Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 18: It is hard to disappoint a beautiful woman
Zhu Ying was secretly annoyed because Zhang Shou called her Miss again, but when she heard the term "the most beautiful woman in the world", her annoyance disappeared and she was replaced by happiness. But when the last question came, she couldn't help but look a little gloomy.
Seeing that this question stumped Zhanjin and Liuyin, or that neither of them dared to answer easily, she slapped the armrest and said unhappily, "So what? There are many people who admire me openly or secretly! They are either pig-headed idiots or pretentious. I am too lazy to even look at them, otherwise I would want to wash my eyes!"
"There are also some hypocritical people who are sanctimonious. They are clearly staring at me secretly all day long, but they dare not admit it. They even shake their heads and sigh behind my back, saying that they are attracting bees and butterflies and bringing disaster to the country and the people. Pah, hypocrites, I have beaten two of them in public!"
Seeing that she was getting more and more angry, Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh and said, "A gentleman is attracted to a beautiful lady, this is human nature. As for the hypocrite who likes beauty on one hand and pretends to be serious on the other, if he is caught in the act, he should be slapped in the face!"
However, Zhang Shou just realized that he had been diverted by the domineering Zhu Ying after agreeing with the young lady who dared to love and hate. Seeing that her eyes were looking at him more passionately, he quickly got back to the point and said, "I want to ask, will there be any admirers of yours who will chase you to this rural place?"
Well...
It was rare for Zhu Ying to meet a man who agreed with her extraordinary behavior - and this man was the "fiancé" that her father inexplicably arranged for her - if she was only pleased with his appearance when they first met, now, she felt that both his character and personality were quite to her liking.
The only bad thing is that even those who slandered her behind her back would deliberately use their words and actions to attract her attention in front of her, but Zhang Shou was always so distant!
Therefore, although she didn't understand why Zhang Shou was suddenly interested in her admirer, she still closed the loophole directly.
"My father has been impeached, and my eldest brother is missing. These guys have always been seeking profit and avoiding harm, so they may not miss me. But it's hard to say. There are many idiots like the pig-headed Lu family. After all, they are drooling over any beautiful woman. Anyway, you don't have to care about them. If someone really comes to you, just ignore him! Even if my father is in a bad situation, I have my grandmother, so they dare not do anything!"
At this point, Zhu Ying snorted, "My grandmother and the empress dowager are full sisters. When the emperor ascended the throne, he was still young, and the empress dowager ruled the country from behind the scenes. My grandmother disciplined my two uncles and did not allow them to interfere in government affairs. When the emperor got married at the age of fourteen, the empress dowager immediately withdrew from politics and has been enjoying her old age these years. The emperor respects the empress dowager and my grandmother the most."
"My father was promoted by Emperor Ruizong. When the Empress Dowager was in charge of the army, she immediately gave up her military power after the Emperor took power in the eighth year of Yongchen, and occasionally helped with military and national affairs."
"After a series of defeats this time, the emperor personally entrusted him with an important task, and he accepted the order to go to Datong. I believe in him, he will definitely not lose! Xuanfu also has the support of the Duke of Chu. Even if they have a grudge, they will never hold each other back at a critical moment!"
Zhang Shou originally thought that the mountain of Duke Zhao’s Mansion was a bit high, but now he felt that this mountain was simply reaching the sky!
He immediately made up his mind and said with a smile, "It is better to disperse than to block. Since these guys are likely to come, we can't let them see you, a rich lady, condescending to live in a shabby village."
Seeing Zhu Ying hesitated, he said sincerely: "You have seen the situation of this village. I plan to collect some money and renovate the village before the harvest season is over..."
"Huh? That's great! I walked around the village today, and those houses are so shabby!"
He tentatively proposed a nonsensical plan for rural renovation. Seeing that Zhu Ying actually agreed with it, Zhang Shou was not sure whether she was just suggesting it on a whim, or thought it was fun, or was really inspired by her walk around the village. After a little thought, he changed the subject and proposed another relatively practical matter.
"There are more than just Xiaodai and Xiaoqi in the village who are smart, but since their talents are not outstanding, they can only recite a few poems from me and learn the Nine-Nine Song. Now that I can have some free time, I plan to offer some rewards and hold a poetry recitation and simple arithmetic competition, and make a set of clothes for each winner..."
When Aunt Liu, who was sent by Wu, brought the sweet soup in, she saw Zhang Shou smilingly taking a small and exquisite brocade box from Zhan Jin. She was usually a chatterbox, but at this moment, she acted as if nothing had happened, as if she had not seen , and handed the plate of lotus seed sweet soup to Liu Yin, then immediately left without saying a word.
