"Giving another surname? Owning the territory of retainer Lang Dang?" Lu became more and more confused as she listened, and asked in confusion: "What does this mean? Don't those children have the surname Wang?"
"That's right!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "They will be given the noble surnames of the Japanese and become the masters of their homes. Naturally, the Langdang territory of the retainers with these noble surnames will be owned by them!"
"Is this okay?" Mrs. Lu was dumbfounded when she heard this: "Don't these Japanese people have men in their families? How could they sit back and watch others occupy the magpie's nest?"
"If you don't want to, then the whole clan will be wiped out, the family name will be cut off, and you can just inherit the name!"
Lu opened her mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment, and asked after a moment: "Then the person you just mentioned who inherits your surname can inherit the mother's family's property, is there no one in the mother's family of the child? Already?"
"Yes, there is indeed no one left!" Wang Wenzuo paused for a moment: "To be precise, there are no more relatives within the fifth generation of my mother's family. If there are more than five generations, there should be still!"
Looking at Wang Wenzuo's sincere face, Mrs. Lu suddenly felt a chill in her back. Originally, she wanted to find out who her mother's family was and what properties they left behind, but now she suddenly felt that there were some things that were too much to ask. Fine.
"Aye, Aniang, Ninth Brother, you're here too!" Cui Yunying's voice drew Lu's attention away from her thoughts. She turned around in a panic and saw her daughter and maid entering the door, approaching her. After bowing to her husband, Cui Hongdu and Wang Wenzuo on the opposite side also stood up. Mrs. Lu couldn't help but regret that she shouldn't have called her daughter out to see Wang Wenzuo so quickly. Her previous view of this man seemed to be wrong.
"It's been a long time since we last met, Seventh Sister. She's even more handsome!" Cui Hongdu said hello and introduced to Wang Wenzuo: "This is the apple of my uncle's eye!"
"Your Excellency, Wang Wenzuo, I have met Miss Cui!" Wang Wenzuo nodded reservedly to the girl who entered the door. Now of course, he is no longer embarrassed by the beauty of the woman in front of him. He just patted his palm lightly and stood behind Cao Wenzong. He took out a palm-sized wooden box from his sleeve and came forward to present it: "I have come all the way from afar. I don't mean to show respect at all. Please accept it with Miss Cui's smile!"
Cui Yunying glanced at her mother, but did not reach out to receive it. Cui Bian coughed: "Wang Changshi is one of our own, just accept this gift!"
"yes!"
Cui Yunying responded and took the wooden box. As soon as she opened it, the maid Hongying and she exclaimed in unison. It turned out that there were dozens of pearls in the wooden box. These pearls were as big as a little finger, surrounding a large pearl. The mother-of-pearl is rolling. Just one of these pearls is already a rare treasure, let alone dozens of them? What's more, except for one mother-of-pearl, which is extremely large, the rest of the beads are all about the same size. But seeing the soft and crystal luster of the pearls, they complement each other, and the wooden box seems to be covered with a faint iridescence.
"This, this, this, this is too precious -" Cui Yunying was already stuttered by the treasure in front of her. Although she was only sixteen or seventeen years old, she also knew that this was a priceless rare treasure. How could she dare to accept it: " I can’t accept it, take it back!”
"There are 49 small beads in this wooden box, including one mother bead. They are all top-grade Eastern beads. They are tributes from the Heishui Mohe people to the King of Goguryeo. I obtained them from the King of Goguryeo's treasury after I conquered Pyongyang. Wang Wenzuo smiled and said: "I gave it to the girl today. Please accept it and ask a craftsman to make it into a necklace and wear it on your body. It will just complement the girl's beauty!"
Looking at the pearl in her hand and listening to Wang Wenzuo's gentle words, Cui Yunying was not willing to let go. She subconsciously turned her eyes to her mother and asked, "Mom, can I accept this pearl?"
As the saying goes, there is no better person than a mother who knows her daughter. When Mrs. Lu saw her daughter acting like this, she didn't know what her daughter was thinking. Besides, in this situation, if she didn't let her daughter accept this box of beads, it would be like slapping Wang Wenzuo in the face. Offended. A hundred friends like Wang Wenzuo are too few, while half a dozen enemies like this are too many. Thinking of this, Mrs. Lu sighed secretly and nodded: "Yunying, you still haven't thanked the prince for his generous gift!"
Cui Yunying was secretly happy, and quickly closed the wooden box, handed it to the maid aside, and bowed to Wang Wenzuo Yingying: "Yunying, thank you, Mr. Wang, for your generous gift!"
