Chapter 60: Newcomer to the Capital, Master Zhen (Two Chapters in One)
Capital city.
Deputy Envoy Yin's secret letter was delivered directly to Emperor Yongjia.
Looking at the contents of the letter, Emperor Yongjia's brows moved slightly.
I had only heard that King Liang’s second son, Zhao Tingxuan, was weak and indecisive, but I didn’t expect that he was actually quite willful.
Is he preparing to break up with his elder brother who is the crown prince?
Interesting, really interesting.
In recent days, Emperor Yongjia's irritation caused by the crows covering his roof has finally faded a little.
He thought of someone and said to the eunuch, "Go to Jingyu Palace."
Jingyu Palace is the bedroom of Concubine Qiao.
It is said that the emperor is ruthless, but in the harem, if there is anyone who can be said to be in everlasting favor, it must be Concubine Qiao.
When Emperor Yongjia was still the second prince, Concubine Qiao was the apple of his eye. The beauties in the harem came and went, but only Concubine Qiao remained standing. She was a noble concubine when she entered the palace, and now she is an imperial noble concubine. She has three sons and one daughter, the most children in the harem.
Although she was not the empress, everyone in the harem knew that compared to the empress who had passed away many years ago and the current empress who had no children, Concubine Qiao was the one that Emperor Yongjia favored the most.
Upon learning that Emperor Yongjia was coming, Concubine Qiao was already waiting in front of the palace gate.
This is also one of the reasons why Emperor Yongjia likes her. Concubine Qiao has been favored for many years, but she has never been arrogant. Whether in front of the emperor or the empress dowager, she is always a gentle and well-behaved little woman.
Concubine Qiao was not a stunningly beautiful woman, but she was the type that was pleasing to the eye, with a beauty that was subtle and unobtrusive.
Whether Emperor Yongjia would come or not, there would always be a bowl of Emperor Yongjia's favorite sweet soup in her kitchen.
Moreover, she had a unique skill in massage, which other concubines also secretly learned. However, their learning was worse than not learning at all. Not only did they fail to win the favor of Emperor Yongjia, but they also felt like they were imitating others without any effort.
Now, after Emperor Yongjia finished drinking the sweet soup, he leaned back on the couch and enjoyed Concubine Qiao's massage. After a while, he closed his eyes comfortably.
"I remember that you and Princess Liang were close friends?" Emperor Yongjia asked softly with his eyes closed.
Concubine Qiao smiled sweetly, her hands moving non-stop. "We weren't exactly close friends. At the time, she was already engaged to the Prince of Liang, a noblewoman. My father, on the other hand, was the local magistrate, a mere seventh rank. Whenever there were poetry gatherings and flower shows, the ladies would flock to her, proud to be her acquaintance. I wasn't of high status at the time, so I couldn't even stand before her."
Emperor Yongjia grabbed her hand on his shoulder with some heartache, squeezed it gently, and then let go.
"So what about now? You're my woman. Is that enough?"
Concubine Qiao chuckled and leaned close to Emperor Yongjia's ear: "I would like to write her a letter and talk about our past youth. Do you think it is feasible?"
Emperor Yongjia sighed with satisfaction: "The one who understands my heart is Zhuzhu."
Zhuzhu was Concubine Qiao's maiden name. Since she entered the palace, even her parents did not dare to call her that anymore. The only one who could still call her Zhuzhu was Emperor Yongjia.
What Emperor Yongjia liked most was Concubine Qiao's understanding. Moreover, she never fought for anything for her family and children. While other concubines were acting coquettishly, she was quietly washing her hands and cooking in the kitchen.
She never competed for favor with other concubines because she didn't need to. No matter how young or talented those beauties were, she was still the one Emperor Yongjia favored the most.
However, the letter from Zhao Sheng of the clan office was now in the hands of the prince.
The young prince's face was filled with sarcasm. He threw the letter aside and said to his staff, "They are all ruthless people. As long as Zhao Tinghan is still alive, he will be the Crown Prince of Liang and the eldest son of the King of Liang. That position is his and no one else's."
The staff did not know the content of the letter, but they understood that the prince was not talking about the affairs of Liangdi so much as scolding his own brother.
He is the only legitimate son of the current emperor, and he is the only one born by the Empress Yuan. To use the folk saying, the other princes are all born out of wedlock.
But unfortunately, he was not the emperor's favorite son, nor was he the prince that the court officials favored the most.
Even his in-laws' family is not as good as the third prince's in-laws' family. The third prince's father-in-law is the prime minister of the dynasty, Feng Ke!
The prince became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. In his mind, he had already put Zhao Tingxuan on the opposing side.
Although every emperor was wary of the Eighth King throughout his life, when they were still princes, who didn't want to be on good terms with the Eighth King?
These princes have power, people, money, and soldiers, but the price for the princes to make friends with them is too high, and not all princes have the courage to do so.
The prince had cursed enough, sighed, and wanted to say something, but finally held back and turned and walked out.
