Seeing Wang Xu's unclear attitude, the embroiderer bowed and said softly to Zhang and Xu.
Zhang Xu glanced at his sister and found that Zhang Xiaomei didn't want to leave at all, so he whispered: "Let's go out first. The oiran and the prince are old acquaintances. They must have something to say. It's not convenient for us here."
Zhang Xiaomei was unwilling to give up and left reluctantly. As she walked, she secretly scolded her brother for being troublesome.
Is this an old acquaintance doing something shady? Is he afraid of being known by outsiders?
Reluctantly and reluctantly, Zhang Xiaomei and Zhang Xu left. The embroiderer waved gently, signaling Ning Qing and others to go out. In a blink of an eye, only Wang Xu was left on the boat.
Seeing that all the irrelevant people were gone, Xiu Niang kneaded the handkerchief in her hand and secretly wept: "I am a miserable person, I..."
"Stop it, there are many prostitutes on the street, you are better off than them!"
As soon as the embroiderer opened her mouth, Wang Xu dismissed it.
Poor people, there are so many poor people, all of them have hands and feet, they are sad for the spring and sad for the autumn, and it is not because they are full.
The embroiderer was speechless, her eyes were red, and she looked at him without tears.
After a while, I couldn't pretend anymore, so I continued: "That tea merchant named Ma only has a little money. If I follow him, my life will be ruined."
"Then what?" Wang Xu was noncommittal.
The embroiderer looked at him eagerly, leaned forward with her fragrant body, leaned on his shoulder and continued: "In these years, I have been paying attention to the news of the young master. I know that the young master's family has done a lot of business. I think
Please help me once, Master."
"Help you, you don't know how you got out?"
Wang Xu had no expression on his face and said again: "You pay attention to my news because you want to get away with it and come back to take revenge, right? My Wang family is prosperous, have you been disappointed?"
"How could it be possible?" The embroiderer was speechless for a moment and laughed dryly: "How could it be possible?"
"Go on, don't talk about these useless things..."
Wang Xu pushed Xiu Niang away and asked her to continue talking.
Seeing that Wang Xu was unmoved, the embroiderer covered her mouth with a handkerchief and began to cry. She choked and said: "Master, it was the embroiderer who was wrong back then. But as a woman with no relatives or friends, is it wrong for the embroiderer to want to make progress?
The other maids said that I will be the young master's concubine in the future, but you don't even look at me. What do you want me to think?
I ended up in this situation by myself, and I have no regrets. It’s just that Mr. Ma is not a good match. As long as you help me and let me get through this disaster, I will definitely repay you tenfold or a hundredfold."
"Ten times, a hundred times?"
Wang Xu shook his head slightly. He was not afraid of the tea merchant named Ma, nor did he care about the five hundred thousand taels of silver.
But he doesn't run a charity hall, so why should he believe that after helping the embroiderer, he will be rewarded a thousand times.
"Nowadays, my Wang family's business generates hundreds of millions of taels of silver a year. Master, I have plenty of money. But I want to ask, I have money, why should I give it to you? Five hundred thousand taels, is it worth it to you?"
The Wang family is engaged in a unique business. As long as the manufacturing process of glass beads is not cracked, others will beg him to sell them, not him to beg them to buy them.
At present, in the land of Jiangnan, there are agents of the Wang family in every prefecture and county. Each household is inconspicuous. Taking the whole of Jiangnan into account, the interest ties created by glass beads are enough to move anyone.
The current Wang family is an emerging family in Jiangnan. Although it is only the lowest-end family and has reached the threshold of a billion-tael silver club, it is not something that ordinary people can shake.
Under this situation, he certainly didn't care about the embroiderer's reward, nor did he think it would be beneficial to help her.
"I'm worth it. I can help you become a thin horse, and I can also help you become famous. You scholars, don't you value fame and fortune the most? I can give you fame and fortune." It's hard for the embroiderer who can't protect herself to say such words.
Give people a sense of identity.
However, Wang Xu still nodded and said: "Continue talking."
"The salt merchants in Yangzhou Prefecture are hyping up thin horses, not just for enjoyment, they can also spy on intelligence. These salt merchants can know what Yangzhou Zhizhou ate last night, how many bites he took, who he met, and what he said.
You know. I can train thin horses for you and let them scatter all over Yangzhou like chess pieces, as long as..."
"It goes without saying."
Wang Xu didn't wait for the embroiderer to finish her words before interrupting her: "Sorry, this is asking for death. If this is the value you mentioned, I can only refuse."
The salt merchants domesticated Yangzhou thin horses and secretly used them as spies. Wang Xu also heard about it.
We also know that the imperial court did not take action against the salt merchants, but they were just raising pigs. Some of the actions and power of the salt merchants had violated the bottom line of the gentry.
