The memory in Qiao Lan's mind is like an old house filled with groceries that has not been opened for many years. All kinds of things are piled inside, and the memory of when they were put there is no longer clear. She has to rummage carefully to find it clearly.
Compared to the memory of one's own family, it is like a pile of commonly used objects at the door of a house, which can be easily picked up.
As for the old man in front of him, Qiao Lan really didn't recognize him.
"I'm old and can't remember many things. Please forgive me." Qiao Lan bowed and apologized.
I can't remember him, just be polite.
The old man touched his beard, and there was a trace of sadness in his cloudy eyes, "It would be great if I was in the capital back then, and I could also advise Brother Duan."
Qiao Lan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that he was not an acquaintance of hers, but an acquaintance of Duan Yuexiu!
How could she, a housewife like her, know so many foreign men? If she said she met them together with Duan Yuexiu, then there would be nothing wrong with her.
After figuring out the problem, Qiao Lan took a group of people to the old house.
After entering the room, the old man in red took out the imperial edict, and Qiao Lan and the others knelt down.
"The emperor was entrusted by heaven, and the edict said that the Duan family of Tongzhou was kindly heard, and he cultivated in Lantian County with chastity and quietness. In the past, he proposed a good strategy for making salt, and later he came up with a clever plan to control insects... His contribution is in the society of Ming Dynasty. I use Qin's enfeoffment as his wisdom.
Tian Jun..."
Qiao Lan knelt on the ground and listened, only to hear that she had an additional title, what was her name, Huitian Jun?
Does it mean you can farm?
Duan Mingqing knelt on the ground and listened, and found that there was also something about salt prescription in the edict?
His mother has never been in contact with anyone else, could it be Mr. He?
"...Give me ten thousand acres of fertile land. I appreciate this." The old man finished reading the imperial edict, folded it carefully and handed it to Qiao Lan, "Ms. Duan Qiao, please accept the edict."
-
The gentleman who came to read out the decree was named Zhang Liang. He was the minister of the Ministry of War and a senior official of the third rank.
Zhang Liang and Duan Yuexiu were candidates in the same examination room and were admitted as Jinshi in the same year, so they developed a friendship.
Unlike Duan Yuexiu, who came from an ordinary family, Zhang Liang came from a wealthy family, and later went to the north to guard the territory and made a lot of contributions to Beijing.
Zhang Liang once came to give gifts to Duan Yuexiu when he got married and gave birth to a child. That was when Mr. Qiao gave birth to his eldest son. Since Zhang Liang was far away in northern Xinjiang, he didn't visit much, but the two of them still exchanged letters every year.
These are what Zhang Liang said.
Another adult, whose surname is Wu and named Wu Herong, is an official in the Ministry of Rites.
Qiao Lan probably understood that Zhang Liang was Duan Yuexiu's kind of friend who "makes friends regardless of family, because his family is not as good as him anyway".
-
Normally, the edict was read out, and all officials sent there were officials from the Ministry of Rites. Of course, there was an accident. The two of them had other important things to do when they came to the south this time, so Zhang Liang was asked to come over to take the edict.
After receiving the imperial edict, Qiao Lan led Zhang Liang to the Duan family's ancestral hall to worship Duan Yuexiu. Zhang Liang praised the Duan family's children, grandchildren and yard, and planned to leave.
Before leaving, Zhang Liang held up his tea bowl and said goodbye reluctantly.
"If I could return to Beijing as soon as possible, maybe things would be different. Who would have thought that after staying in the northwest for more than ten years, things have changed and people are forever separated." After Zhang Liang sighed, he walked towards the ancestral hall.
Pour half a bowl of tea.
"My lord, you don't have to be so sentimental. If your husband is knowledgeable, he will understand your lord." After Qiao Lan said this, she lightly touched Duan Mingjing with her elbow to indicate what he said.
Duan Mingjing's eyes twitched and he continued: "Yes, sir, don't be sad."
Qiao Lan:......
Zhang Liang smiled and looked at the Duan family, "I feel relieved to see that the Duan family is still well. I hope that in my lifetime, I can see brother Duan's heirs enter the court and serve as officials in the court."
