Yongrenfang, Luofu.

All the important ministers in the court have official residences. As Luo Ting is the right-hand governor of the East Palace, the residence given by the emperor is naturally the Gaomen Courtyard. Although it is the king's trust and respect for the ministers, Luo Ting does not like this house.

, just because of its large area, it has to support many servants, and the daily expenses are not small.

He was born in a poor family and did not allow his family members to engage in side businesses, so he relied on hundreds of acres of farmland outside the city to survive. If Emperor Kaiping had not known his temperament and would send eunuchs to reward him with money every now and then, he might have had to sell his ancestral property to support his family.

Even so, life in the Luofu family is not easy, and frugality is not just a name on the face.

After taking a bath today, after getting up early in the morning, Luo Ting drank two bowls of rice porridge with a plate of pickles, and said to the housekeeper standing next to him: "The weather is getting colder day by day, so there must be no less charcoal fire in the house, especially in the children's rooms. They

I'm still young, if I freeze my body, it will be very troublesome when I get older."

The housekeeper hesitated slightly and said: "Master, I just want to tell you that after the charcoal stored in the house is used up, we will not buy any more."

Luo Ting frowned and said, "What are you talking about? Although it's not easy to live in Kyoto, your family has not been in such a situation, right?"

The housekeeper quickly explained: "Sir, most people in the city don't use charcoal now. There is a shop called Xiangyunhao in Xicheng. About half a month ago, it started selling a new product called honeycomb briquette, which is better than charcoal.

And it’s much cheaper after all.”

Luo Ting asked in confusion: "briquettes?"

The steward replied: "This thing is said to be made of coal. It is not like the coarse coal we have seen before. It has no pungent smell or thick smoke, and it will not make people suffocate. It is selling very well now, Xicheng

There are shops selling them in every neighborhood in Nancheng and Nancheng, and there are even a few in Dongcheng."

Luo Ting was silent.

As the ruler of the East Palace, he certainly does not look at problems from the perspective of a housekeeper who only cares about price. Emerging things like briquettes can immediately replace charcoal after they are born, which is enough to show that the effectiveness of this thing is very good, but this does not mean that the follow-up

There will be no problem.

He asked solemnly: "Do you know the origin of this Xiangyun number?"

The housekeeper thought for a while and said: "I heard that there are many noble mansions behind this business. By the way, the owner is very young. He seems to be Zhongshanzi who was newly conferred by the imperial court."

Pei Yue?

Luo Ting nodded slightly and said warmly: "Come out with me."

The housekeeper hurriedly asked: "Master, do you want to change clothes?"

Although the mansion is not well-off, Luo Ting's several official uniforms have been kept very well, as if they were brand new. This is because he believes that courtiers must pay attention to their appearance, and official uniforms are the most important thing, otherwise they will inevitably lose their appearance.

The majesty of the court.

Luo Ting shook his head and said: "No need, just take a walk today."

The two of them left the house in their regular clothes and first went to a shop selling briquettes outside Yongrenfang.

Dongcheng is full of powerful and important officials, and what these people use for heating in winter is high-quality refined charcoal, such as silver frost charcoal, which is several grades higher than ordinary charcoal, and the price is the same.

The four words "Xiangyun Trading Company" are written on the plaque on the door of this shop. Two clerks stand outside the door to greet customers with smiles. There is a long queue of customers buying honeycomb briquettes.

There is a row of donkey carts parked on the street. Every time a customer pays, a shop clerk will transport the briquettes and put them on the donkey cart. The whole process is orderly and very fast. Luo Ting noticed one detail. The clerk did not just let the guests do it.

Standing outside in the cold wind, he kept bringing out hot ginger tea and delivering it to each guest.

The housekeeper said beside him: "Sir, no one came here to buy briquettes at the beginning. Even if they did, they would do so secretly for fear of being seen by others. It seems that word has spread in the past few days. Everyone said that this thing is extremely useful, even if it is not used.

It is better than firewood to keep warm, cook rice and boil water. So many servants of the mansion come to buy it every day."

Luo Ting was quite shocked.

He turned around and left, saying calmly: "Go to Nancheng to have a look."

The scene in Nancheng is much livelier than in Dongcheng.

The layout of Kyoto is rich in the east and wealthy in the west, with the largest number of civilians gathering in the southern city. Most of the families of soldiers who retired from the Kyoto garrison also live here.

Luo Ting leisurely walked into a shop, asked some passers-by, and then headed towards the branch of Xiangyun Trading Company.

