Prodigal Goro-kun

Yan Qiuer did not return all night, Liang Cheng also failed to find Yan Qiuer before the night ban, and after the night ban, the Yan family, who had no privileges, could not move around at will. For the first time, Yan Qiuer was completely lost. Yan had difficulty sleeping and eating. Ann, no matter how anxious Yan Sheng was, he asked Liang Cheng to withdraw all the Yan family members who were walking outside to inquire. Otherwise, if they violated the night ban and were caught by the patrolling soldiers, they would probably end up being beaten to death with random sticks. .Therefore, Yan Sheng could only sleep and eat in the Shi'an Garden by himself, and even though he knew that Yan Qiu'er would not put himself in danger, Yan Sheng still couldn't stop worrying.

Yan Qiuer is alone outside Yan's family, no matter what happens, no one will help him, how can Yan Sheng not worry?What Yan Sheng was more worried about was whether Yan Qiuer would just leave like this and never return.

Yansheng's restlessness lasted until the time was approaching, until Liang Chenglai reported that Zuo Ning brought the queen to visit.

In the Tengyuan hall, the empress sat at the top, and Zuo Ning sat upright behind the empress like an attendant. After Yan Sheng greeted the empress, he sat down on one side. Because of the empress' special status, Yan Sheng would All the redundant maidservants were dismissed, leaving only one maidservant to serve the tea, and this maidservant was selected by Liang Cheng from Shi'an Garden with the sharpest hands and feet.

"I don't know why the empress condescends to come to the Yan mansion?"

The queen kept holding the teacup in her hand, shaking it slowly, sniffing the fragrance of the tea comfortably, and did not answer immediately after hearing Yan Sheng's question. After cooling the tea and taking a sip, she opened her mouth and said: This tea is actually more fragrant than the tea in the palace."

The tea from Yan Mansion is more fragrant than the tea from the Imperial Palace?That doesn't sound like a compliment at all.Yan Sheng still hung his head halfway, without showing the slightest bit of panic, and replied calmly: "The empress is ridiculous."

The queen's eyes flickered, she lowered her head and placed the teacup on the tray beside her.Facing the empress of the current dynasty, he didn't appear cramped and flustered, and he didn't show the slightest flattery. As Ning'er said, the head of the Yan family is a difficult person to deal with.It is always difficult to deal with honest people, and it is even more difficult to deal with honest people who have money and power.

"I came today to accuse Master Yan of a crime." After much thought, the queen decided to adopt a gentle policy towards Yan Sheng.

"The grassroots are terrified, and they don't know what the queen is saying." Yan Sheng turned slightly to face the queen, bowed his head, his calm and calm voice was completely inconsistent with the panic he said.

"Master Yan doesn't need to be like this." The queen smiled generously, raised her right hand falsely, and signaled Yan Sheng to stand up straight, "Today, I am just a mother to apologize to Master Yan for my naughty son. Listen to Ning'er, before A few days ago, the prince had a dispute with the son, and accidentally hurt the son on impulse. The prince is straightforward, and being too frank can easily cause people to misunderstand him. He was punished to close the door and think about his mistakes, and he really couldn't come to apologize, so I, a mother, came here for him. I hope that the head of the Yan family will have a lot of people. Don't bother with the prince, and don't care about the Zuo family. The Yan family is a century-old merchant. Surely you won't leave a way of life for small families like the Zuo family?"

"Caomin dare not." Yan Sheng said the polite words first, and then began to think about what the queen said.

What the queen said must be about the fight between Goro and the prince the day before yesterday, but how could that matter reach the emperor's ears?Did the prince shake it out by himself?No, although the prince's brutality, recklessness and arrogance have lowered his shrewdness, it's not that he doesn't even know what he can and cannot tell the emperor.Since the crown prince didn't shake it out by himself, then... the ninth prince stabbed the emperor to the emperor?Goro gave him an idea?As for the Queen's last sentence implying that the Yan family has recently robbed the Zuo family's business, Yan Sheng just pretended not to hear it.

"As an apology, I can agree to Patriarch Yan's request. No matter whether Patriarch Yan wants money or status, or Patriarch Yan wants the Yan family to become a royal merchant, no matter what request, I can agree to Patriarch Yan. As long as Patriarch Yan is willing to forgive Prince." The queen specially bit the word "forgive" very hard, making this ordinary word sound a bit special.

