As soon as Kong Shangtan got off the sedan, the housekeeper of the Yan Mansion immediately came up to him, leaned down and made a gesture of invitation.
"Mr. Yansheng, Mr. Yan Ge and Mr. Xiaoge have been waiting for you inside for a long time. Please come this way!"
"Um."
Kong Shangtan heard the words and responded in a subtle way. Then, under the guidance of the butler, Kong Shangtan stepped into the Yan Mansion.
Entering Yan's Mansion, you first need to pass through a long corridor. The road is paved with neat stone slabs. Not only that, there are also many unnamed green plants planted on both sides of the road. It is full of green and refreshing.
Later, when the two of them walked to the entrance of the hall where Yan Mansion was used to entertain guests, they saw the housekeeper suddenly stop, lowered his head, and reported respectfully.
"Mr. Yange, Mr. Xiaoge, Mr. Yan Shenggong is here!"
After the butler finished speaking, Yan Shifan stepped out. At this moment, his face was filled with a warm smile.
"Well, I understand, go down!"
"Yes, Mr. Xiaoge!"
Upon hearing this, the housekeeper bowed to Yan Shifan and then turned around and left.
"Is this Yan Shifan, known as the elder of the small pavilion?"
Kong Shangtan thought so after looking Yan Shifan up and down.
At this moment, Yan Shifan seemed to notice Kong Shangtan's gaze, saw a smile on his face, and then spoke.
"Mr. Yansheng, please!"
"Well, thank you!"
Although he didn't like Yan Song and Yan Shifan in his heart, Kong Shangtan finally convinced himself and followed Yan Shifan into the hall.
At this moment, a variety of delicacies were placed on the table in the hall, exuding an alluring aroma, and there were several maids standing next to them.
At this time, Yan Song, who had all white hair and beard, was sitting on the main seat, looking very old. His eyes seemed to be closed, as if he was dozing off.
When Kong Shangtan saw this situation, a look of shock flashed across his face.
"Hey, could this be Yan Song, the current chief minister of the cabinet? He is obviously a bad old man who is on his deathbed!"
"Is it really okay for Your Majesty to ask him to be the chief minister of the cabinet?"
Yan Shifan did not notice the expression on Kong Shangtan's face, but followed closely to Yan Song's side, leaned down and whispered.
"Father, Duke Yansheng has arrived!"
"Oh, I see!"
Yan Song, who was still dozing off, after hearing Yan Shifan's reminder, he opened his cloudy eyes with great difficulty and looked in the direction of Kong Shangtan.
Then, Yan Song, with the support of Yan Shifan, stood up from the seat tremblingly and said slowly.
"You are Kong Shangxian's younger brother, Kong Shangtan. I have heard of it before..."
Then, as if Yan Song suddenly remembered something, a belated expression appeared on his face, and he abruptly stopped the topic. After thinking about it for a long time, he continued.
"Alas, this man is getting old and his memory has deteriorated. Let's get back to the topic. Duke Yan, the purpose of inviting you here today is to explain the matter clearly in person. Sit down!"
When Yan Song said this, he stretched out his skinny hand, pointed to the seat beside him, and turned to speak.
Kong Shangtan's pupils suddenly shrank when he heard Yan Song's words. He never expected that Yan Song would mention this matter in front of him without hesitation.
"Hmph, I want to see what kind of medicine you are selling in Yan Song's gourd!"
Kong Shangtan thought so and couldn't help but clenched his fists secretly. After that, he didn't hesitate and sat down on the seat that Yan Song pointed to just now.
Seeing this, Yan Song nodded slightly. Immediately, Yan Song sat back on the main seat, while Yan Shifan picked up the wine bottle on the table and filled everyone with a glass of wine.
Just when Kong Shangtan thought that Yan Song was going to explain the matter of shutting out his brother, the former Yanshenggong Kong Shangxian, not long ago, Yan Song's tired voice sounded in his ears.
"Presumably before this, Duke Yan Sheng had already heard about the situation at that time from various channels, right?"
Kong Shangtan heard Yan Song's words and sneered, then responded in a deep voice.
"Well, Mr. Yan Ge is right!"
After getting Kong Shangtan's exact answer, Yan Song nodded and turned to speak.
"I can tell you now clearly that what you have learned about is true, without a trace of falsehood!"
"At that time, I did not let my predecessor, Yan Shenggong Kong Shangxian, enter the gate of my Yan Mansion!"
