The Red Mansion Big Liar

"Wait!" Yu pointed at Yindie and said, "The quilt and bedding have all been changed. There's a foul smell that's disgusting!"

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 18: Reporting Secrets

Early the next morning.

Zhang Yun逸 ran around Huifang Garden for a few laps, did a few sets of squats, and returned to Dengxian Pavilion, only to see Youshi leaning against the edge of the table, placing dishes from the food box on the table.

Her body was already curvy, and as she bent over to serve the dishes, her back became even rounder.

Seeing that she came to deliver food in person early in the morning without any hesitation, Zhang Yunyi was puzzled and said politely, "How dare I trouble my sister-in-law to do these things."

Upon hearing the voice, Youshi arranged the last pile of dishes, then turned around and said loudly, "Sister-in-law, you are here to apologize. We had agreed to do this yesterday, but I went back and searched through boxes and cabinets all night and couldn't find it. Because of this, your elder brother Zhen scolded me and said that I acted without rules and asked me to come early in the morning to explain it to you clearly."

Perhaps it was because the long drought was finally over and people were in high spirits due to happy events, and the originally beautiful face became even more charming.

Although she did not say it explicitly, Zhang Yun逸 could hear what Jia Zhen meant.

Just as he was hesitating about how to respond, he saw Youshi had already arrived at the door and said to the maids and old women in front of the door: "All of you stay away. I have something to say to Master Yi."

Having said that, he closed the door calmly.

Now that she had Jia Zhen's imperial sword, she was not worried about being gossiped about. Instead of hiding it, which only made it more obvious, she might as well put on airs and bluff.

Seeing Youshi's behavior, Zhang Yunyi understood what she meant. He held her in his arms, and with his big hands he went straight to the target, while pretending to be calm and asking, "Are you and Brother Zhen trying to shirk your responsibility?"

"How could that be? Let me explain it to you slowly..."

Before he could even utter the word "explain", Zhang Yunyi blocked his way.

For a long time, the lips are divided.

Zhang Yunyi then asked with concern, "Could it be that Brother Zhen is making things difficult for you again?"

Yu-shi panted and said, "No, your method really works. Not only did he not make things difficult for me, but he also asked me to come and walk around more often."

Zhang Yunyi didn't care about this at all. Seeing that she didn't answer the question, he quickly asked, "How could that be?"

"Alas! It's all because of..."

Speaking of this, she hesitated to speak.

"Is there something hidden?"

"Alas! I didn't want to mention this family scandal, but since you asked, I don't want to hide it from you. Do you remember what I said to Jiao Da in the car that day?"

Not only did he get away with it easily last night, but when Jia Zhen heard that Zhang Yun逸 wanted her help, even her attitude changed, which also changed her mind.

Where can I find someone who is loyal and loyal to me, can protect me, and is so powerful? Where can I find such a support?

Therefore, she no longer worried about ruining Jia Jing's plan, but instead worried that deliberately concealing the truth would create a rift between her and Zhang Yun逸.

"Hmm?" Zhang Yunyi pretended to be surprised and asked, "Could it be... that it really happened?"

Yu Shi sneered and said, "He thinks about it day and night..."

Since she had decided to cling to Zhang Yunyi's thigh, there was nothing to hide. She told him the whole story and Jia Zhen's thoughts, and did not forget to give him some eye drops: "If not for this, how could he be so kind as to give you those two girls."

Qin Keqing actually lives across the street...

Zhang Yunyi was secretly delighted in his heart, but he said indignantly: "How could Jia Zhen be like this! His sister-in-law is so considerate and caring, how could he still be so ungrateful?"

Yu Shi was even more satisfied when she heard him defending her. She felt a slight change and leaned close to Zhang Yunyi's ear, saying coquettishly, "I sent Yin Die away yesterday with an excuse. Now that I have this excuse, it will be much more convenient for me to come again in the evening."

"Really? Then Yunyi will have to wait for his sister-in-law tonight." Zhang Yunyi pretended to be overjoyed and said calmly, "So, Baozhu and Ruizhu are the personal maids of my nephew's wife?"

"That's right! If it wasn't in his way, with his temper, he would have eaten his wife and maids together."

"In that case, let's delay it a bit, so that they don't come over and miss the chance to meet my sister-in-law."

