Chapter 351 Secret Meeting with Madam Xiao

"Have you thought of anything?"

In Xiuwen Hall, Mo Chou came over at some point and sat next to Zhao Duan, staring at him and asking curiously.

Zhao Duan pulled his thoughts back from his distraction, subconsciously closed the information in his hand, and asked in surprise: "Why are you coming over here?"

Mo Chou said confidently: "I am not good at these and can't help."

Although she had attended classes in the palace school with the Third Princess, the teachings of the sages were of little use to her. She only had a rough understanding of them and had already returned them to her teacher.

"Oh, coincidence, I'm not good at it either."

Zhao Duan smiled and pointed at the information with his finger, saying:
"What Mr. Zhengyang said seems to make a lot of sense, citing various classics."

Mo Chou exhaled, pressed her fingers on the "plum blossom makeup" between her eyebrows, and sighed:

"How else can you be revered as the next generation's literary saint? Do you have any thoughts on this?"

As a female prime minister who repeatedly looked down on Zhao Duan and was repeatedly slapped in the face, she had a somewhat metaphysical superstition about Zhao Duan's abilities.

Although her reason told her that her "rival" in this field would not be able to achieve anything, but...

"No." Zhao Duan shook his head frankly, threw the information on the table, and said with a smile: "This is not what I am good at."

After hesitating, he chose not to put forward his idea on the spot.

Because although he saw some interesting and refutable points in Zhengyang's theory, Zhao Duan was not sure.

After all, no matter in his past or present life, he was not good at academic research.

In his limited memory, which belonged to the original owner, the scholars of the Dayu Dynasty had a whole set of rules for "debating academic matters", just like citing legal provisions.

Moreover, although he has made some breakthroughs, it is still unknown how successful they will be.

Therefore, when it comes to academic matters, it would be safer to leave it to the expert Master Dong.

As for providing ideas to Grand Tutor Dong, Zhao Duan was very cautious about this, because Grand Tutor Dong and Zhengyang actually did not have any major differences in academics, and their opinions were both very similar to the Confucian School of Neo-Confucianism.

However, after the empress ascended the throne, Master Dong went astray on the academic level in order to find legitimacy for the empress's regime.

What Zhengyang wanted to do was to straighten his crooked buttocks...

In Zhao Duan's mind, the theory that leans towards psychology... how should I put it? He is worried that if he speaks it out now, it is hard to say what impact it will have on Zhengyang, but it may directly destroy Master Dong's Taoism...

If you kill yourself before killing the enemy, you are doomed.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, he planned to go back and collect more information to gain a more thorough understanding.

And try to find an opportunity to secretly attack Zhengyang before the "discussion" and snipe the opponent in advance.

In this way, even if the Confucianism he mastered could not defeat Zhengyang, he could still shake the opponent's Taoism and increase Dong Xuan's chances of winning.

Well, it's similar to changing the opponent's mentality before a sports event, which is very insidious.

But when facing the enemy, there is no harm in being cunning.

"Is that so?" Mochou was a little disappointed. She glanced at the armor on his body and asked curiously:
"You came from the Shenjiying?"

Zhao Duan said "Oh" and briefly recounted how Prince Hengwang had caused trouble.

Mo Chou's expression changed constantly, and she frowned: "It seems that King Heng is also very restless."

"Yes," Zhao Duan sighed, and said meaningfully, "Once the frost falls, the cold winter is not far away."

Mo Chou thought for a moment and said:
"You said he treated the female head of the East Lake family like a slave? After that Madam Xiao came to the city, she was trying to find out about the opening of the market and the appointment of the imperial merchant. As far as I know, she has visited officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites to get the upper hand."

Big Ice Tuozi seemed to have figured out some of Xu Zudi's intentions.

Zhao Duan said calmly:

"I have sent people to investigate. I have a feeling that this matter is not over yet. Oh, I almost forgot. Xue Shence told me that he heard that Zhao Shixiong and Prince Mu of Yunfu Road were also very close. Does Your Majesty know about this?"

Mo Chou looked solemn, looked at him deeply, and said:

"It's true."

Zhao Duan, who had already completed the task of passing the microphone, sighed:

"It's a nice autumn with cool weather."

……

After sitting in Xiuwen Hall for more than an hour, Zhao Duan got to know his opponent better through conversations with the scholars.

Then he stood up and said goodbye, and returned to the imperial yamen to deal with the follow-up of the morning's events. After arriving, he learned that Hou Renmeng and others had already taken action in advance and drafted regulations to rectify discipline.

Zhao Duan took advantage of the situation and summoned many Jinyi officials in Lihua Hall to give a speech.

Although it is impossible to eliminate it all at once and make the military discipline strict, at least it is a start. In the next period of time, these troublemakers will be restrained and disciplined.

At the same time, Zhao Duan also got the intelligence from his subordinates' investigation:
When Madam Xiao and her party were about to leave Qingzhou Road, they were intercepted by the prince who was also rushing to the capital to relax and have fun.

"The investigation is so quick? Is it reliable?" Zhao Duan wondered.

Hou Renmeng said seriously, "It was the servant of the female head of the Xiao family. He said it was to the clerk of the Xiao family's shop in the city."

Zhao Duan found things becoming more and more interesting.

As dusk approached, Zhao Duan returned home and deliberately took a street where more scholars gathered.

As expected, along the way, I heard many people talking about the academic discussion five days later.

