Gao pragmatically wanted to go to his manor near Wangping Town, so he naturally wanted to inspect it personally and make corresponding arrangements, but it didn't stop there. Previously, he encouraged Gao Gong to persuade Emperor Longqing to find a playmate for the prince. Now that Gao Gong has quietly done it, Gao Pragmatic will naturally sneak out to observe, and wait until the emperor can no longer withstand the pressure of the courtiers and summon him back to the capital. The prince is a reading companion.
This is actually for the courtiers to see, which is equivalent to an alibi - you see, I was studying in the manor honestly, but I didn't expect such a turn of events!
When I mentioned this reason to Gao Gong, Gao Gong immediately agreed. After all, being an official these days pays attention to reputation, and your appearance must not be too ugly.
Gao Yingshi originally planned to leave early the next morning, but something went wrong. Actually, it couldn't be called a mistake. It was just that early the next morning, his uncle Zhang Siwei sent someone to ask Gao Yingshi to come over. As a result, time was delayed.
The entire manor in Wangping Town was given to me by my uncle. Since his uncle had called him, Gao Pragmatic had to go, so he told Yue Yue and Qin Qin to wait in Gao Mansion while he took Gao Xiaozhuang and Gao Moer with him. People go to their uncle's house.
Gao Mansion is located in Qianti Hutong. Although it is not too far from the Forbidden City and the Six Ministries, its area is relatively small. Zhang Mansion is different. Not only is its area more than three times that of Gao Mansion, but its location is also excellent—— Located on the east side of Hebao Lane, further east from this place and over the palace wall is Taiye Pool, which is the South China Sea part of Zhongnanhai in later generations.
Of course, as Zhang Siwei is the right servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and his family is a wealthy businessman who controls Changlu Saltworks, it is natural for him to live here.
The disciples of the Zhang Mansion already recognized Gao Yingpang, who had been here once. When he saw his carriage, he respectfully stepped forward to say hello: "Young Master Biao, you are so early."
Gao Pragmatic didn't have the airs of a young master, so he asked with a smile: "Is my uncle up?"
The doorman nodded and bowed with an apologetic smile, and said: "Master, it's true that I got up, but it was just a coincidence that a distinguished guest came to the house early in the morning, and he is currently accompanying him personally... If young master Biao is not in a hurry, why not go to the west first?" What do you think about having a cup of hot tea in the flower hall to warm yourself up?"
Gao Pragmatic was startled, stopped, and asked, "So early? Who is he?"
The doorman glanced towards the West Flower Hall and said cautiously: "Master Zhang, the Jin Yiwei is in charge of serving Mr. Li."
Gao pragmatic opened his mouth and thought to himself: Concubine Li's mason father Li Wei? Is he dating my uncle?
He smiled, took out a small piece of silver, threw it to the disciple, and pretended to be casual and asked: "Li Guozhang and my uncle are on good terms?"
"Hey, thank you for the reward, young master." The disciple hurriedly accepted the silver reward, and said more diligently: "Master, please tell me, how is the relationship between the master and Li Guozhang? We servants don't dare to make random guesses, but Li Guozhang It’s true that my husband always comes once or twice a month. Oh, by the way, sometimes the master will also host banquets. "
"Does Li Guozhang's family run a salt business?" Gao Pragmatic asked again as he walked away.
"I've never heard of the salt trade, but..." The doorman carefully looked around and saw that there was no one around, and then continued: "Young Master Biao, the father-in-law may have been afraid of poverty back then. After Jin Jian Zuo, his father was given the title of Commander of the Imperial Guards because of his daughter's wealth. A few days after he took office, he wanted to make money in the Imperial Guards, but the idea he came up with was not very good. It must be said that the imperial chariot Luan Tao was too old. Old, I want to replace it with a new one, and ask for a purchase supervision..."
Gao pragmatic smiled: "Then, Zhu Xixiao doesn't agree?"
