Datang: Empress mother-in-law sent Li Er to test me

Before they could speak, Li Er waved his hands and said, "There is no need to be formal outside the palace. Don't startle the snake. I don't want my identity to be recognized."

"promise."

Chief Liu of the Jinbu and Chief Du Zhizhang hurriedly handed over their hands. Chief Liu of the Jinbu said cautiously: "Your Majesty, you also came to Zuixianlou for this private visit?"

"Almost." Li Er nodded slightly, and asked again: "What do you want to eat?"

The head of Duzhi coughed lightly and said: "If you don't eat, I'll come back some other day."

Li Er frowned, "I'm here, don't mess up your arrangements because of me, what do you want to eat when you come to Zuixianlou?"

The head of Jinbu and the head of Duzhi looked at each other, but they didn't dare to disobey Li Er.

Mr. Jin said truthfully: "I heard that Mr. Zhang Zuixianlou has a dish called fried beef with scallions. It tastes very delicious. I came here with Mr. Zhang today, and I just want to try this."

Li Er hummed, then looked at Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, "Can you do it?"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui shook their heads, they were officials, not cooks, not to mention they had never cooked before or now.

The heads of Jinbu and Duzhi looked at Li Er blankly, and some didn't understand. Your majesty is so good, why do you ask the two prime ministers to cook?

"Guanyin maidservant, will you know it?" Li Er asked, turning his head to Empress Changsun.

Empress Changsun couldn't laugh or cry and said, "Second brother, I know how to be a concubine, Liu Jinbu and Zhang Duzhi, do they dare to eat?"

Li Er nodded slightly, "That's true."

"..." The corners of the heads of Jinbu and Duzhi's eyes twitched, and they finally understood what His Majesty meant, what did the two diners eat, and His Majesty sent someone to do it?

What is His Majesty doing for this private visit?How come you're so good at being the owner of the Zuixianlou store?

"Your Majesty," the head of the Ministry of Finance couldn't help asking: "I remember that the owner of the Zuixianlou store is called Hu Guang. Where does he have the guts to entrust the business of the store to His Majesty?"

The head of Duzhi echoed: "Your servant, please punish this person severely!"

"No need." Li Er waved his hand, "I'm going to do this myself, and it has nothing to do with Store Hu."

"I also said just now, this private visit on my micro-service, you don't want to startle the snake, anyone who reveals my identity will be severely punished!"

Hearing this, the head of the Ministry of Finance and the head of Du Zhi hurriedly handed over: "I obey the order."

Li Er looked at them, thought for a while, and said, "You've all come here, it's unreasonable not to eat something, how about this, the back kitchen is there, you go to the back kitchen by yourself, and cook what you want to eat."

Head of the Jin Department: "???"

Chief Duzhi: "???"

Chapter 48 Brother Zhang, five surnames and seven hopes are not easy to mess with

Director Jinbu and Director Duzhi looked at Li Er stiffly.

What does it mean to go to the back kitchen to cook whatever we want?

This is what we should do?

We came here to eat. Who eats in restaurants outside and cooks for themselves?

Isn't it delicious to eat at home?

What's more, even if we want to do it, we won't!

Chief Liu said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, it's okay if you let me manage the account books, but let me cook, I can't do it."

"I don't know how to learn." Li Er glanced at him, pointed to the direction of the back kitchen, and said, "There are recipes inside."

"Are you resting and taking a bath today? If you are idle, you are also idle. Just treat it as increasing your knowledge."

If you want to say that, we have no temper, the two of them had no choice but to bow to each other and said: "I obey the order."

Empress Changsun looked at their backs as they went to the back kitchen, covered her lips and snickered, "Your Majesty, aren't you embarrassing them?"

Li Er shook his head and said: "It's not difficult, I'm just worried about letting them go back, what if they leak the news?"

"Besides, I can be a shopkeeper. It's not a big deal for them to be a cook."

After finishing speaking, Li Er looked at Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, and said, "Xuanling, Keming, you are dealing with those diners today."

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were happy, bowed to each other and said: "I obey the order."

"Li Junxian, you are in charge of serving the dishes."

