Ning Tong politely asked these female customers to leave.
When sending these people out, she saw that the two hired nurses at the door were gone, and she knew that it was probably Zhang Zhou's work.
Ning Tong asked Zhang Zhou to go to her inner courtyard while asking her maid to go to the door and put up the door sign.
She didn't seem too coy about her contact with Zhang Zhou, and she didn't seem to care about other people's comments about her women's ethics. As a person who could reconcile with An Bianhou, she was probably a weirdo in the circle of ladies in the capital. .
Others are afraid that after the two families reconcile and separate, the other side will become prosperous, and we will not be able to share wealth and prosperity together.
And she... insists on waiting for Zhu Feng to rise to prominence before mentioning reconciliation... A newly promoted Anbian Marquis's wife is not worthy of her, and she runs out to sell rouge and gouache... From the perspective of people of this era, it is incomprehensible. This kind of twosome behavior.
"What did you do to Chen's sister?" Ning Tong asked Zhang Zhou with a glare after inviting Zhang Zhou to her room in the backyard.
Zhang Zhou smiled secretly.
This woman thought that she came to the house just like Zhu Feng to get angry.
Ning Tong thought the initiative was on her side.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "She is running coal mines and iron mines, and her annual profit is about ten or twenty thousand taels of silver. It's not too much, even if it's more."
"You...occupied her?" Ning Tong looked at Zhang Zhou with the eyes of a bully.
"Of course, if you don't occupy her, how can you let her do business?" Zhang Zhou said, "You insist on understanding it this way. I think your thinking is very good, but the problem is that after she gets what she wants, she also abandons you. Ru Ruxiao, do you particularly regret it now?"
Ning Tong glared at Zhang Zhou and said: "You must be holding the Chen family's sister hostage. You have interests, how can you easily share them with her? Don't think I don't know. She currently owes a lot of foreign debts. Not returned.”
Zhang Zhou said: "What are you talking about? I'm here to discuss another business with you. I plan to use your place as an inn and send someone to stay at your place."
Ning Tong asked: "Who is it?"
Not to mention objections, Ning Tong probably also knew that since Zhang Zhou was willing to come to the door, this matter must not be simple, and it seemed that she had no reason to refuse.
In the past, she was not allowed to see Zhang Zhou, but now Zhang Zhou came on his own initiative and said he wanted to send someone to live with her. Doesn't that mean that... she has the capital to trap Zhang Zhou?
"Woman." Zhang Zhou said, "For a pregnant woman, you don't have to worry about food and clothing. Even the cooking will be done for you. She will stay for a while and then leave. You will know her when she is gone. Her identity, but you can’t know it while she’s living there.”
Ning Tong said with a narrow look: "With your status, if you have a foreigner, do you still need to leave it here with me?"
Zhang Zhou said: "You don't care whether she is my foreign residence or not. I will bring this person over to you right now. It will be beneficial to you and harmless if you treat her well. If anything goes wrong...you know, I am also in a dilemma." .”
Ning Tong seems to be very dull in terms of human relations, but her brain is very shrewd in some aspects.
She seemed to sense from Zhang Zhou's hint that the woman Zhang Zhou mentioned was the foreign residence of a "big man", but no matter how she thought about it, she probably would not think of the emperor.
The key point... In most people's impressions, the emperor could take any woman he wanted. It was more convenient than Zhang Zhou taking concubines. In her eyes, Zhang Zhou could take concubines into his own yard. Why should the emperor care about the red tape?
"Is it Zhu Feng's?" Ning Tong called her ex-husband by his first name.
Zhang Zhou curled his lips and said, "It's good that it's his. Mrs. Cheng Guo is now urging him to get married and have children every day, and you have become a joke to the outside world of the Cheng Guo Palace. If it is Zhu Zhijie's, I will raise him." The women and children outside are sent to you for you to torture their husband and wife, and I am considered the number one person."
Ning Tong said: "You can definitely raise people in any place outside. With your status, is it difficult to get a mansion?"
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "What I want is your woman's identity, or the identity of the former wife of Marquis Anbian. Come over and be polite later, it will be very beneficial to you in the future."
"Then can I talk to her?" Ning Tong asked.
