Wang Yang spoke with a strong accent and a loud voice: "No one is here."
Jiang Mengzhen's voice was low and gentle: "It's not urgent. Can you tell me where she went and how long it will take for her to come back?"
Wang Yang was excited when he heard the voice. He lowered his voice unconsciously, sounding more polite. "The mistress is out for fun with Miss Qiao next door. According to the past, it will take at least an hour. If it's slower, it may take until dark. If you are in a hurry, I can try to find the mistress."
I have never seen Wang Yang so gentle before. Hearing her voice, Dong Xue, who was cleaning the yard, got goose bumps all over the floor. He threw the big broom in his hand into a corner, rubbed his hands, and walked over: "Our master is indeed out. Do you have any urgent business to find her? If it's not urgent, you can leave a message and we will pass it on for you."
"Then I'll wait for her here." Jiang Mengzhen seemed very patient.
"It's windy outside, you'd better come in and sit down." Wang Yang said quickly. She felt tired standing all the time, let alone the weak-looking man in front of her.
Dong Xue immediately glared at her. They didn't even know who this person was, and there were some raw materials in the yard that had not been collected. How could this idiot dare to let someone in so easily
However, he looked at the man in front of him. Although the man's clothes were not luxurious, he looked different from servants like them. If he was really a distinguished guest of the host, it would not be easy to treat him badly.
"The yard is full of debris. If you don't mind, please wait for a while while we clean it up before inviting you in."
After saying that, he quickly closed the door. Wang Yang turned to him with dissatisfaction: "What's wrong with this yard? Our house is clean and there is nothing shameful. Why did you lock them out?"
Dong Xue lowered her voice and started to scold him: "Did your brain get squeezed by the door? You're obsessed with a handsome man and believe whatever he says. If a liar comes and says he's a relative of the host family and is seriously ill, you'll have to pay all your money to him. Put away the sauces in the yard first. Hurry up and this guy can stand outside for a while longer."
Wang Yang was stunned by what he said. He packed his things and muttered in dissatisfaction, "But I don't think that young man is a liar. Besides, it's so cold in October and his clothes are so thin."
Dong Xue rolled her eyes and spat at her in her heart, what a dark, strong and rough guy, almost forty years old, but just a servant, and yet he still wanted to eat swan meat.
Jiang Mengzhen waited outside for about half a minute, and the door opened to him again. The two people enthusiastically invited him in, but he shook his head and rejected their kindness.
He still understood Hao Cheng's personality. If he was really an acquaintance, it would be fine for him to go in and wait, but when the two met, the other's face would definitely be "good-looking". If he kept waiting outside, based on his perseverance, as long as Hao Cheng still had some compassion, he would definitely be touched. What's more, Hao Cheng's compassion was not just a little bit.
On this side, Jiang Mengzhen was waiting peacefully in the chilly autumn wind, while on the other side, Hao Cheng was dragged by Qiao Mu all the way to Mingjiang Pavilion, which was a place where scholars and patriots in Mingzhou City gathered for leisurely conversation.
It would certainly be beneficial for Hao Cheng to make more friends with talented and ambitious people, and this place could indeed be called a good place.
Mingjiang Pavilion has three floors. The first floor has four stone walls with poems and songs written or engraved on them left by ancient and modern poets. The second floor is a private room, which is also a place for scholars who have formed small circles to have leisurely conversations. The third floor is the residence of the owner of Mingjiang Pavilion. There are maids with high martial arts skills guarding the second and third floors. Unless appreciated by the owner of Mingjiang Pavilion, ordinary people are not allowed to go up easily.
Hao Cheng first walked around the first floor. Although she had the memory of a scholar and had memorized 300 Tang poems in her previous life, her poetry writing skills were not very good. However, her appreciation level was still good enough, at least she could recognize the quality of the poems and essays on the wall.
She actually had no interest in such places, so she just regarded it as a sightseeing spot. She was just taking a quick look at the words on the wall when two groups of people came towards her from the second floor. The group in front came over with a smile on their faces and complimented Qiao Mu first.
Their eyes fell on the unfamiliar face next to Qiao Mu: "Who is this lady?"
Qiao Mu took the opportunity to push Hao Cheng out: "This is my new sister, you are not allowed to do anything to her."
Hao Cheng greeted him gracefully: "My name is Hao Cheng, and my courtesy name is Mingyuan."
Several people introduced themselves one after another, not as enthusiastic as they did to Qiao Mu, but still politely. Before they finished introducing themselves to each other, the woman who followed them started to mock them: "Isn't this the woman who sells cakes? A stall owner comes to a place like this, which really tarnishes the reputation of scholars and ruins such a noble place."