Li Er called Li Junxian who was standing outside the Zuixian Tower to come in, and after giving the instructions, he said to Empress Changsun: "I will sit here and collect the money with Guanyin's maidservant."

Empress Changsun said with a smile: "The concubine listens to my second brother."

----

At this time, Zhang Dun was rushing to Chongrenfang with Hu Guang.

"Brother Hu, why are you frowning?" Along the way, Zhang Dun looked at Hu Guang's sad face and asked curiously.

Hu Guang sighed and said, "Brother Zhang, do you really not understand, or are you pretending to be confused?"

Seeing that Zhang Dun was still confused, Hu Guang asked, "What are we going to do?"

Zhang Dun took it for granted, "I'm asking for money from the five surnames and Qiwang."

Hu Guang asked again: "Do you know who the five surnames and Qiwang are?"

Zhang Dun snapped his fingers and said: "The five surnames are Qiwang, there are seven families in total, Boling Cui, Qinghe Cui, Fanyang Lu, Xingyang Zheng, Taiyuan Wang, Longxi Li, and Zhaojun Li."

Hu Guang said decisively: "Yes, no matter which one it is, you and I cannot afford to offend them!"

"Do you know how capable each of their families is? Almost all the dental shops in Chang'an City are run by them."

"There are also shopkeepers and stall owners who open stores in the East Market and West Market. Their supply of goods also comes from the five surnames Qiwang."

Hu Guang said solemnly: "Not to mention the restaurants, department stores and other shops in each market, most of them are related to them."

"It's still about business, not officialdom!"

"Abandon business and officialdom, just talk about their prestige, that's what it is!"

Hu Guang gave a thumbs up, and said: "Who is an official now, who doesn't want to be able to climb up to the five surnames and seven surnames? There is a saying in the world, that is, when you marry a wife, you should marry a woman with five surnames!"

"What is a woman with five surnames? It is a woman from five surnames and Qiwang!"

"People in the world take pride in marrying women of the five surnames. Just from this point, it can be seen that the five surnames and seven hopes are so powerful!"

"You're going to trouble them now, what's the difference between that and pulling a tiger's beard?"

Zhang Dun frowned, "Economy, politics, culture, five surnames and seven hopes all have such a big influence?"

"This is not what I expected."

Hu Guang rolled his eyes, "There are many things beyond your expectation!"

"Do you know how the former Sui Dynasty was destroyed? Didn't Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty want to attack the wealthy and aristocratic family, but suffered backlash?"

"You shouldn't answer this matter, Brother Zhang."

Zhang Dun spread his hands and said, "Then I can't watch my father-in-law fail to get things done, can I?"

"My father-in-law's affairs are small. If the elder is implicated because of this incident, what should I do?"

That also depends on your life!Hu Guang looked at him with hatred, and advised: "Brother Zhang, I can see that you are a kind person and a family-oriented person, but because of this, you have to be more careful in everything, and you can't Because five surnames and seven Wangs are involved, will you be implicated too?"

"Take our Zuixian Tower as an example. The person surnamed Wang in the Dingsheng Tower is because he is a member of the Wang family in Taiyuan. A shopkeeper can find Wannian Ling."

"You were arrested at the time, did you forget?"

Hu Guang sighed: "Just offending a store owner in Dingshenglou, you will be arrested and put in prison. If we go to Chongrenfang and offend those seven patriarchs, will we still be alive?"

"Don't panic." Zhang Dun waved his hand, "Let's talk to the seven Patriarchs first. If they are more sensible, we will take the money and leave."

Hu Guang was stunned and said, "What if they don't know what's interesting?"

Zhang Dun was silent for a few seconds, and said, "If you want to die, can I stop it?"

"..."

Hu Guang looked at Zhang Dun speechlessly, why are you talking so crazy?

How about your low profile?

Those are five surnames and seven wangs. Do you think they are ordinary people like us?

Zhang Dun stroked his chin and said, "Before we go, let's go back to my house."

"Brother Hu, you are right. The Five Surnames and Seven Wangs are really not easy to deal with. You have to bring something to the past. Let's do the courtesy first and then the soldiers."

