Tanhualang

The rainy season had just passed, and Zhao Heng followed Sun Ping to Nanjing Jingying every day to train soldiers and select generals and schools, and he was too busy to touch the ground.After a few days of busy work like this, because he thought it was a waste of time to go back and forth, he simply lived in the Acropolis on the outskirts of Beijing, where he lived with the soldiers.

In addition to Wei Zheng's personal protection, Xiao You sent Xiao Tong to Nanjing Jingying to serve Zhao Heng, but he was still busy with the Weaving Department.At this time, it was late June, and the birthday of the King of Yu was approaching, so the banquets needed to be prepared; as well as the congratulatory gifts from the emperor and other princes and ministers, they were still being transported from Beijing to Nanjing in a steady stream, and they also needed to be received and thanked.

Xiao You was so busy that he still sneaked in, and solemnly confessed the Shandong secret report to Shen Jing: "It's so easy for you to help me share some of it. I'm almost exhausted these days."

Although Shen Jing was aware of things in Shandong before, it was only after he received the secret report that he realized that the situation was already so tense: Most of the secret reports from Shandong came from Yanzhou, Yizhou and Qingzhou, and occasionally there were Jinan, Tai'an and other places. unimpeded.However, although it is compact, the content is usually only a few lines, or a few pages at most, so it is not troublesome to deal with, which is considered trivial to Shen Jing, so within three to five days, it is already handy.

Xiaoyou saw that he was quiet and relaxed, so he handed over some of the preparations for going to Suzhou, Yancheng, and Ningbo: "In Nanjing Six Departments, some people look down on people like me. I don't like to be angry with him. I will leave it to you to deal with the Ministry of War. As well as the letters to the state capitals, you will also discuss with them and check for them. Feel free to ask me if you don’t know.”

"Okay. I don't know who is in charge at the Ministry of War?"

"Your servant, Xie Bing, you will know when you see him. The person who often comes to contact him is Zhang Yue, who is not very old, and Lin Mu is quite capable and understands things. It is a bit arrogant, and sometimes he is not very polite when speaking. It looks like I don’t know whose family the young master is from.”

Nodding quietly: "I made a note."

Xiaoyou put his hands together and bowed to him: "Amitabha, you saved me from the fire and water. There are so many tedious troubles here. Since I started doing these things, I have lost a lot of hair. I still suffer from Zhang Yue from time to time. Two sentences are salty."

"It's really unreasonable," Shen Jing suggested for him, "Why don't you go to Xie Shilang to file a complaint?"

"One more thing is worse than one less thing. I don't care about this ignorant person. Besides, if I really want to care about it, I won't be able to finish it. It will only delay His Highness's business." Xiaoyou waved his hand, "Your Highness, this meeting is also for Shandong It's very disturbing."

Shen Jing secretly admired Xiao You's heart, but said with a smile: "You, you, where are you looking for a helper to help His Highness? I see that you are clearly pretending to be self-serving, so you hired me to be your cow and horse."

"It's a loss for you to be an ox and a horse for me?" Xiao You snorted, "Now you have become a clerk in the majestic palace, with such a high salary every month, and you are rewarded by His Highness from time to time. Now your net worth, If you want to marry a daughter-in-law, it is enough to marry three or four, you should thank me!"

"Thank you, I have to thank you very much. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to make a fortune in the Year of the Monkey." Shen Jing smiled, "I must buy you more wine."

Talking about eating and drinking, the two of them couldn't spare that leisure time.Because he had to send secret reports from Shandong to Zhao Heng every day, Shen Jing ran to Nanjing Jingying almost every day. At first it was a carriage, but later Shen Jing thought it was too slow, so he simply rode a horse like a guard.Even though he was tired, he couldn't complain: at the hottest time at the end of June, the hot sun was basking in the sun, and he felt sweaty when he stood still, but every time he went to see Zhao Heng, what he saw was the same He went into battle shirtless with Sun Jian, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and practiced with soldiers, either weapons or formations.

He has endured hardships to become a master, and he finally understood why Zhao Heng Tian Huang, a nobleman, was able to win every battle in Gansu and Ningxia, and became a famous warrior at a young age.

