Chapter 370: Cheap Confucian scholars? They aren't worth much to buy off

Defining history is defining the present, and the present eventually becomes history, which is actually equivalent to defining the future of the other side.

The "Overseas Barbarian Countries Records" is a history book compiled by the Great Ming court. According to Zhu Zhu Yijun's meaning, the Great Ming's pen-holders could write whatever they wanted. The three volumes that had already been written were completely different from what Zhu Zhu Yijun had imagined. They were not wild and imaginative at all; at the very least, they were very rigorous.

Wan Wan Shihe is the Minister of Personnel of the court, concurrently managing part of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites. Everything he wrote in the book was the truth. Of course, the parts that should have been deleted by the "Spring and Autumn brushwork" (euphemistic writing) were naturally deleted, and these truths became the Great Ming's claim to the Ten Thousand Mile Sea Pond.

The highest realm of lying is to be completely truthful.

"Grand Secretary Wan has worked hard." Zhu Zhu Yijun flipped through a few pages of the "Overseas Barbarian Countries Records." Zhu Zhu Yijun had already finished reading the previous two volumes, Lu Song and Annam. The Kingdom of Annam was not even a vassal state of the Great Ming, but a territory. As for Lu Song, it was the Red-Haired Barbarians who committed evil, and the Great Ming was punishing the wicked and comforting the people.

In short, "always being right" is correct. If the Ministry of Rites is not "always right," then is it still the Ministry of Rites?

"It is my duty." Wan Wan Shihe stood up and took his leave. He had an audience at dusk for three things: futures shipping tickets, Li Li Yashi's wife's escape, and the presentation of the newly compiled volume of the "Records of Overseas Barbarian Countries" to the Emperor. Wan Wan Shihe, who walked out of the detached palace, looked at the sparkling water of the Dragon Pool, lost in thought.

The Great Ming Emperor refused to sell futures shipping tickets. On one hand, it was to flip the table; on the other hand, it was to keep his word. The Great Ming Emperor had a gentle heart, but the wealthy households were not like that. Wang Wang Chonggu strictly ordered the Shanxi merchants not to participate in the private issuance of tickets, but some wealthy households in the Southern Southern Yamen had already begun to stir.

Money is indeed a devil that bewitches people's hearts. With the influx of a large amount of silver, the Great Ming court faced new challenges.

Wan Wan Shihe was not particularly worried. No matter how rotten the Great Ming was now, it wouldn't reach the point of the great drought and locust disaster in the fortieth year of Emperor Jiajing, where they couldn't solve the famine and chose to solve the famine victims. When the country loses its Great Dao, everyone from top to bottom is a sinner.

Limited by the information cocoon, some idiots didn't know how ruthless His Majesty's methods were.

The two Empress Dowagers also lived in the detached palace. Fifty acres of land were completely enough for the Great Ming Emperor's family to live in. Zhu Zhu Yijun was holding the "Overseas Barbarian Countries Records" and hadn't walked to his bedroom when he saw the Empress Dowagers' ceremonial guard stopped outside the palace, and immediately stopped his steps.

"Zhang Feng Daban (Great Companion), I smell danger." Zhu Zhu Yijun decisively stopped his steps. He felt it was appropriate to return to the Imperial Study now. When the two Empress Dowagers came together, it was obviously something to talk about. After Wang Wang Yaozhuo became pregnant, the pressure immediately came to the two ladies, Liu Liu Mengshu and Li Jin. Empress Dowager Li had been determined to change people if they couldn't conceive.

This was applying pressure.

"Your Majesty has eyes like torches. Why not return to the Imperial Study?" Zhang Hong asked in a low voice. The small eunuchs who opened the way were very sensible. Seeing this atmosphere, they didn't even shout that His Majesty had arrived. The Great Ming Emperor, who feared nothing in heaven or on earth, only feared the two Empress Dowagers urging him to have children.

"Quietly, don't make a noise." Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded, and the ceremonial guard began to move. The team of more than twenty people didn't make a sound, and began to turn around.

"Your Majesty! The two Empress Dowagers have been waiting for a long time." A small eunuch ran over in a hurry. His steps were very slow. When gods fight, these small eunuchs suffer, but the Empress Dowagers ordered, so the small eunuch could only shout this.

