Tongpao Chen invited Craftsman Xu to look at the room, and after explaining the isolation of the meeting hall, he suddenly felt that it was not appropriate, so he made an impromptu decision and asked Craftsman Xu to build a passage from the middle of the house to open up the two studies.
After saying a few things, Craftsman Xu said: "Now that it's settled, please wait a few more days, sir. I'll go back and draw the drawing immediately. Only then can I safely bring my brothers to start the work after I see it is correct."
Tongpao Chen said with a smile: "I can wait. Mr. Xu's hard work came for me in vain!"
"Where, where!" Craftsman Xu bowed hurriedly.
"Shall I take Mr. out of the house?"
"I won't bother you, sir."
"I'm sorry I won't accompany you!" Tongpao Chen walked to the edge of the pavilion, held his fists in his hands, and said goodbye with his eyes.
A dark and strong horse stopped at the government office in Taizhou County. It shook its mane and breathed heavily. When Lu Jishou got off his horse, he walked straight in without saying anything to the Yamen servant.
"Hey, Mr. Lu!" Mei Xian Cheng put down his pen and came out of the study, "Why don't you say hello this time?"
Lu Jishou smiled: "I was about to kill him by surprise."
Meixian Cheng's heart suddenly jumped. "You want to find Magistrate Chen?" he asked cowardly.
"What?" Lu Jishou snorted, "With my support, you are still afraid of him!"
"No, no..." Meixian Cheng's face turned green.
Seeing his appearance, Jishou sighed and said, "Don't you, the county magistrate, want to find out the prisoner and do a great service to get that Chen Tongpao out of Taizhou? Isn't this junior saying that you are a coward like you?" , how long and what date do you have to wait for promotion?"
Meixian Cheng was deeply disturbed by these words, and he became upset for a moment, and his face became a little ugly: "Mr. Lu, it's boring to talk like this. Do you think I want to live a poor life here? Isn't it necessary to do such a thing? Take your time."
Lu Jishou realized that what he said was too serious, so he smiled and said: "Uncle Mei Shi, what you said is true, but the opportunity cannot be missed, and it will never come back, so I am asking you to do me a favor once, and I will be grateful to you in the future." .”
The Prime Minister of Meixian County smiled bitterly: "Listening to what the young master is saying, is it possible that you should ask me to send someone to search Mr. Chen's residence?"
Lu Jishou lowered his head and said nothing.
He sighed: "Sir, don't let the anger in your stomach make you dizzy. You don't need to think about it, why would a subordinate go to arrest the chief? If a large-scale search results in a misunderstanding, why don't you ask me to stay in Taizhou? Disgraced?"
"this……"
"How about this? You go visit him alone first. If you see any clues, we can start to figure it out. If you miss it, it won't arouse suspicion. There will still be a chance in the future. What do you think?"
Lu Jishou regretted that he had not made a good decision, but now he followed the wishes of Mei Xian Cheng. He had no choice but to agree: "Uncle Shi is right. My foolish nephew will go to the Chen Mansion right now."
"Be careful along the way!" He patted Lu Jishou on the shoulder and sent him out. When he came back, he took out a bag of silver and told the Yamen servant: "I will give you ten taels of silver for now. If Mr. Lu wants to see me later, you can tell me I still have things to do, and since he is so tired from traveling, I will use this money as a gift. Also, don’t tell Mr. Chen that he has been to the county government."
Zhuo Lengping was staring closely at the door when he saw Chen Tongpao coming from behind and stood beside him.
"Sir, don't forget, if someone from the Yizheng Lu family comes to visit..."
As soon as Chen Tongpao put his hand on the door latch, he heard Leng Ping's quiet question. "If Mr. Lu wants to come to my house, he will definitely say hello first. It's just someone from the Yamen, so don't panic."
Without waiting for Leng Ping's further persuasion, Chen Tongpao was already calmly bowing to the door.
Her vision was obscured by the shade of the trees, but she recognized the familiar voice immediately.
"Zhixian Chen, why don't you come here..."