Kong Shangtan was stunned when he heard Yan Song's words, but soon Kong Shangtan reacted and his face suddenly darkened.
Immediately afterwards, an unknown anger rose up and filled his chest.
"What does this Yan Song mean? Is he calling me here with such a big fanfare just to humiliate me face to face?"
At this moment, Yan Shifan on the side saw that the atmosphere in the room was not good, and immediately stood up and tried to smooth things over with a smile.
"Let's talk about this later. Come on, let's eat the food first. This is..."
Yan Shifan's words did not have the effect he expected. Yan Song glanced at Yan Shifan angrily and said in a deep voice.
"Shut up, it's none of your business!"
When Yan Shifan heard this, he had no choice but to lower his head and retreat to the side angrily.
After that, Yan Song looked directly at Kong Shangtan's eyes mixed with anger, and continued to talk to himself.
"Mr. Yansheng, you must have seen the files related to your Kong family in His Majesty's place, right?"
Yan Song's voice was not loud, but it was like a heavy hammer, hitting Kong Shangtan's heart hard.
When Kong Shangtan heard this, he could no longer care about his anger, because from time to time, the cases he had seen in the files appeared in his mind, and the people who committed those crimes were his own tribe.
Seeing that Kong Shangtan didn't respond, Yan Song raised his eyebrows and continued to add.
"Mr. Yansheng, I believe you should know that many people have been coming to your Qufu Kong family with land deeds and other property, right?"
"Not only that, they also rent your Kong family's land for farming!"
When Kong Shangtan heard Yan Song's words, an ominous premonition suddenly appeared in his heart, and he asked coldly.
"what do you mean?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Song saw the expression on Kong Shangtan's face and immediately spoke.
"Then Duke Yan Sheng might as well guess how much of the land rent your Kong family collects from those people?"
When Yan Song said this, he glanced at Kong Shangtan coldly and said loudly.
"Since Duke Yansheng doesn't know, let me, Yan Song, tell you, 80%!"
"You collect 80% of the land rent from the people who lease the land, and all of this is thanks to Kong Shangxian!"
"Even the most cruel and shameless landlords in the Ming Dynasty did not dare to collect 80% of the land rent. What do you think of the common people?"
Kong Shangtan was suddenly reprimanded, with a look of disbelief on his face.
Although he knew that many people came to seek refuge with the Kong family, he had never paid attention to this aspect.
At this moment, his face was full of shame, and he was about to explain, but was coldly interrupted by Yan Song.
"Old Yan Ge, I..."
However, Yan Song did not give him a chance to explain, but changed the topic and continued to add.
"Do you think these are the only crimes Kong Shangxian committed?"
"No, he, Kong Shangxian, also secretly colluded with the White Lotus Sect, allowing them to harm the people and squeeze out the little wealth they had left. These situations were all personally explained by the families of the "Four Saints and Three Sages"!"
"Let me ask, why would I, Yan Song, let such a ruthless person enter the front door of my house?"
When Yan Song said this, he looked Kong Shangtan up and down and asked rhetorically.
"If it weren't for the fact that Kong Shangxian married my granddaughter, Yan Song, do you think he would be able to live in peace just because of the crimes he has committed?"
At this moment, Kong Shangtan fell into a daze after listening to Yan Song's words.
He originally thought that the Yan family did not want to have anything to do with this matter, so they chose to stand by and watch. Who knew that there was such a big secret behind it.
"Why has no one ever mentioned these things to me?"
After a long time, Kong Shangtan came back to his senses and murmured to himself.
Seeing this situation, Yan Song knew that the fire was coming, and his tone gradually softened: "Shenggong Yan, you have the right to do it. If you are not in your position, you will not seek your own government!"
"Before this, you were not Duke Yansheng, so there is no need to tell you such shady things!"
"However, when the Kong family recommended you to succeed Yan Shenggong, I felt that the Kong family was not hopeless!"
"You are more kind than your brother, so naturally you cannot do things that harm the people. It is perfect for you to inherit Yan Shenggong. I hope you will not make the same mistakes as your brother!"
When Kong Shangtan heard Yan Song's words, a look of confusion suddenly appeared on his face. He lowered his head, looked at his hands, and murmured to himself.
"I...can I really do that?"
"This is natural. As long as you want it, you can definitely do it. Don't forget, you are the contemporary Duke Yan!"
