Chapter 39 Reunion
Chapter 39 Reunion
"What? Did something happen to Master Zhang?"
"That's not the case." Wang Chuer shook his head and then said to Zhu Shenzhui, "This Master Zhang is very strange. He usually stays in the courtyard where he lives and rarely goes out. Even if he goes out, he just walks around the village a few times, looking here and there. "
"Didn't he ask anyone?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.
"I did ask a few questions during the first few days after I came to the village, but I stopped asking later. Besides, this guy seldom talks to people. Even when he's walking around the village, he won't take the initiative to talk to people unless you talk to him yourself." Wang Chuer said, and then he said to Zhu Shenzhui, "To be honest, even Uncle can't really tell what Master Zhang is thinking. But Sixth Master, don't worry, we've remembered everything you told us. No matter where Master Zhang goes in the village, there will be people following him, so he won't make any mistakes."
"Well, that's it."
Zhu Shenzhui nodded, but he was thinking about Zhang Xijun in his heart. Wang Rong said that he couldn't see through Zhang Xijun, and in fact, Zhu Shenzhui was the same.
Although Zhu Shenzhui vaguely guessed that Zhang Xijun was not an ordinary person, especially his true origins might be deeper than he imagined.
The reason why they agreed to Zhang Xijun was, firstly, because of Zhang Xijun's request, and secondly, because they considered that it would be more appropriate for Zhang Xijun to stay in Wangjia Village than in Yangtou Mountain.
Zhang Xijun has a mysterious background and a meticulous mind. Although his identity may not be as simple as it seems, especially what Zhang Xijun said to Zhu Shenzhui at the beginning, it made Zhu Shenzhui curious about this person.
If he was left in Yangtou Mountain, Li Hu would definitely not be able to defeat Zhang Xijun with his intelligence. In addition, Zhang Xijun had known Li Hu for a long time and trusted him quite a bit, which became an uncertain variable.
Since Zhang Xijun took the initiative to find Zhu Shenzui and proposed to follow him to leave Yangtou Mountain and said those words, Zhu Shenzui thought about it and directly gave him a task based on Zhang Xijun's suggestion. As long as Zhang Xijun could complete this task, he would take Zhang Xijun away.
I originally thought that it would be difficult for Zhang Xijun to convince Li Hu, but I didn't expect the result to be much simpler than I thought. Now Li You is in Wangjia Village, and Li Hu has settled down. Zhang Xijun has contributed to it. More importantly, Zhang Xijun's words hit the mark of Zhu Shenzhui. Such a well-educated and smart person may be helpful in the future if he can recover the country.
But even so, when leaving Wangjia Village, Zhu Shenzui did not take Zhang Xijun with him, but left him in Wangjia Village and asked Wang Rong to find someone to look after him.
Zhang Xijun had a high degree of freedom in Wangjia Village. As long as he did not leave Wangjia Village, no one would bother him wherever he lived or wandered around the village. Now it seems that Zhang Xijun was very aware of this restriction. No matter what, he never thought of leaving Wangjia Village.
"Has Master Zhang never asked anyone for information about me?"
Wang Chuer tilted his head and thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "I'm not sure about this, at least I haven't heard of it. How about I go back to the village and ask around?"
"Forget it, don't ask anymore. Just watch him. As long as he is safe and sound in Wangjia Village, let him be." Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand.
Zhu Shenzhui planned to give Zhang Xijun some time to himself and let him stay in Wangjia Village for a while to see what happened next.
After all, what this person's origin is, how he will be used in the future, and whether he is trustworthy are still ambiguous. In addition, it is winter now, and Zhu Shenzhu will not go to Wangjia Village in the next few days. It is not too late to wait until after the New Year.
Wang Chuer didn't stay with Zhu Shenzhui for long. After finishing his talk, he stood up and prepared to leave.
Zhu Shenzhui did not keep him, but asked him to convey a few words to his uncle Wang Rong and cousin Wang Jinwu, and asked if he needed his help when they went to the city to buy things later.
Wang Chuer said that it was not necessary, he just wanted to buy some ordinary things. There would be a bus returning soon, and he could just take it. Now he had to go to Nanshi to meet up.
In this case, Zhu Shenzhui didn't say much and stood up to see Wang Chuer out.
When he reached the door and opened the courtyard gate, Wang Chuer walked out. He turned back and said with a smile, "Sixth Master, please stay," because he was leaving.
Zhu Shenzhu nodded and told him to be careful along the way, and then he saw Wang Chuer walking quickly towards the South City. After a while, Wang Chuer's figure disappeared at the street corner in front of him. Zhu Shenzhu was about to turn around and go back to the courtyard. Just as he stepped over the threshold and hadn't entered yet, he heard a voice calling him from behind.
