The little maid was quarreling with Ning Tong earlier, trying to get some advantage.
But when Mrs. Cheng Guotai, Zhu Hu, threatened her like this, she showed a defiant attitude. Even if she was pinned down and about to be beaten, she would not say a word.
It's obvious that even if you tell the old lady, I know, but I won't tell you even if you kill me.
This made Zhu Hu very angry: "Drag him out and beat him!"
The little maid didn't beg for mercy, so she was dragged out of the door by the two women. Then there was a muffled sound outside. At first, the little maid could hold it back, but later she screamed out because of the pain.
"Grandma, why bother with a little girl?" Zhu Lin couldn't stand it.
Mrs. Zhu Hu was still looking through the books, and was so angry that she said: "It is because these ignorant girls brought such unsightly things to my mistress that my mistress's mind went astray.
.”
Just as he was talking, the mother-in-law came in and said, "Madam, the Second Young Madam wants to tell you something."
"Hmph! Let her come in, and then let her see what the girl she made looks like!"
…
…
Ning Tong was brought into the back hall.
When Ning Tong saw that her little maid had been beaten until she fainted, but still did not betray herself, she felt angry in her heart, and she did not even kneel down after entering the back hall.
"Mrs. Madam, you are the matron of the house, and you bully a little maid next to me like this? What kind of skill do you think you have?" Ning Tong also stepped forward.
Can't make peace.
It's better to just die.
Give face to Zhu Hu? Then who will give me face?
Mrs. Zhu Hu was furious. The old woman next to her wanted to push Ning Tong down, but she still didn't dare to be cruel. In the eyes of servants like them, they wanted to beat the little maid until she was not afraid of anything, but the second young lady
Although she is not sensible, she is An Bianbo's wife and his mistress.
"Where did these books come from? Also, who are you outside?" Zhu Hu held back his anger and asked sternly.
Ning Tong said: "This has nothing to do with you, Mrs. Tai. Zhu Feng has already given me He Li's letter and asked me to take it to the government. I have nothing to do with your Zhu family! I don't need to tell you this!"
"you!"
Although Mrs. Zhu Hu was angry, she couldn't really do anything to her granddaughter-in-law.
She quickly made a plan: "Take this unruly master and servant to the woodshed and keep them in custody. They will not be released until the master and servant reflect on their past!"
"Mrs. Madam, what's the point of bullying a woman? It's better to kill me and let me guard your grandson's life than to kill me! Anyway, your family has great achievements, so you don't have to pay with your life if you kill someone!"
Ning Tong's stubbornness also caught Zhu Hu off guard.
At this point, an ordinary woman would have begged her hard, but Ning Tong seemed not even afraid of death and would fight her to the end.
Originally, according to Zhu Hu's temperament, it would be fine to just find someone to beat Ning Tong and then imprison him. But now that Sun Tong is still leading troops in Liaodong, what if he keeps Sun Tong's wife in the capital... If this affects Sun Tong's ability to lead troops in the war,
mentality, then the responsibility is huge.
After all, Zhu Hu is the daughter of a minister. She looks fierce, but in fact she is very talented and resourceful, and she will not do anything to Ning Tong just for the sake of a momentary whim.
"Take it down!"
Mrs. Zhu Hu was too lazy to say anything else.
As the master and servant Ning Tong were taken away by the mother-in-law, Mrs. Zhu Hu should be angry.
Zhu Lin said from the side: "Grandma, this matter...forget it?"
You old lady and your granddaughter-in-law had such a quarrel, but in the end it ended amicably? And what about me? I am obviously an outsider, but you, old lady, criticized me completely?
Who did I provoke?
Mrs. Zhu Hu glared at her grandson and said, "If anything happens in the house and affects your brother's leadership of the army, let's see how I deal with you!"
After speaking, Mrs. Zhu Hu stood up and said, "Are all the gifts ready?"
"Yes, Madam." the servant replied.
Zhu Lin asked: "Grandma, what are you..."
Mrs. Zhu Hu glanced at him and said: "I will go to Zhang Zhou's house with you. Don't let people think that we don't understand the rules in Chengguo's house."
After settling the matters in the inner courtyard in advance, the old lady has to complete the friendship with people outside the courtyard. It is also because Zhu Fu and Zhu Feng, two of the family members with titles, are not in the capital. This time it is her turn, the old lady, to take action.
Already.
…
…
"Miss...I...I didn't say."
Inside the woodshed.
After the little maid woke up and saw her young lady hugging her and crying, she couldn't help but say something pitiful.
Ning Tong wiped her tears and said, "You silly girl, you should tell me, this is not worth keeping a secret."
