"Oh, I was just patronizing Wu Lang, but I forgot about this!"
Gao raised his forehead with his hands and said hurriedly: "It is better to choose a day than to hit it. The matter has reached this point. If we don't solve it quickly, I'm afraid the night will be long and full of dreams.
Just ask her to come in and I'll give her clear instructions so she can do her thing! "Chunfang agreed and came out, beckoning the woman in.
Mrs. Lao was standing in the corridor with her back sore. When she saw this, she gritted her teeth and walked into the house to greet Mr. Gao first. Mrs. Gao felt much more comfortable. Looking at her appearance, she knew she had been standing for a long time and felt very sorry.
He asked someone to move Jin Dun over so that she could sit down and talk, and ordered: "You probably heard it just now. When something happened, the eldest sister of the Chen family hid in my house in a panic. Now she has been sent back.
Oh, I didn't ask her to go back. She thought about it all night and came to tell me in person this morning.
well! I would say that she is a good and sensible child, but it is a pity that this matter in her family has nothing to do with my Li family.
That's why I called you over. Don't worry, Sister Hui will definitely have an argument with her family when she goes back. Her family won't blame you if you break off the engagement.
Originally, her family hurriedly sent Sister Hui over to marry my Wulang, and they even brought a dowry.
Our uncle became suspicious and sent someone out to inquire. Only then did he learn about the circumstances of the Chen family’s crime. Although Mrs. Chen's wife loves her daughter very much, she made a mistake. How could she do things like this?
No matter what happens, my family will never ruin their son's future just because they are greedy for this little gift, right?
well! To put it bluntly, this is a big event that shakes the world. Even though Mr. Chen and my deceased husband were of the same age and from the same hometown, we couldn’t afford it!
You need to make this clear to her family when you go.
As for those dowries…. "Ms. Gao nodded towards Chunfang, watched her go into the back room, and soon took out a baggage.
Mrs. Gao pointed and said: "We can't return the food and clothing, so we have to pay two hundred taels of silver.
I asked the housekeeper to ask someone to estimate the jewelry, gold, silver, and utensils, and the price was reduced by 1,000 taels, making a total of 1,200 taels.
They all exchanged them for small-value banknotes of five taels, ten taels, and twenty taels, so that they could manage and use them on the road.
The contract between the land and the shop remains intact. If the Chen family also wants to exchange it for a banknote, I can help and ask them to come up with an amount. "
As she said that, Chunfang put the baggage in Mrs. Lao's hand and put a five-tael small silver ingot on it. "This is your reward. Grandma rewarded it. Keep it."
"This..." Matchmaker Lao looked at Mr. Gao hesitantly.
"Take it. Maybe she has something else she wants you to bring to her family. If we can't come forward, we'll have to trouble you a few times.
You also need money to do some business. This matter is settled, I will give you another five taels! " Gao said.
"Oh, then, then I thank Second Grandma!" Mrs. Lao was overjoyed and quickly clasped her hands and bowed to thank her.
However, Mrs. Gao looked unbearable, waved her hand and shouted: "Chunfang, you give it to Lao's family. Do it well and make sure her family writes a divorce document and asks for the Li family's bride price!"
Mrs. Lao was promised benefits and felt much at peace. Thinking about it, for the sake of money, I risked my life and went to take this trip for the second mistress of the Li family!
So Chunfang sent her out and found Ma Jiu in the side yard and asked him to drive him to the Chen Mansion.
At this time, a young government servant holding a fire stick stood in front of the Chen family. Seeing the mule cart stop, he smiled and asked, "Uncle Ma Jiu, your family is very busy today! First, I sent the eldest lady of the Chen family back to the house, and now I have to send her off again." who?"
Mrs. Lao opened the sedan curtain and grinned, making the yamen servant take a step back: "From the Lao family? What are you doing here? Could it be that you came to propose marriage at this time?"
