Zhu Xiang's eyes stopped somewhere...
"It's not us!"
Like a pricked hedgehog, Sun Zhengde immediately loudly proved his innocence: "We are friends with them, and you don't know it. How could we still contact them and betray you!" Even if he would betray Zhu Hey, he will never betray Chu Ze, right?
Chu Ze is now his future backer, how could he betray his backer.
Unless there is a stronger backer.
But looking across Fujian, who can compare to Chu Ze?
No!
So he will never betray Chu Ze!
Zhu Ping was irritated by Sun Zhengde's disgusted eyes.
He pointed at him angrily for a moment, then looked at Chu Ze expressionlessly: "Who do you think it could be?"
"No matter who he is, let's go eat first." Chu Ze wanted to be as calm as possible.
He jumped out of the carriage and stepped out of the way, waiting for the others to get off.
After everyone stood next to the carriage, Chu Ze said, "It's rare that all of you have such a heart. Please stand up."
After saying "Thank you, sir, thank you to the second prince" in unison, Shen Nan walked up to Chu Ze, cupped her hands in a flattering manner and said: "Your Majesty and His Highness have worked hard all the way, please let me introduce our Fuzhou to your Majesty." Officials, if your Highness and your lords need anything from now on, you can go to them directly, and of course, the same goes for your subordinates."
Shen Nan introduced all the more important officials in Fuzhou Mansion.
Chu Ze wrote them down one by one.
But his gaze swept across the people behind him.
These people were all dressed in rich clothes, brocade silk, and jewels. Their chins were raised slightly, but their expressions were slightly arrogant.
Looks like a faction, a bit like a businessman.
Chu Ze lowered his eyes, turned to ask Shen Nan, "Who are they?"
Shen Nan's eyes followed Chu Ze's eyes.
"Oh, they are well-known squires in Fuzhou Prefecture. They often do some good things like repairing bridges and roads. When they heard that the official was coming to greet Your Excellency and His Highness, they took the initiative to pool their money and prepare a meal for Your Excellency at the largest restaurant in the area. We have arranged a nice table with His Highness. We are just waiting for Your Majesty and His Highness to move."
"Well, in that case, let them come forward. After all, they invited us to dinner, so we have to recognize their faces."
When Shen Nan heard this, she felt secretly happy.
He brought them here with this idea in mind.
Now that Chu Ze mentioned it himself, that would be the best thing.
But Zhu Xi is the prince after all. Although he is not the main person in charge of this water conservancy project, his status cannot be ignored.
If he wanted to call those businessmen over, he would also have to ask Zhu Xiang what he meant.
Zhu Xi considers himself a soy sauce person.
He followed Chu Ze, saying he was helping, but in reality it was more for fun.
He was standing aside as a wooden stake, but Shen Nan's eyes actually fell on him.
Zhu Xi immediately stood up straight, raised his hand to his lips, coughed lightly, and said, "Just do as Lord Chu wants." There was no need to ask him, he just wanted to see the scenery and the excitement, and didn't think twice.
But he couldn't say the following words. If he said it, it would seem that he, the prince, couldn't stand up to the wall.
When Shen Nan saw that Zhu Xi had no objection, she raised her hand and waved behind her.
The group of businessmen had obviously been waiting for a long time. When they saw the signal, they immediately put on their faces full of flattery and came forward to greet Chu Ze.
Shen Nan introduced them one by one again.
The first few were not the focus. The last one, Bai Qingwen, made Chu Ze look at it a few more times.
This person's temperament is more showy than the others. On his fingers, from the first time Chu Ze saw him, this person looked even more calm and composed.
Rao was standing at the back, with his head held high, as if he was standing in the front row.
The other businessmen vaguely seemed to be headed by him.
Of course, these are not the primary reasons why Chu Ze pays most attention to him.
Shen Nan invited Bai Qingwen to Chu Ze and said with an arched eyebrow: "Master Bai is the biggest squire in Fuzhou. He is always kind and righteous. He has done a lot of good things for Fuzhou. The people are very grateful to Master Bai." It’s all done.”
"Grateful?"
Chu Ze looked at Shen Nan doubtfully, smiled, and said casually, "You must be scolding him all the time."
The praise in Shen Nan's mouth was instantly speechless.
Bai Qingwen, who had been full of pride just now, suddenly lost his expression.
Several businessmen next to him couldn't help laughing either.
"Sir, where do you start with these words?" Shen Nan put away the smile on her face and said seriously, "Mr. Bai's reputation is well-known far and wide. Your Excellency, you must have heard some untrue words." Shen Nan's gaze , glanced at Liu Jing as if absentmindedly.
Liu Jing was originally from Fuzhou and was later promoted to head of the Yingtian Department.
Because of the incident at West Lake, Liu Jing came to see him frequently and also went to see Bai Qingwen.
But the result...
Chu Ze is here.
If someone said something unpleasant, Shen Nan's first suspicion would be Liu Jing.
Liu Jing stood quietly at the back, his head lowered, as if "everything has nothing to do with me."
Chu Ze seemed not to see Shen Nan's eyes and continued: "Master Shen is right. We did hear a lot of news, but the news is completely different from what Master Shen said."
"Oh, I wonder what people outside say about Bai." Bai Qingwen couldn't sit still.
The ivory fan in his hand closed and put away with a swishing sound. He held the fan handle and tapped his palms repeatedly.
Chu Ze turned his attention to Bai Qingwen and said: "They said that Mr. Bai was overbearing and occupied the West Lake and prevented the people from diverting water to irrigate the fields. They also said that Mr. Bai ran rampant in the countryside and robbed women. They also said that Mr. Bai raised market prices and hoarded goods. very many."
Looking at Bai Qingwen, whose face was getting worse and worse, Chu Ze suddenly smiled, changed his words, lowered his voice slightly, and said: "But these are just rumors, and rumors cannot be fully believed. Mr. Bai, Mr. Shen, Do you think so?"
Shen Nan glanced at Chu Ze doubtfully.
What does Chu Ze mean by these words?
beat?
Or the guy next to me?
If only the previous words were there, then Shen Nan would have no doubt that Chu Ze wanted to beat them.
But as soon as the next words came out, Shen Nan had to think more.
His mind was spinning rapidly, trying to analyze Chu Ze's purpose, but he already agreed: "Mr. Chu is right, these rumors are all based on rumors, and what's more, there are still people who don't like Mr. Bai, and are malicious. Backbiting. Such words cannot be believed."
"Yes, Bai Qingwen can walk and sit upright and is not afraid of slander." Bai Qingwen raised his chin arrogantly.
Chu Ze smiled and said, "That's good."
Seeing this, Shen Nan immediately spoke and changed the topic.
"My lord and your highness have had a hard time traveling together. Mr. Bai has prepared a banquet at Yongfeng Tower. Your highness and lords, please move on."
Chu Ze nodded: "Lead the way."
Although Fuzhou is not far from Quanzhou, I am really hungry.
(End of chapter)
