Xie Lin'an rode out of the side door of Ning'an's residence, and was immediately followed by Xichang's followers. Xie Lin'an didn't even need to look back to know that these followers must be following him openly and without any cover-up.

He was used to it these days. Money was given to him, and he was invited to drink and eat. The four-rat eunuch who was said to be very popular in front of the emperor was small and cute, with a calm expression on his face. He was really a slippery man. The benefits he gave him

He left every bit of it to the people below, and in the end, their Ning'an residence was watched even more closely.

Riding horses is strictly prohibited in Yanjing City, and Xie Lin'an rode in front of him with the sound of hoofbeats "ta da da da".

Those fans are also "ta-da-da-da" in the back.

All the way to Gulou Street, Xie Lin'an still didn't know where to go.

His father-in-law was transferred to a foreign post, and his brother-in-law who stayed in Beijing treated him like an enemy every time he saw him, and was not someone who could join forces with him.

Those fair-weather friends in the past have not been heard from since his father was imprisoned, so naturally they are not reliable.

Looking at the people coming and going on the street, Xie Lin'an sighed softly. If he could find someone familiar to complain to, he would be able to clear his head.

Walking from the east end of Gulou Street to the west end, Xie Lin'an didn't find anyone he knew.

He was surprised.

It's already noon, even if those flower houses, even if they haven't opened their doors yet, those dandy boys in Yanjing City should already be in there as if they were going home, right?

Why did he walk for so long without seeing a single familiar-looking young man from a high-ranking family?

Where are people?

A fan who was already familiar with Xie Lin'an said with a smile: "Master, you should relax enough. If you don't know where to go, it's cold on the street outside, so we should turn back."

Xie Lin'an turned around and looked at the fans.

I touched my body, but I only found out a piece of silver cake. I couldn't even hold it out to drink wine.

Xie Lin'an smiled bitterly: "Can you please accompany me outside to enjoy the breeze? When I get back, I will treat you to a drink."

"There's no need to drink, but if you, Prince Xie, want to sit in the restaurants and teahouses on Gulou Street, I'm afraid you won't be able to meet any old friends."

The fan said with a smile: "It's so cold in Yanjing City. How can I dare to go out so easily?"

What does this mean?

Xie Lin'an looked around blankly: "Did something big happen in Beijing?"

Fanzi just smiled and said nothing.

His Majesty first ordered an investigation of the Taipu Temple, then captured the great uncle in court, and then jailed the British prince's second son for questioning. Later, he ordered a thorough investigation of the prostitutes in Yanjing City. After several actions, how could the high-ranking dandies still show up?

Dare to go out easily? Even if they dare to come out, their family members will not dare to let them out.

Knowing that he couldn't ask anything else, Xie Lin'an turned his horse around and planned to go back.

"Hey, this person below looks familiar, but is he from Yulin Guard?"

Xie Linan followed the sound and saw a man wrapped tightly in a large cloak greeting him on the second floor of a restaurant.

The man had a handsome face and was already in his forties, but his face was still fair and he wore a mink fur hat on his head. He looked like a wealthy and idle man.

Xie Lin'an quickly turned over and dismounted: "Commander Yu Linwei, Commander Qian Shi, has seen the Commander-in-Chief."

The man flirted with him and said, "Sir, the drinking buddy I originally arranged to meet here entered Beizhen Fusi this morning. Come up and drink with me."

"……yes."

He hurriedly walked to the restaurant with his robe in hand. As soon as he saw the man, Xie Lin'an wanted to salute again.

"Don't be so polite and disturb my quiet drinking time. Come here quickly. I've been holding it in at home for a long time. I can finally come out today while my wife is in the palace."

With that said, the man picked up the cup and poured Xie Lin'an a glass of warm wine:

"I can't remember your name either. Let's just have a drink or two. New friends will become old friends. Just have a good time."

Looking at the wine in front of him, Xie Lin'an still wanted to refuse, but felt that he had nothing to refuse now that he was at this point, so he raised his glass and drank it down.

The warm wine soaked into his lungs with its aroma, and he was shocked to realize that his internal organs had long been penetrated by the cold air.

"Master Cao, I feel bitter in my heart!"

"If you have trouble, just talk about it casually. Anyway, it's just drunken talk. We will forget it after hearing it."

After taking a bite of the sheep's head meat in front of him, the man raised his head and took a sip of wine: "When it comes to hardship, who can suffer more than me? Among all the people named Cao, I am the only one with a brain, and my sister is the only one with a brain.

After becoming the Queen Mother, she didn’t want to live a good life, and kept nagging about old things every day. An older brother became the uncle of the state, a serious relative of the royal family, but he only thought of himself as a bandit... It’s really a pig that can do better than him.

Well done."

Taking another sip of wine, Cao Fenngle, the younger brother of the current Empress Dowager, known as "Little Guojiu", had a bitter look on his face: "Yesterday, my sister sent me a letter. Do you know what I said in the letter? She asked me to take care of my daughter-in-law. Don't worry.

Follow the Queen to help. That's the Queen! My wife is just a marquise. What can a fragile person like her do? The Queen wants my wife to go to the inner study to be a concubine. My wife can quit if she says she doesn't want to.

