Chapter 211: Visiting a relative
Chapter 211: Visiting a relative (asking for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!)
"boom!"
A long sword covered with frost was thrown out suddenly and pierced directly into the standing target, blowing the iron puppet into pieces.
Zhao Duan stretched out his hand, grasped the hilt of the sword, and gently swung the sword in a flower pattern.
Standing on the small "martial arts arena" in my own courtyard, I looked at the rising sun in the east in the late summer morning and exhaled deeply:
"Something."
In the past two days, all his attention has been focused on digesting the empress's teaching content.
In my mind, I review it again and again and practice it over and over again.
When he went to the yamen during the day, he didn't handle cases. He just took turns to spar with the detectives from various gangs and hone his skills in actual combat with this group of warriors with high martial arts skills.
Progress is rapid.
If it weren't for the huge gap between the realm of Supervisor Ma Yan and him, Zhao Duan would have wanted to find his cheap senior brother to serve as a sparring partner.
In actual combat, the weaknesses that the empress had pointed out in him were gradually made up for, and his strengths were constantly developed.
"I feel so strong right now that I need the enemy to kill me."
Zhao Duan threw the scabbard to a servant on the sidelines, and happily realized one of the three greatest illusions in life: "I can fight back."
"Da Lang, let me wipe your sweat off your face."
The maid named Miantao who was standing beside the stepmother came up attentively, holding a wet towel in her hand.
This maidservant has an average appearance, but she has a plump figure and is smart and capable.
The Zhao family was a small household with only a few maids and servants.
Not long ago, Zhao Duan hired a few more people to share the pressure, and Mian Tao was promoted to "big maid" on the spot and got the opportunity to serve Dalang.
"I'll do it myself." Zhao Duan said casually,
"Aren't you going to help with the preparations?"
The maid Miantao's face admired:
"Da Lang has moved all the cooks from Dingfeng Tower back home, so there is no need to prepare more. Madam is dressing up, and Miss is accompanying her, so there is no need for maids."
What the two were talking about was that Eugene Hua's family would be visiting at noon today and they would entertain the guests at home.
Yes, not long after the family letter was delivered, the You family arrived in the capital.
After settling down, he handed in a visiting card and agreed to visit relatives today.
In fact, two hours after the You family entered the city, Zhao Duan had already learned about the whereabouts of this group of people through the channels of the imperial court.
With his current status and position, it would only take him a word to secretly order the military officer at the city gate to deliver a message after he entered the city.
In addition, Zhao Duan instructed his men to briefly investigate the basic situation of this group of "relatives":
Just as her stepmother said, the people who came this time were her second uncle and his family.
The leader was the head of the Xipingdao You family branch, You Zhande.
According to the information, this person is actually a high-level warrior... This surprised him a little.
But consider that all the families in various parts of the Dayu Dynasty who were able to gain a stable foothold either had the support of officials.
Or, if it has the word "cultivation" in its name, it is not surprising that it is considered to be a half-powerful force in the underworld.
Of course, You Zhande is by no means a pure warrior. The main industry of the You family is still the caravan.
That is, relying on geographical advantages, they traded goods between the Western Regions and Dayu.
The people of Xipingdao are tough and their customs are a mixture of the underworld and merchant spirit.
Also because of the relationship with the caravan, they often dealt with the border troops in the western corridor of the imperial court, which led to the event of later promising Eugene flowers to the soldiers returning to the imperial court.
However, this time when he went to Beijing, You Zhande did not bring many people with him.
Apart from a few guards from the clan, the only people he was close to were his wife and youngest son.
According to seniority, Eugene Hua should call them aunt and cousin.
In addition, intelligence showed that the family also met a nobleman from a prominent family in Xiping Road.
However, because he was a "street stranger", his subordinates only conducted a simple investigation and did not have any detailed information, so Zhao Duan did not care.
Zhao Duan ordered people to investigate, but he had no other intentions in mind, he just wanted to get to the bottom of the matter.
Although according to his mind, it would be considered merciful not to retaliate against such a bad relative.
But since his stepmother cared about family ties, Zhao Duan also gave Eugene Hua enough face.
In preparation for this reception, he specially ordered the entire kitchen staff of a nearby large restaurant to be called to his home to prepare the lunch.
The maid immediately felt that Dalang was really capable.
"Okay, I don't need anyone to serve me. You can go and look after the cooks. Oh, are the utensils for the guests ready?"
"Well, the last time the Dong family came to apologize, they gave us a set of valuable equipment, which is more than enough."
The maid spoke quickly, raised her head and said:
"If you ask me, given your current status, Dalang, it is a great blessing for them that you do not go to the government office and stay at home to receive them in person today."
There were already some of the demeanor of a senior maid in her speech.
Zhao Duan smiled and shook his head, saying meaningfully:
"Outsiders may not recognize my status, and may even look down on me in their hearts."
Mian Tao said anxiously:
"How is that possible? Who in the capital doesn't know how powerful Da Lang is?"
……
……
On the other hand, You Zhande and his family got up late this morning.
Xiping Road is a long way from the capital and it is difficult to reach it.
You Zhan De was fine as he had some martial arts skills, but his pampered wife and spoiled little son were exhausted.