As soon as Leng Ping's eyes touched his, he instinctively shrank back, lowered his head, and broke into a cold sweat.
"Who is that?" Lu Jishou, who was visiting, was still looking at Leng Ping blankly.
Chen Tongpao smiled and said, "I'm just a female envoy at home, why are you panicking?" He shouted coldly, "This is Mr. Lu, why don't you come to salute? How unbecoming is it to keep your head down? Get off!"
She shuddered, said "yes" in a panic, and retreated.
Lu Jishou accompanied the robe to the outer study room for a chat. Although he managed some conversation, he was still thinking about Leng Ping and seemed absent-minded. The robe also glanced out the window, which made him upset.
"I have a major human matter to settle recently." My colleague said casually.
Jishou was just trying to find out the news from his words. As soon as he said these words, he was immediately excited: "May I ask what the big deal is?"
The colleague smiled and said: "To be honest, sir, it is my marriage."
Jishou secretly doubted and looked at him with a frown.
"In a few years, I will be over 40 years old. In order to continue my marriage plan, I really can't wait for it. I have started making preparations in recent months. Fortunately, everything is going well. I just need to set an auspicious date for the wedding."
Jishou said a few words uncomfortably: "Congratulations, congratulations!"
After the two came out of the study, Lu Jishou seemed to have lost his soul and was listless along the way. He was afraid that Magistrate Chen would become suspicious, so he lied that he had not slept at noon and was even exhausted and needed a rest. He hastily resigned from his robe and went out without looking back.
As Ji Shou walked towards the Yamen, he thought: I want to catch that bitch, Tongpao Chen can't tell the difference this time; he must be marrying her when he gets married, and wants to clear that bitch's name. ...It’s not that easy!
The more he thought about it, the more nameless anger he felt became stronger. It was only right to simply forget about it and discuss it with the Prime Minister of Mei County first. He then ordered several government officials at the door: "Take me to see Mr. Mei."
Before he finished speaking, the yamen servant came over by himself, with a smile on his face and a bag of snowflake silver.
Jishou also thought that this man understood the truth and didn't say anything, so he took it without any courtesy.
"Mr. Lu, the county magistrate is busy with official business and cannot go to the Yamen to see you off. I entrust you with this small amount of money, which will be used as your travel expenses. Don't refuse, and take care of yourself along the way!"
Lu Jishou wanted to persuade the Prime Minister of Meixian County to mobilize troops to arrest the people, but now he was fooled by him. He could only hold back his sullenness, trembled, and said with a forced smile: "Thank you so much, Uncle Mei Shi." …”
Wen Zhong took the letter from Taizhou into the courtyard of the mansion, knocked on the door of the study, and saw Chu Zi coming out.
"I've been looking for you for a long time. Why are you staying at home today and not going to the dyeing workshop?" Wen Zhong asked with a smile while opening the letter.
Guo Chuzi frowned: "Something happened at home...Brother Wen, come in and talk about it."
When Wen Zhong heard what he said, he understood something in his heart and suppressed his smile.
Guo Chuzi walked to the wooden table by the window and picked up a letter, "The obituary from my hometown. My uncle passed away a few months ago."
"What, you have to go back?"
"No, I just wrote a reply to express my condolences." He shook his head, "I'm just worried that the Hunan people can't handle it well, especially when it comes to land issues. He is young and will be in trouble when the time comes. .”
"Yes, you have a large family, and a child in his twenties who is from Hunan... ugh!" Wen Zhong sighed heavily.
"What do you think of my brother?" Guo Chuzi studied the ink and glanced at him.
"This young man is thoughtful and shrewd, and he is suitable for your profession."
"Shopkeeper Wen always knows people, I hope so." Guo Chuzi sealed the reply, "Let's talk about business, your letter from Magistrate Chen."
Wenzhong was silent for a long time, then handed him the letter.
"Tongpao Chen has been busy recently. He is brewing some conspiracy, and we have to be one step ahead." Wen Zhong stared straight ahead and whispered.
