The rivers bloom in the seventh and ninth months, and the swallows come in the eighth and ninth; the peach blossoms bloom in the ninth and ninth, and the plowing cattle roam all over the land.
There were wet apricot blossoms floating in the sky, which wetted the signboard of the roadside tea stall, wetted the young leaves of the weeping poplar trees on the bank, and wetted the crowds of heads on the bluestone field at the entrance of the city.
Among the seven counties in Yangzhou, Yangzi County, which is the closest to Jiangdu County, where the government is located, has long been informed by well-intentioned people that in order to pray for the assassinated King of Linzi, the palace sent a theater to sing new plays, and each county will sing for three days.
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The distance between Yangtze and Jiangdu is very close, so a group of idle people in the county have been waiting eagerly, thinking that the round trip between Yangtze and Jiangdu will not even take half a day, and they think that the next stop will be the local gong.
Who would have thought that this opera troupe, which has become famous recently, would not even come to the left or the right. I heard that in the past few days, even remote seaside counties like Hailing have gone there. The wealth is no less than that of Jiangdu.
Yangzi County still hasn't received any news about coming to the palace to sing opera.
Several ladies from wealthy families had heard about it at the Guanhe River on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, so some fragments and scenes of the play had been vaguely spread among the public, but they were touted to the sky, making people feel more and more itchy.
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Wait, wait. Seeing that spring has already begun for a long time, the farm work at home has begun, and the six neighboring counties have finished singing, and the painted boat with the emblem of RT-Mart Grain Company is swaying along the Yangtze Old Canal
I came to Yangzi County.
However, when they arrived at the local opera troupe, they were not in a hurry to start singing. A few young men got up and rode around the city, beating the gongs and disturbing the dreams of countless people. It was considered that the troupe of the Prince's Palace was about to start singing at the entrance of the market.
The news had spread throughout the country, so he put down his clothes and packed up the stage to prepare for the show.
Unexpectedly, God was not kind to us. There were some beautiful days with bright sunshine, but the next day, it started to drizzle.
Countless people came to ask questions and surrounded the Qingshiping at the entrance of the market, making it watertight. A gentle breeze blew by, creating a vague hustle and bustle.
There were more and more people crowded, and just when everyone was wondering whether it was because of the rain and the troupe was about to leave, a clear gong sounded.
A little girl with a little makeup stood on the stage and said that this benefit performance was only for the Prince of Linzi to pray for him, and there was no charge for it. It just required everyone to meditate and pray for the Prince over a cup of tea.
There was a good-for-nothing libertine who shouted disdainfully from the audience: "Since when have you ever paid me to listen to a play? I've been asked to wait for so many days for a bad play. How dare you be so verbose? Let's start the gong quickly."
, otherwise be careful..."
The prodigal was used to being arrogant. He had just gone on two business trips with a few people on the green forest road and made quite a bit of money, so he spoke very rudely.
But when he saw the surrounding silence staring at him, and a few vaguely prominent figures on the road, the libertine's voice gradually faded away.
Before the man finished speaking, a young man in costume flew out from the background. Before he could even move his hands or feet, the bad guy flew backwards and was then carried out by the vigilant bad guy on the side.
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Just because of the wasted time, not only did the good ranger not get a single word of praise, but he got a lot of complaints instead.
Although there were some twists and turns, the scene immediately calmed down.
There was a very soft sound coming from the background, I don't know if it was a chime or something, it was very melodious.
Li Chongrun, who was backstage, said to his cousin Yaoyao with a wry smile: "By the way, who came up with this idea? Why does it feel like a moment of silence every time?"
"Didn't Brother Run say that this can increase the sense of expectation?"
Such a fresh vocabulary could only be a demon created by himself. Li Chongrun had no choice but to smile bitterly, casually told his cousin to pay attention to safety, and then turned around and entered the curtain where Wu Qi and the others used makeup.
Wu Qi's advertising voice sounded from the stage: "In order to pray for the prince, the prince has opened a volunteer school in Xiejia Village, Jiangdu, and the school will start on the first day of March. All children under the age of ten who have not been educated will be provided with food and housing. After completing the school, their grades will pass.
, you can also serve the prince!"
Wu Qi publicized this three times. Perhaps the shock brought by the libertine who flew out just now was so great that there was no response.
But Wu Qi didn't care. He bowed to the audience and returned to the backstage amidst the sound of the opening snare drum.
Wu Qi, who returned to the backstage, happened to see Li Chongrun, who had put on makeup, walking out of the curtain.
Her hair was all tied up with an upturned crown, and she wore a Taoist robe that covered her strong figure. There was a rough peach wood sword on her back, and around her waist was a compass commonly used by Taoist priests. It looked like a pair of
The appearance of a Taoist boy.
