You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 50 The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked

Jiang Qingyun walked to the window again and began to strum the guzheng quickly and roughly. A series of rapid notes pierced through the rain and carried far.

The female shopkeeper, unaware of what had happened, came in person, carrying a silk umbrella.

"grown ups?"

"Prepare plenty of wine! I'm in a great mood today, I won't leave until I'm drunk."

"Yes."

Now that the three have become sworn brothers, their relationship is naturally different from before.

The sworn brotherhood of ancient times was nothing like the kind of drinking parties before time travel—"Brother, if you ever need anything, just mention my name, it'll do!" or "Brother, that's all for now, drink this bottle of liquor, and we'll see each other later."

……

To better and faster express their emotions, Jiang Qingyun suggested switching to large bowls for drinking.

Haruki Murakami once said:

Once a serious man and a serious woman establish an intimate relationship, they become much more relaxed in their interactions, share secrets, and no longer guard up.

This statement also applies to men.

After drinking and getting drunk, they chatted idly.

"Third brother, where did you get that prescription?"

"It was passed down from my mother's family."

Who is your mother?

“The Wen family of Changzhou, Suzhou”.

"That's it, that's it."

Wu Yong firmly believed this.

The Wen family of Changzhou County is a century-old family that has produced Wen Zhengming and Wen Zhenmeng. With a profound heritage, it is not surprising that they have some treasures hidden in their home.

However, Wen Zhenmeng's son, Wen Cheng, was killed by Tu Guobao, the governor of Jiangning, in the third year of the Shunzhi reign for being involved in a case of supporting the Ming army's counterattack.

From then on, Wen never recovered.

Wu Yong opened his mouth as if to ask something, but in the end, he swallowed a mouthful of wine in silence.

……

Jiang Qingyun put down his wine bowl:
"Eldest brother, second brother, I have a prediction. The Zhenglan Banner can't withstand the court's treatment. They will rebel sooner or later. Once war breaks out, there may be no safe place in the inner city. Tomorrow, you two should find an excuse to send your families out of the city. Tell the outside world that you are visiting relatives and stay for a few more days. Once I discover that the Zhenglan Banner is showing any signs of trouble, I will try my best to send someone to notify you two to come to my southern city for refuge."

"So good."

Wu Yong shook his head: "Brother Zhou can go to the South City to take refuge, but I can't. I am the Imperial Physician, so it would be better for me to take refuge in the capital."

The two nodded.

There is no doubt that the Plain Blue Banner would not be able to take the heavily fortified Imperial City.

Jiang Qingyun seemed to be intoxicated:
"Life is hard, but officialdom is even harder. Since the Wanli era, the capital has been a place of chaos and corruption, where the wicked and the wicked mingle. Now, it seems peaceful on the surface, but it's actually even more treacherous. We officials from humble backgrounds can lose everything if we make one wrong move."

Zhou Shao nodded:

"The Qing Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty were similar on the surface, but in reality they were very different."

Wu Yong put it even more bluntly:
"The imperial court is simply too busy to deal with this. Once the war in the southwest is over and things have settled down, many things will not be like they are today."

At this point, all three fell silent.

……

Jiang Qingyun carefully chose his words and said:

"Actually, I also want to offer the real remedy for preventing smallpox. But sincerity may not be reciprocated, and I'm afraid it might even bring disaster. As the Buddha said, one should not casually interfere in the karma of others. I have already interfered in the karma of hundreds of thousands of people in Nancheng. If I interfere in more, I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it."

Wu Yong slammed his fist on the table:
“Third brother, you did the right thing! Our Wu family has practiced medicine in the palace for generations, and we have never dared to exert even half of our strength. When the Wanli Emperor had a tooth decayed, the pain was so intense that it pierced his brain. My great-grandfather frequently went to the palace, and while he could occasionally relieve the pain, he could never cure the disease. Second brother, third brother, do you know why?”

The two shook their heads.

"I don't want to be the next Hua Tuo."

"Gods can only stay in the heavens and quietly enjoy the worship of mortals. Once they descend to earth and use their ability to save people, the day when they are splashed with dog blood by fools and stabbed in the back by villains is not far off. If you can cure typhoid fever today, you must be able to heal flesh and bone tomorrow, otherwise, people will accuse you of deceiving the world and stealing fame."

