The prince is more stable

Chapter 187 The Wedding Date (Part )

There are roughly three types of friends: drinking buddies, friends with benefits, and true friends.

A mature person must first have a clear understanding of his or her own social circle, clearly distinguish his or her own social circle, and classify all the friends he or she knows into these three types of relationships.

Drinking buddies should just eat, drink, play and have fun together. Don’t talk about money, don’t cooperate in business, and it’s best not to get involved in anything related to interests. Of course, you can talk about the brotherhood when you have nothing to do, but don’t take it too seriously.

Friendship based on interests is a bit deeper, so it’s best to just talk about money. You can also eat and drink together. Of course, you can also talk more about polite words like brotherhood, but as I said, don’t take it too seriously.

True friends are different. You can talk about anything with them, confide in them anything with them, trust them completely, open your heart to them, and truly go through thick and thin for them.

What’s interesting is that true friends rarely talk about brotherhood, as it’s too corny. Most of the time, they force each other to call each other dad and try every means to establish a father-son relationship.

If a person has such a clear positioning of his circle of friends, then no matter how unlucky his life is, he will not fail terribly.

The relationship between Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhang Xiaoyi can probably be classified as that of true friends.

If Zhang Xiaoyi gets into trouble, Zhao Xiaoqian is willing to take risks to stand up for him, and if Zhao Xiaoqian gets into trouble, Zhang Xiaoyi will even risk his life for him.

The ancients often said, "A gentleman will die for his confidant." Modern people often cannot understand this mentality, but in the simple era when morality was valued, it is undeniable that this is indeed a universal value, and at that time, it seemed to be the right thing to do.

Zhang Xiaoyi was still recovering from his injury, but when he heard that Zhao Xiaoqian had something for him to do, he immediately perked up.

He owed Zhao Xiaoqian too much and was unable to sleep or eat. The favor he owed was so great that the one who received the favor felt uncomfortable. He would always find ways to repay the favor and was so impatient that he could not wait any longer.

"Just give me your orders, Marquis. I will handle everything for you efficiently." Zhang Xiaoyi said solemnly.

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and said, "You are somewhat famous in the streets of Bianjing, right?"

"I can't say that it applies to the entire Bianjing City. I can only say that in the Zhouqiao and Panlou Street areas, my words still have some effect."

"There's a person I want you to secretly investigate for me. Whether it's tailing him or keeping him under surveillance, I want to find out his background."

Zhang Xiaoyi patted his chest vigorously and said, "No problem. Although I am bedridden and recovering from my injuries, I still have several obedient brothers under my command."

Then Zhang Xiaoyi said, "Who is this person? As long as you have a name, my brothers will keep an eye on him day and night, and record every time he goes to the toilet and tell you."

"That's totally unnecessary! Let's remember something useful. Haven't you had enough of those shitty, pissing, and farting jokes? Just help me remember where he went after he left the house and who he interacted with. It would be even better if I could eavesdrop on what he talked about with others. Can you do that?"

Zhang Xiaoyi thought about it and nodded vigorously: "Yes, if I have ever failed the Marquis, I will bring my head to you."

"Don't make things so bloody. You're always bringing your head to me. Do you have a screw on your neck? Just take it off if you say so. It's not your fault if you can't do it. After all, it's not your incompetence, but the enemy's cunning..."

"The Marquis has been talking for a long time, but he hasn't told me his name yet."

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and whispered, "This person... has a very close relationship with me, almost like a father and son. I have no ill intentions in asking you to follow him. I'm just a little curious about him..."

Zhang Xiaoyi laughed: "Why is the county marquis hiding this? Even if they are as close as father and son, they are not real father and son. What's the point of investigating him? There is no way they are real father and son. That would be worse than a beast..."

Zhao Xiaoqian's face gradually turned pale, he pursed his lips and said nothing.

Zhang Xiaoyi's smile gradually became awkward, and then his expression became more and more surprised.

"Could it really be your father...His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu?"

Zhao Xiaoqian remained silent, and the silence at this moment was deafening.

Zhang Xiaoyi understood and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "I really don't understand the affairs of you powerful families. Why is it so? ...Okay, I won't ask anymore. I will do whatever the county marquis says."

"From today on, whenever your father leaves the palace, no matter what he says or does, or who he meets, I will tell you everything."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded with satisfaction, then stood up and said goodbye.

Before leaving, Zhao Xiaoqian turned and looked at him: "I never hide anything from my friends. I tell you the reason without any ulterior motives or ill intentions. I am simply curious about my father and want to know his unknown side."

