Zheng Yi went to Beijing this time because he wanted to use playing cards to win the favor of the empress dowager in the palace.
But this matter, he did not have absolute certainty.
If the queen mother didn't like it, they would be self-defeating, and the many cards made in advance would be useless.
For this reason, Zheng Yi had been under great pressure before.
And now, it's finally done.
As soon as Zheng Yi entered Beijing, he told Master Zheng Er about the cards, but Master Zheng Er did not have the opportunity to present them in the first few days. He was not free until the Queen Mother asked him to discuss the matter of the royal business a few days ago. I mentioned to the queen mother that he got something very interesting in Jiangnan.
The queen mother didn't say anything at that time, but only yesterday let someone come to see Mrs. Zheng Er into the palace, saying that Princess Ziyi has been bored recently, and asked Second Lady Zheng to accompany her with some fun.
This Princess Ziyi is the younger sister of the late emperor. Because she is very different in age from the late emperor, she almost grew up with the queen mother. Now, she is at an age when she can choose a concubine, and she is even starting to choose a concubine, so she can't help but feel a little restless .
The empress dowager can understand her, which is why people can get some fun things to play with her. After Mrs. Zheng entered the palace, she played cards with Princess Ziyi.
Princess Ziyi can play a lot of things in the palace, but there will always be a day when you will get tired of building block dolls, such as Jiu Lianhuan, ordinary people can't always play too much fun.
This Princess Yi is of average talent, and she doesn't like reading much, let alone playing Jiulianhuan. In the past, she was bored and she could only do needlework, but now...
Modern people have mobile phones and computers that can know the world, and many people also use it to play cards with others, which shows the charm of playing cards, let alone people these days.
Now that I don’t talk about mobile phones and computers, I just go back and forth when listening to dramas, and there is too little entertainment...
Princess Ziyi was unsurprisingly fascinated by the game of cards, and she didn't even want to eat that day.
The queen mother heard about this and was interested, came to see it in person, and then saw the exquisite playing cards painted with plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, and quite interesting gameplay.
Jiang Zhen provided several ways of playing cards, and Zheng Yi gave them elegant names for all the different ways of playing.
For example, in the game of Dou Dizhu, he finally checked a lot of allusions, and finally installed the name of Wenxuanxuan.
The first thing the Empress Dowager and Princess Ziyi learned was to fight landlords, and they had a great time, so that Mrs. Zheng was unable to leave the palace last night, but was able to stay in the palace for one night.
Mrs. Zheng Er came back this morning. As soon as she came back, she told Mr. Zheng Er and Zheng Yi that the queen mother liked cards very much, and also praised the people who made cards are smart.
This card is undoubtedly the favorite of the Queen Mother.
As a result, Zheng Yi was in a very good mood at the moment.
However, let people wait for Jiang Zhen, ask Jiang Zhen to come over and explain some precautions, and prepare two clothes for Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, but he had already ordered them yesterday.
Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge's clothes were quickly delivered by their servants. They were not gorgeous, but the fabrics were excellent and they fit very well.
After Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge changed their clothes, Zheng Yi explained some things.
Since the people invited this time are all businessmen, there are not many places to pay attention to. After Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge wrote down one by one, someone came to tell them that those businessmen had basically all arrived.
"We went too." Zheng Yi said, leading Jiang Zhen to the courtyard where the merchants were.
These businessmen do not know Jiang Zhen, but most of them know Zheng Yi.
The Zheng family has been doing business between the capital and Jiangnan many years ago. After Mr. Zheng Er was admitted to the jinshi and his official fortune was prosperous, the business became bigger and bigger...
Seeing Zheng Yi, these people stepped forward to speak, and waited for them to focus on Jiang Zhen who was beside Zheng Yi.
This Jiang Zhen and Zheng Yi seem to have a very good relationship. Could it be... He is a big businessman in Jiangnan
There are not many royal merchants that the Ministry of Household is looking for this time, and suddenly another competitor appears...
These people were all a little worried, but when they faced Jiang Zhen, they all smiled at the same time. It was Feng Jingyuan. No matter how complicated the emotions in his heart were, he was full of smiles at this time.
Jiang Zhen also had a faint smile on his face. He smiled and talked to the people present, and his official words were very smooth and pure.
With the way he dressed before, it was easy for people to notice the differences in his body from those of pampered people, but now, seeing his extraordinary bearing, everyone has speculated about his origins.
As for his skin, it looks weather-beaten at first glance... There are many sea merchants in Jiangnan that go to sea to do business, and they are all weather-beaten.
