Zheng Haizhu did not open the curtain, but through the gap in the curtain, she could see Li Daniu and Cao Xu's coachman coming outside her car window.
No matter how secluded this place is, it is not a barren mountain.
The domestic slaves and subordinates on both sides blocked Cao Xu tacitly. If outsiders looked at it from a distance, they would probably think that the cars had collided and the men were negotiating.
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself that the husbands of Yibin, a daughter of the Zhu family clan, had more taboos about men and women than ordinary people. This Cao Yibin, whom he has never met before, must have something important to do if he stopped him halfway like this today.
After dealing with Lu Fan for a long time, Zheng Haizhu knew that these honorable guests also had grades. Depending on the clan daughter they honored, the grade ranged from high to low, ranging from third to sixth grade.
The other party calls himself the "Honored Guest of the Royal Palace". Obviously, he is the princess, not the Lord of the County or the Country.
The third-grade guest of honor spoke humbly to him, the sixth-grade imperial wife. Zheng Haizhu deduced that the possibility of this person "asking for something" was greater than "telling something."
So she opened the curtain and said straight to the point in a cold tone: "Cao Yibin has any advice, but it doesn't matter."
The figure outside the curtain put down his bowed hands, stood with his sleeves drooped, and didn't show off when he spoke again.
"I heard that Madam has recently invited craftsmen from the Dianbao Institute to go south. There is a goldsmith named Liu. Although he is young and strong, and is especially good at gold drawing, he is a pawn of someone with evil intentions. Madam must not recruit him."
"Who is this person with evil intentions? What are they going to do that is not good for me?"
"It has something to do with Madam's desire to present a treasure to the Lu Mansion. It will not be difficult for Madam to guess."
The person in the car said softly, paused for a moment, and still said calmly: "The water in Lu Fan is deep, and I blocked the nepotism's way of making money. That young man from the treasure house was planted by them to seize me. Will the donated gems be replaced with shoddy ones?"
Cao Xu said: "Exactly. Cao was very angry when he heard that a relative of the clan had been selling gold and silver orbs to the Lu vassal. This time he heard that His Highness reported to the King of Lu that his wife would bring treasures from Nanyang. Someone appeared out of thin air. By giving away good things for free, these dealers will earn a lot less money, and they will also teach the princes and princesses that the things in the past are probably fake."
Zheng Haizhu continued to ask: "What kind of fake method?"
"For example, gold wire is embedded in the glass to fake the cat's eye of Ceylon. Green glass is also fired into a square cake shape, and purple acid is applied to etch it slightly. It is just like digging it out of the depths of the earth, pretending to be a Western gem. 'Suke Mura'. And more..."
"I know, they are all smart people, but their smartness doesn't need to be on the right path." Zheng Haizhu interrupted Cao Xu softly.
In the Ming Dynasty, due to the influence of the spread of Western learning to the east, craftsmen mastered many glass-making techniques. Glaze was no longer as rare as in the previous dynasty, and was as common as daily porcelain. It was no longer the main jewelry buried with the royal family. Taste. It is not difficult to understand that counterfeiters use glass technology to imitate gemstones in terms of cost accounting.
Zheng Haizhu also has no doubt that the Chinese people’s level of fraud can win the Nobel Prize in Physics or Chemistry, even for ancient people.
She was more concerned about Cao Xu's purpose.
"Cao Yibin, where did you hear this news?"
Cao Xu said without hesitation: "The place where Fengyue banquets."
"Heh..." Zheng Haizhu smiled slightly, "While you're having sex with a prostitute, you're recruiting that kid named Liu to tell you how to make a hidden stake?"
"No, after Cao learned what they were thinking, he secretly investigated with his servants and was convinced that the front soldier was a Liujiang."
Zheng Haizhu was silent for a moment and then said: "Yibin and I have nothing to do with each other. There must be something for you to put so much effort into."
Under the scorching sun in the midsummer of Lu, the two people inside and outside the car curtain spoke coldly, but neither of them was vain or conciliatory.
But Cao Xu's figure began to straighten up, and he spoke with determination: "I want to find a place in my wife's business trip south. To show my sincerity, I must hand in a certificate of surrender."
oh? A noble man who is three levels higher than me is here to interview for a job?
Zheng Haizhu finally opened the car curtain and looked at Cao Xu carefully.
He was far away just now, and he judged that he was a rich man just by his clothes.
Looking at it now, I can see that Cao Yibin has a tanned face and a body under a light summer silk robe. He is probably not inferior to Liu Shimin's imperial guards with tiger backs, wasp waists and mantis legs.
