Chapter 107

Chapter 107

The golden fan was delivered this morning. The emperor was still in mourning, so Wen Shuse hid it all the way. When her lover came, she took it out from her wide sleeves. When she got in the carriage, she deliberately fanned him with air. "Are you hot, lover?"

After July, the weather in the morning and evening is not so hot anymore, and when the wind blows, you still feel a little chilly.

"It's not hot." Lang Jun knew that her purpose was not to fan him. His eyes moved towards the golden fan in her hand. She was working very quickly.

"Then do you feel the wind?" She fanned his face a few more times. The golden fan looked decent, but it was heavy in her hand, not as comfortable as a palm leaf fan. Soon her wrist was sore. Her lover saw it and took it. He slowly waved the golden fan on the side of her head, "Are you cooler?"

It doesn't matter if it's cool or not. This thing is not for fanning. It's for showing off. "Do you think the carving is beautiful, my dear?"

Xie Shao took the fan under the sheep-horn lamp and looked at it carefully. The figure carved out on the fan turned out to be the God of Wealth. Such craftsmanship must be more valuable than gold.

"Good-looking." How can the God of Wealth not look good?

The young lady added, "The dividends from the restaurant have been deposited into the account."

As expected, it brought fortune. "The national mourning lasts for a month, and the restaurant will be affected. Leave the money to your father and brother first, and use it for circulation. It won't be too late to divide it after the national mourning is over."

"The impact is not that big, it's just that we don't slaughter sheep to drink. The restaurant has made preparations and prepared a lot of vegetarian dishes and desserts. Today, the new emperor ascended the throne and conferred the title of Crown Prince. The Crown Princess ordered a large number of cakes from Mixianlou the day before yesterday."

Xie Shao looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect her to move so quickly.

The young lady looked calm, "A Yuan has become the Crown Princess. If I can't even take advantage of this, then all these years with her would have been in vain."

There is no money that the young lady cannot earn, and I don’t know whether Zhou Kuang’s treasury will be empty.

Why worry about him? The young lady is his own. If she can get money from others, it means she is capable. "Remember to collect the debt." Cui Ni traveled all the way from Fengcheng to ask Zhou Kuang for debt, but he didn't get a penny in cash. All he got were a few shops. He had no money on him, and he didn't dare to go to Mixianlou for fear that Wen Huai would keep accounts with him. He could only stay at Xie's and Pei Qing's houses and take turns to eat.

After the seven-day national mourning is over, Pei Qing will be stationed in Fengcheng with his mission, and Cui Nian will be able to return with him on his ship.

Knowing that Xie Shao was back, Cui Nian knocked on the door early the next morning. He was not looking for Xie Shao, but for Wen Shuse. "After I return to Fengcheng, please help me take care of the shop."

Ever since he learned that Wen Shuse shorted grain and transferred all the money to Dongdu, Cui Nian has been full of admiration for her. If he had had her awareness at that time, he would have transferred the Cui family's property to Dongdu earlier instead of having it requisitioned by Zhou Kuang. Now, the Mixian Tower in Dongdu might belong to his Cui family.

Before Wen Shuse could speak, Xie Shao took over, "She has so many things to do every day. She has to take care of the old ladies on both sides, manage the Xie family's household affairs, and also take care of the Mixian Building. How can she have time?"

Since he couldn't get anything for nothing, Cui Nian could only hire him for a fee: "Twenty taels a month, as a travel fee for my sister-in-law."

"Is this about money? I told her she was busy. I'm afraid she will have to pay twenty taels for her to get away. The meal you ate today cost more than that."

Cui Nian gritted his teeth and said, "Two hundred taels a month."

Wen Shuse: "Deal."

After coming out of Xie's house, Cui Nian's face turned pale, and he cursed in his heart: "Adulterer and thief, taking advantage of others' misfortune, only seeking profit..."

In order to get the shop ready before Pei Qing goes back, Cui Nian has been very busy these days, hanging up the shop sign, hiring people, purchasing goods... and only sleeping for two hours at night.

A national funeral should not be celebrated in a grand manner. On the day a few shops opened, they simply placed a statue of the God of Wealth in front of their doors, lit a few incense sticks, and hurriedly put them away after the worship.

On the day the iron shop opened, it soon welcomed its first customer, a girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in blue coarse cloth, dressed in men's clothes, with a bag on her shoulder, fair and clean skin, and a smiling face, "Boss, how much is this piece of pig iron?"

Last night, Pei Qing and I settled the expenses of several shops until midnight. Cui Nian could hardly open his eyes. Seeing that it was a casual customer, he had no intention of accepting it and casually said, "Six taels."

The girl didn't bargain, "Okay, help me pack it up."

Cui Nian packed it for her, and the girl took out a silver note worth one hundred taels and asked him for change.

After being squeezed dry by Zhou Kuang, Cui Nien was extremely poor. He came to Dongdu and saved money again and again, and ate and lived without any help. He did not spend much of the money he had. He took out all the change, and after counting it, he still had one or two taels short.

