Zhang Juzheng's short trip lasted five days, during which he closely followed the progress and results of the court meeting.

The development of the situation to this point was actually beyond his expectation. Zhao Hao and the Jiangnan Group used a tough attitude to fight back against the Shanxi Gang's looting. They also used superb skills to pull the situation back from the edge of losing control and let things develop in a direction that was beneficial to them.

All this made Zhang Xianggong realize that he could no longer stay out of it and that he had to give enough respect to Zhao Hao and Jiangnan Group.

So he immediately sent someone to send an invitation to Zhao Hao after he returned to Beijing from Changping yesterday afternoon. He also asked someone to ask for half a day off from the cabinet, saying that he was tired from the journey and wanted to rest for a while before going to work, but in fact, he wanted to have a good talk with Zhao Hao.

This morning, he had people set up a tea table, tea tripod, tea bowl, teapot, teacup and other fine tea utensils in the backyard where the wisteria was in full bloom. He also hung a wooden barrel on the wisteria frame, with several layers of fine white sand at the bottom for filtering, and the barrel was filled with spring water he brought back from Tianshou Mountain.

At the bottom of the wooden barrel, there is a bamboo tube from which water flows. The filtered spring water drips into the kettle below. The dripping sound is very pleasant.

Zhang Juzheng sat by the tea table, reading a book and occasionally asking Zhang Xiaojing about her experiences spending the winter in the south of the Yangtze River.

Unfortunately, this girl is very tight-lipped. She answered questions about the scenery and customs of the New Year in a vivid and lengthy manner.

When it came to questions like "What is Zhao Hao doing in Jiangnan?", "What do you think of Jiangnan Group?", and "What do you think of Zhao Hao?", she was either vague or said she didn't know.

"Alas, girls are extroverts..." Looking at his daughter's flustered expression, Bu Gu's heart was bleeding. He knew that it would not be good if the lady agreed to let her go to Jiangnan.

While the father and daughter were chatting, the housekeeper You Qi came in and reported that Master Zhao had arrived.

Zhang Xiaojing's eyes lit up, and she was about to stand up to greet him happily, but when she saw her father's body moving without wind, she shrank her slender neck, pretended nothing had happened, and continued to tend the small red clay charcoal stove.

"You're welcome." Zhang Juzheng said, hesitating for a while, and finally let his daughter leave.

~~

Therefore, when Zhao Hao came in, he only saw Zhang the idol wearing a homely Songjiang Taoist robe, a black gauze scarf on his head, sitting behind the tea table and skillfully making tea.

Seeing his long beard as smooth as a waterfall, his face as elegant as jade, and his indescribable elegance, Mr. Zhao couldn't help but secretly praise him, thinking that the idol would definitely be able to debut in the future. Well, if he were to team up with Lin Run, the effect might be even better.

"Sit down." Zhang Juzheng greeted him with a smile, and sat down beside the tea table and said, "The other day, His Majesty gave you a can of newly arrived Jianning tribute tea, and I specially invite you to taste it."

Mr. Zhao sat down with a flattered look on his face, and watched Zhang Juzheng carefully take out a spoonful of straight and sharp tiny tea leaves from the white porcelain teapot with a bamboo tea spoon and put it into the "gold wire cup" in front of him.

Zhao Hao is now a genuine rich young man of the Ming Dynasty, so he naturally knows that this is an old product of Ge Kiln. As for Jianning tribute tea, it comes from Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province. It has been paid tribute to the royal family since the Song Dynasty, but it was called "Dragon and Phoenix Tea Balls" at that time... Tea in the Song and Yuan Dynasties was boiled and drunk, and seasonings were added, even salt was added. Shanxi people even added vinegar, which was more like milk tea in later generations... Tea leaves were also steamed into tea balls using molds.

In this dynasty, tea frying became popular, people stopped boiling tea and started brewing it, and tribute tea changed from dragon balls to loose tea. But the requirement for tea leaves remained the same, and only the smallest buds in early spring, called "small buds", could become tribute tea and be sent to Beijing for the emperor, princes and ministers to drink.

The buds and leaves of Jianning tribute tea are small, tender and fragrant, and with the gimmick of tribute tea, it is naturally hard to come by and you cannot drink it just by having money.

Zhao Hao had learned a lot about tea from his grandfather and Secretary Ma, so he could naturally chat with Mr. Zhang.

"Tea, tea. Good tea without good water is just a waste of tea leaves." Zhang Juzheng picked up the boiling kettle and slowly made tea for Zhao Hao, saying, "Do you know where the water is best for making tea?"

Zhao Hao thought to himself that this was not a problem for him, as Master Guo had taught him how to perform crosstalk, so he smiled and replied, "I heard that the water from Yuquan Mountain in the west of Beijing is the lightest, and the palace uses the water there to make tea."

"Oh, really?" Zhang Juzheng was stunned, obviously he had never heard of it.

Young Master Zhao couldn't help but feel ashamed. The father of the great-grandfather of the Ten Perfect Old Man was still a ten-year-old child. And since he was here, there would naturally be no more Ten Perfect Old Man. The elegant task of weighing the water in the world could only be left to the little fat man's children and grandchildren...

"This is not the water from Yuquan Mountain, but the mountain spring water that the mausoleum guards used to make tea for me when Bu Gu was inspecting Tianshou Mountain. It tasted sweet and clear. I went to check the source of the water and saw that the spring was flowing over the rocks. It was also exceptionally cool and clean. I ordered people to bring back a few jars of it and put them in wooden barrels to filter out the heat in the jars. It was so good to use it to make tea!"