He suddenly thought of Xiao Zhen, his cousin.
The princes did not dare to make friends with the prince in Beijing as they pleased, but Xiao Zhen was different. He was the son of a princess and far away from the center of power, so they often asked Xiao Zhen to play with them.
A trace of gloom flashed in the prince's eyes. If it weren't for this, Xiao Zhen wouldn't have died.
Was that really an accident?
Who knows?
In that incident, Xiao Zhen died, and the Fourth Prince is still bedridden. He even had to be carried to the Taimiao to worship his ancestors.
If this incident was not an accident, it must be related to the fourth brother. The fourth brother was taken advantage of and almost lost his life.
The prince shook his head. It was almost obvious who was behind this person who could make the fourth brother risk his life.
The prince didn't dare to think any further. He ordered, "Aunt Jiayi is not feeling well. Please send her the century-old ginseng I just got a few days ago."
At this time, Xiao Zhen, who was being remembered by the prince, was choosing a human skin mask.
He had managed to obtain these human skin masks with great difficulty in his previous life.
After being reborn, Xiao Zhen easily asked Jiang Ping to find Yan Bie, who made these human skin masks.
Yan Bie's ancestors learned from Hua Qianbian, a master of disguise in the previous dynasty. The ancestors of the Yan family also used what they learned to serve the court. Later, when dynasties changed, by the generation of Yan Bie, disguise had long become a hobby of the Yan family unknown to outsiders.
In his previous life, Xiao Zhen tried his best to make Yan Bie work for him. However, there was no other way. Yan Bie was wealthy and had no ambition. Besides disguise, he was not interested in anything else. It was not easy for Xiao Zhen to please him.
Fortunately, later on, by chance, Xiao Zhen accidentally saved Yan Bie. In order to repay his kindness, Yan Bie gave him several human skin masks.
Thanks to these human skin masks, Xiao Zhen was able to remain calm and at ease during the years when he was wanted.
This time, he wrote a letter and asked Jiang Ping to deliver it to Yan Bie. A few days later, Yan Bie found Jiang Ping and handed him the human skin masks.
In that letter, Xiao Zhen reminded Yan Bie not to cross the river on the eighth day of June, otherwise his life would be in danger. If he didn't believe it, just give it a try. If he could avoid disaster, as a thank you, he asked Yan Bie to give him a few small gadgets he made by hand.
After reading the letter, Yan Bie was skeptical. He didn't believe that he would take the risk, but on the eighth day of June, he did have something to do and had to cross the river.
When that day came, Yan Bie thought about it over and over again and finally decided not to go.
On that day, a gangster boarded the big ship, and his enemy happened to be on the ship. The two of them drew their knives on the spot. The gangster first killed his enemy, and then wanted to kill the people on the same ship to silence them. Everyone jumped into the river to escape.
In his previous life, Yan Bie was on that boat. Others jumped into the river to escape, but he didn't dare. The murderer saw him and almost killed him. Fortunately, Xiao Zhen arrived in time and saved his life.
In this life, Yan Bie did not board the boat. The next day, he learned that a murder had occurred on the boat. The people on the boat jumped into the river one after another. The water was rushing, and two people disappeared after jumping into the river. No one found them alive, and no one found their bodies.
Yan Bie was shocked. He couldn't swim. If he was on the boat at that time, he would definitely not dare to jump into the river. Wouldn't he have been killed?
So, Yan Bie followed what Xiao Zhen said in the letter and picked out a few human skin masks that he thought were well made and asked Jiang Ping to pass them to Xiao Zhen.
In addition, he also wrote a letter to Xiao Zhen.
Yan Bie thought that Xiao Zhen must be a master who could tell fortunes, so he asked Xiao Zhen to help find someone, his niece. At the same time, he also told Xiao Zhen that his niece grew up in the Yan family since she was a child and inherited the Yan family's true teachings. It was just that she returned to her own home now that she was old enough to get married. Unexpectedly, something happened at home and her niece's whereabouts were unknown.
In his previous life, although Xiao Zhen knew Yan Bie, they were not close friends and he did not know that Yan Bie had a niece whose whereabouts were unknown.
Or, in Yan Bie’s previous life, nothing happened to his niece?
In this life, many things have changed, so Xiao Zhen is not sure whether Yan Bie had a niece in his previous life and whether something happened to the niece.
However, what Xiao Zhen can be sure of now is that Yan Bie entrusted this matter to a stranger like him whom he had never met. He must have been at his wit's end and was seeking help from anyone.
However, when the words "Auspicious Inn" jumped into his eyes, Xiao Zhen was still stunned.
He remembered this inn.
On their way to Beijing, Princess Jiayi and her entourage suddenly decided to stay in an inn. That night, Xiao Zhen had nowhere to stay and had to sleep in the carriage.
That inn is called Jixiang Inn.
