Li Qi was taken aback. Although her husband had reminded her before, she was still shocked by Zhen Baochen's straightforwardness.
"Sister, my husband is very busy now. He has to meet many people every day. I am afraid that my little sister will not dare to accept these things for him at will. I also need to ask for Sister Baochen's understanding." Li Qi shook his head.
"Sister understands my sister's difficulties. If I ask for permission to see this kind of thing, it will definitely have some impact. That's why I will first tell Mr. Feng through my sister's mouth. Whether or not to meet is all decided by Mr. Feng." Zhen Baochen said seriously, "No matter what the outcome is, my sister will not be resentful because of it. Don't worry about that."
Li Qi hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Sister said this. If the younger sister wants to dodge, it will appear that the younger sister is hypocritical. But if Sister Baochen wants to see my husband, she must have something suitable to say to him. Otherwise, if my husband... If you refuse, that would be hurting my sister’s feelings.”
"Okay, then please ask my sister to give Mr. Feng a message. The Zhen family is willing to do its best to cooperate with Mr. Feng in dealing with Jiangnan. Everything in the Zhen family, no matter what it is, is willing to be handed over to you. I only hope that you can let go. There is only one way for the Zhen family to survive..." Zhen Baochen gritted his teeth and said, "This way of survival does not mean that the Zhen family has any other extravagant hopes, but it means that the whole family has a chance to survive. There is no other way. Any extra thoughts."
Zhen Baochen's words frightened Li Qi. He would give everything he could, no matter what, and all he wanted was to save the lives of the Zhen family.
"Sister Baochen, are you here?" Li Qi hurriedly supported Zhen Baochen, with a face full of shock, "The imperial court did not take any measures against the Zhen family. Even if the Zhen family did some things that exceeded the rules before, it was during the pseudo-dynasty era and now When the new emperor ascends the throne, how can he get to the bottom of it? Is my sister too sensitive?"
Zhen Baochen shook his head, "Qi Mei, you don't know something. During the Puppet Dynasty, the Zhen family may have been too high-profile and too popular, and many people were dissatisfied with it. Now that the situation has suddenly changed, naturally there are countless people who want to add insult to injury, completely To annihilate the Zhen family, sister is not alarmist, but it is true. You only need to bring these words to Mr. Feng and make it clear that these are the words of our Zhen family sincerely, and there is absolutely no clever words or sex to deceive."
Next to her, Zhen Baoyu also stepped forward and bowed solemnly: "Sister Qi, what the eldest sister said is the unanimous opinion of the Zhen family. If you don't believe it, you can ask Lord Feng to send someone to verify it immediately. Don't worry."
Seeing that Zhen Baochen and Zhen Baoyu were both so eager and solemn, Li Qi may have realized that the Zhen family was really facing a huge crisis, and it might even lead to the destruction of the family and the entire clan.
She had a small friendship with the Zhen sisters before, and internally, she felt the same sadness as the rabbit died and the fox died.
Now, my sister had managed to escape and became Feng Ziying's concubine, but her uncle was still an imperial convict, and the fate of the Li family was still undecided, waiting for the court's final decision.
Under this situation, Li Qi still hoped deep down in his heart that the Zhen family could get rid of their bad luck, which would also bring a good omen to the Li family.
Thinking of this, Li Qi also stood up and supported Sister Zhen, "My elder sister has said this, what else can I say? I will tell my husband when I get back, please arrange a time to see you."
Zhen Baochen took Li Qi's hand and shook his head: "Qimei, I'm afraid it's too late. My sister wants to return to Feng's house with Qimei. My sister and Baoyu are waiting in the concierge of Feng's house for Qimei's vote to report to Mr. Feng. Please ask Mr. Feng today. No matter how late it is, I must take the time to see you."
Unexpectedly, Zhen Baochen made such a request and was so impatient that he disregarded etiquette and rules. This shows the urgency of the matter. Li Qi hesitated for a moment and looked at the pleading expressions on Zhen Baochen and Zhen Baoyu's faces. In the end, he couldn't wipe his face to refuse and could only nod in agreement.
Seeing Li Qi's promise, Zhen Baochen felt a little relieved. He really wanted to wait for Li Qi to go back and tell him, but he didn't know how long Feng Ziying would drag him there. His father had also been to Feng Mansion several times to post, but there was no news at all. Now it's so forceful. Relying on the Feng family's concierge, Feng Ziying might give him some face to face for the sake of his new concubine.
As long as they can meet once, Zhen Baochen believes that he can persuade the other party. No matter what conditions the other party proposes, he will dare to agree.
The imperial court can get nothing more than these things from the Zhen family. And the Zhen family
They can even give more. No one knows the situation in Jiangnan more thoroughly than the Zhen family.
Now that it was settled, the Zhen sisters simply got into Li Qi's carriage. This was a latest luxury carriage that was "lent" to Feng Ziying by a salt merchant in Nanjing City together with the mansion where Feng Ziying lived.
Feng Ziying had no intention of buying a mansion in Nanjing. After all, she rarely came to Nanjing, and her ancestral home was not here. Most of her visits to Jiangnan were in Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Ningbo. On the contrary, she rarely came to Nanjing.
It seems that there is not much use in buying a mansion here, but this time I will live there for several months, so living in an inn is not suitable.