After the two parties met and bowed, Mrs. Lu asked someone to place a seat next to her, asked her daughter to sit down, warmed the wine again, and brought it up. At this time, the atmosphere on the table had changed subtly. Although Cui Yunying blushed and lowered her head, the corner of her eye never left Wang Wenzuo opposite.
"Wang Changshi!" Cui Bian pointed to the wooden box in the maid's hand and said with a smile: "When you conquered Pyongyang City, there should be a lot of treasures like this in the King of Goguryeo's treasury, right?"
"It's indeed a lot!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "After all, Goguryeo has been a state for nearly 800 years, and it has been dominant in Haidong for another 400 to 500 years. How can the accumulation over such a long time be less?"
"Yes, yes, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to resist the Tang Dynasty for so long!" Cui Bian said with a smile, imagining that the treasury of the King of Goguryeo, which is as big as mountains and seas, has now mostly fallen into the hands of the man in front of him, just like countless ants. It's indescribably uncomfortable to crawl on my body.
Compared to Cui Bian, Lu was much more sober: "Wang Changshi, since this treasure is in the treasury of the King of Goguryeo, it should belong to the emperor, right?"
"Madam, you are right!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "But the situation was special at that time. Although I entered Pyongyang City, Quan Gaisuwen's two sons were outside the city, and each had heavy troops in their hands, while I only had 10,000 lone troops in my hands. , If we don’t open the treasury and reward the soldiers heavily to boost their morale, I’m afraid something will happen. I can’t wait for the British army to arrive, and the war situation will change again, and the court will also ratify it afterwards!”
"Uncle, aunt, that's what happened!" Cui Hongdu saw that Cui Bian and Lu were still looking confused, and hurriedly ordered Wang Wenzuo to join forces with Silla. The Silla people deliberately divided their camps, and the Goguryeo people took the opportunity to attack the Silla army first. The situation was critical. The king Wenzuo led his troops to attack Pyongyang City. The King of Goguryeo took the opportunity to start an uprising and narrated the story of opening the city and begging for surrender. Finally, he said: "You two, although it seems that Goguryeo must die now, the situation at that time was actually very critical. If we make a wrong step, the entire army on the southern front will be annihilated. At that time, the Goguryeo people can stick to Wugu City, thinking that In the long run, Datang is likely to fail this time, so what Wang Changshi did at that time was really a last resort!"
"I originally heard that the expedition to Liao was overwhelming, but I never thought there would be such twists and turns!" Cui Bian sighed, raised his glass and said, "Here, this glass is to congratulate Wang Changshi for his contribution to the Tang Dynasty. Congratulations, general!"
"Don't dare!" Wang Wenzuo also raised his wine glass and said with a smile: "I also wish Cui Gong, Madam, and Miss Yunying all the best and may you have a long and prosperous life!"
The box of pearls was like a catalyst, causing the chemical reaction at the banquet to become intense. Cui Bian used this box of pearls as an introduction and asked many things about Liaodong. Wang Wenzuo did not hesitate. From the appearance of pearls, the difference between seawater pearls and freshwater pearls, the direction of several major rivers in the Northeast and the location of their outlets, and The output of local specialties mink, seal skin, gold sand, amber, ginseng, and their differences from those produced in other places, and finally, the salmon that swim upstream. Even Mr. Lu, who didn't want to participate at first, was later intrigued and participated. He asked five or six questions in succession, and all received very good answers.
"If it is as the prince said, pearls are more suitable for beauty than lead powder?" Madam Lu asked carefully.
"That's right!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "It should be said that although applying lead powder can make the skin whiter for a while, it is harmful in the long run. Not only will the skin dry out, but it will also damage people's lives. It is not as effective as pearl powder. Okay, it won’t hurt anyone’s life!”
"Ah, lead powder can also hurt people's lives?" Mrs. Lu was surprised: "But I see that many women have been decorated with lead powder since ancient times, but not many died because of it?"
"It's just a small dose!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Even a highly toxic arsenic will not cause death if taken in small amounts, but women's makeup powder is commonly used. Over time, it will be fine when you are young, but it will be fine when you are old. If it declines, many diseases will develop and it will last forever!"
Mrs. Lu nodded: "This is the first time I have heard of Mr. Wang's wonderful remarks. But let's put aside the fact that lead powder is poisonous. You said that pearls can beautify your appearance. Where do you start with this?"
"I know a wonderful trick. Grind the pearls into fine powder, then pour it into milk, add a little honey, wash your face with warm water every night before going to bed, and then apply it on your face. After a long time, Not only can it make your skin tender, but it can also remove freckles and keep you young!”
