The so-called Tong Jia family, the most famous family in the Qing Dynasty, is actually a mess. How can Yuzhu have the free time to wipe other people's butts every day?
The Tong Jia family in history, since Longkodo was imprisoned and killed, has fallen into despair like the Hesheli family.
The descendants of the old Tong family, at best, could only inherit the duke from generation to generation and live in obscurity until the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
Hanshuang peeled off a small orange and fed it into Yuzhu's mouth one by one.
While Yuzhu was eating oranges, he joked with Hanshuang: "Our little Shuangshuang is not too young."
Hanshuang has been serving Yuzhu since she was a child. How could she not understand that Yuzhu is too idle and only wants to have fun with her?
"Second Master, you're so evil, you're just taking advantage of this slave for fun." Hanshuang stretched out his little hand, pretended to pinch Yuzhu's arm gently, pursed his red lips, and said seriously, "You promised this slave,
Let your servant serve you all the time."
Yuzhu smiled slightly and said, "You will always get married."
Hanshuang saw that Yuzhu was really in a good mood, so he plucked up the courage and whispered, "I don't want to get married."
Yuzhu took a deep look at Hanshuang. This clever girl has always been by his side, and he is indeed using it very smoothly.
Hanshuang and Lin Yaner are seriously at odds, how could he not know?
It is difficult for an upright official to stop household affairs.
If you are not crazy or stupid, you will not be the master (Aweng).
The first rule of the emperor's mind: Don't make your subordinates work together to plot against me!
The same is true at home!
"Okay, it's up to you. When you want to get married, I will prepare a generous dowry for you, so that you can marry with great splendor."
It is actually not easy to train a confidant to take care of things.
As Yuzhu gets closer to the circle of power step by step, the people who come close to him in the future basically only have interests and lack of emotional foundation.
Hanshuang was overjoyed and said with red eyes: "Second Master, you treat your slaves so well."
Yuzhu smiled slightly and said: "You are a loyal and capable servant. If I don't love you, who will I love?"
"Ding..." The original sound of pearls and jade falling on a jade plate was suddenly broken due to the sudden break of the strings, making a strange buzzing sound.
Yuzhu didn't care, but Hanshuang knew in his heart that Lin Yaner's heart was in chaos!
After the examination, Yuzhu took the provincial examination in Zhou Quan of the same year, and he also won the honorary title.
Last time, Zhou Quan visited Yuzhu, and Yuzhu also went to their home to return the gift.
As the saying goes, it is rude to come without going back!
Reciprocity with courtesy is the way to a long-term relationship.
This time, Yuzhu ordered Hu Biao to go to the Zhou Mansion with his name card and ask Zhou Quan to make an appointment so that he could take the initiative to visit...
In any case, Zhou Quan was in the same year as the provincial examination, so Yuzhu’s superficial skills must be perfunctory.
Hu Biao came back and said that Mr. Zhou said that he would sweep the bed tomorrow to wait for Yu Tongniang.
So, Yuzhu called the Zhike steward in the mansion, and compared the generous gift Zhou Quan brought last time, he added 30% as a gift to the door.
Giving gifts is definitely a big question.
In the same year, you received a gift of one hundred taels and only returned fifty taels. It is inevitable that you will be looked down upon by others.
If I was sent one hundred taels in the same year and you returned two hundred taels, it would not only appear to be a disrespectful and polite gift, but you would also be suspected of having ulterior motives.
Giving gifts is more difficult than anything else in a big house!
If the mistress of the house wants to gain a foothold in her husband's family, the right to preside over the gifts is secondary. The most important thing is actually the thickness of the gift list.
To put it bluntly, as long as you get all the gift lists, it will be clear at a glance how close this big house is to other wealthy families!
This is the core secret inside the mansion!
Because Li Si'er was not very reliable, Longkodo's confidant had always been responsible for the reception and delivery of external affairs.
After all, no matter how generous Longko was, he still wanted to be friends with the princes, ministers, relatives, and six family members, and reciprocate with courtesy.
If you send the wrong gift list to an important relative's home, you will offend them for nothing. There is no need at all!
Visiting your home can also teach you a lot.
Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if I went too early and others haven’t gotten up yet?
