I'm watching the gate in the jail

Eight years later, Chenghua's 22nd Double Ninth Festival

Wang Zhi... No, Wan Su stepped into the "Xinghaihui" located in the east fourth archway of the capital in a full body.

"Where's your shopkeeper? Has everyone arrived?"

He walked directly to the counter and asked the accountant who was standing there and adjusting the abacus.

"The young master is back? Everyone is talking in the private room upstairs, so hurry up, young master."

"Have Susu and Alan come back?"

"The shopkeeper and Lord Yang went to pick up the young master at the gate of the city, and they will be there in a while. But the young master Biao has already arrived."

Upon hearing this, Wan Su looked up at the stairs, smiled at the accountant, and walked upstairs.

Now he is a 24-year-old youth, his childishness has disappeared, and his stature has grown.

He has been on the march all year round, with a tall and straight figure and firm eyes. Coupled with the appearance in the eyes of a woman, he is a beautiful scenery wherever he stands.

There were quite a few female guests in Xinghaihui, seeing this white-clothed young man moving like the wind, they cast admiring glances one after another.

"Not bad, really good. It's just that the men in the Wan family are better than the other, but why don't they get married?"

The old accountant was puzzled.

This accountant was the one that Chen Shisanniang brought back from the grassland eight years ago.Because of his shrewd mind and high force value, he has now become the general accountant of the capital head office.

As for the accountant of the original "Xinghaihui", it was transferred to the branch in Nanjing, where it managed the accounts.

The Ming Dynasty implemented the "Two Beijings System". The restaurant opened by Lord Wan Jue in the Earl's Mansion of Anle also opened a restaurant in Nanjing and Beijing.

Three years ago, Wanda's long-cherished "Xinghaihui" Nanjing branch finally started preparations. It planned to open a large restaurant next to the Confucius Temple, which was not inferior to the Beijing main store, and only had a lot more entertainment items.

When Wanda thought that 600 years later, all famous snacks and restaurants would be "opened" by Emperor Qianlong and Empress Dowager Cixi, and wanted to follow the popularity of celebrities.

Let’s say these two Qing Dynasty celebrities, one went to the south of the Yangtze River, and the other fled. In the end, they didn’t do much business, and they patronized and ate along the way.It has left countless so-called "famous Chinese snacks" and a bunch of "food stories" copied and pasted from one mold to another.

He thought that these two people from the Qing Dynasty should not be allowed to be more beautiful than before, and that the emperor of our Ming Dynasty should also leave some "glorious history" of his own.

So he went into the palace with a slap in the head, wanting to ask Zhu Jianshen to give a word to his newly opened restaurant.

"Is this also called the name? Is this the name of your new restaurant?"

Zhu Jian frowned deeply, holding the piece of paper with the name of the new restaurant in one hand, and stroking his beard with the other, he almost cut off some of the beard.

"Well, why isn't this the name? It looks like it was made by the minister."

Wanda couldn't get used to this.

What's wrong with the name of this restaurant?

Strongly evoked my homesickness.

As a result, everyone from Guanghuai to Alan denied it, and looked at him with sympathy when it was over.I didn't expect my brother-in-law to be as blind as them.

At this time, Wan Zhen'er was coming out of the dormitory, seeing Zhu Jianshen frowning deeply, she also walked over curiously, and looked at the note in his hand.

"Wanda square?"

Wan Zhen'er directly read the four words written on it.

"what is this?"

"The name of your younger brother's newly opened Nanjing Restaurant...is this a name?"

Zhu Jian was deeply angry.

My brother-in-law is about to be 40 years old, why is he still so out of touch.

Who would use their own name to name a restaurant, what a shame it would be?

Wanda thought it was because you had never eaten "Wang Shouyi Thirteen Fragrances", never used "Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors", and never worn "Li Ning Sportswear".

What happened to my Wanda naming my hotel after me?Then foreigners still use their own names to open the park.