"Thank you for your good wishes!"
-
After sending away all the high-ranking officials in the courtyard, Qiao Lan asked her family to close the courtyard door under the gaze of the villagers.
His Majesty gave many rewards. What was written in the imperial edict was not only a title, several boxes of gifts, but also 10,000 acres of land and a house specially given to Qiao Lan. Both the fields and the house were in the capital.
Zhang Liang also told Qiao Lan that Duan Yuexiu had been rehabilitated, and that all the property and fields originally in the capital had been returned to the Duan family's name, and they could just go to the government to claim them.
By the way, I was concerned about when the Duan family would go back to live.
The fields and houses are ready, which obviously means that Qiao Lan can return to the capital as soon as possible.
Qiao Lan didn't say when she would go back. She only said she planned to wait until her children and grandchildren had passed the exams in the capital before returning.
"Mom, here are the documents and land deeds from the capital." Duan Mingjing came forward holding the box.
In addition to the land deed, there is also a document to clear up Duan Yuexiu's reputation, stamped with a large cinnabar seal.
"Keep it well!" Qiao Lan said.
Duan Mingjing nodded and put the box aside properly. This was the foundation for him to be the second master of the Duan family.
The family helped collect the rewards and imperial edicts, planning to clean up the ancestral hall and enshrine the imperial edicts in it.
Duan Mingjing glanced at the documents, and took one of the documents and came forward to show it to Qiao Lan, "Mom, this gentleman is really warm-hearted. He has taken care of all these things. Duan... Third brother doesn't need to go
It’s the capital.”
Looking at this document, Duan Mingjing sighed, "Why did Mr. Zhang return to Beijing so late? If he had been there when our house was raided, he might not have left Beijing."
His father's crime back then was not serious, and he was implicated entirely because no one in the Duan family was in the court. If Mr. Zhang had been in the capital at that time, and had gone around for his family, he might not have been implicated.
Qiao Lan glanced at the document and said calmly, "Send this to Qing'er. It will save a lot of trouble without going to the capital." As for Duan Mingjing's sigh later, Qiao Lan didn't take it to heart.
I just feel that Duan Mingjing's limbs are not well developed, but his mind is very simple.
If Lord Zhang really had such a deep friendship with Duan Yuexiu, he would have helped the Duan family long ago.
When Duan Minghao passed away, Duan Yuexiu was still there, and the mourning hall was packed with people who came to mourn the eldest son of the Duan family.
By the time Duan Yuexiu died, there were almost no guests, and the Duan family was extremely deserted, let alone the future.
Although the north is far away, if you were intentional, how could you not know about the death of your friend?
The Zhang family has great power in the capital. If Zhang Liang had thought about his friend's widow and descendants and spoken to his family more, he would not have been as miserable as the Duan family when they left the capital.
Mrs. Qiao shamelessly went to her parents' house to beg for dozens of taels of silver. By relying on her private property hidden outside, she was able to save enough money for her family to return home safely.
Now that Qiao Lan thinks about it, she feels that although Mrs. Qiao is ignorant and cold-blooded, she is calm-minded and perseverant. When an ordinary woman encounters this kind of thing, she would have lost her backbone, or she would rely on her son's ideas, so she directly took over the responsibility of the whole family.
.
"You are poor in the busy city and no one cares about you, but you are rich in the mountains and have distant relatives. Haven't you understood?" Qiao Lan asked Duan Mingjing.
After receiving the reward today, everyone in the Duan family was very happy, and Duan Mingjing was no exception. After being slapped by Qiao Lan, most of the smile on Duan Mingjing's face faded, and he couldn't be happy at all.
Duan Mingjing thought seriously for a while and said to Qiao Lan, "Mom, you are right, none of them are good. When our family was in ruins, no one came to help us. Seeing that our family has become capable, they got up and ran away again.
Come here and say nice words, you are really not a thing!"
After saying this, Duan Mingqing and Duan Mingchen both looked over.
"What's wrong?"
Qiao Lan: "Think about this for yourself and don't say it again."
"Mom, why?" Duan Mingjing was puzzled.
"You don't understand even if I ask you. Don't speak ill of others in the future."