Jiang Lun was still drinking. This was his second drink at noon today, which was considered a transition.
First I drank with Tang Yin, then with Lu Song.
Everyone in the palace knew that Jiang Lun had a good drinker. Jiang Lun went to the capital for three months, and when he returned to Anlu, he started drinking every day, as if he wanted to make up for the alcohol he had not drunk before.
"...Old Lu, let me tell you, you are the hope for the future of our palace! Not only are you good at martial arts, but your wit is definitely one of the best in the palace! Come on, I'll pour you some wine."
When the wine started to drink, Jiang Lun couldn't stop talking while drinking.
Jiang Lun is not the kind of person who likes to act out under the influence of alcohol, but he talks a lot when he is drunk, and he is a talkative type.
Before Lu Song got drunk, he noticed that Jiang Lun was drinking more and more. He hurriedly held down the wine glass and said, "Uncle, you are drunk. Go back and rest early."
"I'm not drunk. Am I the kind of person who goes to sleep when drunk? I'm very energetic. Even if you give me a cow now, I can beat it to death... Hey, where did you say that?
"
Jiang Lun thought about it for a moment, and suddenly thought of something, and his next words solved Lu Song's previous doubts.
"You don't know, after I arrived in the capital, the dignitaries in the capital didn't know that the pregnancy of the emperor's concubine was fake. That time I drank with some officials from the Ministry of Rites. I drank too much during the dinner and I told them about it, and they laughed at me.
I, you guessed it, after a few days, it really confirmed what I said... How about, Lao Lu, you can become the chief historian of the palace?"
Lu Song felt a chill after hearing this.
You, Jiang Lun, don’t know the importance of the matter. When you are drunk, you dare to tell the people of the Ministry of Rites that the pregnancy of the emperor’s concubine is fake? What do you want the people of the Ministry of Rites to think?
But the reality is like this. Doesn’t this clearly tell the people in the Ministry of Rites that Prince Xing’s Mansion is secretly investigating the pregnancy of the imperial concubine?
The court will not suspect that this matter was actually exposed by people from Prince Xing's Mansion, right?
"Lao Lu, you can't tell anyone about this." Jiang Lun seemed to realize that he had revealed a huge secret and quickly reminded him.
Lu Song said: "Why should I spread what my uncle said everywhere? Besides...this is just gossip at the wine table and cannot be done accurately."
Jiang Lun patted Lu Song on the shoulder, "I dare say that you are even more strategic than Tang Bohu. I even asked him tentatively today, and he said that he had never guessed it at all..."
Lu Song was startled.
Didn't Tang Yin tell Zhu Hao about this?
Then who did Zhu Hao listen to?
At Zhu Hao's age, can he tell whether the emperor's concubine is pregnant is true or false?
Then he laughed at himself, now that he has a strong relationship with Zhu Hao, he is completely unguarded, what is the point of thinking about this?
Didn't Zhu Hao also admit that when it came to the palace's early warning, Tang Yin's proposal to strengthen the alert was actually his idea?
"Lao Lu, I will definitely talk to my brother-in-law about this later."
Jiang Lun wanted to recommend Lu Song.
Lu Song quickly stopped: "My uncle is serious. I just made a random prediction at that time, and I can't make it accurately. After all, your Majesty has never heard of any concubine in the palace getting pregnant in these years. Moreover, such an outcome is the best for the palace."
...don’t worry about those who have something or don’t have it.”
Jiang Lun shook off Lu Song's hand and seemed very loyal: "Next time I see my brother-in-law, I will tell him..."
Just at this time, the boy from outside came in: "Two gentlemen, the prince has sent someone to inform you that you are going to discuss matters."
Jiang Lun just said that he wanted to recommend Lu Song to King Xing, and King Xing came to see him. Lu Song couldn't help but look at him. Isn't this a coincidence?
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Jiang Lun stood up tremblingly, unable to stand firmly, and sat back on the chair.
Lu Song quickly asked: "Can I still hold on?"
"It's okay, it's okay... Lao Lu, help me downstairs... When I go out to have some fresh air, sober up, I'll be a good man again!"
…
…
Lu Song was helpless.
In fact, he and Jiang Lun didn't drink much this time, but because Jiang Lun drank the first round with Mengzi Tang Yin, he was already drunk when he came for the second round.
But a drunk person is never willing to admit that he is a light drinker. The drunker he gets, the louder his bragging gets. Lu Song could only hold Jiang Lun in three steps and sway towards the inner courtyard of the palace.
If it were anyone else, Lu Song would not dare to support him like this to see King Xing.
But after all, Jiang Lun was Prince Xing’s brother-in-law. Although he was adopted, he was the only one. Everyone knew what Jiang Lun was like, and no one expected Jiang Lun to be as disciplined as other palace officials...
Besides, this was an impromptu meeting with King Xing, and he did not say that he was not allowed to drink as long as he was not on duty.
When they arrived at the door of Zhu Youqi's study, they saw Zhang Zuo and Tang Yin had arrived first.
Lu Song saw Tang Yin and found that Tang Yin was more normal and not drunk at all. Lu Song couldn't help but feel suspicious. Jiang Lun said that the first round of wine was with Tang Yin. Could it be that he was deceiving him?
"Is Lu Dianzhan coming?"
Zhang Zuoxiao greeted, "And my aunt... Your Majesty, do you think you can give me some instructions?"
Lu Song entered the study and found Zhu Youqi standing at the window, holding a bamboo tube in his hand and looking around.