Yan Song took in all the expressions on Kong Shangtan's face, nodded indiscernibly, and affirmed Kong Shangtan.
"Yes, Mr. Yan Ge is right. I am Duke Yansheng now. When I return, I will officially promulgate family rules to restrain the behavior of the clan members!"
With Kong Shangtan thinking this way, his attitude towards Yan Song also took a 180-degree turn.
He originally thought that Yan Song was a despicable person who was immovable when his in-laws were in trouble, but after the current conversation, he discovered that Yan Song also had his own difficulties.
"By the way, Mr. Yan Ge just mentioned that if it weren't for the fact that my brother married his granddaughter, it would have been impossible for them to live in peace with the crimes he committed. Could it be that Mr. Yan Ge was behind it? Mediation?”
The more Kong Shangtan thought about it, the more it seemed possible. After all, Kong Shangxian was still able to live a stable life after being deposed as Duke Yansheng. No one from the government came to look for trouble. I am afraid that only the chief minister of the current cabinet has this ability.
"It turns out that Mr. Yan Ge did so many things behind his back, and I actually..."
Just when Kong Shangtan was about to pick up the wine glass and express his apology to Yan Song, Yan Song stood up from the chair tremblingly, picked up the wine glass on the table, and his tone was quite sincere.
"However, no matter what, I, Yan Song, did something wrong, and this glass of wine is my right to apologize!"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he drank all the wine in the glass without any hesitation.
Seeing this situation, Kong Shangtan was stunned for a moment, then he immediately realized what was going on, and with a look of shame on his face, he turned around and spoke.
"It was my fault, the Kong family, in this matter. Therefore, I should be the one to drink this glass of wine. Mr. Yan Ge, I, the Kong family, am sorry to your Yan family!"
After Kong Shangtan finished speaking, he picked up the wine glass on the table and drank the wine in one gulp.
Yan Shifan, who had been silent for a long time, saw this situation, immediately smiled and stepped forward to smooth things over: "We are all a family, there is no need to be so polite, come, come, eat food!"
After that, several maids waiting on the side immediately came forward and were responsible for pouring wine and serving dishes for everyone.
…
It's late at night, in the Forbidden City and Qianqing Palace.
At this moment, I saw Lu Fang reporting to Jiajing in detail the ins and outs of the whole thing.
"Your Majesty, the whole thing is roughly like this!"
"Um."
After listening to Lu Fang's report, Jiajing nodded slightly. Immediately, an expression of interest appeared on Jiajing's face. He turned his eyes to Lu Fang and said slowly.
"Humph, this Yan Song is really eloquent!"
"Not only did he remove himself cleanly in just a few words, but he also made Duke Yan feel that the Kong family owed him Yan Song a favor!"
Lu Fang on the side heard Jiajing's words, her face was full of respect. After thinking about it for a moment, she turned to sigh.
"Your Majesty, I think the most rare thing among them is that from beginning to end, the words spoken by Mr. Yan Ge are all true, not a single lie!"
"Did Mr. Yan Ge shut out Kong Shangxian? Yes! Did Mr. Yan Ge rush for Kong Shangxian's matter? Of course he did!"
"Mr. Yan Ge did not shy away from the issue of turning away Kong Shangxian who came for help. Instead, he used reasonable reasons to excuse his behavior. Although Mr. Yan Ge is already eighty-one, he is not confused at all. ah!"
After hearing Lu Fang's emotion, Jiajing's expression remained unchanged, he nodded slightly, changed the subject, and asked immediately.
"By the way, Lu Fang, I heard that not long after Kong Shangtan was canonized as the new Yanshenggong by the court, there were many people in the court who wanted to get in touch with each other. Is there such a thing?"
"Your Majesty, this is indeed the case!"
"Soon after Duke Yansheng returned to where he was staying, many officials from the court took the initiative to send invitations and invited him to visit!"
When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she didn't dare to hide anything. She immediately leaned down and responded respectfully.
When Jiajing heard this, a look of interest appeared on his face, and he asked.
"Oh, how did Yan Shenggong respond?"
"Your Majesty, Duke Yansheng declined their invitation due to illness!"
After listening to Lu Fang's report, Jiajing nodded slightly to Lu Fang and ordered in a deep voice.
"Keep a close eye on them. If you have any news, report it to me immediately!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!" (End of Chapter)
