Chapter 100 Knock on the Door
Chapter 100 Knock on the Door
Zhou Anmin stayed in Pingshun City that day and did not return until the evening of the next day.
When they returned to the post station, Zhu Shenzhui pulled him aside without saying a word and asked him what happened.
Zhou Anmin was very happy when he came back. Needless to say, you can tell from his expression that this matter was done very smoothly. Especially this time when Jiang Shuishan was killed, at first he thought that Yifeng was just an ordinary bandit, but he didn't expect that Yifeng was actually Jiang Shuishan's alias, and his real identity was the leader of the Wenxiang Sect.
In the Ming Dynasty, the White Lotus lineage had always been a target of strict defense and attack, and was also one of the important tasks of the Jinyiwei. Jiang Shuishan was not only from the Wenxiang Sect, but also an important figure in the Wenxiang Sect. He was also secretly gathering people to prepare for a rebellion. The nature of this matter was completely different from the beginning.
Right now, Jiang Shuishan has surrendered, all his subordinates have been wiped out, Zhou Anmin has returned with the head, and a lot of evidence about the Wenxiang Sect has been collected, etc., these cannot be faked.
For a moment, the great credit that fell from the sky hit the general flag on the head. After learning about this situation, the general flag could not believe his ears. It was not until he saw the heads of Jiang Shuishan and others and those evidences with his own eyes that he was ecstatic and laughed so hard that his mouth could not close.
Such a merit is no small achievement, and it far exceeds previous expectations. Thinking that he might be able to be promoted with this merit, let alone a trial centurion, it might be possible to get a centurion position, the general flag looked at Zhou Anmin in front of him more and more pleasing to the eye.
For a moment, I felt a little ashamed. If I had known that a gust of wind had such a background, I would have sent a few people to Zhou Anmin, and it would have been fine even if I had gone with him! However, the result now was not bad. Zhou Anmin was a smart man. He gave all the credit to me as agreed before, and did not make any excessive demands.
As a result, the general flag was even happier, and he immediately wrote a report to explain the situation, in which he praised himself for his strategizing, and sent his confidant to immediately deliver all the heads and evidence to the Qianhu Office, and then report to the governor. Of course, he also knew that a lot of this credit would definitely be shared with the higher-ups, but no matter what, the credit left in his hands was real, and that was enough.
"Don't worry about this matter. The general has already agreed to it. He will help to resolve the follow-up matters. No matter whether the matter of Zhaowuling or Zhaowu Village is in the past, there will be no problem locally." Zhou Anmin said to Zhu Shenzhui with a smile while drinking tea.
Zhu Shenzhu nodded. This situation had been anticipated before, and now it was just a matter of fulfilling the promise. In addition to caring about these things, Zhu Shenzhu was also concerned about Zhou Anmin's own situation. The general flag had promised Zhou Anmin a position as a small flagman, but he didn't know if it could be done.
"Don't worry. The General Flag Officer sent a letter to the Governor of the Town in front of me. Moreover, I went there in person this time. No one can take away this credit. If nothing unexpected happens, at most one or two months, after the higher-ups have verified the situation, you will be able to get the position of the flag officer."
Zhou Anmin couldn't hide the smile on his face as he spoke. Although he was not only the postmaster of Pingshun Post Station, but also a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, regardless of the position, Zhou Anmin was a low-ranking official and had no official rank.
But once you become a small flag, it will be different. According to the official position of the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty, a small flag is a seventh-rank military position. Although a seventh-rank military position is just a small official, and the Ming Dynasty has always been civil officials are superior to military officials, no matter how high the rank of a military officer is, he is inferior to a civil official.
But the problem is that no matter it is a civil or military position, the seventh rank official position is real, so Zhou Anmin has become a real official with a rank. Moreover, his seventh rank is the seventh rank of the Jinyiwei, which is very different from the guards and border troops. The Jinyiwei is the emperor's personal army, holding power and serving the royal family. Ordinary civil officials dare not provoke the Jinyiwei.
"Congratulations, brother-in-law." Seeing Zhou Anmin smiling, Zhu Shenzhui was also happy for him.
The two chatted while drinking tea, and they talked about the marriage between Zhu Shenzhui and the eldest lady of the Xu family. Zhou Anmin, who had just returned, had heard the situation from his wife. The Xu family agreed to the marriage, and Zhou Anmin was happy for Zhu Shenzhui. Zhu Shenzhui was his brother-in-law, and he was not young anymore. He was the only child left in the old Zhu family, and as his brother-in-law, he was always concerned about Zhu Shenzhui's life.
Now that the Xu family has approved of this marriage, the next step is to follow the remaining procedures step by step. If everything goes well, the marriage can be finalized soon.
As he spoke, Zhou Anmin went out of his way to find the almanac, flipped through it and saw that the days ahead were good days, so he started preparing for them so that he could arrange the date for the wedding after receiving the lucky number and the betrothal gift.
The big thing was done and everyone felt relaxed. In the next few days, Zhu Shenzhu was very busy under the management of his sister.
First, he visited the elders of the Xu family, who were his future father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Old Master Xu was a scholar. Although he failed the exams many times, he was not a bookworm. He was not old-fashioned but very reasonable. When he saw Zhu Shenzhui, he immediately liked this handsome prospective son-in-law. As for the mother-in-law, the more she looked at Zhu Shenzhui, the more satisfied she was. She held his hand and talked to him for a long time, with a smile on her face since they met.
The old lady of the Xu family was also very satisfied with her grandson-in-law, and even had a good chat with her future brother-in-law. Her brother-in-law was not very old, only fourteen years old, but he had already passed the examination for a student.
