Suddenly being slandered like this, Du Youlin was stunned for a long time, feeling so humiliated and humiliated that he was so angry that he couldn't breathe.
Lu Fengniang was so angry that she cursed loudly.
"Ignore your money? Eat dog intestines! Jingzhao Du and Fan Yanglu can cheat on your money. My husband is a gentleman who has read the books of sages, and all the officials who have entered the official position are noble officials. How can they cheat on your little money? Two dignified kings and three brothers , can’t you imitate rogues and cheat now?!”
"I transported my belongings to Du's house last night, and they have already been registered. The Du family received the gift list, and the gift car was left here overnight. Today, there are only some rags, earth and rocks left. Everyone has seen it, how dare you deny it?"
Lu Fengniang was so angry that she went crazy and screamed loudly. She had no dignity at all from the Fan Yang Lu family and looked like a shrew in the market.
"You're talking nonsense, nonsense! The New Year is approaching. How many gifts do my family have to prepare every day? Can you bother to check the gifts you sent in the middle of the night? Do you want to use your official power to extort money from my family? Although my husband has been demoted, I ...My great-grandfather also served as Minister Youcheng!"
"What is my identity, Alang? How can I deceive you into being a member of a small family like you?"
"..."
The quarrel had spread, Quan Rui was so anxious that he didn't know what to do, and quickly asked Caiyun to go to the backyard to ask Er Niang to come forward, because in recent days, Quan Fu had always heard that Mr. Go and invite Xue Bai.
Because Du Jin didn't want to see Yang Shenjin at all, she had been hiding in the house today, while Du Jin stayed with her. At this time, the two sisters were also alarmed and did not bother to wash themselves. They walked around the verandah from the east and rushed to the front hall.
When we entered the fourth courtyard, we met Qing Lan holding a lantern and leading Xue Bai from the west verandah. Du Wei quickly lowered her head and avoided him.
Xue Bai held a beautiful wooden box in his hand and said in a calm tone: "It's enough for me to go over there. Can you guys go back to your room?"
"Okay, you arrogant old guy, don't give him a good face." Du Jin pulled Du Wei and left.
Du Wei looked back and smoothed her uncombed hair.
At this time, the quarrel in the front hall became more intense, and everyone else was in a mess, but Xue Bai remained calm.
"If you say you didn't take it, you didn't take it! Are you going to search it again?!"
"Since the Du family's wife refuses to admit it, when this matter comes to the end, all we can do is report it to the official."
"Dong dong dong."
Someone knocked on the screen.
Everyone turned to look, and the person who came was clearly still a young man, but his aura was stronger than that of Du Youlin.
"Yang Zhongcheng, we meet again." Xue Bai said, "Today the Prime Minister's Office gave me two boxes of jade dew dumplings. Do you want to eat them?"
Yang Shenjin didn't show how afraid he was of Li Linfu, he shook his head and said, "No need."
"Then do you want to eat?" Xue Bai walked up to the Yang family steward holding the box.
"This... villain doesn't dare."
Xue Bai said: "You know where the property is, don't you?"
"Alang, I really don't know. After the property was counted over there, it was transported directly to Du's house."
"Then report it to the official and investigate carefully. But Ji Facao of Jingzhao Prefecture is not here for the past two days. Will this case be delayed for a few days? What does Yang Zhongcheng think?"
Yang Shenjin said: "I just said that I never want to embarrass my mother, this matter... that's all."
When Xue Bai arrived, it was just for the sake of the right prime minister to calm everyone down. Yang Shenjin had no intention of reporting to the official or personally breaking up with Du Zhai.
He glared at his steward and scolded: "A little money, noisy, disrespectful of etiquette."
"The villain is in a hurry."
Yang Shenjin cursed a few more times, full of aristocratic etiquette, but did not apologize to Du Zhai, emphasizing that the Yang family did not lack that little money, and left with his hands behind his back.
~~
Lu Fengniang was so angry that she asked Quan Rui to follow him and stare at him, and sneered loudly.
"In case Yang Zhongcheng left something on the road and said that Du Zhai took it."
In short, quarrels between famous families are not much more elegant than ordinary people.
After finally getting the high-ranking Erwang Sanke away, Lu Fengniang turned back to the hall and said to Xue Bai: "As expected, it was his housekeeper who took it?"
"Probably not."
Xue Bai agreed, then turned to Quan Rui and asked, "Manager Quan works hard, why didn't he check the gifts when he received them?"
