Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan went to Peach Blossom Court, while Zhang Wang went to Peach Blossom Court.
It was unknown who had a loose mouth, but not long after Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan returned to Savant's Restaurant, the news spread like wildfire. Even Xiaobei knew about it. She brought a large group to find her brother and sister, looking like she was very angry that they didn't bring her along.
Wang Juan couldn't care less about the smell of wine on her face from Zhang Xiaobao's "forceful" kisses along the way. After settling her brother and sister, she sat beside Zhang Xiaobao, who was leaning against the head of the bed. She glanced at Zhang Xiaobao and said, "Are you doing this on purpose? Are you trying to ruin my reputation? Communication is not developed yet, but the news spread so quickly. If it were us back then, I reckon the other side of the world would know. "
"You can't speak carelessly. How am I ruining your reputation? You're ruining my reputation if you go alone. If we go together, that's romantic. How many men have you seen bringing their wives or future wives to a brothel? "
Zhang Xiaobao naturally reached out and hugged Wang Juan. Like a little boy who was in love for the first time, he wanted to stick together whenever he had time. Who asked him to lack experience in this aspect?
"Go, if Xiaobei and the others come in and see it, they'll learn. I think Xiaoyuan always wants to hug Xiaobei when he sleeps. Don't talk nonsense. Is Peach Blossom Court a brothel? Is it just a simple brothel? It's cleaner than the entertainment circle of our time, and the girls are more capable. Are you really not going to talk to the imperial clan? Are you going to be stubborn to the end? "
Wang Juan pulled a giant panda pillow between the two of them and said faintly.
Zhang Xiaobao flipped over and pressed himself against the wall. He felt around under the pillow beside him, as if he was looking for something.
"What does a child know? Don't look at a child with the mindset of an adult. There's no need to care about the Imperial Clan. Let them make a ruckus while it's still early. Once they've made a ruckus, they'll be well-behaved. Just like a volcano, an erupting volcano isn't that dangerous. What's worse is that it keeps accumulating strength.
Now that you mention it, I suddenly thought of something. If the two of us go to Peach Blossom Court to compensate, then Peach Blossom Court's reputation will definitely soar. We should give them a heads up before we go. That way, we will have some sort of celebrity effect. As for what others say, it's up to them to say.
Am I not allowed to get close to my wife and have some fun? Maybe tomorrow I'll bring you to a mountain and sing a love song on the other side. Who cares? Don't you agree? "
"Preposterous reasoning! Based on what you've said, we're all public figures and have to be careful, especially when it comes to moral character. Don't let others find fault with us, especially when it comes to someone like you, who has always been acknowledged by the Great Tang as a very formidable merchant. Everyone knows that you have excellent moral character, and if something happens to you, it will affect the beliefs of others. What are you looking for?"
Wang Juan held down Zhang Xiaobao's hand.
"I'm looking for your comic. Didn't you say you had pictures? Let me take a look as well. I've never intended to be someone's idol. Besides, what I do has nothing to do with moral character. Don't always say that merchants are bad. Merchants are still worried that the consumers won't approve of them and they won't be able to sell their goods. They have to explain themselves when they encounter problems.
If a merchant doesn't respect moral character, then it's all fake. People like me don't even bother to fake. But if an official's moral character is bad, then he'll lie with his eyes wide open. He knows that the people know what he's doing, but he won't admit it. What can you do? You've harmed several generations of people. Where did you put it? Did you match it with color? Is it an abstract drawing or a portrait? "
Zhang Xiaobao searched for a long time, but to no avail. He stopped and took Wang Juan's hand.
Wang Juan helplessly glanced at Zhang Xiaobao and said, "There's no drawing. My mother told me, and the maidservants in the inner courtyard also mentioned it occasionally. Haven't you realized that you've been thinking about this recently? As a man, you have to put your career first. Li Longji said in the morning court that he would hold an imperial examination for you. I also plan to participate, but there's only one top scorer. What should I do? "
Wang Juan originally planned to go back to Jili Province with Zhang Xiaobao to see how the new crops were growing. Even if it was the imperial examination, they could still hurry back. But now that the imperial clan was causing trouble, they naturally couldn't go back. Wouldn't it be showing weakness if they went back?
