The main hall in the front yard of the county mansion is the place where Shang Cheng formally entertained guests, and the big house with four doors and eight windows, even if the cotton curtains to block the wind are hung, the windows covered with tribute paper are still full of light. A large table in the middle of the top is calm and steady, and the two rows of seats are neatly arranged like soldiers, and the place is spacious and peaceful, which shows the respect and kindness of the host to the guests. The only thing that is not good is that the guest and the host must be polite in their respective places, unless the guest resigns or the host excuses the guest, as soon as he sits down, he is rooted in general, and he can not leave his seat easily, so it seems that the guest and the host are very raw. Normally, if a friend arrives at the host's house, the guest will stop here for a while, and the host will come out and then invite someone else to have tea and talk elsewhere according to the relationship between relatives and distances. But if the master invites him here, then it is impossible to go elsewhere. Therefore, Gu Shi, who had a different mind, saw Shang Cheng walking towards the main hall with him, his footsteps suddenly slowed down, and he looked at Shang Cheng and said with a smile: "Zida, this is the main hall." ”

Shang Cheng raised his eyes with a confused face, and immediately came to his senses, and hurriedly apologized one after another: "Look at you, there are a lot of things today, and I am so busy that I am dizzy, and Xili will lead you to this side in a daze." Here, let's go to the study. ”

Of course, the study he said could not be the place where he usually reads and learns calligraphy, but the outer study where he meets and talks with close friends.

Bypassing the main hall and passing through a moon gate on the side, there is a separate small courtyard, where the outer study is located.

Shang Cheng hadn't been to the study yet, and he was a little stunned when he opened the door. This place is also about Gaoqiang's layout according to the study room in Yanzhou. The room is not big, but it is very bright, and there is a large screen of mountains and rivers with three openings standing next to the wall, and there is not much ink, and a few strokes will outline the lofty artistic conception. Probably to add some vividness to the quiet atmosphere of the hall, there are several famous calligraphy hanging on the east and west walls, but all of them are regular script seal characters. There are two large bookshelves standing on the north wall, and thirty or forty dark blue bookcases are stacked or placed alone, filling the bookshelves to the brim. There is also a three-legged flower shelf next to the bookshelf, and the large blue-gray porcelain vase on the shelf is inserted with seven or eight long and short blooming plums. The room was filled with a faint fragrance of plum blossoms.

Seeing the layout in the house, Poyang Hou and the two Xu Guozi were also stunned, wanting to laugh but not laughing, they all tightened their lips and looked ignorant. Seeing Shang Cheng waving his hand to invite, he followed him into the house with a false smile. Only the little cicada couldn't help but sneer, and hurriedly lowered her head and coughed to cover it.

Shang Cheng couldn't pretend to be okay anymore, so he muttered a foul word and explained, "I just moved here, and I haven't come here to see it yet." Suffered, suffered...... cough," he coughed, too. “…… The people at the bottom don't know anything, and they bought the screen of "Zhongnan Farewell Map" as a treasure. And these words...... "He was too embarrassed to say it again." Not to mention the two seal scripts, the two regular scripts, the beginning of one is "the Tao rushes to use it or does not make money", it is a copy of the "Tao Te Ching", and the other did not have time to look closely, and I caught a glimpse of the sentence "All the phases are false", what Buddhist scriptures were copied!

The smiles of the two Xu Guozi were already frozen on their faces, and the four eyes were lowered and they didn't know where they were looking, neither speaking nor speaking, as if they had neither heard the laughter of the cicada nor Shang Cheng's justification. Gu Shi has already seen it clearly, the two regular scripts are "Tao Te Ching" and the other is "Diamond Sutra", and then it is accompanied by Wang Wei's "Zhongnan Farewell" by Wang Wei of the previous dynasty...... He really didn't know what to say about this "chic" study. Gritting his teeth, he took a long breath, then he desperately held back his laughter, coughed and changed the subject: "When Uncle Ying's mansion was first established, it is rare to be able to collect so many ancient books in a hurry. ”

He had a good intention, and the purpose was to relieve Shang Cheng from the siege, but Shang Cheng thought he was teasing himself, and laughed twice and said, "The old general is joking." It's all wood in an empty bookcase, a lot of stuff. ”

Gu Shi finally couldn't help laughing. The little cicada also put her arm around one of her grandfather's arms and smiled and bent over. The two Xu Guozi glanced at each other, and they all looked at each other, and they all looked at this Ying Bo, but he was a straightforward and sincere lover.

