Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 64

(PS: Today's state is extremely bad, friends will just watch, Pure Wolf strives to adjust as soon as possible.)
Zhang Weixian, the British Duke with the highest title in the Ming Dynasty celebrated his fiftieth birthday, and held a banquet to entertain all the officials. Of course, Young Master Zhang who received the invitation could not go there empty-handed. In addition, Zhang Weixian’s daughter held an umbrella for Young Master Zhang at the door of Zou Yuanbiao’s house. , Young Master Zhang, who has been thinking about this kind of favor, can't help but put a lot of thought into the gift.It is definitely not good to directly give away the gold, silver and jewelry that Jiu Qiansui likes. With Zhang Weixian's reputation, it will not be so vulgar as that of Jiu Qiansui; giving the antique calligraphy and paintings that literati like, Young Master Zhang feels a bit shabby and arty.After thinking about it, Young Master Zhang stared at the few short-handled matchlock guns he had just bought from a Portuguese businessman, picked a pair from the middle, and asked a master craftsman to inlay gold patterns on the wooden handles, and put them in incense sandalwood. It was a birthday gift for Zhang Weixian in the gift box. ——Of course, for Zhang Weixian's daughter's kindness, Master Zhang didn't forget to buy her a beautiful model of a western carriage.

In the evening of the next day, Young Master Zhang rushed to the British residence on time for a banquet. When he arrived at the door, Wei Zhongxian's two confidants, Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan, had already arrived. Cui Chengxiu, who had a good relationship with Young Master Zhang, was still waiting in front of the door. When the young master got off the horse, Cui Chengxiu went forward to make out with the young master Zhang. While saying some irrelevant polite words, he reminded the young master in a low voice: "Be careful, that bastard Feng Quan likes to sue behind his back the most." , don’t get too close to the Duke of England.”

"Thank you, Mr. Cui, I understand." Young Master Zhang nodded——Feng Quan is indeed a dark-hearted and annoying guy. Quan sharpened his head again and wanted to squeeze into the cabinet. He wanted to squeeze out the current chief assistant Gu Bingqian and replace him. He also wanted to squeeze out Cui Chengxiu and become Wei Zhongxian's number one confidant. The relationship with Gu Bingqian, Cui Chengxiu and others was very bad. Seeing the fire with insight, but deliberately pretending not to know.And because Young Master Zhang was too close to Cui Chengxiu and Gu Bingqian in the eunuch party, Feng Quan naturally regarded him as a small nail on his way up, and he usually killed Young Master Zhang in front of Wei Zhongxian overtly and secretly. medicine.

Holding hands with Cui Chengxiu, they entered the hall of Zhang Weixian's birthday banquet. There were already many court officials seated in the hall, and the hypocrisy and politeness between each other was very lively. I found that something was wrong—the people sitting in this hall, except for Zhang Weixian's relatives, almost none of the Donglin Party officials who had been registered in the Donglin District, most of them were officials from the neutral faction in the imperial court. The rest were all Wei party officials, and the total number of guests was not very large. There were only ten tables of banquets. Compared with Zhang Weixian's status, it obviously did not set off very well.Young Master Zhang couldn't help being a little puzzled: "Eh? Zhang Guogong's [-]th birthday, why are you so hasty? Only so few people were invited?"

"What Zhang Tanhua said is very true. This birthday banquet is indeed a temporary decision." Zhang Weixian's kind laughter came from behind.Young Master Zhang and Cui Chengxiu looked back, only to see Zhang Weixian, who was wearing a wedding gown embroidered with birthday characters, was smiling all over his face. Quan.Zhang Weixian clasped his hands and said with a smile: "Master Cui, Tanhualang, don't blame me. In fact, I like cleanliness. I originally thought that it would be fine if the family gathered together to have a meal and pray for my birthday, but my children disagreed, so I insisted on forcing me to celebrate my birthday." The old man couldn't resist the filial piety of his children, so he temporarily decided to hold ten tables and invite some relatives and friends from the court to the banquet. Because of the hasty preparation, many adults only received the invitations yesterday. The two adults forgive me."

