(Sweet, the end of the last chapter is not a break, but a sentence that accidentally copied the information, which has been deleted.)
On the way back, Zhang Leyi looked at Zhou Hexuan with admiring eyes and said: "Brother Zhou, you were so powerful just now. You made the French consul speechless with your words. I think you can really be a diplomat."
"It is difficult to be a diplomat in China. It is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice," Zhou Hexuan lamented. "Gu Weijun is so powerful, but a weak country has no diplomacy, so he can only look back and sigh."
Zhang Leyi said: "But you just talked very smoothly."
"I'm just following the trend," Zhou Hexuan explained. "The big powers will suffer the most from the siltation of Tianjin Port. If left unchecked, not only will foreign merchants suffer heavy losses, but Tianjin Customs will also have to collect a lot less money. I checked the information some time ago.
, found that during the Guangxu period, the Qing government only allocated 100,000 taels of silver to control the Haihe River, and the remaining 150,000 taels were provided by the British. Why did the British help China control water? It is not related to their vital interests."
Zhang Leyi smiled and said: "So, even if you don't mention it, Brother Zhou, the foreigners will still find ways to solve it?"
"That's it. I just gave them a feasible suggestion." Zhou Hexuan didn't feel any excitement. Using Chinese tariffs would depend on foreigners' opinions, and it would be disgraceful to speak out.
"You are still very powerful. If it were anyone else, you wouldn't be able to do it." Zhang Leyi's admiration has not diminished at all.
Zhou Hexuan said happily: "Haha, I love hearing this."
Zhang Leyi asked: "Do you know where there is a suitable house for rent in Tianjin? I want to live here for a while."
After all, Zhang Leyi is a lady, and it is impossible for her to come directly to live with Zhou Hexuan. When she asked, Zhou Hexuan suddenly remembered the relationship issue, and he asked tentatively: "You didn't receive the letter I wrote?"
"Which letter?" Zhang Leyi said, "In the past half month or so, my dad has detained all the letters you sent. He asked the servants to burn them directly."
Zhou Hexuan was sweating violently, but he couldn't tell the truth.
For someone else, a young lady from a rich family came all the way to meet her lover. How could she tell her when we met: "You can go, I already have a new love. In order not to hurt you more, let's get together and part ways as soon as possible."
How hurtful this is!
Zhou Hexuan can't do it, let's leave it to be solved slowly later.
Fortunately, Meng Xiaodong returned to Peiping recently, and Wanrong did not stay at his house. Zhou Hexuan suggested: "Why don't you stay at my place tonight and look for a house tomorrow."
"Okay." Zhang Leyi's smile contained a hint of shame.
Back home, Zhou Hexuan introduced Mrs. Liu Wu: "This is Miss Zhang Leyi Zhang, my good friend."
"Hello, Miss Zhang." Ms. Liu Wu couldn't help but compare Zhang Leyi with Meng Xiaodong and Wanrong. She felt that Miss Zhang seemed to be more beautiful.
Zhang Leyi entered the guest room with her luggage, humming a cheerful ditty. While she was happy, she couldn't help but worry about her parents at home, so she decided to send a telegram back tomorrow to report that she was safe.
In 1927, only a few provinces could make long-distance calls. For example, the long-distance telephone office in Guangdong Province was not established until 1929. When making a call, you need to connect to the long-distance telephone office first, and then the telephone office forwards the number.
That night, Zhang Leyi was in a good mood, and happily accompanied Zhou Hexuan to study in the study, discussing the plot of "The Goddess".
As a result, Wanrong's sudden visit made Zhang Leyi feel a little bad.
"Brother Zhou, I'm here again!" Wanrong knocked on the door with a very familiar voice and entered, as if she were returning to her own home.
Zhang Leyi looked at Wanrong in surprise: "Who is this lady?"
"Ahem," Zhou Hexuan introduced awkwardly, "This is Wanrong, the former empress of the Qing Dynasty. Wanrong, this is my friend Zhang Leyi."
Because of Meng Xiaodong's existence, Wanrong had long been accustomed to it. She smiled playfully at Zhang Leyi, stretched out her hand and said, "Hello, Miss Zhang, my current surname is Guo."
"Hello, Ms. Guo..." Zhang Leyi was a little dizzy. The identity of the former Qing empress even diluted her suspicion.
Queen, you are so rare, but why do you come here at night?
Wanrong is now a "well-known" cartoonist in Tianjin. She corresponds and chats with countless readers every day, and even acts as a life coach to answer readers' questions. She feels much more confident. At this time, she said generously: "Ms. Zhang, listen to your accent.
Not from the north, right?"
"Well, I'm from the south. How many days will I stay in Tianjin?" Zhang Leyi couldn't help but ask, "You and Puyi..."
Wanrong smiled and said: "We have separated. The house that Brother Zhou rented for me is in the small western-style building next door."
"Oh." Zhang Leyi still didn't understand the relationship between Zhou Hexuan and Wanrong.
Wanrong said enthusiastically: "Why don't you move in with me? I have a lot of empty rooms. It's really lonely in the deserted place. It's easy to chat with more than one person to relieve boredom."
Zhou Hexuan is sweating violently, this is a rhythm that is about to explode!
"You live alone?" Zhang Leyi asked.
Wanrong said: "Yes, there are only a few servants and maids accompanying me."
Zhang Leyi didn't know what to think, but she actually agreed: "Okay, I'm worried about renting a house."
Zhou Hexuan held his forehead, not knowing what to say.
Wanrong was quite interested and said to Zhou Hexuan: "Brother Zhou, let's go to a foreign club tomorrow. Let's take Miss Zhang to bowling."
"As long as you are happy." What else could Zhou Hexuan say?
Wanrong asked Zhang Leyi again: "Ms. Zhang, can you play bowling?"
Zhang Leyi said: "I have seen others play it."
Wanrong smiled and said: "It's fun. I'm not good at polo and table tennis, but bowling is different. Just throw the ball out. I even beat Brother Zhou several times."
"That's because you were lucky and your posture when shooting the ball was wrong." Zhou Hexuan complained.
The three of them chatted in confusion until 11 o'clock in the evening, before Wanrong said goodbye and left.
Zhang Leyi finally couldn't help but ask: "Brother Zhou, how did you meet this Miss Guo?"
Zhou Hexuan felt that he could no longer hide it, so he had no choice but to confess the truth, but instead of telling him directly, he tried to test it first: "Leyi, does your father have a concubine?"
"No, he is a Christian." Zhang Leyi wanted to save face for her father. She knew that her father was raising another woman outside, and her mother also knew about it.
During the Republic of China era, it was really difficult to keep capable men from one place to another.
"What about you?" Zhou Hexuan asked, "If I marry my concubine, will you accept it?"
Zhang Leyi was silent, her heart throbbing, bit her lip and asked: "Do you want to marry that Miss Guo as your concubine?"
"It's not her," Zhou Hexuan said truthfully, "it's an opera singer named Meng Xiaodong. She has always liked me. Just some time ago, I couldn't withstand the temptation. Later I wrote you a letter and explained the situation clearly.
But you didn’t receive it. She said she would like to be my concubine, if you can accept it..."
"I...I'll think about it again." After Zhang Leyi said that, she returned to the guest room, closed the door tightly, and lay on the bed sobbing softly. She felt aggrieved. She ran away from home and came to Tianjin, and this was the result.
