Cao Zhi was thick-skinned. This kind of thing has become commonplace in modern times. He walked over with a nonchalant smile and asked Ren Hongchang, "Hongchang, whose girl is this?"
Ren Hongchang came to his senses and quickly introduced both parties. Cao Zhi smiled and wanted to greet Chen Ling.
Chen Ling shyly avoided Cao Zhi's eyes and just ignored Cao Zhi.
Cao Zhi thought to himself: "This Chen Wensheng's daughter is quite beautiful, but she is not very polite."
"Second Young Mistress, Second..." A young man in green clothes suddenly appeared outside the hanging flower door. He passed Cao Zhi and rushed over. He seemed to have spotted a familiar figure among the three of them, hopping on his feet.
, stopped suddenly, turned his head first, and shouted with great surprise: "Second Young Master, you... you are back!" As he spoke, he turned around and ran away happily.
come over.
When Cao Zhi saw that the rampaging young man was Cao An, he folded his hands behind his back, clasped his hands behind his back, and asked scoldingly: "What are you yelling about?"
"Hehe... the second young master, the steward of the Chen family came to invite the second young mistress and the third young lady to come over for a banquet." Cao An said with a playful smile. Although Cao Zhi was married, he should be called "Master", but Cao An changed it.
He couldn't get used to it, so he still called Cao Zhi "Second Young Master", and Cao Zhi didn't correct him.
"Oh!" Cao Zhi then remembered that he had been out for three days and today was Chen Wen's father's birthday.
Ren Hongchang also took the opportunity to find the reason, turned to Cao Zhi and said: "Yes! The Chen family's sister is here to pick me up. My husband is back, so quickly change your clothes and come with us to the Chen Mansion to celebrate his birthday!"
As he spoke, Ren Hongchang walked to the left side of Chen Ling, who was still blushing, took her left arm, and said in a low voice: "Cao An, please accompany the second master back to the room to freshen up. My sister Chen and I are waiting for you in the front hall." After that,
He took Chen Ling on his arm and went straight away.
"Aren't the Grand Master and Er Niang going?" Cao Zhi and Cao An quickly returned to their back room and were now washing their faces with water from the basin and asking Cao An.
"Ah! My grandpa's actions have not changed, so he won't go. The old lady will stay at home with him. The meeting at the Chen Mansion has already been over. Mr. Chen said it's okay. Before you come back, the second young lady will go."
;Cao An obediently handed a cloth towel to Cao Zhi. While Cao Zhi was wiping his face and shaving, he quickly found a black and blue cotton robe for Cao Zhi to change into, and then took out a sable cloak to protect him from the wind when he went out.
When Han saw that Cao Zhi had come back safely, he ran and jumped like a child: "The master and the old lady have recited it several times, saying that you have been gone for several days without even sending a message."
"People come back." Cao An was chattering while sorting out his clothes.
Cao Zhi was shaving with a razor. After listening to Cao An's words, he hesitated for a moment. He knew that apart from his parents in his previous life, the people who cared about him the most in the current Three Kingdoms era were Cao Song and Er Niang.
Cao Zhi stopped what he was doing and said to Cao An: "Go to the old lady and Er Niang to report a message. I don't need you to serve me anymore. Go quickly!"
Cao An said "Oh", put down his clothes, and ran away.
Cao Zhi moved quickly and got his clothes ready in a short time. He went back to the front hall to meet up with Ren Hongchang and Miss Chen Jiasan.
A group of three people walked out of the courtyard, and the steward who had been prepared for it was immediately greeted by the coachman. Cao Zhi and his wife rode in a carriage together, and Chen Ling rode in one alone. When everyone got into the carriage, the coachman raised his whip and whipped
With a click of the head, two strong horses started off and galloped towards the city.
Chen Wen's mansion in Liyang is also where the capital of Yangzhou is. When Cao Zhi's car arrived at the gate, he opened the car surround and the first thing he saw was a long motorcade.
"It seems that a lot of people came to celebrate the old lady's birthday!" Cao Zhi entered the front hall and said casually while taking off his cloak and handing it to the butler who came to greet him.
"Oh! That's right! I didn't want to be extravagant and didn't send invitations to the county magistrates below, but I didn't expect that these people didn't know where they got the news and sent people to send birthday gifts, which made my grandpa...
..hehe...quot;
The housekeeper smiled and took the coats from Cao Zhi and his wife. Without saying anything else, the free man took the clothes and put them away.
Cao Zhi and Ren Hongchang followed the housekeeper to the hall. After this trip to Danyang, Cao Zhi finally understood that Chen Wen, the governor of Chen, was not an economical lamp. But think about it on the other hand, the governors of the counties and counties below,
The county magistrate is not necessarily a soft persimmon. If you, Chen Wen, can keep an eye on other people's counties and county capitals, others cannot place spies or hidden stooges in your state capital.
