Chapter 352: Give you a certificate of nomination
Mrs. Xiao was stunned for a moment, as if she did not expect this opening, but she was stunned for a moment and then smiled naturally:
"Sir, just call me Dong'er."
Dong'er... you think you are still a young girl, well, although you can really take care of yourself... Zhao Duan silently complained in his heart as he looked at the female head of the family.
When we meet again, the perception is indeed very different.
If yesterday he was more like a vassal of a big shot and his brilliance was restrained, today his unique temperament is revealed.
In this day and age, being able to support a big family with your status as a widow requires some unique skills.
"Dong'er..." Zhao Duan chewed on the title for a while, without comment, and took the initiative to hand her half a roasted orange, "Mrs. Xiao, are you always so sneaky when you go out?"
Mrs. Xiao was flattered, held up the orange, and said with a wry smile:
"There are many people in the capital, so Dong'er came here just because she was tailoring clothes in the front shop."
Only then did Zhao Duan remember that when he came over, he saw that there were many shops on the street in front of this private house.
So, the woman slipped in through the back door of the shop?
This private residence is probably inextricably linked to the Xiao family.
Zhao Duan said "Oh", as if he was not surprised, and asked softly:
"Xu Zudi didn't follow? Or do you think it's unnecessary? Are you going to such great lengths to find me for a secret meeting to avoid the eyes of Prince Heng? I'm really curious as to what the relationship between you two is. ”
Mrs. Xiao was silent for a moment and did not respond immediately.
Zhao Duan opened his hands and warmed them by the fire, staring at the beautiful woman with deep eyes:
"I have heard from others about the story of the female head of the East Lake family who worked hard to support the family. I was originally quite admirable, but what I saw yesterday was really sad. So, Mrs. Xiao, can you make it clearer, what are you doing today? In what capacity do you come to see me?"
His eyes were sharp.
No time was wasted in small talk and he got straight to the point.
Mrs. Xiao said bitterly: "My lord, have you always been so direct?"
Zhao Duan shook his head and said:
"As for me, I'm used to watching people order their dishes. Mrs. Xiao is not worth the detours I'm going to make right now. If you are willing to come here today, it's because you have really aroused my curiosity.
But my time is limited, so I'll be more direct. I believe Mrs. Xiao thinks the same way. After all, it takes too long to cut clothes, which also arouses suspicion. "
Xiao Donger was silent.
She raised her hand and gently stroked her temples. The green jade bracelet on her wrist fell heavily, showing a bit of charm.
Subconscious actions seemed to be adjusting his mood.
She sat up slightly and said seriously:
"Dong'er's coming today has nothing to do with Crown Prince Heng. He only pays a visit on behalf of the Xiao family. I know that your Excellency may have misunderstood because of yesterday's incident. Not only Your Excellency, many people are very concerned about how I can secure my position as the head of the family. There was a lot of criticism.
I also admit that there are indeed elements of Prince Heng's Palace in it, but it is not what adults think. It's because Prince Heng's Palace is happy to see it happen for me, the widow, as the head of the family. "
The words were quite fluent.
The demeanor and tone of his speech finally showed a bit of the ability of the head of the family.
It seems that this moment is the true appearance of the first widow of Dayu
——Even if you try your best to weaken it, you still can't hide its sharp edges.
"oh?"
Zhao Duan leaned back on the bamboo woven seat and leaned back slightly, indicating that he was all ears.
Xiao Donger picked up the fork skillfully, baked the rice cakes, and said:
"Since ancient times, one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers. Looking at the Yu Dynasty, except for the Huaihe River Road, which is special, in other areas, whenever the vassal kings are powerful, the local aristocratic families will always be suppressed. Qingzhou Road is no exception. I, Xiao The family started in East Lake and has been here for more than a hundred years.
After King Heng entered the fiefdom, my Xiao family had been showing weakness to welcome him. At first, we were fine with him, but gradually, as the royal family became more powerful, they no longer wanted my Xiao family to continue to prosper.
Therefore, when I was fighting with the other families, King Heng wanted me, a woman, to be the head of the family, and he did intervene.
Dong'er didn't deny it. After all, in the prince's opinion, a clan headed by a woman would always be weaker. "
She smiled self-deprecatingly, with sadness hidden in her eyes:
"Now that the palace has intervened, Dong'er was orphaned and widowed at that time, guarding her husband's inheritance. With the power of such a large clan, it is inevitable that it feels like being dependent on others, and there is a lot of tolerance.
Maybe in the eyes of adults, yesterday Dong'er was like a maid for the prince to play with. She really couldn't bear the title of female head of the family and was more like a plaything. But please believe that this is not my true intention, and it is not evidence that the Xiao family of East Lake is willing to be a slave. , just a helpless move. "
Zhao Duan listened with interest.
What this woman said was just to show that the Xiao family was forced to bow their heads and did not dare to offend King Heng, so they obeyed the prince in every possible way.
Instead of being a sincere vassal of King Heng's camp.
"so what?"
Zhao Duan asked, naturally he would not completely believe this rhetoric.
Xiao Donger said seriously:
"So, I invite you to have a secret meeting in private today. Not only do I want to explain yesterday, but I also want to express my feelings in person and ask for the qualification of an 'Imperial Merchant'."
When the court wants to open the market, the first batch of merchants will be given special status to join the game.
Back then, Eugene Hua's natal family and the You family came here for this purpose. Now that the market is about to open, a big family like the Xiao family of East Lake can finally bear the end.
