In the Lady of the Kingdom of Qiu's Mansion, the pearl bypasses the corridor and walks into the boudoir.

"Yao Niang."

"Shh

Yang Yuyao got up, put on her clothes and walked out of the screen, pulled Mingzhu to the side room, and whispered: "Say it here, don't wake him up." ”

She thought it was funny, and couldn't help but laugh and said, "Don't wake up my brother." ”

"Yes." Mingzhu also felt funny, and whispered: "It's Yang Zhao who came to give a gift." ”

"I don't have time to see him. In the future, when he asked for an official position, he simply asked him to write his official position in the gift list to save him long-windedness. ”

Mingzhu should get down, turned around and was about to leave, when the movement of Xue Bai getting up sounded behind the screen.

"Woke up Lang Jun?"

"But Yang Zhao is here?" Xue Bai said, "I'll go see him." ”

The bed here was very comfortable, and he slept very well, and when he got up, he was refreshed and calm, like the male owner of this mansion.

After it was cleaned up, Xue Bai went to the front yard to see Yang Zhao, and he was more like a host to entertain guests.

"Uncle Lao Guo has been waiting for a long time."

"Eh, I'm the uncle of the country, and you are also the uncle of the country, so you can't be so polite between brothers."

Yang Zhao regained his old affection for Xue Bai, and even wanted to step forward to hold his hand, and said enthusiastically: "Be sure to call me 'Brother', I am a little older, call you 'Ah Bai', okay?" ”

"It's up to my brother to decide."

After some cordial greetings, Yang Zhao sat down in the hall, and he really came to find Xue Bai, and muttered: "There has been a lot of chaos in Chang'an City recently, and I heard that those soldiers from Fan Yang are cutting people everywhere......"

Among all the officials Xue Bai knew, Yang Zhao took the most free and easy position, only recognized the benefits in his eyes, and didn't care much whether the other party was the Right Minister, Donggong or Yang Party. At this time, he said "cutting people everywhere", presumably because An Lushan blocked the way.

"Zahu is indeed a little more domineering." Xue Bai responded.

Yang Zhao's eyes lit up, and he became more and more sincere, and said: "You stopped the miscellaneous Hu from recognizing his mother at the Mid-Autumn Festival Imperial Banquet, he is only afraid that he will be jealous of Yu Ling, and you have to be careful in the future." ”

"I've only been preparing for the Spring Festival recently, and these things in the DPRK and China are not something I can manage in vain."

"You can't say that, you are so talented, it's not a problem to take a head, you have been in the office for a few years, and you will soon be able to catch up with me." Yang Zhao said with a smile: "I also have to move up quickly." ”

Xue Bai followed his words and asked, "Does Brother have a plan?" ”

"Pei Gong has made a contribution to the salt tax in Hedong, and he can move to Guanglu Doctor. Wang Ji has been watching the post of the imperial historian for a long time, hoping to exchange the red robe for the purple robe. Coincidentally, I have a good relationship with them, and this matter is almost settled. ”

It can be seen that Pei Kuan has no way out in his career. Although Xue Bai helped him unite with the Yang Party and make contributions, when it came time to divide the profits, even the Yang Party was calculating to let him hand over the real power of the Yushitai and move to a vacant position.

There is no way, the more people expect it, and hope that Pei Kuan will speak for Hedong in the court, the more the emperor will be afraid and suppress him.

Now, it has nothing to do with ability and character, and it is impossible for this person to come out. There is still a way to live if you are honest and honest, otherwise when An Lushan's foundation is more stable, I am afraid that I will lose my life.

Xue Bai sighed slightly, nodded, and said, "When Wang Ji wears a purple robe, Brother wants to seek the position of Emperor Zhongcheng?" ”

"Yes." When Yang Zhao said about the rise, the vulgarity showed up again, and said: "At this time, Zahu ran out and wanted to snatch the post of Imperial Doctor. ”

"This bastard." Xue Bai scolded, "Then his envoy of the two towns is about to step down?" ”

"Naturally, it's a part-time job. There has always been only power, how can there be power? ”

Li Longji employs people like this, he likes to centralize power, and often lets trusted courtiers hold multiple positions, such as Li Linfu and Wang Jie, both of whom hold more than 20 positions.

Yang Zhao is not bad, he wears many hats in a year, from green robes, green robes to light red robes, and now he wants to change to dark red robes, which is also related to Xue Bai's help Yang Chen's career.

