……

……

In the next few days, Xu Qingyan has been suffering from a high fever and has always been groggy, only knowing that he fell into the water, he was rescued again, the Zheng family's ship docked, he was carried to a room, and then he repeatedly took medicine and fell asleep.

On this day, Xu Qingyan woke up from his slumber again, and found that his body had become much lighter and his mind was much clearer, but he felt hungry again, as if he hadn't eaten for a long time.

Then, Xu Qingyan sat up from the bed and looked around, only to find that he was placed in a lavishly decorated bedroom, and a maid was waiting not far away.

Seeing Xu Qingyan's awakening, the maid looked happy and said, "Master Xu, have you woken up?" Is it more comfortable? I'm going to call the doctor. ”

After speaking, the maid ran out, leaving Xu Qingyan alone in a daze.

After a long time, Xu Qingyan gradually recalled his experience during this time, and then an unusually strong sense of chagrin and shame came to his heart.

Especially thinking of Zheng Ming's smiling expression, Xu Qingyan only felt extremely embarrassed.

It's like a clown jumping off the beam, this kind of performance not only can't make the Annanbo Zheng family pay attention to himself, but will make people watch a joke, which may affect Zhao Junchen's plan.

"What did I think? It's like a crazy heart, just bragging, and suddenly getting carried away, and in the end, did you deceive others and didn't say anything, but instead of getting yourself into it...... If you go back like this, you will definitely be sneered at by Fang Ru, and the young master's plan will also be affected......

Thinking of this, Xu Qingyan covered his face with his hands.

But in addition to being annoyed and ashamed, Xu Qingyan did not blindly complain and feel sorry for himself, but forced himself to calm down, thinking about his current situation and ways to save the situation.

"It's wrong, it's wrong, and slapping yourself twice at this time doesn't have any effect...... The young master once said that it is not terrible to have a problem, what I am afraid of is to escape the problem, some things seem difficult and people dare not face them, but as long as you have the courage to try, you will find that these things may not be unsolvable...... But first of all, we must sort out the clue and find a place to start, and we must not bumble into ...... with our eyes closed."

Thinking about Zhao Junchen's teachings on weekdays, Xu Qingyan's thoughts turned sharply.

"The first impression I have left on the Zheng family must have been extremely bad, ignorant and arrogant, inward-looking, and open-minded...... This matter itself doesn't matter, but I'm afraid that the Zheng family will look down on the young master because of me, thinking that the young master will reuse people like me, and I'm afraid that he is also an unreliable person, which will eventually affect the cooperation between the young master and the Zheng family...... Therefore, the top priority is to maintain the image of the young master in the eyes of the Zheng family......"

And just as Xu Qingyan was thinking darkly, he heard a sound of footsteps outside the room.

Then, a group of people pushed the door open.

Xu Qingyan looked up, but saw Zheng Ming, Mo Xiaolin and others walking towards him quickly.

Zheng Ming walked to Xu Qingyan's bedside and said apologetically: "I heard that Little Brother Xu woke up, so I hurried to visit!" Brother Xu's body is better? Alas, you have been asleep for nearly three days, it was all because I didn't take good care of it, so that Brother Xu was tortured by illness these days, I was really guilty, and after my father received the news, he severely punished me on the spot, only blaming me for offending the distinguished guest...... At that time, it was fortunate that Brother Mo was clever and found out in time that Brother Xu was overboard, otherwise I would really be dead this time!

Please also rest assured that we have now arrived in Dongning Mansion in Taiwan, and now you are in Annanbo Mansion, there is the best doctor here, who must be able to cure Brother Xu's body, and will never leave any trouble. ”

After speaking, Zheng Ming nodded at an old man dressed as a doctor next to him, and the old man walked to Xu Qingyan's side and stretched out his hand to check Xu Qingyan's pulse.

Xu Qingyan was a little appreciative when he heard Zheng Ming mention Mo Xiaolin, but suddenly he had a flash of inspiration, and taking advantage of the doctor's diagnosis for himself, he quickly glanced up at Mo Xiaolin, and then quickly lowered his head, his eyes deliberately a little evasive and awe-inspiring, as if he was afraid of Mo Xiaolin's scolding.

