After sending Shi Shouxin away, Zhu Xiu returned to the intense preparations for the wedding.

In the afternoon, Zhu Wu, on behalf of the Hou family, went to the Huaiyang Prince's Mansion to urge the marriage, that is, the groom's family sent to the bride's family some decorations that would be needed on the wedding day, including some jewelry for the bride to wear.

Naturally, the Fu family was not short of money and goods, so when Zhu Wu went there, he just catered to the custom and gave a complete set of gold jewelry and Xia pei as a sign of solemnity.

The next day, according to the procedure, the Fu family will send someone to the Hou Mansion to "prepare a house", that is, the woman's family will go to the man's house to decorate the new house and send a part of the dowry.

Led by Fu Yantu's old wife, seven aunts, eight aunts, and more than a dozen married women of various ages swarmed into the Hou Mansion, and they made a lot of noise all morning before the ceremony was completed.

This group of Fu women took a close look inside and outside the Hou's mansion. They also found out exactly how much property there was in the Hou's mansion and how much grain, silk and silk were in the warehouse.

They were treated to a delicious meal at noon, and by the time they were sent away, Zhu Xiu was so tired that she was about to collapse, and her face was almost twitching with laughter.

In the afternoon, Zhu Xiu had time to take a nap. Tomorrow was an auspicious day for the wedding, so she needed to refresh herself.

After sleeping until dusk, Zhu Xiu stretched out his waist and walked out of the bedroom. Ma Qing came up to him and said, "Master Marquis, Tao Gu, the regular servant of Yousanqi, came to visit. He has been waiting in the front hall all afternoon."

"Tao Gu?"

Zhu Xiu thought about it and had some impression of this name.

Ma Qingdao: "This man is very polite. I told him that the Marquis was taking a nap and I didn't know when he would wake up. He didn't mind. He also told me not to disturb the Marquis from his nap. He also said that no matter what time the Marquis woke up,

He is willing to wait even for waking up."

Zhu Xiu changed into a robe, took Ma Qing and rushed to meet the guests.

As soon as I walked outside the hall, I heard bursts of snoring coming from inside.

When I walked in, I saw an old man with gray hair and beard, leaning on a chair and sleeping soundly.

The old man was thin, unattractive, and even a little ugly. He was holding a stack of articles tightly in his arms.

Zhu Xiu walked up to the main seat and sat down. Ma Qing came to the old man's side and pushed him: "Mr. Tao? Mr. Tao, wake up? Wake up!"

After shouting for a while, the old man finally woke up and yawned sleepily.

When he saw Ma Qing's big-faced face clearly, the old man turned around blankly and saw Zhu Xiu slowly drinking tea at the main seat, and he suddenly woke up.

"Greetings to Marquis Dingyuan~" Tao Gu quickly stood up and saluted respectfully.

"Hey~ How does this happen? As a regular servant of Yousanqi and a third-rank official, how can he salute me, a ninth-rank military officer? I should pay homage to Mr. Tao!"

Zhu Xiu smiled and spoke politely, but she sat firmly on her buttocks without any sign of getting up.

Tao Gu hurriedly said: "Who doesn't know that Lord Marquis is deeply favored by the officials? This time he was imprisoned in vain, and he was just framed by a traitor!

Given time, the Marquis will definitely be reinstated! After all, the Marquis is the pillar of the country, and the official family and the court cannot do without the Marquis!"

Zhu Xiu raised his hands in the direction of the palace and said: "The emperor's kindness is so great that I have to devote myself to it and die in order to live up to the great kindness of the official family and the court!"

"Your Majesty is so righteous!"

After exchanging compliments, the distance between the two of them was quickly narrowed. After Tao Gu sat down again, Zhu Xiu smiled and said, "I wonder why Mr. Tao came here today?"

Tao Gu hurriedly handed over a stack of articles in his arms: "I haven't had time to submit a few humble articles to the Tokyo Times yet, so I would like to ask Mr. Hou to help me correct them first!"

Ma Qing took his article and sent it to Zhu Xiu.

After casually browsing a few articles, Zhu Xiu asked in surprise: "Is Tao Gong the author with the pen name 'Peach Valley Idle Man'?"

Tao Gu's eyes were filled with color, and he said humbly: "It's none other than Tao! I didn't expect that the Marquis has also read Tao's humble works."

Zhu Xiu looked through the articles and said: "Tao Gong was a great talent. Several articles were published on the front page of the Tokyo Times. The most commendable thing is that the contents of those articles are different. Tao Gong's erudition is evident!"

"Your Majesty, you are too flattering!" Tao Gu laughed so hard that his wrinkles wrinkled.

