Glory all the way

Chapter 223 Neighbors
Early the next morning, Zhou Fu, the chief eunuch of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, arrived.

It was the time of the early court. At this time, Zhou Fu should have followed Emperor Jiayuan, but he happened to appear in the Zhuangyuan Mansion. Bai Yingluo had to guess that it was the meaning of the Holy Majesty.

"Mrs. Du, our family is here because we want to ask you for some private matters, and it's not the Holy Majesty's intention."

As if he had guessed what was going on in Bai Yingluo's mind, as soon as they met, Zhou Fu straight to the point and said it directly.

Although Zhou Fu is a servant who serves others, but he is the chief eunuch of the fifth rank, and his official rank is already one level higher than Du Xuan's. In addition, he is a servant who is worthy of the emperor's side. He also wants to show a smiling face, let alone a low-grade foreigner like Bai Yingluo.

"Eunuch Zhou, if you have anything to ask, you can just give me an order. I don't deserve your word 'begging'. Please tell me."

After serving the tea, Bai Yingluo spoke politely.

Zhou Fu picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of tea, Fang Hao said in a leisurely manner: "You also know that the predecessor of the Zhuangyuan Mansion was the Princess Mansion. It was repaired when the first emperor was alive, and he planned to reward the eldest princess. Unfortunately, the eldest princess is the princess mansion. My fairy was reincarnated, her fate was too expensive, this mortal body couldn't bear it, so I left early."

Showing a bit of sadness in response to the occasion, Zhou Fu continued: "Later, this mansion was vacant, and when Princess Qingcheng arrived in the year of cardamom, the emperor decreed to reward the princess mansion to the princess, and specially ordered the House of Internal Affairs to renovate it. over again."

As he spoke, Zhou Fu looked up at Bai Yingluo and asked, "Mrs. Du, have you ever heard of what happened next?"

There was an uproar in the capital, and it seemed a bit hypocritical to say that she didn't know. Bai Yingluo nodded with a smile and said: "I heard that Princess Qingcheng was the most beloved princess of the late emperor, and she was also cared for by the empress dowager and the emperor. Married to the Mansion of the General Mobei."

"Exactly."

Zhou Fu responded softly, sizing up Bai Yingluo with a pair of shrewd eyes, and remained silent for a long time.

Guessing his intentions for coming, combined with his words, Bai Yingluo said with some fear: "Mr. Zhou, I felt that something was wrong when I was living in the Zhuangyuan Mansion with my husband. Resignation. Now that Princess Qingcheng has returned to the capital, if we still live here, some doves will occupy the magpie's nest. You see, can you spare more than a month's time, and when we find a suitable house, we will move out immediately."

"Mrs. Du was joking."

There was a little smile in his eyes, Zhou Fu said with a chuckle: "A gentleman promises a thousand gold, not to mention you have no jokes. Since this house was awarded to the champion, it is the emperor's favor from the Tian family. How can it be taken back?"

Since he didn't come to ask for the house, the purpose of Zhou Fu's coming here is somewhat intriguing.

Bai Yingluo waited quietly, Zhou Fu turned to talk about another matter.

"In the old days, when the first emperor passed away, Concubine Rou followed him infatuatedly. The Empress Dowager took pity on Princess Qingcheng, and raised her under her knees. She was raised up from a young age, and she was really pampered like a baby. God is sorry, the young general is for the country. Dedicated to her loyalty, Princess Qingcheng died young and became a widow at a young age. The queen mother took pity on the princess and ordered her to return many times, but the princess and the major general loved each other deeply and could not bear to be separated. They did not return until the three-year mourning period had passed Come to Beijing."

Zhou Fu's voice is fine and smooth, and he narrates the past in such a way that people are immersed in it like listening to a story.

After the foreshadowing was laid out, Zhou Fu talked about the ultimate goal of coming here, "Both the Queen Mother and the Holy Majesty felt that they owed Princess Qingcheng a lot, so this time they tried their best to make up for one or two. No, the princess said she didn't want to." Living in the palace, the House of Internal Affairs sent the drawings, and the princess chose the garden on Qingping Street."

Bai Yingluo repeated in a daze, "The garden on Qingping Street?"

Zhou Fu smiled and pointed, "It's the garden in the back street of Zhuangyuan Mansion. When the princess moves in, Madam Du and the princess will be neighbors."

Bai Yingluo was dumbfounded.

After all the calculations, he didn't take into account the thoughtfulness of the two elders of the Bai family to him. They didn't even keep Du Xuan for dinner, so they rushed him back. Therefore, when Du Xuan appeared in front of Princess Qingcheng, Bai Yingluo even felt her heart skip a beat, and the whole world seemed to stand still at that moment.

When she saw Princess Qingcheng showing an interesting smile after she was astonished, the alarm bells rang in Bai Yingluo's mind.

But everything has happened, and there is no way to go back.

Tossing and turning all night, Bai Yingluo kept thinking, if Princess Qingcheng really took a fancy to Du Xuan, how would she deal with it, but unexpectedly, things would develop much faster than she imagined.

However, Princess Qingcheng mainly lives in the garden on Qingping Street, so she doesn't need to say hello to herself, does she?

After calming down, Bai Yingluo looked at Zhou Fu with questioning eyes and asked, "I don't know what the princess's intentions are, so please express it clearly."

"I heard that the princess came to the house yesterday?"

Zhou Fu asked questions without answering.