Then, Xu Qingyan shook his head and smiled bitterly, and said in a low voice: "How can I blame Zheng Sangongzi, it's all because I was too strong and competitive at that time, and I can't blame others for doing it myself...... I don't hide it from Zheng Sangongzi, although I am Zhao Ge's companion, but Zhao Ge's old men have too many talented people, and I have never been reused, this time the task is what I finally asked for, and I was a little carried away, but it made Zheng Sangongzi laugh. ”

Speaking of this, Xu Qingyan glanced up at Mo Xiaolin again, and then quickly lowered his head and dodged his gaze.

After Zheng Ming saw this scene, he also turned his head to look at Mo Xiaolin, and saw that Mo Xiaolin's demeanor did not change at all, but he just looked at Xu Qingyan with concern, but his expression also moved slightly.

At this time, the old man finally finished diagnosing Xu Qingyan and reported to Zheng Mingyu: "Third master, this Xu Ye's high fever has subsided, and his body has obviously shown signs of improvement, as long as he recuperates for a few days in the future, there will be no problems." ”

Hearing the old man's words, Zheng Ming seemed to be relieved, and nodded again and again: "That's good!" That's peace of mind! ”

Next, Zheng Ming comforted Xu Qingyan a few more words, and personally fed Xu Qingyan a bowl of water, seeing that Xu Qingyan was still listless, he said that Xu Qingyan would continue to rest, and then led everyone to say goodbye very interestingly.

In this way, only Xu Qingyan and Mo Xiaolin were left in the room.

When Zheng Ming left the room, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at the scene in the room, but saw that Xu Qingyan did not lie back on the bed, but still hung his head, while Mo Xiaolin looked at Xu Qingyan quietly, but he couldn't see the change in his expression clearly.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Ming couldn't help but think thoughtfully.

*

Mo Xiaolin has always been emotionally restrained and secretly ruthless, when Zheng Ming and the others were still in the room, he was always silent, and it was not until Zheng Ming and the others left the room that he finally made a statement and said in a low voice: "Brother Xu...... You are indeed too reckless this time, it is because of your fall into the sea, when I meet with the Zheng family in the past few days, I can always feel their contempt. ”

After this period of getting along, Mo Xiaolin thinks that he already knows Xu Qingyan very well, and when he bluntly admonishes him this time, he is also ready to meet Xu Qingyan's quibbles and counterattacks - in Mo Xiaolin's opinion, people like Xu Qingyan will never look for their own problems when they encounter things, and will only complain that others have not helped them.

However, to Mo Xiaolin's surprise, Xu Qingyan nodded directly and admitted his mistake, saying: "It's me who gets carried away so much, and it's natural for the Zheng family to despise it!" But the current situation is no longer whether I have made a fool of myself, but I must redeem the Zheng family's opinion of the young master, and I must not affect the cooperation between the young master and the Zheng family because of me! I can play the role of a harlequin, but the young master's image must not be damaged! ”

Mo Xiaolin couldn't help but be stunned, he didn't expect Xu Qingyan to have such an attitude, not only did he not quibble for himself, but he thought about maintaining Zhao Junchen's image for the first time.

Then, Mo Xiaolin looked at Xu Qingyan again with a strange gaze, only to feel that Xu Qingyan had suddenly grown a lot, and this was an unimaginable growth rate.

In fact, Xu Qingyan was originally a smart person, and he has been very knowledgeable with Zhao Junchen over the years, and he also understands many truths under Zhao Junchen's words and deeds, but he used to be too clever and small, so naturally he always lost a lot of money.

In the final analysis, Zhao Junchen has always protected him too well, never let him take on heavy responsibilities and take charge of himself, and never gave him the opportunity to suffer setbacks and reflect on himself.

But this time, after Xu Qingyan experienced his own self-inflicted ugliness, he also ushered in an opportunity for transformation.

Xu Qingyan didn't pay attention to Mo Xiaolin's surprise, but his brain was spinning, constantly thinking about the plan that he had just flashed of.

After thinking for a long time, Xu Qingyan raised his head and asked, "Who have you seen from the Zheng family since I fell asleep for the past few days?" Did the people of the Zheng family take the opportunity to test you? ”

Mo Xiaolin nodded and said: "I met Zheng Chenggong, the son of the Zheng family, and several of his sons, but I didn't see Zheng Zhilong, Annanbo, I heard that he is no longer a director because of his old age, and most of the Zheng family's affairs are responsible for his children and grandchildren;

In addition, the people of the Zheng family often have some verbal temptations to me, wanting to spy on Zhao Gelao's bottom line from me, but I never responded to them, saying that I was just a guard next to Zhao Gelao, and I knew a little about martial arts, but I didn't know Zhao Gelao's true thoughts...... Then, they arranged for someone to compete with me, and I won three games in a row, and I never made more than ten moves when I was defeated, so that they finally restrained their contempt a little. ”

Speaking of the back, Mo Xiaolin, who has always been introverted, is arrogant.