The little maid asked: "Did the lady say it?"
"I didn't say anything either." Ning Tong said bitterly, "They can torture me however they want. I have nothing to do with this family."
The little maid pouted and said, "Then I won't tell you either."
The master and servant have been dependent on each other for many years, but they hugged each other tightly at this time.
…
…
Zhang Zhou returned home and was still sorting out his court clothes.
Others were issued one court uniform at a time and had to order the rest by themselves, but Zhang Zhou had several sets of official uniforms and regular uniforms. The emperor was afraid that his clothes would not fit him, so he had them custom-made in advance.
Cut out.
Here, Wang Mingshan, who was still trying on clothes one by one and helping him put on clothes behind her, had already been taken advantage of by him several times.
After all, it’s going to be tonight...
At this moment, Xia Zhi came in and announced: "Sir, there are guests outside. They say they are from Duke Chengguo's mansion. They also brought gifts."
Jiang Pingyu came out of the inner room and asked curiously: "Is it from the Duke's Mansion?"
Jiang Pingyu had heard about her father doing business with the British government before, and also heard about old Jiang being detained by the British government, so she was still very wary of the government.
Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "It's okay, this is the home of Zhu Zhijie, and is different from the British one."
joke.
Zhang Mao has a "cooperative" relationship with him at best, and now Cheng Guo Gong Zhu Fu and Zhu Feng are counting on him for food. If they don't mention Zhu Feng, let's talk about Zhu Fu... The ministers in the DPRK have so many impeachments against him.
, if it hadn't been for his help, Zhu Fu might have been dismissed from his post and taken back to the capital to live leisurely.
…
…
Zhangjia Zhengtang.
Zhang Zhou met Zhu Hu, and Zhu Lin was followed behind him. Zhang Zhou did not expect this.
The Zhu family had done quite well in terms of etiquette, and he was also thinking, finally he no longer sent someone to notify me to come over for a banquet, but he knew he was sending something to my house, and why did he come in person?
"Madam, you are so polite, why are you so embarrassed?" Zhang Zhou said with a smile.
Zhu Hu said with a smile on his face: "Both Quanzi and Zhijie are under the care of Mr. Zhang. Although I am not in the capital, I have heard many stories about Mr. Zhang when I was in Nanjing. Mr. Zhang won the top prize in high school and will be a general in the future.
It’s easy to fall in love.”
Zhang Zhou thought to himself, these words sounded familiar.
Zhu Lin also smiled and said: "In his letter to the capital, my father also mentioned that he should thank Mr. Zhang for his cultivation, especially for those who know integrity..."
Zhang Zhou asked the two of them to sit down.
He then said politely: "Zhijie and I are friends. He took the trouble to come to the capital to offer medicine to the princess. When I was young, he also took good care of me. This is just a relationship between friends.
It’s just a moral obligation.”
While talking, Zhang Zhou was actually curious.
Didn't it mean that Zhu Feng had already sent the documents of peace and separation to the capital? Aren't you, the Zhu family, restless at home now? Looking at you like this, you can't tell at all.
Then Zhu Hu asked someone to bring the gifts in.
The items in each box were obviously much richer than when I gave Zhang Zhou gifts in Nanjing before, but they were only worth four or five hundred taels.
Zhang Zhou is very good at calculating the value of gifts. Zhang Zhou doesn't know where his talent comes from.
"Mr. Zhang, don't dislike it," said Zhu Hu.
"Prepare a banquet." Zhang Zhou thought, since he gave a gift, let's treat him to a meal.
"No need, I still have a lot of things to do. I just came to visit Mr. Zhang and then leave."
Zhu Hu is also knowledgeable.
Everyone knows that you, Zhang Bingkuan, are stingy, so what good food can I eat at your house? Besides, if you, Zhang Bingkuan, really wanted to entertain you, you wouldn't have made any preparations in advance.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Then prepare tea."
Zhu Hu smiled.
This host is really stingy, and it’s not easy for him to even drink tea at your house.
…
…
In the main hall, Zhu Hu and Zhu Lin sang together. While expressing their gratitude to Zhang Zhou, they also euphemistically expressed their hope that Zhang Zhou would continue to help Zhu Fu and his son negotiate their terms.
Zhang Zhoudao: "The war in Liaodong has not yet concluded, but it is expected that there will be a conclusion before the end of the month. As for Yansui... Oh, it's not my fault. The ministers in the DPRK have quite a bit of criticism about the fact that Duke Cheng Guo has been standing still.
There are also quite a few memorials for participating in the impeachment."
Zhu Hu obviously knew this.
This is also the purpose of her coming.
