Chapter 186 Yuan Wenshao
"Grandma, I..."
"Come and sit."
Old Madam Sheng interrupted Minglan and waved her hand.
Upon hearing this, Minglan came and sat down next to her grandmother.
"You've suffered a lot." Old Lady Sheng took Minglan's hand and patted it.
She also understood Minglan's intention, which was simply that she didn't want to embarrass her.
It's also for my mother and younger brother.
With her words in mind, neither Sheng Hong nor Madam Wang dared to demand it by force.
They didn't dare to do anything to her openly, but they might vent their anger on Wei Xiaoniang and Lin Ge'er.
Old Madam Sheng also knew that what Minglan did was the best way.
However, the more sensible Minglan was, the more distressed she felt.
"Grandma, my granddaughter is not suffering." Minglan smiled and shook her head.
“How can it not be bitter? It’s only when you have experienced more bitterness that you don’t think it’s bitter anymore.” Old Mrs. Sheng shook her head.
Why is it that when a legitimate daughter gets married, even though she brings many maids as a dowry, some families still choose girls from the family's side branches or the legitimate daughter to marry as a dowry?
Isn't it because if a maid becomes favored, she may be out of control?
But girls from side branches and concubines' daughters did not dare to do so, because they had people they cared about and could be easily manipulated.
The only thing a maid can control is her bond. Even if the child is a family-born child, if she is favored, there is still a way to get her bond back.
But girls from side branches and concubines' daughters had no way to escape.
Take Minglan for example. When she marries into the Eastern Palace in the future, even if she has her own schemes and means, such as Ruolan is more favored, she still has to help Ruolan with all her heart.
Unless she doesn't care about the life or death of her mother and brother.
Otherwise, Madam Wang could deal with Madam Wei as long as she had a suitable excuse, and Crown Prince Zhao Xing would not be able to do anything about it.
After all, even if he is the emperor, it makes no sense for him to interfere in other people's affairs in the harem.
Clans are even easier to control. To some extent, clan rules are more important than national laws.
For example, some things do not constitute a crime according to the law, but they violate clan rules and will be punished according to family rules.
Even if you beat someone to death, the government won't care.
Old Madam Sheng has taught Minglan for many years and is well aware of her abilities.
However, no matter how capable Minglan is, as a dowry, it is difficult for her to escape the fate of becoming Rulan's vassal.
"Grandma, your granddaughter is really not suffering." Minglan shook her head.
Minglan lives a very clear life. She neither accepts her fate nor resigns herself to it.
At first, she found it difficult to accept her fate of being a dowry and a vassal of Rulan.
But after a long time, she accepted her fate.
However, she will not complain about her fate like others, but will try to make herself live a better life when she cannot change her fate.
To be honest, among the brothers and sisters of the Sheng family, Minglan is the only one who inherited Sheng Hong's tactfulness.
…………
Zhao Xing didn't know what had happened in the Sheng family. After breakfast, he took the remaining mirrors and went to the palace.
Sheng Wei sent more than a dozen mirrors yesterday. In addition to giving them to Yu Yanran and the others, Zhao Xing also asked Zhang Feng to take one to Zhang Guifen.
He took the rest with him and prepared to give them to Empress Cao and his mother.
As for how they distribute it, that is their business.
Zhao Xing was not interested in trying to please his father's other concubines. After all, those concubines, even the most favored Concubine Rong, were polite when they saw him.
If Zhao Xing had many brothers, he would still worry about their gossip, but as an only son, what does he have to be afraid of?
On the contrary, those concubines not only did not dare to offend him, but also had to please him.
After all, when he ascends the throne in the future, the treatment of these people will depend on his mood.
Empress Cao received several mirrors. She kept one for herself and had the rest given to Rong Fei and other favored concubines.
As the queen, her position is still very stable and she does not need to show favor to these concubines, but she still needs to be magnanimous.
Concubine Zhu kept one side and had the other two sent to the Zhu family.
The palace seems to be a large courtyard with high walls, but some things that are not very secret will soon spread out.
The news that the nobles in the palace had obtained a very clear mirror soon spread to the noble ladies in the families of the nobles and officials in Bianliang.
Some of the more respectable ones even went to the palace to have a look.
Those who were not respectable, upon learning that Concubine Zhu had sent two noodles to the Zhu family, all found excuses to go to the Zhu family to take a look.
In just a few days, the news about the mirror spread throughout Bian Jing.
Everyone knows that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a mirror in his hand that reflects very clearly.
As the saying goes, what goes up leads to results.
The King of Chu liked thin waists, and many people in the palace starved to death. Duke Huan of Qi liked purple clothes, and the price of purple cloth rose steadily and was sold out.
The popularity of Song Dynasty Ci was also due to the fact that the monarchs of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms liked it.
The mirror was said to be so magical that some people who had never had the chance to see it began to inquire about its origins and wanted to buy one.
Some people even came to Zhao Xing for help.
After Zhao Xing learned the news, he notified Sheng Wei to hurry up and open Liuli Pavilion.
"I have to say that making money in ancient times was not too easy." Zhao Xing smiled slightly.
He sent mirrors into the palace to Empress Cao and his mother for publicity purposes.
However, he felt that if he used the emperor and his concubines, even if it was just a stone, many people would rush to buy it.
To put it bluntly, this is a kind of celebrity effect.
As the saying goes, every autumn rain brings a chill. A few days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, there was a heavy rain, and another heavy rain at the end of the month.
After two consecutive heavy rains, the temperature dropped sharply, and it was already cool in the morning and evening. In mid-September, the Liuli Pavilion located on Nanmen Street in the inner city officially opened.
Nanmen Street is also called Imperial Street. It got this name because the whole street was built in imitation of Suzaku Avenue in Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty.
