When the young man returned to the noodle stall, it was almost midnight. When he came back, he put on his apron and continued to help his grandfather silently.
For those who set up night stalls, it was already very late at this point, and almost no one could be seen on the more remote streets. However, the old man at the noodle stall added lamp oil to the lantern, obviously wanting to stay up a little longer.
Do some business.
Towards the early hours of the morning, the sound of horse hooves and wheels broke the tranquility.
A luxurious carriage appeared on the street at night, with seven or eight guards in front and behind the carriage.
The carriage was hung with lanterns belonging to the Zhong Mansion. Anyone with knowledge of the situation would know at a glance that Mr. Zhong from the Zhong Mansion was returning home.
When the convoy turned into the alley, the old man kneading the dough at the stall suddenly pulled the dough apart and shook it up and down. He smashed it three times on the counter and then kneaded it again.
The leader of the convoy was a big man with a beard, and his slightly moving eyes were always paying attention to the shadows on the left and right in front.
Everyone nearby knew that this person was Mr. Zhong's personal bodyguard and the general manager in charge of the security of the entire Zhong Mansion. His name was Du Fei.
He suddenly turned his mount around, stopped by the side, jumped off the horse, "I'm a little hungry, I'm going to eat a bowl of noodles." He handed the horse to others to take away, and walked towards the noodle stall.
When the motorcade arrived at the gate of Zhongfu, Du Fei also walked to the stall and sat down, "Here comes a bowl of noodles."
"Okay, Mr. Du, wait a minute." The old man said hello, turned around and uncovered the pot, pulled out the cut noodles and put them into the pot, covered the pot lid, continued to knead the dough, and said to Du Fei, back to back: "Someone was exploring the Zhong Mansion just now.
end."
Du Fei also turned his back, "What kind of person?"
Old man: "The one who came in the carriage is a young man. He is quite handsome and has a heavy sword hanging on his waist. He doesn't look like someone from the capital, but has an accent from the states."
"Lizhou..." Du Fei thought for a moment and then asked: "What did you ask?"
The old man: "I asked round and round about the situation of the people in the Zhong Mansion. I heard that the master was not at home, so I asked when he would be back. By the way, he seems to be particularly concerned about the situation of the two young ladies, and asked more detailed questions."
Du Fei: "Do you know where people stay?"
The young man who was squatting aside washing dishes spoke up, "The official guild hall of Liezhou. The carriage is rented from the 'Shengji' car dealership, and the driver is also from the 'Shengji'."
"Lizhou guild halls?" Du Fei was obviously stunned for a moment, confused, "The big exam is coming soon. Now the guild halls in each state should be vacated for candidates to stay. Could it be that they are candidates?"
Young man: "I don't know. There are officers and soldiers guarding us, so we can't get in."
Du Fei thought about it for a while and said, "You've met someone. Let's go together later."
The young man said "Yeah".
When the noodles were cooked, they were brought to the table. Du Fei Xilihulu ate, dropped the money, and returned to the Zhong Mansion.
The noodle stall also completed its last order and began to close the stall...
The streets and alleys are even louder at Yinshi.
There was a solitary lamp on the desk, and Du Fei, who had been sitting for a long time, sat cross-legged and meditated with his eyes closed.
Someone hurriedly came outside the Moon Gate, leaned forward, and placed a post in front of Du Fei with both hands, "General manager, the basic situation is here."
Du Fei slowly stopped his work and opened his eyes, took the post on the case, opened it, looked at the light and muttered, "Lizhou, Changming Mansion, Liangtao County, Angui Town, Jiupo Village, ah..." The words he muttered were stuck.
, his eyes suddenly widened a bit, his gaze fixed on the name 'Ashiheng', and he slowly stood up.
The person in front of the case was shocked and said, "Manager, what's wrong?"
Du Fei took a closer look again, took a deep breath, and slowly closed the post, "It turned out to be a candidate."
The person before the case asked: "Does it need to be investigated in detail?"
Du Fei waved his hand, "No need, go down and rest."
The man in front of the case bowed his hands, took two steps back, then turned around and left.
Without anyone else, Du Fei opened the post in his hand again, looked at the content and muttered to himself, "It turned out to be hiding in Lizhou, young master, you are finally here!"
early morning.
In the inner house of the Zhong family, Mrs. Zhong Wen Jianhui is dressed in a long brocade dress. She still has the charm of a mature woman without losing her dignity. The hostess is natural and smiling, helping her two daughters to pick up the jewelry on their heads.
The jewelry was made in the palace and was brought back yesterday by Mr. Zhong. It was a gift for the three women in the family when they went out to meet people.
There is a scenic spot in the southeast outside the city called Lingci Mountain, which is the place where Lingmi is planted. When Lingmi flowers are in full bloom, the sea of flowers is infinitely beautiful. Lingci Mountain will be open to the public for one day for some noble people to come and enjoy the flowers, but most people will not
Once inside, it's really not suitable for a place with too many people.
For women, it is another day to show off their beauty and show off their beauty. They have been looking forward to it for a long time. Good-looking clothes and good-looking jewelry are indispensable. It would be unbearable if Mr. Zhong didn't get some jewelry to show off.
The eldest daughter is dressed in a white dress with picturesque eyebrows. She is graceful and reserved, as elegant as a graceful summer lotus, and her eyes are filled with freshness and refreshment.
The woman in Huangshan gauze and overskirt is the youngest daughter. She has a beautiful appearance and clever eyes. She is equally good-looking and obviously more lively than her elder sister. When her mother talks to her elder sister, she chirps in and out.
The eldest daughter's name is Zhong Ruochen, and the younger daughter's name is Wen Ruowei, obviously named according to the time of birth.
The second daughter took her mother's surname.
