"I went to Jizhu Lane." Li Danzhao answered directly.
"Third brother, this is no joke."
Li Yan glanced at his eldest brother as he spoke, and seeing that he was stroking his beard without expressing any emotion, he continued: "The Chen family has offended the emperor, and the whole family will be punished. Be careful of being seen, it will not be easy to harm the whole family!"
"Don't worry, Third Uncle, I won't have to worry about it." As soon as Li Dan finished speaking, he heard a sound at the door and hurriedly got up and went to open the door. Just then, Mrs. Gao walked to the door with the support of Li Shuo.
"You, you, did you really go to Jizhu Alley?" Gao apparently heard it from outside the door. He was tapping his fingers anxiously: "You hozen, what can I say to you?"
After hearing this, Li Yan hurriedly leaned over and said, "Second sister-in-law, whisper, come in and say something!"
Mrs. Gao waved the little girl who was following her to leave, came in and sat down on Li Su's right side. Li Shuo hung up the lantern and came in. He closed the door and sat down across from his brother. He asked Li Dan eagerly: "Has the third brother seen Auntie Chen? What's the situation over there now?"
"I went in from the back alley, and there seemed to be guards guarding the front yard. But I saw Zhou Dutou." Li Dan told him what Zhou Dutou taught him, and the room suddenly fell silent.
"This, do you think this is what the county official meant?" asked Mr. Gao.
"That's what Zhou Dutou said." Li Dan replied dryly, then turned to look at Li Shuo and saw that his eyes were full of reluctance.
"The county magistrate is thinking of the Li family!" Li Su suddenly said: "Brothers and sisters, I think this engagement must be dealt with quickly. If you drag it on, my Li family..."
"But, his uncle, it would be too much to break off the engagement now... This, how will Shuoer see anyone in the future?" Mrs. Gao spread his hands in embarrassment.
"Second sister-in-law, there is nothing we can do about it!" Li Yan looked at his brother and advised Gao: "If we don't break off the engagement, as the county official said, it's hard to say whether Xiao Wu's reputation can be preserved.
Nowadays, except for the eldest brother, who is a scholar in our family, there is only one scholar. Can you bear to see him throw away his future for a woman? "
Mrs. Gao bit her lip and looked at her son: "Wu Lang, tell yourself, what do you think?"
"Hey, why are you asking this kid?" Li Su said, slapping the chair's deputy's hand heavily.
Originally, Li Shuo was so nervous that he couldn't breathe after hearing his mother's questions. But when his uncle said this, the young man became a little angry.
He is two years younger than Chen Hui'er, but he has also been fooling around since childhood. Now that he heard the adults discussing asking him to break off the engagement, he immediately said angrily: "If you ask me, I don't agree!
How can anyone dislike the poor and love the rich so much? What a great idea to add insult to injury when someone gets into trouble! "
Li Dan blinked in surprise, tilted his head and stared at his brother appreciatively for a moment.
Li Su over there was already roaring: "You bastard, do you dare to criticize Sang and Huai, and have no elders? You have a great reputation? I was a Beijing official back then!"
"Brother, calm down, why are you arguing with the younger generation?" Li Yan hurriedly tried to persuade him, and then said to Li Shuo: "Wu Lang must not be rude! Why are you talking to your uncle?
If you don't want to, just say you don't want to. What are you doing with all this useless gossip? "
Li Dan, who was standing next to him, cheered in his heart, but tried not to laugh on his face.
It turned out that Li Su was a minister of rites, and when he was in office, he was exposed for asking for bribes when he received high-ranking officials from Liangzhou who came to Beijing to pay tribute. Therefore, he lost his official position and returned to his hometown. Therefore, he was afraid that someone would take advantage of his virtue and would jump up every time he was stepped on. .
Especially tonight, I was stabbed in a sore spot by my nephew, how could I not be furious!
"Anyway, if I don't agree, I can't speak!"