"Grind pearls into fine powder?" Mrs. Lu laughed bitterly when she heard this: "Even if Wang Gongzi's method is really effective, I'm afraid not many people can afford it. These pearls are rare and precious, and ordinary people can't even replace them if they break their homes." If you don’t get one, you will cherish it like a jade and it’s too late to keep it in your home. How can you grind it into powder and apply it on your face? I’m afraid only empresses, concubines and other heavenly people can afford to use your method!”
Wang Wenzuo smiled and said: "I've heard that a woman wants her appearance to please her! For the sake of her appearance, a woman can risk her life, not to mention pearls, otherwise why would she use lead powder?"
Cui Bian was pushed aside and didn't say a word for a long time. At this time, he hurriedly smoothed things over: "If Madam doesn't believe in Wang Changshi's method, there are pearls in the wooden box. Why don't you try grinding two of them into powder tomorrow?" "
"I am not so generous as to use such treasures to apply on my face!" Mrs. Lu snorted coldly: "Besides, this pearl was given to Yunying by the prince. How can a mother use her daughter's things to apply it on her face? ? You really are an old fool!"
Cui Yunying's face turned red and she hurriedly said: "Mom, please don't say that. If you want it, just take it. My daughter will never complain!"
"If Madam just wants to apply it on your face, you don't have to touch the pearls in the box!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "The value of those pearls lies in their shape and size. In fact, the shape and size of most pearls are not so perfect, and the price is much cheaper. , but if it is ground into powder for women to use, wouldn’t all the shapes and sizes be the same? Then I will have people collect a batch of leftover beads, and my wife will grind them up and apply them on the face, and it won’t cost much money!”
"Seriously!" Mrs. Lu was overjoyed when she heard this: "If that's the case, then it's the best of both worlds. But I heard you say before that this Dongzhu comes from the extreme northeast. It's not easy to get even residual pearls, right?"
"It's naturally not easy with others, but it's different with Wang Changshi!" Cui Hongdu said with a smile: "Wang Changshi has ships and caravans traveling to and from Haidong every year. They are tributes from the Heavenly Palace, and many of them come from the king. Here in Changshi, a few broken beads are just a matter of words!"
Wang Wenzuo frowned slightly. What Cui Hongdu said was a bit taboo. However, this was a blind date, so it’s not hard to blame him for saying this. He just needed to be reminded, so as not to get carried away and say everything out loud, which would end up being unresolved. Living.
"I was previously ordered by the emperor to appease the land east of the sea of the Japanese country, so I built some big boats to facilitate travel! After the Japanese country was pacified, these big ships were sold to some merchants. They traveled to the east of the sea to do business, and also helped I have purchased some treasures, and if there are any good ones, I will present them to the palace. This can be regarded as fulfilling my duty as a minister, and I have no intention of sending them around casually!"
When Cui Hongdu heard what Wang Wenzuo said, he also came to his senses and hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, I drank a few more drinks, and I just overdid it. Uncles and aunts, please don't take it to heart!"
Lu and Cui Bian were both sensible people, so they had a good fight and let the matter go. The people at the table drank for a long time, the guests and hosts had a good time, and then dispersed.
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Cui's back house, Qiushui Pavilion.
Qiu Shui Pavilion is built on a small highland surrounded by green bamboos. It is two stories high and has windows on all sides. The south window faces a small pond, and the north window leans against a small rockery. There is a Hu bed in the middle of the upstairs, and a screen stands behind the bed. On it is a picture of hunting in the field after autumn, which fills the entire screen densely, giving it an astonishing momentum. To the left and right of the couch are two chairs.
"Madam, please sit down!" Cui Bian, who was already a little tipsy, was leaning on the bed: "Come here, get some hot soup. I'm happy today and drank a little too much!"
"Go get the child!" Cui Yunying responded quickly.
"Yunying, please sit down and let the servants do these things!" Cui Bian pointed to the chair on his right and said to Lu: "Madam, our daughter is really lucky to have such a good life." Waiting for a good son-in-law!"
Mrs. Lu snorted coldly: "You haven't asked your daughter about her feelings, so you call her a good son-in-law and you are not afraid of making the servants laugh!"
"What are you asking?" Cui Bian laughed and said, "I'm not blind, how can I still not see it?" At this point, he asked Cui Yunying: "Daughter, are you willing to have this marriage?"
Cui Yunying lowered her head and said in a voice as loud as a mosquito: "Daughters follow the orders of their parents!"
"See, I'm not wrong!" Cui Bian said with a smile: "A talent like Wang Wenzuo has a lot of money, and he also knows how to please his daughter's family. He can even adjust makeup and powder. If I were a woman, what would happen to me? At this point, Wang Wenzuo wants to marry him!"
