Whenever Zhao Hao thought about the fact that he had plagiarized someone else's poem and would cause that person to be blamed, he felt so sorry for Alliance Leader Wang.

Oh, I should have tried to remind him, but I completely forgot about it.

I am so sorry, Alliance Leader Wang. I will never copy your poems again.

But I was forced to do that at that time.

Who made the young minister so picky? Even the flattering poems I wrote by others can't pass the test. Only the poem you wrote specifically for Minister Xu can satisfy him?

Forget it, it's too late to say anything, I'll just find a way to make it up to him someday...

~~

While he was daydreaming, he had already arrived at the Ye family's extravagant garden.

When Zhao Hao and his son got off the car, they saw Zhao Liben dressed like a amiable rich man again, waiting in the garden surrounded by a group of salt merchants.

"Greetings, father!" After resting along the way, Master Zhao had recovered all his energy and spirit, and he knelt down in front of his father.

"Have you recovered from your wound?" Zhao Liben said coldly. The old man would be furious whenever he thought that his son had been hanging out with that vicious woman for more than 20 days while he was still in the capital.

"Everyone wanted to see the Iron Butt Champion, but now you can't see him." Zhao Liben said unhappily.

The big salt merchants hurried to try to persuade them to reconcile, saying that Zhao Zhuangyuan was serving the country and the people and that it was an honor to be beaten with a cane in the court.

He also advised Zhao Shouzheng to take good care of himself in the future and not to worry his father.

Zhao Shouzheng knew he was in the wrong, so he agreed reluctantly.

"Hmph!" After Zhao Liben finished his outburst, he turned his gaze towards Zhao Hao.

"Grandpa." Zhao Hao kowtowed to the old man.

"Hey, dear grandson, get up quickly." Zhao Liben hurriedly pulled his grandson up and said to the salt merchants with a proud face:

"Fortunately, I still have a good grandson!"

The salt merchants had long heard of Zhao Hao's glorious deeds.

Actually, they came to show their support today because they wanted to see Zhao Hao more.

As for Zhao Shouzheng... although number one scholar is rare, a number one scholar who is demoted out of the capital will be greatly devalued.

Under the introduction of Zhao Liben, they met Zhao Hao and his son one after another.

Six of the eight major salt merchants in Yangzhou City actually came, including Li Qifang, the younger brother of Li Chunfang, the prime minister of the time.

It seems that the old man was not exaggerating when he said he was doing very well in Yangzhou.

"Greetings, great uncle!"

"Greetings to Grand Master!"

Then Zhao Shizhen, Zhao Shixi, Hua Shuyang and others also bowed respectfully to Zhao Liben.

Looking at his thriving family, Zhao Liben's beard stood up with joy.

Ye Xixian invited Zhao Liben and his son to join them, this time on another terrace overlooking the entire garden.

But there are also brocade curtains, mink drapes, calligraphy and painting, beautiful women like jade, and boundless luxury.

Young Master Zhao was only fifteen years old, so naturally he was not suitable for this style of painting. After exchanging a few words with the adults, he tactfully excused himself and left.

~~

The maid took Zhao Hao through layers of courtyards with different scenery and came to a pavilion with blooming flowers and swimming fish.

Ye was seen chatting and drinking with Ma Xianglan and Qiaoqiao. Also present was a young girl wearing a light green jacket embroidered with plum blossoms and a moon-white skirt embroidered with bamboo leaves.

Seeing Zhao Hao coming over, Ye smiled and greeted him, "Did you finish eating so soon?"

"Where is it? I haven't eaten a single bite." Zhao Hao smiled and walked closer to the pavilion. "I'm not used to the food over there, so I came here to ask grandma for something to eat."

Ma Xianglan and Qiaoqiao quickly stood up, arranged a seat for him and prepared cups.

The beautiful girl with a fair body and graceful figure also stood up and saluted Zhao Hao, smiling slightly, as if spring had returned to the earth.

"Good day, Brother Zhao."