Turning back and following the direction of the voice, I saw Zhu Minyu coming hurriedly from the east. He was walking very fast in the middle of winter, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
"Sixth Uncle!" "Why are you here?"
"Fifth brother is at Xiao Shiba's house, I came to see you..." Zhu Minyu lowered his voice and said, "The matter you asked us to investigate last time has made some progress. We are thinking of asking you to come over to talk about this matter, and we need you to make a decision on what to do next."
Since Zhu Shenzhui gave the three of them the task of finding out the news, they have been busy these days. Zhu Shenzhui did not urge them, but Zhu Minyu came to Zhu Shenzhui on behalf of the three of them to report the progress.
However, Zhu Shenzhui did not say much, but asked them to continue to inquire carefully, and gave them several directions, asking them to inquire clearly before speaking. This matter is not urgent, the key is to get accurate information, which is the most important thing.
Today, Zhu Minyu came to look for him again and asked him to go to Zhu Qiuqi, saying that he had found some clues. Hearing what he said, Zhu Shenzhui raised his eyebrows, told him to wait, then went back to the house to get his robe and put it on, then went outside the main room to say hello to his sister-in-law Zhang, and then went back outside.
He walked out the door, closed it, and said to Zhu Minyu, "Let's go."
The two of them went towards Zhu Qiuqi's courtyard together. Because it snowed last night, there was a lot of snow on the road, making it a bit difficult to walk on. It took them longer than usual to arrive at Zhu Qiuqi's home.
After knocking on the door, Zhu Qiuqi and Zhu Minfeng opened it together. When they saw them, they called out "Uncle" and "Fifth Uncle" (Fifth Brother) and invited them into the yard.
After entering the yard, he went straight to the main house. It was much warmer inside than outside. Zhu Shenzui took off his outer robe and sat down. After he sat down, the other three also sat down.
"Uncle, the weather is cold, please have some hot tea first." Zhu Qiuqi attentively picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Zhu Shenzhui.
Smelling the tea, Zhu Shenzhui looked at him with a smile. Zhu Qiuqi said embarrassedly that when the uncle comes, he must serve good tea. He was poor and had no money to buy good tea before. Didn't the uncle take care of him some time ago? Finally, he had more money, so he bought a pound of good tea to entertain the uncle.
Zhu Shenzui nodded slightly without saying anything, picked up the tea and took a sip, then held the teacup in his hands to warm his palms.
"Laowu told me that there is some clue about the information I asked you to inquire about before?" Zhu Shenzhui didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.
"Uncle Wu is right. There are indeed some clues. On my side..." Zhu Qiuqi said impatiently, and then began to talk about the information he had heard.
Zhu Shenzhui didn't say anything either. He drank tea and listened carefully to what he had heard. Since their last meeting, Zhu Qiuqi had been very concerned about this matter. In fact, it was not only him, but the other two as well.
These three members of the royal family may not be able to do other things, but they are quite talented in gathering information. Among them, Zhu Qiuqi is mainly responsible for inquiring about the Liu family's connections in official circles, Zhu Minfeng is responsible for the Liu family's situation in the business circle, and as for Zhu Minwei, because of his personality, he is responsible for collecting the Liu family's daily life.
The three of them put in a lot of effort and indeed found out a lot of information. As they told the stories one by one, a lot of information began to be gathered to Zhu Shenzhui.
To be honest, if Zhu Shenzhui had gone to inquire about the information himself, it might not have been so detailed and complete. Listening to their stories and taking notes in his mind, he gradually gained a clear understanding of the situation of the Liu family, including Liu Shanben himself.
Zhu Shenzhui had some knowledge of Liu Shancheng before, but not much. As the news came in, the entire Liu family became clearer, and he also roughly understood the situation of the Liu family.
It has to be admitted that the Liu family is not an ordinary merchant, and they are worthy of being a famous big merchant in Pingyang Prefecture.
The Liu family not only has many connections in the local area, but also has connections in several prefectures in Shanxi. Among them, the Liu family has connections with the Tongzhi of Pingyang Prefecture, the Tongpan of Taiyuan Prefecture, and Datong Prefecture. It is even said that the Liu family has connections in the Shanxi Governor's Office.
In addition to this, there is the military. The relations between the captains of several garrisons and the Liu family are also very close. The garrison commanders of Datong Right Guard and Yulin Guard are even brothers with Liu Shancheng. It is said that they also have a certain share in the border trade business between the Liu family and the Mongols.
These are all on the surface, not to mention the secret and those low-level relationships. The Liu family has been operating in Shanxi for several generations, and it has been nearly a hundred years since it became rich during the Jiajing period. It is normal to have such a network of relationships. Otherwise, the Liu family's business would not be so big, and it would be impossible for them to become a well-known merchant in Pingyang Prefecture.
(End of this chapter)