"Sigh." Zhu Zhu Yijun stopped his steps, tidied up his clothes, and the ceremonial guard immediately shook up their spirits, as if what had just happened hadn't happened.

"Greetings, Mother, Mother." Zhu Zhu Yijun walked in and said with a smile: "Mother is not chanting scriptures at the Buddha Pagoda. How come you have time to come to my place for a turn?"

Empress Dowager Li raised her eyebrows and said with a smile: "Yo, does the Emperor mean that a mother can't come to see her son and daughter-in-law? Sigh, this child is grown up and dislikes his mother's ugliness. I am truly heartbroken."

Saying she was heartbroken, but Empress Dowager Li was laughing in her eyes, while Empress Dowager Chen was in a state of watching the fun without it being too big.

"I can't win, I really can't win." Zhu Zhu Yijun waved his hands repeatedly to show his surrender. As long as Empress Dowager Li didn't interfere in state affairs, everything was fine. He asked with a smile: "Mother, what is the matter today?"

Empress Dowager Li was already very reasonable. In the late Qing Dynasty, the old witch Cixi even took the Guangxu Emperor away.

"I know the Emperor is busy, it's good to be busy. I came here this time for one thing: to give the Emperor a few concubines." Empress Dowager Li knew the Emperor was busy, and on this day of rest, he even met Li Li Yougong who had returned from afar, so she didn't talk nonsense and stated her purpose directly.

Take concubines.

"Isn't this too early? The girl is already pregnant." Zhu Zhu Yijun frowned. Liu Fei and Li Fei had served His Majesty for a long time but had no pregnancy. Empress Dowager Li had been putting pressure on Liu Fei and Li Fei. This Empress Dowager Li was obviously determined to change people if it didn't work.

This was applying pressure.

Empress Dowager Li raised her eyebrows and said with a smile: "Is it early? Emperor Shizong had enough nine concubines at seventeen. The Emperor only has three people serving him here, which is far from enough."

"I have to discuss this with the Empress." Zhu Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and still refused.

If Wang Wang Yaozhuo's belly was a daughter, and other concubines gave birth to the eldest imperial son, Wang Wang Yaozhuo wouldn't be able to be intimate with the Emperor.

When the two met, there were a bunch of rules. Those rules—if anyone were to toss around once or twice, they would be too lazy to find the Empress. To be intimate, one still had to be approved by the two Empress Dowagers. These rules were to avoid the conflict between establishing the legitimate heir or the eldest.

"It's better to have a few more children while young." Empress Dowager Li looked at Empress Dowager Chen, her tone somewhat heavy.

Empress Dowager Chen sat up straight and nodded: "Sister is right. While young, having a few more children will save trouble. Empress, what do you think?"

Empress Dowager Chen looked at Wang Wang Yaozhuo. This was ostensibly asking for Wang Wang Yaozhuo's opinion, but as a daughter-in-law, parents have orders, what could she, a daughter-in-law, say? Moreover, as Empress, Wang Wang Yaozhuo had to agree. The Emperor Jiajing Emperor had eight sons, and only one Prince Yu remained. At the moment, Zhang Zhang Juzheng was protecting him, and there had been three major events in the palace: assassinating the king, burning the palace, and attacking the Western Hills.

The center of this power vortex could be described as full of murderous intent. As a woman, Wang Wang Yaozhuo naturally didn't want to share the Emperor with others.

Wang Wang Yaozhuo bit her lip and said in a low voice: "Everything is up to Mother."

"Then it's settled?" Empress Dowager Li looked at Zhu Zhu Yijun and asked with a smile.

Zhu Zhu Yijun thought for a while and said: "At most two."

Zhu Zhu Yijun was mainly considering safety. If he learned from the Daoist and was strangled by palace maids, or stabbed with hairpins—pain was one thing, but how embarrassing it would be!

As an Emperor, Zhu Zhu Yijun could accept people scolding him, but he could never accept being laughed at.

"Done." Empress Dowager Li showed a successful smile. She originally didn't intend to succeed. The Emperor had his own ideas, and now it was the Emperor who was in charge.

