Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 335: Respect the wise and humble?
Young Master Jiang was still confused until Zhang Chen dragged him out of the house. Ever since he saw the young man coming in with Ah Liu, he had been secretly wondering about the other person's identity.
Judging from the title, he was most likely Zhang Shou's student, that is, a student of the Imperial Academy; but he also said he was from Xingtai, and he remembered that he had heard his father say that there were future sons-in-law and future nephews-in-law of the current emperor in Xingtai, and his heart suddenly became active. Seeing this handsome, but obviously somewhat perverse young man looking at him, he couldn't help but blurt out three words.
"Prince Consort Zhang?"
Seeing the other party's extremely strange expression, Young Master Jiang quickly changed the topic and said, "Zhang Yibin?"
"All wrong." Zhang Chen snorted in annoyance, and then said slowly, "The only thing I said right is the surname. Yes, my surname is Zhang, but the Prince Consort Zhang and Zhang Yibin I told you about are not from the same family. When they were in the capital, I was still protecting them. I didn't expect that now that you have just arrived in Cangzhou, the young master actually asked me to take care of you. Tell me, who are you?"
Facing such impolite questioning, Young Master Jiang was indeed ashamed and angry, but because the other party's words implied that even the prospective consort and the prospective concubine were his own younger brothers, he did not dare to offend them too much, so he mustered up the courage to ask back: "Excuse me, sir, who are you?"
"Who am I? Haha, haha!" Zhang Chen had to hide his identity . He thought he was wearing fine clothes and walking at night, and he had never found a chance to reveal his identity. Now that the eldest prince's reputation has been ruined, those profiteers, wicked gentry and wealthy people are all ashamed. He couldn't help but say excitedly, "I will not change my name, I am the son of the Duke of Qin, Zhang Chen!"
Young Master Jiang took a deep breath and could not help counting on his fingers the people now in Cangzhou City - the eldest prince who was recuperating in the palace; General Mingwei, who was in charge of the military and political power both inside and outside the country and the eldest son of Duke Zhao, Zhu Tingfang; Doctor of the Imperial Academy and Duke Zhao's future son-in-law, Zhang Shou; and according to Mr. Qi, the second son of Duke Zhao, who was also in Cangzhou.
If we add the son of the Duke of Qin in front of us...why is it that Cangzhou City is suddenly filled with children of noble families?
Despite his thoughts, he quickly put on the proper respectful attitude: "So it's Master Zhang..." He was about to say a few more polite words, but when he saw Zhang Chen side-glancing at him without saying anything, he realized that he was being asked who he was, so he could only mumble, "I'm Jiang Siyuan, the eldest son of the Jiang family in Cangzhou."
He had originally placed his hopes on Zhang Chen, a dandy young man from the capital who didn't know who he was. Unexpectedly, Zhang Chen looked him up and down and suddenly laughed: "Cangzhou Jiang family? The one that the eldest prince had won over, the one that united several big families in Cangzhou to switch to new spinning machines, but also suppressed wages and oppressed the machine owners, and finally saw that hoarding cotton was profitable, so they immediately stopped working and business, and fished out the pond to catch fish?"
Young Master Jiang was exposed so bluntly that he immediately felt very uncomfortable. As for being shocked and angry, well, he had been shocked and angry too many times from yesterday to today, and he couldn't be shocked or angry at the moment. So, he could only swallow his anger and say, "My father was confused, but I admit his guilt and accept the punishment on his behalf! As long as I can make up for it, I will do anything!"
Zhang Chen looked at Young Master Jiang with a somewhat surprised expression, and then he smiled and said, "No wonder the young master left you to me. He is quite responsible. You can still see the shadows of us in you! Since you have this attitude, it's easy. You lead the way, and we will go to visit those leaders. We have to make them suffer a lot!"
Although Young Master Jiang was frightened, he didn't care to mourn for those families now because it was better to let his friends die than to let himself die. He felt that those families had brought this upon themselves. He would be beaten and scolded by his father if he flirted with a girl, and his two younger brothers would be punished by their mother to kneel down if they spent a little more money. Those families had been living a good life for too long and had become complacent!
So, when Zhang Chen questioned him about the truth of each family, he told the truth without hesitation. It was not until he was dragged onto the carriage and heard what Zhang Chen said that he was completely dumbfounded.
"I say, Jiang Da, you will take the lead later. I will support you, but I won't say much. You should think carefully about how to use both soft and hard tactics to convince those families. From what I see from the young master, he seems to be quite interested in you. So you may have to take charge of the Cangzhou issue next. I have to go back to Beijing eventually, so you have to learn to be independent."