She hurriedly said: "Duke Cheng used to be in Nanjing, and he has only succeeded to the position of Duke for a short time. If he wants to make achievements in the three areas, it will be difficult for others to do so."
"That's what I say, but since Your Majesty has used him, he should show his due responsibilities as a prince. Sometimes it is useless to rely on me to speak." Zhang Zhou meant.
You should be more knowledgeable and ask your sons and grandsons to listen to me more in the future and not make your own decisions.
But Zhu Hu nodded, probably thinking that the gift given to Zhang Zhou was not enough, and Zhang Zhou thought it was too little.
"Sir, Eunuch Xiao, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, is here. He said he has an imperial edict to convey." Liu Guili said at the door.
Zhang Zhou is quite busy here.
When Xiao Jing had nothing to do, he ran to Zhang Zhou's house.
When Mrs. Zhu Hu heard that Xiao Jing was coming, she thought to herself that this was a big deal, and that she would be superfluous here.
Zhang Zhou said: "You two, I will go out to socialize with Eunuch Xiao first, and I will be back in a while."
"Social entertainment?"
Mrs. Zhu Hu didn't understand.
When a person of Xiao Jing's status comes, shouldn't you invite him in politely? If you don't give Xiao Jing face, you must also give the emperor face! They said it, but it was for the emperor to convey the imperial decree.
But Zhang Zhou obviously didn't take Xiao Jing too seriously. The main reason was that Xiao Jing had been coming too frequently recently, and also because he won the top prize. Xiao Jing felt that it was only natural for him to bother Zhang Zhou in the future. He just came to visit him if he had anything to do.
, as for whether it was the one who sent the imperial edict... maybe it was Liu Gui who was just talking nonsense.
Zhang Zhou also rolled his eyes at Liu Gui when he went out.
This kid... talks nonsense to people and lies to ghosts. He is a good candidate for the disciple, but Zhang Zhou is afraid that this kid will go astray and make his family look like Cheng Minzheng, which will be bad.
…
…
"Grandma, should we go out to greet him too?" Zhu Lin couldn't help but ask when he saw Zhang Zhou going out.
Mr. Zhu Hu sat upright and said, "He doesn't need us to meet him. He has arrangements, so just wait here."
Zhu Lin said: "Then what did he... mean before?"
Zhu Hu rolled her eyes at him and said: "You really don't look like a Duke of Cheng. What he said is not clear enough? In fact, he just wants money from us! Haven't you seen how greedy he is for money?"
"Grandma, my grandson doesn't know whether to say something or not..." Zhu Lin wanted to remind this grandmother.
Let’s not look at Zhang Bingkuan with old eyes.
This guy only looks greedy on the surface, but in fact he is not greedy at all, and he is a very measured minister. Otherwise, he would not be able to gain the emperor's favor gradually. Don't think that anything will happen to you when you give gifts.
Zhu Hu said impatiently: "If you don't know whether to talk about it or not, then don't talk about it!"
…
…
When Zhang Zhou came back, neither his grandfather nor his grandson said a word, and the atmosphere was still a bit awkward.
"Mr. Zhang, I wonder why Eunuch Xiao is here?"
When Zhu Hu saw that Zhang Zhou didn't have any imperial edict in his hand, he just thought he was here to deliver oral instructions.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "It's just daily chores. Where did we talk about just now?"
Zhu Lin reminded: "Speaking of asking Mr. Zhang to help my father and brother-in-law speak in front of His Majesty."
"This..." Zhang Zhou said, "Say what you should say and don't say what you shouldn't. I can't mess with the rules."
"Yes." Zhu Hu smiled and nodded.
She thought about it for a while, and the rule was probably that the money given was not enough.
Zhang Zhou asked: "By the way, Madam, I heard... there is something going on in your house recently... Zhijie told me about it. He said he wanted to have a relationship with his wife... uh, how is the situation now?"
When Zhang Zhou saw Mrs. Zhu Hu coming as if nothing happened, he felt that the old lady must have used some thunderous means to convince Ning Tong.
As for Ning Tong's temperament, Zhang Zhou could sense it.
The style of women in this era is most clearly reflected in this woman. She married into the Duke's palace and dared to divorce her husband. How courageous is this? This also shows that Ning Tong has indeed endured enough!
If a "strong" woman like Ning Tong meets a strong and unreasonable old lady like Zhu Hu, then Ning Tong will be the unlucky one.
Since Zhang Zhou accidentally raised the matter of reconciliation at that time, he felt that he had to help Ning Tong.
"This is a family matter of the Chengguo Palace." Mrs. Zhu Hu also frowned.
