Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 227 Come as You Say
Zhang Shou was in a very good mood after getting a large sum of money, and the person he blackmailed was the eldest prince whom Zhu Ying despised, and who had used words to make things difficult for him in Qingning Palace, and then he threw a difficult little guy to someone else. Especially tomorrow was a rare day off, and he could finally change his brain that was numb from teaching, and he felt even more relaxed.
And when he walked out of the Xiao family's gate, he happened to see the beautiful figure in a jade-colored dress under a pomegranate red cloak jumping off the horse, and he felt even better. This kind of bright red with light colors is something that no one can resist, and only a young lady like Zhu Ying would wear it unscrupulously.
Just as he was looking at people with a smile, Zhu Ying had already rushed to him with brisk steps and showed a big smile: "A Shou, great news, a great victory! Just now, Dad sent someone to report back to the capital with a fast horse, saying that my eldest brother destroyed the base camp of those bandits that made firearms, and also brought back three tribes that requested to be naturalized!"
Although he was still hoping that Zhu Tingfang would come back soon, Zhang Shou couldn't help but take a deep breath when he heard such good news. He then said in surprise, "Before, there were rumors that your eldest brother had lost the battle and was missing. Could it be that your father was deliberately creating confusion?"
"Although I really want to say that this is true, I actually don't know what's going on." Zhu Ying's bright smile suddenly disappeared, replaced by depression and annoyance. "God knows what my father is thinking. He never tells me those big things. My eldest brother is the same. He always treats me like an ignorant child!"
At this point, she herself began to feel somewhat suspicious: "When Dad sent back the news, he said that my eldest brother's vanguard army suffered heavy casualties... He shouldn't have lied about such a defeat. Moreover, the Northern Tartars had worked so hard to get those craftsmen and methods of making firearms from our Ming Dynasty, how could they be raided so easily by my eldest brother? This is not right!"
"If you can't figure it out, don't think about it."
Zhang Shou comforted her habitually, and when he saw Zhu Ying glaring at him angrily, as if to say, "How dare you look down on me?", he smiled and said, "Because I can't figure it out either. In war, bystanders pointing fingers will only get in the way, and most people don't understand. So we shouldn't learn from those laymen in the court who pretend to know everything, and just concentrate on cheering for your father and your elder brother!"
Zhu Ying was immediately delighted by Zhang Shou's words, and the corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously: "Ah Shou, why are you so good at talking? I am happy every time I hear you talk! Do you know that when the news came today, I happened to meet Yongping who was hosting the Yuehua Tower Literary Gathering, and I also met a pretentious talent on the way."
As she spoke, she sneered, and imitated their contemptuous tone and raised her head and said, "There are not many cases of generals killing innocent people to claim credit, covering up their mistakes, and turning defeat into victory. Maybe he killed a few herdsmen again and then pretended to be a military achievement!"
At this point, Zhu Ying was so angry that she immediately said angrily: "I was so angry that I whipped that foul-mouthed guy and made him run all over the street! Are my father and elder brother that kind of people? My father killed the scum who took credit for killing innocent people, and my elder brother often told me that a real man should expand the territory and protect the peace of the area, and he must never whitewash his mistakes!"
Although some people are heroes in words and some are strict with others but lenient with themselves, Zhang Shou still prefers to believe that Duke Zhao Zhu Jing and his son Zhu Tingfang should be people who speak and think as they say - of course, this can only be said that he found that the emperor seemed to trust the Zhu family very much, and these people in the Zhu family left a very good impression on him.
Therefore, he coughed and said, "You are right, but beating someone in the street will cause trouble for your father and elder brother. Moreover, the scholar who was beaten can go back and spread your 'atrocities' everywhere, and establish a reputation for yourself as someone who is not afraid of power. So, if you encounter such a thing in the future, just pretend that you don't care about it and walk away."
Seeing Zhu Ying's eyebrows raised, Zhang Shou pretended not to notice and smiled and said patiently: "Then, you can ask some street urchins to make up dozens of different stories about him on the road that the scholar must pass. If he can ruin your family's reputation, others can certainly ruin his reputation. I think this guy who looks down on others can never be a flawless saint."
"Hitting someone can only hurt them temporarily. Only by giving them a taste of their own medicine can some people shut up completely."
When Zhu Ying heard this, she couldn't help but stare at Zhang Shou with wide eyes: "Ah Shou, aren't you a gentleman? This method is so vicious!"
Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, then he touched his nose. He was about to say that he had never called himself a gentleman, but the girl in front of him smiled brightly: "But I like it! But I have a quick temper and I will never wait for revenge. Next time I meet such a person, I will beat him first, and then destroy his reputation, let him taste the taste of being slandered and being slandered by everyone!"
Seeing that Zhu Ying meant to beat him first and discuss other matters later, Zhang Shou burst into laughter. Yes, if I endure and not report it until the next day, would I still be Zhu Ying?
After laughing, he saw Zhu Hong and other guards looking out from the alley, so he took the initiative to go forward and lead Zhu Ying's majestic mount. Perhaps because he had seen him so often, the beautiful horse seemed very docile, and Zhu Ying walked side by side with him with a smile, talking about some trivial matters of taking stock of the family's property in recent days, but suddenly stopped when he was still some distance away from the alley.
"A Shou, you said before that Zhang Chen and my second brother, like Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, would have good things soon, but why is there no news? My second brother sighs all day long, and I heard that some people in your Banshan Hall are also in a low mood. But that's inevitable. The emperor has temporarily skipped Yongping. There are only three princesses and princesses to be betrothed this time. It's impossible for everyone to be so lucky."
Zhang Shou nodded in understanding. "It's fine for the others, but I promised you a good future for those people in Cuiyun. After you have taken stock of the assets, have you found any businesses or shops in the mansion that are not making money or even losing money? Would you like to test them?"
Zhu Ying immediately rolled her eyes at Zhang Shou. "Although some of the managers in my family embezzled money, there are no losers. My grandmother would have fired anyone who ran a shop that was not profitable or even lost money, no matter how long they worked! But I have found a few that have problems. I will give you a list later. Please help me think about whether there is any use for them."
She paused as she spoke, but raised her lips and said, "I believe in your judgment of people. What's more, you are a powerful person who earned a fortune from the eldest prince!"
Zhang Shou was immediately surprised: "How did you get the news so quickly?"
"Haha, don't you see who I am?" Zhu Ying said with a smile, "Uncle Hua told me!"
Although he had no intention of hiding it from someone, Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard Hua Qi tell Zhu Ying directly. However, he changed his mind and said softly, "Yingying, I don't want to write to the emperor through the Tongzhengsi, but use the box that the emperor gave me before. Can you help me deliver it?"
Zhu Ying said without hesitation: "This is easy, leave it to me and I will deliver it for you!"
"Then I'll leave it to you. I've already written the memorial and put it in the Imperial College. I'll give it to you later!" Zhang Shou said with a smile, "It's great to have someone who can go to the palace anytime and anywhere!"
Zhu Ying keenly heard the missing words of Zhang Shou, and immediately said with a slight frown: "Hey, why don't you finish your words? There is a thing that can pass through the palace anytime and anywhere? For no reason, why omit a word! If you don't explain it clearly to me, I won't help you deliver it!" At the same time, her eyes were a little wandering, as if she was afraid that Zhang Shou would remain silent, or not respond to this conversation.
"Okay, I was wrong. What I meant was that it's great to have a fiancée who can travel to the palace anytime and anywhere!" Zhang Shou said the word fiancée very naturally, and saw Zhu Ying's face flushed immediately, but she still glanced at him happily. He immediately laughed and continued to lead the horse to greet Zhu Hong and others.
However, just as the two groups of people met, they heard a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats, followed by a young man riding a horse and galloping over. When he got close, he reined in his horse and almost fell off the horse. Seeing that the man finally managed to stabilize his body, Zhang Shou recognized that it was Deng Xiaodai, and asked with a smile: "Xiaodai, are you here to see me in such a hurry? Is there something going on with your Wang Dayin?"
"I'm not looking for you, young master." Deng Xiaodai's face was full of bitterness. "I'm looking for the Sixth Young Master of Huaiqing Marquis and the Fifth Young Master of Nanyang Marquis. Wang Dayin wants to question them about the previous case. Oh, and Brother Zhu Hong and everyone in the Duke of Zhao's Mansion, because you are the ones who caught the man."
At this point, he bowed to Zhu Hong and the others with a bitter face and said, "Wang Dayin said that it would be difficult for other people to get things done, so he sent me on this trip."
"Wang Datou is so cunning!" Zhu Ying snorted in dissatisfaction, but was immediately left speechless by Zhang Shou.