?"

While Cao Fengle was complaining, Xie Linan never stopped drinking.

After so many years of serving in the Yulin Guards, he has only met Cao Fengle three times, and they were always in places like Qinlou Chu Hall. This is the first time he has talked to Cao Fengle, and it is really the first time he has talked to Cao Fengle.

I met him in such a quiet restaurant.

What inner study? Madam? He has been locked up for two months, why can’t he even understand human speech?

Cao Fengle's complaint was not over yet. Apparently he was extremely frustrated and came out to find someone to listen to him:

"Just because my wife was chosen by the Queen to be the concubine, some people scolded me! They scolded me for not repairing my inner clothes! They scolded me for not being able to discipline my wife! They are all the rotten things that crawled out of the old sour jar and dared to show up in front of me.

What a mistake! You don’t even know what kind of virtues you have! My sister also asked me to join forces with those people to write a memorial to sue the queen. She told me that it was for the reputation of the Cao family and the royal family? What is the reputation of the Cao family? Ha!

Let me tell you, my sister's greatest blessing in this life is that she met the late emperor, who had the same temperament as her. The late emperor manipulated her and made her a fool! Let the palace maids be literate and the female officials also have a future.

Didn't they serve her Queen Mother more wholeheartedly? What did she do with those old men who shouted "Chicken Si Chen"? Did she forget that she was also a... hiccup?"

After finishing the warm wine, Xie Lin'an touched the spout of the still cold wine bottle, picked up the wine jar and poured himself a full glass of wine:

"Master Cao, the Queen Mother still cares about the reputation of the royal family. My grandmother has never taken our Xie family seriously! My father is still... My brother is also missing. I, her grandson,

Her eldest grandson has aged ten years in two months, and she misses her grandnephew every day."

Crying his fingers, Xie Lin'an took out all the accounts he had calculated in his mind countless times:

"For the chewing food of No. 1560 of Dongkuaoyuan, we have to eat the best rice and use the best charcoal. Everyone must have meat every day... My cousin said that he eats bran throat.

Vegetables, the millet that I ate had to be fried with camellia oil, and the wild vegetables that I ate had to be paired with dried venison. Someone from the palace was sent to watch, so my grandma asked the cook to make a white soup with some fish and then cook it.

That tofu, white and tender tofu, requires four or five crucian carp to cushion the flavor! He also said that the bed looked too extravagant, so he specially found fine silk to make the quilt. Not only was it made of silk on the outside, but it was also made of silk on the inside!

Isn’t this extravagant? Isn’t this wasteful? I used the best charcoal to burn the ground dragon so hot that no one could stand in the room, and I had to open the window for ventilation. My charcoal was burned in vain! In two months, I alone

His cousin spent thousands of taels of silver alone! I thought I hired a helper, but in the end I found a disaster star!"

When he thought of the money that was being spent like water, the money that his family had been robbed and was missing with his brother, and his wife that he had no face to face.

Xie Lin'an felt sad: "My mother still knows how to comfort me, but my grandmother knows how to let me obey my cousin's wishes? How can I obey? The benefits are all my cousin's, and the sufferings are all mine! That's it!

If this continues, the day my cousin gets into trouble, I'm afraid my grandmother will use my head as a scapegoat for him!"

"How can you be so partial?" Cao Fengle couldn't bear to cry after hearing this. He moved his buttocks with chopsticks, got closer, and asked, "Then what are you going to do? Just admit it like this?"

Xie Lin'an shook his head and sighed.

"My cousin is our family's only support now. I don't know what to do..."

"Sigh." Cao Fengle sighed with him, "I can't help you much. If there is a useful woman in your family, especially one who has read a lot of books, I can ask my wife to introduce her to the Queen. She can go

There is a way to become a queen. It's a pity that such a person is not so easy to find."

"Bang." The wine glass in Xie Lin'an's hand fell to the ground.

"Really, really? Nowadays, a woman who can study can take the path of a queen?"

His eyes have lit up.

"Yes." Cao Fengle did not drink cold wine and only ate a few bites of vegetables. "I think at the end of the year, female officials are more respectable than ordinary officials. A few days ago, female officials went to Wuying Hall and almost killed Liu Ge.

Get angry for whatever reason."

Xie Lin'an became more and more shocked as he listened, but it was a pleasant surprise.

If there was someone who could help him support the Xie family, he wouldn't have to be so manipulated by his cousin and grandmother!

"Thank you, Mr. Cao."

"Why are you thanking me? I called you to have a drink on the road. It's my turn to thank you."

As Cao Fengle spoke, he yawned, and then Xie Linan saw that he was sitting barefoot.

"Cao, Master Cao, where are your shoes?"

"Ha." Cao Fenngle laughed, "My wife is timid and fearful that I might go to a brothel at this time and end up being locked up with my elder brother, so she simply took away all my shoes. Today I am still a servant of my family.

You carried me up here."

Looking at the tall servant standing by, Xie Lin was amazed. He didn't think that Mr. Cao's wife was a "timid" person.

"Master Cao, even if...you can wear servant's shoes?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Cao Fengle's face looking confused:
To be continued...