In addition, the glamorous world of the capital city is so attractive that the woman, who is used to dressing up with jewels and precious stones, finally comes to the capital once and drags her son around all day, not caring at all about visiting her relatives.
I got back to the inn late last night, and I got up lazily in the morning, yawning and getting ready slowly.
She was more serious about putting on makeup than before. You Zhande urged her several times.
Finally, around noon, the family got on a car and headed for Zhao's house.
"Hurry up, hurry up, you as an uncle are very attentive, but your niece is also not knowledgeable about respect and inferiority. She didn't come to pay respects, but asked us as elders to come to her house."
inside the carriage.
The middle-aged woman is already old, and even with careful maintenance, she still has wrinkles on her neck and looks weird.
Her head, neck, and hands were all covered with jewelries, and she was holding a mirror in her hand.
The head of the You family, who had a well-proportioned figure, an air of wealth and a steady gaze, shook his head and warned:
"This is the capital, not Xiping. I've asked someone to find out in the past few days. Judging from Zhao Duan's reputation, he is not a good person."
The woman curled her lips and said:
"I know. Isn't he just a arrogant and domineering person who gained power overnight? With the habits of a nouveau riche, how can he be a good relative?"
You Zhande said with a straight face:
"It's hard to deal with people like this who are young and arrogant. Besides, I heard that this person is probably not a simple person. It seems that he was arrested and taken to the Dali Temple recently, and then released, so he kept a low profile. Before that, he was also arrogant in front of the officials."
Nowadays, there are several levels of impression of Zhao Duan in the eyes of outsiders.
Only a small group of people in the court knew him best, were aware of the many important things he had done, and understood his position in the empress's heart.
Basically limited to the top circles:
Yuan Li, Li Yanfu, Dong Xuan...those few top bosses.
Li Yanfu didn't know much.
Further out, there are the impressions of him from many officials and scholars in the imperial court.
It is much weaker, whether it is fighting Pei Kaizhi, Zhou Cheng, the princess... or the recent Xiuwenguan and the little cabinet minister, in fact, in the officialdom, they are just groundless rumors.
Like the recent fight between the young cabinet ministers... almost no one knows that he is the man behind the scenes.
At most I hear some, such as:
There are rumors that "Zhao Yanwang may be behind this matter."
Most people also imagine that Zhao Duan is just a cruel official working for bigwigs.
It's the role of a chess piece.
And going further out, one leaves the official circle above the fifth rank.
Going down, some low-ranking officials and ordinary people in the capital knew even less information.
The impression I have is that Zhao Duan is a domineering pretty boy who sold cattle to get promoted...
To put it bluntly, it’s just three words:
Poor information!
So, even though Zhao Duan is doing well in the circle of top bosses, for the majority of the middle and lower levels...
The judgment on Zhao Duan’s current energy and power is completely outdated!
You Zhande might be considered a figure in Xiping Road.
But after coming to Beijing, the network of contacts I could access in a short period of time were not enough at all.
With his status, the highest-ranking official he could barely get in touch with was probably the county magistrate...
Therefore, You Zhande greatly underestimated his niece's "stepson".
But even so, just relying on the official identity of "Zhao Ya Ji Si" was enough to make him take it seriously.
"In short, even if they relied on their looks to get to the throne, they were still the emperor. In the eyes of the high officials in the court of Dayu, the Zhao family might be just ants, but compared to our You family, they are big shots."
You Zhande said to his wife in a serious tone:
"Remember, we are here to build relationships.
If you don't want to ruin things, just put away your attitude and be polite when you get into the Zhao family, especially to my niece. Don't be the same as before.
Jinhua is a sentimental person. As long as she can be captured, why should we be afraid that Zhao Duan will not help?
The man of the Zhao family is dead, and Jinhua is the mistress of the Zhao family. No matter how arrogant Zhao Duan is outside, he should still listen to his elders when he returns home. "
The jeweled lady fiddled with her fingers and said indifferently:
"I know. I've gotten used to saying this."
next to.
The fat, greasy-faced boy muttered:
"I don't know what the Zhao family is like, and whether they are as impressive as ours."
Soon, the spoiled young master of the You family, named You Luer, got the answer.
When the carriage stopped, they saw that the area was remote and it was just an ordinary house where the Zhao family lived.
The obese boy was greatly disappointed and said with disdain:
"Dad, are we in the right place? That's it? Didn't you say you were a big shot? How come you're not as good as our family?"
The mean woman also frowned, thinking that the rumors might be exaggerated.
If Zhao Duan was very favored and was really a big shot, why would he live in such an ordinary house?
Come to think of it, even if the current empress has lovers, there must be more than one, and the Zhao family might just be one of them.
But he still warned his son not to talk nonsense.
You Zhande was also silently weighing the matter, thinking about the rumor that Zhao Duan was tried by the Dali Temple.
With mixed feelings in mind, the family went forward and knocked on the door, carrying several gifts brought out by the servants.
Not long after.
The old steward of the Zhao family came out to greet him personally and said enthusiastically:
"Madam and Master are already waiting. Please follow me."
This old servant... has no sense of rules and no respect for hierarchy... The whole family's brows were getting deeper and deeper.
When you reach the inner hall, you will see the door of the hall.
Eugene Hua, her daughter, and a tall and handsome young man were waiting.
……
Asking for a guaranteed monthly ticket for July
(End of this chapter)