I took a cursory glance at Tao Guxian's article. It was the same as several of his previous articles in the Tokyo Times. The content covered river management, dredging, palace construction and other engineering aspects, as well as people's livelihood such as encouraging teachers to teach farmers and mulberry trees, and encouraging childbirth.

measure.

The most amazing thing about Tao Gu's article is the word "Guangbo", which makes people astonished when they first read it. They marvel that there are such knowledgeable people in the world.

Zhu Xiu finished reading a pile of articles and had some thoughts in his mind.

Tao Gu suddenly came to him with a pile of articles and asked him to correct them. I'm afraid it was just an excuse. He must have other purposes.

"Tao Gong is knowledgeable and I admire you! These articles are so colorful that I really can't see anything that can be corrected. Tao Gong directly submitted them to the Information Agency for them to select and screen them.

After all, when it comes to writing skills, the new graduates from the Information Department are much better!"

Zhu Xiu signaled Ma Qing to return the article to Tao Gu, picked up the teacup and drank tea slowly.

Tao Gu was stunned. Lord Zhu Hou's reaction seemed a bit unreasonable!

Why do you suddenly act completely uninterested?

And put on a show-off attitude?

"Master Tao, please~" Ma Qing smiled and extended her hand to invite.

"Wait a minute!" Tao Gu was anxious and couldn't care less about being polite, "Actually, Tao came here today specifically to help Mr. Hou in times of need!"

Zhu Xiu put down the tea cup, signaled Ma Qing to step back, and said with a smile, "What do you mean by Mr. Tao's words?"

"The Marquis is far away from the center now, so he must not be able to grasp some things happening in the court at the first time!

As a regular servant of Yousanqi, Tao is located in Zhongshu Province. Tao is often the first to learn about court decisions and government personnel changes!

If the Marquis is in need, Tao will send the central committee's major decisions to the Marquis as soon as possible in the future!" Tao Gu took two steps forward and bowed deeply.

Zhu Xiu raised her eyebrows slightly, it turned out that Tao Gu had recommended himself to be his eyes and ears!

Now that he has lost his positions in the Firearms Supervisor and the Information Agency, it stands to reason that he will not have access to major decision-making arrangements of the imperial court.

However, he could send people to ask Li Chongjin, Zhang Yongde and others, or directly ask Chai Rong.

But in this case, the timeliness is greatly reduced, and some important arrangements may end up being very different if they are not known until later.

Zhu Xiu carefully considered his current situation and found that he really needed to have such an eye and ear in the court who was dedicated to delivering news.

At the very least, he needs to know about personnel changes, decisions made by Zhongshu, and deliberation by his subordinates as soon as possible.

Zhu Xiuyang thought for a moment and said with a smile: "Don't forget, Mr. Tao, that I am just a farming magistrate now. I have no position or power. I'm afraid I won't be worthy of Mr. Tao's love!"

Tao Gu said with a smile: "If the Marquis had not been demoted and was idle at home, Tao would have been a mere servant of Yousanqi, and it would have been difficult for him to get into the eyes of the Marquis!

Since Tao wants to provide help in times of need, of course he has to choose when the Marquis needs it most."

"Haha, Mr. Tao is not afraid of betting on the wrong thing and losing everything?"

"Tao has been paying attention to Mr. Hou for a long time and firmly believes that Mr. Hou is a man of great fortune and great fortune! His future will definitely not stop here!"

Zhu Xiu smiled, and her evaluation of this person rose to a higher level.

"What is Mr. Tao's request?" Zhu Xiu asked calmly.

Tao Gu bowed his head and said: "After the court is stable, I would like to ask Mr. Zhu to help me put in a good word in front of the officials so that Tao can have the opportunity to serve in the Sixth Ministry."

Zhu Xiu smiled and nodded, he finally understood.

Tao Gu did not want to stay in Zhongshu Province as a noble but without real power as a regular servant of Yousanqi, so he wanted to serve in the Liubu Yamen.

The left and right knights are usually senior and older officials who are rewarded with official posts. Their nominal duties are to admonish the emperor for mistakes and act as senior government advisors.

The power of this position comes entirely from the emperor's preference.

If the emperor likes you, you will be like a fish in water in this position.

If the emperor doesn't like it, it's just a decoration.

Unfortunately, Tao Gu is the latter.

It is said that Guo Wei didn't like his personality, but he was only able to keep him around because of his good writing skills.

To put it simply, even though Tao Gu’s job title is high, he is actually a tool person used to write articles.

"I'm not absolutely sure about the position transfer. Mr. Tao, don't expect too much," Zhu Xiu said.

Tao Gu gritted his teeth: "Whether it succeeds or not, Tao will always remember the great kindness of Lord Marquis!"
Chapter completed!