"No, that name can't be used. Just this..."

After Zhu Jianshen finished speaking, he swiped his imperial pen and wrote the words "Da Ming Lou".

"Da Ming Building? State-owned store?"

"What do you say?"

Wanda looked down and understood Zhu Jianshen's meaning - the inscription is fine, so I will use this word to invest in the shares.In the future, half of the profits will be divided into my internal treasury.

It is said that what you buy is not as good as what you sell, but what you sell here is not as good as the emperor.

Wanda gave his brother-in-law a thumbs up and nodded in admiration.

"Look at this."

Zhu Jianshen handed over a booklet to Wanda, and did not avoid suspicion because of Wan Zhen'er's presence.

"Eight deadly sins? So many?"

Wanda opened the booklet and saw the densely packed small characters, her scalp went numb.

"Falsely reporting military merits, stealing money and food, rejecting loyal and good people, being arrogant, recruiting scoundrels, making friends with friends, provoking strong captives, and starting wars without authorization." (Note 1) This is referring to Ah Zhi? How do I feel that this is referring to eight years ago? What about the Chen Yue who was beheaded?"

Wanda shook her head and said, "It's all nonsense."

"This is yesterday's memorial to the Procuratorate and the Sixth Division to impeach Wang Zhi. It was retained by me."

"Over the years, if the papers on the impeachment of Ah Zhi were piled up, it would be enough to fill a room. The censor of the Thirteenth Department of Supervisors alone does not know how many times he has been impeached."

Wanda sneered, "Ah Zhi has devoted himself to the Ming Dynasty over the years, conquered the South and the North, and made countless contributions. Just talk about his victories: he defeated the Jurchens in 15 years, broke the Tatar royal court in 16 years, and Heishiya in 17 years. Great victory... Which one can't be listed in the annals of history, and he was named a marquis? It turned out that he was a "eunuch" and could not add anything except Lumi. So these civil servants still scold him? They do that, they themselves Go to battle and kill the enemy!"

Wanda counted Wang Zhili's illustrious military exploits over the years, while Wan Zhen'er listened to it in silence.

She knew that Ah Zhi had liked military affairs since he was a child, and aspired to be a great hero who would stand up to the sky and live forever.

It's just that his military exploits over the years did not win him good words from the civil officials, but only the love of the emperor and his family, as well as the scars all over his body.

"Don't talk about war, just talk about other things."

Wanda continued, "Crack down on the smuggling of official ships on the Grand Canal, expose Nanjing's garrison eunuchs for selling officials and nobles, rectify the escape of military households across the country, reform the payment of military salaries in the guards, rebuild the dams in the north of the Yangtze River, and reform the military examinations. Oh, and arrested two A son-in-law who had an affair with a maidservant sent them to prison... I know why those civil servants impeached Azhi. Our Azhi took all the work they were supposed to do and did it ourselves, doing better than them Beautiful. Doesn't this show their incompetence!"

Wanda became more and more angry.

He has seen all the changes in Ah Zhi in the past two years,

The child's credit is getting more and more, but the smile is getting less and less.

Except in front of Alan and Wanda, Wang Zhi could still smile as usual.

In front of unfamiliar outsiders, he has completely turned into the frightening and unpredictable "Governor of Xichang" in the legend, a war machine without emotion.

Recalling the kid he met in Guangxi 20 years ago who loved to eat sweets and hug his thighs, it was like a dream.

"Uncle Lang, I regret it."

Seeing Wanda's indignation, Zhu Jianshen knew in his heart that he was "[-]% serious and [-]% acting".

Anger is there, but exaggeration takes up a bigger part.

They have been monarchs and ministers plus in-laws for more than 20 years, and they already have an unspeakable tacit understanding with each other.

Zhu Jianshen then took the initiative to lower his figure and gave everyone a step.

