The weather in Yunnan in the Ming Dynasty, if it weren't for the rainy days, would be as blue sky and white clouds and beautiful sunshine as today. The sky is crystal clear, clean and unambiguous. But not all the people here are as happy as the climate.

Shen Xu walked outside the door of the study, and when he saw the scene inside, he seemed to remember something, his face turned slightly red, and his feet suddenly stopped. The skin on her face was very white, only a little red, which was easily noticed by Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu also stood still, looking at her curiously.

I remember the last time Shen Xu went to the Han Palace, she didn't go anywhere else, but only went to this study. Zhu Gaoxu quickly thought of what had happened in the study, and when he saw that Shen Xu seemed reluctant to enter the house, he said casually: "The weather is very good today, why don't we take a walk outside?" ”

Shen Xu nodded lightly in approval.

Zhu Gaoxu instructed Wang Gui: "Go and get two parasols and give them to the guests." ”

Wang Gui said: "The slave and maid will come soon." ”

Shen Xu raised his head after hearing this, with a hint of a smile in his eyes, and looked at Zhu Gaoxu for a moment.

Zhu Gaoxu also turned his head to look at her, and felt that the dark silk clothes were indeed suitable for Shen Xu's to wear, and probably she also agreed with this, so she was dressed like this.

She was born with weak bones, and her bones were very delicate, and the contours of her skin had to be soft to hold up. The face is very symmetrical, the eyes of the inner double eyelids are round, bright but not large, the nose is small, and the mouth is also small; If it weren't for the dark clothes that added some depth, her appearance would have looked a little thin.

The carmine applied to the slightly thicker mouth, and the skin that was whiter than the dark clothes, added a bit of brightness to her. Zhu Gaoxu obviously thought that Shen Xu was a rather amorous woman.

Zhu Gaoxu led them around the three halls for a while, but the eunuch Wang Gui did not follow, but only followed from a distance.

What the buildings are used for, Zhu Gaoxu introduced them all the way. There are also distant Wenlou and Wangqin Building, which are all useful.

After talking about the grand specifications of the palace for a while, Shen Baoyan, the little lady of the Shen Xu family, opened her mouth and said: "The palace of the King of Han is very bright. ”

Zhu Gaoxu listened, and suddenly felt that this teenage lady was talking very interesting. The Ming Prince's Mansion, which shows the imperial power of the Zhu family, is built very grandiosely, and ordinary people will feel heroic and domineering; But Shen Baoyan only said that Liangtang.

She was right. Compared with the courtyards of small houses, or even rich and noble homes; The tall and large buildings and spacious squares in the palace are of course better lit and visible.

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a moment and responded: "However, the brighter the place, the more it must be carefully pasted. It's like when people are in public, they will deliberately embellish their appearance, words and deeds. ”

Shen Baoyan turned her head to look at Zhu Gaoxu in surprise. Maybe she didn't expect the prince to talk like this, and she didn't expect Zhu Gaoxu, a big man with dark skin, to be such a person.

Shen Xu deliberately did not make a sound, silently walking in the middle and back position, seemingly with a slight smile, conniving at Shen Baoyan and Zhu Gaoxu to talk.

"Come to think of it, that's what happened." Shen Baoyan said in a crisp voice.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything more to her, observing Mrs. Shen quietly, while walking forward slowly in silence. He suddenly felt that maybe Mrs. Shen was intentional and wanted him to get closer to Baoyan.

Such things have occurred endlessly in history, most of them for some kind of benefit; What's more, Bao Yan is just Mrs. Shen's stepdaughter. Zhu Gaoxu had to suspect Mrs. Shen's motives in this matter.

It is said that there is often jealousy among women, but Zhu Gaoxu believes that in the game of power and wealth, women can also weigh it very rationally. Just like Mrs. Shen, is she doing this kind of thing?

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu looked back and thought, Mrs. Shen hesitated at the door of the study just now and was reluctant to enter the door, was it also to show that she wanted to break up that relationship with Zhu Gaoxu? So that Bao Yan can replace her and become the link between the two families?

…… The more Zhu Gaoxu thought about it, the more he felt that his suspicions were very reasonable.

Shen and Xu, the two wealthy merchant clans, and the person who controls the most family business now is probably this Mrs. Shen Xu Manshu. She is now married to the Shen family in her name, and she belongs to the Shen family; But because the Shen family no longer has any men, it will be easy for other branches of the Shen family to embezzle the industry.

Therefore, Mrs. Shen used a lot of people from her mother's family to manage the business and balance the Shen family. At the same time, befriending the powerful and taking refuge.

Zhu Gaoxu had long pondered for Mrs. Shen, if she entered the Han Palace, she would not get much tangible benefits, but would lose more. That's why she wanted to use Shen Baoyan as a link to form an alliance.

Of course, this kind of thing is very risky, and the biggest risk is that Zhu Gaoxu may be defeated and completely liquidated. Xu Manshu raised Shen Baoyan until now, and now she is in a hurry to start this matter, she may have realized that after Zhu Gaoxu raised the army, she had no way to retreat when she implicated the Han Palace.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Shen Xu's family, and then looked at the quiet and white little lady next to him, and suddenly felt that this matter was a bit evil, and the relationship would be very complicated and headache. I don't know what the reason is, maybe when Shen Baoyan was still a little girl, Zhu Gaoxu had seen her, and he didn't have a trace of blasphemy at this time.

