In the private room on the second floor of Zhongzhen Restaurant, Xiao Chen sat quietly at the table, waiting for someone to knock on the door.
On the table is a plate of fried peanuts and a pot of soju.
Wang Zhongzheng originally planned to serve Xiao Chen the best dishes in the restaurant, but he refused.
I'm just talking to him. I can't eat much food, and it's a waste if you serve it.
These are Xiao Chen's original words.
There was a lot of traffic on the street outside, and people had begun their busy day.
Looking outside the window, Xiao Chen looked calm, picked up a peanut and threw it into his mouth.
"Bang bang bang." There was a slight knock on the door of the private room.
"The door is open, come in yourself." Xiao Chen said softly without raising his head.
"Creak..." The door was slowly pushed open, and a figure walked in.
She was dressed in white gauze, with her hair tied up in a bun, and holding a dark red guqin in her arms. She seemed to have not had time to apply rouge, and her face was very pale.
At this moment, the shopkeeper Wang Zhongzheng saw the woman in white going upstairs and hurried to the Zhongzheng Inn next door.
In the jade-named upper room of the inn, Mr. Zhang, dressed in gray cloth, leaned against the window and looked at the passers-by on the street.
He seemed to be absent-minded, so he turned around and glanced at the door of the guest room.
There was a sound of slight footsteps approaching from far away, and then, the door was gently pushed open, and Wang Zhongzhen walked in with a look of joy on his face.
"Is he here today?" Mr. Zhang turned around quickly and asked expectantly.
"Come, come." Wang Zhongzhen nodded excitedly, "He is very trustworthy. Not only did he send all the fees, but he also took the discounts I gave him."
"Okay, okay, you know how to understand the difficulties of businessmen, that's good, that's good."
"General, do you want to go over and meet him today? This is an opportunity. There is no one around him." Wang Zhongzhen looked at Mr. Zhang with a hopeful look.
"Regardless of violating the Dongchang system, he sent Cao Zheng back to send me a message, asking me to leave the capital and not take any further actions. He had already guessed that I was the biggest planner of this matter. Thinking of the master and apprentice, he gave me
I have left a way out. We can stop taking action for the time being, but how can we retreat? It is only a matter of time that we recognize him, that's all, that's all, let's talk about this matter some time later." After hesitating again and again, Zhang Lao gave up.
Waving his hands, he looked out the window again.
"General, since he already knows, I think it's best to explain the truth to him as soon as possible. If you delay it, I'm afraid it will make him misunderstand you more and more." Wang Zhongzhen took a step forward and whispered.
No matter how big and powerful my team is, they will always be just servants.
Now, the master is standing in front of him, but he doesn't recognize him. Wang Zhongzhen is always a little reluctant in his heart.
Especially the close conversation with Xiao Chen yesterday made him suddenly have the urge to stay with Xiao Chen and take care of him throughout his life.
Mr. Zhang turned around, held the back of the chair with both hands, raised his head, and slowly closed his eyes: "No matter how big his misunderstanding of me is, I am not afraid. As long as he is safe, anything can be said. In the past, we always used the great cause
I have ignored his feelings, but now I think about it carefully, if he and we turn against each other, even if the great cause is achieved, who will inherit it? I think, let him calm down for a while, and then talk about acquaintance. "
"General, there is no need to recognize each other now. He already knows that you planned all of this. What we have to do now is to confront him head-on. Tell him the truth, and let's work together to achieve a great cause."
Mr. Zhang shook his head and smiled faintly: "Conspire for a great cause? He won't."
"No?" Wang Zhongzhen was startled, "Even if he is now dedicated to working for the court and has no intention of rebellion, we should always let him know his life experience, right? We can give up our great cause, but how can we not avenge our father's hatred?"
"Presumptuous." The elder roared and suddenly turned around, "How can we give up our great cause? This country was won by his father, and it should be returned to him. The Zhu family dynasty must be overthrown, and all people named Zhu will be defeated.
Damn it."
Wang Zhongzhen lowered his head and stopped talking. His face was full of helplessness and he shook his head helplessly.