I only went there near lunch. Hey, did you just rush to have a drink?
At the first quarter of the hour (9:15 minutes), Yuzhu got on the bus and went out with a generous gift.
As Yuzhu made rapid progress in the imperial examination, Li Si'er's restraint on him became more and more relaxed.
In the past, whenever Yuzhu went out, he had to bring dozens of troops with him to protect his safety.
Now, when Yuzhu goes out, he only has a carriage, a steward, two boys, two guards with swords and Niutai.
Niu Tai was named by Yuzhu. At critical moments, a vulture shooter like him can save lives.
Zhou Quan was the son of a Han official. He did not live in the inner city, but in Ximi Lane outside Chongwen Gate in the outer city.
The road from Yuzhu's home, Jialanyan Hutong, to Ximi Lane is not short.
The group of people passed the Dongsi Archway and Dongdan Archway, exited Chongwen Gate, turned right again, and arrived at the gate of Zhou Mansion, it was already seven o'clock.
"Brother Jingqing has come here, the Pengbi is really shining." Zhou Quan, who was waiting outside the gate, saw the jade pillar and immediately bowed with a smile.
Yuzhu quickly bowed in return and said with a smile: "Brother Zhusheng, you are too polite!"
The last time we met, Zhou Quan was already twenty-seven years old, more than ten years older than Yuzhu, so he was naturally his elder brother.
Zhou Quan led Yuzhu all the way into his inner study room where he specially receives guests.
In the homes of officials in this era, there were generally three places for receiving guests, the West Flower Hall, the inner study room and the outer study room.
Generally speaking, the importance of the guests received in the outer study room, west flower hall and inner study room increases in order.
After the guests and hosts were seated, the servants of the Zhou family served tea. Zhou Quan picked up the teacup, raised it slightly towards the jade pillar, then lowered his head and took a sip.
Yuzhu took a sip of tea. Well, it was actually the Biluochun he was used to drinking, which was rewarded by the palace.
Zhou Quan's father, Zhou Kuang, is currently a doctor in the Literary Selection Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Although his official position is only the fifth rank, his real power is not small, and there are so many people asking him to do things.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the Zhou family has Biluochun to drink in the palace.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
"Brother Jingqing, I heard that when Grand Scholar Wu appointed you as Huiyuan, he hesitated for a long time."
Yuzhu took the initiative to pay homage today, and Zhou Quan was somewhat moved. Therefore, in order to make Yuzhu's trip worthwhile, he revealed the truth about Wu Yu's visit to Huiyuan in the Gongyuan.
In fact, Yuzhu had known about Wu Jun's tangled behavior for a long time. However, since Zhou Quan took the initiative to reveal the inside information, in addition to expressing his gratitude, he also needed to reciprocate the favor.
"Oh, if Brother Zhusheng hadn't mentioned it, I would still be in the dark." Yuzhu raised his buttocks slightly and cupped his hands in thanks.
Zhou Quan couldn't help but smile when he saw how well Yuzhu knew etiquette, he was a good friend!
To be honest, after passing the provincial examination, if his father Zhou Kuang hadn't forced Zhou Quan to visit Yuzhu, he really didn't want to attach himself to Longkodo and Qingtai.
How should I put it? Manchens have their own way of promotion, and Hanchens have their own way of being promoted to Hanlin Ci officials. Basically, they are in a state of non-interference.
However, Yuzhu always gives people a feeling of spring breeze, which provides the basis for continuing the relationship.
"I heard that there may be a big adjustment for the officials of the Ministry of Personnel."
What Zhou Quan gave was old news, but what Yuzhu said was inside information that Zhou Quan had no grasp of before. He was suddenly shocked.
The doctor of the Literary Selection Department of the Ministry of Personnel has a great influence mainly on officials outside the Ministry of Personnel.
However, Zhou Kuang, the director of the Literary Selection Department, was unable to do anything about the adjustment of officials within the Ministry of Personnel.
To put it bluntly, if the six people in the civil service yamen, the Manchu and Han ministers, and the Manchu and Han ministers sit together for a meeting, they can go directly to the report.
Zhou Kuang didn’t even have a chance to open his mouth, let alone intervene.