If the Emperor insisted on disagreeing, Empress Dowager Li couldn't do anything either. She could issue an imperial decree to the Grand Secretariat, and the Emperor could issue an imperial decree to the Grand Secretariat. Zhang Zhang Juzheng looked at the imperial decree and the holy decree, and could only resign. Are you kidding?!

Feng Bao was immediately much more energetic. As the Emperor's "Flower and Bird Envoy," he had already stored a large number of candidates. Whatever beauty His Majesty wanted to pick, he could pick. There were even golden-haired barbarians from the West. If His Majesty wanted to taste exotic styles, it was not impossible. This was ancestral law. His preparations finally had a place to be used!

The Empress Dowager was indeed the Empress Dowager. When listening to politics, His Majesty could be manipulated at will. Since the Empress Dowager stopped listening to politics in the Qianqing Palace, as a biological mother, it was the Empress Dowager who manipulated His Majesty at will.

"Emperor, I know you dislike the trouble of having too many women. It's okay, the girl grew up by my side, can she let them turn the sky over? Set your heart at ease." Empress Dowager Li was laughing. She knew her son very well. In fact, he just disliked the noise and trouble of having too many women.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng received the Empress Dowager's decree, discussed it with Lu Lu Diaoyang and Wang Wang Guoguang, and began to issue the decree to the Ministry of Rites to handle it.

Zhu Zhu Yijun sat on the grand master's chair, looked at the circle of portraits in front of him, and asked blankly: "Feng Feng Daban, are these all for me to choose? Didn't the Empress Dowager make the decision before?"

Zhu Zhu Yijun had a resistant attitude toward taking concubines, which actually had something to do with this. Choosing a pillow companion was all "parents' orders." It wasn't that they weren't good-looking; it was mainly that the women chosen by the Empress Dowager were all "virtuous and reasonable," which meant "bland and tasteless," with nothing to chew on.

Those he liked more, the Empress Dowager definitely wouldn't like. Zhu Zhu Yijun liked to burn a bit—the kind that could melt people when they burned. Empress Dowager Li and Empress Dowager Chen wouldn't choose this kind.

Feng Bao said happily: "Choosing concubines naturally requires His Majesty to choose. The Empress Dowager said that Liu Fei and Li Fei are not satisfactory, so let His Majesty choose one he is satisfied with. These 108 portraits are all clean and innocent."

"What does the Grand Secretary say?" Zhu Zhu Yijun remembered Zhang Zhang Juzheng's stern face and asked about Zhang Zhang Juzheng's attitude. The King is selfless. Taking concubines seems to be a private matter, but it is actually a public matter. Who knows if the imperial sons born to the concubines entering the palace this time might become Emperor in the future?

"The Grand Secretary chose... quite boldly." Feng Bao's face was extremely strange.

"Oh? Good, good, good." Zhu Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Who are they? Come forward and let me see."

"Sisters in pairs, flowers blooming on the same branch." Feng Bao walked back and forth in front of the small eunuch holding the portraits, chose two of them, and came to His Majesty's side.

Sisters in pairs—obviously twins. In terms of appearance, there was naturally nothing to pick on, and there was a kind of charm between their brows, obviously born with a charming bone. Two pairs of peach-blossom eyes, the corners of the eyes slightly upturned, added a few points of coquettishness. Their eyes looked like they were drunk, and they had a few points of pitifulness. As for their figures, they were more like ripe pears, not like Wang Wang Yaozhuo's gourd shape. This pear shape naturally had a unique flavor.

"Good, good, good, Feng Feng Daban has a heart." Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly, affirming Feng Bao's work. He thought for a while, waved his hand, and said: "Put it on the right, next one."

The most famous "flowers blooming on the same branch" in history were naturally the sisters Zhao Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede of the Hancheng Emperor. The "Huo Huan" in "Huo Huan-fei-yan-shou" (plump and thin) is Yang Yang Yuhuan, and "yan" is Zhao Zhao Feiyan, which is also a synonym for a red-faced disaster.

Zhu Zhu Yijun wasn't afraid of the opposition of the ministers in the outer court; he just saw that there were still so many portraits, so he looked again.