Arriving at the camp as usual that day, Zhao Heng just finished training, with his tanned chest and arms bare, as he walked towards his residence, he listened to Shen Jing's report: "Qingzhou News, His Highness the King of Han is still in the mansion just like a few days ago. He was recuperating and did not show up. Yanzhou and Yizhou secretly reported that everything is as usual. There is no letter from Jinan Tai'an."

Zhao Heng slowed down: "Okay."

"Xiaoyou asked me to send a message to His Highness to know: Duke Mingde ordered someone to send a birthday gift and congratulatory letter, do you still want to reply?"

"Return. Gu wants to write back in person." Zhao Heng said while he had already arrived at the washing place.The little boy had already prepared water and was waiting. Zhao Heng walked into the barrel and was about to untie his trousers when he stopped suddenly and looked back at Shen Jing, "Is there anything else?"

"It's gone." Shen Jing lowered his eyes, "Then I'll go back first."

"En. Go." Zhao Heng responded, still not moving, as if waiting for Shen Jing to leave.Shen Jing took a step back, hesitated for a while, and looked up at the wooden bucket prepared by the boy for bathing, and lowered his eyes and said, "It's easy to catch cold in hot weather, Your Highness, please take care of yourself. It is especially not suitable to use cold water for bathing."

Zhao Heng paused for a moment and said "En".

Shen Jing didn't leave, looked at Zhao Heng, and then at the bucket full of cold water.Seeing this, Zhao Heng couldn't help laughing: "Okay, Gu knows." Then he told the little boy: "Go and add hot water. From now on, we will use hot water for bathing."

Shen Jing saluted without raising her head, then turned and left.

At the same time, Shen Jing began to prepare for King Yu's patrols in Suzhou, Haiyan, and Ningbo. The first thing was to contact the Nanjing Ministry of War.Sun Ping, Minister of the Ministry of War, is now in Nanjing Jingying with Zhao Heng to rectify the military. The sea patrol is dominated by the two servants, especially Xie Bing, the right servant.

Xie Bing, the Minister of the Nanjing Military Department, was originally a member of the Military Department in Beijing, and was later transferred to serve as the Minister of the Nanjing Military Department.Xie Bing is now quite old, and can be regarded as a veteran in the officialdom, but fortunately, he is still cautious and conscientious, and has a reserved manner. Although he deals with Shen Jing, a staff member of the royal family, he is very measured, and his words and deeds are neither humble nor overbearing, but also with moderate humility , Shen Jing met him once, and felt that this person was not annoying.

But Zhang Yue, the principal brought by Xie Bing, was really not likable.

This person is said to be a Jinshi, and he also looks smart, thoughtful and experienced in doing things.But when Shen Jing and him deal with each other, the other party always acts contemptuously.When we met for the first time, Shen Jing introduced herself: "My surname is Shen and my name is Jing, and I am currently working in the palace. If you have little knowledge and inappropriate things, please give me some advice from Mr. Zhang." Zhang Yue then answered: "Where is it? I heard that Mr. The chief executive Qian who is next to the prince is the most talented person. To be able to get into the eyes of the chief executive Qian must be superior, and I ask you to give me more advice."

His words seemed respectful, but he was calm but not stupid, and he could hear the meaning hidden in his words: You are a shameless person who curry favor with the eunuch, you are the eunuch's dog leg.

Shen Jing started to get a little angry, but suppressed her anger.I went back and thought about this matter carefully, and felt that I understood the other party's thoughts: aside from the misunderstanding that the other party regarded himself as an "eunuch", before Tong Xiaoyou got acquainted with eunuchs, he also had a lot of prejudice against eunuchs, thinking that these people Being ignorant and incompetent will harm the country and the people.

Later, after I got acquainted with Xiaoyou, and recognized Cao Feng, Ding Bao and others, I gradually changed my mind. Instead, I felt that it was not for nothing that these people were in high positions: they were capable, cautious, or tactful. Alert and capable, and able to stand alone, the owner is loyal.

