ps: If I want to hear more of your voices and receive more of your suggestions, search the WeChat public account "qdread" now and follow it to give more support to "Regent Ming"!
………
Yangzhou, directly under Southern Zhili, is the center of the Lianghuai salt industry and the north-south goods trade. Here, it has a population of one million, a prosperous economy, abundant products, prosperous culture, and picturesque scenery! Here, wealthy businessmen and talented people gather all the time, and countless famous people from ancient to modern times linger here.
After Emperor Deqing ascended the throne, he came here several times for "visits", which made the city even more famous and the economy further prospered. Today, it has become one of the most famous cities south of the Yangtze River.
Someone once said that as long as gold remains golden and silver remains silver, Yangzhou will always be Yangzhou and its prosperity will never decline.
A great story about a gifted scholar happens by chance? A wealthy businessman's lavish spending? A beautiful woman’s love story? The comings and goings of celebrities? These are major news that would definitely cause a sensation in other cities, but they happen every day in Yangzhou. They are not new to Yangzhou people at all. They may discuss them after dinner, but they will forget them in a few days.
However, in recent days, another major event has happened in Yangzhou. Even for the well-informed people of Yangzhou, this event is definitely sensational and has far-reaching influence. Even today, it is also There are still many people talking about it.
This incident is when the Zhao family, a wealthy family in Yangzhou, suddenly announced to the outside world that the former number one scholar in the imperial examination, one of the most popular powerful ministers in the temple today, and the most trusted minister of Emperor Deqing, has become the official minister of the household department and also serves as the minister of household affairs. Zhao Junchen, the director of the West Factory and the general manager of the internal transportation warehouse, turned out to be a descendant of the Zhao family! And not long ago, Zhao Junchen had already recognized his marriage to the Zhao family!
besides. The Zhao family also released news because Zhao Junchen recognized his ancestor and returned to his clan. When Emperor Deqing arrives in Yangzhou on his southern tour soon, he will personally visit the Zhao family's house as a guest. He also bestowed great grace on the Zhao family. Not only would he select many of the young children of the Zhao family to enter the Imperial Academy, but he would also select one of the young women of the Zhao family to enter the palace and be canonized as a noble!
All this news is like an earthquake to Yangzhou!
It can be said that the distribution of power and interests in several provinces in the south of the Yangtze River has been completely changed as a result. The people of Yangzhou are naturally very concerned.
In fact, not long after the news came out from the Zhao family, officials at all levels in the Southern Zhili Province visited the Zhao family. During the visit, they were all respectful and did not dare to act like parents. This is also confirmed. to find out the authenticity of the news coming out of the Zhao family.
The Zhao family was originally one of the largest families in Yangzhou, not only with a large number of members. He also owns fertile land, dozens of lacquerware and jade workshops and shops, and has a deep relationship with successive local officials. In Yangzhou, few people dare to compete with him. Now that we have a big backer like Zhao Junchen and the grace of Emperor Deqing, from now on let alone Yangzhou. I'm afraid no one in the entire Jiangnan region would dare to provoke him, right?
so. All members of the Zhao family have been beaming with joy, elated and high-spirited these days.
However, not many people know about it. At this time, the atmosphere inside the Zhao family was full of tension!
…
The Zhao family is a large family with many internal branches. There are more than 20 direct men under the age of 30 in the family, and there are also 11 or 12 unmarried direct women of the same age. If all of them are taken into account, If the number of related men and women of the right age is added together, the number will probably double.
However, the favor given by Emperor Deqing to the Zhao family was limited. Among them, there were only six or seven places in the Imperial Palace, and only one place in the palace. As a result, with many monks and few people, competition within the Zhao family was naturally fierce. . All the branch families have their own little plans. Under the overt and covert fights, the originally close relationship with each other suddenly turned into enemies. They tripped each other up, said bad words, and even beat people directly. Now, within the Zhao family, it has become It has become a common thing.
It can be said that these days have not only been the most majestic and prosperous period of the Zhao family, but also the most loose and internal conflict period within the Zhao family. If not for everyone knowing that the Zhao family must have a bright future and many benefits in the future, I am afraid that it would have been Some people have separated and become independent.
Among them, the most troublesome thing is undoubtedly to select one from all the unmarried women of the Zhao family to enter the palace as a noble.
Enter the palace and be a noble person! Serve the Emperor! What an honor is this? Once a woman from your own family is chosen, wouldn't you become a relative of the emperor? This kind of grace is much more attractive than entering the Imperial Academy.
Unfortunately, there is only one place available! There are eleven or twelve unmarried women of the right age in the Zhao family! What's more, Zhao Junchen had instructed that in order to select the most suitable candidates for the palace, all unmarried women of the right age who were related to the Zhao family would be included in the selection. As a result, the number had reached more than thirty. !
To choose one person among more than 30 women, is this more than just a lot of money? It’s like thousands of troops rushing to grab the single-plank bridge!
However, although the probability is extremely small, the temptation is too great, and no one will give up easily.