The girl took it and counted it, and found that there was indeed one tael missing. She said generously, "Forget it, one tael of silver, and you can give me an extra piece of iron."

Cui Nian especially liked dealing with such customers, who were straightforward. He quickly asked someone to go to the warehouse to get a small piece of iron and gave it to the girl. The girl was also easy to talk to, so she took the item and left.

When Cui Nian returned to the counter and was about to record the account, he realized belatedly that the girl had never given him the hundred-liang silver note.

Not only did the other person take the two pieces of iron from him for free, he also cheated him out of his change.

Cui Nian felt a chill all over his body and woke up from his doze. He hurriedly chased after him, but the man was no longer on the street; he had disappeared long ago.

He had been doing business for so many years, and he had never suffered any loss. But today he was defeated by a girl. He was angry and resentful. He kept stamping his feet and sighing. He was in no mood for the whole morning. At noon, he went to Xie Shao's house for a meal. After a few days of vegetarianism, he had a few meat-filled steamed buns. Cui Nian wanted to eat one by one and make up for his losses, but his chest was blocked and he felt choked even when drinking water.

"Damn it, I'm going to kill her once I catch her."

But Dongdu is so big, with so many people, it is not easy to find someone, and he was not given the opportunity to look for someone. Two days later, after seven days of national mourning, Pei Qing set out for the vassal state.

After the Crown Prince was named Prince, Pei Qing, now Zhou An, was successively granted the title of King of Ning and stationed in Zhongzhou.

On the day of departure, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess personally escorted him out of the palace.

On the second day after the prince's marriage, he put on mourning clothes. The mourning period for grandchildren was one year. Although he had married the crown princess, he had to observe mourning for the next year and could not have sex with her.

On the day the previous emperor passed away, the prince moved out of the bridal chamber and returned to his own bedroom.

He was still in grief a few days ago and had no time to think about other things. After seven days, he returned to the East Palace and saw that his Crown Princess slept in a separate bed from him. Then he felt touched.

If people who have tasted the sweetness suddenly stop eating a vegetarian diet and have to go vegetarian for another year, they will probably forget what it feels like and have to start all over again.

Seeing a hint of loneliness in his face, Pei Qing spoke to him alone before he got on the carriage. For the first time, he called him "brother" in a serious manner. "Father has just ascended the throne, and the political power in the court has not yet been balanced. Although the Xie family is supporting him, most matters have to be decided by you, brother. Your intelligence is not inferior to others, but your shrewdness is not mature enough. Brother, you should be more restrained in the future, lest someone with ulterior motives find out your weakness and take advantage of it, putting you in a dilemma."

The former brothers have become a family. The relationship between the two is completely different than before, and they are both thinking about the Zhou family's world.

Zhou Kuang knew what he meant.

On the second day after arriving in Dongdu, the imperial concubine came to see him, and he also heard the hints in her words.

The imperial concubine has no prince. If the Yang family wants to continue to have a position in the court, the best way is to establish a relationship with the future new emperor.

Since the Yang family had a royal concubine, how could they not have a second one? Unfortunately, his father had no intention of taking another concubine, and his mother was not someone who could be easily messed with. The old man had no idea where to start, so he set his sights on him, the younger one.

Although he is engaged to the Ming family, as a member of the royal family, his harem cannot be deserted, not to mention that he is the only one in his father's lineage.

The imperial concubine planned to introduce the Sixth Lady of the Yang Family to him.

He had heard of the Sixth Lady of the Yang Family. He learned from the Crown Princess that she had wanted to play a trick on her sister-in-law in the Mixian Tower, but not only did she fail, she was outmaneuvered by her sister-in-law and her own reputation was ruined.

How could the Ming family's family background compare to that of the Yang family? If such a person came to his East Palace, wouldn't A Yuan be bullied?

He did not agree. The imperial concubine introduced several girls to him, but they were all members of the Yang family. He did not like any of them. He always felt that those girls' eyes were full of scheming. Instead of planting a threat around A Yuan, it would be better for him to have few offspring.

But this cannot be said to anyone.

Pei Qing was right. Once a person enters the palace, he can no longer do whatever he wants and say whatever he wants. Now, he has to be careful with every word he says, so that the other person cannot figure out what he is thinking. In this palace, if you take a wrong step, you will be tied up. "Don't worry, I have a plan."

My father has just ascended the throne, and now the only ones who can plot against them are women. At this critical juncture, it may not be a bad thing to observe mourning for grandfather for a year.

With the emperor and the queen in the court, others could not cause much trouble. Instead, they told Zhou An, "There is civil unrest in Fengcheng. The news of the emperor's ascension to the throne has probably spread to the Liao Kingdom. The Liao army is eyeing our Dafeng covetously. I'm sure they will come to test us soon. You have to be careful and be on guard in the Qingzhou area."

"good."

After finishing talking to Zhou Kuang, Pei Qing turned around and looked at Ming Wanrou who was not far away. After bowing respectfully, he turned back and got on the carriage.

