Great Master of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 42 Chapter 42

In the end, those two photos were hung in the Lizheng Hall, and after the emperor rewarded Zuo Ming with brocade cloth, he asked Zhao Si to lead him to his new house on Zhuque Street.

The so-called Suzaku Street, also known as Wanghou Street, lived here, either the emperor's relatives such as Changsun Wuji, or the court ministers such as Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.

It was the first time in the entire Tang Dynasty that ordinary people like Zuo Ming lived in Zhuque Street.

The location of Zuo Ming's house is not very good, it is near Mingde Gate, very far from the east and west cities, but it is very convenient to enter the palace from here, it is a straight road, and you can even see far away at a glance. Suzaku Gate.

Although it may take a long time to go to Anleju in the future, Zuo Ming's mood is still quite happy.

The mansion bestowed by the emperor is naturally huge. In addition to a huge hall, there are three other courtyards in the east, north and south, among which are long corridors, clear ponds and greenery. The gratifying rockery.Even the servants have a special servant's area and a maid's area to live in.

In this whole set of houses, apart from a gate facing Zhuque Street in the west, there are also side gates in the east, south and north, which can be described as extending in all directions.Including the garden in the east, the entire area is about 800 square meters.Although it is already very dilapidated because no one has lived there all year round, it is just right for Zuo Ming to renovate.

However, there were only fourteen days left before the wedding, and he couldn't make any big changes. Right now, he could only make some modifications to the East Courtyard, which was used as the wedding room.

Zuo Ming's modification was quite successful. In less than ten days, the originally empty east courtyard became a duplex villa with a complex structure and complete internal organs.

The reason why Zuo Ming modified it like this is actually because the house is too big, and Shen Ding and the others lived directly in the servants' quarters, and it would be too deserted to live separately.But Hu Ke and Lian'er were obviously different from what he thought, and they moved to the north and south courtyards respectively regardless of Zuo Ming's wishes.

It is definitely not enough to live in a large compound alone, so many girls from the Anle Grand Theater were invited by them and moved in.

For a while, the whole courtyard became lively, but Zuo Ming had a bitter face.

With so many light bulbs stuck here, how will he steal incense and jade in the future, and make out with Hu Ke and Lian'er?

It is also impossible for Zuo Ming to drive them away directly.These girls are already thoughtful, if he really did that, wouldn't he break their hearts?

But soon, Yunniang helped Zuo Ming solve this problem.I don't know what she said to them, anyway, the next day, those girls moved directly to the maid area, and then they were directly divided into four teams, taking turns cleaning the house and serving Hu Ke and Lian'er.

At first, Hu Ke and Lian'er were naturally very resistant, but they were still persuaded by Yun Niang.

At that time, Yunniang said, "They should be human when they live. You don't need to treat them as maids, but if they don't work as maids, how can you live in your heart? You can give them alms for a while, why don't you give them alms for a lifetime? If you really feel sorry for them, just treat them better every day! Work belongs to work, and personal relationships belong to personal relationships, so don’t confuse them.”

Yunniang's words reached the hearts of the two girls. From then on, they also began to accept the service of those girls slowly, but in private, everyone was still talking and laughing, playing around without any scruples.

Zuo Ming really didn't expect that Yun Niang actually had such a side, and at that time she was identified as the internal affairs housekeeper of the Zuo Mansion.And her husband, Zuo Qian, became the foreign affairs steward of the Zuo Mansion.

It's just that Zuo Qian's team is obviously much poorer than his own daughter-in-law's. There are only two people in total, Shen Ding and Wu Dazhu, and these two people are not very disciplined.

Zuo Ming's money was handed over to Zuo Qian, and Zuo Qian wanted to call some servants back, but Zuo Ming stopped him.

Zuo Ming feels that there is not much rough work to do in Zuo Mansion nowadays, there is no need to spend that spare money at all, and there are too many maids in the mansion, they are all divided into four shifts, if you find a few servants to share The affairs of the house, do they still work?My monthly salary can't be paid in vain, can I?

This is not because Zuo Ming is stingy, but because of his life values ​​in later generations.He felt that as long as a person was alive, he had to have something to do!
A life that constantly creates value is a fulfilling life.He didn't want those girls to develop the habit of being lazy, in that case, once they got married, they would definitely be disgusted by their husband's family.

It is worth mentioning that not long after Zuo Ming moved into Suzaku Street, many dignitaries sent congratulatory posts.This was a bit unexpected for Zuo Ming. He had never even heard the names of many of those officials.

Wang Gui and Changsun Wuji were fine, at least they had a little friendship, but even the crown prince sent a congratulatory gift, which made him a little puzzled.

That's why he didn't understand the meaning of living in Suzaku Street. He only thought it was just a house, but he really didn't think deeply about it.

However, Zuo Ming is known for being a master who likes to take advantage.If you like to give away, I will take it. I will take as much as you give, and I will not suffer anyway.

Zuo ordered people who would not refuse, but Zuo Qian was very happy. Although their family did not lack any money, the gift-givers were all dignitaries, and he was in charge of receiving gifts.

