Changshemen, after entering this gate, there is a separate area where the county king, county chief, county lieutenant and other long-term officials live.
After the gatekeeper checked the talisman and released the order, Wang Wu took the accompanying guards and went to take over the defense of the wall and watchtower at Xia Houlan's signal.
"My grievance, little lady, I live here." Xia Houlan said so, and personally drove Gongsun Yan and his party to a courtyard.
Different from the grievances he claimed, the painting style of this courtyard is very different.
Half of the wall of the courtyard next to it collapsed. The broken bricks and earth blocks have been cleared away, but the corners of the wall are still covered with thorns.
There are two courtyard walls that are leaning to one side and are temporarily supported by wooden piles.
The courtyard in front of Gongsun Yan covers a large area and is built with bricks and tiles. The tiles are even decorated with gold-plated copper animals.
There is also a several-story watchtower on the right side of the courtyard wall. It is not that novel to the eyes of future generations, but in this era, the height of such a watchtower was definitely the tallest building in the city built over the border.
Regardless of the comfort level, just looking at the red door and black tiles on the front, the luxury level is even better than Gongsun Yan's residence in Guzhu.
Gongsun Yan raised his eyebrows at Xia Houlan. Xia Houlan chuckled and opened the courtyard door without explaining.
As soon as I walked in, I saw that the front yard of this courtyard house was covered with flowers and trees and was kept spotless.
"This is the residence of the former county king in the official temple." Xia Houlan explained at this time.
The former county king had eaten a lot during his tenure and had always liked to pay attention to ostentation. Naturally, his residence in the government office was also carefully repaired.
Gongsun Yan took a look at the courtyard and compared it with the dilapidated official temple, it was clear that the previous county king was greedy.
"Does Zilong and you live here?" Gongsun Yan did not see the stone lock in the front yard where they practiced martial arts in the morning.
Not only does it not have stone locks or weapon racks, but the moon-white silk covering the arched windows looks more like the residence of my daughter's house.
Gongsun Yan's expression changed and he looked at Xia Houlan with squinted eyes.
I heard that when they came to Lulong to take office, many well-known merchants came to visit with gifts. Could it be that they accepted the Le Ji maid given by one of them and hid their beauty in this golden house?
"Don't, don't think nonsense!" Looking at her expression, Xia Houlan knew that she was thinking nonsense. He didn't want Zilong to be wronged for no reason, so he stopped trying to keep it secret.
"Zilong specially ordered us to clean this up and leave it to the young lady to live in when you come." Xia Houlan pointed to the right, "I and I live next door together with Zhou County Cheng."
It is only a matter of time before Gongsun Yan comes to Lulong. This is something everyone knows.
Zhao Yun specially ordered people to clean this best courtyard, completely erasing the traces of the previous owner, and added some dowry cages for his daughter's home.
Gongsun Yan was stunned, and the expression on his face changed instantly, and he smiled brightly: "But it doesn't have to be like this, it's the same no matter where you live."
"Haha." Xia Houlan said nothing as she looked at the duplicitous little lady whose face suddenly changed.
Gongsun Yan raised his lips slightly, and ignored Xia Houlan's strange aura. He looked around and felt that the courtyard was becoming more and more pleasing to the eye.
Gongsun Cheng's puppy stumbled to the flowers to catch butterflies. Gongsun Cheng also followed, and Ah Qing hurriedly went to protect him.
The flowers in the garden are blooming beautifully, but I don’t know what species they are.
"but……"
Gongsun Yan gently pinched a bright red petal, changed the topic, and asked a question that she was more concerned about, "I heard that there are many prostitutes and maidservants sent from the county?"
Xia Houlan was stunned, thinking that this little lady is really jealous.
When I was in Guzhu, there were sweeping servants and maids in the courtyard.
Zilong only assigned two boy servants, not to mention maidservants, and there was not even a female mosquito around him.
Zilong also indulged her and actually followed her wishes.
Thinking about it, Xia Houlan said angrily: "Take it! I also ordered Zhou County Prime Minister to draw up a roster. I planned to send it back to Guzhu in two days for your arrangements."
