The summer sun is dazzling and poisonous, and people are reluctant to go out as soon as noon. There are tree-shaded pavilions in front of the hall and behind the house. Anyway, it echoes the saying: "Wherever it's cool, stay there."
The same is true for Fang Mansion. After lunch, the huge mansion seemed unusually quiet. People were resting in their respective rooms. Only the cicadas on the trees were still chirping happily. The hot weather made it even more intense.
irritable.
Outside Fang Zheng's small courtyard, two servants were sitting under a big locust tree chatting.
"Hey, it's not a problem for our young master to pretend to be sick and not go to court."
"That is, he is not afraid of the emperor's blame?"
"Your Majesty may be the one to blame. I heard that there are dozens of poems about the young master playing in the court every day, and the Emperor can hardly bear it anymore."
"Yes, I really don't understand. The young master has made another great contribution to the court. Why do you keep avoiding going to court?"
Fang Zheng's room (men) opened with a bang, and Young Master Fang stood at the door (men) with a sullen face.
"Can you two stop chewing your tongue? Do you ever stand in other people's rooms and say weird things?" Young Master Fang was in a bad mood.
The two servants were startled when they saw Fang Zheng suddenly appear. Normally, the young master would have taken a nap at this time. Could it be that the young master had insomnia today?
After giving a random salute, the two servants ran away like rabbits that had been hit by an arrow, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Fang Zheng sighed heavily.
I can't live this day!
The negotiation was successful, great achievements were made, and the reputation was great. With Young Master Fang's temper, how could he not want to show off more in the court?
But it doesn't work, I don't dare to go to the court.
Yes, Fang Zheng has difficulties. Young Master Fang, who is optimistic and cheerful by nature, lively and not serious, actually has difficulties.
The difficulty stems from the little princess of Changle who was only five years old.
Since the little girl tasted the benefits of the last donation, she feels that she has ushered in a period of rising career. Fang Zheng, a big customer and swindler, is very caring, and the degree of caring is outrageous.
Every day at Yin time, when all the officials went to court, the little girl asked the palace maid to carry her to the main entrance of the Jinluan Palace, where she sat on a recliner covered with furs of nationally protected animals. When she saw Fang Zheng, the little girl's eyes lit up and she became chubby.
Her little hands struggled to raise her donation box, a super artifact that could destroy heaven and earth and slay demons, and then her little face revealed a look of great anticipation...
You said that this girl has to go to the Jinluan Palace (men) to ask for money. Why don't the adults care about her? Fang Zheng complained in his heart. It seems that the emperor is obviously not a competent father. He spoils his daughters to the point of being lawless.
When he saw his little daughter carrying a box and asking the minister for money, the emperor actually stroked his beard and laughed without blaming her at all. He kept saying to the other party, "Donate some, donate some."
Fang Zheng felt that the emperor was deliberately seeking revenge, and his 10% dividend still made the emperor very unhappy.
The courtiers also seemed to be very fond of this little princess. The officials, who usually had to join in the music if anyone coughed in the court, actually stroked their beards and smiled slightly. They seemed to think that there was someone outside the solemn Jinluan Palace.
The little princess begging for money is a matter of course, reasonable and legal, and completely logical...
The ministers in the court advised Fang Zheng one after another: "Donate a little, donate a little." These people just stood and talked without hurting their backs. They were not the ones who dared to pay. Of course, there were also those who gloated about the misfortune.
The ministers regarded Fang Zheng as a person who hated him deeply.
The emperor is happy, the ministers are happy, but it is Fang Zheng who is suffering. With the little money he scrapes from here and there, Fang Zheng plans to buy himself a few houses, buy more land, and buy a few shops... His expenses
There were many plans, but one of them was definitely not free for the little princess. Fang Zheng felt that he had done his best to his future sister-in-law. Which husband could spend thousands of taels to sponsor his sister-in-law's dowry?
Amid the cheers from the civil and military officials in the court, Fang Zheng gritted his teeth, put on a smile, took out several thousand taels of silver notes, and stuffed them into the little princess's donation box.
The little princess happily hugged the box and left, and the morning court was held as usual in a joyful atmosphere. Strangely enough, the little girl only targeted Fang Zheng and had no offense to the other minister Que Qiu. Fang Zheng couldn't help but take photos of her.
I looked in the mirror several times. Master, could it be that I look like someone who has been taken advantage of?
The tragedy had just begun. At around midnight the next day, the little princess held the donation box and sat at the door of the Jinluan Hall (men) again, rain or shine...
So Mr. Fang, the regular attendant of the fifth-grade Sanqi, suddenly fell ill. He fell ill just in time. He was still a few feet away from the entrance of the Jinluan Hall (men). Master Fang's face suddenly changed, and then he asked a little Huang (men) to help him.
The emperor asked for leave, hurriedly lifted up the hem of his official robe, and walked home to recuperate.
The illness lasted for four or five days, and the imperial doctors sent by the emperor were helpless. According to the imperial doctor's report, Mr. Fang suffered from a heart disease that was difficult to cure with medicine and stone, and could only be cured with money.
When the emperor found out, he smiled slightly. There had been no major events in the court recently, but he was allowed to indulge in his mischief.
Fang Zheng stood at the door of the room, staring at the pond outside the small courtyard, and suddenly cursed: "From top to bottom, there is no good thing!" Although Fang didn't name him by name, he
Zheng knew who he was scolding.
After the scolding, I felt inexplicably better. At this time, Butler Sun came to report that the fat man came to visit.