Seeing Bai Yingluo nodded, Zhou Fu said softly: "The princess likes the small lake and gazebo in the backyard of Zhuangyuan Mansion very much. If it is built in the garden on Qingping Street, it is necessary to borrow water from here. But you also You see, it will be the twelfth lunar month soon, and it is freezing cold. Even if the craftsmen dug canals to divert water, it may take time and effort, and they may not be able to finish the rest before the end of the year. So, what our family means is to see if we can Discuss with Mrs. Du and his wife that the backyard of the Zhuangyuan Mansion will be allocated directly to the Princess Mansion, and the less land will be converted into cash for you by the House of Internal Affairs."

He said it was what he meant, but whose meaning was on the verge of coming out.

And Bai Yingluo didn't like the Broken Heart Pavilion at all, so she immediately responded, "Elder-in-law, what did you say, we are the doves occupying the magpie's nest, and the troubled princess wants to find another mansion, it is ours. Since the princess likes there, So I asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to arrange craftsmen to build a courtyard wall to separate the small lake and the pavilion to the Princess Mansion. It will not be a problem. As for the money, you are slapping us in the face. This house is originally rewarded by the emperor. If it is given to us, even if we take it back, we will have no second opinion, how can we reach out for money if one thing is missing.”

Bai Yingluo's sense of humor and straightforwardness made Zhou Fu very happy.

Smiling on his back, Zhou Fu praised: "Mrs. Du is really a happy person. How about you discuss it with Mr. Zhuangyuan? How can you say that, he is also the head of the family, so you have to talk to him."

Nodding in response, Bai Yingluo said bluntly: "As soon as I moved in, my husband said that it would be a bit wasteful for the two of us to live in such a big garden. Now that it is in the eyes of the princess, it can be regarded as a gift of flowers to the Buddha. He definitely agrees. Don't worry, when he comes back, I will make an agreement with him. When Eunuch Zhou returns to the palace, I will ask the people from the House of Internal Affairs to repair it as soon as possible. Let the princess settle down sooner."

It was Zhou Fu who carried out the Empress Dowager and Emperor Jiayuan just now, now that Bai Yingluo said this, Zhou Fu naturally understood what she meant, smiled in response, and got up to leave.

When Du Xuan came back in the afternoon, Bai Yingluo told him about the purpose of Zhou Fu's visit.

Du Xuan didn't think too deeply.

Like Bai Yingluo, he didn't like the pavilion at all. Seeing that Princess Qingcheng wanted it, he held the idea that a gentleman has the beauty of an adult, and he agreed with Bai Yingluo's decisive answer.

"The section of the Broken Heart Pavilion is divided, and the Zhuangyuan Mansion will be reduced by one-third. In this way, our expenses can be reduced. I would rather give it away like this, and I can have more favors."

Du Xuan laughed jokingly.

A few days ago, I just received a letter from Zhao Jing, saying that the Escort Bureau has dealt with it properly, and more than a dozen brothers are willing to follow him to sell drugs.

In this way, the manpower problem that was originally worried about was also solved.

Counting the days, now Zhao Jing and Heizi and his party may have gone to the deep mountains to find the medicine farmers. After the spring, the first batch of medicines will probably be delivered to Tuoyang.

Although he hasn't seen the benefits yet, he thought that everything is difficult at the beginning, and this road to making money has already made a good start. With such a step-by-step development, the future prospects must be brilliant, and Du Xuan is very happy.

Zhou Fu's actions were very quick. In the evening, a servant from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came with orders, and took two master craftsmen to the backyard to measure the plan.

On the second day, the brand new layout of the mansion was placed in front of Bai Yingluo and Du Xuan.

In the backyard of Zhuangyuan Mansion, passing through the nine-curved corridor, is Shuyuxuan, where Bai Yingluo is usually the director. Afterwards, around seven or eight courtyards and row houses, is the narrow courtyard room where the servants live. The effort of a cup of tea is where the Duanchang Pavilion and the small lake are located.

However, if only the section of the Broken Heart Pavilion is crossed, not only will the entire Zhuangyuan Mansion be out of square, but the Princess Mansion on the other side of the wall will also be uneven as if it has been patched. After some discussion, Bai Yingluo and Du Xuan simply allocated the mountain forest adjacent to the Duanchang Pavilion to the Princess Mansion.

In this way, the Zhuangyuan Mansion, which originally occupied an area of ​​[-] mu, was reduced by half, and it was no different from other ordinary big families in the capital.

Du Xuan and Bai Yingluo were delighted with this result.

After the discussion was completed, the Ministry of Internal Affairs submitted the revised blueprint, and within a day, the higher-ups agreed.

The people from the Qin Tianjian were also asked to calculate the auspicious day of the Yidong soil, and set off firecrackers at noon, and the people from the House of Internal Affairs led a mighty team of craftsmen into the Princess Mansion on Qingping Street, and smashed the courtyard wall .

Fearing that Bai Yingluo would be bumped into, Du Xuan asked for a few days' leave and stayed by Bai Yingluo's side all day long. The two of them went to the backyard to see how it was repaired.

In just three days, the leading servant came back and said that everything was in order and that they would not disturb the life in Zhuangyuan's mansion.

After seeing that person off, Du Xuan held Bai Yingluo's hand, and the two walked slowly to the backyard.

Although a large area was missing, it did not affect the original scenery in the garden at all. Du Xuan and Bai Yingluo commented as they walked, and they were naturally extremely satisfied with the result.

Returning to Yixinyuan, the reward from the palace will arrive.

Both Emperor Jiayuan and the Queen Mother expressed their opinions, and Emperor Jiayuan even rewarded 500 taels of gold as a reward for Du Xuan and Bai Yingluo's understanding.

Lifting the bright yellow curtain, on the tray, the bright gold ingots dangled dizzily, Du Xuan and Bai Yingluo looked at each other and smiled.

(End of this chapter)