"This..." You Shi suddenly felt like she was trapped in her own trap, but Zhang Yunyi was considering the sexual happiness of the two of them, so she could only say sadly, "I'm afraid if it's delayed for too long, he'll get suspicious."

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I will naturally take care of you first."

Seeing that he put himself first, Youshi stopped worrying and reminded him, "However, he asked me about the emperor's mission yesterday, but I covered it up. Don't let it slip in front of him."

"How could it be! Am I so disorganized in doing things?" Zhang Yunyi said with a smile, "Sister-in-law will send someone to buy some pots, bowls, gauze... and send them to the room next to the flower garden, and then ask if there is a sugar-making workshop in the capital."

Seeing that he actually had something to entrust to her, Youshi thought that he was indeed extraordinary and felt that he was more trustworthy.

"Then I'll do it right away. You should eat quickly so you don't catch a cold. I'll come back in the evening."

As he said this, he pushed Zhang Yunyi away with difficulty and was about to open the door.

"Sister-in-law, wait a minute!" Zhang Yunyi hurriedly called out, pointed at her face, and reminded her, "You should take a break before you go."

Only then did Youshi come to her senses, but the blush on her face had not yet faded.

Since he couldn't go out for the time being, he simply served Zhang Yunyi his meal.

However, how could Zhang Yunyi let only her serve him? After all this, it was unclear who was serving whom, and it became even more difficult to face others.

After finally finishing the meal, Youshi packed up and pushed the door open to leave.

Zhang Yun逸 returned to the study on the second floor.

During this period, in addition to formulating development opportunities, he also reviewed the Red Mansion and found that he had overlooked a problem.

There is a retired emperor in the Red Mansion, and Emperor Zhengqing has been on the throne for more than twenty years, and his predecessor and biological father are both dead.

Although the book rarely describes the court, he still discovered through the original owner's memory that the emperor in the book was probably the current Emperor Zhengqing.

On the one hand, the emperor was very fond of cultivating immortals, so it was not impossible for him to give up the throne and concentrate on cultivating Taoism.

On the other hand, he had his birthplace in mind and made several tours to the south.

The book mentions that the emperor retired when Yuanchun was made a concubine, so perhaps he abdicated during this period.

Coming to this conclusion also solved one of his doubts.

The eunuchs who came to the Jia family to extort money all happened after Jia Jing's death. If Jia Yuanchun was the imperial concubine of Emperor Zhengqing and had accompanied him in practicing Taoism, even after his death, the emperor would still have remembered their old friendship. How could those eunuchs dare to act so recklessly?

In conjunction with Yuanchun's title as a concubine, the emperor specially asked Jia Zheng to go to the Daming Palace to express his gratitude. I'm afraid that it was not his idea to title her a concubine, but the idea of ​​the retired emperor.

After thinking about this, he became a little worried.

He had no idea whether his talk of gaining merit would trigger any chain reaction.

If Emperor Zhengqing gave up the idea of ​​abdication, it is unknown whether the new emperor would hold a grudge against him.

However, there are no eternal enemies in the world. If there is any delay, there is always a chance to make amends.

Of course, he also needs to have enough chips, and using the methods of the immortals to make money is his chip.

Even if you cannot attract attention, you should actively recruit them and offer your services yourself instead of pushing them away.

As long as you accept yourself, there will always be a chance to improve slowly.

It was precisely because he was waiting for the right price that when Youshi mentioned Jia Zhen's reaction, he immediately thought of the reason.

However, it was not a sudden idea for him to arrange for Youshi to help with the purchasing.

After some speculation last night, he had set his sights on Qin Keqing. Now that he knew the inside story, he would not ignore it.

A good man needs three helpers. After all, he is a guest in Ning Mansion. Since Youshi has already surrendered to him and regards him as a support, she must show due trust.

This is the art of leadership and also a means to win people's hearts.

Yes, although she was the mistress of Ningguo Mansion, he regarded Youshi as a secretary-like role.

As the saying goes, there are secretaries to do when there is work, and there are secretaries to do when there is nothing to do...

Yu is indeed apt.

Of course, he would not delegate the truly core things to others.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 19: Ordered to Climb the Wall (Seeking Vote and Reading)

Taking too big a step could easily lead to failure, not to mention whether Zhang Yunyi could fool the emperor with just his mouth and waste money on investing in the illusory immortal techniques.