Quan Rui looked bitter and said anxiously: "New Year's Day is coming soon, and we received a total of thirteen gift orders last night. The gifts from the Yang family were sent at night, and the person who escorted the car last night was not his servant, but A group of rude men just unloaded the truck and left immediately, how could they allow us to count them in front of us?"
Lu Fengniang said: "How could a noble family do something like this? It must be to deceive my family."
"That's right." Quan Rui was extremely worried, "When the old slave saw the formation, he quickly found the gift list and looked at it. It was too thick. I'm afraid I couldn't buy the entire ancestral home. How could I give such a thick New Year gift? ? I immediately reported it to the owner, not daring to touch the pile of items again. I was so worried that I didn’t sleep well all night."
"Where's the gift list?"
"It has been returned to him."
Xue Bai asked Quan Rui about the items on the gift list, and having made up his mind, he asked the servants to retreat, glanced at the three members of the Du family, and finally called on Du Wulang.
"It's not that Yang Shenjin deliberately deceived us. His house was ransacked and his belongings were also begged for. Considering the time, they should have been delivered directly..."
"Then he must know. Even if he doesn't know, how could his oily man in charge not know?!" Lu Fengniang was extremely anxious, "We didn't take his property and let him find out on his own!"
Du Wulang quickly supported her and advised: "Auntie, don't be anxious, you should discuss it with your sisters."
Even he understood that if this kind of thing was caused by the Du family, it would offend others.
"Your sister is crying again." Lu Fengniang looked at Xue Bai and asked, "What do you think we should do?"
"It is impossible for Yang Shenjin to apply for an official position, but it is true that he sees the Du family as weak and thinks that the Du family is easy to bully. The top priority is that my uncle will seek an official position on his own, so don't pay attention to him."
Some people like to take advantage of people's danger to take girls from noble and scholarly families as concubines. If Du Youlin is still a fifth-grade doctor of praise, Yang Shenjin would not dare to mention this matter.
"Yes, what should I do if he throws dirty water on the Du family?"
Xue Bai said: "Those who strengthen themselves will always be strong."
He didn't want to tell Lu Fengniang too much, so he calmly responded with a Mencius quote he cited as his motto.
Accusing Yang Zhao of swallowing property, something that offends people and does no good, Yang Shenjin would do it sooner or later, there was no need for the Du family to get ahead of him.
Lu Fengniang was stunned.
She knew that her husband always valued reputation the most, but how could he bear it when Yang Shenjin went around saying that the Du family was greedy for gifts.
"Lang Jun, the Du family can't let anyone ruin its reputation! You think so, right?"
"Cough cough cough."
Du Youlin coughed violently.
Yang Shenjin holds two or three official positions with real power. In the eyes of casual officials like him, he is actually a very high-ranking official. What will happen if someone who dares to steal Yang Shenjin's family is offended?
"The dark world that steals the name! It's full of smoke and smoke! It's so angry that it kills me!"
After scolding twice, Du Youlin slowly sat down with one hand on the table, closed his eyes and rubbed his head. He must have been so angry that he almost fainted.
Lu Fengniang didn't dare to ask any more questions and stepped forward to greet her. Du Wulang quickly knelt aside to serve.
"It's okay, let me be quiet."
Du Youlin waved them away, covered his forehead with his hands, and glanced away, only to see Xue Bai asking Lu Fengniang to borrow a copper pot again, saying that he wanted to make dishes as a gift for Mrs. Guo Guo.
This is what Zhuzi said: "Those who are self-improved will always be strong." He does not think about repaying the emperor with his talents and learning, but only knows how to get ahead through nepotism.
Thinking again that since Li Linfu curried favor with Concubine Wu Hui and became prime minister, loyal ministers have been deposed and exiled, and the atmosphere has deteriorated day by day. He really felt a headache and felt as if his whole body was weak.
"well……"
~~
That night, the lights in the back yard of Du's house stayed on until late at night.
Suddenly there was a "sizzling" sound in the kitchen, white smoke rose, and a burst of aroma filled the air.
"It smells so good, is this the feeling you're talking about?!"
Du Wulang, who was already tired, suddenly became excited.
Several maids living in the back yard also opened the door and came out, chattering.
"Did the water leak? What was burned? It smells so good."
Later, the Du sisters were also alarmed and went to the backyard to see what happened.
But they saw everyone gathered around the kitchen. Xue Bai and Qing Lan were holding a plate of dishes and smelling it. Du Wulang took a pair of chopsticks and picked out piece after piece from the plate, feeding them one after another to the maids who stretched their necks. .
"How about it?"