"How come there are still those who have been married!" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at a few more portraits and asked suspiciously again.

Feng Bao said happily: "They are good at silk and bamboo instruments. At sixteen, they were already famous in Jiangnan. They have been married to get rid of their lowly status. Your Majesty, the old nanny has checked, the flower path has never been swept by guests (a metaphor for virginity), there is no problem."

Feng Bao's "no problem"—the small paths on both sides covered with flowers and grass had never been stepped on by guests.

"Feng Feng Daban has a heart, next one!" Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded and put this portrait on the right. The left side was "not liked," and the right side was "consider again."

Half an hour passed, and Zhu Zhu Yijun was finally a bit tired. To be honest, he was a bit dazzled. They were all charming and had their own styles, but to say he liked them, there weren't any he particularly liked. Emperor Wu Xun was indeed more absurd, but he also left behind many ancestral laws. For example, widows and wives could all be chosen.

Originally, it was just to please people with color, so naturally, it was how good-looking it was.

"Does Your Majesty want to see this one? This was chosen by the Grand Secretary." Feng Bao saw that His Majesty was tired and took out the big killer of the day. The small eunuch slowly unfolded the painting, and Zhu Zhu Yijun's eyes lit up. This one was truly good.

"I know. What is this scholar's name? Going back on one's word is not the act of a gentleman, he cannot be given heavy responsibilities."

Zhang Zhang Juzheng didn't choose too outrageously, but he also chose a beauty who could topple a country. This woman who made the family not peaceful was simply a fox spirit.

"Not bad, put it on the right, quickly go through the rest." Zhu Zhu Yijun was very satisfied with this, but the portrait is the portrait, and the real person is the real person. You have to see the person to know if it's a "photo fraud."

Zhu Zhu Yijun finally picked out twelve beauties, all of whom were to be seen.

"This twenty-four-year-old mother, arrange an audience tomorrow." Zhu Zhu Yijun asked people to take away the twelve portraits and left one alone—the infatuated woman.

"Your Majesty, should she stay in the detached palace?" Feng Bao was overjoyed. As His Majesty grew older and stronger, he finally opened his mind in this regard!

"Go to the Yanxing Tower. There is excitement at the Yanxing Tower tomorrow. I'm going to watch the excitement, and by the way, see this commoner woman. Li Li Yashi's lesson is already very sufficient. She has someone in her heart." Zhu Zhu Yijun planned to go to the Yanxing Tower tomorrow to watch the excitement. He was not interested in this woman; he was interested in this woman's story.

Feng Bao mentioned this Sun Xuan, which was also one of the excitements of tomorrow.

Wan Wan Shihe knew about the matter, and Zhu Zhu Yijun naturally knew it too. The atmosphere that someone intended to privately issue shipping tickets was already brewing. The Great Ming Emperor had a kind heart, but it didn't mean the powerful and wealthy were kind. The Southern Southern Yamen Shipyard naturally had official workshops, and also private workshops. Zhu Zhu Yijun wanted to go and see for himself.

The matter involved opening the seas, which was of great importance.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng's new policy and Zhu Zhu Yijun's new policy together constituted the Emperor Wanli New Policy. Zhu Zhu Yijun's new policy mainly focused on opening the seas and the technological progress and promotion of crops. Opening the seas could be said to be the top priority of Zhu Zhu Yijun's new policy.

The technology of the Great Ming Shipyard was partially open to the outside world, such as the technology of three-masted galleons, which was all open. But the scale of private workshops was still too small. Promoting private investment in opening the seas was also part of opening the seas. Under the condition of occupying a commodity advantage, Zhu Zhu Yijun didn't need to worry too much about capital flight.