The rain pattered softly outside the window, while the three people inside sighed deeply.

People generally believe that officials are cautious in their words and actions, but this is only true in public. In private, they dare to say anything. After all, officials are human beings too.

……

Jiang Qingyun played the zither again and had a maid bring hot tea and hangover soup.

Looking out the window at the heavy rain~
He suddenly remembered what the monk Tianji had said—although there are a small group of people in the human world who have seen through the six realms, they are ultimately too soft-hearted and too weak-willed. They can only complain and write some pretentious articles in an attempt to awaken the world.

The monk was right!
Big brother is right!

How can ants save themselves?
Even the smartest ant is still just an ant. No matter how clever they are, even if they fight to the death, they can't change much of reality. All they can do is migrate before the flood comes, and then watch as large numbers of their companions are wiped out by a single stream of hot urine!
The monk's ravings seemed to be entirely true.

In the human world, there are humans, demons, and Buddhas; the three realms are truly blurred.

It's just that the demonic path is deeper, while the Buddhist path is weaker.

For example, these two sworn brothers in front of us are just slightly smarter ants in the human world.

For example, the recently deceased Great Western King Zhang Xianzhong and Prince Yu Dodo were demons.

So, which realm do I belong to?

……

The female shopkeeper hired three sedan chairs to send the guests back to their residence.

Jiang Qingyun, who had drunk too much, slept until the next morning. As soon as he breathed out, the calico cat squatting next to him was so suffocated by the smell that it fell to the ground.

He struggled to escape from the door.

"Husband, you're awake?"

Hearing the noise, Jiangnan quickly came in and opened the doors and windows to dissipate the smell of alcohol.

After a few sips of hot tea, rinsing his mouth with salt, wiping his face with a towel, and drinking a bowl of porridge, Jiang Qingyun's hangover lessened slightly.

Before they could even react, Wen arrived.

Looking at her listless son, she was furious.

"Yun'er, both wine and women should be consumed in moderation. You are young and think you are strong and healthy. If you continue to squander your health like this, you will suffer the consequences before you even turn 30."

“Mother’s reprimand is correct; the child knows he was wrong.” Jiang Qingyun quickly changed the subject. “But is there any progress on my plan to take a daughter from a Donglin Party family as a concubine? However, let me make this clear first: I don’t want Qian Qianyi’s daughter.”

"Stop dreaming! Not to mention the Qian, Zhang, Gu, and Gao families, even the main branches of the Shi and Yu families would never marry their daughters to a fifth-rank official like you as a concubine."

Jiang Qingyun laughed, thinking to himself that if he dared to suppress the Plain Blue Banner outside the Meridian Gate, he would dare to suppress the Donglin Party in Jiangnan.

"What about the side branches?"

"They've climbed too high."

……

Wen suddenly got angry:
"It's all your fault for being so unreasonable; I almost forgot about the important matter. I just saw a doctor, and Green Pearl is already a month and a half pregnant. You, you're really ridiculous!"

Jiang Qingyun shrugged, helpless.

Not long after~
Jiangnan, Green Pearl, and Late Spring have all arrived together.

"There must be rules in this household. The matter of Green Pearl is a one-time exception, but the second child must come from Jiangnan's womb. Anyone who violates this rule will be kicked out of the household. Also, Yun'er, you are not allowed to take any concubines for the time being!"

"Yes."

After giving her instructions, Ms. Wen was about to take a step when she saw a calico cat walking unsteadily past her, and she instantly became furious.

"It's neither human nor cat."

"The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked."

……

The one who raised the beam was, of course, Jiang Zhongcheng.

He's been experiencing both extremes lately, feeling lost yet happy.

His son kept causing trouble, each incident more outrageous than the last, which terrified him.
Because her son kept causing trouble, her colleagues all offered her gifts. Even her boss deliberately gave her opportunities to embezzle money. She spent her lunch and dinner at brothels, living a very happy life.
Jiang Qingyun actually knew about his father Jiang Zhongcheng accepting bribes, but he didn't want to interfere.

In court infighting, embezzling silver is a minor matter; it's better to leave some loopholes.

(End of this chapter)