Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Five Days and Nights Under the Balcony
Unfortunately, Zhang Ning was betrayed by Hu Yingyan, and Zhang Ning tried his best to improve his impression in the emperor's mind, but in the end he was completely excluded from the decision-making center of power, and continued to serve as an idle official in the Ministry of Etiquette and Ceremony, doing nothing.
The new emperor Zhu Zhanji is not as decisive as Emperor Yongle in killing, but he is by no means a weak and kind-hearted emperor who is good at maneuvering. Every time he takes the throne for several months, he always stands on the moral high ground every time he kills people. He is not an easy master to serve. The previous dynasty Li Shimian, the official who was imprisoned, not only almost lost his head because of this, but also a scholar who cultivated himself and regarded himself as a gentleman almost lost his reputation. However, the King of Han in Le'an did not seem to realize that his nephew was difficult to deal with, and his behavior became more and more rampant. At the end of the year, the capital You can often see people who are sneaky and inquiring about information. Most of them are the work of the King of Han. These matters have long been reported to the court by factory guards and even censors.
The imperial court had no reaction to what the King of Han did. It seemed that Zhu Zhanji wanted to play the established drama of "play hard to get" to the end and fully occupy the favorable position of public opinion.
However, Zhu Zhanji has not done nothing in the past few months. Even Zhang Ning has seen the progress of his intention to cultivate a power team. He promoted a group of young officials, but unfortunately Zhang Ning was not included. Even Zhang Ning's fellow countryman Yang Sihai also The emperor discovered his extraordinary talents in many memorials, and often invited this small official to participate in discussions; Yang Sihai was the same fellow countryman who Zhang Ning thought at first was that he missed the opportunity to make meritorious deeds. Unexpectedly, he came from behind and succeeded. In addition, Yang Sihai was born as a Jinshi, so his future looks brighter.
There was a burst of snow and rain at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, and the weather became colder and colder, and Zhang Ning's mood gradually became depressed.
If he hadn't met Yao Ji, he felt that he probably wouldn't have been as disappointed as "Jia Yi" when he was not recognized for his talent. It didn't matter whether he had a future or how big a future he had. After all, he was still young. There was no need to be too eager for quick success and quick success; even if he was doing it in modern times Among civil servants, there are very few young and promising ones who rise to the top. Most of them still have to go through qualifications, and the qualifications may not necessarily lead to a high level. At Zhang Ning's age, it is not bad to be a fifth-grade civil servant.
Even if he lost his advantage, everything was normal. But now he couldn't calm down. He felt that he was wasting his time, muddling along without accomplishing anything.
The night after I got off duty, I wandered under the eaves of a small ordinary courtyard house, looking at the hazy snow and rain, and a sense of depression lingered in Zhang Ning's heart... There was a sense of powerlessness, under the strong and stable force. The feeling of insignificance that cannot be shaken before me.
Could it be that the "ambition" slowly fermenting in his heart was because he knew that he was a member of the royal family, so he was unwilling to live an ordinary life? At this time, he understood why the King of Han had to find ways to seize the throne even though he had little hope. The lure of hope can cloud one's judgment of the situation.
Maybe Yao Ji is right: there is no hope for a long time. You should live your life well.
Zhang Ning looked up at the falling snow and rain outside the eaves, and chanted dejectedly and melancholy: "I am in the sun of Wushan Mountain, blocked by the high hills. The morning is cloudy, and the evening is rain. Morning and evening, on the balcony. Down……"
"Who are you thinking about, brother?" Zhang Xiaomei's innocent face suddenly appeared. She walked over with a smile and asked quietly, "It can't be Sister Fang... Don't worry, I won't tell Miss Luo."
Zhang Ning was slightly surprised and said: "Little sister, do you understand?"
He knew that although Zhang Xiaomei knew a few words and could read accounts and embroidery words at Yunjin Shop, she had read very little poetry and books, and basically didn't understand any allusions or classics.
The younger sister shook her head: "I don't know what it means, but I can feel what my brother is feeling."
Zhang Ning's mood seemed to have changed a lot in an instant. Although the little sister is simple and innocent, she is beautiful. Beautiful things always make people happy. She can infect people very much. Cherish the people in front of you, and the little sister.
There is no party that has been divided.
"Your feeling is indeed quite good." Zhang Ning responded with a gentle smile.
When the little girl saw this, she clung to him and begged: "I don't understand, please tell me, I want to hear it."
Zhang Ning had nothing to do, so he casually sat down on the threshold of the upper room and said, "Why don't I tell you something? It is said that the Warring States Period was a thousand or two thousand years ago. Yes, it was the era when the perfect jade was returned to Zhao in the play...
…”
The little girl blinked her big, watery eyes and listened seriously.
Zhang Ning continued: "There is a goddess living in Wushan County, Chongqing Prefecture. Her name is... Yao Ji, and she is the daughter of the Emperor of Heaven. Yao Ji secretly admired King Xiang of Chu, and they met in private. King Xiang was shocked to see him.
, they wanted to get married, but unfortunately, they were blocked by immortals and could not do so. After King Xiang returned to the palace, he still missed the goddess.
The king then traveled all over Wushan to visit the beautiful woman again. The goddess reappeared and explained that the relationship was over. King Mianchu put aside his emotions and concentrated on the country, and then said goodbye and returned to heaven.
