Chapter 234 Minglan's Transformation
But when Zhao Xing thought about it carefully, it seemed not impossible.
Because the rumors he had people spread, although somewhat exaggerated, were not entirely false.
He has spent a lot of money to establish the secret guards over the years. One of the important tasks of the secret guards is to collect intelligence on officials all over the world.
And Bianjing is the most important one.
Today, there is a room in Chaoyang Palace that is specifically used to store these officials’ files. These files not only record the resumes and interpersonal relationships of all officials, but also some of the officials’ private matters.
Zhou Yi Zhong had an affair with one of his son's concubines. This matter was casually mentioned by a manager of the Zhou family after he got drunk.
He reacted quickly and didn't mention it again. One of the people drinking with the manager was a secret guard.
He reported the news to his superiors. After Yin Hanzhang learned about it, he investigated but found no clues.
However, this news was still recorded in Zhou Yizhong's file.
If the affair between Zhou Yi Zhong and his son's concubine was exposed due to rumors outside, and his family found out, he would be so ashamed and angry that he might die if he had any hidden illness.
"Okay, you can leave now." The official waved his hand tiredly.
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Liu bowed and left.
"Things are a little troublesome now. You'd better be honest and stop making trouble. This matter must be settled as soon as possible." The official looked at Zhao Xing seriously.
"I understand!" Zhao Xing said seriously.
He also knew the seriousness of the matter. If he used this method to deal with Zhou Yi Zhong, all the civil officials in the court would feel resentful.
As the saying goes, killing is not the right path.
The ancients attached great importance to reputation, especially the scholars. Even if they were thieves or prostitutes in private, they would appear to be decent and kind on the surface.
But if Zhou Yi Zhong had not died, even if many people had some grudges, they would not care about it and would just watch the fun.
However, it is different when a person dies. It is inevitable that people will feel sad for the loss of the rabbit.
"Go!" the official waved his hand.
"Your son, take your leave!" Zhao Xing bowed and walked out.
Zhao Xing left Longtu Pavilion with a headache. He did not expect that Zhou Yi Zhong would be angry to death.
In this way, the following methods will not work.
It is conceivable that in order to appease the people, the emperor would certainly posthumously confer the title and then resolve the matter with a quick and decisive move.
As a result, the effect of what I did this time was greatly reduced.
Zhao Xing felt annoyed because he was being criticized and failed to achieve the expected results.
It's not that Zhao Xing regretted anything, he was just a little depressed.
However, man proposes, God disposes. How can everything develop as he wishes?
Zhao Xing's guess was correct. Early the next morning, the government announced that Zhou Yi Zhong would be posthumously awarded the title of Grand Tutor, and ordered the Ministry of Rites to send people to handle his funeral and draft a posthumous title.
Most of the people captured by the Five Cities Military Department were released, and the news was reported to all officials, forbidding anyone to continue discussing the matter, otherwise they would be exiled.
The matter was settled, at least on the surface.
Zhao Xing was also very honest and did not continue to do any tricks.
He took Zhang Guifen, Rulan and Minglan to the Jinmingchi Villa to stay for a few days.
Because he had been busy these days, Zhao Xing did not go to Rulan and Minglan's place. He hadn't seen Rulan and Minglan for some time.
When he met Minglan this time, Zhao Xing felt that Minglan had changed a lot.
This change is not external, but internal.
Minglan's face was filled with a smile. Zhang Guifen invited her to play polo. She did not give in as she did last time. She played back and forth with Zhang Guifen and won in the end.
Zhang Guifen complained to her, saying that she had deliberately held back last time.
Minglan apologized with a smile, and Zhang Guifen did not pursue the matter further.
If she had known before that Minglan deliberately wanted to give in, she would definitely be unhappy because she looked down on such people.
But now she has matured a lot and can understand Minglan's difficulties to some extent and doesn't care.
Several women, with their clothes tied around their shoulders to show off their figures, walked towards the tent, talking and laughing.
Zhao Xing showed admiration on his face and looked at the women with a smile.
The women noticed Zhao Xing's gaze but didn't care.
Minglan also smiled at Zhao Xing with a bright smile.
In the past, when Minglan faced Zhao Xing's gaze, she would lower her head slightly even if she noticed it. It seems that this time the change is really big.
Minglan is much brighter and more generous now. I wonder if what I said to her before has worked.
However, this kind of change is also what Zhao Xing hopes to see.
Several women entered the tent, first bowed to Zhao Xing, then took the tea offered by the palace maids and drank it.
After drinking some tea and wiping her sweat with a wet towel, Zhang Guifen came and sat down next to Zhao Xing, while Yu Yanran and Rulan Minglan sat at the bottom.
"Your Highness, would you like to play?" Zhang Guifen picked up a grape and started eating it.
"What? The Crown Princess wants to compete with me?" Zhao Xing said with a smile.
"Let's compete. Your Highness may not be able to beat me in playing polo." Zhang Guifen said with a smile.
"It would be boring to just play polo. How about adding some spice to it?" Zhao Xing said with his eyes moving.
Zhang Guifen knew Zhao Xing had no good intentions, so she asked cautiously, "What do you want to do, Your Highness?"
Zhao Xing leaned close to Zhang Guifen's ear and whispered something.
Zhang Guifen blushed when she heard this and glared at Zhao Xing in reproach.
"What? You don't dare to compete?" Zhao Xing provoked.
"Your Highness, please don't use provocation. Let's compete, but I want to be in the same group with Minglan." Zhang Guifen looked at Zhao Xing with amusement.
Zhao Xing touched his nose in dismay when he heard this.
