Start with the humble bridegroom

Chapter 332

In the living room of the old lady of the Gu family, Zhang Zhe's favorite food was placed on the table.

The grandmother was urging him to eat with a smile, and the cousins ​​of the Gu family were all accompanying him.In the past, Gu Qinyi, who was defiant and most restless, also sat quietly on the chair, she looked very well-behaved and sensible.

Such fifth sister was very strange, and made sixth sister keep looking at her.It wasn't until Gu Qinyi glared at Gu Muyi in the dark impatiently that the sixth younger sister decided that her fifth sister was still the familiar fifth sister.It's just pretending to be cute in front of my cousin.

Mrs. Gu asked someone to put out piles of things, and smiled for Zhang Zhe to accept them.

"It's all from my great-grandmother, and you will accept it for Miss Mi."

With a piece of cake in his mouth, Zhang Zhe shook his head vaguely: "Little kid, where do you want so many presents?"

The old lady Gu gave him a slap in the face: "Smallness is not an excuse for the elders not to give gifts. What's the matter, after becoming an official, you don't recognize the old woman!?"

Zhang Zhe nodded hurriedly and agreed to accept it for his daughter.

The grandmother broke through here, and Gu Shuyi and the other cousins ​​took out all the gifts they had prepared. Zhang Zhe thanked them with a smile, and accepted them for Sister Mi one by one.

After chatting some gossip, my grandmother asked him how many days he could stay at home.

"The Shangyu told me to leave Beijing before the [-]th day and go to Zhaoyang before the [-]th day of the next month. My grandson wanted to go a few days earlier to prepare and stay at home until the [-]th day before crossing the river."

The old lady let out a sigh of regret, apparently she wanted to keep him for the Lantern Festival, but unfortunately the imperial edict forbade it.

Gu Qinyi, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief carefully, but Gu Muyi, who had been staring at her, heard her and asked out loudly with a laugh.

"Fifth sister, you can breathe a sigh of relief, but have you settled your mind?"

Gu Qinyi almost reached out to cover Gu Muyi's mouth, her grandmother, cousin, two older sisters, and a room full of maidservants all looked at her.Especially the cousin's half-smile, which made Gu Qinyi secretly call something bad.

Everyone in the room laughed, but no one exposed her.

Just for this reason, Zhang Zhe asked about those matchmakers.

When the grandmother heard that the matchmakers who came here today were killed by Xiao Wu with a sword, she was so angry that she slapped the table.Gu Shuyi also lowered her face, she couldn't control this younger sister at all.

"Grandma, don't worry. Although Xiao Wu is about to turn [-], there is no rush to see each other. Which family is it that takes a fancy to Fifth Sister?"

The old lady Gu drank two sips of tea under the service of the maid, and then she calmed down.

"Speaking of which, some of these people are from Jiangling's own city, and some are from across the river. It was also after the Jiang family returned to the sect that they all flocked to the door. At first, it was our Hanyi who looked at each other." The grandmother showed a bit of embarrassment when she said this, "I'm not a confused old woman. At this time, when I come together, I probably just push the high and trample the low, and I have no idea in my bones. Most of them I pushed away by relying on the old and selling the old, and only said that I wanted to stay." Hanyi is by your side. Besides, Hanyi has a weak temper, where can I find someone like that?"

The old man sighed: "I pushed these people because I borrowed the old concubine's affection. When the concubine was in Jiangling, she liked Shuyi and Hanyi the most. Lengmeiyuan didn't tear down our stage either. , This made this person let Hanyi go. But who knows that someone turned around and took a fancy to Qinyi, and three or four of them really couldn't be pushed directly."

"Oh?" Zhang Zhe turned his head and glanced at Hanyi. She was indeed much taller than before, and she was considered a big girl at this time, but her temper was still weak, and she didn't dare to look at her cousin. She lowered her head and played with herself finger.

"Which ones? It's hard to refuse!"

"Come on, Shuyi, tell your cousin." The old lady pointed at Gu Shuyi.

However, Gu Shuyi rubbed the center of her eyebrows first, and then let out a long sigh.

"The first family here is the Gao family who are engaged in the timber business in this city. When my father was there, I also got along very well. My family owed his family several hundred guan silver. After my father left, the Gao family only came once to see our lonely old man. The few left without saying a word, and never saw each other again. Later, my cousin and sister-in-law became the family and returned the money to his family, but returned the interest. This family has kindness and favor with our Gu family. Yes. Grandmother didn't want to sweep their faces, but the third boy in their family is really evil. He is two years older than Qin Yi, and he had two kisses before. I left at the age of two, and the second time was ordered at the age of seven, and the girl didn't have it at the age of ten, who would dare to take this trouble? It's just that on weekdays, girls hide from the Gao family's family far away."

Zhang Zhe was puzzled when he heard it.

"Why do you hear that this Gao family is not the one who uplifts the high and depresses the low, but a man who understands the world. His son is like that, why does he like the fifth younger sister?"

Hearing this sentence, Gu Shuyi pointed at Fifth Sister bitterly.