"It's not about proposing marriage, it's about breaking off the engagement!" Ma Jiu replied expressionlessly.
"Breaking off the engagement?" The yamen servant curled his lips in disdain: "Kui Dao sent the eldest lady of the Chen family back. It turns out he dislikes her family!"
"You know nothing! You are talking nonsense, be careful when your father is looking for a bride, I will find you a loudmouthed bitch!" Mrs. Lao glared at the boy, raised her legs and walked inside.
"Hey, who is this that speaks so harshly?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Xiong held the handle of the knife with his left hand, and with his right hand behind his back, he emerged from the shadow of the coupon door and looked down at Mrs. Lao, making the matchmaker shrink back in fright.
"Oh, you surprised me. It's Mr. Wei who is on duty?" Mrs. Lao immediately put on a smile.
Wei Xiong is different from these government servants. He is a formal official of the county government, equivalent to a "civil servant" in later generations, while the twenty or so people under him are actually helpers, that is, "temporary workers."
The county government office has a limited establishment. Under the county magistrate are the chief registrar, the secretaries of each room, Zhao Mo, the head of the execution room, and the patrol inspector. The lowest one is the code official like Wei Xiong. What should we do if we don’t have enough manpower to do the job?
The yamen can set aside a small amount from the taxes collected to support some "servants". The number of servants depends on what the local area can bear. Those with more money can use more people, and those with less money can use fewer people.
According to the system of this dynasty, the servants in the county were allocated to the Baojia below, and each family took turns sending strong men to serve in the county. Everyone was not happy because sending strong men to serve as corvees would affect farm work and production.
So the county magistrate was considerate of everyone and charged each family an extra two dollars a year, so that you don't have to send people out, and the county hires people to serve on your behalf. This is the role of helper!
The people felt that their homes would not be hindered and the losses could be tolerated, and the county could also resettle idle workers and stabilize public order, killing two birds with one stone!
Therefore, an ordinary official like Wei Xiong, with his "established" status, can also command a dozen or twenty helpers, and he can pretend to be powerful or not.
In the eyes of ordinary people, this kind of person is a brat, but he can't afford to offend him, so Mrs. Lao accompanied her when she saw him. She told him that it was the second mistress of the Li family who sent her to break off the engagement, and she quietly let him go. I gave him two loads of loose silver for his convenience.
When Wei Xiong heard that it was the Li family's envoy who had summoned her, he raised his eyebrows, coughed loudly and warned her: "Don't be nagging, get to work quickly, and don't cause trouble for me!" After that, he waved her hand to let her in.
Ma Jiu didn't say a word when he saw it. He gathered the mule cart from a distance, knelt down and took out the fire sickle to smoke the tobacco.
Wei Xiong was from the yamen. He had known that this old man had retired from the army and was not easy to mess with, so he just ignored him.
Unexpectedly, before the pot of cigarettes was finished, there was a horse's hoof at the entrance of the alley.
At the head was Zhou Dutou, who led two servants to clear the way. The two behind them were wearing crimson flying fish uniforms and leather belts wrapped around their waists. Below them were the captains in brocade clothes on horseback, with pleats spread across the black ground.
"Hey, this is Mr. Tiqi!" Ma Jiu cooed, and then he saw a blue woolen sedan turning around from behind, and Mr. Fan, the county honorary, also came.
Wei Xiong hurriedly ran out and greeted him at the door.
The two captains jumped off their horses and came to the door. The older one stroked his beard and looked up at the plaque "Tixuefu". He frowned and asked, "This is it? Mr. Chen is an official in Jiangnan after all. Why is his family like this?" Shabby?"
"My lord, it is indeed true here. Chen Shi'an's parents died early, and it was his in-laws who sent him to study and take the imperial examination. Now the family only has one wife, one concubine, and two daughters, and no sons."
Magistrate Fan was a little fat, but he still tried his best to hold up the front of his official robe and trotted after him from the sedan chair to answer the captain's question.