Thinking of the imperial examination in autumn, she also wanted to participate. She didn't know what Li Longji would do. It could be considered as giving Li Longji a difficult problem.
Zhang Xiaobao didn't care and said, "I'll give you the top scorer. I'm a bit worse than you. Indeed, I'm a bit worse than you, especially in the literary field. Why don't I take the military examination? You're in the literary field, I'm in the martial field. People these days are all stupid and easy to bully.
Come, come closer, let me think in that direction. If you agree, won't I stop thinking about it? What's the difference if you insist on waiting for the engagement? "
"The difference is big. The easier it is to get something, the less you know how to cherish it. People these days aren't stupid, but they lack experience. Their learning ability is still very strong. Look at so many craftsmen. I can't even participate in the experiments they are doing now. Look at the people in finance. As long as you give them a little opportunity to learn, they will immediately learn and draw inferences.
It's just that this is the era of imperial power, and the policies aren't so loose. There's still you to suppress them. Otherwise, look at the merchants of the Great Tang. I guarantee that they will show you what an economic crisis is. Go, don't squeeze me. It's so hot. Instead of discussing with me, why don't you urge the people from the Ministry of Rites to hurry up? "
Wang Juan said no, but her body didn't move. She let Zhang Xiaobao hug her. The corners of her mouth curled up as she enjoyed this moment of tenderness.
Zhang Xiaobao gritted his teeth. "Okay, I understand. The easier it is, the less you know how to cherish it. I can't let Xinluo and Japan have it so easy. I have to grind them down. If they don't pay a certain price, I'm not in a hurry to let them suffer a big loss."
"You're using others as a punching bag again. What kind of person are you? Let's go and eat. Next time, drink less wine. You're like Li Bai." Wang Juan broke free and stood by the bed, waiting for Zhang Xiaobao to come down and eat together.
"Li Bai has already controlled his drinking, okay? He still wants to see me, but I didn't. The easier it is for me to drag him along, the less he knows how to cherish it. Eh? I remember now. Li Xun, that old man who has never married, must have been in contact with many women. He has a lot of information. I'll send him a telegram and ask him for a picture. I'll eat something light today. I've been very angry recently. "
Zhang Xiaobao rearranged the messy pillow and got off the bed. He spoke as he walked.
"You want the world to know that you're prepared before you do that with me, right? Why don't I find you a beautiful maid in the inner courtyard so you can try it first? She can help you cool down so you don't get sick again. "
"No, I'm not angry anymore. I'll go to Yang Zhongchang's house tonight and bring some ginseng or something. The Ministry of Rites has been busy recently, so he needs to take care of himself."
*****
Under Zhang Xiaobao's urging, the Ministry of Rites quickly started to work. They followed the civil etiquette, but were guided by the imperial court.
First was the acceptance ceremony, which was to propose marriage. Originally, the Zhang family was going to find a matchmaker themselves, but now they didn't need to. They found a matchmaker in his name and went to Wang Juan's house. At first, they wanted to find a famous matchmaker in the capital, but this matter was taken over by Empress Wang.
Empress Wang led her team out of the palace and went all the way to Wang Juan's house to act as a matchmaker. Not to mention that the Zhang Family and Wang Juan had long recognized that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were a couple, even if they didn't know each other before, they didn't dare to object now.
The members of the imperial family who were still making trouble also stopped their actions for a while.
Among them, Shui Yun and Hong Luan also helped. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan always thought that Shui Yun, who was psychic, was going to have a baby, so they had to establish a good relationship first so that the baby wouldn't be hurt when it fell from the sky in the future.
