When Xiao Jing rushed to Zhang Zhou's house after hearing the news, Chen Rui was being carried out of Zhang's house.
"How could this happen?"
After hearing the news, Xiao Jing asked the Chen family and his entourage who were carrying Chen Rui out.
The old man said with a sad look on his face: "My master drank too much."
Xiao Jing wanted to give Chen Rui a warning, but found that Chen Rui was as drunk as a dead pig.
Xiao Jing waved his hands, meaning to carry the person away quickly so as not to be embarrassed here, and then Xiao Jing entered the courtyard.
"Mr. Zhang..."
When Xiao Jing met Zhang Zhou, he found that Zhang Zhou was sitting at a wine table in the main hall. On the wine table were peanuts, pickles and other snacks, and several empty wine jars stood next to him.
Zhang Zhou was holding several pieces of paper in his hand and was checking them one by one. He looked very proud, as if he was counting money.
Wang Mingshan, who was behind Zhang Zhou, looked at Xiao Jing with vigilant eyes.
Probably because he was afraid that Xiao Jing was here to grab something.
"Eunuch Xiao? Didn't you say you didn't have any free time? Why are you here?" Zhang Zhou smiled and stood up to greet him.
"I heard that Uncle Ping Jiang came here empty-handed. We thought he couldn't do anything, so we wanted to come over here to remind him..."
Xiao Jing said, still looking at the paper in Zhang Zhou's hand.
At a rough glance, it seems to be something like a house deed or an IOU.
Zhang Zhou smiled and asked Xiao Jing to sit down and said: "Uncle Ping Jiang is very hospitable. He brought his own wine and said he wanted to get drunk before resting. But he didn't drink a few bottles and got drunk first! When he was drunk, he said he wanted to send me something, made a list and signed it."
"you!"
Only then did Xiao Jing realize that what Zhang Zhou was holding was a gift from Chen Rui.
"Unheard of, he...what did he give?"
Xiao Jing became more and more curious.
Zhang Zhou said: "He heard that it was very inconvenient for me to travel. He said that he got a great horse in the Western Regions that can travel thousands of miles. I don't know if he was bragging. Anyway, he said that he would send me a carriage."
"Dawan's good horse pulls the carriage..." Xiao Jing smiled bitterly upon hearing this, "It seems he still has intentions."
Suddenly Xiao Jing realized that with the pile of "IOUs" in Zhang Zhou's hand, he should not only have received a good horse, but also something else.
Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "This one is said to be a beauty he found in the Western Regions. She has a graceful figure, a light dancing posture, and a clear voice. She was given to him by the King of Turpan when he was in Yansui. She said that good horses are given to heroes, and good horses are given to heroes." You should also carry beauties on your back, and when the time comes to send good horses, bring them to me as well."
"this……"
When Xiao Jing heard this, he couldn't help but look at Zhang Zhou with narrow eyes.
Aren't you curious about this tune?
Sent by Chen Rui, it’s just right for you!
This time Zhang Zhou did not hide it and showed the remaining "IOUs" to Xiao Jing: "I said that I have a wife and children at home, so it is not convenient to accept beauties. He said that there is another mansion in the capital, which is It was just refurbished last year and was given to me as well. When I entered the hospital on the third day, the place was a bit off, but it was just the right place for me to hide my beauty. I said that I was just a beauty and had nothing to hide... He answered and said, "Wang Weining gave me a beautiful girl." Granddaughter, he also has a newly widowed daughter, and he also wants to send it to me."
"Ah?" Xiao Jing was shocked, "New widow? This...you want it."
"Of course I didn't want it, but he insisted on giving it. He got drunk and said that I looked down on him if I refused. He said that he didn't want any status, and he just wanted to serve me as a maid, carrying a chamber pot, a footbath and so on. He said that there is no need to keep him at home, and that it is just right to keep him in another house... Unless he signs the deed of selling himself, nothing can stop him..."
"..."
Xiao Jing thought that this new level of receiving gifts was eye-opening.
Is this still the Pingjiang Bo Chen Rui he knows?
So unprincipled?