"Don't dare, dare not, Master Zhang is too polite." Cui Chengxiu and Young Master Zhang hurriedly returned the salute.Cui Chengxiu murmured in her heart again, "Damn it, why did Feng Quan, a bastard, go with Zhang Weixian? I have to report this to Jiu Qiansui!" At the same time, Young Master Zhang also muttered in his stomach, "What Zhang Weixian said is obviously an excuse. Could it be that he is also an idiot, seeing that Wei Zhongxian is powerful, he tried every means to get close to Wei Zhongxian, and by the way put aside the relationship between him and the Donglin Party? If this is the case, then Wei Zhongxian is really in the court. No one can restrain and deter."

"Tanhualang, what gift is that in your hand?" Feng Quan noticed the two gift boxes in Master Zhang's hand, and said with a smile: "Hey, why are there two gift boxes? Could it be that Tanhualang intends to give Zhang Guogong offered two birthday gifts?"

"Zhang Guogong, I wish you good fortune like the East Sea, and a longer life than Nanshan. It's just a small gift, so I don't show respect." Young Master Zhang didn't bother to talk to Feng Quan, and directly held the slightly bigger gift box in front of Zhang Weixian.Zhang Weixian seemed to be very concerned about what Young Master Zhang gave him, so he opened the gift box immediately after receiving the gift box, revealing the two muskets inlaid with gold handles. Feng Quan immediately made a fuss and exclaimed: "Tanhualang, Zhang Guogong's big day, why did you send it like this?" The ominous thing, is it too spoiling the scenery?"

"Master Feng, you are the one who spoiled the scenery, right?" Cui Chengxiu confronted each other, and sneered, "Mr. Zhang Guo came from a famous family, and his ancestors produced many famous generals. Tan Hualang offered firecrackers, which can be used not only for self-defense, but also for killing enemies on the battlefield. Isn't that true? Isn't it out of respect for the British princes of all ages?"

"Master Cui's words are very true. The old man likes Tanhualang's gift very much." Zhang Weixian didn't stand by Feng Quan's side because Feng Quan stood close to him, but kindly thanked Young Master Zhang for his gift.Young Master Zhang held up the smaller wooden box again, smiled apologetically to Zhang Weixian and said, "Mr. Zhang, as for the things inside, they are gifts from the lower officials to Ling Qianjin."

"Give it to my daughter? I have three daughters, which one do you think?" Zhang Weixian asked in surprise.Young Master Zhang was a little dumbfounded, and quickly explained: "It's the lady who held an umbrella for the lower officials to shade the sun in front of Mr. Zou Yuanbiao last time. She wears a veil and claims to be your daughter, Duke Zhang, isn't she?"

"Umbrella for you in front of Mr. Zou's door?" Zhang Weixian was stunned again, then came to his senses, and said with a smile: "I see, it must be that little girl Qing Yun, who runs out all day, where the excitement goes, where is it?" There's really nothing you can do about her with a ladylike style."

"It turns out that little sister is called Zhang Qingyun. She has a good name, but I don't know what she looks like." Young Master Zhang murmured in his heart, held up the gift box again, and said with a smile: "Then it should be this little lady Zhang Qingyun. That day, the sun first followed by the rainstorm , If it wasn’t for Miss Zhang, the umbrella and the coir raincoat, the official would not be able to kneel for so long, nor would he be able to fulfill his father’s wish. With a little care, please Zhang Guogong forward a letter to the daughter of the order, and express my gratitude to the official.”

"Since Tanhua Lang said so, then Zhang Weixian will not be polite. I would like to thank Tanhua Lang on behalf of my daughter." Zhang Weixian did not refuse, and directly passed the gift from Young Master Zhang, and ordered the servant to send it to his daughter immediately, and said After a few polite words, he pointed to the banquet hall and said, "My lords, it's getting late, and the banquet is about to start. Please come in." Thanks to Young Master Zhang and others, and then we met with Cui Chengxiu, Feng Quan and others. Take a seat.

Although Young Master Zhang is well-known in the capital, he is not a big official, so Young Master Zhang chose the sixth seat very wisely and carefully, sitting with several eunuch officials of the fourth and fifth ranks, neither conspicuous nor unobtrusive. It is easy to attract gossip.Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan, who were sent by Wei Zhongxian to attend the birthday banquet on their behalf, had a conflict - neither of them wanted to be overwhelmed by the other, so naturally they both wanted to sit at the head of the table, and they held down the head of the table with their hands The chair was not put away, but their mouths were modest, "Master Cui, please sit down." "No no, Mr. Feng, please sit down."