Yan Sheng raised his eyes and glanced at the queen, then immediately looked away.Is the queen here today to warn the Yan family not to block the way of the prince, or to buy the Yan family for the prince?Do you want to directly refuse or just follow suit?Yan Sheng made some calculations before answering the Queen's question.

"The dog's injury was really an accident, it had nothing to do with the prince, but the dog had nothing to do with it and offended the prince, please forgive me, Your Majesty the Queen." Yan Sheng kowtowed, unable to distinguish the sincerity in his words.

Yan Sheng kowtowed, but the queen didn't know how to continue.Didn't it mean that Yan Sheng was arrogant and not afraid of the powerful?How could you apologize so easily?Didn't it mean that everything between the prince and Yan Wulang was the fault of the prince?Why did the arrogant Yan Sheng apologize for the things that the Yan family did not do wrong?Does this count as being arrogant and not afraid of the powerful?The queen turned to look at Zuo Ning, but seeing that Zuo Ning was also full of doubts, the queen couldn't help but stare at Zuo Ning.

The queen turned back to look at Yan Sheng, and said with a smile: "Patriarch Yan please get up quickly. How can a mother like me not know what kind of temperament the prince is? The prince is just spoiled by me and His Majesty. He is outspoken. Dare to say anything, but there are some things he said that others may not hear, and this is not the first time that the misfortune comes out of his mouth. Fortunately, this time he met his son, and he gave up after just beating him up. , if it were someone else, wouldn't you have to bear the grudge of stabbing him in the back?"

"The prince has a noble status and is respected by others. How can anyone treat the prince badly? It's a dog who owes him discipline. Yan will definitely deal with it according to the family law."

The queen is upset.Did Yan Sheng not understand what she meant?Why do you always feel like you are going in circles when you talk about it?But Yan Sheng's face was expressionless, and his tone didn't fluctuate. The queen couldn't tell whether Yan Sheng was sincere or fake.

Zuo Ning looked at the Empress, then at Yan Sheng, and suddenly interjected: "I want to report to the Empress, Aning begged the Empress to bring Aning here today, and he also asked the Master Yan."

Upon hearing Zuo Ning's words, the queen immediately cooperated with Zuo Ning, saying: "Oh? I said you never leave the prince's side, why do you insist on me bringing you here today? It turned out that I hid this thought, then you say What do you want to do with Patriarch Yan?"

"I have admired Patriarch Yan's name for a long time, and Zuo should have visited earlier, but because of the royal family's pity, he has been busy with business since he became an imperial merchant, so he didn't have time to come. No wonder I still hope Patriarch Yan."

busy?Yan Sheng raised his eyebrows.The Zuo family has been busy sending money to the palace, right?But where did the Zuo family get so much money to send to the palace?You can't make that much money just relying on the Zuo family's business, right?

Yan Sheng replied in his heart: "Your Excellency, you are being polite. Merchants do not get together without profit." The Zuo family entrusted the Yan family with transportation business, and at most they could meet Xiao He, the general manager of the Yan family's merchants. How could there be a chance? Meet him?Moreover, the Zuo family was busy dealing with the court, so how could they have time to deal with pure merchants like the Yan family?

Zuo Ning was taken aback for a moment, then cupped his hands to Yan Sheng, and said sincerely: "What Patriarch Yan said is true, Zuo has been taught. Zuo came here today for this benefit."

"Say." Although it was in front of the queen, the one who was talking to Yan Sheng at this time was Zuo Ning after all, so Yan Sheng's tone and attitude returned to the normal state without even the slightest scruples.

Just this resounding word "say" made the Queen and Zuo Ning's hearts tremble suddenly, and the momentum unconsciously revealed in this word made Zuo Ning and the Queen really feel why Yansheng was so young at such a young age. But he can stand at the top of the merchants in Tianlan Kingdom.Zuo Ning, who met Yansheng for the first time, began to reevaluate Yansheng.

"The Zuo family wants to cooperate with the Yan family for a business." Zuo Ning looked at Yan Sheng's expression while talking, but naturally he couldn't get any useful information from Yan Sheng's expression.

