pitch-black night, a team of armored guards holding long spears stepped on the bluestone slabs with their feet, making a clattering sound. In the palace, there was silence. Apart from the patrolling guards, only a magnificent palace was still dimly lit.

The light flickered, and suddenly a gust of wind blew, turning it into darkness.

A scream was heard from inside the house.

"Someone, come quickly, light this longevity lamp for me!"

In an instant, two little boys in Taoist robes ran into the hall, hunched over, and came to a row of long bronze lamps. A closer look revealed that the lights were not extinguished, but had been blown away to leave only a few sparks.

The little boy was so frightened that his face turned pale, his legs trembled, and he lit the nine immortal lamps tremblingly.

In the golden brick carved beams, an old man in a white Taoist robe and with a long beard suddenly let out a long sigh of relief. He walked anxiously to the longevity lamps, staring at the nine lamps with an obsessed look.

"What was that wind like just now?"

The two children fell to their knees and said, "Your Majesty, spare us!"

The old man had a fair face, thin eyes and prominent eyebrows. He looked at the two children quietly with deep eyes. He was silent for a moment, but before he could speak, a voice came from outside the house: "Your Majesty, the director of the Imperial Observatory is reporting!"

The Song Emperor Zhao Fu paused and said, "Announce."

Li Xiaoren, the director of the Imperial Observatory, walked into the hall quickly. He kept his head down and didn't dare to look up. Li Xiaoren saw two children kneeling on the ground from the corner of his eye, and cursed in his heart. He had hurried over since he heard that the longevity lamp was extinguished, but he was still a step too late. The two children were his favorite disciples. They thought it was a good job to serve the emperor and guard the longevity lamp, but they didn't expect to encounter such a disaster.

Wearing a Tai Chi Bagua official robe and a colorful pheasant tail in his hair, Li Xiaoren knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, a star as big as a peach fell from the Purple Palace, entered Taiwei, and was above the Emperor Star. It pressed down on the southeast and passed through the 22 stars of Tianshiyuan. It is a disaster from heaven, which may endanger the hundred-year-old society of our Great Song Dynasty!"

Zhao Fubai's thin face showed a look of panic. He took two quick steps and then stopped: "Tell me in detail."

Li Xiaoren recounted the incident of the meteor in detail again, and then said, "Your Majesty, the meteor stopped above the Emperor Star and disappeared without a trace. I'm afraid something unexpected has happened."

"Why?"

How could he know why? This falling star came inexplicably, starting from the south and sinking into the north. Could it be that there was going to be some kind of chaos in the south? Was there a rebel party interfering in the government?

Li Xiaoren suddenly thought of someone. He lied with his eyes open: "This star fell through the twenty-two stars of Tianshiyuan and sank into Ziwei. It disappeared quietly and invisible. It must have been hiding for many years. I observed the stars at night. The Emperor Star of Ziwei was as bright as the sun. The emperor's power was prosperous and there was no impact in the past twenty years. I think this evil star has been subdued by your majesty long ago. It has been dormant by your majesty's side for many years. Recently, there are signs of revival."

Zhao Fu narrowed his eyes: "Subdued by me, dormant for many years... revival?"

Li Xiaoren gritted his teeth and reminded him: "Your Majesty, you must uproot the grass."

Zhao Fu looked at Li Xiaoren quietly. Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. Li Xiaoren held his breath, like a child, not daring to breathe.

"My dear, he has been in prison for twenty-four years."

Li Xiaoren prostrated himself and said, "I am stupid and don't know what your majesty is talking about."

Zhao Fu said impatiently: "I know, go down."

"I will take my leave."

Li Xiaoren trembled as he climbed up from the ground. Before he could stand still, he heard Zhao Fu say calmly, "Drag those two away and chop them off."

The two children shouted: "Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please spare my life!"

Li Xiaoren shuddered and left without blinking.

Leaving the emperor's bedroom, Li Xiaoren wiped the sweat off his forehead. He only heard two screams from the back of the palace. Li Xiaoren pretended not to hear them and left the palace calmly.

Jiangnan, Gusu Prefecture.

Knowing that he was going back to the Tang family, Ivy Don was curious and nervous. The little girl put on the new dress that she and Aunt Yao bought on the street yesterday, which attracted Adrian Tang to take a few more glances.

Ivy Don said shyly, "What are you looking at?"

Adrian Tang teased, "Look, my sister is not wearing a cloth skirt or a linen shirt. It turns out she is a beautiful girl. I used to think she was a country girl."

...

"Tang, Shen!!!"

The brother and sister set out to go to Tang Juren's house in the west of Gusu Prefecture. Before they left the house, Adrian Tang said, "I almost forgot about that."

After a while, he took something out of the house. Ivy Don didn't see it clearly, but he saw it was a post.

The brother and sister went out and headed towards Mr. Tang's home, west of Gusu City.