"Brother Fang, I heard that you were sick, so I came here to see you. How do you feel? Do you feel better?" The weather was hot, and the fat man was sweating non-stop. He wiped his sweat while talking, and he looked very miserable.
Fang Zheng rolled his eyes at him angrily, "It's not your precious (mei)(mei) who did it!"
The fat man asked doubtfully: "Mi'er? Mi'er has been very content recently..."
Fang Zheng patted his thigh and sighed: "Your whole family is my nemesis. This (mei) (mei) has settled down, and that (mei) (mei) is here again. Oh, what evil have I done!"
The fat man was stunned, then smiled and said: "Are you talking about Princess Changle, Bao'er? Why did she provoke you?"
Fang Zheng said with a bitter face: "She didn't provoke me. She was very polite to me, as if I was her food and clothing parent..."
The fat man said in astonishment: "Then what are you dissatisfied with?"
Fang Zheng said: "I wonder if your family is very short of money. This little girl is blackmailing me now. She waits for me at the door of Jinluan Hall every day with a broken box. She is not happy if I don't have any money.
I had to spend several thousand taels of silver on my last morning pilgrimage. What else can I do besides pretending to be sick at home?"
The fat man was stunned, and then laughed: "So that's what happened, Bao'er, Princess Changle, she really loves money, and all our brothers (jie) (mei) in the royal family have been blackmailed by her one by one.
A few days ago, I don’t know where Chang Ping learned a new word called "raising donations", so he taught it to Bao'er. Now that Bao'er has a name, he lifts the box when he sees people. I see it now
She always takes a detour."
"…………"
Fang Zheng wanted to slap himself twice, he was so mean! He said something bad and had to talk to Chang Ping about fundraising. He was harming himself by cooperating with this matter. Chang Ping was the same, he was a bitch, imitating
Just take out any new words and show them to the whole world, which will make you angry. I don’t want this wife anymore!
When the fat man saw that Fang Zheng was in a bad mood, he insisted on asking him to go out for a walk.
Fang Zheng couldn't resist, so he had no choice but to agree.
The so-called walking is just a cliché. On a hot afternoon, who in their right mind would want to run outside under the scorching sun?
The two of them left the house, and Fang Zheng also took the assassin brother with him. There was no other way. Young Master Fang felt that the assassination had not been investigated yet, and he was afraid that someone would try to kill him again, so he had to take this cold killer brother with him wherever he went.
He is a life-saving talisman in critical moments.
The three of them sat down in a cool teahouse next to the Qinhuai River. They drank tea and cracked melon seeds while listening to the storyteller. The killer stood aside with his arms folded, closing his eyes for luck. - Maybe.
Just to catch up on a nap, no matter what the killer does, he always likes to make himself unpredictable.
"... Sir Fang, when he saw that the Turkic barbarians dared to be so unreasonable to our Hua Dynasty, he was furious. He struck the case and stood up. He said righteously: 'Hey! The barbarians should not be so rampant. I will tell you to go there today.
No reply!’…”
"Okay!" The audience cheered in unison and threw copper coins on the table.
Fang Zheng chuckled upon hearing this, "Who made up this story? It's too ridiculous?"
The fat man said with a smile: "The common people always worship heroes. Even if you are not a hero, as long as they need you, you will be a hero in their mouths."
Fang Zheng was about to nod, but thought about it and glared: "I am a hero."
The two were chatting and laughing, when suddenly they heard someone pounding the table below and shouting: "Change it for me! Are you tired of that Fang Zheng you always talk about? What the hell is Mr. Fang? He is clearly a ruffian with a business background! Bah!"
The faces of all the listeners were angry. They followed the voice and saw that the speaker was wearing a black silk shirt. Looking at his attire, it was obvious that he was from a wealthy family. He was probably the son of a minister in the court. Everyone knew this.
He couldn't afford to provoke him, but no one dared to contradict him.
Fang Zheng saw that this man had an ordinary appearance. Although there was some nobility in his words and deeds, he was very annoying to look at. At least Fang Zheng found him quite annoying when he looked at him.
After pouting, Fang Zheng asked, "Who is this person?"
The fat man cracked the melon seeds, turned his head and glanced, and then said indifferently: "That man is the son of Liu Shilang of the Ministry of Revenue. I forgot his name. There are so many people in the families of the ministers in the court. I can't remember clearly."
Ministry of Husbandry? Nowadays, except for Wei Chengde's Ministry of War, the officials of the other five ministries don't seem to have a good impression of Fang Zheng.
Fang Zheng couldn't help but feel a little depressed: "What on earth did I do that is not allowed by God to make them jealous like this?"
The fat man smiled and said: "You have offended Pan Shangshu. To them, it is unjust."
Fang Zheng frowned and said: "Pan Shangshu has such great power? All the civil and military officials in the dynasty are facing him? Then he can cover the sky with one hand?"
The fat man smiled bitterly and said: "Not only can he cover the sky with one hand, but as long as he coughs, the civil and military officials in the court will not dare to speak loudly. They all say that the father respects him three points. This is considered polite, but the father actually respects him seven points. You can imagine
Now, after having been an official in the Ministry of Civil Affairs for decades, how many officials in the world come from his subordinates?"
As he spoke, the fat man pointed at Mr. Liu: "Did you see that? His father was just a scholar from a wealthy family back then, but more than ten years later he was appointed as the Minister of Household Affairs. Why? It was because of Pan Shangshu's promotion."