But he finally realized that when people reach a certain position, some things will change, and many things will become less important and easier. In the past, he didn't understand why the goddesses he worshipped would rack their brains to please others, and why the wealth that he couldn't get for decades could only buy a broken bag.

The three of them walked silently for a while, and Shen Xu finally broke the silence and said, "In the past two months, there were artillery shots every day inside and outside the city of Kunming. The concubine heard that there were few defenders in Kunming, so she thought that the big thing was over, and she was ready for the worst...... I didn't expect the change to be so sudden. ”

Zhu Gaoxu showed a reluctant smile: "That time this king went to Pingyue Prefecture to rebel, wasn't Mrs. Shen not optimistic?" There is a specialization in the art industry, and the lady is good at business management, but this king must know how to fight. ”

"This time it's different." Shen Xu said softly, "The concubine has not fully understood that the Marquis of Zhenyuan and the Duke of England have more than 200,000 soldiers under the city of Kunming, why did they suddenly withdraw their troops?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "It's a long story. If Mrs. Shen can know more information in the future, she will naturally understand. ”

Shen Xu's face showed respect, lowered his head and lowered his eyebrows, and said, "His Royal Highness the King of Han's martial arts, with being outnumbered, swept through the three provinces in a few months, and the concubine was sincerely convinced. ”

Somehow, with Shen Xu's compliment, Zhu Gaoxu was additionally useful. He wanted to brag vaguely, but when he thought of how he felt on the battlefield, he couldn't say those words.

Zhu Gaoxu only returned to Kunming today, and Shen Xu came to the Han Palace; After a while, the sun was almost in the middle of the sky. So Zhu Gaoxu left Shen Xu and Baoyan to have lunch in the palace.

Most of the people in the Han Wangfu were not there, and they couldn't even find a decent chef for a while, and the ingredients were naturally not as rich as usual. Although there is also a table of dishes for lunch, it is relatively simple, and it is not as rich as the feast that Zhu Gaoxu ate in the Shen Mansion, and it cannot be compared with the banquet in the Shu Palace.

Taking a seat in a dining room near the front hall, Zhu Gaoxu said very sincerely: "The dishes are simpler, which makes Mrs. Shen and Mrs. Shen smile." ”

Usually at such times, guests will in turn praise the prince for simplicity as a virtue. But Shen Baoyan's words surprised Zhu Gaoxu a little, she said: "The dishes of the Han Palace's Mansion are really finely fired. ”

Shen Xu smiled at Baoyan's words, "These porcelains are not only from the official kilns in Jingdezhen, but also tribute. In the Ming Dynasty, there are some things that money really can't buy. ”

Zhu Gaoxu responded disapprerovingly, and beckoned them not to be polite. He himself ate and drank heavily, and had been on his way since before dawn in the morning, and now he was indeed hungry.

After eating his stomach, Zhu Gaoxu's mood gradually improved, and he completely left behind the heavy mood of reviewing the battlefield situation before. He looked at Shen Xu's posture of eating, and felt hot in his heart, and couldn't help but hint quietly: "Last time the Pingyue Prefecture Rebellion was won, Mrs. Shen gave a generous congratulations. ”

Miaojin has always been away from Zhu Gaoxu, and no one in the Han Palace's mansion has come back, Zhu Gaochu is really a little full of lust. But he had no interest in Bao Yeon at all, only a headache.

When Shen Xu heard this, his chopsticks unconsciously stirred gently in the bowl, his head was also lowered, and his cheeks were red again. After a while, she raised her head and smiled casually: "Isn't it that King Han thinks that this congratulatory gift is too few?" ”

"Where, where." Zhu Gaoxu immediately shook his head and said. Shen Xu led the topic to money without a trace, but Zhu Gaoxu concluded that it was impossible for her to forget the bet on the rebellion in Yuezhou.

He glanced at Baoyan, and finally couldn't continue to talk too much in front of the little girl, so he could only give up.

After lunch, Zhu Gaoxu still didn't give up, and said: "The sun is very big in the afternoon, and the weather is hot, so it's not appropriate to go out at this time." There was a sleeping couch in the corridor next to it, and the two of them rested there for a while. ”

Shen Xu looked at it, a pair of eyes were completely different from Bao Yan's clear eyes, although she showed shame and embarrassment, she must have understood Zhu Gaoxu's meaning very well.

Zhu Gaoxu said quietly: "I have been away from Yunnan for so long, it is rare to see me. Mrs. Shen doesn't have to be in a hurry today, I don't know when the next time we meet. ”

Shen Xu was silent for a while, and replied: "His Royal Highness the King of Han is kind, but the concubine is disrespectful. ”

Unexpectedly, she suddenly agreed, Zhu Gaoxu looked over a little surprised, but saw Shen Xu's eyes flickering, avoiding his eyes.

Shen Xu's eyes looked away, and he said: "His Royal Highness the King of Han won this battle, which made the concubine feel like she was on the precipice, and the concubine was really grateful. It's just that in the past two years, the Shen family's business is not good, and the congratulatory gifts are thin, I hope Your Highness will forgive me. ”