On the surface, the life of a salt merchant seems to be full of flowers, but in fact it is a life of burning fire and oil, and everything is in danger.
Even the embroiderer knows that the thin horse can be used as a spy, but don't the wealthy family know that?
Playing secret agents, hiding weapons, and secretly raising soldiers are all leftover from the wealthy families.
In the land south of the Yangtze River, any family that can be called the home of a county commander has not raised hundreds of dead soldiers, but have you heard of these dead soldiers?
Those who play in the open are superficial and do not keep secrets well. These salt merchants will be finished sooner or later.
"I can still make you famous. I know many sisters who are good at singing and dancing, but have been buried. As long as you redeem our lives and give us a boat, we will definitely be successful. Wait until August 15th, when the Oiran Competition is held.
, every prefecture will hold an oiran competition, we can help you get the title, and at the very least, we can help you make a lot of money."
The embroiderer's tone was urgent because she could no longer think of anything else she could do to impress Wang Xu besides this.
Wang Xu narrowed his eyes slightly, and this time he did not deny it, but whispered: "Palm painting, oiran competition, fame!"
August 15th is not only the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, but also the beginning of the Oiran Competition. It is also the day to pay homage to the Dragon King.
For Jiangnan people, August 15th is more lively than the Chinese New Year.
The singing and dancing on the boat, the dragon boat race on the river, the literary conference of the literati, the feasts were one after another.
Calculating the time, it was only more than two months before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and he was in the capital of Yangzhou. It would be inappropriate not to go down and get some.
"If I give you a boat and people, will this matter happen?"
Wang Xu became interested. The end of August this year is Enke. Scholars from Yangzhou will most likely come to Yangzhou.
It is impossible for all of these people to arrive at the end of the month. Most of them have to arrive ten days and a half in advance. Based on this calculation, this Oiran Competition will probably be greater than any previous one.
If you can get some limelight at this time, you will probably gain a lot, and it will easily cause a sensation in a state.
"There is a leader, of course there is a leader. I can assure you that no matter how much you invest, you will definitely make a profit without losing anything." Seeing that there was something interesting about this, the embroiderer quickly patted her chest and promised.
Wang Xu first nodded in approval, then turned his eyes, looked at the embroiderer's face that could be broken with a finger, and said with a smile: "Can you act?"
"Acting?" Xiu Niang didn't know why.
As soon as Wang Xu asked, he knew that he had asked stupidly, and sighed: "I asked the wrong question, why don't you know how to act? You are a good actor. By chance, I have a good script here.
There is a shortage of good actors like you."
"Sir, why can't I understand?"
It was acting and scripting again, and the embroiderer was confused by Wang Xu.
Wang Xu had no intention of answering. He held a folding fan and punched it in the palm of his hand. While banging, he said: "Ten years of life and death are so vast. Without thinking, I cannot forget myself. I am alone in a tomb thousands of miles away. There is no place to express my desolation."
Tell me, if you and Ning Qing were paired with a script and this poem, would it be particularly artistic?
For example, you and Ning, your childhood sweethearts, supported you all the way from Jiaozhou and followed the procession of disaster victims to Yangzhou Prefecture. You two were separated here. You were separated for ten years. When you reunited, you had become a popular courtesan.
, Ning Qing is a dock coolie. Isn’t such a graceful love fascinating?
Similarly, after hearing about love and writing this poem, will I gain both fame and fortune?"
The embroiderer was stunned, and after a while, she muttered: "Master, this is a lie. Ning Qing has been with me for many years. We have not been separated. He is not a coolie, right?"
"Yes, but everyone is so busy, who would want to know the truth? The truth is just a piece of paper. What others see is what it looks like. No one cares what is behind the paper. How can there be anyone holding on to it?
Others say that this is all staged, isn’t it true?”
Wang Xu's eyes flashed. The modern Internet is so developed, but there is a singer who calls himself a sheepherder, and he has deceived the audience for so many years.
Who would have known a few years ago that the universally recognized sheepherder was born in a family of railway workers. He learned skills from a teacher at an early age. Before he started to take care of himself, he didn’t even know that sheep couldn’t eat dew grass.
The modern Internet is so developed that the scam was exposed only after the sheepherder became popular for several years.
The world of Confucianism is the same as in ancient times. As long as the confidentiality work is done well, will there still be experts from the Buddhist and Taoist families to speculate on the origins of Xiu Niang and Ning Qing?
The Wang Xu of today is not the Wang Xu of yesterday.
Now he is a gentleman with the reputation of being a scholar, and after the end of August, he will also be awarded the title of Juren.
In addition, he has written many famous articles, has a literary spirit to protect the body, and can ward off ghosts and gods. Some people can deduce his background.
So what if it's calculated? Wang Xu didn't say it was true. It can't be done. You have to control my script, right?
The one who makes the rules will never lose. If you don't understand this, you will be played to death and you will be useless.