Wan'an Street in the capital is full of wine shops and teahouses.
It’s almost dinner time, and various pubs and restaurants are starting to serve customers.
The shopkeeper of Xianpin Tea House has just taken out the account books and is looking at which accounts should be recycled.
The teahouse is open at both ends. The most customers are after breakfast and before dinner. There is no habit of drinking tea at night in Beijing, so the shop is closed in the evening to take stock.
The sun's shadow flickered at the door, and the silver bell on Concubine Xiang's bamboo curtain rang.
The shopkeeper didn't even raise his head and said: "Sir, please stop, our store is closed."
But the person walked in anyway, with light steps. She was a woman.
The shopkeeper raised his head and saw that she was a woman in her twenties, dressed quite gorgeously, but her appearance was really unspeakable.
The woman spoke loudly and threw two golden melon seeds on the counter: "I'm going to invite someone to have a cup of tea here. I'll arrange a private room for me upstairs. It won't take long. I'll leave after saying a few words." At this time, the boy who was cleaning up upstairs just came down and said in a daze: "We won't entertain guests today, girl, please come back tomorrow!"
The shopkeeper hurriedly stopped and said: "It's not too late. It's rare for a girl to think highly of our family. You can lead her upstairs! Choose a clean and elegant room."
He turned around and smiled at the woman: "Girl, don't be surprised. This is my nephew from my hometown. He has only been in the capital for two days. He is dumbfounded and doesn't understand anything. Don't be as knowledgeable as him."
There was originally more than one waiter in the teahouse, but because it was closed, the others had already left.
The boy blinked and scratched his head again, not sure why.
It was his uncle who told him to follow the rules in everything. Why didn’t he follow these rules today?
The woman went upstairs, sat down, and told the boy: "There will be a young man named Zhang in a moment. Just bring him up."
The boy agreed and then asked: "What kind of tea does the girl drink?"
"A pot of melon slices is enough," the woman looked out the window, as if to see if the person she had made an appointment with had arrived, "No need for snacks."
The boy walked downstairs and asked the shopkeeper in a low voice: "Who is that person upstairs? She is dressed very gorgeously, like a young lady from a wealthy family."
The clerk at the counter was fiddling with his abacus and sneered: "You are such a fool when you come to the city, and you won't be able to get rid of your local character in three years.
If you really are our lady, you can’t bring a maid with you? That’s a big lady!”
The shopkeeper could tell at a glance that this woman was a maid from a wealthy family. She spent a lot of money, dressed gorgeously, and spent all her master's money.
The food and clothing of girls from wealthy families are much better than that of serious girls from ordinary families. After all, taking them out represents the master's face.
"She said after a while that a young man named Zhang came to her and asked for a pot of melon slices, but no snacks." The young man remembered the business.
"You go make tea!" said the shopkeeper, "I'll send the things up in a while, and don't go upstairs again."
The shopkeeper knew that he was not here to drink tea at this time, so he made an appointment with the young man to meet him, and most of them talked about shameful things.
The most important thing in doing business is to have vision, otherwise not only you won’t make money, but your life may be lost.
Sure enough, not long after the tea was brewed, a young man hurried over.
He is also wearing rich clothes. He is about 20 years old and looks quite delicate.
"Your Excellency, is Mr. Zhang?" the shopkeeper asked quickly.
"Yes, has the person who asked me to go upstairs already?" Mr. Zhang raised his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his forehead, which showed that he was in a hurry.
"She is a young girl. She is waiting for you in the Shuiyue Pavilion upstairs." The shopkeeper stretched out his hand and pointed to the stairs upstairs.
Mr. Zhang then lifted up the corners of his robe and went upstairs.
The shopkeeper winked at the boy, who quickly went upstairs with the tea.
When he came down, he looked confused again: "Uncle, you said that girl was just a maid, so this young master should indeed be a young master, right?
But why is he so polite to that maid? What's the point?"
"Either this servant girl's master is too prominent, or he has something to ask for." After all, he is his own nephew, and the shopkeeper is willing to teach him more, "But I guess since he is the one this girl is dating, he should
It’s not that Mr. Zhang has anything to ask of her."
At this time, Master Zhang, who was upstairs, was breathing a little less. He didn't even bother to drink tea, so he asked, "Miss Xiuzhu, why did you call me here?"
This beauty is Yao Wanyi's personal maid. The person sitting opposite is named Zhang Changlong, who serves as a guard in the palace.
"Mr. Zhang, my master has something to ask of you, but it's hard to meet you, so he sent me here." Xiuzhu got straight to the point, "My county master said that as long as you help us get things done, we will never treat you badly.
You."
Zhang Changlong hesitated for a moment and asked: "I wonder what the county leader wants to do?"
"On the Queen's Qianqiu Festival, you were working in the palace. There was a maid who was an eyesore. The county master didn't like her and wanted to get rid of her.
When the time comes, you just have to act out a scene and pretend to have an affair with her.
When the time comes, we will naturally catch the adulterer. All you have to do is kill the one she seduced, and we will make sure nothing happens to you."
"Miss Xiuzhu, this... this is not good in the palace, right? It is a serious crime to defile the palace.
What's more, it's disrespectful to rush into the Qianqiu Festival. It's not that I don't want to help the county leader, but in fact..." Zhang Changlong was extremely embarrassed.
It doesn’t matter that the person being framed is a little palace maid. But the key is that she will also be dragged into the water.
As the saying goes, if someone catches an adulterer or a couple, there is no reason to punish only the palace maid but not him.
He is now doing a good job in the palace. If this happens, not only will his future and reputation be ruined, but he will also be a drag on his family.
"Knowing that you have such concerns, the county leader asked me to explain it clearly to you.
The reason why this little palace maid needs to be punished is because she hooked up with the eldest son of the Yu family.
You must have heard some rumors earlier than we did, right?
As long as you are willing to help, the county master will help you pay back the five thousand taels of silver you owe from Shengtian Gambling House.
I will also plead for you in front of the Queen, and at most I will send you out of the palace instead of asking you to be a guard in the palace.
But later, you will be assigned to the patrol camp as the deputy commander of the left wing.
You must know that no matter how long you work as a servant in the palace, you will not be as beneficial as this job."
Once the conditions were met, Zhang Changlong, who was initially hesitant, visibly began to waver.
But he still had scruples: "Wouldn't this offend the prince? I have been under his control all year round, so..."
He wanted to say that this was a bit unkind, but when he thought about it, the county boss asked him to do this. If he said this, he would scold the county boss as well.
"The prince is a gentleman and will not embarrass you. Besides, didn't I tell you? You want to kill her, Xue Hengzhao, for seducing you." Xiuzhu's tone became more and more rude, "The county boss also asked me to tell you,
When your father served in Dongdu a few years ago, he had 3,000 taels of official banknotes that could not be accounted for.
If your family members embarrass you because of this, you might as well tell your father about it."