If someone is willing to borrow it, Feng Ziying will not be pretentious. Only those who know the basics are qualified to lend it to Mr. Feng. No wonder there will be any sequelae.
Feng Ziying's temporary residence is on Zhuque Street, next to Qingping Bridge and close to Liu Gong's Temple. It is not too far from Jinling Government Office and Shangyuan County Government Office. It is considered the most prosperous place in the city. In terms of the price of the residence, it is The area of Xi'an Gate, which is further to the east and is close to the area of Nanjing's Old Imperial City, is no less generous.
The old imperial city of Nanjing was actually inherited from the old imperial city of the previous Ming Dynasty. After Emperor Taihe became emperor, he temporarily made Nanjing his capital, and then used this old imperial city as usual.
There is also a Forbidden City and official offices inside, but later the capital was moved to the capital, so the Imperial City and Forbidden City here became free.
The six yamen, the Hanlin Academy, the garrison office, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Sheji Altar in the imperial city were preserved, but the Zhanshi Mansion and the Taiyuan Hospital were gradually abolished, so the impoverishment inside and outside the imperial city began to gradually begin.
For example, the areas occupied by the original Yulin Left Prison, Yulin Right Prison, and Neiyu Prison were all abandoned.
Feng Ziying felt that it was such a large and good area, why couldn't it be opened up for development? This is the lack of economic ideas.
Let the wealthy people in South Zhili also buy land and build houses in this most central area, which will not only prosper the city, but also increase the income of the government.
Of course, the Forbidden City is not suitable for the time being. After all, it will be the imperial palace once the emperor visits the south, and the term "Southern Capital" is still retained. Even if the imperial court no longer wants to see the Nanjing Sixth Department and the Duchayuan, it does not dare to say all of them in one breath. Abandoned.
When Li Qi and Zhen Baochen arrived at Qingping Bridge, they could see from a distance that there were carriages and sedans parked outside the residence on Zhuque Street. There were also some war horses tied to the temporary hitching posts set up around it, which showed the excitement here. .
Needless to say, this must be Feng Ziying's temporary residence.
Zhen Baochen knew this place was the villa of Cao Guilu, the most famous salt merchant in Nanjing. Cao Guilu was not in Nanjing at ordinary times, but in Yangzhou and rarely came back to Nanjing.
However, this villa is often borrowed to hold cocktail parties and poetry gatherings, especially when people go out to enjoy the flowers in March. The fragrance of peaches and plums in the backyard of this house is even more unique, attracting countless dignitaries.
Of course, those who can borrow the house from Cao Guilu are extraordinary people. The Zhen family has also borrowed it from Cao Guilu, so Zhen Baochen is no stranger to it.
Looking at the grooms and attendants gathered outside the door, one could tell how many people were waiting to meet Feng Ziying. Zhen Baochen gained even more confidence that he had come to the right place.
The carriage did not go through the main entrance, but through the side entrance, and drove straight into a small courtyard inside the side entrance, where the stables were located.
It has to be said that the luxury of this house is a stable and a courtyard where carriages are parked. It is also very elegantly built, with whitewashed walls and green tiles. The entire courtyard is paved with neat bluestone slabs. The corridors are towering and the eaves are high. It is so beautiful. Majestic scene.
After getting off the carriage, after hesitating for a moment, Li Qi said: "Sister Baochen and Bao Yu don't have to wait at the concierge. It's better to go sit in the little sister's courtyard and have a cup of tea to warm up. Little sister here Ask someone to go to the flower hall and the husband's study to watch. If the guests leave before the husband has received the guests, I will send someone to report it. I will talk to the husband first."
Zhen Baochen and Zhen Baoyu were both moved. This is where Li Qi has to take some responsibility.
She is just a concubine who has just entered the house, and she can just bring people into the house. However, it is absolutely against the rules to make decisions on this kind of thing. If she meets those particular men, she will probably offend her.
From this point of view, either Feng Ziying has a good temper, or Li Qi is
He is extremely popular around him, and of course it is possible that he is both. The Zhen sisters estimate that the latter is more likely.
This young Feng Xiuzhuan was famous far and wide, and it was not without reason. He was such a charming and handsome man, but he treated his own women very well. Even if he was just a concubine, it was enough to make other women jealous.
"Sister Qi, I cannot thank you enough for your kindness. Sister and Baoyu will remember this friendship in their hearts." Zhen Baochen and Zhen Baoyu both expressed their thanks again. Li Qi quickly waved his hand and said a few words of humility, then called the maid and told him to go and watch from the front.
Feng Ziying is indeed very busy.
The return of Sun Dingxiang and the arrival of Yang Lian mean that all work must be carried out. In the early stage, many things were handled by Feng Ziying. Now it is not an easy task for these people to familiarize themselves with these situations one by one and get started quickly. .
In addition, when it comes to dealing with these powerful people from various places, as a precaution, it is necessary to communicate with the garrison and provide some soldiers to help stabilize the situation, as well as escort prisoners and seized property.
At the same time, the sites of Nanjing's inner palace prisons and inner palace treasuries were also vacated to be used for detaining prisoners and piling seized property. This was also a very arduous and troublesome task, requiring both safety and security. Clear the registration one by one and implement it as soon as possible, otherwise once action is taken, it will be too late to make arrangements.