Sometimes Xue Bai thinks about it, in addition to gaining a little fame, connections, saints, and the identity of the concubine's brother-in-law, he is only a white body so far, and he has worked hard, and he has not won as much as Yang Zhao.

"Zahu is too greedy, eating from the pot, and reaching out to Wang Ji and Brother Wang's bowl?"

"Not bad." Yang Zhao slapped his knee and said angrily: "Zahu bullied you and my brother like this, you should give him some color and see!" Ah Bai, you are well-informed, can you know the details of Fan Yang's murder case? ”

"This matter is not trivial, it is advisable not to get involved."

Xue Bai still acted like he didn't care about himself, and leaned back, but he was a little vigilant in his heart.

Zhang Ting, Yang Xun, and Yang Zhao all came to ask him one after another, explaining that he had done a very poor job in "staying out of the matter", which made people see that he had something to do with this matter.

One is really too showy, and the other is that people with a heart suspect that he is the son of Xue Rust, and there is a hidden force behind him.

Sure enough, Yang Zhao decided that he knew something, leaned closer, and said in a low voice: "Don't you still believe in being a brother?" If I know anything, it goes out of your mouth and into my ears, and I will not teach anyone to hear it. ”

"Why does Brother think I know something?"

"If it weren't for that, why did you ask Sanniang to stop Zahu from recognizing her relatives last night?"

"Okay." Xue Bai had no choice but to tell the truth, "In April, I made a huge stone cannon and gave it to Wang Zhonghe, the envoy of the Four Towns Festival, we talked about Zahu, Wang Zhongsi thought that Zahu 'has been reversed in appearance, and the liver and gallbladder are evil', and sooner or later there will be chaos." ”

"Really?" Yang Zhao did go to understand An Lushan, and said: "Zhang Jiuling also said this. ”

"No matter what, there is no harmony between these two border town generals, and Zahu must be extremely jealous of General Wang."

Yang Zhao suddenly realized and said: "No wonder, as soon as Zahu arrived in Chang'an, he killed the Hui people under the East Palace, which turned out to be to deal with Wang Zhonghe. ”

"Yes, Shuo Fang is the closest to Hui Su, and Brother Nu will use this matter to frame Wang Zhonghe."

"Ah Bai is worthy of being the think tank of the Yang family, so I know that there will be no mistake today." Yang Zhao laughed and said in a deep voice: "Wang Zhongcheng has the responsibility of supervising hundreds of officials, how can he not notice it?" ”

"This matter has nothing to do with us, and Wang Ji is also a subordinate of the brother slave, how can he deal with An Lushan?" Xue Bai shook his head and said, "We can't control it, it's better not to cause trouble." ”

Yang Zhao was only concerned about promotion, and didn't care about anything else, his eyes rolled, and he planned to let Wang Ji sue An Lushan.

And it is precisely under the right prime minister's door that the complaint is useful, and he has thought about it, "How can you let a shameless fat pig climb on the head of Wang Zhongcheng?" ”

~~

After sending off the guests, Xue Bai sat alone in the hall and thought for a while.

An Lushan will be in the court for at least a month or two, and during this time, he will attack each other with the East Palace, and now with Wang Ji and Yang Zhao, the two troublemakers, they are also evenly matched.

He didn't care who won or who lost, he just wanted to protect Pei Kuan and Wang Zhonghei.

Regardless of selfishness, Pei Kuan is the most likely person to worship the prime minister in the Hedong clan today, even if the future is cut off, it is not appropriate to be forced too much, just because of the bad atmosphere of the court and deliberately intensifying local contradictions, it is really unnecessary; Wang Zhongsi is attacking Shibao City, which involves the entire northwest situation, and he is still the person who can suppress An Lushan the most now, so if he rashly removes it, destroys the Great Wall, and cuts off his arm, it is even more undeserved.

He sometimes doesn't know what Li Longji thinks, if he is really jealous, he shouldn't tie the power of the Four Towns to one person. As a result, he was empowered, and he allowed Li Linfu and An Lushan to deal with Wang Zhonghei frantically.

To put it bluntly, it is superstitious and centralized, treating subordinates like women, pampering them when they like them, and turning their faces ruthlessly when they get tired of it. Trample on the system, do as you like, and do everything according to one person's preference.