"Uh..." Zhao Hao hesitated for a moment before he suddenly realized that this must be Jiang Xueying, who had been on a blind date with him before. He smiled and said, "It turns out to be Sister Xueying. I haven't seen her for half a year. She has changed so much that I can't recognize her."

"I recognized my brother at first sight." Jiang Xueying bit her lower lip lightly.

His recipe of "yellow mud soup with brown sugar" has earned him 100,000 taels of silver from Jiang Xueying. He actually hasn't even remembered what she looks like, isn't that too much?

"Come on, kid, sit down." Ye took Zhao Hao's hand and asked him to sit on her left, just opposite Jiang Xueying. She smiled and said, "Xueying came all the way from Suzhou to meet you."

"Really?" Zhao Hao couldn't help but feel flattered.

"Mainly, there are some business matters that I want to consult my brother about." Jiang Xueying looked at Ye helplessly.

"Oh, haha..." Speaking of business, Zhao Hao couldn't help but feel guilty, fearing that Jiang Xueying would punish him. "I'm just messing around in a wild way, and my sister will run away."

"I'm willing even if you take me away." Fortunately, Jiang Xueying was still very considerate and did not mention the matter of soaking in the yellow mud soup to Zhao Hao.

The three were still hungry, so Ye asked the servants to bring back hot dishes and meals. Zhao Hao did not consider himself an outsider and ate happily.

"It's so comfortable..." Young Master Zhao picked up the teacup and rinsed his mouth, saying happily, "It's impossible to eat so comfortably on a boat."

"Nonsense! How can you not eat well with Qiaoqiao serving you?" Ye pretended to be angry, then had the dining table cleared away and replaced it with a card table. She then pulled Qiaoqiao and Ma Xianglan to play Zhuangyuan cards.

"Sister Xueying, don't you want to fight?" Zhao Hao saw that Jiang Xueying had no intention of ending the fight.

"You can't fight her. No one can beat her." Ye drew the cards and said with a smile: "Xueying, take your brother Zhao to walk around the garden to digest the food."

"Yes." Jiang Xueying's face turned slightly red, and then returned to its white porcelain color. She bowed to Zhao Hao and said, "Brother, please."

Zhao Hao knew that she had something to say to him, so he smiled and said, "Thank you, sister."

~~

The two walked slowly along the path by the lake, and saw before them towering green peaks, dark rocks by the river, and water and rocks blending into one seamless whole.

After walking for a while in silence, Zhao Hao apologized first: "I'm sorry for making sugar last time, sister."

"Why do you say that, Brother Zhao?" Jiang Xueying shook her head magnanimously and said softly, "The secret recipe is like this. It seems very simple when you say it. But if you don't tell me, you can't figure it out no matter how hard you try."

As she said this, she tilted her head and looked at Zhao Hao, and said with a playful smile: "If I blame my brother, wouldn't I be taking advantage of you and still acting cute?"

"Reasonable!" Zhao Hao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"This time I came to Yangzhou from Suzhou, in addition to asking my brother for advice on business matters," Jiang Xueying said softly, "I also have something to report to my brother and uncle."

"What's the matter?" Zhao Hao asked curiously.

"The news has spread throughout Suzhou that Uncle Zhao will take over as the magistrate of Wu County," Jiang Xueying said leisurely, "From the prefect and the grain inspector to the gentry, everyone is panicking."

"Ah?" Zhao Hao asked curiously, "Why are they panicking?"

"Well, I'll just say it straight..."

"But it's okay."

"They say that Uncle Zhao dared to hit even the young cabinet minister, so he must have a very strong backer. If such a vicious man becomes the county magistrate, there will be no peace in Suzhou City." Jiang Xueying suppressed her smile and said, "They also said that you can't afford to offend the champion who has been beaten with a stick in the court..."

"Uh..." Zhao Hao knew she was being euphemistic. Those officials and gentry in Suzhou didn't know how to frame my father.

"They seem to be moving around, trying to find another place for my uncle." Jiang Xueying said in a low voice.

ps. Chapter 5, please give me monthly tickets and recommendation tickets~~~