Chapter Three: Midnight

  This small courtyard with two entrances was also purchased by great-grandfather in those years. Although it is small, it has all the necessary facilities.

  The courtyard is small and delicate, with large bluish-gray bricks paving the ground. There are two flower stands, planted with some peonies and tree peonies, and in the middle is a mature jasmine plant. In the four corners of the courtyard, there are some potted landscapes that are not exquisite but elegant ordinary objects.

  The two corners of the main hall also have two large lotus flower vats, one for storing water to prevent fires and the other is also used for viewing.

  The whole yard is not big, the wall of the courtyard has also been for many years, the whitewash on the wall looks mottled and faded, it's been a long time since it was last whitened, the bricks in the corner are all exposed, covered with green moss, looking very shabby.

  The first entrance is the main gate, and inside the small doorhouse on the right side of the main gate is the main hall's upper house. The three-bay upper house has one bright bay and two dark bays; the central bay is used for receiving guests, and an ancestral shrine is set up to worship ancestors' portraits. The two dark bays were converted into a warm pavilion for living quarters.

  The east and west wings on both sides of the upper house are also three rooms, with Zhang Jiamu living in the east wing and old servant Zhang Fu and his wife living in the west wing. The place is large but empty, looking deserted.

  On the west side of the courtyard, there is a small moon gate. Passing through the wall is the backyard, with several small houses that are dilapidated. However, there are a few flowering trees planted, including two winter plum blossoms that have already bloomed, their beauty is elegant and refined, making them a great addition to the backyard.

  There was also a small, flat martial arts arena with a rack on the side holding knives, guns, swords and clubs. In addition to these, there were several archery targets set up for practicing shooting arrows.

  The upstairs has been making noise, the old man sleeps earlier than young people and wakes up early. Especially since the old master passed away a year ago, he had just turned fifty and was widowed, I'm afraid it's hard to sleep in the cold night, tossing and turning.

  The grown man was the backbone of the family at that time, but after Zhang Lao's death, Zhang Jiamu, the only legitimate heir, was not promising. He was neither good in literature nor martial arts. The other day, he fell and almost lost his life. As a result, Madam Xu devoted all her energy to taking care of Zhang Jiamu, following him around every day. If Zhang Jiamu didn't get up and go over, his mother would probably come to see him soon.

  Zhang Jiamu has been lying in bed for days, and the whole family is restless.

  Although the house was not wealthy, every day's medicine was used in good quality, and eating food was also his first share. Every day asking about cold and warmth came from the heart, plus the original soul's memory still existed, in fact, it was two people combined into one. Soon, Zhang Jiamu adapted to and enjoyed this warm and harmonious relationship, indulging in it.

  The old wooden door creaked as Zhang Jiamu pushed it open. He was tall and sturdy, with long arms and broad shoulders, a fine physique typical of a martial artist's son. Despite the freezing cold, he wore only a small jacket embroidered with a pattern of five blessings and a pair of cotton pants, without even wearing a warm hat, but simply tying up his long hair with a net scarf.

  Although the sky is bright, the top of the sky is still grayish blue, and three stars can be seen faintly in the distance. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I feel a refreshing and clear-headed feeling that I didn't have when my body was sub-healthy before!

  He felt quite pleased in his heart and couldn't help but want to shout out loud a couple of times, really wanting to yell towards the sky: "Great Ming Dynasty, I'm here!"

  I'll probably be taken for a neurotic anyway...

  The family had just finished breakfast and hadn't exchanged two words when the old gatekeeper, Zhang Fu, came up to report: "Master, there's a young man from the Ren family outside who has come to pay his respects. He says he has an appointment with you to go on duty together at the morning watch."

  "Good!" Zhang Jiamu's spirits lifted, and he loudly instructed: "Please ask him to wait a moment, I'll go out right away!"

  As her son was about to leave, the old lady pulled him back and repeatedly reminded him: "When you are in Wei, don't take the lead in everything, be cautious and careful in all things, do you understand?"

  Zhang Jiamu knew in his heart that the reason why the Zhang family was getting more and more decadent was that they didn't dare to take the lead in everything!

  Jinyiwei is a place where kind and honest people are like sheep, but inside Jinyiwei there are packs of tigers and wolves. Sheep entering a pack of wolves will only end up being devoured, skin and bones included!

  But his mother's words were stern, and as her son, he didn't need to argue with her face-to-face; he just softly agreed.