"I should have listened to Uncle Xiaolang and released him from the palace when he was 16 years old. From then on, he changed his name and became an ordinary person. Instead of letting him open the West Factory... Hey, everything is my fault. "

Wanda looked at Zhu Jianshen's "distressed" expression, and thought to himself, who is your little old man fooled by?

Whether it's investigating cases in the West Factory or going to war, I don't think you can use them with ease?

It's just that the world has been peaceful in the past few years, and the Tatars and Jurchens have almost done it in the last few battles.Seeing that the prince has also grown up, he began to get in touch with state affairs.

After all the calculations, it's time for "the birds are exhausted", and you only thought of letting Ah Zhi "retire".

"It's not too late, why don't you do this... Beijing must not be able to stay any longer. There are too many people who know him here. It's better to let Ah Zhi hide his name and go to Nanjing for a while. Let him stay there to accompany Xiaoqiu After a while, when everyone has forgotten about him, find him a job in Nanjing Jinyiwei Yamen, and continue to serve the country—what do you think, brother-in-law?"

Wanda also went downhill smoothly, and said the speech he had prepared a long time ago.

Qiu Zijin, who is determined to be a lonely minister, has been re-investigating the old cases of the Criminal Ministry for the past two years.Offended a group of nobles, the person who wants his life can almost circle the Forbidden City.

In order to protect him, the emperor put him "idle" in Nanjing last year.

"Well, it suits me very well."

Zhu Jianshen nodded with satisfaction, and Wan Zhen'er sat aside, also showing a gratified smile.

"Just in time, this 'Wanda Plaza' of my minister... oh no, His Majesty's 'Daming Tower' is about to open. Let Ah Zhi go there and help directly. Let Xiaoqiu also settle the score."

Wanda took the opportunity to hit the snake with a stick.

Zhu Jianshen threw the imperial pen directly at him.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhu Jianshen made a decision for civil and military officials to "celebrate each other"—Wang Zhi, the governor of the West Factory and the eunuch of the Beijing Imperial Horse Supervisor, has committed a heinous crime by deceiving the emperor to exercise power and provoking side affairs.

Gu Nianqi was young and had made great contributions to the country, so Gu was sent to Nanjing to take care of the imperial mausoleum.The West Factory has since been disbanded and will never be used again.

Although Wang was not sent to prison and executed directly according to the wishes of the civil servants, the result of this treatment was enough to make them rejoice.

After all, there are eunuchs such as Niu Yu and Huang Ci who have issued Nanjing precedents, so it seems that Zhu Jianshen's treatment of Wang Zhi is not special.

That night, Wanda brought Wang Zhi, who was dressed as a commoner, into the palace to bid farewell to Zhu Jianshen, Wan Zhen'er, and the prince.

"Brother Zhi..."

Standing in the Imperial Garden of Duixiu Mountain in the Royal Garden, 13-year-old Zhu Youtang stared at Wang Zhi in a cloak with red eyes and clasped his hands.

When will Ah Zhi go into the Forbidden City and sneak around like this.

Isn't this his "home"?

"Your Highness, don't do this, it's a good thing."

Wan Zhen'er patted the back of Zhu Youtang's hand and comforted him, "From now on, Brother Ah Zhi can do what he wants to do and live for himself. We should be happy for him."

"But, ma'am..."

The 13-year-old boy still looked aggrieved.

But empress, Gu is really lonely now.

Brother Alan has been fighting Japanese pirates in coastal towns all year round since he took charge of military affairs a few years ago, and rarely returns to the capital.

Brother Ah Zhi is going to Nanjing now, and he may never come back again.

In this capital city, there is only one person left.

Although there are more and more princes and princesses in the palace, they are not close to Gu.

The only ones who could talk were uncles who occasionally entered the palace.But my uncle is so busy, and now it's been a few months since I saw him last time...

Zhu Youtang raised his head, watched Wang Zhi knelt down, and solemnly kowtowed to his father and imperial concubine, feeling sore in his heart.

For the first time, he experienced what it means to be "lonely".