"He grew up in Dongchang, and now he is getting along with high-ranking officials in the imperial court. It will take time for him to change his stance. Although it is difficult, he must change. This is his mission. It is also my fault that because of the incident that year
Suddenly, he was left alone. If he had been kept by his side, would there have been a situation like today's enemy? No matter what, we must not back down from our own ambitions to achieve great things. If we all back down,
I’m afraid we really won’t be able to achieve our great cause.”
Mr. Zhang's tone softened.
"General, he is really outstanding. Go and meet him. Maybe, after knowing his life experience, he will stand on our side." Wang Zhongzhen comforted him again.
Mr. Zhang frowned slightly: "What's wrong with you? You just met him once yesterday and you can't wait to get to know him?"
With a "pop" sound, Wang Zhongzhen fell to his knees on the ground, with tears rolling down his eyes, "General, you will know when you see him."
"It's not like I haven't met him before. I am his master, and I even fought against him not long ago."
"He was still a child when you taught him skills. Some time ago, you played against him at night." Wang Zhongzhen wiped his eyes and said eagerly.
"You mean, what he looks like now???"
"Yes." Wang Zhongzhen nodded vigorously, "The aloofness in his brows is exactly the same as that of the general. When I see him, I think of the general."
Speaking of this, Wang Zhongzhen, the richest man in the capital and the most famous person in the world, burst into tears.
"That's all. Now that you say that, I really want to meet him. I want to see how much of the general's demeanor he has now. You go and make arrangements."
"He is now questioning the new piano player in the restaurant, who seems to be his old friend. After they finish talking, I will go and talk to him," Wang Zhongzhen said.
"Musician? Old friend?" Mr. Zhang muttered slowly, as if he didn't understand when he had an old friend who was a musical instrument.
"Well, it's not too late to ask the general when he sees him." Wiping his eyes, Wang Zhongzhen instantly smiled again.
In the private room of Zhongzhen Restaurant, Xiao Chen was still eating the peanuts in front of him calmly, as if he was indifferent to the people who came in.
The "woman" in white held the guqin in her arms, stood quietly behind Xiao Chen, opened her mouth, but did not make any sound.
"Young Master Ouyang is so elegant. He left the academy to attend school instead of managing it, and went to the capital to dress up as a woman and play the piano to earn money?" Xiao Chen put down the chopsticks in his hand, slowly turned around, and stared at the dark red guqin in the other person's hand.
"Why, in order to forget what happened in the past, you even threw away the guqin that has been with you for many years?"
The "woman" in front of her, dressed in white and with her hair tied up in a bun, is none other than Ouyang Xiaoke, who Xiao Chen entrusted to him the Auditing Academy of Baoding Prefecture.
"The villain is incompetent. He failed to defend Ouyang Academy, let alone the guqin. He failed to live up to Mr. Xiao's high expectations." With his head lowered, Ouyang Xiaoke seemed to speak with his stomach, and his voice was as low as a mosquito buzzing.
Xiao Chen knew Ouyang Xiaoke's character very well. He probably felt guilty in his heart when he spoke in such a low voice.
Pointing to the chair next to him, Xiao Chen said: "Come, sit down and tell me the whole story clearly."
Without answering, Ouyang Xiaoke put the guqin in his arms on the table and sat on the chair. With his free hands, he kneaded the corners of his clothes, seeming to organize his own words.
"Mr. Xiao, are you having trouble with Jin Yiwei?" After holding it in for a long time, Ouyang Xiaoke finally managed to say something.
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Xiao Chen took out a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick cage on the table and gently placed them in front of the other party.
"One night a few days after you left with the prince, people from the Jin Yiwei arrived. They said that the auditorium was a den of rebels and rebels, and they were not allowed to continue. They also asked those of us who stayed to leave overnight."
Ouyang Xiaoke said softly.
"The people from Jinyiwei are not even allowed to attend the academy?" Xiao Chen's face was expressionless, but his eyes gradually became colder.
"Yes. Several students argued with them, saying that the Audit Academy had been investigated by Dongchang, and those who remained were irrelevant personnel. But after hearing this, the people from the Jinyiwei were furious, and they talked about the student.
All the teeth were knocked out.”
Raising his head and glancing at Xiao Chen, Ouyang Xiaoke slowly lowered his head.