After a short rest on the twenty-fourth, Zhu Zhu Yijun sat in the Zhao Wenhua Hall as usual to listen to politics. After the lecture, Zhu Zhu Yijun went to the Beijing Camp to inspect the military horses, returned to the detached palace's Imperial Study, and reviewed the day's memorials.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was very clear about Feng Bao's situation of collecting those beauties and explicitly expressed his support. Besides, he also picked a beauty for His Majesty. Zhang Zhang Juzheng didn't stop this kind of nonsense. He couldn't wait for His Majesty to be nonsense. If it weren't for the status of Grand Tutor, Zhang Zhang Juzheng would have wanted to send two Persian beauties to His Majesty.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was actually very worried about His Majesty's fatigue. State affairs were complicated, and there were too many interest factions. Dealing with them was laborious. One must combine work and rest to last long. At the moment, His Majesty was in his prime and full of energy, but what about later? The Great Ming's system design had extremely strong corrective power, but once the Emperor became slack, it would be going downhill.

The Great Ming was most afraid of slack government. It wasn't afraid of anything else. Even if it was a bit absurd, during Emperor Wu Xun's time, the Great Ming was still colorful and didn't reach the point of near-perishing like the end of the Emperor Jiajing period.

Zhu Zhu Yijun changed into casual clothes. Two completely different and contradictory styles—romantic and heroic—appeared on the young Son of Heaven. After changing into casual clothes, Zhu Zhu Yijun transformed into the young master of the Huang family, a wealthy merchant from Penglai.

Zhu Zhu Yijun's carriage disappeared into the alley outside the Yanxing Tower, and then a group of people passed through the secret doors of several houses and walked into the Yanxing Tower. The security responsible for Zhao Zhao Mengyou, the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander, was that those houses were all lived in by Embroidered Uniform Guards.

The Great Ming Emperor arrived at the Yanxing Tower and went directly to the "Heaven" class private room. Next door was today's excitement.

"This Yanxing Tower Trading House's business, everyone knows the background is deep. This group of wealthy households is discussing something, yet they chose to meet here. I really have nothing to say." Zhu Zhu Yijun leaned on the back of the grand master's chair and still didn't understand why Wan Wan Wenqing liked visiting brothels. What was fun about this brothel?

Zhu Zhu Yijun was self-disciplined. When he went to a brothel, he just watched the excitement. He didn't even order a girl to play music or accompany him for drinks, so naturally, he couldn't feel any fun. It was really out of dignity for the Emperor and his ministers to be like-minded. His Majesty didn't say it, and Feng Bao wouldn't arrange it excessively. Besides, the quality of the brothel women in the Northern Southern Yamen was too poor.

As for why the wealthy households chose the Yanxing Tower, wasn't it because the grade of the Yanxing Tower was the only one in the Northern Southern Yamen? Booking a table here meant face and lining were all taken care of. Especially for doing business, face was particularly important.

Yanxing Tower—the meaning of the revival of the Yan Mansion. The Yan Mansion was the place where the Yan Prince Mansion of Zhu Di revived back then. Wasn't this enough to show off?

The Great Ming's titles for major prince mansions were similar. For example, the Ning Prince Mansion was the Ning Mansion. The line of Jianwen-jun was called the Crown Prince Mansion. Jianwen-jun had descendants until the Emperor Jingtai period, who changed their surname to Wang Jian, so the line of Jianwen-jun was also called the "Wang Jian Commoners."

These three words "Jianwen-jun" came from the "Veritable Records of Ming" and were the official title of the Great Ming for Zhu Zhu Yunwen.

"Isn't that Wang Qian? Why is he here?" Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "Call him over."

"Yes."

Wang Qian was a regular visitor to the Yanxing Tower. As Wang's "buy-off," he bought off someone to participate in the "conspiracy." Wang Qian came over to play, which was playing "under the lamp." He didn't expect to run into His Majesty. Others were trapped in the information cocoon and didn't know who the owner of the Yanxing Tower was.

"Greetings, Your... Imperial Grandfather. Imperial Grandfather, you came to watch the excitement?" Wang Qian saluted, his expression relatively relaxed.

"Did Young Master Wang also receive the news?" Zhu Zhu Yijun was happy. This Wang Qian was a bit reckless. As the second-richest young master in the capital, as long as Wang Qian didn't do evil, Zhu Zhu Yijun wouldn't make things difficult for him for the sake of Wang Wang Chonggu. Moreover, Wang Qian had made repeated military achievements.