His polo skills were decent, not much worse than Zhang Guifen's, and Zhuifeng was slightly better than Ruhuo, so it wasn't difficult for him to beat her.
But since Zhang Guifen is in a group with Minglan, he can only be in a group with Yu Yanran or Rulan.
How can we fight this?
Seeing Zhang Guifen's slightly smug look, Zhao Xing gave her a wait-and-see look.
Zhang Guifen shrugged her nose playfully, with a fearless look on her face.
As a result, she was beaten badly by Zhao Xing in the evening and begged for mercy. However, Zhang Guifen was full of energy again the next day. She swam in the boat for a while in the morning and took Minglan to play polo. She was full of energy.
Zhao Xing even suspected that Zhang Guifen had given him some face by begging for mercy last night.
In the evening, a group of palace maids and eunuchs set up the polo field, and soon a whole lamb was prepared and roasted.
An imperial chef led a few eunuchs to watch while the others prepared the rest of the skewers.
After a while, the fragrance filled the air.
"It smells so good." Rulan sniffed the fragrance and swallowed.
"Haha, wait, it still needs to be roasted for a while." Zhao Xing laughed at Rulan's cute appearance.
"Your Highness is being teased about Sister Rulan." Zhang Guifen defended.
After these few days of interaction, Zhang Guifen felt that she had the best temperament with Minglan, but she also liked Ruolan, who had a carefree personality.
"Okay, okay, it was my fault. I will go to her room tonight and make it up to her." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
Even though Rulan was a carefree person, she was still embarrassed by Zhao Xing's words.
While we were chatting and laughing, the skewers were served, but we would have to wait a long time for the whole roasted lamb.
Several people started eating while chatting and laughing.
The grilled skewers were topped with the special seasoning Zhao Xing had made, and they tasted really good.
Zhang Guifen and the other girls praised the food highly, but Zhao Xing felt that the taste was a little lacking without the chili pepper.
The taste of dogwood is somewhat different from that of chili pepper, and Zhao Xing doesn't like it very much.
I don’t know if Sheng Wei can get peppers by contacting those overseas traders and asking them to bring some seeds that are not available in the Song Dynasty.
Zhao Xing didn't know where the chili peppers originated from, so he could only take his chances.
The girls were unaware of Zhao Xing's sadness and were enjoying their meal.
By the time the whole roasted lamb was ready, we were all full.
However, looking at the golden roasted whole lamb, they still tried some.
The rest was given to the palace maids and eunuchs.
After the barbecue, it was already completely dark.
After admiring the moon and stars for a while, the girls took their leave and returned to their rooms.
Zhao Xing sat alone for a while before going to Rulan's room.
Walking into the hall, Xi Que bowed and said, "Your Highness, the concubine and the sixth lady are waiting for you in the inner room."
Minglan has no official status and her identity in the Eastern Palace can only be considered as a palace maid.
But her status is very special, so it is not easy to call her by her name.
Xi Que and Xiao Tao were originally servants of the Sheng family, so they simply continued to call her the Sixth Miss.
The other palace maids and eunuchs followed suit and also called her Sixth Miss.
Zhao Xing was a little surprised when he heard this. When he entered the hospital, a palace maid had already gone in to report.
Normally, when he arrived at the hall, Rulan and Minglan would come out to greet him.
But not only did they not come out to greet them, they even stayed in the inner room.
Is he taking a bath?
But considering what Xi Que just said that two people were waiting for him in the inner room, it was unlikely that they were taking a bath.
Besides, I came here late on purpose, so they should have already showered.
With doubts, Zhao Xing walked into the inner room.
Walking around the screen, Zhao Xing saw Rulan and Minglan standing there.
When Zhao Xing saw the two people's attire, his eyes lit up.
cheongsam!
They were both wearing cheongsams, no wonder they weren't in the outer room.
The cheongsam is still a bit too revealing at this time.
"Your Highness!" The two of them blushed and bowed down.
Zhao Xing came back to his senses and looked him up and down.
The cheongsam needs to be tall and slightly plump to look good in it.
The two of them are of different heights, and there were no high heels in that era. In addition, due to their age, their charm was much less when they wore cheongsams.
In the words of later generations, it means that it is a bit unable to hold up.
However, compared to the conservative clothes of this era, it is still very attractive.
Zhao Xing remained silent, which made the two men feel a little uneasy. They couldn't help but look up at Zhao Xing.
Seeing Zhao Xing looking at them with fiery eyes, she quickly lowered her head again.
"Cough cough..."
Zhao Xing came to his senses, walked forward, put his arm around one of them, sat down on the bed, and let them sit on his lap.
"Was this dress made by Yanran?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Yeah." Minglan nodded.
"Since she has done it, she doesn't even bother to wear it for me to see. I'll see how I punish her later." Zhao Xing said.
He had previously told Yu Yanran about the general style of cheongsam and even drew a picture of it.
It’s just that his drawing skills are average, and there’s no difference between drawing and not drawing.
Yu Yanran tried it several times and showed it to Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing gave her some advice on how to make corrections, but later on, because he was busy, he forgot to ask about her progress.
I didn't expect it's already been made.
"Your Highness, Sister Yanran didn't mean to hide it from you." Rulan became a little anxious when she heard it.
Minglan could tell that Zhao Xing was not really angry, but she also defended Yu Yanran, "Your Highness, Sister Yanran is shy and embarrassed to wear it."
"What about you? Who made this bold proposal?" Zhao Xing asked.
"That's what I meant." Minglan said.
"No, it's my idea. Your Highness, these are all my ideas." Rulan said anxiously.
(End of this chapter)