"You can ask about simple communication, such as what to eat or drink, what the weather is like today, or how you are in your mood, but don't ask about family matters or background." Zhang Zhou said with a smile, "Ning, not me. If I have to give you a difficult problem, don’t have the courage to face it, otherwise I won’t get any good results from you!”
"Since this person is so important, why do you want to keep him here? I...I don't agree."
Ning Tong took on the attitude of dealing with business dealings.
I didn't object before because I wanted to trap Zhang Zhou, but now I object more because I want to bargain with Zhang Zhou.
Zhang Zhou looked at Ning Tong with disapproving eyes and said with emotion: "You haven't made much progress since you left Chengguo Duke's Mansion. You were taken advantage of when making friends, and you were schemed against when doing business. Now I give you a chance to prove yourself. How can you still do it?" Pushing three and blocking four, you deserve to end up where you are now."
Ning Tong is called a hater.
Zhang Zhou was simply using the tone of a superior person to teach her a lesson, and that feeling... made her feel crazy.
The little self-esteem was beaten all over, and he almost burst into flames and pushed Zhang Zhou to the ground and beat him violently.
…
…
Ning Tong brought the person in.
Ning Tong kept silently looking at Xiaolian.
"Miss Xiaolian, Ning Tong." Zhang Zhou introduced the two parties with a smile, "This Miss Ning is not simple. She used to be the wife of Marquis Anbian, but they divorced and now runs this Hangfen shop alone. Ning Miss, why don’t you take Miss Xiaolian to see her room quickly?”
Xiaolian is obviously very knowledgeable.
She was from a humble background, but when she saw that the other party was from a noble family, a typical official woman with a strong background, she naturally wanted to give Ning Tong a gift.
This made Ning Tong feel that Zhang Zhou was scaring herself before.
If it was really the foreign residence of a prince, how could he be so polite to a former marquise?
He went to the backyard and arranged the room. The two maids Zhang Zhou found from home, Ping An and Ji Xiang, also arrived.
"They are responsible for moving things in the backyard, chopping wood and lighting fires. They are very diligent." Zhang Zhou explained to Ning Tong and Xiao Lian together.
Ning Tong seemed dissatisfied with having so many people at home.
Zhang Zhou immediately asked Ping An to hand over the wooden box he had brought over, and then handed it to Ning Tong: "The reward for you will be opened in private. I don't want even the slightest accident to happen to them here."
Ning Tong was impatient, so she opened the wooden box slightly, and when she saw the contents inside, her face seemed relieved again.
For a woman who has to live alone and go out to make a living, money is her most important thing.
…
…
Zhang Zhou arranged everything and was about to leave.
"Are you busy? Why can't you sit down and talk?" Ning Tong and Zhang Zhou arrived at the store and said urgently.
Zhang Zhou turned back to look at her.
For some reason, Zhang Zhou felt in his heart that Ning Tong, who had previously been smeared like a monkey's butt, was more honest and could attract his attention.
After thinking about it carefully, it probably represents a woman who is busy with her career, which is a rare quality for women in this era.
Zhang Zhou said: "I'm not lying to you. Your sister from the Chen family is working with me now. I have occupied her property, but not her person. I have a lovely wife and beautiful concubine in my family. There is no need to find a destitute girl, right?"
"Then how is she...now?" Ning Tong seemed to feel that she was truly wrong, but she still wanted to know whether the Chen family daughter had betrayed her or had no choice but to leave her.
Zhang Zhou was no longer willing to hurt Ning Tong's self-esteem.
"She is making money to pay off her debts. If she didn't come to you, she wouldn't owe so much foreign debt. You hurt her, but you also indirectly helped her... I need to run the mine now, and someone must come out as a cover. As a merchant, she is very suitable to help me, but you... are not suitable. You also know why." Zhang Zhou said.
Ning Tong's face was as angry as a frog's, and she said, "Because I am an official!"
Zhang Zhou said: "So you are suitable to run a shop like this, and even help me do things that others can't do. Take good care of the girl Xiaolian inside. If you take good care of it, we can still have contact in the future, which means that your meal ticket will be yours for the rest of your life." Got it."
"What is a meal ticket?" Ning Tong frowned.
Zhang Zhou shrugged: "It's equivalent to a golden rice bowl."