"From now on, you will not be called 'Wang Zhi'."

Zhu Jianshen looked at Wang Zhi, the corners of his eyes were red.

"I gave you the surname 'Wan'. You should be called 'Wan Su'."

"'Wansu' thank the Lord Long En."

Wang Zhi knelt down, and at this moment, he was already in tears.

I met Su Su at the age of six, entered the palace at the age of seven, became the eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor at the age of 12, became the Duke of Xichang at the age of 16, and started to lead the army at the age of 17...

This Forbidden City has carried too many memories and reluctance for him.

But now, he was finally leaving here to start another life of his own.

Wanda, who was standing beside them, also kept choking up.

It is said that "the Tian family is ruthless", but Zhu Jianshen's family is the most loving and righteous royal family he has ever seen.

"Let's go..."

Wanda pulled up Wang Zhi, who was lying on the ground, crying uncontrollably, "Go to Nanjing."

"Ah, Asu is back."

A group of people were having a heated discussion in the private room. Seeing Wan Su who opened the door, Chen Shisanniang waved excitedly.

"It's just in time. Everyone is discussing how to let Mrs.... let Azhang meet his wife who has never been married."

Chen Shisan is now the shopkeeper and chef of "Xinghaihui".The appearance of this beautiful chef eight years ago made "Xinghaihui" overcrowded.

His Susu actually moved the kitchen from the back to the front hall, claiming that there is an "open fire and a bright stove", so that everyone can eat at ease.In fact, it's not about attracting customers by using the "Beauty Chef" sign.

This Chen Shisandao also lived up to his expectations, the dishes were delicious, and the people were good at dancing, which brought the business of "Xinghaihui" to another level.

Speaking of which, there is another story.

When the thirteenth mother left the grassland, she had already given up on Susu.

When she arrived in the capital, she declared that she had always had someone in her heart, and she heard that this person was in the capital, so she asked Susu to match him up.

Susu immediately agreed when she heard this, and only begged her to stop pestering herself.

As a result, Chen Shisan took out three cookbooks and said that he had a crush on the "Master Xinghai" who wrote these three cookbooks for a long time, and asked Susu to introduce him to her...

So up to now, Chen Shisanniang has not given birth to her "Prairie Fourteen Knives", but she and "Capital Fourteen Knives" Xiaohui have become friends who have crossed generations.

"A Su is here, I'll get you some tea."

"Thank you, Miss Hui."

Wan Su laughed.

Xiaohui lived in the palace when she was a child, and she and Wang Zhi were playmates for several years, and they knew each other very well.

Chen Sishan fell ill two years ago and no longer served as a female official of Shangshi.Just follow Wan Zhen'er as an ordinary palace man.Now Xiaohui is also out of the palace, working as a cook in "Xinghaihui".

Wan Su came this time to bring her back to Nanjing to be the chef of "Da Ming Lou".

"Azhang, you are leaving the palace today, does Your Majesty know?"

Wan Su turned his head, looked at Zhu Youtang who was seated on the main seat by all the stars and Gongyue, and asked.

The 16-year-old Zhu Youtang has also grown into a handsome boy, but he is a little too thin and shy.

It may be because he lived in Nei'an Letang when he was a child, and his health was not well established. The prince's body bones have always been a little crooked. Wanda and Chen Sishan tried their best to recuperate him, but there was no improvement.

But even so, it's time to talk about marriage.

Speaking of the marriage of this group of children, Zhu Jianshen and Wan Zhen'er really broke their hearts.

"Isn't this the fault of Uncle Lang? He didn't get married, and he didn't even get married when he was old with A Lan. A Zhi used to be in the palace, why didn't he get married after being out of the palace for so many years? And how old is Xiaohui? ? In the end, it’s all Uncle Lang’s fault! He has brought everyone down!” —— roar from Zhu Jianshen.

So it was Zhu Youtang's turn to get married, and everyone was very excited.