Moreover, during the conversation, Zhu Shenzhu had a very good impression of this young man. He was not only good at studying, but also quite knowledgeable about some miscellaneous subjects. He was polite and courteous, without the slightest impetuousness of ordinary young people. Zhu Shenzhu saw this and had to admit that the Xu family's family tradition and education were really good. The eldest lady of the Xu family naturally did not meet him. According to the rules, the two could not meet before getting married. However, it was unknown whether the eldest lady of the Xu family secretly hid and peeked at him when Zhu Shenzhu arrived.
After the meeting, the Xu family was very satisfied with Zhu Shenzhui. Then the two families began to discuss the specific arrangements for the future, and soon it was time to ask for a date. Zhu Xiuer and Zhou Anmin went to the Xu family again to discuss and set a date, which was finally set on October 15th.
It is only the end of July now, and there are still more than two months until October 15th, which is more than enough time to prepare for the wedding.
Now that the marriage was settled, Zhu Shenzhui was ready to return to Pingyang. He had been away from home for quite some time and was a little homesick. Moreover, he had arranged the marriage in Pingshun, but his sister-in-law didn't know about it yet, so he had to go back and tell her.
In addition, the preparations before the wedding must be arranged as soon as possible. The marriage of royal family members is much more complicated than that of ordinary people. It is impossible that the family has no arrangements on the wedding day, right?
Before the date was set, Zhu Xiuer hoped that Zhu Shenzhui would stay for a few more days, but when the date was set, Zhu Xiuer urged Zhu Shenzhui to go back and prepare. This was like two completely different people, which made Zhu Shenzhui laugh and cry.
So he did not stay any longer, and after bidding farewell to his sister and brother-in-law, he rode away from Pingshun. On the way back, Zhu Shencui did not take Yangtou Mountain again, but went west along the official road directly, and returned to Pingyang in less than three days.
After more than a month, he finally returned to Pingyang. The dusty Zhu Shenzui did not go anywhere after entering the city, but went straight back home.
Seeing Zhu Shenzhu suddenly come back, Zhang was very happy. She hurriedly helped to pack his luggage, fetched water for him to wash his face, etc. She also said happily that she would cook something delicious today. Zhu Shenzhu had been working hard outside these days, and he looked thinner and darker, so he had to have a good meal when he returned home.
"Sister-in-law, please sit down first. I have something to tell you." On the way back, Zhu Shenzhui had been thinking about how to tell Zhang about the Xu family's marriage. After thinking about it, Zhu Shenzhui finally decided that it was better to tell the truth instead of beating around the bush.
Zhang didn't know what was going on, and thought Zhu Shenzhu wanted to say something else to her, so she sat down with a smile on her face. But when Zhu Shenzhu told her that his sister Zhu Xiuer had arranged a marriage for him during his trip to Pingshun, and that the marriage had been decided and would take place on October 15, the smile on Zhang's face froze in an instant.
"Sister-in-law, I didn't know about this beforehand. You know my sister's temper. I just thought it was just a casual mention, and I didn't expect it to be so..."
"That's good!" Zhang smiled and nodded, but for some reason Zhu Shenzui saw a hint of bitterness in her smile. Maybe it was because it came too suddenly and Zhang was unprepared.
"Uncle is not young anymore, and he has been the only one supporting the family all these years. As his sister-in-law, I should have thought about his important matters earlier, but I didn't expect that my sister arranged it before me." Zhang forced a smile and said, "When uncle gets married this time, this family will really be like a family. When he has children in the future, our Zhu family will have descendants..."
"Oh, by the way, uncle, Qiao'er and I will clean up the main house in the next few days. When the new daughter-in-law comes, uncle should live in the main house. You are the head of our Zhu family, and this main house should be yours. It is against the rules for us mother and daughter to live in it all these years."
"Sister-in-law, there's no need for that. I... I don't mean that at all. You and Qiao'er can continue to live in the main house. When you entered our Zhu family, didn't you always live in the main house? We have already agreed on this matter a long time ago. Why are you bringing it up again today?" Zhu Shenzhui's heart suddenly became confused after hearing Zhang's words, and he quickly waved his hands to object.
"How can this be possible? The past was the past, and the present is the present. How can it be justified to let the head of the family live in the wing room while the widowed sister-in-law and her daughter live in the main house? I appreciate your kindness, uncle. You don't have to worry about Qiao'er. The child is still young, so it doesn't matter where she lives."
"Sister-in-law!" Seeing that Zhang insisted on doing so and stood up to go back to the main room to pack up, Zhu Shenzhui became anxious and reached out to grab Zhang's hand.
This was a subconscious action that was done without any thought. When Zhu Shenzhui held Zhang's soft little hand, he suddenly realized what he had done.
He quickly let go, and the moment he held Zhang's hand, Zhang's body shook slightly, and then she was stunned. She never expected Zhu Shenzhui to suddenly do such a thing. When she came to her senses, Zhang's face suddenly turned red, with a hint of annoyance.
"Sister-in-law, please don't misunderstand me. I... I just... wasn't I anxious? I didn't mean anything else... I..." Zhu Shenzhui wished he could slap himself. He was so reckless to do such a thing. This was not the future. It was very important to keep men and women apart. What's more, they, a widow and a young uncle, had lived under the same roof for so many years and had always been very careful. He didn't care if any gossip got out, but how could Zhang live?
Zhu Shenzhui was at a loss for a moment, but seeing his panicked and ashamed look, Zhang's anger gradually subsided. She knew that her brother-in-law was a decent man, and that his actions just now were indeed subconscious and not intentional.
Zhang's expression eased, but the two of them were a little embarrassed. When Zhu Shenzui wanted to say a few words to make the matter less serious, there was a sudden loud knock on the door. Zhu Shenzui and Zhang were both stunned and looked towards the courtyard gate.
(End of this chapter)