"About what?" Yan Sheng was noncommittal, but asked calmly.

Zuo Ning exchanged glances with the Queen, and then said to Yan Sheng, "It's about... the casting iron."

cast iron?Yan Sheng was startled, then raised his head, looked at Zuo Ning coldly, and asked, "Cast iron? Is it a sage's instruction?"

The smile on Zuo Ning's face froze, and he looked at the queen a little at a loss.

The queen smiled slightly, and said to Yan Sheng: "The crown prince has always been responsible for the iron casting. Since Ning'er dared to speak to Patriarch Yan, she must have gotten the crown prince's words. How could the saint not know?"

Yan Sheng sneered secretly.It's one thing for a sage to know, but it's another thing to be sure, not to mention that he saw Zuo Ning's erratic eyes. If the sage knows it, it must be a serious crime.

"The Yan family's business does not involve cast iron, and no one can do it. I'm afraid it will disappoint Your Excellency."

Zuo Ning and the queen looked at each other blankly again.Did Yan Sheng understand this or not?It stands to reason that Yan Sheng should be very shrewd to manage such a large Yan family, and it is impossible not to understand the hints in these words, but even the queen who has been struggling in the harem for many years cannot tell from Yan Sheng's expression. Given some clues, it is even more impossible to judge whether Yan Sheng is probing because of worries, or is pretending to be dumb and prevaricating.

"Master Yan is too modest." Zuo Ning said with a smile, "If even Master Yan doesn't have the confidence to do iron casting, which merchant in Tianlan Kingdom can do it? And it's not because he has never tried before that he wants to do it." Did you try it? With the current financial resources and strength of the Yan family, how difficult is it to just cast iron?"

Yan Sheng made a gesture of thinking.If he didn't give an answer at this time, the two of them might not be able to leave.

So Yan Sheng pondered for a while and said, "It is not up to me to expand the family business alone. Please allow me to discuss it with my mother."

As far as ordinary merchants' families are concerned, it is true that other members of the family should discuss the development of new businesses, but does Yansheng need to discuss with others when doing things?Zuo Ning was suspicious of this, but he couldn't doubt it.

The queen stared at Yan Sheng's sharp side face, although she didn't think that a mere merchant would have the guts not to accept her favor, but the queen always felt that Yan Sheng would have such boldness.

After thinking about it, the queen made a concession: "In that case, Ning'er, let's go."

"But Her Royal Highness, the matter of the prince..."

The reason why the prince was fined and grounded was because the ninth prince suddenly went to the queen mother to make trouble, saying that the prince had hurt his friend for no reason, and threatened to kill him. It’s okay to teach the son, but the emperor was also annoyed, but he couldn’t be angry with his mother, so all the anger fell on the prince. What made it worse was that when the emperor taught the prince, the doctor Jin Ziguanglu was also there, and he even fanned the flames, causing the emperor Furious, he not only restrained the prince's feet, but also threatened to abolish the prince.But the confinement is true, the angry words of the abolition of the prince can only scare the prince and the queen, Zuo Ning knows that the emperor still has expectations for the prince, and if he wants the emperor to abolish the prince, he has to give it another push.

It is inconvenient for Zuo Ning to come to Yan's house alone, no matter how he explains it, it will cause suspicion. There are too many people around the prince who dislike him, and those eyes are all fixed on him. If he is not careful, his previous efforts may be wasted, so Zuo Ning only encouraged the queen to come to Yan's house today, originally suggesting that the queen persuade Yan Sheng to intercede for the crown prince. After all, the injured person was Yan Qiuer, and Yan Sheng, the father, who begged for mercy could extinguish the emperor to some extent. anger.

Of course, this was just Zuo Ning's rhetoric to persuade the queen to come to Yan's house. In fact, Zuo Ning wanted to win Yan's house to cooperate with him.The Yan family's sudden intervention in the matter of going north to Huihe was either ordered by King Huai'an or related to the Ninth Prince. No matter who is behind the Yan family, bringing down the prince must be the first step in their plan. This is not in line with the purpose of the Zuo family. Coincidentally.Zuo Ning originally wanted to use cast iron as a bait to find an opportunity to contact the Yan family privately, but with Yan Sheng's attitude, how should he proceed to the next step?