"Wang Dayin has it bad enough. He always takes the blame for everything that happens. If it were another Shuntian prefect, who would care about these trivial matters that might cause trouble?" Zhang Shou saw Zhu Ying embarrassed, so he politely said to Zhu Hong, "I'll trouble you and the others to go to Shuntian prefectural government office. I'll go call Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, and I'll go with them."
"I'll go too!" After Zhu Hong agreed immediately, Zhu Ying volunteered and added, "It's not a court trial, so it's okay for me to go. Ah Shou, you should come with me!"
Knowing that the young lady had made up her mind, there was no way she could change it, so Zhang Shou didn't waste any more words, just smiled and turned back to call for help. Sure enough, when he came out with Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, who looked relieved, he saw Zhu Hong standing helplessly behind Zhu Ying, and it was obvious that he had failed to persuade the young lady not to join in the fun.
When the group arrived at the Shuntian government office not far away, as soon as they entered the gate, Deng Xiaodai, who was leading the way, once again enjoyed the collective attention of many petty officials and runners. He knew that this was all because he had succeeded in his mission and brought back the person Wang Jie had specifically asked to see in just a quarter of an hour, but he himself did not feel happy.
According to the style of the young master and the Zhu family of Zhaoguo Mansion, they will probably bring endless troubles to Shuntian Prefecture in the future. When he is caught in the middle, he will have to do something like today. However, no matter how good Wang Fuyin is, he may not be able to stay in Shuntian Prefecture for a lifetime. What about him?
Because of those visualization charts, he was about to be promoted to Dianli, and even his uncle was shocked by the speed of his promotion! The question was, if another prefect came, would he still be able to accommodate him?
Deng Xiaodai was still struggling, but after bringing the person here, he had nothing else to do, so he could only go back to his household office with a heavy heart to continue working. In the second hall of Shuntian Prefecture, seeing the crowd of people rushing in, including the young couple he didn't want to see at all, Shuntian Prefecture Governor Wang Jie felt like he had a headache. He was not afraid of trouble and didn't avoid it, but that didn't mean he liked to cause trouble!
He took a deep breath and said bluntly, "Those guys who broke into Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu's weaving and dyeing workshop and were brought here by Zhu Hong and others, claiming that they were plotting something bad, have admitted that it was the Second Prince who ordered them to do so. But now they are saying that the Zhu family of Zhaoguo Mansion and you brothers, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, are colluding to plot something bad."
Before everyone could get excited, he slammed the table and said, "He petitioned this government and asked me to personally check your weaving and dyeing workshop. He said, if there was no trick, why would you set up an ambush inside and outside to capture them in one fell swoop?"
Zhang Lu, who was about to present the facts and reason, was stunned. Zhang Wu reacted directly and turned his head to look at Zhang Shou's expression. As for Zhu Hong, as a guard of the Zhu family, he felt that he had no chance to speak, so he pretended to be deaf and dumb. Zhu Ying said angrily: "How unreasonable! Isn't this Zhu Bajie putting the blame on others? The thief was caught, and he still questioned why the master was so guarded?"
Wang Jie didn't expect that Zhu Ying, who usually doesn't think, would come up with such an apt analogy, and he burst out laughing.
Zhang Shou asked calmly, "Excuse me, Lord Wang, do you have anything to say to the Second Prince?"
"He is staying indoors, saying he is ill." Wang Jie had no good feelings towards the impulsive and trouble-making Second Prince, so he said calmly, "Although he will be in trouble if the matter is reported, if he insists on this, I am afraid those who already dislike you will attack you fiercely."
" Then please ask Wang Dayin to go to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu's weaving and dyeing workshops to find out what's going on."
When Zhang Shou said this, he had a smile on his face and his eyes were bright, which made him look open and honest. Even though Wang Jie didn't think that Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu had any shameful intentions in buying a weaving and dyeing workshop and hiring a few spinners to do the work, he still felt extremely satisfied.
He said that Zhang Shou has always been quite upright in doing things.
"Well, let's go now!" Wang Jie stood up majestically and said in a deep voice, "If we find out that there is no such thing, we will have to punish those guys who made false accusations and counter-attacks!"
When they followed the Shuntian prefect out, Zhang Shou, who was lagging behind, said to Zhu Ying calmly, "Yingying, you accompany Wang Dayin and let him see whatever he wants. I will go back to the Imperial College to get the memorial box. If he wants to go to the palace, you can go with him."
