Chapter 25: Bao Heizi Arrived

  One morning, Wen Meng's mood was very bad.

  Although Wen Yidao promised her that even if he fought with Zhou Siping, he would never let her enter the palace, but Wen Meng was not a three-year-old child. She was very clear about the power of the imperial court and the Jianghu. Although the Wen family was one of the three major families in Jiangnan Jianghu, compared to the imperial court, they might not even be comparable to a small county government. If Zhou Siping insisted on her entering the palace and she really didn't obey, then afterwards, she would probably only have days of fleeing.

  Wen Meng's mood was bad, but Hua Lang didn't say a word, which made Wen Meng even more furious. She looked at Hua Lang and asked: "I'm going to be sent into the palace by someone, what are you thinking?"

  Hualang smiled faintly: "Zhou Si Ping suddenly made things difficult for Wenfu, just to deal with me, but his tricks were a bit too clumsy."

  Everyone saw Huā Láng say this, and they were all somewhat puzzled. Zhōu Sì Píng used the imperial court's name to deal with Wēn Fǔ, how could this be considered clumsy? At least, Wēn Yī Dāo thought that if he didn't comply, he would only have to flee into the Jianghu.

  Hualang glanced at everyone and said, "Zhou Si Ping used the imperial court's selection of concubines to suppress the Wen Mansion, but the imperial court's selection of concubines also has certain rules. Can anyone casually enter the palace as a concubine? First, it is not just about a woman's appearance or character, but also her background must be scrutinized. For the sake of the emperor's safety, the imperial court will not take in women from the jianghu (rivers and lakes) as concubines. Even the daughters of military generals in the imperial court or members of the royal family must be carefully considered."

  Everyone listened to Hua Lang's words and understood a little, but only a little. At this time, Wen Meng asked somewhat impatiently: "What do you want to say, can you please be clearer?"

  Hualang smiled faintly and nodded, "The rules that don't allow Jianghu women to enter the palace for imperial concubine selection, I think Zhou Siping must be aware of it. But since he knows, why did he insist on letting Wenmeng enter the palace?"

  When Hua Lang said this sentence, everyone suddenly understood that Zhou Pingming knew he couldn't send Wen Meng into the palace, so why did he still want to do it?

  There are only two possibilities. The first is that he never had any intention of sending Wen Meng into the palace, and as long as Wen Yi agreed to let Wen Meng enter the palace, he would have resolved the matter halfway through.

  The second case is naturally forcing everyone in the Wen Mansion.

  Everyone looked at each other, and finally they all focused their attention on Hualang. Hualang saw this and said: "Now there are two ways to solve the problem. The first is that Wenmeng quickly marries me. As long as we get married, I think the emperor will not be so shameless. Moreover, the emperor doesn't even know you. As long as we get married, even if Zhou Siping wants to send you into the palace again, it's just a fantasy."

  This is indeed a method, and Wen Yidao had already discussed it with Zhou Siping on Thursday. However, although this method is good, it seems a bit hasty, and in the end, Zhou Siping may be accused of escaping the selection of his wife by pretending to get married.

  Wen Meng's cheeks were slightly red, and she had also considered marrying Hua Lang. However, to marry him in such a hurry, she was somewhat unwilling. Getting married is a woman's lifelong major event, how can it be so hasty?

  "After a long time, Wen Meng hurriedly asked: 'What about the second solution?'"

  Hualang smiled faintly and said, "The second solution is simple. Zhou Sipeng is just a county magistrate, I'm afraid he doesn't have the final say in who becomes the imperial concubine. The one who really decides is Zhang Gonggong, as long as Zhang Gonggong doesn't want you to enter the palace, then even if Zhou Sipeng says whatever he wants, it's all useless."

  Everyone listened and Wen Meng hurriedly said: "It's easy there, we don't know that Zhang Gonggong at all, how can he disagree with me entering the palace?"

  This is indeed a problem, they haven't even seen Zhang Gonggong's face, where can they let Zhang Gonggong not allow Wen Meng to enter the palace?

  Hualang saw this and hurriedly smiled: "Then let's use the first method, we two will get married immediately, and cut off that old emperor's thoughts."

  Wen Meng's face suddenly turned red again, but although her face was red, her mouth was pouting, saying: "Cut it out, who wants to get married with you, what a beautiful dream!"

  Although it is said that there is no way out, in the end, Wen Meng will still marry Hua Lang, but until the last moment, she does not want to do so.

  She had wanted to marry the Flower Boy, but she hoped that one day he would come for her riding a high-headed horse and leading an eight-man sedan chair, not this hasty marriage.

  Hualang naturally understood Wenmeng's meaning, a girl's thoughts, sometimes can still guess a little bit.

  After lunch, the sun was scorching hot, but Wen Meng didn't feel like staying in the mansion. She wanted to go out for a walk on the street. Hua Lang saw this and could only endure the heat to accompany his wife.

  At this time, there were not many pedestrians on the streets of Tianchang County. Hu Lang and Wen Meng walked tiredly and thirstily, finally stopping in front of a hotel. They planned to go in and rest for a while, casually drinking a cup of tea to quench their thirst.

  The inn had only one table with two guests, one of whom was leisurely drinking alone, while the other seemed to be a servant, standing by and pouring wine, occasionally calling out "Old Master".

  This was nothing strange, but when Hua Lang saw the guest, he suddenly had an irrepressible excitement in his heart, because the guest's face was dark, with a crescent moon on his forehead, and although his cheeks were not as round and chubby as he had imagined, the majestic aura that seemed to command respect without even trying made Hua Lang recognize him at a glance.

  Isn't this Bao Zheng? The number one honest official of the Song Dynasty! I've been waiting for him.

  Hualang forcibly suppressed the joy in his heart, he knew that Bao Zheng was taking office in Tianchang County, and as long as Tianchang County had this honest official, he might be able to avenge his father, avenge Wu Jun, and even let Wen Meng avoid being sent into the palace.

  Wen Meng also saw Bao Zheng, but she didn't have much feeling about it. She just thought that this person's face was very dark, and if he were thrown into a coal mine, he probably wouldn't be found. Wen Meng thought to herself, and couldn't help but laugh out loud. The flower boy saw this, hastily pulled Wen Meng down to sit, then ordered some food, dishes and tea.

  Now Bao Zheng is sitting opposite, how to get along with him? Hua Lang thought while drinking tea, if he misses this opportunity, it will be a real miss.

  Is it just like this, taking tea and going forward, saying you want to make friends with him?

  Bao Gong was so clever that he could spot the flaw at a glance, and even gave himself a very bad impression. The flower vendor shook his head repeatedly, this pickup method wasn't good at all.

  Just as Hua Lang was thinking about how to get along with Bao Gong, a loud quarrel and fighting sounds came from the upper floor of the inn. The owner of the inn heard these voices and immediately sensed that something was wrong, so he rushed upstairs in a hurry.