Lone Bamboo Manor is short of people. These contracted prostitutes and maids are all specially raised by wealthy families. They are good at singing and dancing and can always be put to some use.
Even older sergeants in the ration army are good.
Gongsun Yan was quite satisfied with the answer, so he let go of the flower branch in his hand.
"I'll ask someone to dispatch some maids later to take care of the rough cleaning work." Xia Houlan stood in the front yard and only sent Gongsun Yan here.
The huge baggage brought from Guzhu still needs to be dealt with.
"Zixiu, remember to send me the pigeons in the car." Gongsun Yan suddenly remembered her two cages of pigeons and hurriedly warned her.
To prevent Xiahou Lan from being roasted as a live bird.
"Find a craftsman to help me build a pigeonhole in the front yard."
"Yes." Although I don't know why Gongsun Yan thought of raising pigeons, this was not the only mysterious thing she had. Xia Houlan turned around and left without asking any more questions.
Xia Houlan left, Gongsun Yan stood in the corridor with his sleeves folded in a good mood, and A Qing also led Gongsun Cheng over.
I walked around the house and bedroom, and found all the furniture and facilities.
Gongsun Yan gently opened the bedroom window. There was a big tree outside the window. She didn't know what kind it was.
The lush branches and leaves blocked the sun, and the afternoon sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, forming a spot of light.
Ah Qing stopped playing with Gongsun Cheng and began to unload his belongings and suitcases from the parallel car.
The house was very clean and only the mattresses on the beds were changed.
While Ah Qing was cleaning up the house, Gongsun Yan came to the right watchtower with his skirt in hand.
The watchtower was not wide and the stairs were narrow. She carefully climbed the creaking steps to the top.
As soon as he got to the top floor, he felt the cool breeze blowing by, blowing the hair on his temples. Gongsun Yan tucked his hair behind his ears.
Hold on to the railing with both hands and watch the scenery from here.
From this height, it is not possible to see the whole city, but it is still possible to take in the entire temple.
The entire official temple is rectangular and covers a large area.
But except for the more decent meeting hall, the rest of the place is really in a state of shabby condition.
From a distance, the longhouse where the petty officials lived looked crowded and messy with colorful clothes hanging on it.
When he arrived, Xia Houlan introduced that the status of minor officials in official temples was not high and they lived in long houses. They could not move into the county government office with their families like the chief officials.
You can only go home during vacation time, but you can only get one day off from the seventh to the fourteenth day. If you work continuously for a long time, you can accumulate vacation days.
But it cannot exceed seven days at most.
Even so, salaries are often in arrears.
Some rely solely on their positions to extort money from the people, while some are more honest and only survive on two meals from official temples.
The former county king took all his confidants with him when he ran away with his family property. At this time, those who stayed here were either the children of the common people in the county, or the children of the gentry who were not favored and had no other way out.
Gongsun Yan looked at the longhouses that were crowded like mushroom bushes, tapping the railings rhythmically with his knuckles.
These people are more or less literate and can write documents.
Compared with the children of other wealthy families, what these people lack is only educational opportunities and knowledge.
It’s not that it cannot be used.
I heard from Xia Houlan that the official temple still had two meals a day, and I think Zhao Yun and he were the same.
Zhao Yun's mysterious appetite means he probably won't be full.
Thinking about it, Gongsun Yan knocked on the railing with his hand.
Everything in the treasury was completely wiped out by the previous county magistrate, and the minor officials had not received their monthly salary for nearly half a year.
After Zhao Yun came, he reissued part of it with the gifts he received, but there was still a big hole.
Not to mention the arrears of food and wages for the county soldiers, as well as money from some merchants, wine houses, and restaurants.
If there is no need for a peaceful handover, it would be a good idea to follow Xia Houlan's suggestion and rob and kill the incoming county king on the way to recover the property.
It seems that Zhao Yun's use of weapons just a few days after he took office is closely related to these troubles.
No wonder even Xia Houlan is so busy.
Thinking about it, Gongsun Yan made a plan in his mind, how much supplies should be obtained and where to start.
"Madam." Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard someone shouting from downstairs.