He also remembered that Zhao Heng used Ding Bao to mention this matter to him alone before, and he calmed down even more: no matter how impolite Zhang Yue talked to him, he would treat each other with courtesy and discuss the matter as it stands. Do your best.

After so many times, Zhang Yue is not the kind of person who is so confused that he can't breathe. Instead, he is much more polite to Shen Jing, and it is easier to contact things than before.

Only then did Shen Jing breathe a sigh of relief.He wasn't afraid of getting angry, but he was afraid of delaying his business, causing little trouble to Xiaoyou, and delaying King Yu's trip to the sea patrol was a major matter.

The busy days passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, Zhao Heng had lived in Nanjing Jingying for more than ten days, and he didn't return to the Weaving Department until the day before his birthday, the sixth day of the seventh lunar month.

At noon that day, Shen Jing went to see him with the secret report from Shandong.When entering the room, I happened to see Xiao You changing clothes for Zhao Heng.Zhao Heng's hair was still damp. He must have just showered. He was wearing a dark green gauze robe with a wide belt around his waist. He looked comfortable and capable.

Shen Jing was stunned for a while, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when she looked at herself.What he is wearing today is also a round-neck long gown with dark green cloud pattern, which is not only the same style as Zhao Heng's, but also the same color, except that the fabric is a little different: Zhao Heng's is a gauze gown, his is a silk robe. shirt.

It's not terrible to bump into a shirt, whoever is ugly is embarrassed.The reason why Shen Jing is embarrassed is because he feels that Zhao Heng is slender and well-proportioned, with broad shoulders, a thin waist, and a calm and introverted demeanor, like a jade tree facing the wind; on the other hand, in comparison, his stature is much weaker.

He saluted Zhao Heng, and Zhao Heng nodded, apparently also noticing that the two had clashed shirts today, looked Shen Jing up and down, but didn't say anything.On the other hand, Xiaoyou smiled and said, "Mr. Shen also wore new clothes today? It's still the same color as His Highness."

Shen Jing smiled, and flattered her from the bottom of her heart: "Your Highness looks much better dressed than I do."

Xiao You said with a smile: "Not really. This dress suits your skin whiteness."

Zhao Heng took a look at him, and made a rare joke: "You mean that Gu is uglier and darker?"

"Dare not dare. Each has its own style." Xiao You adjusted Zhao Heng's belt, stood aside and smiled, "His Highness is tall and straight, like a pine and cypress; Mr. Shen is tall and tall, like a green bamboo."

After listening to his comparison, Shen Jing felt inexplicably embarrassed for some reason.Zhao Heng snorted and said with a smile: "Your flattering skills have improved a lot recently. Others kill two birds with one stone, and you can hit two horses with one stone."

Xiao You said with a smile: "Your Highness knows that I never flatter others. I always say what I say."

After making a joke, let’s get down to business, Shen Jing reported the situation of the Shandong army to Zhao Heng one by one, and explained to Zhao Heng the travel matters that had been agreed with the Ministry of War in the past few days, and then wrote down Zhao Heng’s opinion, ready to go back and thank you Bing and Zhang Yue explained, and then filled in additions and changes.

He finished his business and was about to leave when he heard Xiao You and Zhao Heng asking for leave: "His Royal Highness is going out tonight, and there is a guard accompanying him, so I won't go? A friend just happened to invite me to go out."

"Go and do your work." Zhao Heng replied casually, just in time to see Shen Jing who was about to go out, so he stopped him, "Miao An, go too."

"..." Shen Jing stopped, turned around, and looked a little surprised, "...Your Highness?"

"Sun Ping invites you to a banquet tonight, you can go with Gu."

Shen Jing paused, then hesitated: "This—"

Zhao Heng raised his eyes and looked at him: "Why, you have something to do too?"

"...Yes. I...have an appointment with friends tonight."

When Zhao Heng heard this, he was rarely interested in asking about things other than official business: "Where are your friends? You have a lot of friends, and you also have familiar friends in Nanjing?"

"...Ah," Shen Jing faltered a few times, looked up at Xiaoyou, who couldn't laugh or cry, and finally admitted honestly, "Tonight...I just asked Xiaoyou's housekeeper...to go out together."