Including the first time he sent someone to invite him, this was his third time visiting Mr. Shen.
This time, Zhu Li did not bring Wang Yueyao with him. If she was not careful again and revealed her true identity, she would not be in trouble, but it would not be a good thing to always delay things.
Fortunately, Mr. Shen did not close the door to the guests this time. A pretty young lady came out to greet him. Moreover, this young lady was very aggressive. She said directly to Zhu Li: "Mr. Shen said that the envoy has visited several times, and Mr. Shen can't continue to refuse to see him. However, Mr. Shen requires that the envoy can only go in alone, and others must stay outside."
Zhu Li was not surprised to hear this. This guy had rejected him several times. It was not unusual for him to agree to meet him with some conditions.
However, Li Hanzhi frowned upon hearing this, pretending to be fierce, and said, "Young lady, why doesn't your master allow me to go in? Is Li ashamed to see people?"
Upon hearing this, the young lady ignored his threats and glared at Zhu Li cleverly. Obviously, she knew whose words would have the most effect. If Zhu Li agreed, then even if the big man was fierce, he would have to stay outside.
"Since that's Mr. Shen's intention, you just wait outside." Zhu Li turned around, signaling Li Hanzhi not to scare the child, and instructed calmly.
Although "No" was helpless and innocent, Li Hanzhi and more than a dozen guards still responded immediately.
The hot-tempered girl turned around and gave Li Hanzhi a glare with a smug look on her face, as if she was declaring her victory. In response, Li Hanzhi could only stare blankly with a sullen look on his face.
Mr. Shen taught at the Jixia Academy. He was a learned man, but his residence was very simple: two front rooms with an aisle between them, three main huts, and three side huts made up all of the courtyard.
There was a small garden in the yard, with strange flowers and plants, and a faint fragrance, which was a bit like the smell of medicine; a big black dog was lying on the ground, panting with its tongue sticking out and stretching out; a few old hens were walking leisurely with the steps of Guan Gong, not afraid of strangers at all, and searched for food wantonly.
The whole courtyard is filled with a strong atmosphere of life. There seems to be no outsiders in the house, as if there is only a strong and obedient girl.
Zhu Li was brought into the main room by the fierce girl. What is the main room? It is the place in the middle of the three thatched huts. In the old days, in ordinary people's homes, the middle room was called the main room, which was usually used for eating and meeting guests.
When he entered the room, he did not see the owner. Just as Zhu Li was puzzled, the door curtain on one side of the room was gently lifted, and a tall and beautiful woman walked out.
"This must be the envoy, please take a seat. Yan'er, go and pour him a glass of water." The woman seemed very casual and immediately instructed the fierce girl.
"Yes, ma'am." The hot-tempered young girl agreed and left the main room and went to the side room.
This fierce girl turned out to be Yan'er. That's not the point. The point is that Zhu Li came to visit Mr. Shen, so a woman coming out is no big deal.
Judging from the lady's attire, she is about 29 years old, and her hair is still in a small bun with flowers on it, which is obviously the style of an unmarried woman. Could she be Mr. Shen's sister
Confused, Zhu Li bowed and said, "Is this Madam Xin?"
"Hmm," the woman hummed softly, and sat down on the main seat. She stretched out her hand and pointed, indicating Zhu Li to sit opposite her at the table.
Zhu Li thanked him and sat down, continuing to bow and said, "Madam, where is your brother?"
"Your brother?" Madam Shen looked up at Zhu Li in confusion.
Seeing the other party's expression, Zhu Li thought he had guessed wrong, and hurriedly bowed his hands in apology, saying shamefacedly: "Please forgive my intrusion, I don't know how to address Madam and Mr. Shen?"
"Mr. Shen, what's your name?" The woman became more and more surprised. After a moment, it was unknown what Mrs. Shen thought of. She chuckled.
A smile makes flowers bloom, a smile is bright, and that expression is more beautiful than flowers. Zhu Li was stunned for a moment, then felt embarrassed.
Perhaps realizing that she had lost her composure, Madam Xin immediately covered her mouth and nose with her hands. Her eyes instantly curved into two inverted crescent shapes. After a long while, she suppressed her smile and said, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. I am Mr. Xin whom you want to visit. Your Excellency is open-minded, and you are the only one in the world who has ever seen such a broad-minded attitude. Since you advocate that capable women can serve as officials, why can't you allow me to become a teacher?"
Zhu Li was stunned when he heard this. It turned out that Mr. Shen was a woman, and an unmarried woman at that. No wonder she refused to go to the banquet when he invited her, and she simply closed the door to refuse visitors when they came to visit. If this happened to an unmarried woman, it would be easy to understand.
Although the customs in the Tang Dynasty were open, it was not so open that an unmarried woman could meet strange men at will in her residence, not to mention that the man was not familiar with her.
After thinking through the whole process, Zhu Li quickly apologized, "I'm ashamed. I always thought Mr. Shen was a man of high spirits. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."