Zhu Xixiao is the younger brother of Duke Cheng, Zhu Xizhong, and is currently the Commander-in-Chief of Jinyiwei. These two brothers are the great-great-grandsons of Zhu Neng, the hero of Jingnan in the past. They were highly regarded by emperors Shizong and Longqing. Zhu Xizhong is now the distinguished leader of Jingnan, so Zhu Xixiao does not necessarily regard Li Wei as a big figure—— According to the custom of the Ming Dynasty, even if the prince succeeds to the throne in the future, Li Wei's grandfather may be knighted, but it is not hereditary. As long as those who become the Duke of the country are not stupid enough to rebel, they will live with the country and live in the same country for generations. Hou, it is self-evident who has a higher status.
Sure enough, the disciple looked surprised at first, and then said with a smile: "Young Master Biao is really a genius, you can guess all this! Who is Zhu Taibao's family background, how can he be deceived by him? At that time, he said to Li Guozhang Liao said: "Today, the treasury is in decline and the world is in trouble. My holy emperor shows kindness and virtue and is frugal at home. All the courtiers do their best and assist externally. I, the emperor, are close to me, and I will keep it in mind at all times. I look at this matter If you just waste money and silk, you will be criticized by the world, what can you do?' This made Li Guozhang very difficult to get off the stage."
Gao pragmatic smiled again and asked, "Is there anything coming from the palace?"
The disciple waved his hand and said with a smile: "No, no, everyone said that the imperial concubine is a sensible person, how can she open her eyes for her father? Not only did she not speak for Li Guozhang, I heard that she even called the uncle into the palace to scold him. A meal.”
Gao Pingshi's heart moved and he thought to himself: This Concubine Li is quite good at being a good person. Her father looked ugly, and as a daughter she couldn't reprimand him directly, so she called her brother over to give him a scolding. This not only violated her filial piety, but also showed her integrity to outsiders. It really killed two birds with one stone.
Gao Pragmatic has never been a traditional gentleman who can be bullied. He often looks at people "without the greatest malice", so he then thought: After Li Guifei made this attitude, even if Li Wei did something ugly again in the future As long as Concubine Li is not exposed directly, she can pretend that "I don't know anything" - what a trick!
Before Gao Jingshi spoke again, two smiling people suddenly came over from the East Flower Hall. Gao Jingshi turned his eyes and saw that one of them was his uncle Zhang Siwei, and the other was a short and thin old man. It should be that Li Guozhang.
Gao pragmatic hesitated for a moment, but decided to go directly to say hello. He walked forward. After Zhang Siwei also saw him, Shi Shiran stood still and bowed: "My nephew has met my uncle."
Zhang Siwei didn't care. He hurriedly stepped forward, nodded with a smile, and introduced: "Pragmatically, come and see Li Guozhang."
Gao Gao was pragmatic and not pretentious. He slightly changed his direction and bowed again: "This junior has met the abbot."
The short and thin old man Li Guozhang took on the appearance of an elder, nodded while stroking his sparse beard, and said casually: "Well, you don't need to be polite, little kid."
Gao Pingshi smiled secretly in his heart, but his face was calm. He bowed slightly and stepped aside.
Zhang Siwei smiled and added: "The emperor may not know something, but my nephew has a bad reputation in Beijing recently..."
"Oh?" Li Guozhang was slightly startled, then turned his head and looked at Gao Pragmatically: "What?"
Zhang Siwei smiled reservedly: "When Mr. Xuan returned to Beijing a year ago, only one of the Gao family's children brought Jingjing with him. On the day he arrived in Beijing, he also introduced Jingjing to his colleagues. Many colleagues in the cabinet and various ministries expressed their appreciation for Jingjing. This kid has so many accolades.”
Li Guozhang was surprised: "Oh! Is he Mr. Gao Ge's nephew?" His face suddenly became very kind. He bent slightly towards Gao Pingshi and praised with a smile: "I heard that Mr. Gao is very good. Your Majesty is very happy, when I see you today, it is indeed unusual, good, good!"
Gao Pingshi smiled and thanked: "I am so praised by His Majesty and other gentlemen. I cannot bear it."
He said this, but he was quite disdainful in his heart: Although this old man "changes color" quickly, his acting skills are really not very good. This attitude is obviously because he is afraid of my third uncle's reputation and hopes to always be consistent with the emperor's attitude. , and then forced it out, I guess this cheap uncle of mine should understand clearly - Hey, wait, the uncle probably introduced me on purpose, right?
