manynovel Chapter 368 The show is about to begin
Chapter 368 The show is about to begin
There were already quite a few people in the flower hall, and those who came to greet and see off were men who had just reached the age of twenty. Jiang Youzhen knew that the magistrate of Li County was already in his forties, and this man might be the magistrate's eldest son.
Tong Huaian did not enter the flower hall. Instead, he took Jiang Youzhen to find a servant, bypassed the flower hall, and went directly to the study in the outer courtyard.
"Please let them know that Tong Huaian is here!" Tong Huaian said to the servant guarding the gate.
When the servant heard Jiang Youzhen's name, he said, "Master Tong, the master has instructed that when you come, you can go in directly. He has been waiting for you for a long time!"
Tong Huaian was about to ask Jiang Youzhen to follow, but the servant stepped forward and stopped him.
"I'm sorry! The master only said that Master Tong can go in directly, but this Master cannot. Why don't you tell me your name and I will ask for instructions!"
Jiang Youzhen was shocked when she heard this. How could the magistrate know who she was? It didn't matter if she didn't go in!
"Then there's no need to inform me. I'll go to the front hall and wait for you."
"But Tong Huaian and Jiang Youzhen are here? Come in!" This was the voice of the Fourth Prince.
"Then please come in, both of you!" The servants stopped trying to stop them. The master had said that the person inside was much more powerful than him.
"Sir Qin, these two are both top scorers in the county, and now they are both studying in the prefecture. Our Tongzhou Prefecture is truly a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery!"
When the Fourth Prince saw the two men come in, he introduced them to the magistrate, Lord Qin.
"Why don't you bow when you see Lord Qin?" The Fourth Prince said to the two of them with a smile.
"No need to be polite. Master Tong is well-known in the prefectural school, but this Master Jiang has become the top scorer in the county case at such a young age. He can be said to be a young hero!"
County magistrate Qin Su was extremely respectful to the Fourth Prince. He knew Tong Huaian, who had a distinguished background and was not someone a small county magistrate like him could afford to offend.
However, the young man in front of him looked unfamiliar. But seeing how solemnly the Fourth Prince introduced him, he must be of extraordinary status.
Jiang Youzhen did not dare to be arrogant and bowed to Qin Su with great respect.
There were several aides and businessmen in the study. After everyone bowed one by one, they began to talk about the purpose of today's banquet.
Jiang Youzhen looked at the man sitting opposite him. He was of middle age, with a plump figure. When he smiled, he looked like Maitreya Buddha, and was very friendly.
But Jiang Youzhen could not hide the cunning in his eyes. This man must be a smiling tiger. He is the eldest master of the Sun family, Sun Jin.
In order to protect Sun Qi, Sun Jin was indeed pulled into the camp of the Fourth Prince.
The person next to him was Liu Shichuan, the patriarch of the Liu family. He was very serious and he didn't even smile when everyone was greeting him just now.
"Many merchants are planning to raise funds this time. The court has already surveyed the flat land and drawn a rough map. Once the funds are raised here, we should be able to start construction."
Magistrate Qin looked at everyone. There were many things today that the Fourth Prince was not convenient to deal with, so he would have to step forward on his behalf.
Anyway, one plays the good cop and the other plays the bad cop, and the job has to be done.
He still had two years left in his term. Originally, it was thought that a grassroots like him, being sent to be a county magistrate in the rather poor Li County, had no future at all.
If he was transferred again after two or three terms, what career would he have? He was already 42 years old this year, how many more years could he still be an official? He had already accepted his fate, but he didn't expect that something unexpected would happen and a pie in the sky would fall on his head.
The completion of the dock was a major political achievement, enough for him to be promoted.
The most important thing is, if he can hook up with the Fourth Prince, will he have to worry about not being able to rise to prominence in the future? He also has a son, who is now a juren, and will definitely take the imperial examination next year. If he passes the exam, he will have connections.
But the premise is that this fundraising is very smooth. Therefore, he was very excited, and today's banquet was prepared for five days.
"The construction of a new wharf is a major undertaking for the country and the people. I will definitely lead the Chen family to help the emperor and the court solve their problems, and I will never hide anything."
Jiang Youzhen was sitting next to Tong Huaian at the moment. Tong Huaian had a high status, so Jiang Youzhen also sat in the front.
But she was wearing such conspicuous clothes and had attracted a lot of stares, which made her feel a little embarrassed.
"Great! I've heard that the old man of the Chen family was a righteous businessman, and now his descendants are also righteous Confucian businessmen!"
Everyone began to praise him, and only then did Jiang Youzhen hear the man's name from everyone: Chen Youde, the second master of the Chen family, who was also the brother-in-law of Liu, the eldest lady of the Chen family.
Jiang Youzhen smiled and met Chen Youde's gaze, who smiled at her ingratiatingly.
"Since the Chen family has already spoken, our Sun family cannot lag behind. The Sun family will definitely have a share of the donations this time. Of course, I admire the Fourth Prince's way of dealing with people, so please do it for me."
Several other people present echoed the idea, and Jiang Youzhen finally figured out their identities. It turned out that they were all related to the merchants in the city.
In other words, the Fourth Prince and his entourage really asked their relatives to participate in the fundraising.
It is not enough for these people to defeat the Second Prince, and I don’t know what other tricks the Fourth Prince has.
"Haha! Thank you all for your generosity. I am very grateful."
The study was very lively, with everyone talking happily, but there were also many who remained silent.
First of all, there is Jiang Youzhen. She tried hard to be an invisible person, for fear that those who were present would have to raise funds.
Although her money comes easily, she will feel bad when she spends it, right?
The most silent one among the others was Liu Shichuan. Jiang Youzhen suspected that he had not yet completely surrendered, and was only forced to come here to serve as a background board.
Especially since the Fourth Prince, who was obviously still silent, glanced at him from time to time, it was probably the reason she had guessed.
So the Fourth Prince hasn't dealt with the Liu family yet? They've already started collecting donations, aren't they afraid that the Liu family will turn against them?
"Sir!" A steward hurried into the study, but after seeing everyone, he hesitated to speak.
"What's the matter? Just tell me!" Qin Su didn't intend to hide it from the Fourth Prince, so he asked with a frown.
The servant said quickly, "A lot of foreign merchants came just now, all holding invitations, but none of them matched the list I have. I asked, and they said they were recommended by the Second Prince."
Revealing the trump card so soon? Jiang Youzhen was very confused.
"Foreign businessmen? How many are there?" The Fourth Prince asked with a slightly frown.
"Quite a few, probably around twenty-five."
"I didn't expect that my second brother found the right way!" The fourth prince said and glanced at Jiang Youzhen. Jiang Youzhen did not feel guilty, but smiled at him.
She is not a subordinate of the Fourth Prince, so why should she feel guilty?
"What? So many?" Qin Su asked in shock.
The Fourth Prince glanced at him. This Qin Su was extremely mediocre and not calm enough. This was the only time they would cooperate.
"Let's go! It's almost time, let's go over and meet up!"
Jiang Youzhen also stood up and prepared to go back to the flower hall. The show was about to begin.
A group of people walked over in a mighty procession, and the flower hall suddenly became lively.
"His Royal Highness the Second Prince has arrived!"
Just as Jiang Youzhen was about to take a seat with the Fourth Prince, a nod was heard and everyone looked towards the direction of the screen wall.