Even if it is possible, you still have to consider the possibility.

Before thinking about victory, think about defeat first.

After all, he had no actual production operation experience, so he had to build up his confidence first to avoid any subsequent twists and turns and doubts.

Therefore, the first choice must be projects with low risks, high profits, quick results and easy production.

Due to the insufficient agricultural productivity in ancient times, it was difficult to get enough food, so cash crops were rarely planted.

This also led to sugar being an absolute luxury in ancient times. Only wealthy families could afford sweets, cakes, dried fruits, and candied fruits.

Due to technological limitations, the ancients found it difficult to separate the caramelized materials, resulting in the sugar they produced being mostly impure and dark brown in color.

Of course, there is a solution. After a long period of exploration, a set of traditional separation techniques have been developed.

This method is both a folk remedy and literally means filtering with yellow mud water.

Although this method is feasible, the purity is not as good as modern ones, and the loss caused by filtration is also not small. Therefore, not only is the price of white sugar high, but the color is not pure enough.

Although making white sugar lacks the blockbuster effect.

But this method is simple, practical, and effective.

If he came up with something too complicated in a short period of time, the emperor would have to refer to this progress in the future.

Moreover, once there is profit, it will be much easier to apply for funds.

If he started working on something beyond common sense, such as the steam engine, not only would the emperor not be able to foresee the benefits, but if there were any setbacks, he might lose everything.

There are no such troubles in making white sugar.

Not to mention whether there is room for premium, the reduced losses and labor costs alone are tempting enough.

The sugar used in the palace was originally tribute sugar, and there were also imperial merchants in the inner court. Not only could they see the difference in the actual product immediately, but it was also easy to estimate the profit difference.

However, even though making white sugar was simple and convenient, he was not in a hurry to report it.

Being an official and working actually have something in common. After working in the workplace for several years in his previous life, Zhang Yun逸 already has a set of rules for doing things.

In everything, he would do things thoroughly and plan carefully before taking action.

Take sugar making as an example. He not only had to bring the actual product to the emperor, but he also had to do research on every detail, including the profit difference between the white sugar he made, the white sugar made by traditional methods, and ordinary sugar, and list the corresponding data.

Given the workload and resources required, he could accomplish this task alone, but it would inevitably take time.

While the purchases had not yet been made, he directed a group of maids and old women to set up an earthen stove next to the house next to the flower garden.

He was not worried about being seen because he had not even bought the lime, which was most important for removing impurities. He was only recording relevant data for the time being.

And when he bought lime and extracted sugar, it was time for him to go to the palace to report to the emperor.

As it was still the first month of the year, Yushi did not bring in all the supplies until around noon. He also directed the servants and began to proceed in an orderly manner.

Zhang Yunyi, who had not gone out for many days, suddenly made a big fuss. Qin Keqing and the two maids sitting opposite were also surprised and confused.

The master and his two servants opened the window a crack, and leaned in front of the crack to watch the thick smoke rising from the quiet and peaceful Huifang Garden, filling the place with fumes. For a moment, they did not understand what was happening.

Seeing Qin Keqing lowering her head in deep thought, Baozhu quickly suggested, "Grandma! How about I take a look at the situation from a distance?"

She had always hoped to catch Zhang Yunyi's eye so as to escape the imminent predicament, but she never got the chance.

It was rare that Zhang Yunyi made such a big fuss today, which aroused Qin Keqing's curiosity, so she naturally didn't want to miss it.

"Let's forget it, to avoid unnecessary trouble." Qin Keqing hesitated for a moment and said, "He stayed indoors for a while, and it's rare for him to come out today. Maybe he did it to attract attention. After all, although the master promised him to choose someone, there is no reason for him to look at each one of them."

"Well, grandma is right. I think it's better to be careful."

Seeing Ruizhu also agreed, Baozhu had to stop.

In fact, Qin Keqing's guess was not wrong, but Zhang Yunyi was not trying to attract the maid's attention, but instead set his target on her.

Curiosity is the driving force for in-depth exploration and a prerequisite for intersections between strangers.

If you don’t even have the most basic curiosity, how can you get further contact?

However, the one who was paying special attention to Zhang Yunyi's every move was Youshi. She looked at Zhang Yunyi with her mouth open and said, "Is this the emperor's errand?"