Especially those stewards who came to give presents also made friends with him one by one, he just felt as if he was born in a dream.

After settling the house and arranging the new house, Zuo Ming walked towards Changsun Wuji's mansion with a photo.

This time he behaved well, and the photo was covered with a red cloth.

However, the old man always went out in a sedan chair or a carriage, so he was lucky. He didn't have a entourage, and he walked all the way. It's no wonder he wasn't underestimated.

At that time, he was stopped by the guard who didn't recognize him, and he didn't even want to inform him, only thinking that he was a businessman who came to make friends.

There was no other way, Zuo Ming had no choice but to uncover the red cloth on the photo.Seeing that photo, the doorman suddenly realized that he recognized Zuo Ming, immediately apologized and was careful, and then looked at him with an expression of fear of Zuo Ming's anger, and went in to report.

Speaking of which, Zuo Ming is now known to everyone in Chang'an City, because the "Emperor Portrait Incident" is so sensational that many people have directly crowned Zuo Ming as a "Painting Saint" title.

Coupled with the fact that one of Zuo Ming's four majors has definitely been paired up a few days ago—that is, the pair that Li Shimin handed over to Zuo Ming and hung at the entrance of Anle Grand Theater—Anle Grand Theater has once again become the center of Chang'an. The talk of the people in the city, the name of his big boss, naturally became more and more well-known.

Not long after, Changsun Wuji came out to meet Zuo Ming in person, taking pride in himself.

Although Zuo Ming released his pigeon last time, the queen also said that it was because he was too busy, so Changsun Wuji was not very angry.

Now that Zuo Ming brought the painting, he was obviously sincere, so he naturally didn't want to embarrass him.

Of course, the most important thing is that he is also looking forward to Zuo Ming's paintings.

He has already seen the two pictures in the palace, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are masterpieces. He is very curious, what kind of masterpiece Zuo Ming's portrait of himself will be.

Zuo Ming is a man of wit, seeing that Changsun Wuji glanced at the painting in his hand as soon as he came out, he smiled lightly, and immediately sent the painting out.

"Some time ago, I was busy with the auction and going south to suppress the rebellion, so I couldn't attend the appointment. Please forgive my uncle! Recently, Cao Min took the initiative to draw a portrait for the adult, and wanted to use it as an apology gift. Uncle Guo laughs!"

Quickly took the photo from Zuo Ming's hand like a baby, but Changsun Wuji did not lose his courtesy, "I am really lucky to be able to get Mr. Zuo's painting! Mr. Zuo, please, let's go inside and talk about it."

As he spoke, he led Zuo Ming into the mansion.It's just that as he walked, he looked at the photos in his hand.

This photo was secretly taken by Zuo Ming in Ganlu Hall a few days ago. At that time, Changsun Wuji was having a cordial conversation with Li Shimin, so there was also Li Shimin's silhouette in it.

Looking at the scene of harmony between the monarch and his subjects, Changsun Wuji's face suddenly turned red.

If Zuo Ming gave him just a portrait, he would be happy at most, but Zuo Ming's remoteness gave him a scene that was favored by the emperor, which made him feel inexplicably excited.

Zuo Ming really hit the high point in his heart!
May I ask which powerful minister does not want his descendants to know how much he was favored by the emperor when they saw his portrait?

Seeing Changsun Wuji's dark expression, Zuo Ming smiled softly, but then put on an embarrassed expression and said, "Oh! Caomin was planning to make the portrait bigger for Uncle Guo. A little bit, but considering that the size of His Majesty's portrait can't be too close, so I only got such a portrait of half a person's height, I just hope you don't dislike it, Uncle Guo!"

"Disgusting? How is it possible? Mr. Zuo is overthinking! I'm so happy that it's too late!"

Changsun Wuji said with a hearty smile.

The size of this photo really suits his liking. If Zuo Ming really gave him a painting that was the same size as the emperor's portrait, he really wouldn't dare to take it.Otherwise, it will definitely be overtaken by ginseng.

However, despite being happy, he was not completely satisfied with this painting, "It's just that, in this painting, His Majesty only has a silhouette, while the official is a full portrait, which is still a bit inappropriate. But the problem is not too big, After all, this painting is a portrait of the old man."

Changsun Wuji and Li Shimin have been friends for so many years, so they naturally understand Li Shimin.Li Shimin is indeed a person who likes to pretend to be garlic. If Changsun Wuji's portrait is bigger than him, or as big as him, he may be a little upset, but now Changsun Wuji's portrait is obviously much smaller than Li Shimin's, and the portrait in the painting The eldest grandson Wuji also looked respectful when facing Li Shimin's profile, so Li Shimin naturally wouldn't feel any discomfort.

Seeing that Changsun Wuji thought of so many things at once, Zuo Ming felt a little funny.

This old guy is really too careful.Don't dare to be the protagonist of a portrait?
If you draw Li Shimin from the front and you from the side, is that still your portrait?
(End of this chapter)