Zhang Zhou continued: "He also said that he would give me two thousand taels of silver with the house to buy furniture and renovate the bricks. I said I would not accept the money, and Li Guang should not forget the lessons he learned from his mistakes. He then asked me how much my house in Jingtian was. I said that I only had a house but no land. He said that he had 200 hectares of fertile land near the capital. He usually had tenants renting crops, so he wanted to give it to me as well. He went back to get the land deed and so on. Without any proof, he gave me the IOU first. It’s established…”
Xiao Jing swallowed and said, "Mr. Zhang, it doesn't sound like you are accepting a gift. It seems that you want to bankrupt him?"
Xiao Jingxin said, our family has finally figured it out.
You are taking advantage of him to get drunk and talk hurriedly, and gradually emptied his family fortune.
In terms of means, you, Zhang, are still smarter.
Zhang Zhou asked curiously: "Is this the only thing he has at home? I asked him for it according to the order, and His Majesty explicitly told me not to be polite. I am already very polite, so should I take the two thousand taels of silver as well? right?"
"You can tell me how much you want, as long as he is willing to give it, but..."
Xiao Jing hesitated.
Zhang Zhou said: "It's just because this is what he promised me recently. He will default on the debt later, right? By the way, he also said that he would give me twelve servants and maids as gifts, and they would be given to me as a gift. In addition, he also has a small man in the city. No one usually takes care of the rice shop, so he said he would give it to me as well. Eunuch Xiao, if he wakes up and still wants to give it away, should I accept it or not?"
"hiss……"
Xiao Jing took a breath.
He looked over with a look like "You exploited Chen all at once, how will I exploit him in the future?"
Xiao Jing said: "Then why don't we help you to ask for His Majesty's instructions?"
"Good work, good work!"
Zhang Zhou smiled and gave a bunch of IOUs to Xiao Jing.
It means that this is all the money I obtained from asking for bribes. Since you want to ask for instructions, it is useless, so you might as well show it to His Majesty. If His Majesty asks me to collect it, just bring it back to me.
leftover……
Whether to return it to Chen Rui or how to dispose of it is up to you.
…
…
In the Qianqing Palace.
Xiao Jing lowered his head and finished talking. Except for Zhu Youtang who was looking through various IOUs written by Chen Rui to Zhang Zhou, Dai Yi, Chen Kuan and Wei Bin were all snickering secretly. Wei Bin couldn't help but almost laughed out loud, covering his mouth to hold back.
Zhu Youtang didn't think this was ridiculous. He raised his head and looked at Xiao Jing, frowning and said, "What does Uncle Ping Jiang mean by this?"
Xiao Jing hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, as a slave, Ping Jiangbo originally looked down on Mr. Zhang. He felt that Mr. Zhang helped Wang Weining achieve today's results, so he had already regarded Mr. Zhang as an alien in his heart, so he even went there. I didn’t bring any decent gifts, I just brought a wine flask and a heater for hot wine.”
Xiao Jing no longer cares about Chen Rui.
Chen, you were not so generous when you gave us gifts. Now that you are almost squeezed out by Zhang Zhou, how can we wipe your butt in front of His Majesty?
"This is called ignorance!" Zhu Youtang said angrily, "It is his own fault that he is in the situation he is in today! What does it have to do with Bingkuan?"
Xiao Jing continued: "Maybe Mr. Zhang mentioned that he was not good at drinking. In order to allow Mr. Zhang to recommend him in front of His Majesty, Uncle Ping Jiang asked someone to take a few jars of wine from his house and said that he would get drunk before resting. As a result... …He got drunk first, and then…”
The implication is that Your Majesty knows the following things.
Chen Rui was stealing the chicken but losing the rice. He thought he was a drunkard and wanted to beat Zhang Zhou down on the wine table to make him submissive. He probably wanted Zhang Zhou to promise to recommend him with paper and pen. Signed and pledged.
The result is good, fold yourself in.
Dai Yi asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, do you think that Uncle Ping Jiang was too embarrassed to break the previous barrier and deliberately got drunk to take this opportunity to give Mr. Zhang a gift so that he can advance and retreat in a controlled manner?"
"How do you say it?" Zhu Youtang said.