Seeing Young Master Jiang dumbfounded, Zhang Chen smiled and crossed his legs, saying leisurely: "Young Master, he is the kind of person who will force you to do something if he likes you. I have been forced to do it by him, and so has Lu Sanlang. The same is true for the Prince Consort Zhang Yibin you mentioned, and even his future second brother-in-law. A real man will be familiar with you after a while. I am optimistic about you!"
Of course Zhang Shou didn't know that Zhang Chen, who used to only threaten people with his fists, was now using his eloquence to push Young Master Jiang into the deep pit of a reformed prodigal son. Of course, even if he knew, he would definitely be happy to see it happen.
Now that Zhang Chen and Young Master Jiang had left, and Ah Liu had quietly left, he smiled and said to Zhu Ying, "Did you bring Zhang Chen here to give me a surprise? I was happy, but with Ah Liu here, it was impossible to be surprised."
"What's wrong with Ah Liu's ears!" Zhu Ying glared at Zhang Shou angrily, but then her anger turned into joy. "Since you have handed the Jiang family kid to Zhang Chen and asked them to reopen the workshop, and my eldest brother was involved in those cases last night, then you can have some free time. How about going to Cangzhou for a walk? This is the first time I've traveled so far away from Beijing!"
Zhang Shou was stunned at first, then he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. In this era, it was difficult for ordinary people to leave the villages, towns, and counties where they lived, and the children of rich families might not leave their own prefectures or provinces. Even Zhu Ying, who was at the top of the world, might not have the opportunity to see the world.
Of course, nowadays, we are too far away from the relatively open era of Emperor Taizu, and many ladies from wealthy families are even more pitiful. The extreme ones, among them, probably go out only as many times as visiting one family in their lifetime. Throughout their lives, they just go from one courtyard to another, and all they can see every day is the sky above their heads. Even if they are rich and pampered, they are still just pitiful people.
So don't blame some people for only knowing how to feel sad about the passing of time and the passing of autumn, and for writing poems and composing essays. Because they can't see more of the sky.
So, thinking about these completely irrelevant topics, Zhang Shou smiled and said to Zhu Ying: "Let's go to Lao Xianyu's place. If we can successfully pry open his mouth, you will have a good meal today."
"Huh?" Zhu Ying's eyes widened, and she was surprised and excited. "Ah Shou, are you going to cook again? I haven't eaten your food for a long time... I was also learning how to make snacks from Sister Qiao at home. When I return to Beijing, I will definitely make the most delicious osmanthus cake as a return gift for you!"
Well, I'm looking forward to it... Miss, although your cooking skills are terrible, your talent for making dim sum is barely good...
Zhang Shou thought so , and when he went out with Zhu Ying, he ran into Zhu Er. Thinking of Zhu Er running away from home to Cangzhou, and then when things were about to be solved, he ran into such a big case, and then all his brothers and sisters came over. He couldn't help but feel that his future second uncle was a bit pitiful.
He immediately said, "Yingying and I are going to Old Salty Fish's place, would you like to come with us?"
Zhu Er was about to agree, but suddenly realized that they were in pairs and he would be a nuisance if he followed them. He immediately declined politely, "I won't go, right? I'll see if I can help Big Brother in any way..."
"What can you do to help? It's good enough that you don't cause more trouble!" Zhu Ying grabbed Zhu Er without saying anything and walked out directly. "Besides, aren't you afraid that when big brother has trouble with the case later, he will vent his anger on you, the unlucky guy? Let's go, don't you have to get the seeds from that old salty fish first? As long as you have this thing, it will be difficult for your father to punish you when you go back."
Zhu Er was moved to tears by his sister's understanding. However, when he asked Ah Liu and Xiao Huasheng to follow him, and Zhu Hong and the other three followed far behind, they arrived at the salted fish... seafood shop. When Zhu Ying chased him in to find the old salted fish, he was stunned. Could it be that the smell in the shop was too strong, so the eldest lady brought him here to run errands?
Zhu Ying didn't care what Zhu Er thought: "Go and invite him out, ask him to bring all kinds of seasonings and ingredients, and then tell him that thank you for helping me last night, and today Ah Shou will go to the kitchen personally as a thank you. His kitchen is too small, Ah Shou can't even turn around, it's not convenient, we can go to the small kitchen in the palace to make delicious food, this is something that ordinary people will never experience."