The queen ignored Zuo Ning, and after a few polite words with Yan Sheng, she left with her head held high.

Zuo Ning didn't dare to stay alone, so he could only follow the Queen's footsteps angrily.

Yan Sheng got up to see them off.The maidservant who had been waiting on the side turned the main character around and walked out, then got up too, glanced at Yansheng's back, lifted her skirt and ran quickly from the back door of Tengyuan Hall to the backyard.

"His Royal Highness, why don't you let the head of the Yan family intercede for the prince? Is it true that the prince should be banned for three months?" After leaving the gate of Yan's house, Zuo Ning helped the queen into the carriage, while he walked beside the carriage, through the window asked in doubt.

Zuo Ning couldn't see the Queen's expression, only heard a cold snort from the carriage, and then the Queen's displeased voice: "It doesn't matter whether that Yan Sheng is smart or stupid, he made it clear that he wants to pretend to be confused with you, Is it possible to force him with a knife around his neck? I don’t know who in the Yan family has friendship with that bastard Chu Yi, if Chu Yi is asked to go to the queen mother to make a fuss, can the prince’s position be kept?"

"What the queen said is true." Zuo Ning responded obediently.

"Be careful in your actions in the future, don't provoke that Chu Yi again, the boy on the left and right is not interested in the throne, you can hide from him if you can, the queen mother doesn't like the prince, don't provoke him all over .Also, if you can't explain the matter of wooing the Yan family to the head of the family, then go to his son."

The queen babbled and instructed Zuo Ning, but Zuo Ning just listened quietly, occasionally answering "yes".

Accompanying the carriage to a certain place, Zuo Ning suddenly caught a glimpse of a stranger waving to him frequently at the corner of the street. Zuo Ning looked the man up and down, and then told the queen that he was going to buy some pastries for the prince to take back. Then he left the carriage and walked towards the West Market.

Sure enough, the man who waved to him just now followed him to the West Market.

While guessing the identity of that person, Zuo Ning walked towards the West Market, entered a restaurant in the West Market around noon, found a vacant seat on the side, and asked Xiao Er to put down the curtain after ordering food block.

Zuo Ning didn't wait long, and the person who had been following him opened the curtain and walked in.

"Sorry for disturbing Brother Zuo Yaxing, I'm at Xiayan Peak."

"Yan Feng? Are you from the Yan family?" Zuo Ning looked at Yan Feng in surprise.Could it be that Patriarch Yan understood what he meant and asked this person to talk to him in detail? "Please sit down." No matter what, Zuo Ning let Yan Feng sit down opposite him first.

"Yan Lang-jun is looking for me, why?"

"I heard that Brother Zuo wanted to cooperate with the Yan family, but his uncle refused?" Yan Feng poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip in a dignified manner.

uncle?Is this Yan Feng Yan Sheng's nephew?Zuo Ning frowned slightly.

"It's not considered rejected, it's just that Patriarch Yan said that it takes time to think about it."

Yan Feng sneered and said, "Since uncle said that he would consider it, then there is probably no hope. Don't look at my uncle's appearance, sometimes he is a little stubborn."

"The Yan family has a great career, and it is only natural that the owner of the Yan family will act cautiously." Zuo Ning smiled kindly.

Yan Feng smiled noncommittally, and then said: "Although uncle is not interested in casting iron, I am very interested. The left and right are both surnamed Yan. I wonder if Brother Zuo is interested in cooperating with the Jiangnan Yan family?"

"Jiangnan Yan's family?" Zuo Ning raised his eyebrows.I have heard that Yan's family is united as one, but now it seems that this is not the case.But it is also true, the Yan family has such a large family business and so much wealth, no one wants to keep it in their pockets, let alone the surname Yan.only……

Zuo Ning pursed his lips.Originally, he didn't want to cooperate with the Yan family for the sake of making money, and more fundamentally, he wanted to cooperate with the people behind the Yan family, so the Jiangnan Yan family was nothing to him.but……

Zuo Ning took another look at Yan Feng.He could use the Yan family in the south of the Yangtze River. If he used it well, he might be able to force Yan Sheng to cooperate with him.