In terms of martial arts, Mo Xiaolin believes that he will never lose to anyone in the world.

Hearing Mo Xiaolin's words, Xu Qingyan was overjoyed, and nodded again and again: "No wonder Zheng Ming was respectful when he talked about you just now, it turned out to be like this!" In this case, we also have a way, and they will definitely not dare to despise the young master! ”

"What's the solution?" Mo Xiaolin asked.

Xu Qingyan said like a tongue twister: "From today onwards, between the actions of you and me, on the surface, we will still take me as the main and you as the auxiliary, but we have to deliberately make the Zheng family mistakenly think that the two of us are actually based on you and supplemented by me,...... But in the end, it's still me as the main and you as the supplement!

In the future, if we see the people of the Zheng family, whenever I want to make an important statement, I will deliberately peek at you, as if I am asking for your attitude, if I am frowning at that time, you have to shake your head gently, if I am not frowning, you have to nod lightly, in short, let the Zheng family think that you are the actual person who is in charge of contacting the Zheng family this time, and I am just a puppet on the surface! ”

Mo Xiaolin only felt that it was too much of a circle, and asked again, "Why do you want to do this?" ”

Xu Qingyan shook his head and sighed: "The Zheng family can develop to today's power, the core members of this family will definitely not be stupid, people like them are the best at seeing the subtleties, you only need to observe the character and ability of the person you reuse, you can roughly deduce your own character and ability!"

The impression I have left on the Zheng family now is too bad, and they will infer that the young master's reuse of people like me means that the young master himself is also a mediocre person, so they will despise it, or directly refuse the young master's cooperation, or they only want to use the young master when they cooperate, and their sincerity is insufficient, so our mission this time will also fail!

If you want them to cooperate with the young master sincerely, you must make them pay attention to the young master's abilities and means, and you must make them think that the people who the young master reuses are all capable people

…… Alas, it was for this reason that I deliberately bragged about it in the first place, but who knew that it was self-defeating...... But fortunately, your performance is good, and there is still room for redemption, as long as they think that you are the main person in charge this time, and hide behind the scenes just to observe the reaction of the Zheng family, they will naturally retract their contempt and negotiate with us sincerely! ”

Mo Xiaolin thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "As long as I can complete the task assigned by Elder Zhao Ge, let me do whatever I want...... But in this way, you will continue to be despised by the Zheng family, and your treatment will drop a lot, but I am afraid that it will not taste good. ”

Mo Xiaolin's life experience made him extremely sensitive to this kind of thing.

Xu Qingyan had a calm expression and said: "It's all my own doing, but as long as the young master's big thing can be accomplished, what if I play the harlequin?" ”

*

While Xu Qingyan and Mo Xiaolin were making plans, Zheng Ming also quickly returned to the main hall of Annanbo's Mansion.

As Mo Xiaolin said, as Zheng Zhilong retired into the background as he grew old, most of the affairs of the Zheng family were handed over to the eldest son Zheng Chenggong and several grandchildren, including the eldest grandson Zheng Jing, the second grandson Zheng Cong, the third grandson Zheng Ming, the fifth grandson Zheng Zhi and so on.

At this time, several core members of the Zheng family were also discussing Zhao Junchen's desire to cooperate with the Zheng family.

As the so-called "the name of a person and the shadow of a tree", with Zhao Junchen's current prestige, everyone in the Zheng family naturally does not dare to ignore his intention to cooperate.

But for this matter, several core members of the Zheng family have very different attitudes.

I saw Zheng Jing say loudly: "Zhao Junchen's fame, we have all heard of it, it can be said that he has been the leader in the capital over the years, not to mention the great victory of Shaanxi and Gansu, only that he has successively implemented commercial tax rectification, Sichuan salt development, agricultural reform and other things in the past two years, and also used these things to control most of the commercial and trade activities in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the influence of the power is not small......

