Zhang Juzheng lifted his feet from the basin, and two maids quickly wrapped one foot with cotton cloth heated in a warming basket and began to wipe them slowly.

He was a little annoyed that his wife had changed sides so quickly, so he half-jokingly and half-teasingly said, "You were the most opposed before. Didn't you say that if I agreed to marry my daughter to him, would you return to your hometown in Jingzhou?"

"Ah, I thought again, as a woman, I should not hinder the master." Gu sighed, thinking that there was nothing she could do. Who let that boy give too much, have hostages, and be so sweet? "Do whatever you want, I won't stop you."

"Hehe..." Zhang Juzheng smiled with a fake smile. How could he do whatever he wanted? If he had his way, he would chop the boy up with a knife, grill half of it and eat it with wine, and pickle the other half to eat during the New Year!

How dare the brat seduce Bu Gu's daughter and enjoy the happiness of having two wives? He is so bold, he doesn't know that Lord Ma has three eyes!

Zhang Juzheng felt that if this matter was not handled properly, it would become a laughing stock in the literati circles. How could Bu Gu, who was always so arrogant, accept this?

Alas, but my daughter is crying, can I really get rid of that evil spirit as a father?

"I owed that damn girl all this in my last life!" With the help of the maid, Mr. Zhang put on clean socks with white silk and cotton, and changed into his homely black velvet thick-surfaced soft shoes with embroidered clouds. He stood up with the help of the table and sighed, "Not only can Bu Gu not do whatever he wants, but he also has to treat him to a meal, which is a bummer..."

~~

Over there, Zhao Hao was talking to Jing Xiu in the hall when a maid came in and asked the guests to move to the warm room for dinner.

The two followed the maid into the warm room and saw that Zhang Juzheng and his wife had not come out yet. The maid brought a basin of warm water and asked Mr. Zhao to wash his face.

"Uh, is this the custom in Jingzhou?" Zhao Hao asked puzzledly.

"There is no such custom in my hometown. It's your makeup that's smudged." Zhang Jingxiu couldn't help laughing and said, "Didn't the person who did your makeup tell you that you can't cry if your makeup is smudged? If you cry, your makeup will be smudged."

"I never said that..." Zhao Hao was sweating. It suddenly occurred to him that there were definitely no waterproof cosmetics in this era.

But this cannot be considered as Sister Ma's negligence. After all, she did not expect that the young man who could not be steamed, cooked, pounded, fried, or made a loud noise in her heart would actually cry like a dog in the house of Prime Minister Zhang.

Zhao Hao quickly looked at the mirror hanging on the wall and found that his smoky makeup was ruined by his tears, leaving black marks along his cheeks and also washing the shadows on his cheeks into two ink stains.

Basically, you can dress up as Zhong Kui by sticking on a beard...

"How long have I been like this?" he asked in despair, feeling that he was at least dead in the Idol House Society.

"Hahaha, cry as long as you want!" Zhang Jingxiu finally couldn't hold back his laughter. It was hard for him to endure it for so long. Mr. Zhang's upbringing was indeed amazing.

“……” Zhao Hao took the cotton towel speechlessly and began to wash his face silently.

"Sir, there is no need to be like this. My mother also put on makeup for my father." After Zhang Jingxiu finished laughing, he felt that he was too unkind. The other party was his teacher, and he gave him so many expensive gifts... Of course, the second reason was the main one.

He was worried that if he embarrassed his brother-in-law, he would not receive any gifts in the future. So he decisively betrayed his parents and said, "In addition to highlighting my father's handsomeness, my mother would put different makeup on him according to his mood and state that he needed to show that day. For example, if he wanted to look tired, she would make his face whiter; if he wanted to look worried, she would make his face yellower; if he wanted to look angry, she would make his face darker..."

Zhao Hao couldn't help but feel ashamed. It turned out that he had shown off his skills in front of an expert and made a fool of himself... Fortunately, his mother-in-law not only didn't point it out, but also helped him cover it up. Otherwise, if his father-in-law saw it, wouldn't he be completely exposed?

Thinking about it this way, this is a good thing...

After he washed his face, his skin returned to its white and jade-like state, which made Zhang Jingxiu stunned. He thought to himself, no wonder his sister was bewitched by him, he is indeed "Pan Lu Deng Xiaoxian"... uh, cross out the second word, they haven't even got married yet, how can he know?

He couldn't help asking how he maintained his face. Mr. Zhao told him that first he had to go to the south, and secondly, drink more milk...

Zhang Jingxiu didn't have the courage to ask whether it was milk or human, but he guessed that this rich dog owner should be drinking the latter, just like the people in the palace.

As the two were chatting, they heard the door curtain being lifted and Zhang Juzheng and his wife walked in.

Mr. Zhao was not ashamed and immediately knelt down and kowtowed to his idol. Over the years, he no longer considered kowtow a big deal. He kowtowed when he needed to, and it was no big deal. He had kowtowed to Zhang Juzheng before, and now his idol was going to become his father-in-law?

"Hmph." Zhang Juzheng did not have a good tone. He flicked his sleeves, sat down in the main seat, and picked up the teacup to calm down.

Gu looked at Zhao Hao's handsome and fair face under the lamp, which was much more pleasing to the eye than in the afternoon, so she smiled and said, "Hurry up, kid. My master is also very serious at home. You will get used to it in the future."