I was thinking in my heart, my grandson really told outsiders everything. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to tell such things? If Zhang Zhou was allowed to talk about this again, then the Chengguo Palace would really be disgraced!
Zhang Zhou nodded: "This is supposed to be a family matter in the Chengguo Palace, but I have something to say, and I don't know whether I should say it or not."
Zhu Lin was startled.
I have said this just now, Zhang Bingkuan, you'd better stop talking about it, my grandmother doesn't like to hear it.
Zhu Hu smiled and said, "Sir, please tell me."
have to!
Only then did Zhu Lin realize that he was the only one unpopular with the old lady.
Zhang Zhoudao: "Before Zhijie went to Liaodong, he asked me to take care of his family affairs. This time there are some... conflicts between the couple. As a friend, I also think it is necessary to remind him that everything should wait until he returns to the capital.
After that, sit down and talk in detail. If the relationship becomes stalemate, it will be detrimental to his leadership in Liaodong. It will also be detrimental to Ming Dynasty."
Zhang Zhou meant to remind the old lady of the Zhu family.
Don't go too far in punishing Ning Tong, otherwise you are not dealing with family affairs, and it may affect the war in Liaodong of the Ming Dynasty and the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty.
"Mr. Zhang reminded me that I am aware of it."
…
…
Mrs. Zhu Hu laughed with her and took her grandson out of Chengguo Palace.
When she got back to the door in the sedan, she got off the sedan. Zhu Lin, who went to help the sedan, could clearly feel that his grandmother's expression was completely different when she got off the sedan and when she got on the sedan.
"Does knowing integrity mean being short-sighted? Why do we always mention family matters to outsiders? If Zhang Bingkuan informs His Majesty...then my Zhu family will become the laughing stock of the whole world!" said Zhu Hu.
Zhu Lin had an expression of "Destroy whoever you love as soon as possible", turned his head to one side and said: "Grandma seems to have forgotten that the second brother likes to let his wife come out to deal with the second wife's affairs. When they were in Nanjing, the younger brother and sister knew Zhang Bingkuan.
They have also met after Beijing."
"What?"
When Zhu Hu heard this, he already heard some bad signs.
Ning Tong and Zhang Zhou also know each other, and their personal relationship is... quite good?
Just as he was talking, the wife of the house hurriedly ran out and said in Zhu Hu's ear: "Madam, I have asked the servants in the house and the people who are usually friends with the Second Young Madam. It seems that the book
, it’s a young master named Zhang who came to the house before, and it’s for the Second Young Madam.”
"What?"
Mr. Zhu Hu couldn't stand still.
"grandmother?"
Zhu Lin hasn't figured it out yet, what's wrong with the old lady?
Mrs. Zhu Hu glared at Zhu Lin and said, "Who with the surname Zhang has visited your house recently?"
Zhu Lin said: "Grandma, my father is guarding the capital, and he is not allowed to see outsiders. The surname is Zhang... except Zhang Bingkuan, there is no one else!"
"cough……"
Now Mrs. Zhu Hu not only had to be supported by her grandson, but also had to hold on to the edges of the sedan with her hands, so that she could barely stand still.
Zhu Lin said as if the matter had nothing to do with him: "Grandma doesn't want to say that the matter of the younger siblings has something to do with Zhang Bingkuan, right?"
Mrs. Zhu Hu glared at her grandson and said, "Did you know earlier?"
"No." Zhu Lin answered simply, "My second brother didn't say that, but it's impossible to say that there are people outside my brother and sister. I... never ask about the second wife's affairs."
His words seemed to be saying, Why are you asking me about your affairs?
Ask your second grandson yourself, ask your second grandson’s wife.
"Old Madam, the Ning family has arrived. They said they can come into the house to see the Second Young Madam at any time." Another servant came over to report.
Previously, Mrs. Zhu Hu found out that her grandson's daughter-in-law was hopeless, so she could only have people call the Ning family to put pressure on Ning Tong.
"No, let them all go back!"
Mr. Zhu Hu is now in a state of confusion.
"yes."
The servants quickly went to inform the Ning family.
Zhu Lin asked: "Then if the book was given by Zhang Bingkuan, and the divorce was also mentioned by Zhang Bingkuan, and even the outsider of the siblings... is Zhang Bingkuan, and the second brother may know about this and even intend to fulfill it... what should we do?"
"Shut up! Zhiyi, why are you so useless?" Mrs. Zhu Hu attacked her eldest grandson, "My father and younger brother are not in the house, and you can't even see the door of the house?"
Zhu Lin seemed to have expected that he would be a punching bag. He looked helpless and calmly said: "Grandma, please calm down. My grandson will definitely correct it next time."