Dai Yi said: "If Mr. Zhang didn't do anything for him afterwards, he could just say that he was drunk and coerced into writing these things and refuse to admit it. He could even... deny it after Mr. Zhang helped him. "
Zhu Youtang frowned and said: "He doesn't have such a strategy on the battlefield, but he uses all his little thoughts to plot his own people? I wanted to help him restore his reputation. It seems that I was wrong. He should be infamous from now on." Devastated!"
Dai Yi heard this.
I just analyzed it, and His Majesty decided not to help this old boy?
"Your Majesty, this old slave just said it casually, or it may not be what Uncle Ping Jiang had in mind. This slave is talking too much." Dai Yi quickly denied what he said before.
Zhu Youtang asked Xiao Jing: "Do you think Bingkuan can still use this person?"
"this……"
Xiao Jing was confused for a moment.
When I left just now, I was thinking that Zhang Zhou's method of extorting bribes was unheard of. How could I have time to ask Zhang Zhou if Chen could be used?
But thinking about it, His Majesty was quite sure about using Chen Rui, but when he saw that Chen Rui was beating around the bush to give a gift, drank alcohol and issued an IOU, he probably should have been frightened. I wonder if this person can still be used by him. .
If he could not be regarded as "one of his own", why would the emperor hold on to Chen Rui among so many nobles? Wouldn’t it be nice to use someone else?
"It's careless. Bingkuan dared to deceive him like this. The case must have been settled long ago. He came to report to me without asking clearly. What's the use of showing it to me? If Bingkuan helps him, these things will not be said to have established solid evidence. , even if it doesn’t, he just said it and he should keep it! Take it and ask clearly before talking about it.”
Xiao Jing understood now.
The emperor didn't care what kind of gift Zhang Zhou received from Chen Rui, or as the emperor said before, this was a way to win over Chen Rui.
And he, Xiao Jing, felt that Zhang Zhou was doing something wrong by opening his mouth like a lion and showing it to the emperor.
…
…
Pingjiang Bofu.
When Chen Rui woke up, it was more than two hours later.
"Master..." The old man looked at him with a bitter look on his face.
Chen Rui said: "Oh, why are you here? Aren't you going to visit Master Zhang?"
"Master, you were drunk. When you were drunk, you gave us a house, 200 hectares of land, your Dawan horse, and even the sixth lady..."
"What's wrong?"
"I went out with a promise, and signed a deed, saying that I would give away all the land, houses, and people when I get back. I'm afraid you won't remember, so I've asked someone to make a list. Take a look."
With that said, the old man gave Chen Rui the list of things he promised to give.
There is a woman standing at the door, who is Chen Rui's daughter. She heard that she was "sold" by her father just after returning to Chen's house, so she came to ask for details.
"Let's go, let's go!"
Chen Rui drove out a group of servants.
Just as he was talking, someone came in from the other side and announced: "Sir, Eunuch Xiao, the admiral of Dongchang, is here."
"Please!"
Chen Rui may not pay much attention to Zhang Zhou, but he compliments Xiao Jing in every possible way.
Zhang Zhou was at best an "imperial envoy" who was favored for a while, while Xiao Jing was the permanent "governor".
When he saw Xiao Jing, Xiao Jing came up and gave him a slap in the face: "Your Majesty said that Mr. Chen, you, usually don't put all your thoughts on military affairs, but you are very careful about people in the court."
Chen Rui knelt down and said, "I sincerely obey your Majesty's teachings."
"It doesn't have to be like this, Uncle Ping Jiang. Our family is just here to send a message on behalf of the saint. You can't rely on the things you promised to give."
"In addition to what you listed...the two thousand taels of silver that I mentioned before were also carried and placed in the house. Our family also mentioned to Mr. Zhang that he doesn't want your things, but this is His Majesty ordered it, and he can’t accept it.”
"Let's make a compromise... you send all the people and property in, and once the door is locked, the key can be stored here at our house first. When you have indeed made great achievements in Liaodong, you will personally deliver the key to the Zhang Mansion, respectfully. Please bear with me for Mr. Zhang’s fault.”
"As long as you are sincere and satisfy both His Majesty and Mr. Zhang, this matter will be treated as if it has been revealed!"
(End of chapter)