"Father knows. It's rare that Alan came back from Songjiang today, and Father allowed Gu to go out of the palace in micro-clothes."

Zhu Youtang lowered his head and smiled shyly, "Yes, I also know that the girl from the Zhang family is going to dine at 'Xinghaihui' today, let Gu come and see her."

In the past two years, the prince has grown up, and Zhu Jianshen has already begun to select a princess for him.He couldn't just sit back and watch Wanda "distort" the prince.

At present, Zhu Jianshen's favorite candidate is Zhang Shi, a woman from Xingji, Hebei.His father was Zhang Luan, the son of the Imperial College.

It is said that Mrs. Zhang is not only beautiful, but also lively and knowledgeable. Although she is one year older than Zhu Youtang, in Zhu Jianshen's view, this is not a problem at all-it's better to be older, and older is more stable!

Qiu Zijin stayed in Nanjing for many years and returned to the capital at the beginning of last year.However, out of consideration for his safety, the emperor did not allow him to return directly to the Ministry of Punishment as a "big killer", but instead asked him to go to the Imperial College to take up a post as a secretary.

Today, Qiu Siye specially invited Zhang Jiansheng to "Xinghaihui" for a drink, and posted a post saying that this was a "Chongyang Family Banquet" and he would bring his younger sister to attend.

A few years ago, after Qiu's father and Qiu's mother passed away one after another, Qiu Xiaomei, who was much younger than Qiu Zijin, lived with her elder brother.

Qiu Xueba's younger sister is naturally also Xueba, the most talented woman in the capital.

So Zhang Jiansheng also decided to bring his daughter to attend, and let the two girls be companions.

All of this is under Wanda's design, in order to allow these two young people to meet before the official selection of concubines - a blind marriage is a bad idea!

Zhu Jianshen felt that this bastard brother-in-law's idea was very unruly, but he had to agree.

So it was decided to ask Mei Qianzhang to escort the prince out of the palace tonight, and to go to "Xinghaihui" to meet the eldest daughter of the Zhang family.

"Here we come, we come, we come."

At this moment, the door of the private room was pushed open again, and Wanda and Yang Xiuxian walked in with Wan Lan.

"Susu! Master Yang, Ah Lan!"

Wan Su stepped beside them, happily looking at the few people whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

Susu is obviously over forty years old, but she still doesn't look old.Standing beside Master Yang, it seems like two generations.

On the contrary, A Lan, who has been fighting at the seaside all year round, is now more tall, straight and handsome, with extraordinary heroism.

I remember that a few years ago, His Majesty said with emotion that Alan looked like his grandfather Xuanzong.Wan Su had seen Xuanzong's portrait when he was a child, and Alan was indeed somewhat similar to him, with a heroic and aboveboard demeanor.

"Alan, I heard that you won another battle."

Wan Su held Alan's hand tightly.

"Brother Azhi, I heard that you have made another contribution in Nanjing Jinyiwei."

Alan gripped his hand even tighter.

Witnessing the "intimate interaction" between the two, Yang Xiuxian frowned, feeling that things were getting out of control.

Just as he was deliberating whether to tell Wanda about this situation, Thirteen Niang suddenly spoke.

"Hey, look, Xiao Qiu and Qiu Xiaomei are here. Come quickly!"

Chen Shisandao, who had been lying on the side of the railing, pointed down and said excitedly.

"Is the middle-aged man next to him Zhang Jiansheng? The girl with the two maids behind him is Miss Zhang?"

"let me see!"

As soon as Thirteen Knives finished speaking, a group of people squeezed to the railing on the third floor, almost pushing the shopkeeper of the "Xinghaihui" down the stairs.

Zhu Youtang grabbed the railing, held his breath and looked at the two women who came in gracefully below.

As if she had a tacit understanding, the woman who covered her face with a round fan suddenly raised her head and looked up...

The author has something to say: Note 1: "Biography of Concubine Wan of the Ming Dynasty"