Although he encountered a setback by failing to get three hundred taels of silver from Zhu Ping'an, uncle Zhu Shouren was not discouraged.
Uncle Liu visited me three times at my cottage. I can't compare to him, so it's okay if he visits me four or five times. I'll find a reason to ask you for help in a couple of days.
Besides, there are other things besides money.
Thinking of this, uncle Zhu Shouren laughed and asked Zhu Ping'an in an affirmative tone, "My dear nephew, Lord Zhao Wenhua is your tutor, right? I remember that Lord Zhao was the examiner in the provincial examination that year. So, he is also your tutor, right?!"
"Why do you ask this, uncle?"
Zhu Ping'an became alert when he heard his uncle's words. Judging from his uncle's personality, he was definitely up to no good.
"Ahem, we heard that Lord Zhao has two sons who have also come to Jiangnan and will take part in next year's imperial examination. I thought that Lord Zhao is my nephew's teacher, so our relationship must be special. My nephew and Lord Zhao's sons can be considered fellow disciples. Ahem, could you introduce us to me, Brother Hu, and Brother Xia? Both of Lord Zhao's sons and I will take part in next year's imperial examination, so we can be considered fellow examinees."
"Well, before the exam, let's exchange our learning experiences, encourage each other, learn from each other's strengths and overcome our weaknesses. This will be of great benefit to Mr. Zhao and us in this imperial examination." Uncle Zhu Shouren said with a smile.
Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but frown. His uncle was still harboring evil intentions and was too much of a scoundrel. He even wanted to make friends with the two sons of Zhao Wenhua through him. What about communicating with each other and learning from each other's strengths and weaknesses? What strengths do you have? You are just trying to curry favor!
The uncle wanted to get close to Zhao Wenhua! He wanted Zhao Wenhua to say hello to him? ! The uncle really dared to think so!
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, uncle. Although Mr. Zhao is my master, I'm not familiar with him and have never met him."
Zhu Pingan said calmly.
"My dear nephew, you don't have to get too familiar with each other, as long as you can strike up a conversation. When you go to see Lord Zhao, you can use the excuse that we are of similar age to get to know Mr. Zhao, and then mention us. Then, my dear nephew, lend me your business card, and we will go to see the two Mr. Zhaos with your business card."
Uncle Zhu Shouren patiently gave Zhu Ping'an an idea and persuaded him to visit Zhao Wenhua to help him.
"A blacksmith must be strong himself. Uncle, it's better for you to concentrate on preparing for the exam." Zhu Ping'an said unhappily.
It seems that all I said just now was in vain!
My uncle is just a useless guy. No, Adou is also ten thousand times better than him. At least Adou was able to sit firmly on the throne of Shu Kingdom for decades and live the rest of his life peacefully in Jin Dynasty after the country was destroyed.
Uncle is not even worthy of carrying Adou’s shoes!
"Ahem, the two sons of Lord Zhao will surely pass the imperial examination. Lord Zhao will definitely pave the way for them. If we build a good relationship with Lord Zhao, we may be able to get a ride. For my nephew, it's just a matter of words, but for my uncle, this is an opportunity for his rise."
Uncle Zhu Shouren coughed, looked at Zhu Pingan eagerly, and said excitedly.
There is also an opportunity for rise...
Even if Zhao Wenhua greeted and paved the way for the two young masters, why should he let you take a ride? !
Engaging in fraud in the imperial examinations and affecting the emperor's selection of talents are serious crimes that cannot be escaped.
Even if Zhao Wenhua dared to take a huge risk to greet the examiner, or use other means to pave the way for his two sons to take the imperial examinations, he would do it extremely covertly so that outsiders would not be able to catch him.
The more people know about it, the more dangerous it becomes, so why would we let you guys take a ride
Uncle, how can you be considered a nobody? If you are not a close relative, who would take such a huge risk
You're really overthinking it.
"Uncle, Master Zhao is very busy with official duties. He will return to heaven after offering sacrifices to the sea. I am here to lead the Zhejiang Army to garrison Suzhou to guard against Japanese pirates. I cannot leave for a moment. Let's talk about these things when we have the chance in the future."
Zhu Ping'an waved his hand and used the tactic of procrastination. He was really impatient with his uncle's scheming. If he used this energy on studying, let alone whether he could pass the examination to become a juren, at least he would have no problem passing the examination to become a scholar.
"Well, there's no need to wait until later. My dear nephew, you have never heard of the old saying 'A son wants to take care of his parents but they are no longer around'. It's the same for teachers. My dear nephew, give me a few family cards and some more money, and I will take the trouble to run errands for you, buy some gifts for you, and send them to Lord Zhao's house, so that you can show your respect to your teacher, Lord Zhao, and help you build a good relationship with him."
When uncle Zhu Shouren heard Zhu Ping'an say that they would talk about it later, he immediately became anxious. He rolled his eyes and thought of a good idea. He looked like he was thinking about Zhu Ping'an and expressed his suggestion with "good intentions".
"No need, uncle." Zhu Ping'an refused without hesitation.
My uncle is ugly, but he thinks he is beautiful. Take my business card and my money, and do what you want...
"My dear nephew, why are you being so polite to your uncle? As the saying goes, brothers fight together to fight tigers, and fathers and sons fight together in battle. We are not bad uncles. Although Suzhou is not far from Yingtian, I am your uncle after all. Everything is for you, my dear nephew. It is hard work, but it is nothing."
Uncle Zhu Shouren said enthusiastically.
Zhu Ping'an looked at his uncle Zhu Shouren, speechless. His uncle was too shameless.
"Ahem, nephew, your master is an imperial envoy appointed by the emperor, and he is in a high position and has great power. It would be inappropriate to give a small gift. So, nephew, you can give me three hundred, no, five hundred taels of silver. I will help you buy a satisfactory gift, which will surely satisfy Lord Zhao."
Uncle Zhu Shouren asked for five hundred taels of silver to buy a gift from Zhu Ping'an without any courtesy.
"Uncle, you don't need to worry about this. Just focus on preparing for the exam, and don't worry about other things."
Zhu Ping'an waved his hand indifferently.
Five hundred taels of silver? How dare you ask for it!
If I give you 500 taels of silver, given your personality, you will definitely embezzle 490 taels and use at most 10 taels to buy gifts.
Besides, he was already busy keeping a distance from Zhao Wenhua, so how could he rush to give him gifts!
"My dear nephew..." The uncle was unwilling to give in and wanted to continue.
"Uncle, stop talking." Zhu Ping'an waved his hand and said to his uncle, Hu Wei, and Xia Qiang, "It's getting late. Curfew is coming soon. Uncle, Mr. Hu, and Mr. Xia, please come back to the Zhejiang Army camp with me."
Uncle is a troublemaker. He has done this several times in a short period of time. Zhu Ping'an doesn't want him to stay in the house and cause trouble for Li Shu, so he must take him away.
"We're going back to the barracks now? Why don't you stay here for a few more days, nephew?"
The uncle was stunned. It was so good here. We could eat well, sleep well, and there was even this damn Zhurong heating in the house. It made the winter feel like spring. The conditions in the military camp were definitely not as good as here. What was the point of going to the military camp
"Didn't uncle say he would lend me a helping hand? Of course he would go with me to the camp. The Japanese pirates in Songjiang Prefecture are becoming more and more restless now, and the camp cannot be left without people for a moment. Or was uncle just trying to trick me by saying he would lend me a helping hand?"
Zhu Ping'an looked at his uncle Zhu Shouren with burning eyes and said with a smile.
"How could that be? Of course we will lend a helping hand to our nephew. Let's go back to the camp." The uncle said with a wry smile.