Chapter 187 Plotting against Mr. Xiao Ge
Dongcheng, Jiguyuan.
When Zhao Duan got rid of the smell of alcohol and arrived at this low and dilapidated building carrying two boxes of cakes.
I couldn't help but think of that bright morning when I came to Dongcheng with Haitang and Zhang Han to look for the descendants of the Xue family.
"Hey, sir, are you here again?"
In the small room at the entrance of the courtyard, there is an old concierge guarding the door.
However, Zhao Duan knew that the other identity of this old concierge, who had a dark face and was missing a leg. Although he was thin but full of energy, he was the director of the orphanage.
As a "charitable institution" in the capital, there is little to gain in this building that has adopted many orphans.
The so-called dean sounds nice, but in fact his status is similar to that of a subordinate, or even worse.
Zhao Duan talked with the old dean named Wu and learned that he was just like him when he was young. He was also a soldier, but his status was lower.
He served in the imperial frontier army in the southwest.
At that time, above the head was Zhao Shixiong, the famous general of the Yu Dynasty, known as the "Skinny Tiger".
Unlike the pampered imperial guards in the capital, the border troops really had a chance to fight.
Whether it was suppressing bandits or dealing with some "barbarians" outside Dayu's territory, they had always seen blood.
Lao Wu had his leg broken in a fight, and even if it was reattached later, he could no longer stay in the army.
Then, with the accumulated military achievements, he moved to a position in the capital that was barely close to the Yamen.
If it were placed in an era that Zhao Duan was familiar with, it would be considered as being placed in the establishment after being discharged from the army.
But after Lao Wu came in, he realized that he had been cheated.
The shabby orphanage is full of people crying for food. It is a difficult task just to feed and clothe these children who have lost their parents, to afford medicine when they are sick, and to prevent a few deaths every year.
Especially the small amount of money and food allocated by the imperial court. After layers of deductions, not even a few were left in his hands.
Even if Lao Wu supplemented his salary, he could barely survive.
If you are a veteran next to you, you may give up your job, or you may try to find connections and find other ways to make a living.
Old Wu was originally planning to do this, but the old pawn, who had also lost his parents since childhood, wanted to leave several times, but was kept back by the button-like eyes of those skinny children several times.
I wanted to stay for another year.
So one year later, another year, and another three years...
I have been confused until now.
However, many years of hard work have moved God. In recent years, life in the orphanage has become much better.
Every now and then, a pretty girl with bad eyesight would send me some money as a donation.
As far as he knew, the girl came alone every time, carrying a big bag with pieces of silver wrapped in paper. She would deliver it to the orphanages one by one, but she never said where she came from.
During these days, there was another noble man who occasionally came to donate and was generous.
"Haha, come over here and give it to the children."
Zhao Duan's eyebrows were soft, and he was completely different from the domineering and domineering person he used to be when he got along with the officials in the court.
Passing the cake over, he stuffed two pieces of heavy silver worth ten taels into his sleeves.
This amount, to a big shot, is just the cost of a dish, but it is enough to feed the children in the orphanage for a month.
"Young Master has a kind heart. Judging by his appearance, you can tell that he is a great good person. He must be a family that has accumulated good deeds and will be blessed with happiness."
Lao Wu used limited words to compliment him, and quickly took out a small notebook and asked him to leave his name.
Zhao Duan shook his head and refused. He didn't even enter the door. He just said he was busy, left the money and left.
Lao Wu kept sighing:
Compared to those gentry and gentlemen who donated a few coins and wanted to write their names all over the bulletin board of the charity hall, the girl and the young man were two completely different people. And if he knew what kind of bad reputation the guy he just praised as a "good guy" had in the capital, he would probably be shocked.
…
…
"grown ups."
Far away from the orphanage, inside a carriage.
When Zhao Duan stepped into the carriage, the round-faced little secretary who stayed behind called out sweetly.
The look in his eyes became even more different.
"Is there something on my face?" Zhao Duan stretched his body lazily, leaned on the soft cushions in the carriage, and asked.
"Ah." Qian Kerou hesitated, shook his head and hesitated: "It's just that I didn't expect that you would come to a place like this."
Summer was almost over, and Nv Jinyi's face became increasingly round, like an apple.
"Just asking for peace of mind..." Zhao Duan said casually: "Kerou, you have to know that the more bad things you do, the more you will feel uneasy. Do some charity and you will feel at ease. Sir I didn’t understand it before, but now I understand it.”
"..." Qian Kerou didn't know what to say, so she held it back for a long time and said:
"Sir, are you going to do something bad today?"
"Yes." Zhao Duan chuckled, raised his hand and gently flipped through the information about "Xiao Ge Lao" Li Yinglong.
In the information, Li Yinglong's many weaknesses were listed, among which lustfulness was particularly prominent, which made Zhao Duan marvel at it and lamented that he knew how to play.
When Li Yinglong was in the "Beijing circle" in the past, he was a beauty and quite sentimental.
Later, I left the "Beijing Circle" and stopped being a dandy. Instead, I became the Minister of the Ministry of Works. She is still a beauty... It can be seen that no matter how rubbish people are, they also have advantages, such as a single-minded hobby...
Of course, Mr. Xiao Ge has a higher appreciation for women and is not very interested in Jiaofangsi. In addition to appearance, the woman he values should also look at her style and temperament.
You need to be able to talk to him about history, past and present, have unique insights into the court, and focus on a soul compatibility...
Of course, there are exceptions.
For example, the "Sixth Madam" in the information seems to have been obtained by Li Yinglong not long ago with some tricks. The method was quite straightforward, which made Zhao Duan frown.
He was keenly aware that something was wrong - with Li Yinglong's style and status, he wouldn't be so impatient.
The wives who took concubines in the past were almost all from innocent families, and no matter how bad they were, they were still commoner women.
And this sixth lady is very weird. Not only is she a geisha from a lowly background, she was married off by a merchant earlier.
And it is said that Li Yinglong was quite tolerant of him.
"There's a problem, there's a big problem."
Zhao Duan intuitively believed that he could use this as a breakthrough point to find trouble for Li Yinglong.
Now, the entire capital's attention is focused on the turmoil in the court, paying attention to this big drama.
But no one noticed that Zhao Duan, who had disappeared, had secretly stretched out his knife and stabbed Mr. Tangtang Xiaoge.
"You have offended me and you still want to run away? You really have never heard that I will avenge Zhao as King of Hell."
Zhao Duan narrowed his eyes.
Of course, there is another purpose.
If he could defeat Li Yinglong, he would obviously be able to help Zhen Bao greatly and tilt the balance of victory in the court battle towards her.
"Lao Hou, go to Shenlong Temple." Zhao Duan said calmly.
There was murderous intent in his eyes.
Intelligence shows that today, the Sixth Lady Lin, will go to Shenlong Temple to burn incense.
(End of chapter)