Seeing Qiao Mu's face darken instantly, she chuckled again: "Yes, the lady of the city lord's family is extraordinary. She likes to help the poor and deal with the lower class the most."
Hao Cheng's hand-pulled pancakes are very famous, so it's no surprise that the lady recognized her. The people following Qiao Mu also looked very unhappy. Although the woman was scolding Hao Cheng, she also scolded them as well.
Some of those who came from good families were angry that Hao Cheng had implicated them, while those from poorer families looked furious, as if they could empathize with Hao Cheng and felt extremely embarrassed.
Qiao Mu gritted his teeth and said to Hao Cheng with a guilty look: "I was wrong today. I implicated my sister. You don't have to take it too seriously."
Hao Cheng nodded: "Sister Qiao, you worry too much. If you are bitten by a mad dog, you should just consider yourself unlucky. You won't bite it back."
She had seen all kinds of people in her previous life, people who flattered the powerful and looked down on the weak, and there were so many people who had their eyes on their heads. She was not so petty and took things to heart. Otherwise, her current status was indeed not high, and she would be angry every day, and sooner or later she would be suffocated to death.
Qiao Mu burst out laughing, and then saw Hao Cheng's worried face: "Since you don't take it to heart, why do you look so sad?"
Hao Cheng exhaled and sighed, "I won't provoke a mad dog, but I have to worry about it running over and biting me again. It wouldn't be good if my business was ruined."
She didn't know the man's identity, but since he was surrounded by several people, he must have a high status. Moreover, he was sarcastic right away, so he must be very mean. He knew that she was selling scallion pancakes, so he might retaliate against her.
Qiao Mu patted his chest and made a promise with great confidence: "I will protect your stall. Let's see which mad dog dares to bite people recklessly."
Hao Cheng smiled and suggested on the spot that Qiao Mu should invest in her new shop. She had been wanting to find an opportunity to say it for a long time. Although a sole proprietorship is free, she has little influence and is just an orphan scholar. Instead of asking Qiao Mu to protect her out of friendship, it would be better to let Qiao Mu invest. With Qiao Mu's name, there will naturally be fewer people in the city who would covet her business.
Qiao Mu agreed readily, and her eyes swept over those good sisters with good family backgrounds. Several of them looked at her and expressed their desire to add a share of the money.
Their movements on the first floor were all seen by the people on the second floor. Qiao's father thought Hao Cheng was decent in appearance, temperament and conversation, but he had to take the imperial examination and at least get the title of Jinshi before he was eligible to marry his son. Of course, it didn't matter if his family background was not good enough, as long as he was good to his son, his family could let Hao Cheng marry into the family.
Anyway, there are many men in the city who are reluctant to give up their sons and take wives. They don't require the women to be successful, as long as they are good-looking and their heads are not filled with a bunch of grass. As the mayor of the city, Qiao Shan expressed his dissatisfaction on the spot: "Hao Cheng is taking advantage of our daughter. I think Qiao Mu is not careful in choosing friends. This kind of poor boy probably only flatters her because of her status. Xiao Yu'er, mother is telling you that this kind of woman is not a good match. Don't get in touch with her in the future, okay?"
If Hao Cheng heard this, he would definitely sneer. It was Qiao Mu who came to her, not her who took the initiative to find Qiao Mu, not to mention that Qiao Mu did not reveal his identity at the beginning.
Collusion between officials and businessmen is usually mutually beneficial. Even if Qiao Mu was not there, if she really wanted to open a store, she would find a way to find suitable candidates to invest. She can understand that parents do not want their children to be taken advantage of, but Qiao Shan puts himself in such a high position that it is extremely embarrassing for her.
Qiao Yu, one of the parties involved, seemed very impatient: "I told you not to bother me so much, but you dragged me here just to watch this."
Although he said this, Qiao Yu had other plans in mind.
He was born rebellious, and this age is the peak of rebellion. He doesn't like to listen to his parents' discipline, nor does he like them to be strict. If Qiao Shan and Qiao's father praise Hao Cheng like a flower, he will hate Hao Cheng instead. Qiao Shan is very dissatisfied, so naturally he has to go against his mother.
Hao Cheng didn't know that she was being stared at yet, but she instinctively felt that several inquiring eyes were focused on her, and those eyes were not friendly, which made her feel uncomfortable all over.
Unfortunately, there was a screen upstairs, so she couldn't see who was looking at her.
She had just ridiculed the third daughter of the Bai family, who of course would not allow her to ridicule them, so she seized on her low status and ridiculed her harshly. If it were the original scholar, he would have been so angry that he would want to die of shame and ashamed. But Hao Cheng was thick-skinned, and setting up a stall to do business was never a shameful thing for her.
However, when Bai Yan was spitting, she couldn't help but frown.