Xue Bai can't help it, he has done his best to treat the symptoms, not the root cause. He has done too much intrigue, and it has come to the point where he must be restrained.

It's better to take advantage of this dog-eat-dog time to do something of your own that will help change the evils of your family and country in the future.

……

"Huh? My cousin is really here to see you? Yang Yuyao turned to the hall and said with a smile: "Could it be because you have stabbed something big again?" ”

"Even the third sister said that." Xue Bai said: "He just wants to seek an official and ask me for advice, after all, I am now the Yang family's think tank." ”

"Third sister, you are big, and there are no outsiders here. People want to see how much stuff you have in your tank. ”

Laughing and laughing, Yang Yuyao also had something serious to say, and said: "Just now Yuhuan sent someone here and specially praised you." It is said that there are few men in the Yang family, and the brothers are not successful, so you will need more help in the future. ”

"With the Yang family's honor today, do you need help? It's because my sisters have too much protection. Xue Bai said: "In the future, if I can make some long-term plans for the Yang family, I will repay the kindness." ”

"It's sweet." Yang Yuyao whispered in his ear: "Your hard work to treat me well is already a reward." ”

"I have something to say to the third sister, how about we do another industry?"

"And a good industry? Don't mention the salt method, just say that Fengweilou's one-year profit sharing is terrible, and now in Chang'an City, few people can fight me. ”

Yang Yuyao is indeed greedy for money, not only has property and filial piety in her hands, but also extorts money by acting as a matchmaker for the princes and princesses; She is still lustful, so she will be confused by Xue Bai.

At this time, when talking about these things with this beautiful boy who made money for her, she couldn't help but have her eyes light up and be happy.

"I also gave 10% of the income of Fengwei Building to Yuhuan as fat powder money, otherwise do you think she thinks that your righteous brother is so light?"

Xue Bai said: "What the industry makes this time is not money, but stability in the future." ”

"Huh?"

"To put it simply, we can set up a bookstore, make paper, print it, and sell the story of the monkey first, and then sell some imperial examination books."

"You want to open a bookstore to play, why do you matter? Just open it. As soon as Yang Yuyao heard it, she knew that it was not a very lucrative industry, and she lacked interest, but it was rare that she knew Xue Bai's intention in saying this, and said: "If you need capital, you can ask for it yourself, and still use the name of Mrs. Qiu's Mansion to see who dares to trouble you." ”

She deserves to be called the "male fox", and she agreed quite arrogantly and simply, saving Xue Bai a lot of tongue.

"Then I'll do it."

"Huh?" Yang Yuyao snorted lightly, "Why don't you do something else first?" ”

"Third sister, the relationship between you and me is different now, it's better to be more self-respecting."

Yang Yuyao saw that he was so serious and found it funny, reached over, and asked, "What a monster, this is your self-respect?" ”

"Self-respect."

Yang Yuyao felt even more funny, but she didn't expect that after making trouble for a while, Xue Bai seemed to take last night's righteousness seriously, and she couldn't help but become anxious, worried that she would lose money if she helped him.

"Don't make a fuss."

"It's time for the third sister to stop making trouble, and the sisters and brothers can't be exceeded."

"Okay." Yang Yuyao bit her lip a little unwillingly, leaned into Xue Bai's ear and said softly, "Don't make trouble, okay?" Good brother. ”

“……”

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon seems to be rounder.

~~

Three or two days later, Xue Bai returned to Du's house.

The events of the Mid-Autumn Festival have spread among officials, and although the specific effects are unknown, they can be felt in small things.

For example, Lu Fengniang's enthusiasm for being a matchmaker is even higher.

"It's because this kid is angry, my brother and sister-in-law came to make amends, saying that they mistakenly believed the rumors and misunderstood you. Now they still want to marry their daughter to you, it depends on your heart. ”

"My aunt was kind, and my nephew was grateful. It's just that the righteous sisters have said that they want to arrange a marriage for me, and I'm afraid it's not good to say goodbye without permission. ”

Lu Fengniang regretted that she couldn't get close to Xue Bai, and the matter had come to this point, so she could only scold her brother and sister-in-law for being too angry and losing such a good son-in-law.

In addition, although he wanted to ask whether Xue Bai and Mrs. Qiu Guo were innocent, it was difficult to talk about this kind of thing. What is even more difficult to speak is that the two daughters still like to run to Xue Bai's house.