Cao Xu met Zheng Haizhu's gaze openly and continued to talk: "My father is the commander of the Jining Left Guard. Cao was appointed by the clan as the guest of honor of the princess when he was thirteen years old. At the age of sixteen, he became the princess' honorary guest. Bin's Mansion. The princess lingers on the sick bed and passes away at the end of the year. Madam, don't worry, Cao is free. Your Highness has always known what Cao's character is. He just doesn't know that Cao has the intention to go to the countryside to do business. I, I always come to discuss with Madam first..."
Zheng Haizhu smiled slightly: "In accordance with the law of this dynasty, even if the princess and county lord dies first, Yibin's salary will still be there, just reduced by half. Princess Cao Yibin, even though she is a widower, still enjoys four hundred shilu. Mi, besides, the national laws and ancestral precepts do not prohibit Yibin from remarrying. He is a carefree person, so why bother asking for a life of hard work?"
When the slave next to Cao Xu heard this, he immediately frowned. The word "you" rolled into his throat and he swallowed it alive.
Even Li Daniu was grumbling in his heart, "Here comes my mother. Madam's words are a prick to our men's lungs. Doesn't this mean that even if your son-in-law dies and your sick wife still does nothing every year?" With a salary and a salary, you can still get a bride, so why bother messing around?
Cao Xu glanced at the servant next to him and said without changing his expression: "Madam also mentioned the word 'sitting', and this word 'sitting' is the knot in Cao's heart. Our Cao family is a hereditary military household, not just embroidered pillows, silver Last year, the eldest brother Cao was promoted to the military position he bought from Qiangwatou, under the governor of Denglaitao. There are many sons and nephews of the Cao family who guard the country's borders, including those from Congwen and Jinshi. But I am the one who Those who marry into the emperor's family have their civil and military paths blocked. Even if they have a lion embroidered on their chest, they are as young as a dead insect. Cao is not willing to live like this while waiting to die. .”
At the end of Cao Xu's words, his speech slowed down again, showing loneliness.
"Then you can go into business on your own, why do you need to come to me?"
"You are Mrs. Anyuan awarded by the imperial court. You have military merit and are not an ordinary merchant. Cao has an easier time with your father and brother."
Zheng Haizhu laughed and simply threw away the last bit of reserve: "Cao Yibin, in the eyes of the world, you are a soft ricer, but eating the soft rice of Tianjia, in the eyes of your father and brother, is better than eating like us. A businessman should be more respectable, right?"
Cao Xu's face was calm and showed no sign of guilt: "Madam, I am the youngest son in the family. My father is now in his sixties. I don't want him to get angry and harm himself."
"Well..." Zheng Haizhu felt a little apologetic for a moment.
It’s not that I have low emotional intelligence and shows my disdain for merchants every time I talk, I’m just an authentic ancient person who cares very much about filial piety.
"Cao Yibin, after today's talk, Haizhu is grateful for the warning and understands your ambition to change your future. Let me think about it overnight, how about we discuss it tomorrow?"
Cao Xu bowed and said, "As it should be, Cao takes his leave."
After a long journey, Zheng Haizhu picked up the details Cao Xu said and pondered them again in the shaking carriage.
After the defense of Fushun, wise ministers like Zhang Quan in the Ming Dynasty were not dazzled by the victory. Instead, they proposed the appointment of a governor to strengthen the military defense of the Shandong Peninsula and contain Houjin Nurhachi.
Tao Langxian, the prefect of Dengzhou and a native of Zhejiang, whom he had dealt with before, became the first governor of Denglai. This section is indeed consistent with history, but it is two years early.
Cao Xu openly mentioned Deng Lai as Governor Tao and endorsed his brother's military position for his interview, which shows that he did not hide his origin.
When they arrived at the post house, Li Daniu asked proactively: "Madam, would you like me to investigate Cao Yibin together?"
"Yes, I can get as much details as I can, but I really want to recruit this person."
Zheng Haizhu looked at the letter in his hand and frowned.
A good bird chooses a tree to roost in, and its own reputation has been made. Not to mention the swollen cowhide that all the heroes in the world have, it is not necessarily strange for a man like Cao Xu who still has some ambition to take the initiative to defect to him.
More importantly, the letter from Dong Qichang sent to the posthouse yesterday indicated that Zheng Haizhu needed a suitable person temporarily to go to Nanyang with Gu and Han.
Because her own business trip destination had to be changed, from Vietnam to Beijing, the capital of the Ming Empire.
