Zhu Ming was about to ask for more information when a young man stood up behind Fatty Zheng, took out a letter and handed it over: "Village Chief."
As soon as he heard this title, he knew that he was from Daming Village.
Ju Ming opened the letter and read it, his expression immediately became serious.
This letter is half in Chinese characters and half in Pinyin.
The normal content is written in Chinese characters, and the pinyin part is of course kept confidential.
Zhu Guoxiang wrote the general situation clearly, and asked Zhu Ming to wait slowly and not to go to the palace to find him. The main thing was to keep the same tone in the letter and not to reveal the secret when asked.
In addition, he also introduced the situation in Daming Village and said that the county's Chief Secretary Zhang had been taken care of.
If you have any doubts, you can ask the boy who delivered the letter.
Zhu Ming invited Zheng Hong, Hou Xuan and others into the courtyard to listen to Chen Yuan's lectures, while he took the young man to the study.
The boy who delivered the message was called Liang Yi, a name given by Zhu Guoxiang himself. He was a runaway from the mountains, his parents died, and he followed his uncle to Daming Village.
Because of his intelligence, Liang Yi was chosen by Zhu Guoxiang as his personal follower. He even ate with him on a regular basis, already feeling a bit like an adopted son.
After closing the door and making sure no one was outside, Ju Ming asked, "My father is really not in danger?"
Liang Yi said: "Those eunuchs and imperial guards have already been put in order. My husband just asked Da Lang to wait. Never go to see the officials. If one more person enters the palace, there may be more variables."
"Why are the Zheng brothers and sisters here?" Zhu Ming asked again.
Liang Yi said: "I don't know, I said I came to Tokyo to visit relatives."
Zhu Ming asked again about what happened along the way, and Liang Yi answered carefully. He spoke clearly and with his own observation and understanding, and his intelligence was obviously better than that of Bai Sheng.
No wonder there are so many people in Daming Village, but Zhu Guoxiang is the only one who likes this young man.
Ju Ming asked: "How old are you?"
Liang Yi replied: "Sixteen years old."
"How many words have you learned?" Zhu Ming asked again.
Liang Yi said: "I have been studying along the way and have already recognized four to five hundred characters. But I can only recognize some characters but forget the strokes when writing them. I have also learned some addition, subtraction, multiplication and division."
After discussing with Liang Yi, Zhu Ming said: "Go and invite Mr. Zheng Xiaoguan."
Liang Yi immediately left the room and quickly brought Fatty Zheng over.
Zheng Hong closed the door, smiled and clasped his fists: "Dalang, long time no see."
Ju Ming said angrily: "Tell me, why is there another relative of the Zheng family in Tokyo?"
Fatty Zheng said: "Isn't Dalang a relative of ours?"
"What are you doing here, young lady?" Zhu Ming asked.
Fatty Zheng said: "My sister is lovesick. Ever since Dalang left, she has missed her day and night and has not thought about food or tea. The elders in the family saw that she was pitiful, so they asked me to be sent to Tokyo to meet Dalang."
Ju Ming was silent.
Zheng Hong simply made it clear: "I know that military officers look down on merchants, so my young wife will definitely not be able to reach a higher level. She doesn't seek the position of a head wife. She can just be a concubine."
Although generally speaking, the Zhu family father and son and the Yangzhou Zheng family are mutually beneficial, they still have feelings for each other.
Ju Ming still owes him the hundreds of dollars he spent to build three weapons.
It is true that the Zheng family received tea-frying technology for free, but they also helped Daming Village immigrate every year. When Zhu Guoxiang did not have enough money and food, it was the Zheng family who helped transport the food and deducted the credit from the tea money.
After traveling thousands of miles to send his daughter to be a concubine, can Ju Ming still send her back? How will Zheng Yuanyi see anyone in the future?
Moreover, he is not even willing to take a concubine, and clearly looks down on the Zheng family, which will cause a rift in the relationship between the two parties.
Ju Ming was speechless and asked: "Do you plan to live in Tokyo?"
"It's not easy for me to come here, but I still have to play for half a year." Fatty Zheng smiled and took out a gift list, "This is the dowry for the young lady."
Ju Ming glanced at it and saw that it read: eighty taels of gold, three hundred taels of silver, some jewelry, bedding, and lacquerware, seven male and female servants, and five hundred shi of rice (shipped directly to Daming Village).
If the dowry is heavy enough, the gold and silver alone are worth two to three thousand guan.