"Yes, mother." Young Master Zhao responded naturally and stood up.

"Puff..." Zhang Juzheng almost spit a mouthful of tea on Zhao Hao's face. "What's your name?"

"Mom, uncle." Young Master Zhao smiled brightly. When facing his idol, he would not be restrained. No matter how he pretended, he would not be discovered. It was better to face it calmly. "Uncle, you don't know, Mom has agreed to marry Xiaojing to my nephew."

He completely forgot about what Gu had said before: "her word doesn't count."

But he didn't call her "mother" for nothing, and so many gifts were not given for nothing, so Gu didn't correct him.

"Shut up!" Zhang Juzheng glared at the shameless man and said, "Not to mention that it doesn't count since Bu Gu hasn't agreed yet. Even if Bu Gu agreed, you should call her mother-in-law instead of mother! It's disgusting..."

"We all call her mother in our hometown..." Mr. Zhao was not talking nonsense. He was talking about his hometown four hundred years later.

"Okay, okay, it doesn't matter what you call her." Gu hurriedly continued to smooth things over. This was why it was important to deal with the mother-in-law in advance, otherwise this meal would be a Hongmen Banquet. "Come on, sit down quickly, the food is getting cold."

~~

Among the Zhang family's children, only Jingxiu was present at the dinner; the rest did not show up.

In order to make the master feel better, Gu specifically instructed the kitchen to prepare his favorite Jingzhou specialties "Winter Melon Skirt" and "Dragon and Phoenix Pairing", and even a plate of shad.

Seeing his favorite dish, Zhang Juzheng's expression eased a little, and he asked curiously, "Why are there shad in this season?"

Ever since Zhao Hao told him that the shad shipped from Jiangnan to the palace contained excessive lead content, Zhang Juzheng hasn't eaten this fish for several years and missed it very much.

"Nephew Zhao... brought it here." Gu said to save face for her son-in-law, "I don't know what method they used to store it in a glass bottle. It has been preserved since spring and it hasn't gone bad at all."

"This is called canned food, which is used to preserve food for a long time." Young Master Zhao quickly followed up on his mother-in-law's words, "The yellow peaches, cherries, and lychees on the table were also picked and processed in spring and summer, and then canned and preserved until now."

"Is this not poisonous?" Zhang Juzheng picked up a can of pineapple in a glass bottle on the table and examined it carefully under the light. It looked very tempting.

"Of course not." Zhao Hao said with a smile: "In the future, uncle and mother can eat whatever they want all year round."

Zhao Hao never mentioned that canned food was a magical tool for solving the problem of military supply, because it was impossible for the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty to distribute canned food to the soldiers.

"Hmph, you're not short of ways to make money." Zhang Juzheng snorted and put down the can.

After that, Zhang Juzheng didn't say much, and everyone at the table ate in silence. It wasn't that Gu and Zhang Jingxiu ignored Zhao Hao. The Zhang family had strict family education, and they emphasized not talking while sleeping or eating.

After dinner, Zhang Juzheng glanced at Zhao Hao, then got up and left.

Master Zhao then confessed his crime to Gu and followed the idol into the study.

~~

The furnishings in the study have not changed much, except for a new large character on the wall: "Be moderate in desires and anger, be casual and natural."

This was not the first time Zhao Hao entered this study, but times had changed and the moods of both the host and the guest were very different.

After the maid served tea, Zhang Juzheng ordered people not to come in and disturb them, then he looked at Zhao Hao coldly and asked, "Tell me the truth, did you seduce my daughter for some other purpose?"

"Uncle, why would you ask such a question? With your sharp eyes, if I had any bad intentions, would you still let my nephew enter this door?" Zhao Hao spread his hands. When he couldn't get help from the female intellectual, there was no need to pretend to be innocent anymore.

"If uncle is worried, I can swear an oath!"

"No need." Zhang Juzheng snorted. Of course, he had his own judgment. In fact, he only had this thought when he heard the shocking news, but he quickly denied it.

The famous and unique Mr. Zhao in Jiangnan did not need to resort to such despicable means to bind himself to an ordinary university scholar. Besides, if Zhao Hao really wanted to marry a university scholar, wouldn't the daughter of Gao Gelao be more attractive? It would not only resolve the conflict between the two sides, but also allow him to cling to the thickest thigh of the Longqing Dynasty...

Zhang, who had no idea that he would become a big devil, analyzed it this way at the time.

"Don't be complacent too soon." Zhang Juzheng suppressed his displeasure and changed the subject: "It was Elder Gao who asked you to come to the capital this time. Bu Gu was just passing on the message."

"I understand." Zhao Hao nodded with a smile. Tsundere is the cute point of idols.

"I think you know why he asked you to come to Beijing." Zhang Juzheng said in a deep voice.

"It was because of the court's discussion on Altan Khan's title of tributary." Zhao Hao nodded and said, "I heard that the result of the court's discussion yesterday was not what Elder Gao wished."

"Yes. But it's nothing. This is to be expected." Zhang Juzheng sneered and said, "If we don't let them vote first, how can we know who are the dissenters and who to deal with?"

"Forgive me for speaking frankly." Zhao Hao said calmly, "The court has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in our dynasty, that important matters should be discussed in court, important officials should be recommended in court, and major cases should be tried in court. If Mr. Gao easily breaks the rules of court discussion, he will surely be retaliated.