With this little episode, the strange estrangement between the guest and the host has faded a lot. Originally, both sides were working on the opening topic of the draft, starting with this landscape screen and a few words.

Gu Shi held the tea cup that Shang Cheng gave him, and said first: "These are all the pen and ink of the predecessors of calligraphy and painting in this dynasty, although they are not quite, but they are all good things. I reckon you've spent a lot of money on these things. Seeing Shang Cheng holding the cup of tea to Xiao Xu Guozi with both hands, he smiled and said, "You also sit down, let's talk." Just let the cicada do these things. ”

Shang Cheng pretended not to hear the other meaning hidden in Gu Shi's words, and handed the lamp to Xiao Xu Guozi, and then smiled at Gu Shi: "What did the old general say." All the guests come, where is the reason for the host to keep the guests busy? He wanted to hand the last cup of tea to the little cicada standing behind Lao Xu Guozi, and saw that she didn't want to take it when she turned her back on her hand, so she sat down with the lamp, and said with the words in front of Gu Shi, "I didn't pay attention if you didn't say it." One by one, it seems that a lot of money has been spent. ”

"It must have cost a lot of money." Gu Shi said.

Shang Cheng lowered his head and drank tea. How did he answer this? Gao Qiang's money was spent unjustly, this is a fact, and he can't deny it. But he couldn't open his mouth to admit that the money was unjustly spent. As soon as he opened his mouth, the two founders brought by Gu Shi could pick up the words: No matter how rich Uncle Ying is, he can't spend it like this; Big families can't sit and eat empty, and they have to be careful in their calculations; As the saying goes, the male protagonist is outside the female protagonist, should Uncle Ying consider finding a hostess for the county uncle's mansion...... Three entanglements and two entanglements, saying that cross talk can generally pull out the real purpose of Poyang Hou personally passing over to congratulate him. He couldn't give them that chance. But I couldn't think of a way to deal with it temporarily, so I had to take another sip of water.

Cicada's grandfather interjected at this time and said: "Uncle Ying's family has a big business, and a little cost is not a big deal...... The purpose of Poyang Hou calling him to Ying Bofu was to find an opportunity to say this. He is Xiao Cicada's grandfather, and he is barely half of Gu Shi's elder, so it is not rude to say this sentence in front of Shang Cheng.

How could Shang Cheng let him finish a sentence? He picked up the words while he was ventilating, and said with a long sigh with a bitter face: "That's what I said, but it takes so many flowers, and it's really distressing." Without waiting for Lao Xu Guozi to answer again, he said, "Don't you know, the admiral in Yanshan in front of me is a fake position, and the title is General Huaiyuan, with a monthly salary of 178 yuan, and a messy pile of subsidies issued by the imperial court, and there is also a 3560 yuan in a month, but it can't stand the expenses." I was thinking of saving some money and food and buying more land in Yi County, but who knows, every time I save almost all the money, either this one or that one to borrow something. Buying a house, buying a land, marrying a daughter-in-law and giving birth to a baby, all stretched out their hands towards me. If you don't borrow it, you can't do it, all the old brothers in the army are coming, can I watch them drink the wind? For that, I don't know how much I lent out in two years. Some time ago, I had nothing to do in Fangzhou, so I took out the accounts and cleaned them up, but I was dizzy when I saw it. Sun Zhongshan, who broke Blackwater City, borrowed more than 1,100 yuan from me before and after; and Shao Chuan, who owes me more than 200 yuan; Sun Huan, three hundred and sixty; Lu Ji, more than 500 ......" He crossed his fingers and talked nonsense, and planted the people close to him who could be remembered temporarily into debts. "Especially Zhang Shao, who first wanted to buy a Zhuangzi in Shangjing, the seller asked for 14,000 yuan, and he didn't have enough money to find me, so I went to help him borrow 6,000 yuan in debt. Originally, I said that in April this year, I would even pay the principal with interest, and when I went to find him, he spread his hands and told me directly: There is no one to ask for money. As a result, I hid in the Admiral's Mansion for a month and did not dare to go out, for fear of encountering a creditor forcing me ......to pay a debt," and then began to tell all kinds of things he had experienced in the past month or so to avoid debts.

