Zhou Gu thought that his grandfather sent Cui Xingzhi to Nanchu to help him at the most critical moment when Su Rong was seizing power and when the civil strife in Nanchu was most disadvantageous to them. This was a gamble to give his grandson a way out for the Cui family.
Now that he has won the bet, will he only let his two little cousins establish themselves in Nanchu? Are you really not coming?
I really can’t say for sure.
So Zhou Gu thought about it and wrote a letter. Early the next morning, he sent someone to rush to Cui Family in Qinghe to Cui Gong.
Cui Xingzhi and Ning Ze did not dare to delay along the way. They traveled day and night. Although Cui Xingzhi was tired, he could still hold on, but Ning Ze couldn't stand it anymore. He was not as good as Cui Xingzhi and had excellent martial arts skills. , his three-legged cat's kung fu was something he didn't even appreciate. Now he was traveling day and night, and when he was about to reach the royal capital, he was almost exhausted.
Seeing that there were still a hundred miles left, Cui Xingzhi thought it would be good to take a rest. Otherwise, even if they returned one day earlier, they would be too tired to get out of bed. They might as well rest all night on the road.
So he said to Ning Ze: "Brother Ning Ze, let's find an inn to stay at today! Have a good night's rest and start again early tomorrow morning."
Ning Zebai had a sad face and said weakly: "I can still walk."
"Forget it, just rest for one night." Cui Xingzhi got off his horse and said, "We have arrived three days earlier than expected. Do you want us to fall down after we return to the royal capital?"
Ning Ze didn't want to, so he dismounted weakly, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
The two of them stayed at the inn.
The inn was very lively. There were several tables of people sitting in the lobby. They were discussing the eunuch's regency and dealing with several difficult matters. When the waiter saw another guest coming, he quickly welcomed them in and asked about their accommodation. We quickly arranged two guest rooms.
Cui Xingzhi stretched out his hand to help Ning Ze, who was walking weakly, and went up the stairs. He asked the boy to bring hot water for bathing, and then brought the food to the room. They stopped going down to eat.
The boy agreed repeatedly and went quickly.
The room in the inn was not soundproofed, and the discussion downstairs could be heard faintly.
Ning Ze sat weakly on the table drinking tea, "Brother Xing, don't you dislike me? You actually asked for two rooms? One guest room is enough for the two of us. It's such a waste."
Cui Xingzhi shook his head and said, "Brother Ning, you are too worried. I have been traveling for so long because I want you to have a good rest. You can sleep on a big bed by yourself. After all, it is not short of these two taels of silver."
Ning Ze said "Oh", "I almost forgot, you are the direct son of the Cui family in Qinghe. It is said that your clan is very particular about raising children from an early age. You have to burn incense and bathe when you talk about playing the piano. You can also enjoy the moon. I want to take a bath with incense, eh...", he sighed, "I used to be very particular about it, although not to the point of being so refined or even harsh, but I still drank the morning dew in the morning and ate in the evening breeze. Now give me a haystack. I could use a night’s sleep too.”
Cui Xingzhi smiled.
The boy quickly brought a bathtub and put a bucket of water in one room.
Cui Xingzhi went back to his room to take a shower. Thinking of what Ning Ze said, he smiled again, then stopped smiling and sighed. He was a little homesick. I wonder if his grandfather received his letter. My cousin is getting married. I don't know if my grandfather has received it. Whether to send someone to watch the ceremony.
After Ning Ze took a bath and regained some strength, he listened to the constant discussion downstairs. It seemed that they were talking about spring planting, saying that the people were now worried about the seeds for this spring's cultivation. I wonder if the court would have any solution. We can't watch the people starve to death without anything to plant, right?
Ning Ze wondered, "Are the people short of seeds?" "Yes, there was a large amount of military pay sent to the front line twice in a month. Brother Qin Ruo said that the seeds were raised and borrowed from many people in counties and counties, because there were no There is nothing we can do about stocking up on food.”
Ning Ze felt a little worried when he heard this, "It's a lot for soldiers and horses to chew for a month."
Cui Xingzhi nodded, "Spring planting and farming are also within the responsibilities of the household department. My cousin must be very worried when he goes to the household department."
Ning Ze immediately speeded up his meal, "Let's eat quickly and rest as soon as possible after eating. We will go back early tomorrow morning and try to get up and go to the household department normally."
He knew that when he and Cui Xingzhi came back, they would first go to the Ministry of Husbandry to help Zhou Gu and take care of a lot of things in the Ministry of Husbandry. They would then decide whether to stay in the Ministry of Husbandry or go to another department.
Cui Xingzhi nodded.
The two had a good night's sleep. Early the next morning, Ning Ze had regained some of his energy. The two rode horses without stopping on the road. At ten o'clock at noon, they arrived at the capital of Nanchu.
Ning Ze looked at the city wall of the capital of Nanchu and almost cried, "We are finally here, and this will be our home from now on. Never thought that I would come to Nanchu to be an official."
Cui Xingzhi had never thought before that although he left the family, he was not without relatives here. He had cousins and younger cousins here. Although his grandfather asked his opinion when he came to Nanchu, it was still his own decision. So far, No regrets.
From now on, I have taken root here, and the four characters of Cui family in Qinghe have been embedded in this land.
After entering the royal capital, Ning Ze asked, "It seems we have a house given by the king?"
"Yes. There is Ning Mansion and Cui Mansion, which seems to be in Xicheng." Cui Xingzhi received a letter from his younger cousin, saying that their two mansions are adjacent to each other, very close to each other, which is very good. He has already lived in it and made people According to his previous house, I helped him repair and change it.
Since ancient times, the palaces and courtyards where the royal capital is located have been said to be rich in the east, noble in the west, poor in the south, and humble in the north. Xicheng is a noble place, and the residences of officials above fifth rank are all in Xicheng. Dongcheng is home to a small number of mansions for officials lower than the fifth rank, and most of them are wealthy.
“Let’s go back to the house first, and then go to the Hubu Department for a massage?” Ning Ze felt that he was not tired anymore, so he could go to the Hubu Department in the afternoon, show up, meet Zhou Gu, and explore the situation.
“Okay.” Cui Xingzhi was even less tired.
The two of them decided to go back to their homes first. Sure enough, the two mansions were not far apart, separated by half a street.
After the two of them entered the house, they took a bath and changed clothes, and had some simple meals from various places. They left the house at the appointed time, met on the street, and went to the Ministry of Household Affairs together.
At this time, the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs were busy with their feet on the ground. Some people plunged into the files without looking up, while others walked in a hurry with a large stack of files. Zhou Gujin did not plunge into the files, but was dispatching people to deal with things.
When the two of them arrived, they saw the situation in the household department. No one was idle, even the doorkeeper was busy working. Seeing the two people coming, he took the time to ask for their identities, then quickly put down what he was doing and brought the two people to Zhou Gu.
Ning Ze whispered: "Brother Xing, are we here at the wrong time?"
Cui Xingzhi lowered his voice and replied, "I don't think so. I'm afraid it will be the same tomorrow."