When Zhao Wenqi went out, Qin Ming and other experts had to follow him.
He felt conflicted.
Before leaving the palace, he was ordered by the emperor to protect the second prince to Jizhou.
Upon arriving in Jizhou, one must obey the orders of Governor Zhao and cannot disobey.
However, when Zhao Changqing left Jizhou, he left them here and instructed them to obey Madam Han's orders in everything and not to disobey.
Ultimately, he still had to listen to Madam Han.
Fortunately, after spending so much time together, he felt that although this lady always had a touch of the wicked, she wasn't too unreliable.
The impact on the second prince was mostly positive... right?
Then go with him. If you sense something is wrong, just seal the Second Prince's acupoints and bring him back.
The group set off in a grand procession.
Before setting off, He Youyou wrote down the main purpose of this research trip in her notebook:
This study analyzes the current market competition in the brothel service industry in Jizhou, explores the strategic layout of the main competitors in the industry, and discusses how they gain a competitive advantage through market positioning, product and service innovation, marketing strategies, and pricing policies.
Han Wenzheng was completely baffled by this statement.
“Mother, I don’t understand some of it. I recognize the characters, but I don’t know their meaning.”
He Youyou explained to him: "In short, this sentence means—you're too idle, so find something to do."
The first thing they did was to arrange for Zhao Wenqi to be placed on the job.
They can't just take a child around to different buildings; they need to settle him down first.
He Youyou led them to Cuihua Tower.
The biggest advantage of Cuihua Tower is that everyone in the building is particularly pretentious, hypocritical, and adept at feigning elegance.
It is a place most loved by literati and scholars.
The courtesans in the building, no matter how beautiful they were, even if their fragrance could kill a dog a mile away, at least dressed in a particularly dignified and reserved manner.
More importantly, they are all very knowledgeable and talented.
They can recite poems and compose verses with you, and discuss the past and present with you. They attract you with their scholarly temperament.
This kind of temperament held no appeal for the second prince, who disliked books.
He Youyou spent money to get the madam to organize a party, and they set up a table.
Those invited to accompany them were all the most important people in the family, with the best knowledge, the most elegant temperament, and the most eloquent and sophisticated conversation.
It was a gathering for reciting poems.
Because He Youyou had discussed it with Ali beforehand, she was worried that children of this age don't have much knowledge, and that if the material was too advanced, they might not be able to handle it and it would be boring; if it was too basic, they might get carried away and forget about everything else.
After thinking it over, Ali came up with an idea: let's recite poems.
Writing poems is a bit difficult for an eight-year-old, but memorizing them is much easier.
Poems from any dynasty or era are acceptable as long as you can recite them.
The courtesans at the banquet were immersed in poetry every day, possessing hundreds or even thousands of poems in their minds, so they were naturally unafraid.
They appointed one person as the game master and played the simplest flying flower game, coaxing Zhao Wenqi to recite poems all night long.
While others were punished with drinking alcohol, Zhao Wenqi was punished with jumping around like a frog.
Everyone watched him dance all night with laughter, and the whole table was quite happy.
Apart from Zhao Wenqi.
On the way back, she said with a sullen face that brothels were no fun at all.
However, he did gain a lot of knowledge from this trip.
For example, in brothels, the most learned courtesans were ranked, just like in the imperial examinations, with titles like "top scholar," "second-place scholar," and "third-place scholar" chosen for amusement.
Even more extreme, some people added official titles before the names of the top courtesans in the building.
They selected a "prime minister" among the flowers, and then appointed ministers from six departments: "character, charm, talent, beauty, art, and form." Following the official system of the imperial court, they also created a list of officials in the world of flower queens.
From a legal perspective, this action is a violation of regulations.
If students and scholars are involved and are reported, they will be stripped of their academic titles and will find it difficult to enter officialdom again.
However, this kind of thing is like people eating beef – it falls under the category of "the people don't report it, the officials don't investigate," meaning that if no one takes the initiative to report it, everyone pretends not to see it.
Zhao Wenqi recognized the official list in the imperial study as a product of a brothel, which was due to his experience of visiting brothels with He Youyou.
"Nonsense!"
Emperor Zhao Changheng slammed his hand heavily on his desk.
In Qin Ming's account, he remembered a name—He Youyou.
This woman was once honored by him.
He knew there was a woman in the Han family.
When the plan to return Zhao Changqing to the capital was devised, this was part of the plan—to find a woman to marry into the Han family and raise an adopted son for them.
Originally, Zhao Changheng thought he could simply find an adopted son for the Han family and have Steward Qian raise him.
However, when Zhao Changqing heard about this plan, his face suddenly showed some emotion: "Brother, the winters in Jizhou are long. A child is all alone in a foreign land, without any relatives who care about him. It's too lonely and I'm afraid... he won't be able to endure it. It would be better to find another woman to take care of him."
Zhao Changheng's eyes immediately welled up with tears.
How did his poor brother manage to survive all these years...?
"Alright, have Butler Qian find a woman to marry into the family and take care of the children."
The woman he allowed to enter the house was none other than He Youyou.
How audacious! He actually dared to take Wenqi to a brothel.
Moreover, judging from Qin Ming's account, it seems that... her fourth brother has an inexplicable trust in her.
Then, recalling that day when Zhao Changqing knelt before him, saying he didn't want to be made a king and wanted to return to the Han family...
Could it be... because of her?
"The fourth prince has... fallen for this woman?"
Zhao Changheng muttered to himself, it was unclear whether he was talking to himself or asking Qin Ming.
Qin Ming could only speak frankly: "In my opinion, the Grand Commander cannot be said to have no feelings for Madam Han."
Zhao Changheng: This is outrageous!
How could such a bold and reckless woman be worthy of the Fourth Prince!
Absolutely impossible!
"Bring Zhao Changqing here. Tell him to fill out the edict of investiture for me today, immediately!"
Zhao Changqing was initially placed under house arrest for half a month and was not allowed to leave the palace.
At this moment, I no longer want to wait.
The matter of bestowing the title of king must be done immediately, lest delay lead to unforeseen changes.
The eunuch went to deliver the imperial decree, but Zhao Changqing was not alarmed upon hearing it.
He picked up the draft edict.
...Your fourth brother, Changqing, possesses innate wisdom and outstanding talent. Standing tall and majestic among the noble, you embody the spirit of a noble family. You are a pillar of the family, a dreary force of destiny. Therefore, I hereby bestow upon you the title of *King, and grant you this imperial edict and seal. You shall respectfully accept this honor. ...
The imperial edict left a blank character before the character "王" (Wang), waiting for him to fill it in.
Zhao Changqing picked up his pen and calmly added a word to the blank space—
cross.
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