"Thank you Master Cui for admitting, then I will not be polite to you as an official." Feng Quan unceremoniously put his buttocks on the chief position of the head table originally arranged for Wei Zhongxian, and he seemed to be Wei Zhongxian's plenipotentiary representative.Cui Chengxiu was so angry that her face turned blue and white, and finally sat down to the second seat resentfully.Seeing this scene, Young Master Zhang trembled in his heart, and said to himself: "Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan are fighting like this. I'm afraid that there will be a decisive battle sooner or later within the eunuch party." Zhang Weixian and Zhang Guoji secretly looked at each other, and they both saw each other. The look of joy in the other person's eyes.

After a while, the banquet was set up, and officials at all levels participating in the birthday banquet began to toast to Zhang Weixian, and then to each other to their colleagues. Of course, Young Master Zhang couldn't avoid it. They toasted one after another—but out of gratitude for Cui Chengxiu's help in Xiong Tingbi's case, Young Master Zhang deliberately led a group of low-level Wei Party officials to respect Cui Chengxiu first and then Feng Quan. Sure enough, she was sensible and helped herself regain face.Feng Quan, who was narrow-minded, was so angry that his face turned blue and his mouth turned pale, but he didn't want to explode on the spot, so he could only drink the wine toasted by Young Master Zhang bitterly.

Lively and boring - this is the accurate evaluation of Young Master Zhang on Zhang Weixian's birthday banquet. Seeing that this boring banquet will last for a long time, Young Master Zhang escaped from the hall with the excuse of urinating and went to the yard to get some fresh air.After coming out of the living room, the moon and stars were sparse, and taking a few deep breaths in the flowery garden, Young Master Zhang, who had been drinking a little dizzy, suddenly felt that his eyes were clear and comfortable, but at this moment, Young Master Zhang heard a voice coming from behind. A crisp voice like a silver bell said, "Tanhualang, don't come here without any problems."

"Who?" Young Master Zhang hurriedly turned his head, only to see under the dim moonlight, a beautiful girl with a graceful figure and colorful clothes fluttering, standing pretty in the midst of blooming flowers, with a faintly otherworldly appearance, we can see Young Master Zhang was stunned for a moment, almost thinking that it was a fairy descending to earth.The girl showed her face and smiled again, she was truly overwhelmed by the city, and the blooming peonies and begonias beside her also lost their color in an instant, and immediately made Young Master Zhang stunned again, suspecting that she was in a dream, and couldn't help asking: "What is this?" Little lady, are you a human or a fairy?"

"Tanhualang, my little girl Zhang Qingyun." The girl bit her lips lightly and replied gently.Only then did Young Master Zhang come to his senses, and hurriedly cupped his hands in salute, and said, "It turns out to be Zhang Guogong's daughter, Miss Zhang, Xiaosheng is disrespectful and disrespectful."

"Tanhua Lang doesn't need to be too polite, but Qingyun would like to thank you for the exquisite gift, I like it very much." Zhang Qingyun gave a blessing and returned the gift to Young Master Zhang.Young Master Zhang hurriedly cupped his hands again, "Miss Zhang, you don't have to be polite. If you hadn't helped Master Zou that day, Xiaosheng would have suffered a lot."

Zhang Qingyun's pretty face seemed to turn red, but the bright moon was just half covered by a cloud, and it was difficult for Young Master Zhang to see her true face, but he just felt intoxicated and dizzy, with a dry mouth feeling, and his usual glib tongue was completely forgotten , Can't find half a Huatou to talk to Zhang Qingyun.In the end, it was Zhang Qingyun who took the initiative to say: "By the way, Mr. Zhang, there is one more thing Qingyun wants to apologize to you. That day at the Jinshui Bridge outside Chengtianmen, you were..."