But when she entered the kitchen in the front yard and faced Mrs. Wu, she started to talk completely.
"The young master and the young lady were talking and laughing. Who knows what kind of love token is in the box ..."
Wu was startled and quickly stopped him, saying, "Stop gossiping. Yingying is a humble person, and Shou is a man with his own ideas. They must have discussed something."
"Yes, yes, yes." Aunt Liu immediately smiled, and then said with a smile, "In short, the young master is really lucky. Such a noble lady doesn't put on airs with others. Apart from other things, how many daughters-in-law are willing to let their mother-in-law call them by their maiden names before they even get married? After all, the young master is handsome. Really, when I was in the capital, I never saw anyone more handsome than the young master..."
Mrs. Wu was already very happy, and when Aunt Liu mentioned Zhang Shou's undoubtedly good appearance, she smiled even more brightly.
"In the past, only the villagers were amazed when they saw Ah Shou. But now, whether it's Yingying or other people in Duke Zhao's mansion, when they see Ah Shou, they all look at him twice. I'm not bragging, but my Ah Shou is a banished immortal from heaven."
At this time, Zhang Shou, who had already left the inner courtyard with the brocade box and was passing by the kitchen door, couldn't help but twitching his mouth when he heard this.
However, he no longer expected to be able to warn his mother to be cautious about this marriage. With the lady from the Duke Zhao's mansion sending a group of maids and supporting Zhu Ying's attitude of staying here, Wu was like someone supporting her back and would never listen to gossip, including what he said.
But he didn't believe the marriage certificate that the eldest lady talked about. When he first traveled through time, he was curious about his life experience. He carefully turned the whole house upside down while Wu was away, but he didn't find such an outrageous thing as a marriage certificate.
And the lady also had an attitude of hiding the text of the marriage certificate, which was enough to show that there was something fishy about this so-called marriage contract.
Thinking of this, Zhang Shou coughed heavily in front of the kitchen door. When the door curtain was lifted, Wu appeared in front of him with some embarrassment. He then said calmly, "Mom, I just discussed something with... Yingying."
Seeing Wu's delighted smile, he knew that his address to Miss Zhu pleased her, so he continued calmly, "Since the busiest harvest season is almost over, I plan to give the villagers something to do. Repair the houses in the village, and buy some clothes for the children. But I had no money, so Yingying lent me 100 taels of silver."
Wu was stunned when she heard this. The next moment, she immediately dragged people to the corner of the yard and angrily scolded: "How could you borrow money from her? You are only engaged, not married yet... No, even if you are married, the wife's dowry is hers, not yours, and you can't touch it! You, you are usually so smart, why did you do such a stupid thing today!"
Seeing Wu snatch the brocade box from his hand and then rush to the inner courtyard, obviously going to find Miss Zhu to return the money, Zhang Shou's mouth corners slowly curled up and revealed a smile.
He had no intention of taking advantage of Miss Zhu, but Mrs. Wu was too tight on his money, and he had never had much need for money before. In addition, he thought that his family was a landlord after all, so they were content with a small fortune. Therefore, he did not have a very urgent desire , and he was not even keen on getting ahead.
In his previous life, he went from being a second-generation rich to a poor first-generation and then a rich first-generation, but the price he paid was extremely high.
Of course, everything is different now. To be content with a small fortune, you need capital, right?
Zhang Shou waited for Wu to return the silver in the brocade box to Zhu Ying, and when she came out, she would give him some of the money she had saved over the years. However, to his surprise, a bright figure rushed out of the hall first. When Zhu Ying walked up to him angrily and put the brocade box back into his hands, he was stunned.
"Not to mention that you didn't ask to borrow it, I wanted to give it to you myself. Even if you asked me to borrow it, it was for a legitimate reason, not to squander it! Don't say that my two girls only brought out 100 taels of silver. Even if they brought out 1,000 or 10,000 taels, I would still lend it to you! I even lent money to my second brother, that bastard. Can't you be better than him?"
At this point, Miss Zhu's chest rose and fell violently, and she was obviously very emotional: "Your mother has concerns, that's her business. If you keep nagging, you're looking down on me, Zhu Ying!"
Zhang Shou looked at those eyes, which were as burning as her beautiful face, with some surprise, and finally felt relieved.
Yes, I always feel a little sorry for playing tricks on this young lady.
He took the brocade box, nodded with a smile and said, "Well, I'll be honored to receive it. Tomorrow I plan to call together the elders of the village to discuss some things. Can you come with me? Because there is something I need your help with."
