In mid-April, the weather was getting hotter and hotter, and even under the shade of the trees, it was a bit unbearable. Two little maids stood sideways behind the two old ladies, fanning them.
Zhang Cheng sat on the small stool next to his mother and listened to his aunt say: "Cheng'er, my cousin is very concerned about your marriage. She must carefully investigate among the familiar officials and family members in Beijing. ,
There are indeed some official ladies who are about the same age as you and have similar horoscopes. Now, as long as you say a word, Cheng'er, my cousin and cousin-in-law will help you take care of this matter. "
Zhang Cheng raised the corners of his mouth, getting promoted, getting rich and marrying a wife is a blessing in life!
I heard my aunt continue to say unhurriedly: "Now there are two official ladies who have particularly caught the eye of your cousin in Beijing.
One of them is the second young lady of the Wang family of the Ministry of Etiquette. She is eighteen years old and has the same birth date as you. She is also very pretty and pretty. I can still trust your aunt in the capital.
The other one is the eldest daughter of Master Ji, who is a fifth-grade scholar at the Hanlin Academy. This Master Ji is originally from Songjiang Prefecture and is a well-read man of poetry and literature. This Miss Ji is sixteen years old this year and is in the prime of her life. , people are also generally elegant and refined, with the elegance and delicacy of Jiangnan women,
Your cousin is very fond of this Miss Ji. He emphasized in the letter that this Miss Ji has been practicing female craftsmanship since she was a child. Her embroidery, singing and dancing are all top-notch, she is extremely smart and studious, and she also has some attainments in poetry and songs.
However, a famous little talented girl in the capital was constantly being asked to propose marriage. Because of this little girl's arrogance and the pampering of her parents, her family had not agreed so far.
According to your cousin's letter, she really doesn't have much confidence in the Ji family. However, fortunately, Cheng'er, you are now famous in Gyeonggi, and your deeds are spread in the streets, restaurants and restaurants.
Perhaps, I can impress Miss Na Ji. If you have no other intention, I will reply to my cousin and seize the opportunity to use some means to take care of this matter. "
Zhang Cheng was also thinking secretly in his heart that he was already twenty-three years old with his body, and if he didn't marry, he might be called a freak.
But this matter of marrying a wife was nothing to play with. He thought for a moment and then said: "When marrying a wife, you should marry a virtuous woman. I can trust my aunt, and I can also trust the aunt of the Han family.
However, Cheng'er's first wife does not require her to be both talented and beautiful, as beautiful as flowers and jade, and virtuous and virtuous is important, but her appearance must be acceptable, because she will have to get along day and night in the future, right? "
"Cheng'er, just don't worry. My cousin's vision is quite good. If she can see it well, she will never be bad. In this case, I will write to my cousin and ask him to help handle this matter in the capital." Aunt Zhang Cheng said very happily.
In his mother's concerned eyes, Zhang Cheng said: "In this case, I will help my aunt of the Han family and ask her to repair a letter. I will send my bodyguard directly to the capital to bring a thousand taels of silver to my aunt of the Han family as a treasure. , It’s not good to help our family with things while using other people’s own money.”
Neither mother nor aunt expected that Zhang Cheng's attitude would be so good now. They looked at each other with relief in their eyes.
…………
On April 13, Zhang Cheng was seeing Wei Zhice off on the official road outside the south gate of Xuanfu Town.
He sent Wei Zhice back to the capital to deliver a message to his aunt. The reason why he sent Wei Zhice was because he was originally from the Huolu family in Jinan, and Wei Zhice was originally a student. It was quite appropriate for him to go to the capital and move around among the officials. .
At the same time, because the road was not peaceful, Wei Zhice carried a lot of silver, and he sent guards from Niu Sheng's team to accompany Wei Zhice.
In addition to delivering the letter, Zhang Cheng also assigned Wei Zhice three other tasks, asking him not to come back in a hurry and to finish everything before returning to Xuan Mansion.
The first is to visit the supervisory censor Yu Shangyou whom Yang Tinglin introduced at the beginning, and bring him two hundred taels of silver. He told Wei Zhice to have a good relationship with the censor, and asked Yu Shangyou to try his best to make some censors in Beijing. Friends, there is no need to worry about money, Zhang Cheng will take care of it here.
You must know that there are more than a hundred censors in the capital. They all only hold seventh-grade official positions, and their salaries are extremely low. It is already very difficult to maintain a family, let alone meet the social needs.
Moreover, the censor at this time sounds a bit high-ranking, but in fact he is not very well-received by others, and he is hardly filial on weekdays, and he is not like those petty officials with real power in various ministries who can make money. .
Therefore, most of them lived in poverty, but Zhang Cheng didn't think so. Most of the powerful officials in the capital had high ambitions and it was difficult to make friends with them. However, these censors had been poor for a long time, so it was easier to make friends with them.
Zhang Cheng didn't know what others thought. Anyway, he firmly believed that these censors would be of great use in the future, so he was very enthusiastic about Yu Shangyou, and had given him a hundred taels of silver as a gift when he left Beijing last time.
Secondly, he also asked Wei Zhice to use some connections in the capital, and even asked Yu Shangyou to try his best to find out the situation of the eldest lady of Ji, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, especially the appearance of the official lady?
Although Zhang Cheng also believed what his aunt said that her cousin in Beijing, who was married to Wu Jinkang, a doctor in the Ministry of Construction and Maintenance Department, would never have bad taste, but he had watched too many movies and TV series before time travel.
In those dramas, there are matchmakers who take advantage of the opportunity to secure marriages and develop their own personal connections. They can turn ugly things into beautiful ones and take care of the thoughts and wishes of both parties.
Although Zhang Cheng believed in his aunt's vision and the person she trusted would never do something like this, he still wanted to confirm it himself. It would be even more important if the information obtained by Wei Zhice was consistent with that of the Han family's cousin in Beijing. Believable.
Third, Zhang Cheng secretly brought another thousand taels of silver to Wei Zhice. He asked Wei Zhice to open a restaurant in the capital as a place to collect information from the capital and contact and bribe the officials in the capital.
After the restaurant opened, Niu Sheng was temporarily in charge of taking care of it. His team of sentries also stayed in the capital to facilitate the communication of news.
Zhang Cheng told Niu Sheng to choose another place outside the capital and open a large carriage shop as a cover. He could keep the horses and mules here to hide his identity. Only one or two of the team's sentry riders were left in the capital. Inside, the rest of the people stayed outside the city, divided into two places, which was safer.
In addition, he also told Wei Zhice and Niu Sheng that whether the restaurant here makes money is secondary. The main thing is that the location must be good and the transportation must be convenient, so that it can be convenient to entertain those officials from the capital, build relationships, and collect information.
Although Niu Sheng was extremely reluctant, he did not dare to disobey Zhang Cheng's order. He just begged Zhang Cheng to choose another one of them as soon as possible to replace him.
However, the big monkey in his team was left behind by Zhang Cheng!