Feeling that the eyebrows were drawn a bit sloppily, Wu Qi found an eyebrow pencil and carefully drew a few strokes on Li Chongrun's eyebrows. Looking at it again, he saw that the modesty in Li Chongrun's eyebrows was greatly reduced, and instead became fainter.
A touch of heroism.
If everyone hadn't watched Wu Qi display his methods, no one would be able to connect the somewhat mighty Taoist boy with the usually easy-going and smiling King Linzi.
After patting the non-existent dust on his hands with some satisfaction, Wu Qicai signaled to Li Chongrun that he could go.
A somewhat hidden curtain was opened from the backstage, Li Chongrun put on a bamboo hat and walked into the drizzle.
Because of the rain and the fact that many idle people went to the square at the entrance of the city to listen to the opera, the streets were rarely deserted.
Li Chongrun followed the path provided by Ruiniang before and found a small door on the edge of a high wall. There was a small door on the high wall.
Li Chongrun knocked on the small door at the agreed frequency, and the small door opened through a slightly narrow gap. A somewhat vigilant, muscular man showed his face and asked in a deep voice: "Who are you looking for?"
"Ruiniang from Yiyunfang in Jiangdu asked me to deliver a message." Li Chongrun handed over a small bamboo sign in his sleeve.
Hearing Ruiniang's name, the man's expression became more relaxed, "Wait a moment!"
Li Chongrun didn't wait long in the drizzle. The small door opened. The sturdy man just now stretched out his head, looked around and saw that no one was around, and extended his hand to invite Li Chongrun in.
"When a distinguished guest comes, how many doors have he passed? How many hurdles have he passed?"
Li Chongrun pressed the incision made by Ruiniang and said back to the strong man: "After passing seven gates, there are twelve hurdles. I'd like to ask, how much copper does Ruiniang owe my employer?"
The muscular man stopped talking after hearing this. The curtain behind him moved vaguely, and a pretty female voice rang out: "One hundred and three copper coins."
A girl dressed as a singer came out from behind the curtain and said, "The deputy envoy of Jiangnan Province has met the envoy."
"Sister, you're welcome." Li Chongrun took out a piece of paper from his arms with several names written on it. "How long will it take to find out the people on this?"
"I wonder how far the envoy will touch you?"
The girl dressed as a singer took the note, but she didn't respond immediately. Instead, she asked a question cautiously.
"It doesn't have to be too detailed." Li Chongrun touched his nose and smiled shyly. "As long as you know when they came to Yangzhou and who they have met recently."
The list is not long, there are only a few people, and it is clearly written on it. They are not particularly important characters. They are just the newly acquired concubine of the county magistrate's family, distant relatives who moved from the wealthy family in the east of the city, and a few others.
A returning wanderer who built a big house in the countryside.
"Subordinates take orders."
"If you find out anything, just hand it over to Ruiniang in the original way."
After going out, Li Chongrun put on his bamboo hat and quietly disappeared into the misty rain.
The reason why Li Chongrun followed the troupe around the seven counties of Yangzhou City was mainly because Li Chongrun wanted to take the opportunity to get a feel for how the underlying operation of His Majesty's espionage organization, which has been continuously polished by Her Royal Highness the Princess over the years, was done today.
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Although he had already joined this organization before, he had analyzed the intelligence collected by this organization with everyone countless times, and even had a smaller organization that only belonged to him.
It's just that I have only been active at the upper levels, and I have never had an intuitive concept of this huge and scary organization.
Although I have been a human being in two lives, in my previous life I was just a common person who was sharp-eyed when I needed it and didn't know the truth when I didn't.
When it comes to scheming and planning, I can't compare with those experienced officials and those who have fought for the palace. Even the ability to deal with people and adapt to the situation, even the one who only knows how to wander between a woman's legs.
Wu Chongxun is much better than him.
My only advantage is nothing more than some knowledge that is ahead of this era, and the memory that is beyond ordinary people after being reborn in this body.
Therefore, Li Chongrun has always been very diligent, for no other reason than to absorb all the knowledge that can be provided around him like a sponge.
For no other reason than to survive in the turbulent court.
This rare opportunity, Li Chongrun did not let Ruiniang take the usual route, but made a rare trip himself, in order to see with his own eyes how this behemoth, His Majesty's ears, could be heard from the vast sea of noise among the people.
, you can hear the discordant tone.
After returning to Yangzhou for a few days, news from various places spread back to Yangzhou city one after another. After Ruiniang changed hands, the news was sent directly to the desk in the secret room where Li Chongrun lived daily.
Li Chongrun, who had been hiding in the garden pretending to be sick since returning to Yangzhou, felt that he had done almost everything he could do while lurking, and was discussing with Bing'er, who had just returned from Luoyang, how to wake himself up.
The news of his arrival reached the ears of the person he wanted to know.
But compared with the two troubles Bing'er came with, this matter was actually easier.