"Indeed, it's next door." Wang Qian said in a low voice.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked left and right, frowned, and asked: "How much did this buy-off cost?"

Wang Qian held up a finger and said: "One thousand taels. 'Not willing to bow to the powerful'—cheap Confucian scholars aren't worth much. Cheap Confucian scholars aren't even as good as those evil cult members."

Cheap Confucian scholars aren't worth much. Buying them off really isn't expensive. Wang Qian spent a full 70,000 taels on the maid of the "He Yi" group. He spent 30,000 taels to trick Wan Wan Wenqing into signing up to be a supervisory official, and Wan Wan Wenqing was half-pushed and half-willing. A fanatic and a pragmatic official—they all had prices. Only these cheap Confucian scholars were worth one thousand taels.

"Young Master Wang's words are reasonable. Cheap Confucian scholars—they aren't worth much." Zhu Zhu Yijun was happy, and everyone in the private room laughed, filled with a happy atmosphere.

Zhang Hong whispered: "Imperial Grandfather, the Zhou woman has arrived."

"Proclaim." Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded.

Wang Qian's face was extremely strange. His Majesty had been to the Yanxing Tower many times, but he had never ordered a girl once. Was the sun coming out from the west today?

A woman wearing a veil and a fox mask walked in, performed a "ten thousand blessings" salute, and sat aside, somewhat terrified.

"Let Young Master Huang laugh. Coming out to go on a blind date in public—I'm old. If I don't marry again, I'm afraid I'll die in my mother's house." Zhou Zhou Dingzhi took off her

"Yes."

Wang Qian was a regular visitor to Yanxing Tower. As Wang Shoumai, he bought someone to participate in the "conspiracy." Wang Qian came to play, which was playing in the dark under the lamp. He didn't expect to meet His Majesty. Others were trapped in an information cocoon and didn't know who the owner of Yanxing Tower was.

"See Your Maj... Imperial Grandfather, is Imperial Grandfather here to watch the fun?" Wang Qian saluted, his expression relatively relaxed.

"Did Young Master Wang also receive the news?" Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled. This Wang Qian was a bit reckless. As the second wealthiest young master in the capital, as long as Wang Qian didn't do anything wrong, for the sake of Wang Wang Chonggu, Zhu Zhu Yijun wouldn't make things difficult for him. Besides, Wang Qian had made contributions many times.

"Indeed, it's right next door." Wang Qian whispered.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked left and right, frowned, and asked, "How much did this bribery cost?"

Wang Qian stretched out a finger and said, "1,000 taels. Not willing to bow down to the powerful, the cheap Confucian is not worth money. The cheap Confucian is not as good as those evil cult members."

The cheap Confucian is not worth money, and it's really not expensive to buy them. Wang Qian spent a full 70,000 taels on the maid of the He Yi Zhong. He tricked Wan Wan Wenqing into signing up for a supervisory official position, and Wan Wan Wenqing was half-pushed and half-willing. Wang Qian also spent 30,000 taels. A fanatical believer and a compliant official all had prices, and the costs of buying them were different. Only this cheap Confucian, 1,000 taels was enough.

"Young Master Wang's words are reasonable. The cheap Confucian, he is not worth money." Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled, and everyone in the private room laughed, filled with a happy atmosphere.

Zhang Hong whispered, "Imperial Grandfather, the Zhou woman has arrived."

"Proclaim her." Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded.

Wang Qian's expression was very strange. His Majesty had been to Yanxing Tower many times, but he had never ordered a girl once. Was the sun rising from the west today?

A woman wearing a veil and a fox mask walked in, performed a respectful salute, and sat aside, feeling a bit terrified.

"Young Master Wang, go busy yourself." Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled and let Wang Qian leave. He still had a group of fox friends waiting for him.

"Imperial Grandfather, I'll take my leave."

The Zhou woman looked around. There were four retainers guarding the gate outside, two inside, two clean-shaven eunuchs beside her, and seven maids serving her. This was obviously a very wealthy family. The man sitting in the middle of the crowd was the person she was meeting for a blind date today.

The Zhou woman was here for a blind date today, and the matchmaker couldn't come up.