"Ah? It's not written in the document. Where did the concubine come from?" The captain was also a little confused.
"Oh, that was the dowry that his wife brought with her when she got married. Chen Shi'an took over the house when he returned to his hometown to visit relatives at the end of last year.
However, at that time, only about ten people including the official were invited to be witnesses, so many people did not know about it.
It seems that when he returned to Nanjing to take up his post, something happened before he could report it to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, so the document only listed his wife Chen Wei and not his concubine Chen Song. "
Magistrate Fan explained while wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Oh, that's it." The captain pondered for a while.
At this time, the younger man looked at Ma Jiu next to him warily: "Hey, who are you? Didn't you say that you have to keep a close eye on the door? Why are there visitors to his house?" He turned his face and asked Magistrate Fan.
"Uh, this...?" Magistrate Fan immediately glared at Zhou Dutou.
Wei Xiong and Zhou Dutou whispered, and Zhou Dutou immediately understood and hurriedly stepped forward to bow and said: "Sir, this is the Li family's car.
The second master of the Li family was the magistrate of Dongchang, Shandong Province during his lifetime. After he died in the line of duty, the late emperor gave him a coffin with a posthumous title and an imperial inscription, and sent him back to his place of origin for burial.
The eldest sister of the Chen family and the legitimate son of the Li family were engaged in marriage when Duke Li Wencheng was still alive. Everyone in the local area knew this.
But now that the Chen family is guilty, the Li family is unwilling to continue this marriage, so Wenchenggong's widow sent a matchmaker to negotiate the divorce documents inside. "
The two lieutenants looked at each other, and since they mentioned that the late emperor's decree and burial had been carried out in his house, they couldn't say anything.
But the young man muttered: "What's adding insult to injury?" Everyone remained silent and pretended not to hear.
The young man seemed to be dissatisfied, waving his hand and saying: "Then don't let him squat at the door, what are you talking about!"
Zhou Du leaned over and said softly: "Two adults, please calm down. If it were someone else, we would have driven away long ago. It's just that this one is different, so the young ones are usually more polite."
"Huh? What's the difference?"
"Master Ma Jiu is now being taken into custody by the Li Mansion. Although he only works as a coachman, he was originally the instructor of the Jinshan Guards in South Zhili. Many guerrillas and generals in the south have a master-disciple relationship with him.
However, he himself was injured when suppressing the Japanese rebellion during the Renxuan period, and was rewarded for his meritorious service. He also had the title of Zhongyong Colonel... "
"Hiss...!" The young man couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Ma Jiu a few more times.
The older man raised his eyebrows, nodded and said, "In that case, go and talk to him and ask him to wait in the shade under the screen wall.
If you still like this place at the door, just wait until we finish our work and come back. After saying this, he greeted the young man: "Xiao Zhao, let's go in." "
Ma Jiu had actually heard them talking. He knocked the pot under his eyes, got up, led the animals, and walked towards the screen wall without saying a word.
Captain Zhao smiled and said to the older man: "Uncle Lu, this guy has no airs and is easy to get along with."
Lieutenant Lu smiled and shook his head as he walked inside: "Xiao Zhao, you don't understand. A person who survives like this in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood is not afraid of anything, and he doesn't want to cause any trouble.
A day to live is a day to earn! You'll understand once you see blood on the knife. "
"I've been busy doing these shabby things all day long, how could I have the chance to see blood? If I were to go to the battlefield, I would have to earn a hereditary general back!"
Colonel Zhao pouted and followed behind Colonel Lu and said unconvinced.
Weishi has already heard the news that Tiqi came to the door. When she saw her eldest daughter being sent back today, she knew that the Li family was going to leave. As expected, Granny Lao came.
However, when Mrs. Lao later took out those banknotes and explained that the second wife of the Li family had specially exchanged them for some with smaller denominations for easy use, she felt that they were not too ruthless.
