At the turn of Xuhai, Zheng Haizhu and Ma Xianglin returned to Jimingyi.
The smoke from the kang was lingering in the cottage, and thanks to the light from the rosin torches, it felt a bit warm in the world.
The big man in the wind robe came up to him and spoke in a voice that was warmer than hot smoke: "Our family is still thinking of looking for the wife. After all, there is a mixed bag here. If the Fan family seeks revenge on the wife...oh , It turns out that if General Ma goes with him, it’s absolutely foolproof.”
Zheng Haizhu was astonished: "Why don't you, Eunuch Wei, rest in the flower building? Why are you going back to this empty official post?"
Wei Zhongxian showed an unintentional flirtatious smile: "Listen to a few songs and drink a few glasses of wine, it's almost done. Mr. Chang will stay there with General Zhang Shen. We'd better come back and guard, together with our own team, to feel more at ease."
Zheng Haizhu saw Wei Zhongxian's eyes glancing towards Ma Xianglin again, and said warmly: "Well, if my father-in-law is not tired yet, I will go and talk with him for a while."
Wei Zhongxian hurriedly bowed his hands to Ma Xianglin, and when he saw Ma Xianglin return a salty look, turned around and walked towards the stable, he couldn't help but feel sarcastic in his heart.
You, the arrogant civil servants and military generals, look down on eunuchs, but at night, aren't eunuchs the only ones who can enter a woman's room to talk about friendship without losing any words?
After entering the house and sitting down, Zheng Haizhu said to Wei Zhongxian: "Tomorrow, the two generals and I will continue to go north to the Xuanfu government office. My father-in-law can stay in Jimingyi for a few days and finish the errands before returning to Beijing. .”
Wei Zhongxian rubbed his frozen hands while waiting in the open air, lowered his voice, and said with a heartfelt tone: "Old Wei hasn't done anything for Madam yet, so Madam has asked me to go on this errand in front of Long Live Lord. You really treat us as one of your own. Let me also explain to my wife that I will go here and the charcoal merchants will give Old Wei my 'useful' silver, about three thousand taels, and return to the palace to give one thousand taels to the father-in-law of the Xixin Company. Two, and the rest, my wife and I will split it half and half. Madam, please don’t look down on this small amount of money.”
Hearing this, Zheng Haizhu looked at Wei Zhongxian with amusement in his eyes.
"My father-in-law, do you think I'm asking for money when I invite you into the house?"
"Well……"
Wei Zhongxian was a little confused, and he couldn't help but murmur in his heart, Mrs. Anyuan is an official in Wenhua Palace. Who doesn't know that you are actually a businesswoman who is making money everywhere.
What do you want if you don’t want money?
Do you want me, Lao Wei? I can serve you, but our friendship is far from being ready for me to show off.
Wei Zhongxian concealed his obscene and teasing thoughts and said seriously: "Madam, if you have anything to tell me, just say it."
Zheng Haizhu said bluntly: "I am not dissatisfied with the lack of money, but I am thinking that in your current situation, the most important thing is to coax people and manage things in the palace. Don't teach someone in the ceremonial supervisor who doesn't know who will set up a trick to surrender." Sin. You can keep my thousand taels, give the father-in-law a few hundred taels more, or reward your spy, you can decide for yourself."
"Oh My God."
Wei Zhongxian sighed a few times and looked away first, wandering around with an expression of emotion as if he had no place to put it. After a while, he wandered back and met Zheng Haizhu's eyes, which were always looking at him.
"Madam, Old Wei has lived for almost fifty years. He is finally blessed with such a good brother as Madam..."
He was used to the daily refrain of making friends with various officials in the palace. He wanted to say "such a good brother", but as soon as he said it, he realized that the person opposite him was a woman, so he stopped talking without embarrassment.
Zheng Haizhu flicked the lanterns and said calmly: "I don't want to bow down to you, I just feel that my father-in-law is more open and cheerful than many men I have met. Besides, I am such a good boy, I like him very much. . Before Long Live Master inherited the throne, if you hadn’t taken care of me, father-in-law..."
Wei Zhongxian hurriedly continued: "You are quite right. The eldest son of the emperor is the most benevolent and kind-hearted. Our family protects him, just like the princes and princesses protect the long live master who was still the prince back then. We are willing to lose our lives for him."
