The news from Shanxi Dusi spread to several of the most prestigious general families in Chang'an City in just a few days.
According to the information revealed in the letter by Commander Zhao Du of Shanxi Dusi, if there is no accident, the children of these generals are most likely to be transferred to Shanxi.
This is also the intention of the commander of Zhaodu.
Since outsiders are going to be transferred to work under him, he certainly hopes that the people who come will have real talents and knowledge, rather than the second generation of idiot generals in vain. And if the person who comes has a temperament that is similar to mine and can be transferred voluntarily, that would be even better. He revealed this tone in the letter because he hoped that the children of the general family under Shaanxi Dusi would think carefully and make a choice voluntarily. Only by working together voluntarily can we be more harmonious in the future.
The Hai family is not a general. Among relatives and friends, the Ma family and the Hu family are not of high enough rank. The three rooms of the Zhou family are closed to welcome guests. Therefore, the Hai family went on holiday in peace during the Chinese New Year and did not receive the news in time. Xie Wenzai didn't know what he was busy with there. After he went to see the banker to pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the new year, he didn't go back for a few days, so naturally he didn't hear about it. Lu Bainian has been staying at home for a few days, while Cao Gengnian goes out to visit every day, but his friends are all literati in Chang'an City, so it is naturally impossible for him to know the news in the military attaché circle. As a result, the Hai family didn't know what was going to happen until Hai Jiao brought back news from his friends today.
Hai Xiya was a little worried. Without saying anything to his wife or grandchildren, he went to the front yard to find his cousin Xie Wenzai. He discussed all matters related to the border army with Xie Wenzai.
Ma was very calm: "The transfer order will never fall on Brother Er and my nephew. Their officials are not big enough! Although my brother-in-law serves in the army, he is a civilian official, and even the Shanxi Dusi looks down on him. What do you have to worry about? The master will just worry about it!"
Hai Jiao smiled and said: "Grandma, now that grandpa is working in Dusi Yamen, he has to worry about the replacement of his immediate boss! It is not easy to have a boss who is kind and easy to get along with."
Ma was startled: "That's true... but Shanxi Dusi will not transfer the son of the Duke of the town if nothing happens. Besides, the real boss of the master is actually the Minister of Household Affairs in Beijing. It will be the same no matter who he replaces. Who will do it?" Are you having trouble with Mr. Tao?"
Ma was very calm, but she was more interested in the gossip that her eldest sister, Zhou Ma, sent to tell her today: "The wife of the Crown Prince of the Marquis of Cheng'en in Beijing suddenly returned to Chang'an with a pair of children to visit her relatives. She will not arrive until tomorrow. It’s so strange to choose this time! My eldest sister is extremely curious and too embarrassed to ask, so I hope that I can find out the news for her when I go to the Zhenguo Duke’s Mansion to have New Year’s Eve dinner the day after tomorrow.”
Haitang was a little surprised: "Why does my aunt expect Grandma to find out the news? She is the official of the Zhou family, can't she go find out on her own?"
Ma said: "Not only the Zhou clan members, but also many old relatives and friends from Chang'an City came here for the New Year's Eve wine. My brother-in-law was worried that others would ask him about Mrs. Ma, so he asked your aunt to report her illness!" Speaking of this! , Ma couldn't help curling her lips, "Coward! He has the courage to do it, but why doesn't he have the courage to tell others? It's not his fault! The more occasions like this, the more confident he should be, otherwise others won't do anything. I know, I thought he really treated his stepmother harshly!"
When Mrs. Ma talked about her brother-in-law Zhou Shigong's attitude, she couldn't help but get angry. In her opinion, there is no need for Zhou Shigong to restrict his wife Zhou Ma's external contacts and speech. It is a certainty that Mrs. Ma will not appear in public again. At this time, it is time for Zhou Ma to announce the news of Mrs. Ma's "old illness" to the outside world, so that the outside world can slowly accept this fact.
Anyway, Mrs. Ma is already a very old person. She was "ill" just a few years ago and caused a scandal. It is normal for her not to show up. From now on, she will live in seclusion and no one will talk too much.
But the more cautious and sneaky Zhou Shigong is, the easier it is for outsiders who don't know the truth to suspect him. He obviously didn't do anything wrong, so why did he always look like he was guilty? His wife was also suspected of following him!
