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Zhen smiled sweetly and said softly: "Wen,, my husband doesn't know anything. Although I was given the surname Zhen, I am not a member of the Zhen family after all, and I have no power and influence to order the entire Zhen family to migrate to Chang'an.

Does your husband still remember the elder of the Zhen clan? In fact, he is not the elder of the clan, but the chief of the Zhen clan, that is, the previous head of the family.

In addition, he was the biological father of his husband Zhen Yi, who was my father-in-law, and he gave me the adoptive father with the surname Zhen. This time, he ordered the whole clan to move to Chang'an and support his husband, which was the adoptive father Zhen Zhi's decision. Without his approval, I could transfer most of the Zhen family's shops and family industries to Chang'an, but I could not allow the clan members to move to Xiliang."

Speaking of this, Zhen paused for a moment, looked at Li Li in a moving way, and said softly: "I have something to ask for, and I'll ask my husband to agree."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about it, but it's okay to say it." Li Li responded in surprise.

Zhen looked at Li Li with a shy expression, then turned his head and said, "Now I have served my husband. From now on, no matter how good or bad I am, I am my husband's man in my life and my husband's ghost in my death.

However, Zhen is not my real name after all. My real name is Zhang Ai. My husband can call me my real name or Zhang in the future, and Zhen’s name should be from Jiang Er and the sisters.”

"Hahaha! Li Li smiled heartily and said, "Okay, you will be my Zhang Ji in the future. When you return to Xiliang, you will give the wedding ceremony!"

After hearing this, Zhen showed joy, but she shook her head gently and bowed to her husband and said, "Husband, I don't want any status. As long as I can follow my husband, I can serve my husband at any time. After the Zhen family moved to Xiliang to settle down, I will give up the position of head of the family to Zhen Yan and serve my husband wholeheartedly. If my husband can trust me or think that I can still manage the family, I am willing to be the manager of the inner government in the mansion and manage the property under the general's mansion for my husband. I wonder what my husband wants?"

"Oh?" Li Li looked at Zhen in shock, and then showed a strong look of admiration on his face. He nodded and smiled: "There are two housekeepers in my mansion. One is the old housekeeper Li Fu, who is both the housekeeper of the foreign government and the housekeeper of the inner government. He is responsible for managing all the industries under the name of the general's mansion; the other housekeeper is Zou Jing, the housekeeper of the inner government, who is mainly responsible for managing the attendants, maids and servants of the inner courtyard, as well as trivial matters in the inner courtyard.

The old butler Li Fu is my clan uncle. He is over 50 years old and is old. He has been trying to find a capable butler in the inner government who has a strong mansion and hand over many industries in the general's mansion. Now you are willing to take over, I am not willing to ask for it. You are the most suitable person. But in this way, the butler is a servant after all, and his status is too low, but he is wronged. Do you really want to accept the position of a butler and don't have the title of concubine?"

"Thank you, my husband, for your fulfillment. I am willing to be a housekeeper, and I don't want to be a concubine!" Zhen continued with a solemn expression.

The smile on Li Li's face became brighter and he exclaimed: "You are really a smart woman! You are not pragmatic and not empirical. Although my General's Mansion does not have as much money and grain savings as the Zhen family, there are a lot of industries under his name. Not only land and houses, but more importantly, in recent years, the General's Mansion has established many workshops with great potential and all of them are under the name of the inner mansion. As long as these workshops are properly managed, they can exceed the accumulation of the Zhen family in a hundred years within three to five years. In the future, they will be ten times, a hundred times, or even more of the Zhen family's industry. I feel relieved to hand over the workshop to you and believe that you will be able to manage them well and provide food and wages for our Xiliang Army in the future."

The speech was paused. Li Li changed his tone and said loudly: "However, you are my Li Li's woman. No matter whether you want a title or not, I will give you the title you deserve. Just like when I married six wives, this is my bottom line and will never change. So you are still my concubine, and you are the general manager of the inner government, responsible for the management of the workshop industry under my name."

"This,,,,,,," Zhen was very moved, with tears in her eyes, but she whispered hesitantly: "It is a blessing that I am now favored by my husband. How can I ask for fame again? After all, I have married someone before and have another daughter. If I am a husband's concubine again, I am afraid that it will damage his husband's reputation and be ridiculed by other princes. Therefore, please take it back and make a life."

"Hahaha!" Li Li laughed when she heard this, stood up and put her arms around Zhen's detailed waist, and said with a smile: "In troubled times, most men died on the battlefield. It is common for women to remarry, and it has been the case since ancient times. I, Li Li, are not a person who seeks fame and reputation. I have never feared others' words, and will not compromise women in order to maintain my reputation.

You may not have heard of Cao Cao's special habits in Yanzhou. He doesn't like girls and likes to steal other people's wives as concubines. It is said that among the nine wives and concubines, only the original wife Ding once married to him, and the other eight concubines are not girls. These women are either born in brothels, or already married, or widows. Since Cao Cao is not afraid of others' discussions and is unique, is I Li Li not as good as him? So there is no need to discuss this matter anymore. I have decided and cannot be changed!"