The official ship at the port had been prepared long ago. It had three floors, was more than 120 feet long and 20 feet high. The ship occupied half of the port. An eagle was carved on the bow, which was very impressive. Cui Nian looked up, feeling sour. "It's all fate. How much money did I have to make to build this big ship? They just needed to recognize a father..."

Before he could finish his words, he felt a sharp pain in his toes and cried out in pain. Pei Qing walked past him expressionlessly, and his heel crushed his foot again. Cui Nian saw stars in pain and jumped forward a few steps, hugging his feet. "Have you gained weight again? Why are you so heavy?"

After arriving in Dongdu, without the constraints of Fengcheng's rules, Pei Qing practiced in the yard every day without stopping for even a single day. Now his abdomen and arms are full of muscles.

Not only did he gain weight, he also became more muscular.

Pei Qing didn't bother to pay attention to him and walked to the front to say goodbye to Xie Shao and Wen Shuse.

After the greetings, knowing that the two had something to say, Wen Shuse took the initiative to step aside. After Wen Shuse walked away, Pei Qing asked Xie Shao, "What are your plans for the future?"

After the death of the previous emperor, Xie Shao's position in the court did not change, and he was still the commander of the Palace Front Department.

Even if the emperor wanted to employ him, he couldn't be promoted without a legitimate reason. To be promoted, one must either have merit or ability. He heard someone talking about it a few days ago and asked, "Do we really need to take the imperial examination?"

Xie Shao nodded, "Go ahead and take the test. We have come this far, how can we go back?"

Isn’t it? Now that we are on the track, we can only rush forward.

"What about after the imperial examination?" With his current status and position, even if his literary talent was outstanding, he would most likely not become the top scorer in order to avoid giving people a chance to criticize him.

Even if it succeeds, at most he will be promoted one rank, from the third rank to the official third rank. The official third rank of the three provinces and six ministries is not as powerful as his commander.

Xie Shao said: "After the death of former Crown Prince Zhou Yan, Dongzhou was merged into Dongdu, but the Hexi and Hebei of the two princes were not."

When Zhou Yan was alive, there were problems with taxes in Hexi and Hebei. The excuse given by local officials to the court was that post-war reconstruction would cost manpower and financial resources, but after the reduction of the feudal system, the court allocated a lot of money to the affected areas and taxes were halved accordingly. Now, two years have passed, and not only have the taxes not been paid, but the border generals have also repeatedly petitioned the court to allocate food and fodder to resist the invasion of the Liao army, and the amount they asked for is getting higher and higher. The late emperor had sent people to investigate several times, but to no avail. Some people disappeared when they arrived at the place, and some could not even enter the city.

This was the aftereffect of the former crown prince's insistence on reducing the power of the feudal lords. Although the two princes of the Zhou family were also corrupt, they were surnamed Zhou after all. No matter how greedy they were, they would not do anything to betray the country.

Once power falls into the hands of outsiders, things will be different.

I heard a lot of rumors today that some soldiers in Hexi and Hebei had close contacts with the Liao people and were suspected of fighting a fake war to earn food and fodder.

The new emperor had just ascended the throne, and the old foxes under him were more or less trying to test his ability. After the previous emperor was buried in the mausoleum, this matter would have to be resolved sooner or later.

If the Xie family wants to gain a foothold in the court, they will not be able to go far relying solely on the support of others. They must also have their own merits. Besides, looking around the court, there is no one more suitable than him.

After the provincial examination, he would ask the new emperor to go to the Hexi area of ​​Hebei.

Pei Qing was stunned. That place had been controlled by the two princes for many years. It was a mess and they only cared about their own interests. Without the Xie family's connections, he would be in danger of death if he went there this time. He turned around and looked at Wen Shuse who was talking to Cui Nian, and asked him in a low voice: "Does sister-in-law agree?"

He wanted to venture into the dangerous and dangerous places, so how could the young lady agree? "Execute first and ask for permission later. She is busy with the silk business recently. Hebei and Hexi are directly connected to Xijing, so I can bring her some business back."

Pei Qing took a deep breath and said, "You must be possessed."

He was not like this before. He was lazy, never stood up when he could sit, and lived a life of mediocrity. Now his sister-in-law has opened up his six meridians, and he plans to seize both the officialdom and the business world. She persuaded him, "There is no end to the money in the world, so why not live a smooth life."

Xie Shao smiled and asked, "What do you mean by smooth?"

Will everything be smooth if we stop here?

Not necessarily.

When reaching this position, the more wealth and the higher the official rank, the more they need to protect themselves. Only by making themselves stronger can they make those who are eyeing them retreat and not dare to have bad intentions.

Besides, the Xie family’s career is on the rise right now, so who would miss it?

Pei Qing didn't say anything else. After this farewell, everyone had their own lives, futures, and missions to pursue. All the words in his heart turned into one sentence, "Thank you, brother. Take care."

Xie Shao patted him on the shoulder and said, "Take care, Brother Zhou."

The treasures are here, I will write about the secondary CP in the next chapter~ (hundred red envelopes~)