Yan Bie said in the letter that the owner of Jixiang Inn was his brother-in-law. Not long ago, his brother-in-law and his family of three suddenly hanged themselves in the inn. The dead were his sister, brother-in-law and their eldest daughter, and the whereabouts of their youngest daughter Xiuxiu were unknown.
After investigation, the government concluded that the brother-in-law owed a huge gambling debt and had nowhere else to go, so he committed suicide with his wife and children, and the case was solved.
Brother-in-law did have a bad habit of gambling. Yan Bie did not doubt the cause of his death, but he was worried about Xiuxiu. He secretly put up a hidden reward to find Xiuxiu, but there was still no news.
Yan Bie also drew a small portrait of Xiuxiu along with the letter. It was drawn very casually. Xiao Zhen was sure that if he looked for someone based on this portrait, he could find ten people who looked similar in a day.
Xiao Zhen took note of this incident and instructed Jiang Ping and others to spread the news and find the daughter of an inn owner.
He picked up a human skin mask and put it on his face. Looking at himself in the mirror, Xiao Zhen was secretly amazed. As long as you are willing to spend a lot of money, you can buy human skin masks on the market, but those human skin masks cannot be compared with the one on his face. The difference is too great.
This one is almost so realistic that he can make any expression and the mask fits perfectly, as if it were grown on his face.
Now, he is no longer Xiao Zhen, but Master Zhen.
In the past, Master Zhen was just a title, but now, he can walk in front of people without worrying about being recognized.
"Da Zhuang, let's go to Qi Shi Xuan and try our luck."
Gambling on stones has only become popular in the aristocratic circles of Beijing in the last two years. If you want to gamble on stones, go to Qi Shi Xuan.
The apparent owner of Qishixuan is a southerner named Chen, but in fact, the real owner of Qishixuan is Prince Chu.
This secret was revealed several years later. Before that, everyone thought that the real owner of Qishixuan was the second prince, because the boss surnamed Chen was very close to the second prince, and the second prince's subordinates also brought many wealthy customers to Qishixuan, so everyone thought that Qishixuan belonged to the second prince.
The entrance fee to Qi Shi Xuan is three thousand taels of silver, which can be exchanged for a plaque.
As long as you have this badge, you are a distinguished guest of Qishixuan.
Not only can you enter and exit Qishixuan and participate in gambling on stones, but you will also get timely news whenever Qishixuan arrives with new stones, so you won't miss any opportunity to gamble.
Now, Master Zhen is here to deliver these three thousand taels of silver.
Through Qi Shi Xuan, Master Zhen came into public view for the first time.
His family owns more than a dozen large ships and made their fortune in the shipping business. However, this business is too risky. As the most favored son in the family, his parents were reluctant to let him do this risky business. So he came to the capital, enjoying the city's decadence and glamour, while also making friends and accumulating connections. Of course, everyone makes money together.
Within ten days, Master Zhen's entire life, including his eighteen generations of ancestors, had been thoroughly investigated.
What a crappy businessman. The Zhen family started out as pirates, and later changed to a legitimate business. The so-called legitimate business was half banditry and half business. To put it bluntly, it was the collusion between officials and bandits to make money, and the Zhen family also used this to whitewash themselves.
The Zhen family has indeed transformed itself into a wealthy maritime family.
On the surface, the Zhen family was already a legitimate businessman, but in reality, when those pirates saw the old man of the Zhen family, they would kneel down and kowtow respectfully.
So, is there any need to ask what the identity of the Zhen family is?
Mr. Zhen has five more things, so people call him Zhen Wuduo.
Lots of money, lots of boats, lots of brothers, lots of women, lots of sons.
It is said that there are so many of these five items that even Mr. Zhen himself cannot count them all.
Old Master Zhen believed that having many sons was a blessing. He would acknowledge any woman he had slept with, as long as she gave birth to a son, regardless of whether the son was his or not. As long as the son was brought to him, he would give her a nameplate and the son would have the surname Zhen. From then on, the son could come to him for money every year with the nameplate.
If his brothers died, he would recognize all their sons as his own, treating them equally with his own children, giving them badges and receiving money.
When Mr. Zhen celebrated his 40th birthday, more than 50 sons came to celebrate his birthday with him, including both biological sons and godsons. When Mr. Zhen celebrated his 50th birthday, the number of his sons had grown to more than 100, seven or eight of whom were still infants, and it was not known whether they were Mr. Zhen’s biological sons.
The year before last, when Mr. Zhen celebrated his 70th birthday, there were 150 sons who rushed back to celebrate his birthday. There were also five or six beautiful women who were pregnant with Mr. Zhen’s unborn son.
This noble young master Zhen in the capital, no matter whether he is the son of old man Zhen or not, as long as his surname is Zhen and he has the Zhen family's nameplate in his hand, even if you ask old man Zhen, old man Zhen will say that this is his son.
So there is no problem with Master Zhen’s identity.
In the Princess's Mansion, Prince Consort Xiao, who was having an affair with the Princess, never dreamed that his eldest son had found a new father for him.
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