Li Shuo didn't expect that after talking for a long time, he would focus on asking him to break off the engagement. He stood up in shame and anger and said, "Whoever agrees with this idea will do it. Don't ask me to get involved!"
After saying that, he saluted Mrs. Gao: "Mother, the child is tired and needs to rest first. Excuse me first!" After saying this, his face turned red, and without waiting for Mrs. Gao to speak, he lowered his head and pushed the door open.
When Li Dan saw it, he waved his hand quickly: "Mom, don't worry, I'll go and persuade the fifth brother." After that, he quickly ran away.
"These two kids really don't make anyone worry!" Mrs. Gao was so anxious that she slapped the coffee table. The little girl outside the door looked around, but she didn't dare to come in, so she had to close the door and wait in the corridor.
"The child is ignorant and we cannot let him have his way. It's enough for the family to have a third brother who is misbehaving, but we can't bring up another one!" Li Yan said quietly, stroking the short stubble on his chin.
"That's right!" Mr. Li sighed and said, "My Lord Fan has good intentions, but Xiao Wulang is ignorant, so why should we follow suit? Wouldn't it make the County Lord feel cold?"
"County Lord, County Lord, doesn't he also do it for the sake of money?" Mrs. Gao muttered.
"What I'm saying is, if it weren't for the name of my Li family, such a major case that angered the emperor, do you think that having money would be worthy of the attention of the county magistrate? What a woman!" Li Su tossed his sleeves and looked at his brother. One glance.
"That's right, Second Sister-in-law. For such a big matter, it's worth two hundred taels for Mr. Fan County to direct it to Kenjie."
At least if Wu Lang's reputation is preserved, then he can step up to the level of being a scholar and a scholar.
When there is a flat question in front of you saying "Jinshi passed", two hundred taels are nothing! So don't worry about the money, it's better to talk about whether to break off the engagement and how to handle it. "
Li Yan looked at his brother's eyes and quickly answered and tried to persuade him. Mrs. Gao agreed to the money, but before the money was sent, Magistrate Fan had already taken the initiative to express his goodwill.
It seemed that one hundred taels was enough, and the rest would naturally be divided between himself and his eldest brother. Li Yan felt happy just thinking about it.
"In this case, since Mr. Fan County is willing to exonerate my Li family, that's the best thing. I think we should break off the engagement as soon as possible, even if we give more to the Chen family.
But Mr. Fan reminded me that we should do something for both the government school and the county school. Don't feel bad, brothers and sisters, this is all for the sake of the child's future, right? "
Li Su said, using his eyes to stop Li Yan who was anxious to speak, and nodded to Mr. Gao with a smile.
"Then, what does uncle mean...? Is another three hundred taels enough?" Gao said through clenched teeth, stroking his palms and said: "Amitabha, if you want more, I won't be able to take it out for a while, so how about this?"
"Well, I think it's pretty much the same, so let's do it. I'll leave for Nanchang tomorrow. It's up to my third brother to handle the county and Raozhou Prefecture. As for breaking off the engagement, you can handle it, brother and sister.
My opinion is not to give cash. You gave me cash and it was confiscated as your property.
After we and Fan Taizun have settled the matter, the banknotes you have cashed for the Chen family should preferably be in smaller denominations so they are easy to carry and available at any time.
In this way, we can live up to the Chen family. No matter what, they really have to be exiled for three to five years, and they have to spend money outside! Brother and sister, don’t you think so? "
His words made Mr. Gao nod his head repeatedly, and said that he was thoughtful, but he never thought that the two brothers would not need so much for actual management, and the rest was put into their own pockets! "Hey, what else can I do about this matter? It's just a waste of money to eliminate the disaster! I still have to deal with the matchmaker, and I can't accept the gift money. She will just ignore it after it's over!
First ask her to go to the Chen family to talk, and then find a small sedan chair to quietly send the Chen family girl back. If something happened to her family, she would hide at Li's house. What's going on?