"Thank you for the reminder, brother Jieqing. If you don't tell me, brother Yu, I'm still in the dark." Zhou Quan stood up quickly and bowed respectfully.
Yuzhu warned him in advance, so Zhou Kuang could seize the time to find a backer and try to keep his position as a doctor in the literary selection department.
If Yuzhu hadn't told the inside story and waited for the officials in the Ministry of Personnel to discuss everything and get the deal, Zhou Kuang would have been too late if he wanted to find another way.
This is the same as stock trading. If you know that the European stock market crashed half a minute before others, you can immediately polish all the chips in your hand and minimize your losses.
To put it bluntly, the higher you go, the more important sources of information become, and they are even more valuable than you can buy with money.
What is the identity of Yuzhu? Zhou Quan did not dare to take his words lightly. He immediately called for his trusted steward and rode a fast horse to find Zhou Kuang.
Between friends, feelings need to be cultivated slowly. The need for complementary interests cannot be deceived.
With this little episode, Zhou Quan became much more affectionate to Yuzhu than before.
When a distinguished guest like Yuzhu comes to visit, Zhou Quan naturally has to entertain him for lunch.
After moving to Nuang Pavilion and sitting down, before the food and wine were served, Zhou Quan called out the wife of the wife and his only daughter, and asked them to meet Yuzhu.
Zhou Quan's wife, Xie, was the concubine of the Xie family, a famous family in Jiangyin, Changzhou.
When Yuzhu was studying at Jiuhua Academy, he had heard many times about the legendary story of the Xie family in Jiangyin, Changzhou, who was a seventh-level scholar.
Originally, given Zhou Quan's family background, he would not be able to marry a daughter of the Xie family. However, Zhou Quan's grandfather once served as the prefect of Changzhou, and the Xie family was almost wiped out by bandits. Fortunately, he rescued her in time.
In order to thank Magistrate Zhou for his rescue, the Xie family arranged a baby wedding with the Zhou family.
So, Zhou Quan picked up a big mistake and married a daughter of the Xie family. Although the Xie family was a concubine, she was worthy of the Zhou family's boast for a long time.
Adhering to the principle of "don't look at anything inappropriate", Yuzhu only raised his head and briefly glanced at Xie's appearance, then tilted his head towards Zhou Quan.
When Zhou Quan saw this, he couldn't help but nodded secretly. He was really a man who knew etiquette and observed etiquette, and he didn't have the arrogance of a bannerman at all.
Perhaps knowing that Yuzhu had eaten all kinds of delicacies, Zhou Quan deliberately arranged a table of Jiangnan vegetarian banquets.
Yuzhu was indeed very satisfied with the meal and praised it full of praise.
Zhou Quan greeted Yuzhu, and when they were drinking comfortably, a servant suddenly came to report that the master was back.
Zhou Kuang's sudden return was something that Zhou Quan had not yet understood, but Yuzhu had already understood it.
After getting the inside information, Zhou Kuang did not go to his big backer to find a solution immediately, but returned home.
When Yuzhu said goodbye, according to etiquette, he definitely needed to meet the elders of the Zhou family, so he happened to meet Zhou Kuang.
"My nephew Yuzhu, I'd like to pay my respects to Uncle Zhou Shi." Yuzhu bowed to the ground and was extremely respectful and polite to Zhou Kuang.
Yuzhu and Zhou Quan were in the same year as the provincial examination and the joint examination, and it is foreseeable that they will definitely become Jinshi in the same year.
With these three relationships of the same age added together, he naturally respects Zhou Kuang on the surface.
"Your nephew is too polite, please come quickly." Zhou Kuang's attitude was particularly gentle, and he used the word "please".
After Yuzhu stood up straight, Zhou Quan originally thought that he could send Yuzhu out immediately.
Who would have thought that Zhou Kuang actually said with a smile: "Sit down, come and watch the tea."
Yuzhu's heart is like a bright mirror, Zhou Kuang must have something important to say, and he is not in a hurry.
At this time, Zhou Quan also saw something fishy from his father's unusual behavior.
"Your Majesty, how are you always in good health?" Zhou Kuang greeted Longkodo politely.