This time he took the initiative to send someone to contact us, but I am afraid that he is also eyeing the shipping part, which is also in the middle of our Zheng family, because the Westerners' sea ships are becoming more and more active, and our maritime trade has already fallen into a bottleneck, if we take this opportunity to reach cooperation with Zhao Junchen, our Zheng family's financial strength will soon be able to break through the bottleneck and increase again. ”

Compared with Zheng Jing's optimism, Zheng Cong was much more steady, and immediately shook his head and said: "In my opinion, this matter is absolutely impossible!" We can't only see Zhao Junchen's scenery, but also see Zhao Junchen's hidden dangers, like him who is in power at a young age, how many people in history can have a good end? Looking at the envoy sent by Zhao Junchen, he is a straw bag who only knows how to talk big, and it can be seen that Zhao Junchen is also a person who does not live up to his name, and it is not a good thing to cooperate with him!

You must know that the imperial court's policy of banning the sea has not changed, and it is also more useful for our Zheng family, after we cooperate with Zhao Junchen, if Zhao Junchen makes a mistake, so that the imperial court mistakenly thinks that we are colluding with Zhao Junchen inside and outside and with bad intentions, this will be a big trouble! ”

Zheng Zhi smiled disapprerovingly: "Second brother, you just think too much, and you are always timid!" If Zhao Junchen is really a straw bag who deceives the world and steals his name, we can also use this cooperation to annex his forces, even if the imperial court finally finds out about it? Taiwan is isolated overseas, and the imperial court has no ability to deal with it, so we only need to sell Zhao Junchen and we will be fine! ”

On the other side, Zheng Chenggong quietly listened to the discussion of his sons, but his brows were slightly furrowed and his expression was slightly unhappy.

This debate has been going on for several days, but it is still inconclusive.

But the reason for Zheng Chenggong's unhappy expression was not because of the delay in this debate, but because he didn't like his sons' contempt and neglect of the center of the court in their words.

Zheng Zhilong was born as a pirate, but Zheng Chenggong grew up with Confucian education, and he had some loyalty in his heart, but because of the jealous attitude of the imperial court and the fact that Zheng Zhilong was still alive, he did not clearly state his position.

But Zheng Chenggong also knew that as long as the relationship between the imperial court and the Zheng family was not eased, no amount of preaching from him could change the attitude of his sons, and seeing Zheng Ming sitting in his place after entering the hall, he opened his mouth to change the topic and asked: "Third child, is that Xu Qingyan's body better?" What happened to you? Why don't you speak? ”

Zheng Ming hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "When I went to visit Xu Qingyan just now, I found some signs, but I only felt that the relationship between Xu Qingyan and that Mo Xiaolin was not as simple as we saw...... Perhaps, Mo Xiaolin is the main one this time! ”

Zheng Ming's words immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the Zheng family.

Then, under Zheng Chenggong's questioning, Zheng Ming told his father and brothers in detail about Xu Qingyan's performance not long ago.

After hearing Zheng Ming's story, everyone in the Zheng family also made similar judgments in their hearts.

Zheng Jing's face was a little dissatisfied, and said: "I can also see in the past few days, that Mo Xiaolin is not a good corner, he is silent on the surface, but there is a ruthlessness hidden in it, which people dare not underestimate...... It's just that what does this Zhao Junchen mean? Why do you deliberately hide the main owner behind the scenes, but instead push a straw bag to the front to contact us? ”

Zheng Ming explained: "In my opinion, this is Zhao Junchen's intention! Our Zheng family is suspicious of the imperial court, and has always been extremely cautious when selecting collaborators, but Zhao Junchen is also in the same situation, so he will naturally carefully choose people to cooperate with...... His arrangement should be to test our sincerity and means. ”

Zheng Cong snorted lightly: "Ha! Take the initiative to ask us to cooperate, and want to test us? If this is the case, then he Zhao Junchen is not sincere enough! ”

Zheng Chenggong pondered for a while, but said conclusively: "Zhao Junchen is the elder of the imperial court, not only is he powerful and controls most of the commerce and trade of the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but also has great military exploits and all kinds of political achievements...... But whether this matter is true or not, we still need to explore it in detail, and we must not be deceived by this kind of trick, so that Zhao Junchen underestimated us. ”

Hearing Zheng Chenggong's words, all the sons also nodded.

But unconsciously, their contempt for Zhao Junchen was gone, and some members of the Zheng family originally wanted to take advantage of Zhao Junchen, but at this time, they were also cautious for the time being.

……

When a cute four-year-old daughter runs in front of you, throws herself into your arms, and asks you to play with you, can you refuse?

Can't you? Surely not, right?

So, the plot of these two days is relatively simple.

But the day after tomorrow at the latest, this side plot will end.

……