In his early years, Zhong Yuanwai was just a clerk in his wife's family. The shopkeeper had no heirs. When Zhong Yuanwai married his daughter to Zhong Yuanwai, Zhong Yuanwai agreed that one of his daughters would be adopted by the Wen family. What he didn't expect was that Wen Jianhui was not in a good mood.
She failed to give birth to a son and passed it on to the Wen family, and her stomach stopped after giving birth to two daughters, so she could only do this.
Fortunately, shopkeeper Wen was right. Mr. Zhong just managed to develop the small shop that his father-in-law had run in the same place for decades into what it is today.
It's just a twist of fate. Nowadays, Mr. Zhong seems to be facing the same situation as the late shopkeeper Wen, who has no son to inherit the family business. It can be said that shopkeeper Wen back then had a good vision. Even in the face of this situation, shopkeeper Zhong did not work as a cashier.
It's about my concubine giving birth to a son.
In this world, it is simply unbelievable. This is not a small shop owned by Shopkeeper Wen, who just gave it to outsiders. Now that the Zhong family has such a huge family fortune, it is really not distressing at all to give it away so easily.
?
Mrs. Zhong was also quite ashamed and anxious. She even tried a lot of home remedies, but her stomach just didn't respond. Later, when she got older, she just let nature take its course. She herself also hinted to Ms. Zhong that as long as she was willing to take it in the future
She would give half of her property as dowry to her two daughters, and she could turn a blind eye to other things.
The hint was obvious, but Mr. Zhong didn't do that. At most, there would be a beauty named Yiqing outside occasionally.
There was also an incident where a certain beauty tried to take advantage of her position, but was easily dealt with by Mr. Zhong, and failed to cause trouble.
Marrying a daughter of the Zhong family is equivalent to sharing the Zhong family's property. What's more, the two daughters of the Zhong family are so beautiful that many people covet them.
After picking out the jewelry he liked, Wen Ruowei, who was eager to show it off, couldn't stand it anymore and jumped up and down, "Mom, what's going on with dad? It's already what time, it's time to leave, why haven't you come yet?"
"Look at the way you are walking around with your hands behind your back, how do you look like a girl?" Mrs. Zhong helped her eldest daughter put jewelry on her head and scolded her younger daughter. After pulling out the jewelry from the eldest daughter's bun, she replaced it.
He made a comparison and said, "Your father came back late last night. Let him sleep a little longer so that you can go play."
Wen Ruowei came over, supported his waist with one hand, and put his other hand on his mother's shoulder, "Mom, I know you find me annoying, don't worry, this time I go to Lingci Mountain, I will definitely bring back a young man to be your son-in-law."
"Damn girl!" Mrs. Zhong was angry, picked up the hairpin and tied it.
The young man reacted quickly, and Wen Ruowei jumped out of the way, making a face and saying with a smile: "You're kidding, don't worry, I'm not married yet, how can it be my turn."
Zhong Ruochen, who was sitting in front of the mirror, smiled tenderly.
Mrs. Zhong couldn't help but sigh. She was worried when it came to her eldest daughter's marriage. The inside story was not enough to explain to outsiders...
In the inner courtyard, a man with a white face, a long white beard, and slightly gray temples, with a graceful bearing, walked out of the house, walked to a temporary deck chair that had been placed in the yard, lay down and closed his eyes to meditate.
It was none other than the owner of the Zhong Mansion, Mr. Zhong Su Zhong.
The servants nearby had already prepared hot water, soaked a towel in the water, wrung it out, and applied it to Mr. Zhongwai's face. He took it off later, then smeared his face with soap, then used a sharp razor to clean his face and shaved it, and finally used a wet towel to shave his face.
Clean your face carefully with a towel.
Du Fei, the head guard, came and stood aside without disturbing him, just waiting quietly.
After everything was done, Mr. Zhong got up and went into the house again. Du Fei followed him in. He said to Mr. Zhong, who was accustomed to drinking a cup of tea after washing, "Uncle, someone was touching the bottom of the Zhong Mansion last night."
Mr. Zhong, who was slowly sipping the tea, didn't take it seriously and blew on the hot air, "If it's nothing special, just watch and deal with it."
Du Fei: "It's the young master. The young master is back."
"Uh..." Mr. Zhong looked up, a little confused, "Which young master?"
Du Fei took out the post from last night and handed it to him.
Mr. Zhong put down his tea cup, took the post and opened it. He looked at it incomprehensibly at first, but after seeing the words 'Ashiheng', he stood up suddenly, knocking over the round stool behind him, and checked it over again.
, raised his head and asked: "Are you sure it's him?"
Du Fei: "It is unlikely that this name will have the same name, not to mention that it is at the bottom of Tanzhong Mansion, so it is almost certain that he is here."
Mr. Zhong read the post again and exclaimed, "Finally here, my daughter is almost old." Fu frowned again, looked at Du Fei, and wondered: "He went to find out what's going on in the Zhong Mansion? What are we going to do with him?"
Not clear? What does he mean by being sneaky?"
Du Fei: "I wonder what he meant when he came to the capital but not to the Zhongfu. Also, he came to the capital to take the exam. Logically speaking, the boss should have written to inform us in advance, so we can make arrangements easily.
Respond."
"Yes, I haven't contacted you since I sent you a letter three years ago. What on earth does this kid want to do? Wait, he went to Beijing to take the exam..." Du Fei lowered his head and looked at the post again, "Examinee, he is
He came to Beijing to take the exam. It seems that the boss wants him to be named on the gold list. Well, he ranked 106th in the Lizhou Provincial Examination..." The corners of his mouth twitched slightly and he raised his eyes to look at Du Fei.
Du Fei smiled, a little embarrassed, "I'm afraid there's no hope of getting a gold medal in the provincial examination."