Lady Xin was very generous at this time, and said indifferently: "Your Excellency is too polite, it is because I cannot bear loneliness, and I want to do men's things as a woman, which is why your Excellency misunderstood me."
She was just a female teacher. There were many female teachers in later generations. Even in the previous dynasties and even in the Spring and Autumn Period, there were precedents of female teachers teaching. We can only blame Zhu Li for being too stubborn and not thinking in that direction.
"The envoy insists on seeing me, I wonder why?" Madam Shen couldn't help but wonder. After all, if she was a normal person, it would be fine if she was rejected once or twice.
This is not about pursuing a girl. One should be more courageous after more setbacks. What's more, Zhu Li doesn't know that this is a girl. He is so persistent, he must have something to ask for.
Zhu Li paused for a moment after hearing this, and then asked directly, "Did you ever modify a bow for Young Master Yue Yun?"
Madam Xin looked at him in surprise and asked curiously, "What's wrong? Is this the reason why the envoy insisted on seeing me?"
"That's right." Zhu Li looked at Madam Shen with bright eyes, "Madam, have you heard of Zhuge Liannu?"
"Zhuge Crossbow?" Upon hearing this, Madam Xin's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "How could I not have heard of such a delicate and sharp crossbow?"
"The Zhuge Crossbow, also known as the Yuanrong Crossbow, can carry ten feather arrows at a time. It can fire ten arrows in a row at a time. Its power is terrifying. But it also has a disadvantage, which is that it is too heavy. It is difficult for an ordinary guard to carry it alone, and two palace guards must use it together. But compared with its power, this small flaw is nothing." Madam Shen talked about it eloquently. Zhu Li mentioned the Zhuge Crossbow, which seemed to have touched her sore spot.
Zhu Li saw all the changes in Xin Niang's expression. Seeing that she was very interested, he quickly continued, "I want to re-manufacture this kind of crossbow and use it on the guards.
, to deal with the northern tribes."
"Since I returned to Shuozhou, I have sent out countless subordinates to secretly collect information in this area. Since my lady has such skills, I wonder if she is willing to participate in the research and development of recreating this powerful crossbow as a researcher?"
Zhu Li's words surprised Madam Xin. Her eyes were burning, and she seemed very excited. She asked suspiciously, "Why did the envoy think of letting me study this kind of weapon? There are countless good men in Heshuo, and there should be many who like to study this kind of mechanical weapon. Why did the envoy favor me?"
Zhu Li was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said solemnly: "As my wife said, there may be no shortage of talents in Heshuo who can develop this kind of weapon, but even if there are many such talents, I have never heard of them."
"I, Zhu, have had the honor to see the bow that you have modified. The double-stone bow was actually transformed into a bow made of only one stone. Your cleverness and fine craftsmanship amazed me. That's why I have the nerve to come to your door and ask for your help." Zhu Li was very humble and politely bowed again.
After hearing what Zhu Li said, Madam Xin frowned slightly, but after a while, she relaxed again and said seriously, "It's okay for me to help you develop the repeating crossbow, but I have a few requests."
"Request?" Zhu Li was stunned.
"Why, is it not possible?" Madam Shen suddenly pouted her seductive little lips and asked back with a droopy face.
"Okay, as long as my wife agrees and the request does not touch the bottom line and principles, Zhu will do his best to satisfy it without any hesitation." Zhu Li came to his senses suddenly. It was not easy for the other party to give in, and he couldn't let it mess up.
Upon hearing Zhu Li's ready agreement, Madam Shen immediately became happy. She had been interested in these things since she was a child. Now she finally had the opportunity to recreate Zhuge Wuhou's wonderful works of the past. How could she not be interested and happy
"The first requirement is that I must become an official." Madam Shen said proudly.
"Of course. Since my wife works for the Shuozhou military, she will naturally be assigned a corresponding position." This is not difficult. Zhu Li does not object to women serving as officials. Wang Yueyao is a ready-made example.
Seeing Zhu Li agreed so readily, Madam Shen felt relieved and continued, "The second thing is that I want to have a special medicine garden to grow some rare and precious herbs."
"Medicine garden?" Zhu Li looked at the other party in confusion.
"I forgot to tell you, my best skill is medicine, and carpentry is second only to it." Shen Qinnan said frankly.
"Okay, no problem." The first two conditions were indeed easy to achieve. Zhu Li could fulfill the first one immediately. As for the second one, as long as the other party was satisfied, Zhu Li could also make the decision to allocate a piece of land to her.
"The third requirement is, is..." When she said this, Xin Qinnan's pretty face turned red, quite shy, and a charming atmosphere arose.
"But what is it? Just tell me, ma'am." For someone who is born with low emotional intelligence, there is no difference between having this kind of atmosphere or not, Zhu Li said righteously.
Shen Qiniang rolled her eyes at Zhu Li, and then said in a whisper, "My third requirement is that I want to find a husband who is very heroic, very handsome, very healthy, and very loyal to me."
After making the request, Shen Qiniang raised her beautiful neck and said firmly: "If the envoy can help me fulfill this last request, I will serve you till my death."