After the matter was settled, the maid took up her post on the same day, and Zhu Hao had an extra helper for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in the evening.
Zhu Niang wanted to test the new maid's ability and asked her to try cooking.
Children of poor people have long been in charge, and the little girl has already learned how to cook. However, her cooking skills need to be improved. This is related to the fact that her family only cooked some vegetables and tofu dishes before. If she wants to cook delicious dishes, she still needs to
Guidance by Aunt Li.
"Erdan, go help your Aunt Li and observe how your Aunt Li cooks..."
"yes."
The little girl obeyed her orders.
Zhu Hao said from the side: "Mom, I always think the name Erdan is weird... Why don't I give her a different name? Her surname is Bai, so let's call her Xiaobai."
The girl quickly said: "No... no need, Erdan is fine."
Zhu Niang looked the girl up and down: "She looks good. As long as she is diligent and honest, and lives in the city for a few years, she will be able to find a good wife when she comes back... It's rare for Xiao Hao to like you, so just listen to him."
The hiring of the maid was originally proposed by Zhu Hao. Now his son wants to give the maid a name. It's okay. Originally, the name Erdan was very rustic and not suitable for a pretty little girl.
"Um."
Now that Madam has spoken, it is basically a formal decision, and Erdan has become Xiaobai.
…
…
The family has a reunion dinner in the evening.
Xiaobai didn't serve the food. After putting the food on the table, she returned to the kitchen knowingly, waiting to eat some leftovers or wait for Zhu Niang to arrange what she would eat.
"Xiao Bai, don't talk to me outside. We are not a wealthy family. We just need someone to help us. From now on, you can just eat with us whatever we eat. Hurry up and sit down and eat together!"
Zhu Niang would not let Xiaobai stand in front of others and go directly to the kitchen to pull him back to the dining table.
I have been looked down upon too many times, so now instead of hiring a maid, it is better to find a little girl to come back and help. This maid will be responsible for the laundry, cooking and cleaning in the backyard, and may also help take care of the shop. Zhu Niang feels that in the future Xiao Bai
It will be very hard. If you don’t treat her better, how can you win people’s hearts?
Xiaobai was terrified.
Zhu Hao handed over the chopsticks in his hand: "Sister Xiaobai, I haven't used my chopsticks yet. You can use them first. I'll go to the kitchen to get them myself... Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. You can't go home to reunite with your family. From now on
From now on, we will be a family... and have reunion dinner together."
Aunt Li looked at Xiaobai's blushing pretty face, covered her mouth and said with a smile: "Master Hao, you are so young and so talkative, I'm afraid you will grow up to be a romantic and talented man who will charm people to death."
Zhu Niang rolled her eyes at Aunt Li, feeling that it was inappropriate to comment on her son like this, but she was not opposed to letting her son learn how to get along with women since he was a child, so as to lay the foundation for the family to flourish.
Xiaobai was already very shy, but after hearing Aunt Li's words, he couldn't even lift his head.
"Let's eat when everyone is here!"
Zhu Niang greeted, "But Xiaohao, first go to the main room to pay homage to your father, and then we'll have dinner when you come back... Our family can't be separated at any time!"
Zhu Niang pays great attention to etiquette and no detail can be missed.
Zhu Hao could only get up and follow his mother to the main room to burn incense for his father. After returning, the family had a reunion dinner together.
…
…
Early the next morning, when the sky was dim and bright, Zhu Hao got up and prepared to return to the palace.
At this time, Xiaobai had already woken up and was helping to fetch water in the yard... Lifting water from the ancient well with a bucket was a basic operation for people in this era.
Zhu Hao walked around the well twice, considering whether to get a water pressure device, which would save a lot of effort. Just when he was thinking about something, Zhu Niang came over from the counter of the shop.
"Xiao Bai, did you get used to sleeping last night?" Zhu Niang asked.