  Xu said with a bitter smile, while rubbing Zhang Jiamu's clothes with her hand: "This year I haven't made you a new cotton-padded jacket, look at this one, it's already worn so thin and transparent!"

  In this generation, there are hardly any families that sell clothes; the Zhang family used to have several servants, but all of Zhang Jiamu's clothes were made by Madam Xu herself. This is truly a case of "a son's clothes, a mother's needlework, with every stitch full of love and care". How can he repay her kindness!

  He could only comfort her by saying: "Mother, I'm not cold, son's body is strong from practicing martial arts and boxing every day."

  Although she knew her son was just comforting her with empty words, it still made her feel a lot better. Xu Shi also knew that her son was telling the truth, as he was a young man in his prime, strong and robust like a young ox, practicing martial arts every day, and indeed had a very tough body.

  If it wasn't for the injury I got a while ago, I would have never had medicinal soup in my entire life.

  She smiled and helped her son tidy up his clothes again. Knowing it was inconvenient to delay any longer, she immediately let him go on duty at the fourth watch.

  After bidding farewell to his mother, who had repeatedly reminded him of various things, he returned to his room and changed into a long gown of reddish-brown color. He put on a large hat, wore a belt with rhinoceros horn decorations, tied on his waist sword, and wore black shoes with white socks. With this outfit, he looked quite spirited and refreshed.

  Out of the inner house gate, in front of the outer courtyard's small living room, I saw Ren Yuan from afar. Early in the morning, he was also full of energy and spirit.

  The two brothers met and exchanged greetings, then Zhang Jiamu said: "It's still early, let's hurry up, Ninth Brother, the early bird catches the worm, haha!"

  One early morning, Zhang Jiamu was in high spirits and also infected with Ren Yuan's anxiety. The two of them rushed along the way, on a very cold day, and before long they were sweating profusely.

  Jinyiwei is the imperial bodyguard of the Forbidden City, responsible for patrolling and arresting. A single word distinguishes it from other imperial guards.

  There are three types of affairs: First, searching for traitors inside and outside the capital city, managed by a special officer from the Imperial Guard with two subordinate officials and eighty guards; Second, capturing thieves inside and outside the capital city, managed by a commander from the Imperial Guard with five subordinate officials and one hundred guards; Third, repairing streets and clearing drains, managed by a commander from the Imperial Guard with three subordinate officials and fifty guards.

  Of course, this is just a superficial statement. The personnel and responsibilities of the Embroidered Uniform Guard have expanded many times over what they were in the past. Without mentioning other things, which of the Six Ministries, Three Judicial Offices, Imperial Academy, and Three Great Camps does not have people from the Embroidered Uniform Guard? The East Depot has ten copper seals for use at the zi, chou, yin, mao, and chen hours, each seal in charge of a certain number of patrol officers. Each seal is headed by a dangan head, under whom are several dozen flag officers, not to mention the hundreds of formal flag officers, as well as the mounted patrols, idle personnel, and undercover agents under their command - it's truly unknown how many there are!

  Ren Yuan and Zhang Jiamu were under the jurisdiction of Dong Si Fang, every day following different Dang Er Tou to undertake different tasks, just never got a good difference.

  The official yamen of the Imperial Guard was located outside the West Gate of the Ming Dynasty, together with other yamens such as the Commander-in-Chief's Office. However, it was only used for entering and attending court sessions, and not for handling daily affairs.

  Coming out of Xuan Nan Fang, passing through Zheng Xi Fang, and going around Chong Wen Men, there are many Wei in the capital, each with its own territory. Today's destination is the Jin Yi Wei's office in the west of the city, the journey is long, it's really urgent!

  The road conditions are not very optimistic, the capital was originally planned well, horizontal and vertical, with houses built along the streets, but after a long time of opening up, the population of the capital has exceeded one million. The originally wide roads have been occupied by the eaves and foundations of shops and homes on both sides, and the ditches on both sides of the road are all open sewers. Zhang Jiamu and several others rushed over, seeing many ordinary people dumping garbage into the open sewers along the road, filling them with dirty and smelly things.

  It wasn't until now that Zhang Jiamu finally understood why the environmental sanitation of the five cities in the capital of the Ming Dynasty required not only the garrison and the touring censors, but also the feared Embroidered Uniform Guard!

  Chatting idly while walking quickly, they ran for about half a time, the sky was bright and the sun's warmth had increased significantly, and finally arrived at the gate of Dong Si House.