She's not a serious married woman. Isn't this harming my fifth son?
Third uncle, you have to make it clear to the county magistrate. We draw a clear line. The crimes committed by the Chen family have nothing to do with us...! "Ms. Gao rambled on, and the more he talked, the more he felt that he was making sense.
"Fifth brother, wait for me!" Li Dan caught up with Li Shuo: "Hey, this is the first time I've seen you speak so forcefully. That's right. Why are you looking downcast?"
Li Dan always felt that this younger brother was too soft in front of his mother, but now it was a bit unbelievable to hear that he dared to say no to her face.
"Brother, please stop praising me. I feel very uncomfortable!" Li Shuo replied with a pout.
"how?"
Li Shuo looked back and said softly: "You don't know yet? They asked me about my feelings just because I already have fame and are just being polite. How can they really take my feelings into consideration?"
"You mean...?"
"In the end, they will go to Chen's house to break off the engagement."
Li Shuo smiled bitterly: "These people, they are thinking about the reputation of the Li family and the future of the second and fourth brothers. They can't really take me to heart!"
"That's not necessarily the case. Second brother and fourth brother have to consider it. They will definitely not want to lose your talent!"
Li Dan sneered: "It's true that you said they care about the Li family. But then again, it's right for the uncle to sit in that seat and think about the whole family."
"Third brother, what do you mean? After all this, they are right?" Li Shuo waved his hand.
"They sacrificed the Chen family for the Li family. They were just adding insult to injury as I just said. What's wrong with that? If you are really benevolent and righteous, you should think of other ways."
Li Dan sighed: "It's a pity that the two of us have nothing to say about this home. It only adds to the troubles here. What can I do?"
Why don't you go quietly and talk to Sister Hui and untie her? Maybe her mother will send her back tomorrow. She must be on pins and needles now. "
"That's fine." Li Shuo looked back again: "Now that my mother is talking to my uncle and my third uncle, I'll go over quickly. When she comes back, I'll stare at her tightly, so I won't have a chance."
After saying this, he thanked Li Dan again, and then walked back in three steps and two steps at a time.
He and Chen Hui are engaged, so it is not advisable to meet. But now that things are urgent, there is no need to worry about etiquette.
When Li Dan saw him leaving, he recalled that Meng'er must have been tossing and turning at this moment and had trouble falling asleep, and he was also very troubled that he was unable to help.
And Zhou Dutou said that he was afraid that the whole family would be sentenced to exile. Thinking about the thousands of mountains and rivers we have traveled and not knowing when we will see each other again, emotions welled up in my heart, and I couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
I have been in this era for fifteen years, but it is still difficult to understand this kind of implicating family members.
It doesn't matter if he is really guilty, he is obviously just involved.
Alas, this emperor doesn’t know what he thinks?
He was wandering in a depressed mood, and when he raised his head, he was already in front of his yard.
The little girl Zhen'er in her aunt's room was looking outside the door. When she saw him, she clapped her hands in surprise and shouted: "Third brother is back!"
Then he ran over and pulled him: "Third brother is back, my aunt is so anxious!"
"Are you anxious, Auntie?" Li Dan looked at the sky. He had come back later than this time in the past, but he never seemed to be in a hurry.
"Third brother, I don't know. In the evening, my aunt called my aunt and cursed her again." Zhen'er pouted and told him aggrievedly.
"For what?"
"Isn't it because you always run out? My aunt said that the emperor sent troops to arrest people, and asked my aunt to keep an eye on you and not go outside!"
"That's why?" Li Dan said, "How can she watch me...?" He swallowed his words halfway and saw Xiao Qian standing at the door staring at him.
Aunt Qian entered the family at the age of fourteen and has just turned twenty-four this year.
Li Dan felt like a mother and sister in front of her, and he was most afraid that she would be wronged and offended.