When Li Li mentioned that he was from nine wives and concubines in Yanzhou Cao Cao, the two girls Zhen and Ma Yunluo were shocked and looked at each other inexplicably, and seemed very surprised. However, when they thought of the dangerous situation where Cao Cao in Yanzhou was surrounded by powerful enemies, they felt relieved.

Although Cao Cao was the descendant of Cao Shen, the founding father of the Han Dynasty, and was a family of officials, his grandfather Cao Teng was a eunuch, and had no sons and adopted the children of the Xiahou family, so he was able to continue his direct lineage. Now Cao Cao was in charge of the governor of Yanzhou, with only half of Yanzhou prefectures and counties, and was sandwiched between Yuan Shao, Lu Bu, Yuan Shu and Xiliang General Xu Rong on all sides. His situation was very bad. At present, Cao Cao led his troops to attack Tao Qian in Xuzhou under the banner of revenge for his father. It is said that he was clamoring to go out in full swing in the spring, but it was delayed for more than two months. It was not until more than ten days ago that he led his army to Xuzhou. It is still unknown whether the war has officially begun.

Seeing Li Li's expression resolute, Zhen had to nod and agree. In fact, she was inexplicably surprised and glad that she did not follow the wrong person. Li Li was indeed a responsible man, so she became more and more obsessed with Li Li.

As Li Li said, Zhen is actually very clear that using the existing billions of wealth of the Zhen family as bargaining chips, she will naturally get the corresponding status, but she would rather not be a false reputation, settle for the second best, and choose to be the housekeeper of the inner government. This will not only follow Li Li for a long time, but also do something, and demonstrate her own value, so that she will not be excluded after being old or even be neglected by Li Li.

This is Zhen Shi, the head of the Zhen family consortium. She is a beautiful and smart woman who never cares about temporary gains and losses when considering problems. Instead, she looks at the future and is pragmatic and not in vain. At any time, she has a very clear understanding of herself and knows how to make a decision to be in line with her own interests.

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Nanyuan main hall.

Zhang Ai followed Li Li and slowly walked into the hall. He saw the imperial plaque given to Zhen Taibao and Zhen Han by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu two hundred years ago.

"My younger generation Li Li (daughter) pays homage to Mr. Zhen (father)!

Under the plaque, the white-haired Zhen Qi sat on the main seat with her eyes closed and rested. After hearing the sound, he slowly opened his eyes and raised his hand to signal Li Li and Zhen to avoid the gift of the ceremony.

After the maid presented the incense tea, Zhen Qi looked at Zhen with a kind face, then turned his eyes to Li Li, and said slowly: "I heard that Tian Wenchang was in more than ten arrows. His injuries were serious and he was in danger. Today, it seems that auspicious people have their own appearance, which is not something that a slut can do, and they are just a false alarm. However, this also shows that the dead soldiers of the Zhen family who have been trained for many years have been enjoying peace for a long time. They are neglected to fight and need to be tempered before they can be used. In the future, these people will be handed over to their virtuous nephews, and they can be used as if they are not available. If they are not available, they will be dismissed. They are the only ones who are the little girl who is dowrying and entourage. Everything is decided by Wenchang."

Li Li nodded slightly with a modest expression, without saying a word to reject the kindness of the old man Zhen Qi, and said in a harmonious voice: "Old Zhen is so kind to me, I am ashamed of my gratitude. I will never thank you. I will treat Ling Ai well in the future, please rest assured Mr. Zhen."

Zhen Qi nodded slightly and said, "Wenchang's young heroes hold powerful soldiers and guard the side. These old people have heard of them. Nowadays, the princes are in conflict and the world is unstable. Wenchang has a long way to go. In the future, he needs to be kind to govern and treat the people well. He must not kill too much, so as not to go against the harmony of heaven."

"Wenchang should keep it in mind for his words and reflect on himself at all times." Li Li stood up and bowed and said respectfully.

Seeing Li Li so humble and polite, Zhen Qi smiled with a self-deprecating smile: "Maybe I am old and I have not many days left. I always think that human nature is good and I am not fighting with the world. What I said just now, Wenchang should not be too kind and tolerant and tolerant in every way. Fighting for heroes in troubled times is inevitable, and killing is inevitable. It is hard to be kind and give in. It is difficult to achieve great things in all respects, and even to suffer from them. Therefore, you should be kind and tolerant to innocent people. You should not tolerate the innocent people. Instead, you should use thunder means to eliminate all evil things. You should not keep the kindness of a woman in your heart, so as to avoid endless troubles."

Seeing that Zhen Qi was able to say such decisive words with kind eyes, Li Li was surprised and couldn't help but sigh: "Zhen Qi is worthy of being the chief officer of the Zhen Family Foundation for dozens of winters and heats. Although he is over 70 years old and is about to die, he still has extraordinary insights and sees the situation in the world thoroughly. It is true that people are old and wise, and they are dazzling and clear in their hearts!"