Shui Yun and her husband helped catch a pair of live geese, but they didn't use birds and geese to replace the geese that others couldn't catch.
After this trip, the whole capital was in an uproar. Some were envious, some were congratulating, and some were criticizing. Most of them were from the imperial family, and the news quickly spread through Great Tang through telegrams.
According to the information Li Longji received, all of Lu Zhou's businesses were closed for a day. For this celebration, 50,000 people gathered on the banks of the Yangtze River in Shuzhou and knelt down. The merchants of Jiannan Circuit joined forces and held banquets for the people in different places. Needless to say, in Jili Province, every family set off firecrackers.
In short, as long as it was a place related to the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, all kinds of ceremonies were held. In Sanshui County, everyone wore new clothes and hung lanterns in every house.
In the end, it developed to the point where everyone deposited a copper coin in the Great Tang Bank as a wedding gift for Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. When the time came, the money would be transferred to their accounts together.
Merchants from all over the country took action one after another, offering discounts and lowering prices. Up and down the Yellow River, north and south of the Great River, there was nothing they couldn't do.
Li Longji purposely gathered the members of the Imperial Clan who had come over to complain and cause trouble behind the scenes. He directly threw the intelligence report in front of them for them to see and feel the extent of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's influence.
The members of the imperial family were indignant. They tried to stir up trouble in front of Li Longji, saying that the Zhang Family and the Wang Family were rebelling. When they saw Li Longji not responding, they could only endure it and wait for another opportunity.
Just a single coin was enough to shake the entire Great Tang. Everyone was looking forward to the day of the wedding.
After the coin ceremony, it was time to ask for the names and the dates of birth. This was simple. Not to mention that two people were born in the same year, same month, and same day, there was not much difference in the time. Even if there was a problem, they had to find a way to get rid of it.
After two more procedures, it was time to receive the coin ceremony that Zhang Xiaobao was looking forward to. After this, it was considered an engagement. He could count the stars with Wang Juan. As for the time and date of the wedding, it would take a few years. He was not in a hurry to get married.
The coin ceremony was for the betrothal gift. This was troublesome. Many people gathered in the capital to see what kind of gift the Zhang family would give to the Wang family.
Zhang Xiaobao began to worry before he gave the betrothal gift. He did not want to eat or drink. Wang Juan came to persuade him personally.
"Xiao Bao, eat more. Don't lose weight. When you count the stars and don't have the strength, don't blame me for kicking you out of bed." Wang Juan deliberately said sweet nothings between the two of them to make Zhang Xiaobao eat more.
"I'll eat, I'll eat. What do you think I should give you? I have to put on a show. I can't let you suffer. But I want to put on a show for a while. I just found that the canal is so narrow and the road in Chang 'an is not wide enough. If I had known, I would have spent more money to fix it. I can pay for it myself. "
Zhang Xiaobao frowned and stared at the bowl.
In order to let Zhang Xiaobao eat more, Wang Juan cooked the boiled fish. The spicy smell was appetizing, but Zhang Xiaobao still had no appetite.
"What do you want to give to my family? Tell me and I'll give you some advice, so you don't have to worry about it. In fact, I don't need much. You can just give me yours. As long as my Xiao Bao stands there, you can equal half the country. To be able to share your pride is the happiest thing for me. "
Wang Juan had become much gentler during this period of time. At night, she would even cooperate with Zhang Xiaobao to kiss and touch him. She didn't know if every woman would be like this at this time. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the other party all day long. Excitement, anticipation, and a little fear.
Zhang Xiaobao took a deep breath and lowered his head to eat. After a few mouthfuls, he stopped and looked up at Wang Juan and said, "I want to give you a thousand sails, a thousand years of beauty, three thousand medical books, no cold in spring, ten thousand snow lotuses, no heat in summer, a garden of hundreds of millions of grass, a dancing autumn skirt, a mountain and a province, and a winter snow.
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