"Then I must try it carefully." Young Master Zhao picked up the teacup with anticipation, gently skimmed off the foam, took a sip, and praised: "The tea is really good, and the water is also good. I have never tasted such good tea in my life."

Not to mention Gongcha, even Gaosui would say the same thing...

"I'll give you one pound of water later, and a bucket of spring water. Remember to use pine charcoal to boil water. Pine charcoal is warm and slow to boil, so it can be boiled more thoroughly." Zhang Juzheng glanced at Zhao Hao and smiled casually, "Xiao Jing boiled this water for half an hour."

"Oh." Zhao Hao smacked his lips and felt the tea had an extra sweetness.

Just when he was wondering how to answer, Zhang Juzheng suddenly changed the subject and got to the point: "Although this court discussion was against Bu Gu's original intention, I also have a responsibility, and I have to apologize to you here."

Zhang Taiyue raised his teacup and offered it to Zhao Hao. He sighed and said, "To be honest, over the past year or so, Bu Gu has tried several times to reinstate Gao Xianggong, but each time he failed, so I was inevitably a little impatient. Anyway, I was not thoughtful enough this time, and it caused you a lot of harm. It also made people laugh at me. I'm sorry."

Although Mr. Zhang's apology was still mainly to shirk responsibility, it was rare for him to say such things given his arrogant and proud temper.

Zhao Hao of course chose to forgive him. He waved his hands and said with a smile, "My husband, you are too kind. If you hadn't reminded me before, I would have been kept in the dark. Let alone teaching those old men a lesson, I would definitely be tricked by them."

"Haha." Zhang Juzheng showed a relaxed and regretful smile. This little Zhao was not only young, rich, talented and handsome, but also extremely smart and considerate. If he had not been favored by the eldest princess, he would have been an excellent choice for the son-in-law.

But it was useless to say anything. How could Bu Gu's daughter be a mistress?

He sighed with mixed feelings, nodded to Zhao Hao and said, "It's great that you think this way. I am really caught in the middle of this matter. I wanted to hide away and not offend anyone. But who would have thought that it would turn out like this. I am not a good person in the valley or outside."

As he said this, he angrily said, "Mr. Yu Po is really old and confused. He doesn't make the decision on such an important matter, but lets a young man who is arrogant but incompetent make the decision. If I had known this, I would not have gotten involved in this muddy water."

Zhao Hao looked at Mr. Zhang's long beard fluttering in the wind, and wondered how much truth there was in his words. However, it was a clear historical fact that the two Zhangs had different ideas and had been top and bottom all their lives.

In this way, Zhang Juzheng and the Jin Party were not the same kind of people. They just had a common interest in reinstating Gao Gong. The solid alliance between the Jin Party and the Henan Gang was likely to make Zhang Juzheng, who had planned to fly with Gao Gong, feel very uncomfortable after Gao Gong was reinstated.

Therefore, we still need to treat the Shanxi Gang and Mr. Zhang differently.

It is enough to maintain a superficial brotherly relationship with the Shanxi Gang, but you still have to be deeply bound to Zhang Xianggong. In this way, there will be someone to speak for you in the cabinet in the future!

Zhao Hao believed that with Mr. Zhang's wisdom, he would understand that they needed each other. And his need for himself actually exceeded his need for him.

"Otherwise, why would Mr. Zhang bring water back from Tianshou Mountain to treat me to tea?" A self-satisfied Mr. Zhao thought so. "Of course, it would be even more perfect if he asked his daughter to make tea here..."

~~

Both parties wanted to make peace, so the conversation was naturally sweet and harmonious.

Zhang Juzheng took out an envelope from a book beside him and handed it to Zhao Hao, saying, "To express his apology, Bu Gu wrote a letter to Xuan Weng and gave him some good advice. Bring it to him when you get to Xinzheng, and it should be able to help."

"Thank you, my husband." Zhao Hao happily took it with both hands and put it solemnly into his sleeves.

"You don't have to worry too much." Zhang Juzheng made another cup of tea for Zhao Hao and chuckled, "Xinzheng Gong is a practical man. He naturally likes people like you who can get things done. Besides, he has been out of office for two years. How can he not be anxious? Give him enough excuses and he will definitely step down."

"Then I feel much more at ease." Zhao Hao took a sip of tea and smiled at Zhang Juzheng, "In fact, although I don't have any bad feelings towards Xinzheng Gong, I don't know much about him either. The reason why I am willing to go to Xinzheng this time is, firstly, the situation forces me to do so, and secondly, I believe in Zhang Xianggong's vision. Gao Xianggong, whom you highly respect, must be a capable minister who can govern the country."

"Oh?" This flattery was so skillful that even Zhang Juzheng, who was already immune to it, couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Do you really trust Bu Gu's judgment?"

"I totally believe it, because heroes recognize heroes and heroes appreciate heroes." Young Master Zhao answered with a double meaning.

"Oh, hahaha..." Zhang Juzheng pointed at Zhao Hao and couldn't help but burst into laughter. "You are so shameless that you even praised yourself!"

But I didn’t say you don’t deserve it…

"Okay, I'll accept your favor." Zhang Juzheng patted Zhao Hao on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Gao is a man of his words. He won't agree if he can't do it, and he will definitely do it if he promises."

"Let's take a step back. Isn't there still Bu Gu in the court? Since I have made this guarantee, I will certainly not sit idly by and watch Lord Gao go back on his word in the future." He gave Zhao Hao another reassurance and said meaningfully, "We will always stand together."

"Yes, we always stand together." Zhao Hao nodded without hesitation. If it weren't for the court discussion, he would have even shed tears of excitement.

Right now, this is Mr. Zhao's limit. Alas, his skills are still not up to par...