In Zhang Zhou's view, if Ning Tong could become best friends with the emperor's future concubine, and even be able to enter and leave the palace in the future, it would be easy to make her rouge and gouache business bigger and stronger. More importantly, she would gain a kind of love from others. The political resources she cannot obtain are irreplaceable for a woman who wants to be independent in society.
Hinting at this, Zhang Zhou thought to himself, it’s better for you, a stupid woman, to figure it out on your own.
While she wants to be a woman in the new era, she has little social experience. She is probably the kind of beauty whose heart is as high as the sky but whose destiny is as thin as paper.
…
…
Inside the palace.
Zhang Zhou reported his "results" to Zhu Youtang.
When Zhu Youtang knew that his "beloved concubine" had a new residence, his heart seemed to fly there again... This made Zhang Zhou wonder whether Zhu Youtang was not thinking about his beloved concubine. But Ning Tong?
"Bingkuan, without further ado, I will take you to see the Queen today."
Zhu Youtang seemed eager to complete the feat of taking in a concubine.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, things have to be done step by step. To make the Queen believe in some kind of destiny, you must first create an impression on her. How can it be done overnight?"
"oh?"
Zhu Youtang's eyes lit up.
Suddenly, the former strict wife and the best husband in the Ming Dynasty became very interested in how to fool his wife with his friends.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being rude. Now I have to teach your Majesty some words." Zhang Zhou said.
"Quick, tell me. I will do as you say."
…
…
Duanjing Hall.
After lunch, Zhu Houzhao felt gloomy, but he was told that Zhang Zhou was here.
He only showed a slight interest... because Zhang Zhou hadn't brought him anything interesting recently. Every time he came, he just taught him lessons according to the established procedures, and what he taught was the contents of the Four Books and Five Classics.
"Mr. Zhang, can we talk about something different today?" Zhu Houzhao didn't even get up to greet him, he just sat there, looking at Zhang Zhou drowsily.
Zhang Zhou said: "Congratulations, Prince, you are ready to serve."
"What?" Zhu Houzhao stared.
Zhang Zhou also sat on the chair next to him and sighed: "I have basically finished teaching the things that I can teach. The things that I can't teach will have to wait for you to teach again in a few years, so our teacher-student friendship can also be It’s over.”
"you you……"
Zhu Houzhao said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I have learned all the classics and meanings, but there are so many contents in the classics and history, how can you dare to finish teaching them? Besides, isn't learning just about reviewing the past and learning the new?"
Zhang Zhouxin said, do you still know how to learn something new by reviewing the past?
As far as your material is concerned...it's bad luck for anyone to be your husband, so just tell me which one of those people will be your husband, who will be left behind?
"Prince, you can just leave those knowledge to other lecturers in the East Palace to teach you. What I can teach you is no different from them, so there is no need to bother you in the future."
"But I don't like to hear what they teach."
"Your Majesty said that if the prince cannot study hard, then he should teach behind closed doors."
"Zhang Bingkuan, do you know that you are rude? You can't teach yourself, so you want to instigate your father to confine yourself to the palace?" Zhu Houzhao was furious.
But he just couldn't do anything to Zhang Zhou.
"I have nothing to do with that. My mission is to teach the prince some necessary knowledge. It is basically completed now. I still have another important thing to complete in the future, which is to pacify the grassland. I will not be able to calm down and teach the prince in the future. .”
When Zhang Zhou said this, Zhu Houzhao's previous negative emotions were swept away.
Zhu Houzhao's buttocks were still on his chair, but he dragged the chair towards Zhang Zhou and asked, "Can we plan together?"
"No way!" Zhang Zhou said.
"you!"
Zhu Houzhao found that it was not easy to communicate normally with Zhang Zhipeng today.
Zhang Zhou said: "Prince, it's like this. You are not old now, and you can't make the decision on major matters. If I make progress quickly, I will pacify the grassland in three to five years, and then the prince can only..."
"That's enough!" Zhu Houzhao said angrily, "Mr. Zhang! Just tell me, what do you want me to do so that you can...not level the grassland within three to five years?"
"Hey, do you want to ruin His Majesty's plan?" Zhang Zhou frowned.