During the Tang Dynasty, Zhuque Avenue was the imperial road, so it was named Imperial Street.
Nanmen Street was also the highest-end shopping street in the inner city of Bianjing.
Usually, those who first enter are dignitaries and their families. Ordinary people rarely come here for fear of offending the dignitaries and causing disaster.
Therefore, although Nanmen Street is the highest-end commercial street in Bianjing, it is not very crowded on weekdays.
However, today, due to the opening of Liuli Pavilion, the road outside the store was blocked.
Even the inner city's military was dispatched to clear the confusion, but the effect was not great.
Although most of those sent to queue were servants, as the saying goes, the seventh-rank official is the most important person in front of the prime minister.
The people behind these people are not simple people. As long as they don't cause trouble, the Five Cities Army can't do anything to them.
Opposite the Liuli Pavilion is a restaurant. Although there is a lot of noise outside, it is unusually quiet inside the restaurant.
There were so many people blocking the way outside that the restaurant suffered an unexpected disaster.
Fortunately, a customer booked the restaurant today and paid enough money, otherwise the restaurant owner would be crying.
In a private room on the third floor of the restaurant facing the street, Zhao Xing stood in front of the window, looking at the crowded crowd below and the soldiers of the Central City Military Division who were trying hard to clear the road, and asked in surprise: "Zhong Huai, the captain leading the team is Yuan Wenshao?"
"That's right." Gu Tingye nodded.
Zhao Xing nodded slightly when he heard this and watched with interest.
He had nothing to do, so he came to see how the business of Liuli Pavilion was going.
Because there were many people opening for Liuli Pavilion and it was a bit chaotic, they asked someone to book the restaurant opposite.
When a group of soldiers from the Inner City Military Division rushed over to clear the road, Zhao Xing didn't pay much attention. However, Gu Tingye said that the captain leading the team was Yuan Wenshao, the second son of Earl Zhongqin.
The reason why Gu Tingye introduced Yuan Wenshao to Zhao Xing was not because they had a good relationship.
One of the two families is a marquis and the other is an earl. Although both are honorary lords, the Yuan family was involved in a dispute over the succession in the early years and lost the title. Although the current emperor has conducted a thorough investigation after taking power and restored the title, the confiscated ancestral property has not been returned.
Therefore, the Yuan family had an empty title, but was a laughing stock in the lord's family.
The reason he introduced her was because Yuan Wenshao married the eldest daughter of the Sheng family.
The other legitimate daughter of the Sheng family was Zhao Xing's future concubine.
Zhao Xing still had some impression of Yuan Wenshao, and thought that this man had decent abilities.
In addition to his relationship with Sheng Hualan, Zhao Xing wanted to see how he would handle the current situation. If he was satisfied, he could use her.
Yuan Wenshao didn't know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was watching him. Seeing that those people were still doing what they wanted even though his throat was smoking, he gritted his teeth and said, "If anyone doesn't listen to my advice again, I will arrest them!"
The deputy captain who was following nearby was startled when he heard this and reminded him, "Captain, many of these people are servants of nobles and officials. If they are arrested, it will be a big trouble."
Yuan Wenshao's face darkened. "We can't let them block the road like this. The current prefect of Kaifeng is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince hears about this, have you ever thought about the consequences?"
"But the commanders don't..."
"enough!"
Yuan Wenshao interrupted the deputy lieutenant and said, "If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility. Just follow the order."
"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the deputy captain immediately took the order and left.
Soon, the soldiers' scolding was heard again.
However, those people in the queue were not afraid at all. Not only did they pretend not to hear anything, they were also pointing and laughing as if they were mocking him.
The soldiers, who had already been angry, rushed forward to arrest people when they saw this.
It was a mess for a while.
"Zhong Huai, what would you do if it were you?" Zhao Xing asked.
"If it were me, I would do the same, but I would do it this way from the beginning." Gu Tingye said.
Zhao Xing nodded slightly, but Yuan Wenshao's performance already made him very satisfied.
After all, the two people have different identities and different confidences.
The Yuan family is just a declining earl's mansion, so it is normal for Yuan Wenshao to have concerns.
When beating a dog, you have to look at its owner. Although these people are just servants, the identities of the people behind them are not simple.
Although they won't cause trouble to the Yuan family over such a small matter, they will definitely keep it in mind.
Yuan Wenshao was very decisive as he dared to order the arrest of people.
If Yuan Wenshao had hesitated, Zhao Xing would not have used him at all.
"Sanshui, send someone to call Yuan Wenshao up." Zhao Xing ordered.
"Yes!" Sanshui stepped back after hearing that.
The chaos on the street gradually subsided. Seeing that the people from the Inner City Military Department dared to arrest people, the people quickly stepped aside and made way.
If they were really caught and taken to the inner city's military office, they would not be subjected to any punishment, but they would be punished for delaying things when they returned.
Yuan Wenshao also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.
Just then, a strong man was brought over by the soldiers.
"Captain!" The soldier saluted and said, "This man holds the East Palace badge and wants to see you, Captain!"
Yuan Wenshao looked at the burly man and asked in confusion: "Who are you?"
"Captain Yuan!" the sturdy man said, "My master is in the restaurant across the street. Captain Yuan, please go over and see him."
"Your master?"
Yuan Wenshao was stunned, looking at the sturdy man in shock, took a deep breath and said, "Please wait for a moment, I will explain it to you and then you can go."
"Captain Yuan, I hope you can hurry up." said the sturdy man.
"Thank you!"
Yuan Wenshao bowed his hands in thanks, asked someone to call the deputy captain to give him some instructions, and then followed the strong man to the restaurant.
(End of this chapter)