Gu Shi and the two Xu Guozi knew that he was making up nonsense with his eyes open, the purpose was to prevent them from having a chance to point out their intentions. But what can they do? Shang Cheng is the master, and when he talks about the story, they can only listen, and from time to time they have to show curiosity or surprise on their faces as the story develops.

Gu Shi is angry and funny. He's really convinced now. He knew that Shang Cheng had the ability, otherwise Zhang Pu would not be afraid of it, but he never knew that Shang Cheng was so capable. No matter what else, it's the ability to make up nonsense, and I really can't find an opponent when I'm idle! It's really embarrassing for Shang Yanshan, just to prevent himself from talking, he was able to interpret an embarrassing thing so much.

The little cicada held the teapot and saw whose cup was almost finished, so he immediately went over to continue it. At the same time, she did not forget to listen attentively to Shang Cheng's story. She knew that Shang Cheng was making things up. No matter how bad the debt collection is, do you dare to force a big general to hide in Tibet? Either way, it's a fascinating story......

In the past two days, her mother, eldest mother, and father have all talked to her. They all talked about the county uncle in front of them. Although they didn't tell her explicitly, she still heard that this Uncle Ying was probably the husband of her father's replacement for her. Before going out today, she was specially instructed by her father that coming to the county uncle's mansion this time was not an ordinary courtesy, and all manners and words should be careful. So she has been quietly observing Shang Cheng since they met. It's a pity that because of her age and experience, her vision is really limited, and she didn't notice the three secret "confrontations" between her father and Shang Cheng from meeting to giving gifts to hospitality. Until now, apart from Shang Cheng's appearance, she didn't see anything outstanding or special about this person at all. Although she had also heard her father talk about the past of this Ying County Uncle, whether it was Tu Quan Ci or Yanshan, it was very far away from her, and what she could really remember was only Shang Cheng's identity: the former Admiral of Yanshan, Shangzhu Guo and Ying County. It is undeniable that as the daughter of a large family, the title of Shangzhu Kingdom and the knighthood of Ying County Earl are deeply attracted to her, because before this, both were things that she could not reach, and the distance between her and them was almost as far away as heaven and earth. But now she had a chance to grasp them.

Of course, she also knows that even if her father comes forward, her chances are still very slim. It's not because of her identity as a daughter, she feels that Uncle Ying doesn't seem to care about this; It's because from the time they met to the present, Uncle Ying didn't look at her very seriously. But even so, she still felt that he didn't care at all whether she was a concubine or a concubine......

Shang Cheng is still acting out the story of his wits and courage with the fictional debt collector, and has already talked about the sixth "confrontation".

“…… I saw him from afar, and I tried to turn around and avoid it. How do you know that the shopkeeper of the high pavilion also saw me. He walked through the alley to the front and stopped my horse. I had no choice but to give him a wicked person to sue first, and reprimanded him with the demeanor of a commander: 'Gao Xiaosan, you have blocked my way several times and delayed important official business, do you have to shoulder the responsibility? Speaking of which, Gao Xiaosan is also a character, the guy who crawled out of the mall, he has seen any scene, and he is not afraid of me, and he said with a smile......"

It doesn't matter what Gao Xiaosan said at the time, the important thing is that Gao Qiang announced outside the study:

"General! Lord Xue and Lord Zhen arrived. ”

This saved Shang Cheng's urgency. He couldn't make up his story anymore, so he hurriedly stood up and said, "Old general, two sons of the country, you don't have to sit down for a while." I went to greet the two adults, and I came over immediately. ”

Gu Shi and the two Xu Guozi looked at each other, both showing a trace of helplessness. There's no way, when Xue Xun and Zhenqian arrive, where will they have a chance to say anything more? It seems that today's trip will not be able to be done. But this time it has been revealed, and it will be difficult to enter the county office next time. Although Shang Cheng did not say it explicitly, all kinds of practices exposed his thoughts, and he had no idea of marrying the Marquis of Poyang. Therefore, if Gu Shi comes back next time, he may not even be able to see Shang Cheng's face. After all, Shang Cheng returned to Beijing to recuperate due to illness, and it is useless for anyone to come to this "war-free card......