"Exactly." Yan Feng nodded with a bit of pride and smiled, "Although the Yan family in Jiangnan is just a branch of the Yan family, it is located in a land of fish and rice, and the Yan family in Jiangnan is no worse than our own family."

"Then... happy cooperation." Zuo Ning raised his teacup with a smile, respected Yan Feng, and drank it down in one gulp.

"Haha, it's easy to talk about." Yan Feng also smiled and replaced the wine with tea, and asked Zuo Ning after drinking, "Then, specifically..."

"I will send someone to discuss the details with Brother Feng later. The crown prince is still in the palace waiting for Zuo to return to his command. Zuo is not suitable to stay for a long time. Brother Feng, please do as you please." Zuo Ning stood up and politely Smile at Yanfeng.

"Oh...that's it, Brother Zuo, go slowly. I have to go back too." Yan Feng got up after him, and the two walked out side by side, talking and laughing.

In the restaurant, next to the compartment on the west side of the compartment where Zuo Ning and Yan Feng were staying just now, Qing Jue poured the freshly brewed tea into a cup and brought it to the person opposite, carefully sizing him up s color.

He had heard a certain sister in Huayue Pavilion mention that Yan Feng was the nephew of the head of the Yan family, but because his father was married into the Yan family, he took his mother's surname, and he was also a cousin of the gentlemen in the Yan family commensurate.Half a month ago, this person came to Chang'an City from Linxiang. He walked around the city in a high-profile way, and often hang out with some wealthy and ignorant gentlemen. He became famous in Chang'an City in only half a month, but his name was not good. .

Qing Jue always thought that Yanfeng and Yanfeng were at most ignorant and incompetent prodigal sons. Maybe their parents asked Yan Patriarch to discipline them on their behalf before being sent to Chang'an City. Unexpectedly, they still had such thoughts. Could it be that they planned to take Yan Patriarch instead?

Qing Jue looked at Yan Qiuer with some trepidation.

Yan Qiuer wore his black half mask, his eyes were calm and unwavering, as if he had never heard the conversation between Zuo Ning and Yan Feng.

Yan Qiu'er didn't expect that he just took the opportunity to take Qingjue out for a meal to talk about things, and he could accidentally overhear such a conversation, his luck is really good.

"Did you remember everything I told you?"

"Yes, I remember everything clearly." Qing Jue hesitated for a moment and asked, "Then... about Yanfeng."

Yan Qiuer looked up at Qing Jue, and said, "You don't need to worry about it for now. You just need to do the things in Huayue Pavilion well. The newly hired luthiers, maikos, and nurses must be disciplined. If you don't Yes, let those who know how to do it do it, the original people of Huayue Pavilion, you can use it yourself if you trust it. It will reopen in ten days without delay."

"Yes." Qing Jue agreed.

Yan Qiu'er took the money bag from his waist again, threw it to Qing Jue, and said: "Here's the money for you, go to Jinchengfang to buy a house, as Hefu, those in Huayue Pavilion who can't learn how to please guests, Let’s send it to the mansion to be a servant, but you can decide what kind of people you can send and who you can’t.”

"Yes, my lord."

"This mask is for you. In Huayue Pavilion, you are Qing Jue who is in charge. When you leave the gate of Huayue Pavilion to do things for me, you will wear this mask and pretend to be Mr. He." Yan said. Qiu Er threw the mask to Qing Jue again.

"But..." Qing Jue catches the mask in a panic, and looks at Yan Qiuer anxiously.

"I have my own intentions in doing this. You can do it with confidence. If something happens, send someone to the Yan Mansion to look for Jin Dou, and he will tell me."

"Yes, my lord."

"Yeah." Yan Qiuer nodded and got up, "I'm leaving, you can buy some food for the people in Huayue Pavilion and bring them back."

"Qing Jue thanked the lord for them." Qing Jue kowtowed on his knees, extremely thankful that the person he begged was Yan Qiu'er.

Yan Qiuer waved his hand, walked out of the restaurant, hired a carriage and returned to Yan's Mansion, and went straight to Shi'an Garden as soon as he entered the mansion.

I don't know if Yan Sheng will be angry if he just came back now.