(During the Jingkang period, the Jin people asked for gold and silver. The Song Dynasty did not have enough spot goods, so they had to buy it from the people of Tokyo. The market price at that time was: 1 tael of gold equals 32 guan, and 1 tael of silver equals 2 guan and 500 wen. It was slightly cheaper at this time.
, but 1 tael of gold can also be exchanged for more than 20 copper coins.)
With so many people coming all at once, the rented house will definitely not be enough.
I have to wait until my father leaves the palace, so I can only stay in an inn for the time being.
Zhu Ming took Zheng Hong out, and Zheng Yuanyi and the Zheng family's servants followed. They met many people along the way, and passers-by took the initiative to say hello from time to time.
Zheng Yuanyi sat on the carriage, opened the curtain and said, "Brother Zhu, you are so famous in Tokyo. They all call you Tanhualang!"
"I was born handsome." Ju Ming joked.
Zheng Yuanyi said: "I also think my brother is handsome."
Ju Ming asked: "Why do you call yourself a slave?"
Zheng Yuanyi said: "I asked the female teacher at school, and he said that women from official families are called slaves."
This is true. Regardless of its original meaning, "slave" is now a fashionable and modest term.
Even the concubines in the palace and the female relatives of the prime minister's family often call themselves "slaves". Not only do they do this to their husbands, but they can also call themselves this way even when they meet elders or outsiders of the same generation.
The meaning of the word has changed subtly, becoming a bit doting and lovable.
For example, cats are nicknamed "raccoon slaves".
Zhu Ming was too lazy to argue about the title and just said: "Sister, I will stay in the inn for a few days and I will move here after I find another house."
"You know, brother, don't worry." Zheng Yuanyi said with a smile.
After putting the brother and sister at the inn and having dinner with them, Ju Ming rode back.
It was almost dark. When I returned home, I saw Deng Chun and the security team were there.
Ju Ming asked: "Where is my father?"
Deng Chun replied: "My husband is still in the palace, and we have been released by the officials. The palace people only focus on the Ganoderma lucidum, and even the black tea, corn and sweet potatoes have no chance to be presented to the officials."
Ju Ming asked again: "Have you eaten yet?"
Deng Chun said: "Eat in the palace."
Ju Ming arranged: "Let's lay the floor in the main room tonight and find a place for you to live tomorrow."
A few days later, Zhu Guoxiang did not leave the palace, but Kaifeng Prefecture Yin Shengzhang came.
This person was not a close confidant of Cai Jing, but he rose to power by currying favor with Zhu Meng.
He was an extremely pure villain. Sheng Zhang would please anyone who was favored by the emperor. Moreover, he was so versatile that even if Cai Jing and Zheng Juzhong were enemies, he could make friends with them both at the same time.
"Zhang, meet Tan Hua Lang!" Not only did this guy come to visit in person, but he also lowered his status upon meeting him.
Zhu Ming frowned and said: "Your Excellency is the governor of Kaifeng. I am only an eighth-grade official. How can I break the etiquette system so much?"
Sheng Zhang squeezed out a smile and said: "I admire Tanhua Lang's talent and learning. As the saying goes, those who master the Tao are teachers. Zhang is willing to hold the disciple ceremony and ask for advice day and night on how to use the Tao."
Zhu Ming asked: "Didn't you say that the study of Taoism is evil talk and strange theories?"
"I was not good at academics and even had misunderstandings, but now I understand the truth," Sheng Zhang said.
Ju Ming did not want to have a quarrel with Kaifeng Fu Yin, and he found out clearly that the person in front of him was not from any faction. He was just a speculator. Ju Ming smiled and said: "Now that the misunderstanding has been solved, there is no need to worry about the past things."
mentioned."
Sheng Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had spies in the palace and knew how favored Zhu Guoxiang was.
And I had a conflict with Zhu Ming. If Zhu Guoxiang said a few bad words, my future would be ruined!
A few days later, Shengzhang heard that the emperor was looking for land and wanted to give Zhu Guoxiang a mansion, but Zhu Guoxiang refused.
Sheng Zhang immediately seized the opportunity to please the emperor and Zhu Guoxiang at the same time.
He asked to enter the palace to meet the saint, and after waiting for three or four days, he was finally summoned to Yanfu Palace by the eunuch.
"Why are you here, you thief?" Song Huizong scolded with a smile.
Sheng Zhang said shamelessly: "I haven't seen the official family for many days. I miss you very much. I just want to see the beauty of the sky and sleep well tonight."
Song Huizong laughed loudly: "The mouth is very sweet, as if it has been smeared with honey."
To be continued...