Zhang Xiaoyi smiled and said, "You don't have to tell me the reason, Marquis. Even if you kill people or set fire to things, I will still pass the knife to you. I, Zhang Xiaoyi, am a nobody. How can I tell right from wrong, good from evil? I will give my life to anyone who treats me well."

"Haha, I have my limits. I wouldn't do anything so unscrupulous as to be unjust," Zhao Xiaoqian laughed. Between true friends, some things must be said clearly, otherwise it's easy to harbor resentment.

Zhao Xiaoqian was not a person who liked to explain, but for Zhang Xiaoyi, he was willing to make an exception and explain.

Just as he was about to step out of the door, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, right, don't talk about insignificant people anymore. It makes me uncomfortable."

"You and I are both upright men. The difference is that you are just a little poorer. This has to do with your reincarnation skills in your previous life, not with you as a person."

"Take good care of your injuries. Next time I have inspiration, I'll create something on you."

Zhang Xiaoyi watched him leave until Zhao Xiaoqian's back disappeared outside the gate, then he slowly withdrew his gaze.

Zhang Xiaoyi hung his head in deep thought for an unknown amount of time before suddenly laughing and muttering, "He's completely different from other wealthy and powerful children. Yeah, very different."

After a long time, Zhang Xiaoyi got out of bed and put on his clothes and shoes with difficulty.

He had originally planned to ask a few brothers to do what Zhao Xiaoqian had asked him to do, but at this moment Zhang Xiaoyi decided to do it himself, even though his injuries had not healed yet and even though it hurt a lot with every step he took.

…………

The eighth day of the tenth month, the first year of Shaosheng.

It is auspicious for getting married and breaking ground, but it is auspicious for offering sacrifices and holding funerals.

An auspicious day, the date for the wedding.

On such an important day, the happiest people are the spectators, but the most tortured are the newlyweds.

Before dawn, Zhao Xiaoqian was awakened by Jiang Miaoxian. Jiang Miaoxian and the maids dressed him in wedding clothes, drew eyebrows and powdered his face, and even inserted a small red flower on the brim of his hat and ear.

The effeminate dress made Zhao Xiaoqian extremely angry. He struggled left and right, fighting desperately.

Jiang Miaoxian had to patiently explain that the small flower she gave him was part of the etiquette.

Among the men of the scholar-official class in the Song Dynasty, there was a custom of "wearing flowers in the hairpin". Wearing a small flower next to the ear was called "wearing flowers in the hairpin".

During all important festivals and ceremonies, including daily gatherings with friends and outings, men of the scholar-official class, young and old, would put flowers in their ears. This was considered elegant and fashionable.

Jiang Miaoxian was exhausted after talking so much that she finally explained clearly that this behavior was not called sissy, but fashion.

Zhao Xiaoqian finally calmed down like a stubborn donkey that was forcibly suppressed.

However, after dressing neatly and going out, Zhao Xiaoqian secretly took off the effeminate hairpin and threw it away when no one was paying attention.

Jiang Miaoxian saw it all and saw that her man was so resistant to the hairpin, so she could only sigh and stop forcing him.

In ancient times, wedding ceremonies were not held during the day. "Hun" means "darkness", and as the name suggests, the formal wedding ceremony began at dusk.

After getting dressed, Zhao Xiaoqian was busy as soon as the sun rose.

Zhao Hao, who was also dressed in luxurious auspicious clothes, was full of joy. He pulled Zhao Xiaoqian excitedly and went straight to the backyard of the palace. On the north side of the backyard was a Zhao family ancestral hall, where the ancestors of the Zhao royal family were enshrined. Starting from the generation of Zhao Kuangyin's grandfather, there were a large number of tablets in the hall.

Zhao Hao and Zhao Xiaoqian knelt in the ancestral hall, offering their condolences to the ancestors of the Zhao family. Zhao Hao kept muttering to himself, "My son is getting married today. Thank you for the ancestors' blessings. My descendants are not good enough. Please continue to bless us, and give us father and son an extra hundred or eighty years of life."

After reciting a long conversation, the funeral oration no longer sounded like a funeral oration, but rather like a living person negotiating a business deal with a dead person.

Please bless my father and me with longevity and safety. We will burn more paper money for you every year. We will benefit from each other and achieve a win-win cooperation.

Zhao Xiaoqian had never been pious in his heart about this kind of consolation method that was full of commercialism and greed.

I don’t know what my ancestors in the underworld would think. Put yourself in their shoes. If I were in the underworld and heard my unworthy descendants chatting with me in this way of discussing business, I would just blow myself up in my coffin and blow up my ancestral tomb.

(End of this chapter)