This person... Could it be a sea merchant
There was a lot of discussion, and various speculations were raised about Jiang Zhen. While Jiang Zhen communicated with these people, he kept paying attention to Zhao Jinge.
He didn't get used to such a scene very well, and he was worried that Brother Zhao Jin would not be able to handle it.
Brother Zhao Jin really couldn't handle it. After coming here, he felt at a loss, and he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.
But thinking about not letting Jiang Zhen lose face, he still stood up straight, keeping his chest and abdomen tight.
Thanks to Jiang Zhen's training before, and the blessing of letting him stand in a military posture, he was so tall and straight, so imposing that no one dared to despise him.
Jiang Zhen suddenly felt relieved.
Zheng Yi glanced at Zhao Jinge in surprise. This Zhao Jinge, like Jiang Zhen, was a little different.
He even got to such a place, this Zhao Jinge must have been embarrassed, and he even explained what the servants should look at, and as a result... Zhao Jinge actually performed very well.
After Zheng Yi found that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge didn't need his own help, he completely relaxed and went about his own business.
And after Jiang Zhen chatted with people, he took Zhao Jinge to the corner—he didn't intend to fight for the position of the royal merchant, so why should he keep socializing with people
Might as well take Zhao Jinge to the nearby pavilion to eat some fruit.
Hexi Village is located in the south of the Yangtze River. There are quite a lot of fruits that can be seen, such as peaches, apricots, loquats and persimmons. There are people in the village, but there are many fruits that Zhao Jinge has never seen before.
He hasn't even seen orange apples... After all, no one in Hecheng County grows them.
After Jiang Zhen took him to the pavilion, he looked curiously at the various fruits on the table.
"Try it." Jiang Zhen took an orange and peeled it off for him.
"Can this be eaten?" Brother Zhao Jin was a little worried.
"Put it here, isn't it just for people to eat?" Jiang Zhen laughed.
Hearing Jiang Zhen say this, Zhao Jinge ate only one orange.
This orange is a bit sour, but it suits his current taste... Brother Zhao Jin's eyes lit up.
"Master Jiang." At this moment, Shen Anxin also came over. He smiled at Jiang Zhen and began to thank you: "Master Jiang, thank you before, if it weren't for you, my reputation..."
Feng Chenglin said that in a large audience, although it has an impact on Jiang Zhen as a man, but it is not big, but it will definitely make him unable to see people in the future.
"No thanks, he's talking about me too." Jiang Zhen said.
"Thank you, if it weren't for Mr. Jiang, I would be miserable." Shen Anxin said again, his eyes fell on Jiang Zhen, and there was more affection inside.
Looking at Shen Anxin like this, Zhao Jinge suddenly felt that the oranges in his mouth were a little too sour and not tasty at all.
At the same time, he also raised a panic.
Shen Anxin is really much better than him. Compared with He Qiusheng, he can work and earn money. Compared with Liu Qianqian and Zhao Lingxi, he is clean.
What about Shen Anxin? Shen Anxin is rich, knowledgeable, and looks better than him...
"In the public, he won't do anything." Jiang Zhen said.
"But that would also make me shameless." Shen Anxin looked at Jiang Zhen, blushed and lowered his head.
"Since you want to be a man, don't be so awkward." Jiang Zhen reminded Shen Anxin when he saw Shen Anxin like this.
Although this Shen Anxin is not feminine in appearance, his personality is really sticky, which is not the same as Zhao Jinge.
When Zhao Jinge was divorced, he was only twelve or thirteen years old, and he was not as tall as he is now. Zhao Fugui took him out to work for others, so he rolled up his trousers and clothes without hesitation and went to the paddy field to plant rice...
At that time, there were idlers in the village who molested him, and boys of the same age said that he would not be able to marry if he was shown his body. Isn't he still working
Zhao Jinge always felt that he should get married, and he persisted when he was in trouble. This Shen Anxin... can't he be tougher
After being told, he can't scold him back
He was so weak, he felt pity for himself, and he cared about his reputation... No wonder the Feng family didn't take him seriously, and coveted his family property.
In fact, if he is willing to go out, not to mention that he is a pair of children, even if he is a woman, no one dares to bully him.
Jiang Zhen also knew that Shen Anxin's character was like this, and he couldn't change it, but he kindly reminded him.
Shen An said in the news, his eyes reddened. It would be great if he really was a man, but he is not, he is a twin. He could still work hard to be a man before, but now he hopes to become a beloved twin: "I know... I will change... "
"Brother Jin, do you want to go over there to see the fish?" Seeing him like this, Jiang Zhen didn't know what to say to him, so he wanted to leave quickly.