... Yao Ji said what she just said when she was leaving, which probably means: She is a fairy, she turns into clouds in the morning, and flowers turn into drizzle at night..." Zhang Ning looked up at the snow and rain in the sky and sighed.
He said, "Every morning and every night, clouds and drizzle are under the balcony of my beloved, and they have not left him... Just look at the clouds and the drizzle in the sky, and it seems that I can see her, and see her overwhelming beauty.
Smile..."
Zhang Ning's voice started to choke as he spoke.
"Brother..." The younger sister suddenly held his big hand and wiped her tears with her sleeves.
Zhang Ning took a deep breath to stabilize his mood, and hurriedly said some words of comfort to the crying little girl: "Why are you crying? It's just a story, made up by ancient literati, and it's not true. Your tears are really worthless, they are shed in vain."
"It's not true..." Zhang Ning comforted her with a lack of words.
The little sister immediately threw herself into Zhang Ning's arms and cried, "I miss you the same way, brother. I think about you every day and even dream about you at night."
Seeing that she was so sad, Zhang Ning couldn't bear to hit her with his duplicity, so he said gently: "Brother, too, don't be sad."
Unexpectedly, Xu Wenjun walked into the inner courtyard at this moment. The family had just had dinner and it was not dark yet. She saw Zhang Ning and his sister hugging each other and was stunned immediately. Zhang Ning hurriedly said: "
It made her cry and she couldn't be coaxed for a long time."
After hearing this, the little girl raised her head and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Wenjun's face turned red, and he buried his head and went to his room.
Zhang Ning picked up his little sister and said, "Go to the study and cry. Look, someone saw you."
The little girl would cry whenever she got emotional, but she would be fine after she cried. When she came to the study room, she couldn't even cry even if she wanted to. She just stood silently next to the chair as if she was angry. Zhang Ning didn't know what to say, so he saw the book on the desk.
The books and the pile of paper and pen and ink had not been put away, so I picked up the pen and started writing on the paper.
I ignored Zhang Xiaomei, she would be fine in a while, and came over to take a look curiously. She also said in nice Nanjing Mandarin: "The small building listens to the spring rain all night, and the deep alleys sell apricot flowers in the Ming Dynasty."
Zhang Ning raised his head and smiled: "Not bad, not bad, I know all the words."
The younger sister smiled at this moment and said, "Brother, why are you praising me? Then you have to reward me with something, not just lip service!"
Looking at her pure smile, her lovely light red and smooth lips spread to both sides, and her eyes were shining with starlight. In such a situation, Zhang Ning would not be stingy anyway. He immediately put down his pen, looked at her and said with a smile: "Then You tell me what you want, and my brother will give it to you. If you want the stars in the sky, I have to find a way."
"I don't want the stars in the sky." The little girl's white cheeks rose slightly with a hint of red. She bent down and whispered in Zhang Ning's ear, "I want a pair of bras. It was also this time the year before last. It was the Chinese New Year, so my brother gave it to me. I have a nice pair of bras, but I often wear them out, and the material is hard to repair... You pick me a new one."
Zhang Ning calmed down and asked casually: "Why do you always wear it when you have nothing to do?"
The younger sister blushed and said softly: "Because it's so comfortable to wear, I wear it at night. Remembering that my brother gave it to me... it will become hard and swollen there. It feels weird, but I can't help it..."
After hearing this, Zhang Ning's face became hot and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He was a little worried and said hurriedly: "What are you imagining about your daughter who hasn't left the palace yet? You want other gifts. You can think of something else. If you don't want it, What?"
"If you continue to speak hypocritically like this, I'm going to get angry!" Zhang Xiaomei raised her mouth and said angrily.
Zhang Ning: "..."
She asked again: "You just told me a story, what does 'desire to marry' mean?"
Zhang Ning said: "I just want to be together."
"You lied to me and thought I was stupid! The goddess has already met Prince Xiang privately in the mortal world. Aren't we already together? Why do you still want to be married and 'together'?" The little girl said angrily, "You just You told that story deliberately to imply that the other person wanted to get married to you."
Zhang Ning said hurriedly: "Brother has absolutely no such intention... Then you already understand, why are you asking me?"
The younger sister shook her head and said: "I don't quite understand, but I know it must be something embarrassing and usually can't be done. Otherwise, why would the people in the story be tossing back and forth?" After saying this, she took advantage of Zhang Ning's unpreparedness and put her red lips together. , said softly, "Is this how you want to get married?" and quickly kissed Zhang Ning's mouth.
Zhang Ning's eyes widened in astonishment. He felt that the soft warmth of her red lips made his heart itch. He also felt the good smell of her breath, and the fragrance hit his nostrils. There was a "buzzing" sound in his head, and for some reason his hands were gone. He hugged the little girl's shoulders and held her soft body in his arms. After a moment, he hurriedly opened the little girl's mouth and looked back at the study door that was open. The breeze made the wooden door sway gently. , surrounded by the sound of "rustling" rain.
When she turned around and came back, she met the younger sister's eyes. The two looked at each other silently and didn't know what to say. After a while, the younger sister Zhang whispered: "The bra is broken, but I'm still wearing it."
Zhang Ning asked in a strange way: "How is it broken?" The little girl gasped softly and said softly: "If you don't believe me, brother, take a look."
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