Zhu Houzhao was so angry that he almost wanted to say, "You don't want me to kill the king and my father, do you?" So I become the emperor? Then you can help me pacify the grassland and establish a legacy that will last forever?
Zhang Zhou said: "Prince, if I am in Beijing from now on, I will probably only be able to come once a month. We will not meet for more than half an hour at a time. I will not be able to teach. I am just here to make jokes and talk about life ideals with you."
Zhu Houzhao: "..."
"It's basically impossible for you to go out of the palace to see me. His Majesty knows that you have the idea of escaping from the palace. He will send more people to guard you in the future. If you can get out through the first door, you can also get out through the second door and the palace door. Don’t think about it! You’re so tall, you’re so recognisable.”
"..." Zhu Houzhao continued to be speechless.
Zhang Zhou said: "However, I have taken on a new job. When you are twelve or thirteen years old, I may teach you some knowledge on horseback. This is specially approved by His Majesty. It is too early to talk about it now."
Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "Are you here to say goodbye today?"
"I didn't say goodbye. I said I would come again in the future. Even if I only go to Qianqing Palace in the future, I will never see you again without looking up. Prince, please don't say it as if we are saying goodbye forever." Zhang Zhou looked indifferent.
Gao Feng, who was standing by the side, couldn't listen anymore and asked hurriedly: "Sir, even if today is the last class, can you tell me more."
Zhang Zhou said: "Forget it, we have won another battle in the grassland, and the victory at Huangshui. The news has just reached the capital, and now it is making a fuss. I don't have so much time to teach the prince the Four Books and Five Classics."
"Ah? A great victory? What great victory? Did you win another battle? You...why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Zhu Houzhao felt that he had missed 100 million.
Zhang Zhou spread his hands and said: "Prince, you are still too young. It's a pity that you can't help me and fight side by side with me. Moreover, the prince's knowledge is not very good. This knowledge is the most critical element of Pingcai. , I’m just telling you about the art of war, but you don’t know the allusions or the history, so how can I explain it to you? How can I discuss it with you?”
"You...you..." No matter how stupid Zhu Houzhao was at this time, he actually realized that Zhang Zhou was trying to persuade him to learn in disguise.
The general meaning is that if you don’t learn, I won’t play with you.
Do you expect me to teach you in the future?
I'm sorry, this Zhang is so awesome now. He fights wherever he wants and wins wherever he fights. Now he doesn't need to teach you how to be a prince to get any honors. Isn't it better to hang out with His Majesty than with you, a naughty kid? From now on, if you are not good at learning, we will become strangers.
Who said that the only way for you, a brat like you, to study hard is to come to see you every day and look at your face every time?
The officials in the East Palace cannot beat you or scold you, and they have to be angry with you.
But I don’t need to take offense to this person.
snort!
Not convinced?
Hold it back for me!
Gao Feng hurriedly followed the words and asked: "Then if the prince's knowledge improves and he can keep up with Mr. Zhang's military strategy, will you teach the prince again?"
"It depends on your mood." Zhang Zhou said, "A child of this age, in my family, is just a naughty kid who gets beaten all day long but can never be corrected. The prince wants to study hard? Can he keep up with me in the art of war?" Rhythm? Forget it!"
"Zhang Bingkuan, don't think that I don't know that you are using provoking methods!" Zhu Houzhao continued to be furious.
Zhang Zhou said with disdain: "Whether you want to learn or not depends on your mood. What does it have to do with me if you can't learn? If the Ming Dynasty only relied on bragging, then it doesn't matter whether there is a prince in the government in the future."
"That's too much!" Zhu Houzhao bared his teeth and claws.
Zhang Zhou stood up suddenly and was already walking out: "By the way, Prince, let me tell you again, I may have some errands to do recently, which is to calculate the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty. There are too many things to do before the year, so I won't come here yet. You take care of yourself."
"It's best not to see him again in this life! Who cares about you?" Zhu Houzhao was so angry that he refused to look at Zhang Zhou, let alone see him off.
Zhang Zhou nodded and said: "That's good. The next time we meet, the prince will be an adult. We meet each other in the mountains and rivers. I hope we will have the opportunity to sit down and discuss the ways of governing the country in the future."
(End of chapter)