The front bunk and the backyard cover a large area, which is the main reason why the family covets it. There are several orphans and widowed mothers living there, and there are many empty rooms. Aunt Li has always wanted her daughter to learn to be independent, so she has already arranged a separate place for Zhu Ting.
room, but Zhu Ting was scared and would sleep with her mother at night. When arranging accommodation last night, Zhu's mother asked Xiaobai to sleep in the same room as Zhu Ting.
Xiaobai nodded repeatedly: "Very good."
Zhu Niang smiled and said: "This child is good at everything, but he is afraid of strangers and talks very little... But it is better for girls to be shy, especially because of their tongue."
As she spoke, she did not forget to glance at her son, as if the person she described as talking too much and causing trouble was her son.
Zhu Hao said: "Mom, are you talking about me? I rarely talk in the palace and I never cause trouble for myself."
While he was talking, there was a knock on the door from the backyard.
Usually when the aunts and uncles from the neighborhood come over, they usually go through the back door. Zhu Niang didn't feel too surprised and asked Aunt Li, who was doing laundry, to open the door.
Soon Aunt Li came over nervously and reported: "It's the housekeeper Liu at home."
Zhu Niang became cautious.
She went there in person, and Zhu Hao naturally followed.
When I arrived at the back door, I found that Butler Liu was the only one there, and the old lady who usually served him was not there.
"Steward Liu, are you okay?" Madam Zhu was a little nervous and looked out into the streets.
Butler Liu smiled and said: "I have something to tell you. Please step aside, Madam Three... It was the old Madam who asked me to come here and deliver the message."
Zhu Niang looked heavy.
In the past, the Zhu family targeted her, but now they go directly to her son for everything. This trend makes her feel uneasy.
After Zhu Niang retreated, Butler Liu told Zhu Hao what he wanted to say.
"...The old lady has said hello to Lin Baihu, Jin Yiwei, and said that she will let you meet someone in a few days. He is an agent from the palace, and you will have many helpers by then."
Zhu Hao frowned.
As soon as he heard it, he knew that he was going to see Lu Song.
But the problem is that the two of them had already connected. Lu Song didn't tell Lin Baihu, and Zhu Hao didn't tell the Zhu family, so both parties behind the scenes were kept in the dark.
Perhaps it was because the information he brought to the Zhu family these two times when he returned home was not very important, or perhaps Lu Song's side did not meet Lin Baihu's expectations. Together, the two sides decided to let them meet to get in touch and supervise each other.
,Mutual advantage……
Zhu Hao himself didn't care, but as for Lu Song, once his identity was exposed, he would no longer be able to gain a foothold in the palace.
"Who is he?"
Zhu Hao pretended to be ignorant and asked Butler Liu curiously.
Butler Liu smiled sarcastically, as if he felt that the child in front of him was too naive, so he naturally didn't pay much attention to it. With a hint of showoff on his face, he said sternly: "I heard that he is a model in the palace. I can't say who it is. Wait.
You’ll know it when you meet someone.”
"oh."
Zhu Hao nodded.
Then Butler Liu didn't stop and turned around.
…
…
Just after Mao hour, Zhu Niang asked Yu San to drive a carriage to take Zhu Hao back to the palace.
On the way, Yu Sanyi repeatedly asked about the management of the bookstore. Zhu Hao responded casually, but in his heart he was thinking about the Zhu family and Lin Baihu's discussion about letting him meet Lu Song.
"Lin Baihu even told the Zhu family who should be the palace official. It seems that he sincerely wants to cooperate with the Zhu family. I have provided little information to the Zhu family, and Lu Song will not betray the palace to seek glory...
Or maybe the capital is putting pressure on Anlu’s intelligence collectors..."
After entering Prince Xing's Mansion, Zhu Hao wanted to tell Lu Song the news.
After searching for a long time, I couldn't find anyone from Lu Song.
Until Jinghong came back, Lu Bing and his son did not enter the palace.
When class was about to begin, Zhu Hao and Jinghong went to the academy together. After waiting for a long time, they saw Zhu San, Zhu Si and Lu Bing coming together. The three of them were talking and laughing.
"Zhu Hao, there's something I want to tell you."