"My cousin just asked her, she is a good daughter's family, but she complained for Gao San'er. At that time, everyone in the garden avoided Gao's San'er, and she favored justice, so she played with Gao's San'er. After coming down several times, everyone said that her fate was hard, and the Gao family invited several fortune tellers to say the same thing, so she came to the door embarrassingly, and grandma couldn't refuse her!"

Gu Qinyi took a sneak look at her cousin: "At any rate, he is a man who has known each other for two lifetimes, so we can't let others call him a lonely ghost in our garden." After finishing speaking, she looked at Zhang Zhe carefully, for fear that Zhang Zhe would simply take it away. She promises to go out.

"Go on, what's going on with the other companies?"

"It's hard to say about the second Shuyi family. It's my grandmother who told you. This family is Fang's family, with a good family fortune. They have connections in both the south and the north of the Yangtze River. Half of the grain in Yangliu County was transported to Jiangbei by the Fang family. Now that the imperial court has taken over Zhaoyang, it is said that the Fang family has more connections on the ground in Zhaoyang. Not only the rice from Zhaoyang, but also the rice from upstream If the cloth enters Zhaoyang, it is necessary to greet their Fang family first. Since Shuyi has decided to go to the Zhaoyang Palace, it is not easy to offend the gentry on the ground at the beginning, so she did not refuse."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhe frowned secretly, Gu Shuyi was still a little stingy, he could probably guess who this kind of person was.Once the Zhaoyang Prince's Mansion is really a vassal, it will be the so-called "gentry" who will suffer the most.

"Does grandma know what background this Fang family has on the ground in Zhaoyang?"

"That's clear. They sent a message to the mansion a month ago. The uncle of the Fang family was originally a judge in the counties around Jiangling. After Zhaoyang was accepted by the imperial court, he was promoted to the official of Zhaoyang County. A few days ago Someone also said that this person, Zhaoyang County is now directly managed by the army, and there is no civil official in the county, but a general judgment was set up, but he was also on leave for more than half a year. I heard that the civil affairs in the county are all done by this uncle Fang The experience in the army is still being dealt with, and now there is a nickname called Fang Zhaoyang, you talk about such a family, it’s really hard to go back.”

Zhang Zhe shook his head and didn't say a word. How dare a seventh-rank pusher ride on the neck of the palace and call himself Fang Zhaoyang?
He didn't care, and asked about the next two.

"The remaining two families are from the old family on the ground in Zhaoyang. One is named Liu and the other is named Wu. They are both from the family of scholars who have been studying for many generations. I guess they are here for you, the number one scholar. Because they are the family of scholars. , and there was no immediate refusal."

Zhang Zhe turned around a few times in his mind, and finally made a decision.

"Grandma, according to me, the fifth and sixth younger sisters are still early, and when those people come to the door, they will say that I have made arrangements. It is said that the fourth younger sister has also reached the age of seeing each other, but the decree of the imperial court has only been promulgated. , I don’t know how many people are staring at the Zhaoyang Palace, and some people don’t know whether it’s a human or a ghost for the time being. But it is useful. After all, as brother-in-law with the crown prince, of course you have to ask the palace what it means."

The old lady Gu nodded. With the grandson of the number one scholar making the decision, she felt much more at ease.

"The Liu family and the Wu family are fine to talk to, but the Gao family is too embarrassed to speak, and the Fang family has something to do with Zhaoyang."

"The favors of the Gao family belong to human favors. We can't let us lose a younger sister. We only need to find a Taoist monk to solve this kind of matter. As for Fang Zhaoyang, hehe, he dared to call himself Fang Zhaoyang. It can be seen that Zhaoyang Palace was not released. In their eyes, what face should they give them? The imperial court has discussed it long ago, and they are selecting the officials of the royal family. After the spring, they will take over Zhaoyang, and the original officials will be used separately. He is Fang Jiangling. Can stare."

As soon as Zhang Zhe returned to Jiangling, things in and around the Gu family felt that everything went smoothly.

The second day was New Year's Eve, so Zhang Zhe simply slept all day.

He didn't go out on the first day of junior high school, but someone came to the door on the second day of junior high school.

"It was said on the door that it was a cloth merchant from Nanyang. I heard that Young Master Biao came to see him after he returned home."

When Zhang Zhechu heard it, he didn't take it seriously, and he wasn't going to meet him, but he was just surprised why these people didn't go back to Nanyang during the Chinese New Year, and why did they stay in Jiangling?But Menzi turned back not long after he left, still holding a post in his hand.

This is the post of Lin Lang, the judge of Nanyang Tong!
Zhang Zhe was almost taken aback, and he was a little suspicious that Lin Lang would deliberately find someone to ask him for an explanation.

Most of the general judges in the provincial capital are one level higher than those of the county government, about the same grade as Zhang Zhe, the first is from around the fifth rank, and Lin Lang is one of the rare five-rank general judges in the world , Zhang Zhe had also heard of this king's name in Chang'an.

Coupled with Lin Funiang's confusion, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and meet the cloth merchant.

"Villain Leping, please greet the adults!"