Xiao Cicada, who had been silent, suddenly asked: "Brother Merchant, when I come back next time, you will tell me this story, okay?" She was really worried about what happened to the story, so she asked. As soon as the words came out, she knew that she had taken the liberty of looking at her father timidly, and quickly buried her head in it.

Before Shang Cheng could speak, Gu Shi, who grabbed the last straw, immediately scolded his daughter with a straight face: "Nonsense! Where does your merchant brother have time to tell you what story? "This is the good daughter of my Gu family! put on a leisurely expression, sighed regretfully, and said, "However, don't say it's you, it's me, and I'm also very concerned about how this story will progress." Or, I'll take you another day, and I'll come back to beg your merchant brother to continue the story completely? The words were said to his daughter, but his eyes were on Shang Cheng.

Shang Cheng's smile froze on his face at once. He did a lot of calculations, but he didn't calculate that Gu Shi's face could be so thick. If he knew that Gu Shi would not give up if he didn't give up on the Yellow River, he should have let Gu Shi hit his head on the south wall! But it doesn't matter. When Gu Shi comes back next time, he will prepare the south wall for him first. He smiled and nodded, said "yes", and went to greet the guests.

After a few moments, the outer study was lively. Xue Xunzhen is familiar with Gu Shi, and he is no stranger to the two Xu Guozi, so they each sat down after a few polite words. Both of them are awake people, seeing that the Marquis of Poyang suddenly appeared in Yingbo's Mansion under the banner of accompanying the little girl to visit the waiweng, he didn't need to turn his eyes to know what Gu Cheng's mind was. Looking at Shang Cheng again, he laughed when he said it, as if he didn't know anything about Gu Shi's intentions, he knew that Shang Cheng was refusing, and this thing couldn't be done. Seeing this layer, the two of them also followed Shang Cheng to talk about it, saying some interesting things in Beijing and anecdotes in the DPRK, and you and I pulled the topic farther and farther away.

When it was almost midday, the guards reported that Chen Zhuguo was here.

Shang Cheng immediately came out to greet her.

Chen Pu is here. But she told Shang Cheng that she was in a bit of a hurry and needed to rush back to the station immediately, so she couldn't stay for this meal.

Shang Cheng saw through Chen Pu's lame excuse at a glance. But he didn't say anything. He saw that Chen Pu's face was not very good, his face was not shiny, and his eyes were very gloomy. He knew something must have happened to her. He asked with concern, "What's going on?" ”

Chen Pu was silent for a moment, then raised his face and said with a reluctant smile: "It's nothing." Nothing happened. ”

Since Chen Pu said so, Shang Cheng couldn't ask any further. He had no choice but to joke: "Although I don't eat food, I can't miss gifts." ”

Chen Pu was amused by him and said, "It's all brought, and I definitely can't treat you badly." Then the smile disappeared from her face. She asked someone to bring a few carefully selected gifts and said, "I'...... This...... When I'm free, I'll ask you. ”

Shang Cheng stretched out two fingers and gestured, and said, "Two meals." You still owe me one meal last year, and even this time, it's two meals. He smiled and added, "Be careful that I eat you poor." I'm a well-known pot-bellied man! ”

Chen Pu smiled, climbed on the horse's back, saluted with his crossed arms and joked: "Yes, my subordinates understand!" The general is a pot-bellied man! ”

Shang Cheng didn't wear a military uniform, so he didn't return the military salute, but just arched his hand high: "General, go slowly." ”

Until Chen Pu's back disappeared at the end of the alley, Shang Cheng couldn't figure out what was going on to teach Chen Pu to return to Gyeonggi in such a hurry......