Compared with the shop outside Yongrenfang, there are more people here, and most of them are clothed in plain clothes and hairpin skirts. You can tell at a glance that they are ordinary people. Luo Ting and the housekeeper lined up at the end of the queue, quietly listening to these ordinary people chatting.

.

"Old Wang, why don't you let your mother-in-law come to buy coal today?"

"Gungun, you don't have a human word in your mouth."

"You're just joking, why are you so serious? But you really shouldn't be here today."

"Why?"

"Didn't you hear? The guy at Xiangyun said that because the briquettes are selling well, their boss will have a discount in three days. It was originally five cents a piece, but it was only four cents that day! And they said there is no purchase limit? It seems like this word

.It means you can buy as much as you want, as long as you can pull it!"

"What does that have to do with coming to buy today?"

"Who doesn't know that you, Mr. Wang, are the most stingy? Wouldn't it be a great joy for you to save a penny?"

"Fuck you! It's so cold today that I can't even urinate. If I don't burn coal for three days, won't my entire family freeze to death? Besides, the coal only costs five cents a piece now.

It’s not like I can’t afford to burn it.”

"Hey, you old boy are so arrogant. But having said that, the owner of the Xiangyun is really a good person. I heard that he seems to be young, and he is also a newly crowned knight from the imperial court?"

"Isn't that right? It is said that he is the young master of Dingguo Mansion. He got the title at a young age, which is amazing."

"Hey, I know about this. Do you remember the bandits outside before? It was Mr. Pei who led the troops to annihilate them. He was only fourteen years old!"

"So powerful, could it be that Duke Dingguo was reincarnated?"

"Hush, you dare to say such a thing. I heard that although Lord Pei is young, he is two feet tall, has big arms and a round waist, and is extremely strong. With just one tear with his hands, a bandit can be cut in half!"

"Good guy, is it true or false?"

"Can we still have a lie? My neighbor, Lao Li Tou's son, is working as an errand in the capital camp. He saw that with his own eyes!"

…

These sounds reached the ears of a young man and woman not far away. The girl was wearing a bright red feather gauze, and her hair was tied into a single ponytail that was very heroic. She couldn't help but turn her head to look at the young man beside her, and teased softly: "From now on.

I call you a monk who is two feet tall."

Pei Yue smiled and said, "I will become a monk, what will you do?"

Ye Qi snorted, raised his head and said, "There is a road to the end of the world, and we are home all over the world. Where can I go?"

Pei Yue recalled what he said to Ye Qi when they first met in the small courtyard in the northern suburbs. He couldn't help but raise his hands and said, "Come on, I promise not to become a monk."

Ye Qi slightly said proudly: "Let's see if you dare to talk nonsense in the future."

Pei Yue nodded meaningfully and said with great approval: "Indeed, I have to pay more attention, lest you think that I really want to become a monk, and then you have random thoughts in your mind."

Ye Qi looked at his expression of wanting to be beaten, looked around, hesitated for a moment and finally did not do anything in public.

Seeing that something was not going well, Pei Yue quickly changed the subject and said, "There is no problem here. Let's go to the next shop and have a look."

Ye Qi nodded and said: "Okay."

The two of them walked side by side, which was very eye-catching.

Pei Yue did not notice that in the long queue, there was a middle-aged man in ordinary clothes looking at him.

After he and the girl walked away, Luo Ting held the ginger tea brought by the waiter and looked at the ordinary people with weather-stained faces next to them. At this moment, their faces were filled with relaxed smiles, without any sign of the sluggishness and languor of the harsh winter months of previous years.

They were dull, as if waves of warm wind were blowing on their bodies.

Luo Ting suddenly smiled slightly and said to the housekeeper behind him: "Let's go."

It was already noon when I returned to the mansion. As soon as I stepped through the gate, I saw the doorman coming to greet me and said: "Master, there is a palace eunuch waiting for you at home."

Luo Ting looked calm. When he saw the anxious-looking eunuch, he knew that Emperor Kaiping had summoned him to the palace to discuss matters.

Putting on a brand-new, close-fitting official uniform and getting on the carriage sent by the palace, he was no longer the middle-aged man hiding among ordinary people, but a powerful imperial minister.

In the side hall of Liangyi Hall, Luo Ting walked in calmly and saw at a glance that there were many people in the hall.

Except for him, all the important ministers of the two mansions were there, and then there were the six ministers and the two censors Zhongcheng. Of course, Momo Yun, who was in charge of Taishitai Pavilion, was also indispensable.

Luo Ting, who has an extremely keen sense of politics, soon noticed that the atmosphere in the palace was very solemn and solemn, and it was obvious that something big had happened.
Chapter completed!