Come to think of it, he is an outsider now and cannot talk recklessly.
As the butler entered the room, he went straight into the middle hall, where most of the guests were. The old man was also sitting there, waiting for others to congratulate him on his birthday and give him gifts.
Cao Zhi was dressed in a black-green robe and walked with his head held high. Ren Hongchang was dressed in a silver-red soft gauze shirt, which made him even more charming. As soon as he entered the central hall, he immediately attracted a lot of attention. Zhou Cang saw Cao Zhi from a distance and said hello to Cao Zhi.
, took over the position of housekeeper and led Cao Zhi, his wife and Chen Ling to Chen Wen's place.
Chen Wen was sitting behind a table in the hall, listening to what Deng Ai was saying.
When Chen Ling saw her father, she shouted "Daddy" with joy, ran over like a little magpie, and acted coquettishly in Chen Wen's arms.
As soon as Chen Wen raised his head and saw Cao Zhi waiting for him, he immediately stood up and greeted him with a smile. He gave Cao Zhi a hand as he was about to salute, grabbed Cao Zhi's left arm and said softly: "My dear brother is back, we are here all the way."
"Hard work." Calling Cao Zhi the "good brother" is because he and Cao Hong have been friends for many years. Logically speaking, Cao Zhi should be the descendant of Chen Wen's nephew.
Cao Zhi originally held the modern concept that age is not a problem, so he did not ask Chen Wen to call him what he called him. Cao Zhi knew that Chen Wen calling him this way actually implied that he did not want to tell Cao Zhi this time in public in the hall.
During the trip to Danyang, I took Ren Hongchang and saluted Chen Wen together.
When Chen Wen saw that Cao Zhi was very knowledgeable, he was very happy and chanted cheerfully: "Come, come, come and meet my old father, today's birthday boy." As he said this, he led Cao Zhi and others into the hall for a few seconds.
step.
In fact, when Cao Zhi stepped into the middle hall, he saw the "Maitreya Buddha" sitting in the middle. That was today's birthday boy, "Old Master Chen".
In fact, the old man was already confused because he was so old that no one could recognize him clearly. When Cao Zhi and his wife gave him a pair of jade horses and two pearls as birthday gifts, he just smiled and waved his hands as usual.
Chen Ling obediently lay in her grandfather's ear and explained loudly to him, but the old birthday boy still couldn't figure it out.
On the other hand, Chen Wen felt very sorry to see Cao Zhi act so generously, and just exclaimed: "Why is it like this? It's a waste of money, it's a waste of money."
Cao Zhi smiled and answered briefly: "It should, it should."
Then both parties exchanged some polite words, and Chen Ling led Ren Hongchang to the inner house to meet his mother and other women. The women opened several tables by themselves, and the banquet was held in the inner house.
Chen Wen went to greet other guests, while Cao Zhi was accompanied by Deng Ai, chatting for a while.
Deng Ai came back with Cao Zhi and Zhou Cang. Xu Chu was no longer seriously injured, but he was injured and had difficulty moving, so Cao Zhi left him in the "Xiangji" Silk Village to recuperate.
After all, Cao Zhi missed his family. After returning to the city, he went straight to the western suburbs.
Deng Ai and Zhou Cang returned to Chen Wen. In the past two days, he had gained a lot of new understanding of the slightly gentle Deng Ai. Despite his young age, Deng Ai was quite capable.
Deng Ai's family was once a wealthy family in Jiyang, Yiyang County (now Nanyang, Henan), but by the time Deng Ai's generation passed on, the family had fallen into decline. Deng Ai lost his father when he was young, and lived in a time of frequent wars and social turmoil.
In the 1960s, Yiyang, where he lived, was located in the hinterland of the Central Plains. The land was highly concentrated and powerful mergers and acquisitions were fierce. It is conceivable that life was difficult. However, Deng Ai received a good education since he was a child, which laid a good foundation for his current career.
Deng Ai was forced to move with his mother to Xiangcheng, Runan County (the county is located in the north of Pingyu County, Henan Province today), and became a tribesman, herding calves for the officials. When he was twelve years old, he followed his mother to Yingchuan, where he was among the tribesmen.
, there were very few talented people, so Deng Ai was recommended as a bachelor of the Diannong Duwei (equivalent to the county) based on his talents. The Dianong Duwei did not think much of him because his family was poor. Once, Deng Ai went to Liyang.
He reported that he had the opportunity to meet Chen Wen, the governor of Yangzhou. Chen Wen appreciated his talents and recruited him to serve as the governor of the state capital.