The Nanyang cloth merchant was in his early forties, a thin man with a respectful face.

"Sit down first," Zhang Zhe asked him without any ink marks, "Where did you get Lin Tongpan's post? How do you know that I have arrived in Jiangling?"

Le Ping only sat on half of his buttocks, and replied cautiously: "I dare not lie to my lord, but I really don't know that my lord has returned to Gu's mansion. I saw the news of my lord's appointment as the co-prefect of Zhaoyang in the post newspaper in Jiangling, and I figured it out." My lord will come back to Jiangling to fulfill my filial piety, so I come here to try my luck. But I don’t want to, the little one’s luck is really good! Master Lin’s post actually sent the little one to Zhaoyang County, but it’s a pity that the little one messed up the matter , I’ve been sitting on wax for the past few days.”

This person is very shrewd, and every word is inseparable from "Zhaoyang", which really aroused Zhang Zhe's interest.

"Master Lin sent a message to Zhaoyang, didn't he hand it to General Xue?"

Le Ping lowered his head: "Naturally not, our Nanyang merchants sold more than a dozen ships of our Nanyang's new cloth in the fall of last year, and planned to sell them to Zhaoyang. The goods were obviously ordered by Fang’s family, but they said that we wanted to smuggle them to the country of Wu! The younger ones are also sensible, knowing that this kind of thing can only be accepted, so they partnered up and sent Fang Tuiguan a thousand coins, wanting to send People and boats are coming out. But Fang Tuiguan wants [-] guan! Our business is under the signboard of Nanyang County, because we are worried that it is a new ground opened by the imperial court, so we don’t take it seriously, but in the end we can only go back to Nanyang I asked Mr. Lin for a post. A few days ago, Fang Tuiguan was able to talk, but when the news of Zhaoyang’s seal came out, the Fang family turned their faces again. I know that Mr. Zhang and Mr. Lin are on good terms, and they are from the same province. People, it is Zhaoyang who took the post this time, so he has the courage to come to ask the Lord to uphold justice."

Zhang Zhe was startled: Fang's family again?Wait, you said that Zhaoyang County can communicate with Jiangbei? !
"Access to ships? Yes, access to ships!" Seeing Zhang Zhe's expression of interest, Le Ping tried to explain, "There is a Xiushui River on the Yangtze River that leads directly to Xiushan County. Large ships cannot pass through it, but ordinary merchant ships are fine. "

"Oh? Could it be that your boat was detained in Xiushan County?"

"My lord shines brightly for thousands of miles, but he was detained in Xiushan."

Zhang Zhe sneered: "To be honest, what is your relationship with County Magistrate Yue? Maybe he instructed you to come to Jiangling to wait for me on purpose?"

Le Ping paused for a moment and laughed.

"Thanks to the pity of Lord Yue, he pointed out a clear way for the villain. Otherwise, it would be wasted in Zhaoyang, and the family money of several lifetimes would have to be filled in."

Zhang Zhe tapped the table with his fingers, he was thinking about Yue Tang's intention.

Based on his relationship with Yue Tang, why didn't Yue Tang directly send a letter to Gu's mansion to inform him of this matter, but instead asked someone to come to him to file a complaint?And based on his understanding of Yue Tang, this Fang family might really be a bit of a big loser.

"You go back and stay in Jiangling. I will send someone to Jiangling to look for you when I have something to do!"

Although Le Ping didn't get Zhang Zhe's promise, he also felt that the trip was worthwhile. After all, depending on Master Zhang's intentions, he might secretly investigate this matter.

In fact, Zhang Zhe didn't care about a mere Fang family at all. There was no county guard in Zhaoyang, and he was the highest rank among local officials. The only person who could interfere with his power in Zhaoyang County was the garrison general Xue Xiong.That was an acquaintance, even better Xue Xiong was a relative of the prince.

The reason why the emperor and the noble concubine thought that Zhang Zhe could do good things in Zhaoyang was because of Zhang Zhe's special status.Xue Xiong is the prince's brother-in-law, and he is the future brother-in-law of Prince Zhaoyang's son, and Zhaoyang is the fiefdom of King Zhaoyang County.As the weakest younger brother, King Zhaoyang is the best candidate for the prince to show his elder brother's mind.The prince was worried that no one would have the turn of Yang Zongchao and his son.

That's why Xue Xiong wouldn't intentionally cause trouble for the prince. What Zhang Zhe wants to do in Zhaoyang, other than rebellion, I'm afraid the other party will turn a blind eye.The reason why the Fang family dared to suddenly turn their backs on Lin Lang's face, apart from the fact that Zhaoyang had become a sealed land, was probably because of their attempt to marry the Gu family.If the real son of the Fang family became brother-in-law with the prince's son of Zhaoyang County, the Fang family would really be different.

Of course, Zhang Zhe would not just listen to other people's opinions, nor would he decide the nature of this matter indiscriminately because of Lin Funiang's relationship.Zhang Zhe decided to go to Xiushan County tomorrow, and first ask Lao Lei, the housekeeper who has been there all the time, in the Xiushan mansion.

(End of this chapter)