"Forget it, there's no need to apologize." Young Master Zhang waved his hand generously, and rushed to say, "It was your brother who stepped on me, not you. But your precious brother Zhang Qing needs to be disciplined—— He stepped on me and jumped up, and bit back and said that I was the one who hurt his feet. If he doesn't correct his temper, he will definitely cause trouble for Zhang Guogong in the future."

Zhang Qingyun was also stunned for a while before asking in a strange tone: "Tanhualang, is your impression of my brother really that bad?" Young Master Zhang, who was already drunk, replied casually: "It's not bad at all. , I just don’t like his temper a little bit. It may be that Zhang Guogong and you brothers and sisters are too spoiled to him, so he has developed such a temper. Of course parents should love their children, but the book of filial piety also said- —Lovely mother but a loser, if you continue to pamper him like this, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to his future."

Zhang Qingyun pursed her thin pink lips, and said after a while: "Tanhualang, I heard that you are going to go south to the south of the Yangtze River by order, is there such a thing?" Young Master Zhang nodded and replied: "Yes, I am going to the south of the Yangtze River Fundraising for disaster relief, but Miss Zhang, how do you know?"

"Zhang Tanhua is famous in the capital, and everyone pays attention to his every move. Of course, Qingyun has heard of such a big errand." Zhang Qingyun smiled playfully, and then said softly: "Tanhualang, since you are going to Jiangnan, then you will How about my younger brother? My younger brother was spoiled and spoiled since he was a child, if you take him out to see the world and learn a lot, you might be able to change his temper."

"This..." Young Master Zhang didn't expect that Zhang Qingyun would make such a request, and he wanted to refuse directly but was embarrassed, so he could only politely say: "Of course I have no problem, but I'm afraid that Young Master Zhang won't go. The old lady didn't agree either."

"As long as Tanhualang agrees, I will arrange the rest." Zhang Qingyun quickly replied, and then pleaded softly: "Tanhualang, this is a little request from my little girl, please be sure to agree."

"Then... alright." Young Master Zhang owed Zhang Qingyun a favor, so he could only nod in resignation and replied, "I'll set off in three days, and I'm lucky to go south. If Miss Zhang, you can persuade Zhang Guogong and the old lady, you can bring your brother to Leave it to me at the pier."

"Well, it's settled. I'll go and persuade my brother now." Zhang Qingyun smiled coquettishly, waved to Young Master Zhang, turned around and disappeared into the sea of ​​flowers.Seeing her leaving back, Young Master Zhang scratched his head and muttered: "God bless, Zhang Guogong, please don't agree, it will be troublesome enough to bring Wei Liangqing and Fu Yingxing, and if you bring that kid Zhang Qing, I will It's even more of a headache. At that time, maybe I won't even have time to find Chen Yuanyuan and Qin Huai Bayan."

Delayed by Zhang Qingyun's matter, when Young Master Zhang returned to the hall, some of the guests attending the birthday banquet had already started to leave. Feng Quan and Cui Chengxiu, who represented Wei Zhongxian, also bid farewell to Zhang Weixian at the same time because of their busy work.Zhang Weixian didn't keep it either, just took out a gift box and said with a smile: "Master Feng, Master Cui, what is inside is a jade pillow that Emperor Chengzu gave to our Zhang family back then, and Zhang Weixian intends to give it to Jiuqian as a gift in return." , I wonder if one of you adults can work hard to deliver gifts to the Nine Thousand Years Mansion for Zhang Weixian?"

"The jade pillow that Emperor Chengzu bestowed on the Duke of England? Zhang Weixian has also started to seek refuge with Nine Thousand Years!" Almost everyone was terrified, knowing that this might be a signal that the leaders of the neutral faction in the court had completely turned to Wei Zhongxian.Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan also understood this truth, they both stretched out their hands to pick it up, and said in unison: "Mr. Zhang, I am willing to help you."

Reporting to Wei Zhongxian the news that the British public Zhang Weixian tried to defect to the Wei Party is naturally a great contribution to Cui Chengxiu and Feng Quan, and they are absolutely unwilling to share it with each other, so the two fight each other , No matter what he said, he refused to be humble, and the situation fell into a stalemate for a while.Seeing this scene, a thought suddenly flashed in Young Master Zhang's mind, "Two peaches kill three scholars! This British Duke is really not easy!"

(End of this chapter)