Ma's face looked indignant. After hearing this, Hai Jiao felt a little resentful. If Zhou Shigong hadn't shown such a guilty conscience, he wouldn't have been able to distrust even the young disciples of Zhen Guo Gongfu, and now Zhou Shigong's Ma family was also implicated.
Seeing this, Haitang changed the topic: "Why did the wife of the Crown Prince of Chengenhou Mansion come to Chang'an at this time? I had corresponded with sister Wenjun before, but I didn't hear her mention it?"
As expected, Ma's attention was diverted: "Not to mention Miss Wenjun, even Mrs. Zhou didn't mention it when she was giving New Year's gifts on her forehead. According to the eldest sister, they set off from the capital at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month and entered the city. After arriving in Shaanxi, I sent someone to deliver the letter to the Zhenguo government. Even New Year's Eve was spent on the road. It sounds weird! Even if you really want to go back to Chang'an to visit relatives, you can't rush it at this time? It's not like that. It was as if they were traveling in a hurry, and they were taking their children with them, so they were not afraid of being cold and tired on the way. How come the wife of the Crown Prince of Chengenhou Mansion was so unsuccessful in doing things? Chengenhou and his wife also allowed her to mess around. Come?"
Haijiao and Haitang looked at each other and felt strange. It was already next year that Hai Jiao arrived in Chang'an in his previous life. I don't know if Mrs. Cheng'en Hou Shizi also had such an incident. But traveling in the twelfth lunar month and rushing for the New Year, we arrived in Chang'an almost on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year... There must be an extremely important reason for Mrs. Cheng'en Hou Shizi to bring her children to such suffering, right?
Hai Jiao whispered: "Why don't I ask a few familiar friends to find out? Maybe they know something inside?"
Madam Ma waved her hand and said: "That's all, Mrs. Cheng'en Hou Shizi is the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family. She will arrive in Chang'an soon. If anything happens, she will always tell her parents-in-law and sisters-in-law. Let's go to Zhenguo Gongfu for dinner the day after tomorrow. When the time comes for New Year’s wine, just ask Mrs. Wednesday. If your new friends are from the Zhou family, asking them is no different from asking Mrs. Zhou. If they are not from the Zhou family, you may not be able to know anything. Uh-huh. Why bother asking outsiders to gossip about the Zhou family?"
Ma made up his mind, Hai Jiao had to give up the idea, but he still wanted to know the truth.
Marquis Chengen was the brother of Duke Zhenguo and the Queen Mother of Zhou, and he was considered the representative of the Zhou family in the capital. He did not hold any serious position in the court, and rarely interfered with government affairs. He was only responsible for the relationship between the Queen Mother in the palace and outside the palace. In the previous life he had experienced in Haijiao, he had almost no sense of presence in the powerful circles of the capital. However, the Duke of Zhenguo returned to the capital with his children and grandchildren to settle down, thanks to his traveling around. He is not incompetent, he just keeps a low profile.
How could such a person, for no apparent reason, allow his eldest daughter-in-law to take her two children on a long journey back to Chang'an to visit relatives in the middle of winter? He also chose such a strange time... I'm afraid there is something urgent and he needs to tell the Duke of Zhen before he allows his daughter-in-law and grandchildren to go away under the guise of "visiting relatives", right?
Calculating the time that Chengenhou's wife, mother and son would have to spend on the road, I'm afraid that when they set off, Chengenhou would not know anything about the conspiracy that the Sun family planned to carry out in Chang'an. What could possibly happen that would make him send his daughter-in-law and grandchildren so eagerly?
Did something happen to the Empress Dowager Zhou in the palace? Or has there been any new change in Emperor Deguang's attitude towards the Zhou family?
With such doubts in mind, Hai Jiao went to the Zhen Guogong Mansion the next day to find some new friends.
It was on this day that Mrs. Chengen Hou Shizi rushed to Chang'an City with her two children.
When the motorcade entered the side gate of the Zhenguo Palace, Hai Jiao was holding the horse, and Zhou Yijun, the eldest son of General Zhou, stood not far away and watched.
It didn't take long for him to find out one of the reasons for Mrs. Cheng'enhou's visit.
Du Qi, Du Boqin's only son, cried and knelt down in front of Duke Zhen, confessed his father's crime of conspiring with the Sun family, and asked Duke Zhen to stop his father from making a big mistake.
(End of chapter)