Tang Yin seemed to have known about this thing for a long time and did not move forward. As for the others... there was only Zhang Zuo, who seemed to have seen it before. He smiled and looked at Lu Song and Jiang Lun who entered the room one after another.
Zhang Zuo frowned slightly when he saw Jiang Lun getting drunk. He usually didn't like drunks. Zhang Zuo was the kind of gentle man who loved cleanliness. This was probably a common problem among old eunuchs, namely mysophobia.
"It's like this. The prince is going to let my uncle and Lu Dianzhan lead a team to deliver a tribute to the capital. It's the thing the prince is holding. I heard it's called a telescope."
Zhang Zuo said and glanced at the corner of the house.
Lu Song followed his line of sight and realized that there was another person standing in the corner. However, because the person was small, when he came in, he was focused on the people outside the window and did not notice the person's presence.
Zhu Hao?!
Lu Song almost exclaimed.
Jiang Lun smiled and asked: "Brother-in-law, what is a telescope?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, the smell of alcohol instantly filled the room. Zhu Youqian frowned, put down the binoculars, turned to look at his brother-in-law, looked up and down and said in a reproachful tone: "I drank so much just after I came back, so I'm not worried about your sister..." Drinking is not good for your health, and it is especially likely to cause trouble. So be sure to drink less when you arrive in the capital."
"Hey, it's okay."
Jiang Lun scratched his head.
Zhu Youqian handed the telescope to Jiang Lun. Jiang Lun took it and put it in front of his eyes to look at it carefully. Zhang Zuo introduced: "The telescope, as the name suggests, can bring things from far away to near... This was made by Zhu Hao, local There are glaze workshops that can process it, but there is no such thing in other places. If it is used as a tribute, it may be able to gain insight into the enemy's situation on the battlefield and predict the enemy's advance."
Jiang Lun put the telescope in front of him and looked at it for a long time. Because he drank too much, his vision was blurred and he couldn't see anything. He shook his head and handed it back to Lu Song.
Lu Song originally thought Zhang Zuo was bragging.
It’s enough that Zhu Hao can pinch and calculate, but he actually knows how to make colored glaze?
What number is this?
When Lu Song took it over and looked out the window, he couldn't help but be surprised. He changed several angles and saw different things with different clarity, but it really brought the distant scenery closer.
Zhu Hao stepped forward and gave guidance: "Lu Dianzhan, the telescope needs to be focused. It means twisting the thing in the middle to see objects at different distances. It needs to be adjusted."
As a soldier, Lu Song felt that this thing might be able to shine on the battlefield.
"Brother-in-law, I just came back from the capital, and you asked me to go again. The mountains are long and the rivers are far away, right..." At this time, Jiang Lun no longer cared about what the telescope was. He only cared about having to travel thousands of miles to get to the capital. It was too much trouble. People.
Zhu Youqian said: "When I went there before, you were the deputy envoy. When I came back, I heard that you made friends with people from all walks of life in the capital and were able to handle all kinds of relationships with ease. So this time I am planning to go with you as the envoy, and let Lu Dianzhan escort me all the way. You don’t need to stay too long here, it only takes more than a month to go back and forth.”
"this……"
Jiang Lun was still reluctant.
Working for the prince's palace seemed like an honor, but for someone like him who had no ambition to live and die, it was just hard work.
If he still had expectations when he went to the capital before, he wanted to see the scenery of the capital again after many years of absence, but he has long since given up such thoughts.
Zhu Youqian issued the order directly instead of asking for opinions first, so he had no intention of leaving room for his brother-in-law. Then he looked at Zhu Hao, who had been called over temporarily, and asked: "If the court thinks this tribute is good, are you able to make a batch of it?" come out?"
Zhu Hao replied: "It can be done, but the cost is very high."
Zhang Zuo laughed and said, "Such a small item doesn't cost much, does it?"
Obviously Zhang Zuo was thinking about the palace. He not only wanted to ask Zhu Hao to do things for the palace, but also wanted to save money.
The head butler's thoughts are complicated.
Jiang Lun spoke for Zhu Hao: "Zhang Fengzheng, since you have said that this thing is unique in the world, the price must be extraordinary."
Zhu Haodao said: "Glass is fired with sand, and the cost itself is not high, but if you have to select exquisite pieces of colored glaze from the fired glaze and then polish it carefully, the cost will rise sharply."
Zhang Zuo nodded, glanced at Zhu Youqi, and found that Zhu Youqi didn't care about the price, so he asked on behalf of the palace: "Then how much does such a one cost?"
Zhu Hao thought about it for a while and said: "If it is made incidentally when making colored glaze, the cost will be almost nothing, but if it is specially made... it may cost about twenty taels of silver."
"Hey...it's really not cheap."
Zhang Zuo looked at Zhu Youqi again. After all, he needed King Xing to make the decision.
Zhu Youqian said: "Zhang Fengzheng, if the palace allocates two thousand taels of silver at a time, will there be a problem?"
Zhang Zuo made a mental calculation: "Uh... it's pretty much the same."
"Well, when you send the tribute, please put it on the list. If your majesty thinks that this thing can help our Ming Dynasty, I am willing to make a hundred of them to help the generals in the army spy on the enemy."
For Zhu Youqiu, this time was considered a "big investment".
Two thousand taels of silver may be nothing to a big businessman like Su Xigui.
But Prince Xing's Mansion, after all, relies on funding from the imperial court. All the salaries of the royal family and subordinates are supported by the imperial court, and most of the money used for activities comes from the royal family's land. Two thousand taels of money at once is indeed a lot.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Extra updates! May 2nd, please give me a guaranteed monthly ticket! Thank you!