"Mrs. Xiao's words are interesting. If you want to enter the market, you should go to the Department of Husbandry or the Department of Rites. How did you find me here?" Zhao Duan said with a smile.
The person who presided over the matters related to the opening of the market under the New Deal was an independent government office established by the empress alone, which was affiliated with the two departments.
One is responsible for financial accounts, and the other is responsible for formulating market framework rules.
Xiao Donger's expression darkened and she said bitterly:
"Dong'er has also visited me in the past few days, but was turned away. I have no choice but to ask you to come here. No one in the whole capital knows that Zhao Shijun has great powers, and the new policies are all from you..."
Zhao Duan raised his hand to interrupt her and said calmly:
"Please take back this kind of flattery. I'm more curious, isn't Mrs. Xiao afraid of offending King Heng by doing this? King Heng probably doesn't want to see the Xiao family join the imperial business."
He found it very interesting.
Yes.
Very interesting!
Regarding the opening of the New Deal, those who least wanted it to succeed, apart from Kuangfushe, were the Eight Kings, and then those aristocratic families whose interests were affected.
By now, anyone with a discerning eye can see that once the imperial court succeeds in opening the market, a group of upstarts will inevitably emerge and at the same time alleviate the imperial court's financial distress.
Therefore, the Eight Kings tried their best to stop it, but the decree had already been issued from the court. Without the ability to rebel, even the most powerful Prince Jing could not openly obstruct the opening of the market.
Therefore, there are only two paths left.
One is that the Eight Kings themselves join the game and compete with the court for profit.
But at first, it was impossible for the imperial court to allow the Eight Kings to join this market. Secondly, within the rules of the court's game, the benefits that the Eight Kings can extract are only a small amount.
The second type is to secretly create obstacles and find ways to make the market unable to operate or operate inefficiently.
When Zhao Duan first formulated the strategy for opening the market, he told the bachelors in the Xiuwen Museum that if he wanted to turn the economic flywheel as soon as possible, he must rely on the power of some big businessmen and local wealthy families.
It just so happened that many merchants and nobles also coveted this piece of meat.
Therefore, the strategy formulated by the imperial court is to select a group of those who have strength and brains from those who want to join to become the first batch of royal merchants.
It is equivalent to a ticket to enter this game.
It didn't surprise him that Mrs. Xiao wanted to join.
Although the Xiao family of East Lake was considered a force in the Yu Dynasty, its wealth mainly depended on the caravans rather than the land that the established landowners relied on.
Moreover, Qingzhou has a large number of products suitable for sale.
However, the position of the eight kings also determined that they would try their best to prevent powerful merchants and wealthy families from joining and contributing to the court.
Therefore, it was particularly interesting that Xiao Donger was still working as the prince's servant, but as soon as he turned his head, he ran over and wanted to join the imperial court.
"Of course Prince Heng doesn't want that," Mrs. Xiao said with a sneer:
"If this were not the case, why would the prince have put on that show for the adults to see yesterday? How could he have entered the capital with us halfway?"
Zhao Duan raised his eyelids and said:
"What you mean is that your Xiao family wants to become an imperial merchant, but King Heng doesn't want to, so he sent the crown prince to stop you? Ha, I thought King Heng would directly persuade Mrs. Xiao to return to Qingzhou halfway. The rice cake will be burnt."
He warned.
Xiao Donger said this unexpectedly, hurriedly turned over the baked rice cakes on the stove, then took a breath and said:
"Persuading him to return is of little use, because my Xiao family can send the shopkeeper to visit the court again, and it will be the same. On the contrary, what happened to the prince has killed my Xiao family's opportunity to join the imperial business."
Zhao Duan was silent.
He understood what the female head of the family meant.
The imperial court would not allow King Heng, or his vassals who were suspected of working for King Heng, to join the market and reap profits.
Therefore, Xu Zudi made a big fanfare and forcibly entered Beijing with Mrs. Xiao, which was sending a signal to outsiders:
It means that the Xiao family of East Lake is the dog of the palace.
In this case, which official would dare to let the Xiao family enter?
Including the game that Xu Zudi played yesterday, one was to vent his anger on Li Lang, the other was to test Zhao Duan, the new favorite, and the third was to deliberately show the relationship between King Heng and the Xiao family.
Because of this, this dignified female head of the family visited the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Rites in person, but was repeatedly rejected.
"I'm curious,"
Zhao Duan changed his sitting posture slightly, and he stared at the woman who had been baking and eating for him, and who had been in charge of a century-old family:
"Why do you have to take the risk of offending King Heng and insist on joining the imperial merchants? Eat this piece of meat? Do you have to worry about this little money that your Xiao family has accumulated over the past century?"
Xiao Donger shook his head. At this moment, the woman wearing a dark horse-faced skirt and delicate temples had an extremely serious expression:
"The Xiao family doesn't need to make this money. As long as you allow the Xiao family to enter the market, we can not make a single copper penny and give all the profits to the court, or we can honor you with my share of the Xiao family. We only want the status of an imperial merchant. !”
Zhao Duan said calmly: "I need a reason."
Xiao Donger did not hesitate:
"The Xiao family of East Lake is willing to raise the whole family to be loyal to His Majesty, to be loyal to the imperial court, and to be loyal to Dayu!"
"If one day King Heng rebels, the Xiao family will only follow His Majesty's lead!"
——
ps: This kind of dialogue chapter should be very good, but for some reason it is extra difficult to write every time. .
(End of chapter)