In his thoughts, Li Li responded respectfully: "What the predecessor said is extremely true, Wenchang has received teachings."

After a brief pause, Li Li expressed the true meaning of this trip: "Half an hour ago, I learned that Mr. Zhen ordered the clan to move to Chang'an, and began to transfer his property a month ago. Mr. Zhen trusted me so much and entrusted the lives of more than 1,100 tribes. Wenchang was deeply grateful, and felt a great responsibility, and he didn't know how to repay your great kindness. Please make clear."

"Since Wenchang asked, I told you bluntly." Old Man Zhen seemed to have expected that Li Li would definitely come to see him before leaving Zhen's mansion, and he must have such a question. Therefore, when Li Li took the initiative to ask, he did not make any perfunctory concessions and said frankly: "There are three reasons why I decided to support Wenchang and moved my family to Xiliang.

First, the Zhen family had a miserable life. She married into my Zhen family at the age of fifteen. When she was less than eighteen, her son died of illness. Since then, she has been alone and has been living alone, and has taken on the rise and fall of the entire family as a woman. Over the years, in order to run the family industry, she has been working hard and traveling around, so that the Zhen family shops have made more profits than 30% in three years, and have spread the Zhen family shops all over the world. It can be said that they have worked hard and made great contributions and business skills, far exceeding the heads of my Zhen family’s past dynasties.

A month ago, Zhen praised Wenchang in every way, and his words and deeds showed his love for you. At that time, I was shocked and felt lost, fearing that I would lose her, her good daughter-in-law and good daughter. However, when I turned around and thought about it, I felt relieved. As a father-in-law, I could stop my daughter-in-law from remarrying, but after three years of mourning for the son, Zhen could remarry according to the old system. As a father, if he did not want his daughter to live a happy life, he would not be a good father and be a father in vain. Therefore, in terms of emotion and reason, I cannot stop Zhen from remarrying, but should support her in striving for a happy life.

Secondly, our Zhen family started to rise when Wang Mang was in chaos, and it has been passed down for more than 200 years. As early as five years ago, when Dong Zhuo led his army into Luoyang, I regarded Dong Zhuo as the second Wang Mang, thinking that the Han Dynasty was in danger and the world would fall into chaos again. Unexpectedly, Dong Zhuo was violent in nature, had too much killing, and was bold and arbitrary, far less capable than Wang Mang's methods. Not only did he fail to usurp the throne, it aroused resentment from heaven and others, and aroused the alliance of all the princes to attack. Therefore, Dong Zhuo was not as cunning as Wang Mang, but his ability to disrupt the government was above Wang Mang, causing the Han Dynasty to rise up, and the princes to separate the princes, which completely shook the foundation of the Han Dynasty, and there was no hope of revival.

In view of this, if my Zhen family wants to continue and continue the incense forever, we must carefully choose a prince to rely on it to avoid the entire family being destroyed by the chaos of the princes. At first, I was optimistic about Yuan Shao, Jizhou because the Zhen family and Ruyang Yuan family were old friends, so it was natural to support Yuan Shao. However, Yuan Shao has occupied Jizhou for three years, with a family background, sufficient money and food, and occupied the largest and most populous states and county among the states in the world. He has more than 200,000 troops, but he has not done much. Instead, he is not as strong as Gongsun Zan's tent in Youzhou. He is really famous, but he is not enough to achieve great things."

Speaking of this, Zhen Qi showed a disappointed expression on his face, obviously regretting Yuan Shao's incompetence.

After calming down a little, he continued, "In addition, I know all three sons of Yuan Shao and I know them, and I have also known them. I was optimistic about his second son Yuan Xi before, thinking that this son is quite famous and should be able to accomplish things in the future. Unexpectedly, Yuan Xi and his father Yuan Shao are worthy of being father and son. They are both handsome and handsome, but they are just a playboy who is not a good person. They are really disheartened. Because of this, I have never made up my mind about what the Zhen family will do in the future. At this moment, the Zhen family strongly praised Wenchang and invited you to visit the Zhen Mansion. This allows me to observe Wenchang up close and like it the more I look at it.

Third, it is also the key point that ultimately prompted me to truly make up my mind to rely on you. This is, Wenchang, you are young and promising, have outstanding achievements, and have good governance. You have the three prefectures of Yongzhou, Liangzhou and Sili. You are strong and rank first among the princes in the world. The army of Xiliang under your command has always been the most brave and war-friendly army of the Han Dynasty, with 400,000 troops, and are also at the top of the princes. In addition, although the Han Dynasty was in danger, the emperor was still there, and you were in control of the emperor and Chang'an court, occupying an absolute dominant position, and you can patrol the emperor and conquer the four directions at any time.

It is precisely for these three reasons that Zhen loves you, so everything will come naturally. The Zhen family’s choice to rely on you and support you with all their strength is undoubtedly the best choice, and there is no other person to choose."

———————————————— (To be continued)

PS: Two consecutive updates!
Chapter completed!