The two daughters next to her tried to persuade her, and she softened her heart and signed the divorce document. As a result, Tiqi arrived just as Mrs. Lao put away the documents.
The whole room was filled with panic, but Mrs. Wei stood up and put the house deeds and land deeds into her bag. She also asked her daughter to bring all the deeds hidden in the cabinet in her room and give them to Mrs. Lao.
"From the Lao family, I have to trouble you to go and bring these to the second grandma of the Li family and ask her to sell them for us. With the money we get, we will deduct the betrothal gift from the Li family and exchange the rest for me for a few large denominations. Just vote.
If you don't have time to hand it over to me, please keep it under Wulang's name first. Whether you take it out to earn interest or run it, I have nothing to say. "
"Oh, it's really not easy for grandma. It's such a pity that your two families have such a fate!"
Mrs. Lao didn't want to get involved anymore, but later she felt that there was money to be made, so why did she push it out? So he quickly took it and held it tightly in his arms.
"Hey, who are you? Matchmaker? Go out, go out, are there any other people who are not from this family? If so, leave immediately!"
Colonel Zhao scolded loudly, and then he and Captain Lu stood still in the courtyard and shouted: "Where is Chen Wei? Please come out and wait for the release of the documents from the Southern Zhili Ministry of Punishment!"
Mrs. Lao ran away with her baggage in her arms. When she came out, she quickly found Ma Jiu's mule cart and kept urging: "Go, go, go back to the house to see the second grandma, hurry up!"
Mr. Gao was greatly surprised when he saw that she had come back and that there were more letters and deeds in her bag than not less. After asking, I found out that Tiqi had already entered the Chen family's door.
"Oh, it turns out that Madam Chen's intention is this. Is this, is she trusting her family's entire family fortune?"
Just as he was talking, Li Shuo came in to greet his mother. Seeing Mrs. Lao also there, he hurriedly asked about the situation of the Chen family. Hearing that Tiqi had arrived, he couldn't help but slumped down in his chair.
Mrs. Gao couldn't bear it, so she told him about the Chen family's real estate entrustment.
Li Shuo took a while and said: "My family is sorry for the Chen family, but they can still trust each other. It really makes me ashamed! How does mother plan for this?"
"This..." Mrs. Gao looked at Mrs. Lao and said to her son: "I want you to know that there are a total of 240 or 50 acres of land here, as well as four shops and a mill.
What I mean is that Tiqi is in this county now, and it would be easy to attract attention if it is dealt with. It's better to wait and see. After the Tiqi masters leave, it won't be too late to decide how to deal with it. "
"Just follow mother." Li Shuo raised his head and said, "If it still can't be dealt with after one month, I will send it to the son's name as the Chen family said. When they return from release, the son will be returned to the Chen family!"
Gao was originally the daughter of a small landlord and was a little greedy, but she had only read a few books.
Thinking about it, these things are only two or three thousand taels of silver at most. There is not much meaning in it. It is better to let the son be a good person in front of the laboring matchmaker.
Then he agreed and said, "Okay, let's do it like this." Then he rewarded Mrs. Lao and asked her to take the time to go to Chen's house and give her a reply.
The next day, news came from the county government. It turned out that the Nanjing Criminal Department in Yingtian had sentenced Chen Shi'an's family to be exiled to Guiyang, Guangxi, and had sealed the family property and confiscated it.
The mother-in-law of the Chen family, Wei Shi, and her two daughters were taken to the county government for detention. After waiting for the approval of the emperor of the capital, they set off for Nanchang, where they met up with the team escorting Chen Shi'an and headed south together.
As for the servants at home, they will be dismissed, and the slaves will be sold separately, etc.
"Hey, Old Zhou, why is Aunt Song not mentioned here?" Li Dan invited Zhou Dutou to have tea in the tea shop next to Mr. Chu's sauce shop. After hearing the news, he noticed the difference.