Zheng Haizhu leaned back in his chair and said sincerely: "You are my student after all. I haven't attended lectures for more than half a month. I miss them. When you return to Beijing, pick out some of the best 'Qianxiu' pieces from Shanxi merchants." Yun Jian, donate it to Empress Dongli and Princess Ningde, and buy two dromedary camels for the eldest son and the fifth son of the emperor, saying that this is the lesson Master Zheng left for them."
"Camel doing homework?"
"Well, don't my brothers like to do carpentry work? Let them fiddle with it, how can they frame a wooden frame on the hump? Not only can the firecrackers be placed stably on the frame, but the base can also turn like a wheel."
"Okay, we will definitely tell my brothers about my wife's homework."
Wei Zhongxian felt even happier.
Ever since the stupid bitch Yinyue complained to Princess Ningde and the fifth prince Zhu Youjian about their unfaithful behavior, Empress Dongli, who had always been kind and gentle, even looked down upon him, Old Wei.
But according to what the little palace maid said, Empress Dongli liked this Zheng very much. It was completely different from Xili who called Zheng a scheming vixen. Dongli would not only accept the Southern Embroidery Earthen Ceremony sent by Zheng. , and after the princess and the British lady have finished their lessons, they will talk to Mr. Zheng and listen to the scenery of the world.
This time, Zheng Haizhu asked him, Old Wei, to send gifts and teach lessons, which was tantamount to giving him a good opportunity to ease the relationship with Empress Dongli.
Wei Zhongxian felt more and more that Zheng Haizhu really wanted to see him, so he said in a reporting tone: "Madam, take care of Yao Zongwen and Ding Yun, Old Wei, I think so..."
Zheng Haizhu interrupted him: "How can I speak of my father-in-law? When I return from Xuanda, my father-in-law will tell me the result directly."
When Wei Zhongxian saw her yawning after she finished speaking, he stood up with a smile and said, "I'm all tired. Let's rest early."
…
The next day, Wei Zhongxian and his men stayed in the south of Xuanzhen, continuing to collect charcoal and collecting benefits, while Zheng Haizhu and his party went northwest under the guidance of Shanxi merchant Chang Gongzi.
The seat of Xuanfu Town in the Ming Dynasty was originally located in the Huairou District of Beijing in later generations, more than a hundred miles away from the capital. After the establishment of Xuanda Governor, the Governor's Palace was built to the north of the original Wandu Division, much closer to Datong, and only a stone's throw away from Zhangjiakou, the largest city in Beisei.
As soon as he entered the real Xuanfu town, Zheng Haizhu clearly felt that the mules, horses and camel teams along the way became more dense.
She asked Chang Zhongxin: "Mr. Chang, my ears are about to freeze off just by looking at it. Why is the market so busy with everyone competing?"
"It's no wonder that Madam is confused when she comes back to Beisei for the first time. In fact, in Xuanfu, there are many big businesses in the winter months, not only livestock and tea, but also furs. Minks and foxes must be sold in late autumn and near winter. Only then will the hair on your body be worth anything.”
Zheng Haizhu still looked puzzled and said: "The Mongolians herd cattle and sheep. How can they conjure up so many minks and foxes?"
Chang Zhongxin said humbly: "My family is a bodyguard, and I don't know much about the origin of the fur trade, but I have roughly heard that mink and fox furs are not from the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but from the Yuerhai Sea. "
"Is the Fishing Sea the same as the North Sea where Su Wu shepherded sheep in the Han Dynasty?"
"Madam, you are very knowledgeable. It is the Beihai. During the reign of the Great Patriarch, Duke Liang pursued the Beilu Tatars all the way to the Yuyuer Sea."
The "Gong of Liang" mentioned by Chang Zhongxin was the powerful general Lan Yu in the early Ming Dynasty, and the Beihai, or Fishing Sea, was the Lake Baikal in later generations.
Combining what he saw and heard, Zheng Haizhu further confirmed that at this time, the trade routes from Siberia to the Northern Yuan Dynasty and then to the Ming Dynasty Xuanda Border Pass were smooth.
The timing at which God allowed her to travel was really good. Lin Danhan had not yet suffered from the defeat of Huang Taiji, and further north, Tsarist Russia had not yet occupied the seaports of Siberia and the Far East.
After the team arrived in Guancheng, the appearance of Mongolians in rich attire and splendid fur, pushing cups and changing glasses in the big hotel restaurant made Zheng Haizhu firmer in his plan to seek instructions from Cui Jingrong, the governor of Xuanda.
(End of chapter)