"Let Young Master Huang laugh. Coming out to have a blind date in public, I'm getting old. If I don't get married, I'm afraid I'll die at my parents' home." The Zhou woman took off her veil and took off her fox mask. Coming out to have a blind date in public didn't conform to customs, but at her age, there was no such thing as customs.

(Zhou woman · jpg)

"With the young lady's appearance, is there a lack of suitors?" Zhu Zhu Yijun was stunned. This girl was really beautiful. She was only twenty-four years old. With this appearance, how could she be left until now?

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi shook her head and said indifferently, "When others hear about my situation, they stop talking directly. After all, there is a drag. Being beautiful is a disadvantage in some wealthy families. I wanted to be a legal wife before, so it was even harder to find."

"It's the young master, you are young, why are you taking concubines? If the government knew about this, I'm afraid it would be very troublesome."

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was a bit curious. With this young master's appearance, family background, and demeanor, even if he said he wanted to take concubines, the threshold would have been stepped over long ago. How did he end up in a blind date?

"The orders of parents cannot be disobeyed, it's just the government." Zhu Zhu Yijun spread his hands. Zhou Zhou Dingzhi didn't know who he was, thinking he was the young owner of the Penglai Huang family. Feng Bao always did things thoroughly. If it worked, it was easy to talk about; if it didn't, it wouldn't leave any folk legends.

"I heard about the young lady's matter from Grand Eunuch Feng. Do you still have intentions for that Sun Xuan?" Zhu Zhu Yijun brought the topic to Sun Xuan.

Sun Xuan passed the provincial examination in the first year of Emperor Wanli, failed the examination in the second year of Emperor Wanli, became a student of the Imperial Academy, and passed the imperial examination in the fifth year of Emperor Wanli.

"Who hasn't been blind and heartless? At that time, I was infatuated with him after hearing a few sour poems. He had a hard life in the Imperial Academy, all relying on my family's relief. One day he passed the imperial examination and became famous, and he forgot the friendship of yesterday. My father was Zhou Yan, the Left Censor-in-Chief during the Emperor Jiajing period. The young master came to meet me, so he must know about it. My father passed away in the fourth year of Emperor Wanli, and he walked away, instead blaming me for not being willing to make a private promise for life with him." Zhou Zhou Dingzhi explained the past clearly. This matter of hers was very clear as long as one inquired slightly.

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was also very glad that she still had some reason back then. If she had fallen for the tricks of a scholar, it wouldn't just be losing money, but even losing her person, which would be even less worthwhile, not even having a chance to please others with her beauty.

Zhou Yan passed away in the fourth year of Emperor Wanli, and the Zhou family lost all its utility value. Sun Xuan, who passed the imperial examination, abandoned her cleanly and neatly. He was indeed a material for being an official.

"Imperial Grandfather, Sun Xuan has arrived." Zhang Hong reminded him. Zhu Zhu Yijun looked downstairs. The heartless Sun Xuan was downstairs.

Accompanying him was another person, whom Zhu Zhu Yijun recognized: Xu Heng, the adopted son of the former Chief Grand Secretary/wealthy man Xu Xu Jie. He was called an adopted son, but he was actually his biological son, the son of Xu Xu Jie's mistress, about the same age as Xu Fan.

Xu Heng walked in first. After welcoming everyone in, he looked left and right, then closed the door, signaling everyone to be quiet, and whispered, "Gentlemen, I received news that the private market in Guiyan Bay has been destroyed by Yin Yin Zhengmao!"

Sun Xuan's expression changed greatly, and he said angrily, "How unreasonable!"

Zhou Zhou Dingzhi was infatuated with Sun Xuan at the age of sixteen after hearing his sour poems, and she provided relief for Sun Xuan's life in the Imperial Academy. Sun Xuan's family didn't like Sun Xuan and forced Zhou Zhou Dingzhi to marry someone else. Zhou Zhou Dingzhi simply adopted the nine-year-old girl as her daughter, showing her determination not to marry anyone but Sun Xuan. After Zhou Zhou Dingzhi's Left Censor-in-Chief father died, Sun Xuan married someone else. I'm afraid everyone didn't understand, so I summarized it again. Please ask for monthly tickets, Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)