……

"Bookstore?"

Du Yan listened to Xue Bai's plan, and first frowned slightly.

She couldn't keep herself busy, when Fengwei Building was expanding rapidly.

Xue Bai had already considered it and asked, "How about leaving the affairs of the bookstore to my mother?" ”

Du Cheng was a little flustered every time she heard him say this, especially in front of her sister. But as far as business is concerned, she is interested in the bookstore.

"It's fine." Du Yan said: "I can also manage Fengwei Building." The bookstore is craught, and Da Xi can also help the eldest sister. ”

After that, Xue Bai said his thoughts on this matter.

"We don't want to make money, or even lose money. The important thing is to improve the papermaking and printing process, reduce the cost of reading, and the benefits may not be seen in the short term, and my long-term goal is to gradually control public opinion. In addition, there will be more poor students who will benefit from this, and studying is no longer the privilege of the family, and over the years, these poor scholars can become a new force......"

Du Yan faintly realized that this matter was not small, but she didn't think much about it at this time, she only felt that he was so noble.

Du Cheng didn't think much about it, listened carefully to what Xue Bai said, and asked, "I'll go to the East Market tomorrow to inquire and directly buy a few bookstores and paper mills, how about it?" ”

She looked gentle and gentle, in fact, she had been in charge of Fengweilou's accounts, and she had a lot of money under her hands.

Xue Bai was impressed at this time, and said, "Okay, I have a little experience in craftsmanship." Next, I will point out the way to improve the process......"

After agreeing on the plan, the Du sisters went back to the room, but they didn't come back at night.

But only at noon the next day, Du Cheng had a clue about the bookstore.

"I asked people to inquire in the East Market, and those who can open bookstores often have quite a background, but there happens to be a merchant who plans to sell the shop. Why don't you go and see it together? ”

"So soon?"

"Erniang sent a food box yesterday evening and asked Daxi to send someone to inquire."

Du Cheng led Xue Bai into the carriage and talked carefully all the way.

"This businessman's name is Jiang Cheng, a person from Sichuan and Shu, who started from making paper, opened a shop in the East Market, and there is a workshop in the backyard. He originally supplied the white rattan paper needed for the official documents of the imperial court, but in recent years, the imperial court has reduced the use of paper several times, and his business has plummeted, so he decided to sell the Chang'an industry......"

Saying this, the carriage jolted, the two sat close to each other, Du Cheng fell into Xue Bai's arms, and he hugged her.

She was wearing a men's dress today, but it was only for the convenience of travel, and it was obvious that she was a gentle and beautiful woman, with a faint fragrance on her body, and she lowered her head because she was not used to being so close in the daytime.

"Why didn't you come last night?"

"Don't talk about that." Du Cheng panicked, wanted to dodge, hesitated, but leaned in Xue Bai's arms, and said softly: "I didn't come to you just for fun, it's because ...... I have you in my heart. ”

Since they met, she has only had this love sentence, but her heart has been expressed very clearly, in short, she doesn't want him to be too tired, and hopes to help him more.

After that, she tidied up her clothes a little, held Xue Bai's hand, and continued to talk.

"The reason why the imperial court reduces the use of paper every year is that only white rattan paper is used for official documents and edicts, and the paper mill cuts down ancient rattan, the thinner the raw materials, the higher the price, so the paper is short. Nowadays, it is more used in Yingzhou, Hangzhou and other places to pay tribute to the white weaving, rowing, rattan paper, the price is still high. The folk mostly use jute paper, kudzu paper, and bamboo paper. ”

"Do you already have bamboo paper?" Xue Bai said suspiciously, "I don't see it often." ”

"Yes, it's just that the bamboo paper is shoddy, and it is difficult to get into the elegant hall. If you want to print books, you have to choose expensive white rattan paper......"

While the two were talking, the carriage drove into the East Market and turned towards the winding alley where books were sold.

Xue Bai lifted the curtain and saw that almost all the people who came to buy books were the children of the high-ranking families with their maids and servants. In these years, the poor people can't afford to read, let alone civilians.

It's time to start changing little by little, the process will be slow and drizzly, but things in the world will require a lot of patience.

It's time for the transitional, foreshadowing chapters, which are written slowly. It's late today, the second chapter is still being written, it's not so fast, you don't have to wait~~

(End of chapter)