Zhu San seemed very cautious when he arrived, as if he wanted to explain important matters to Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao ignored her and asked Lu Bing first: "Lu Bing, where is your father?"
Lu Bingdao: "I stayed in the palace last night with my mother, and I don't know where my father is."
Zhu San pursed his lips and said: "Zhu Hao, you are really thoughtful. Why are you asking A Bing about his father? I have something important to tell you. It's about us going out to play..."
Knowing that Lu Song was not in the city, Zhu Hao suddenly felt an ominous premonition.
Here, the Zhu family had just informed him that they were going to meet with Jin Yiwei's internal agent who was stationed in the palace. The internal agent was still the official of the palace, and Lu Song was not in the palace. Could it be too much of a coincidence?
Could it be that the palace intercepted the information in time and began to deliberately search for spies?
The only thing that can be determined now is whether the other Dianzhan soldiers have also been transferred out of the city, and how to get in touch with Lu Song as soon as possible.
"Xiaosi and I proposed to go out to play with my father. My father initially disagreed, but he couldn't stand our repeated begging. Finally, Mr. Yuan spoke for us, as long as we could take the exam on the first few chapters of "Mencius" in a few days.
If He Jingyi can pass the test, he will agree to let the guards escort us out to play, and we can take you with him when the time comes... Zhu Hao, it all depends on you."
Zhu San looked at Zhu Hao longingly.
Zhu Hao looked her over and asked, "Don't you usually sneak out to play?"
"This time it's different."
Zhu Si supplemented from the side, "My father means that we can go out of the city to play, and then go hunting in the mountains or wild fields...catch rabbits, too."
Jinghong asked in confusion: "If I want to pass the assessment, shouldn't I ask my husband to teach me? Why Zhu Hao?"
Zhu Sandao: "You know nothing, little Jingzi. Yuan Changshi said that Mr. Sui has family troubles and has not come to the palace recently. In the future, even the teaching staff will have to be changed. Who can I turn to if I don't turn to Zhu Hao to deal with the exam? Besides, how good Zhu Hao's teaching was before."
, it would be better to have Mr. Sui teach me than Zhu Hao."
Jinghong wanted to refute, but compared Zhu Hao with what he had learned from other teachers before...
There is no argument to be made.
"If you want to take the Mencius test, then study it with your heart. I promise to teach it with your heart. As for whether you can master it, it depends on your understanding." Zhu Hao said.
Zhu San said with a smile: "You really can't stand boasting and saying that you are better than Mr. Sui. Do you think you are really better than Mr. Sui? He is a good judge..."
"Sister, we still need to learn "Mencius" from Zhu Hao. If you run against him... it won't do any good." Zhu Si is still smart and knows that now is not the time to show off.
What benefit does it have for you to laugh at Zhu Hao?
Now when asking others to do things, it is better to be flattering.
Then the lecture started, and Zhu Hao once again acted as "Mr. Zhu" that day, teaching several children.
…
…
At noon, Zhu Hao took the opportunity to go next door to the school building and asked Lao Song, who happened to be working here, why no one was seen in the palace officials today.
Lao Song was sincere and without much thought, he informed that several Dianzhan were not there for some reason. They seemed to have gone out of the city to buy something and would not be back until a few days later.
Zhu Hao knew it well.
When school ended in the afternoon, Zhu Hao talked to Lu Bing alone.
"Lu Bing, are you still staying in the palace tonight?" Zhu Hao asked.
"Well." Lu Bing was holding a "Three Character Classic" in his hand, which was given to him by Zhu Hao. It might be possible for Lu Bing to memorize "The Analects of Confucius", but asking him to memorize "Mencius" would be too difficult for him. In order to let Lu Bing memorize "The Analects of Confucius",
Lu Bing can also learn and make progress together, but it is best to start from the basics.
Zhu Hao said: "Then you can see your mother? In this way, you tell your mother that Zhu Hao has something to ask your father about Jin Yiwei... If it is convenient for your mother, you can let you take the message, or she can do it in person.
Come and see me. You can’t tell anyone else about this, it’s a secret between us, okay?”