Zhao Jinge nodded hurriedly, and he was eager to take Jiang Zhen away from Shen Anxin.
Jiang Zhen smiled and was about to take Zhao Jinge to the pond, but at this time, Shen Anxin took a few steps forward and was about to pull Jiang Zhen's clothes: "Master Jiang, wait."
Jiang Zhen avoided Shen Anxin subconsciously, frowning: "Master Shen, don't do such misleading actions in the future, my wife will be unhappy."
Shen Anxin's action...
With this Shen Anxin again, others might really think that he has something with Shen Anxin!
Brother Zhao Jin should also be jealous, and maybe he will not let him go to bed... Thinking of this, Jiang Zhen immediately looked at Brother Zhao Jin.
At this moment, Zhao Jinge felt that the oranges in his mouth were too sweet.
He was very happy when he heard Jiang Zhen's words.
As for Jiang Zhen's worries... He thought too much. At this moment, Zhao Jinge was thinking that he must serve Jiang Zhen well, so that Jiang Zhen would not have the strength to find someone else.
Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge went to watch the fish happily, Shen Anxin stood there, and the whole person was a little gloomy.
Feng Chenglin had slandered him before, and when Jiang Zhen stood up to deal with Wu Chenglin, his heart couldn't help beating violently.
He knew that he liked Jiang Zhen.
Although it's impossible for them, it's fine to just say a few words to Jiang Zhen... However, Jiang Zhen doesn't have him in his eyes at all.
Shen Anxin couldn't tell what he felt in his heart for a while, only that it was sour, astringent, and bitter.
This time, Jiang Zhen was just here to go through the motions.
He knew some people, and let some people know him, but he didn't fight for the seat of the royal merchant.
And after discovering this, those businessmen were even more enthusiastic about him.
Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to Zheng's house for a long time this day, and then left. After that, he didn't go out for a few days, patronizing training his men at home.
But in the past few days, the capital is quite lively.
One is because the Ministry of Household has selected some royal merchants, and the other is because something new has come out of the palace.
Such a new thing is called a gentleman card, because the pattern of the card inside is derived from the four gentlemen of "Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum".
It has a lot of ways to play, and it's the best way to kill time. At one time, almost all the upper-level people in the capital were talking about this thing.
Zheng Yi asked the painter to draw a pair of exquisite cards, and it didn't take long for them to be delivered. At the same time, the cards in the Zheng family's shop were also selling very well.
Sometimes, the easiest thing to spread is the fun stuff.
For a time, almost everyone in the capital was talking about playing cards, but the Ministry of Household had decided on things like the Royal Merchant, and in the end, not many people paid attention.
When Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to a nearby shop to buy pen, ink, paper and inkstone, he heard someone in the shop asking if there were cards for sale.
"Only the Zheng family's shop can sell these cards now." The shopkeeper said after loading up the pen and ink Jiang Zhen bought.
"Is that so..." The man said, "There is no Zheng family shop here, I'll go further."
When Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to a teahouse and listened to people's stories...
The storyteller in the teahouse, who usually gets money for storytelling, is now explaining how to play cards, and there are many people around him, listening to his words and listening intently.
Even Jiang Zhen took Zhao Jinge to dinner, and there were people playing cards beside him.
Jiang Zhen: "..." This level of popularity was a bit beyond his expectations...
No wonder the Zheng family will specially send him a carriage... Unfortunately, there is no one under his command who can drive a carriage.
Where are the richest idlers in ancient times? Without a doubt, it is the capital.
The Qi Dynasty has been established for three hundred years, and the number of noble children in Beijing is increasing year by year, and these noble children are not all promising, many of them are just messing around all day long.
However, it is these people who are the quickest to accept poker, and promote poker in a very short period of time. For a time, many people stopped going out and played poker at home every day.
"Wait back, let's play cards too." Jiang Zhen said to Zhao Jinge on the way back holding the pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
"Ah?" Brother Zhao Jin looked at Jiang Zhen in confusion. Didn't Jiang Zhen always say that he can't play with things, so he didn't take him to play cards
Of course, he didn't like it very much either.
He is now inferior to Jiang Zhen in every aspect. Compared with playing cards, he is more willing to study more and practice his words well.
"When the time comes, whoever loses will take off a piece of clothing." Jiang Zhen said again.
Zhao Jinge's face turned red all of a sudden, and there was a feeling of "as expected".
Jiang Zhen looks very serious, but he always behaves in a serious way!
And he... he didn't reject it at all.