Zhang Shou saw Zhu Er staring at him with eyes wide open, and then rushed inside. He couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Yingying, how did you know I couldn't even turn around in the kitchen? You know I've cooked here...Okay, you were just pretending to be confused when you knew the truth. I know it, it must be Ah Liu, the guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, who has become a traitor again!"
Seeing Zhang Shou turned his head and glared at him, Ah Liu looked calm, as if he had agreed. But the little peanut beside him blushed and whispered, "It was me...I didn't keep my mouth shut and told the young lady."
Oh, I guessed wrong today...but it turns out there’s another traitor!
Zhang Shou shook his head helplessly. Seeing Ah Liu dragging the terrified Peanut to talk about something, Zhu Ying smiled and said, "I just asked casually, and Peanut just said it casually. It's not a big deal anyway! Besides, it's the same whether you cook it for me or for everyone. Sharing happiness is worse than enjoying it alone. It also shows that you are approachable and respectful to others. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?"
Zhu Ying's words made Peanut feel extremely guilty. His uncle was indeed quite capable, but he didn't seem to be as respectful and courteous as the Zhu brothers and sisters and Zhang Shou, a doctor of the Imperial College.
Zhang Shou, however, had already heard the hidden meaning in Zhu Ying's words. So, Miss Zhu also thought that this old, wrinkled old salted fish was a scholar? She must have just come into contact with him last night. She was really perceptive!
"Okay, you're right." Zhang Shou smiled and nodded slightly to Zhu Ying, then shrugged and said, "But I'm really curious about what it's like to cook in the small kitchen in the palace. Ah Liu just offended Du Heng this morning, and we went to his house so brazenly, and the reason was to eat... Isn't that a bit bad?"
"Why should I be afraid of Du Heng? This time, my elder brother is the main one and you are the assistant. If the Ruiqi Battalion hadn't had any problems before, he wouldn't necessarily be needed. He's not the master of the palace!"
Zhu Ying glanced at Ah Liu and gave him a thumbs-up in a covert gesture. Then she said nonchalantly, "As for the reason why we went to the palace... well, let's just say we were going to visit the eldest prince. After all, he and I are cousins, so I, as his cousin, will go to see him who has caused such a huge disaster. It can also be considered as fulfilling the brother-sister relationship."
When Peanut heard that Zhu Ying and the eldest prince were cousins, he was dumbfounded. It was not until Ah Liu whispered in his ear that the siblings were mortal enemies that he felt relieved. Then, he had an irrepressible desire.
Can he take this opportunity to visit Xian Yunhe?
As they were talking, Old Salted Fish had already hurriedly followed Zhu Er out, carrying a large basket, with a wide smile on his face, looking like an old peddler diligently selling goods. After he came forward, he first greeted Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying respectfully, then grinned and said, "Although I have been to the imperial palace, I have never had a meal there, and it's not as good as Little Peanuts."
Peanut was immediately furious: "Uncle, we were so nervous when we were in the palace, and the cooks and servants were temporarily under surveillance. We just made some food casually, and we were worried about being surrounded, so we had to save on every meal... Do you think we ate delicious food in the palace all day without telling you?"
"God knows if you feel you've had enough of living in there, eating delicious food and sleeping on a dragon bed and phoenix pillow?"
After joking, Lao Xianyu immediately raised the basket in his hand seriously and said, "I have prepared everything that needs to be prepared. Shall we set off now? By the way, you won't search us at the door to see if we are carrying weapons or other dangerous things, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Ah Liu walking towards him, and he was stunned. The next moment, Ah Liu touched him from head to toe, and the basket was snatched away and carefully examined. Finally, he took the basket that was stuffed back to him with some embarrassment, and couldn't help but look up and wipe the sweat off his forehead: "I was just joking..."
"If you take it seriously, you're already dead." When he said this, Ah Liu was extremely serious, even a little murderous. Seeing that Lao Xianyu was suddenly silent, he looked at Zhang Shou and said, "I checked it, so they don't need to check it again."
This guy really bears grudges more than me...
Zhang Shou thought of this and saw Zhu Ying and Zhu Er both gave Ah Liu a thumbs up, and Xiao Huasheng also gave a thumbs up secretly, but was glared at by Lao Xianyu. So he had to pull the atmosphere back to the comedy: "Okay, it's getting late, let's go to the palace. In order to avoid being criticized, let's go see the eldest prince and Xian Yunhe."
Seeing that Peanut almost jumped three feet high, Old Salted Fish couldn't help but curl his lips. Zhang Shou warned him, "But in short, remember to be careful when speaking, don't let anyone catch you!"