Hu Guang's eyes lit up, "You want to give them gifts first?"

Hu Guang has seen the things Zhang Dun made himself, and any thing can cause an uproar in Chang'an City.

Hu Guang couldn't help being a little relieved, it seemed that Brother Zhang was enlightened, if those Patriarchs with five surnames and Qiwang saw the things that Brother Zhang gave, there might be room for maneuver in this matter.

Zhang Dun tilted his head and looked at him, "Is arsenic a gift?"

"???"

Hu Guang opened his eyes wide, confirming that Zhang Dun was not joking with him, and suddenly his heart collapsed.

Is it too late for me to leave now?This trip to muddy water might be fatal!

However, Zhang Dun didn't give him a chance to speak, and took him to Yongyangfang.

After taking out two boxes from the cellar at home, Zhang Dun confirmed that the contents of the boxes were all right, so he hired a bullock cart.

I heard from my second uncle that my father-in-law suffered a lot in the Boling Cui family's mansion. Hu Guang also said that the Boling Cui family ranked first among the five surnames and seven surnames.

Shoot people first, shoot horses, catch thieves first, and capture kings first!Zhang Dun didn't hesitate anymore, and together with Hu Guang, drove the ox cart to the Boling Cui's mansion in Chongrenfang.

At this time, Boling Cui's mansion.

Cui Zhao who is the head of the family, Cui Gong who is the head of the Cui clan of Qinghe, Fan Yang Lu Min, Xingyang Zheng Da, Taiyuan Wang Kuo, Longxi Li Zun, and Zhaojun Li Yu gathered together.

In the hall, on the case books in front of them, there were a lot of food and wine.

The seven old men exchanged cups and chatted happily.

"Brother Cui, I, Lu Min, offer you a toast."

"This cup, I also want to respect Brother Cui!"

"If it wasn't for Brother Cui this time, we still don't know how to explain to the court. If we can't explain, then we can only cut meat from our body to feed the court!"

With a smile on Cui Gong's old face, he said he didn't dare to take it, while drinking from his glass.

Chapter 49 Hu Guang: Zhang Dun, are you polite?

Cui Zhao looked at him with a smile, and said, "Brother Cui, what do you think the court will do next?"

"Young brother can't guess what he will do." Cui Gong said with a smile, "But if you can guess it, the emperor must be jumping in anger now."

"I asked us for money, but what we gave was not real money. The emperor took those things and could only stare blankly. Do you think he can't be angry?"

Lu Min asked, "What if the emperor sends someone to arrest us?"

Hearing this, Cui Zhao, Zheng Da, Wang Kuo, Li Zun, and Li Yu put down their wine glasses and looked at Cui Gong.

Cui Gong said indifferently: "The emperor will never do this!"

"Think about it, what is the purpose of the emperor using the trick of recording merit? To get money from us to relieve the problem of the empty treasury."

"If he sends people to arrest us, will he still solve the problem of empty treasury?"

"The so-called donation is a matter of your own will. If he sends someone to arrest us, it will be a forced donation!"

"With the knife on the neck, it is true that you have to give it if you don't give it, but in that case, the reputation of the court and Li Erlang's reputation will be completely ruined!"

"Li Erlang is a person who cherishes his name. Look at the things he did after he took the throne. He strengthened the censor and raised an admonisher. Which one is not for the sake of fame?"

"As long as he wants to leave an image of a wise king in the annals of history, he will definitely not arrest us!"

Lu Min breathed a sigh of relief, "With Brother Cui's words, we can rest assured."

Cui Zhao raised his wine glass and looked at them with a smile, "We've passed this hurdle, and I'll leave the headache to the emperor himself. Let's continue drinking!"

"Let's toast Brother Cui again!"

As soon as the words fell, everyone laughed and raised their wine glasses, facing Cui Gong.

Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps outside the hall, and the old butler of Cui's mansion in Boling walked in quickly, bowed his body and cupped his hands and said, "Patriarch, a man named Zhang Dun came outside the door and said he wanted to see the seven Patriarchs."