The duel between the two great scholars of the literary world in the north and south was an event that could shock the whole city. It was visible to the naked eye that the number of readers gathered on both sides of the street increased significantly.

"Sir, I heard that many students from academies outside the city have abandoned their studies and ran back to join in the fun. The Imperial College is even more chaotic, with the two factions quarreling endlessly." The coachman Xiao Wang sighed.

Zhao Duan sighed, "It seems that there are still many stupid people in the city who are against Your Majesty in their hearts."

Xiao Wang didn't dare to say anything.

Zhao Duan said quietly:

"Tell the people below tomorrow to secretly record which scholars have been making a fuss these days and waving the flag for the Zhengyang School. These are all restless factors. Alas, are you or these scholars just memorizing by rote, stupid enough to only hold on to book doctrines, or are you too smart?"

Xiao Wang thought about it and said:

"Maybe it's because he was not promoted by His Majesty, and didn't get an official position or any benefits, so he is resentful."

Zhao Duan looked at the driver in surprise and sighed:

"It has been the case in every dynasty. Who says it is not the case?"

The carriage drove through the downtown area, crossed the streets, and arrived outside the Zhao Mansion.

The servants who heard the noise opened the door to greet them.

Zhao Duan stepped into the courtyard and saw You Jinhua coming up to him. While removing his armor, she said:
"Someone just brought me a letter."

"Whose invitation?" Zhao Duan stood in the hall, his arms stretched out, eyes closed, enjoying watching his aunt taking off her armor.

Eugene said hesitantly:

"It's not an invitation. It's so mysterious. I think it's something more serious. It's an appointment for you to meet tomorrow. The name of the person signing it is a woman, Xiao Dong'er."

Zhao Duan suddenly opened his eyes.

Mrs. Xiao?
Invite yourself to meet?
……

That night, the hottest topic in the city was naturally the academic discussion between Mr. Zhengyang and Master Dong in the Plum Garden.

However, Zhao Duan knew that this was just the beginning. The next few days would be a time for Dong Xuan to prepare, as well as a time for the news to spread and for the topic to ferment.

The next morning.

As usual, Zhao Duan went to Lihua Hall to handle official business. Around noon, he changed into inconspicuous casual clothes and found a restaurant to eat.

Then, he estimated the time, changed his appearance with a disguise mask, and quietly merged into the crowd.

Finally, I appeared in a residential area. After walking along the alley for a while, I arrived outside a house with a plaque with the words "Cha Rong Xiao Zhai" hanging on the lintel.

I knocked on the metal door knocker and a servant opened the door.

Zhao Duan gave Mrs. Xiao's name, and the latter immediately welcomed him in.

The courtyard of the house is quite elegant, and is similar to the "Qinglian Cottage" where Zhao Duan had visited to deal with Zhang Changji.

But it is not a flesh trade, but a more serious one, a private residence specially for gatherings of three or five good friends.

Many people who don’t want to go to restaurants or teahouses will choose this kind of private residence gathering.

The main feature of this "Cha Rong Xiao Zhai" is "brewing tea around the stove".

After Zhao Duan entered, he found that he was the only guest here today. The owner of the room seemed to have been warned beforehand and did not say a word. He led Zhao Duan into a house with a bamboo sliding door.

Passing through the house, there is a clay stove covered with an iron mesh in the exquisite courtyard. It can be used to make tea and roast many kinds of food.

Zhao Duan waved his hand, declining the people's offer to help him bake. After driving them away, he took off his disguise mask and returned to his original appearance.

Then they would take matters into their own hands, picking up rice cakes, cut oranges, persimmon cakes and other foods with great interest and roasting them on the stove.

In the chill of late autumn, it is truly a leisurely and elegant enjoyment.

About a cup of tea later, he heard footsteps approaching.

A figure wrapped in a black cloak walked in alone.

"Mrs. Xiao found a good place, but since it's an invitation, she asked the guests to wait first. Could this be the way Donghu treats guests?"

Zhao Duan didn't even bother to raise his eyelids, his hands still holding the iron fork, roasting the oranges with great interest.

The cloaked man walked closer to the empty chair.

A pair of well-maintained delicate hands emerged from the sleeves, took off the cloak, revealing the woman's smooth forehead and cheeks.

Xiao Dong'er was still wearing the same dark horse-faced skirt underneath, but with a new pattern, making it more formal.

The person who appeared at this moment was completely different from the noble vase and the woman playing the piano yesterday.

He bowed his head and apologized:

"I am a widow and I have been so rude to you. I cannot get away from you. Please forgive me."

Zhao Duan took back the iron fork, put the roasted orange slices that were still hot into his mouth, chewed them slowly, closed his eyes and savored the taste on his lower lips and teeth, then said casually:
"Please sit down. I don't like to talk with my head tilted up."

Madam Xiao twisted her round hips and slowly sat down, her eyes sparkling on her peaceful face.

She reached out and picked up the boiling teapot, poured him some tea, and said apologetically:

"I, the widow, dare not hope that you will really keep the appointment. I was very sorry when we first met yesterday. Really..."

Zhao Duan threw the warm iron fork onto the stove, raised his eyelids, and finally looked at the female head of the Donghu family, smiling:
"The word 'widow' sounds harsh to me. It has been said since ancient times that there are many troubles around a widow. I don't want to cause trouble. Please change the name."

(End of this chapter)

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