When the news was released, both direct descendants of the Zhao family and distant relatives who were beyond their reach all sent the unmarried women of the family to the Zhao family compound, waiting for Zhao Junchen's selection-all of them were already engaged. They were in a hurry to break off the engagement, and those who already had a sweetheart were beaten up - everyone risked their lives for this chance to reach the sky.
As the saying goes, "three women in one drama", what's more, there are more than 30 competing women coexisting in the same place? Is this more than just a show? What a disaster!
Zhao Deqing, the head of the Zhao family, has a deep understanding of this!
On this day, Zhao Deqing was discussing with the elders of the clan about the allocation of places in the Imperial College. Suddenly, a servant of the Zhao family came and shouted: "Master, it's bad, there's another fight in the West Courtyard!"
According to Zhao Junchen's instructions, all the unmarried women of the right age who are related to the Zhao family are now gathered in one place, which is the west courtyard of the Zhao family's mansion.
However, after these women gathered together, in order to win the only quota to enter the palace, they became hostile to each other and competed with each other, and conflicts would arise from time to time.
Hearing the servant's cry, Zhao Deqing showed a headache expression and thought to himself: "Why is the fight starting again? How many times is this?"
While thinking to himself, Zhao Deqing frowned even more, and hurriedly stood up and asked: "Don't be anxious, tell me slowly, what happened? Who fought with whom? And why did they fight?"
After the servant breathed for a moment, he explained: "It was Miss Zhao Ying'er and Miss Wang Feiyan who were beating Miss Zhang Zhaodi. They bumped into Miss Zhang Zhaodi while walking, and their clothes were soaked by the tea carried by Miss Zhang Zhaodi. Now they are fanning Miss Zhang Zhaodi’s mouth was so mouthy that when I came, Miss Zhang Zhaodi’s face was already red and swollen from being slapped by the two of them.”
Hearing what the servant said, Zhao Deqing had an even more headache.
Zhao Ying'er, as the servant calls her, is the granddaughter of Zhao Xingzu, the patriarch of the clan. She is very beautiful and ranks among the top three among the more than thirty women in the West Courtyard, but her temper is a bit fierce. His influence was quite domineering and caused a lot of trouble.
The other Wang Feiyan is the daughter of Zhao Deqing's brother-in-law Wang Lan. Her uncle is also a sixth-grade general judge, and he is also spoiled. He usually doesn't deal with Zhao Ying'er, but he never thought that the two of them would join forces now. Get up and bully another person.
However, Zhao Deqing thought about the Zhang Zhaodi mentioned by the servant, but found that he had no impression, so he asked: "Who is that Zhang Zhaodi? Is he also a relative of my Zhao family?"
The servant nodded and explained: "She was originally the niece of your cousin Mr. Ma. However, her parents died early and did not leave her any wealth, so she defected to Mr. Ma a few years ago and became Ma. The adopted daughter of the master, and although Mr. Ma adopted her, I heard that he never treated her very well, but this time the emperor wanted to choose a noble man, and apart from her, there was no other unmarried woman of the right age in Mr. Ma's family. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so I sent her here anyway.”
After hearing the servant's explanation, Zhao Deqing secretly shook his head, thinking what kind of messy relationship is this? It’s true that relatives who can’t even fight with eight poles are here.
However, thinking that Zhang Zhaodi was not a direct relative of the Zhao family and had no strong backer behind him, Zhao Deqing was unwilling to intervene. He just waved his hand and said: "Go tell Zhao Ying'er and Wang Feiyan to restrain themselves! Such a aggressive style Once word spreads and Master Zhao knows about it in the future, the hope of the two of them entering the palace will be cut off! Also, tell all the girls in the west courtyard who is selected to enter the palace this time, Master Zhao. It has the final say! It’s useless for them to compete here now! Stop fighting openly and secretly all day long, and restrain yourself!”
The servant nodded and turned around.
However, just as this servant left, and Zhao Deqing was preparing to continue discussing matters with the elders of the clan, he saw another servant hurriedly arrived and reported to Zhao Deqing: "Master, there are two guests outside the door asking to see you. , one of them is called Su Xiqing and the other is Xiao Wenxuan, they are from the capital and claim to be Zhao Junchen, Mr. Zhao’s aide in the palace!”
"What?! People from the capital?" Zhao Deqing couldn't help being surprised, but this time he didn't dare to neglect, and quickly said to the clan elders around him: "Follow me to greet you outside the house!"
…
ps: Tomorrow is Chongzi’s birthday, but because it is Tomb Sweeping Day and I have to go back to my hometown to sweep the tomb, I celebrated in advance tonight. As a result, I got home late, so the update was late. Please forgive me!
In addition, there will be an update tomorrow, but it may be later for the reasons mentioned above.
Well, a five thousand word chapter!
…(My novel "Regent of the Ming Dynasty" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there will also be a 100% lucky draw gift for everyone! Open WeChat now, click on the "+" sign on the upper right to "Add a friend" , search the official account "qdread" and follow it, hurry up!) (To be continued...)
...