So when he saw her, he was like a mouse meeting a cat. He suddenly shrunk by three points and said with a smile: "Blessed aunt, why are you standing at the door so late? Be careful of catching a cold."
Then he winked at Zhen'er and taught her to help Xiao Qian go in.
"You also know it's late? But you just don't care about your family, right?" Xiao Qian said with tears welling up in his eyes.
She is the third child in the family, with a brother and a sister above her.
Normally, her father was very fond of her. Unexpectedly, after marrying her brother-in-law, her husband-in-law died first, and then he went through all kinds of hardships to raise Li Sanlang.
The eldest lady always showed off her main wife's style, scolding her every now and then to show off her face, not to mention how much grievances she felt in her heart.
She usually held her own in front of people, but when she saw Third Brother, she couldn't help but burst into tears to vent her anger.
"Hey, don't cry! My aunt said something inside, don't cry, don't cry!" Li Dan hurriedly helped Xiao Qian into the room and sat down, while he stood beside her politely.
"Don't stand, you, you kneel down!"
Li Dan was stunned by Xiao Qian's scolding, but he immediately knelt down obediently. Zhen'er reached out to take the cushion on a chair and put it under his knees, but Aunt Qian reached out to block it.
"Auntie...!" Zhen'er didn't dare to say anything after seeing her expression.
"What do I tell you on weekdays?" Xiao Qian's face was filled with anger.
"Auntie, it was my fifth brother who begged me to go to Ji Zhu Lane. You know that little bookworm of his can't even climb a tree..."
Li Dan thought it was his sneaking into Chen's house that made her unhappy, so he quickly defended himself.
"That's not what I'm talking about!" Xiao Qian interrupted him angrily: "I told you not to show off and not to cause trouble outside. How can you do it? You dare to beat the third brother of the Zhao family?"
"Oh, so that's why?" Li Dan laughed: "Auntie, don't let others add insult to injury!
The man surnamed Zhao smashed up the shop and hurt people, so I got angry and taught him a lesson. Are you filing a complaint so soon? It seems that this kid is quite nimble with his legs and feet! "
"Shut up!" Xiao Qian slapped the table: "Something happened to the Chen family. You go to visit her. Her family is the same age as your father. The place of justice. Did I stop you?
But Zhao Sanlang's matter is different. His family is a real noble family. What are you going to do to provoke him?
Especially during this time of year! It was wrong for him to go to Tianxiang Tower during his country's mourning. Is it right for you to fight in Tianxiang Tower?
At best, you are trying to stand up for others, but at worst, you are suspected of being a philanderer. Why don't you use your brain to think more deeply? "
"Oh!" Li Dan gasped and quickly kowtowed: "My child just wanted to vent his anger. I really didn't expect this joint to worry my aunt. It's my fault!"
"Sanlang, you are already fifteen years old now. You can't always just rush forward in everything. You have to think about the consequences two or three steps more.
Now that you know your own shortcomings, you need to actually correct them. You can't ask others to hold you accountable every time you make a mistake. Wouldn't that really make you a vulgar martial artist? "
Xiao Qian said and shed tears: "My aunt was called by my aunt to scold her for her poor upbringing. It's just for the sake of appearance. But if the whole family despises and neglects you because of this, there will be endless troubles! You, you should change it!" "
Li Dan was speechless, and Nuonuo could only apologize repeatedly. He knew what Xiao Qian meant. His aunt had already told him that he was already fifteen and it was time to start his own business.
In fact, the so-called "independent family" is to take this opportunity to liquidate the family's assets and drive Li Dan and her son out to live alone.
The eldest lady has always suspected that Xiao Qian kept part of her husband's inheritance that she brought back. In addition, she was jealous of the dowry she brought and wanted to plunder it.
Xiao Qian was wary of her ambitions and didn't want her to find reasons or excuses, so she warned Li Dan, "Don't give others a thumbs up."