"tasty!"
"too delicious!"
"..."
After Du Jin tasted it, he had a long aftertaste and said, "It tastes very good, but it has a slight odor."
She has never eaten cheap meat, so she can't really describe it.
"Well, this pork has a strong smell, and the oil in which it is cooked has a bit of a smell." Xue Bai had been studying it for a long time and came to the conclusion, "It should be that the pigs need to be castrated before being raised."
"Where can I find castrated pigs?" Du Wulang said: "This time I soaked them in ginger and they are already delicious. My second sister is a picky eater."
"Is there any rice wine?"
"Of course, I have buried several jars of Fangxian rice wine in the yard. I'll dig it up!"
Du Wulang was overwhelmed by greed and the sense of accomplishment of making delicious food, and ran away.
Xue Bai said to the Du sisters: "I will buy some materials and try them twice tomorrow morning. In the afternoon, Yang Zhao will take me to visit Mrs. Guo Guo's house."
"Okay, I'll talk to Grandpa."
"Do you have money?"
After Xue Bai took some money and returned it to Qinglan. Qing Lan was originally happy, but when she saw him borrowing money from others to pay her back, she couldn't help but snorted: "I'm not in a hurry to ask Mr. Xue to pay him back."
"Although it is a fateful friendship, if you can recruit rich people, you can still recruit rich people."
Hearing Xue Bai's words, Qing Lan became happy again, glanced at him quickly, and snickered secretly.
~~
The next day, no one in Du's house mentioned Yang Shenjin again, which ruined his mood for no reason.
But such a large amount of property is missing, even if it is not reported to the official, it will not be settled easily.
Du Youlin had a headache when he thought of this. When Lu Fengniang came to make noise again, he said: "Er Niang said yesterday that Genu sent some slaves. You go to the Dongshi Department to make a contract and bring them back."
"It's too embarrassing to call him Prime Minister, isn't it? Alas." Lu Fengniang said: "If we go to get many slaves at this time, we will really be accused of cheating on that old guy's money."
"Go ahead and say it was confiscated. It's too early to be too cheap. Don't wait until they are exiled."
Lu Fengniang was very worried, but she didn't forget to order someone to bring the food to Du Youlin first, and then asked Quan Rui to prepare a car and take her to the Dongshi Department to apply for the deed.
The study is finally quiet...
"Squeak."
Du Jin pushed the door open and came in, said a blessing, and asked, "Master, do you plan to follow Xue Bai to visit Mrs. Guo Guo's house this afternoon?"
Du Youlin was a little afraid of this daughter. He stroked his beard and said, "Meeting such people will hinder my reputation."
"What Grandpa said is that when the Du family is bullied to death, it will be fine."
"Listen to me." Du Youlin was not annoyed. He lowered his voice slightly and sounded more solemn. "The official career is dangerous. Now I am blocking the saints' hearing and excluding dissidents. This is not the time for a gentleman to enter the official position. In the coming year, Brother Now that I've dismissed the Prime Minister, your two brothers will be transferred back to the capital, and I have Du's personal connections to be taken care of until then."
"Yes, Du Shi from Jingzhao couldn't come to the rescue when he was in trouble. He just wanted to ask for help. How can he do it as a favor?"
After Du Jin made such a taunt, he became more and more disappointed with Du Youlin and only regretted that he was not a man.
"But Grandpa, have you ever thought about why Suo Douji let the Du family go? Is it because his conscience suddenly grew again? He just wanted the Du family to do things for him. So these days, when Grandpa is here in peace and quiet, what can I think about it? But who is holding up the sky above the Du family?!"
After a long time, Du Youlin made a sad face and said, "What can I do? I can't persuade the saint, even if I don't want to step into the filth?"
"My grandpa was almost killed with a stick in Dali Temple, but since he survived, it's time to support the Du family."
Du Youlin was stunned and stood up, but his eyes fell on the "Qujiang Collection" on the case. He didn't know what he thought of, but he stopped again and murmured a sigh.
"Why bother your grandpa? I'm just... not that capable..."
Du Jin was speechless.
She knew that it was extremely difficult for a man or a father to admit that he was weak, so she stopped trying to persuade him.
"It's my daughter's fault, don't blame me."
After apologizing softly, she said a blessing, turned and left.
Du Youlin breathed a sigh of relief, sat back down again, and continued reading.
Not long after, a servant called outside the door: "Alang, the food is here."
"Um."
Suddenly, Du Youlin sniffed and looked where he saw several plates of dishes being placed on the table.
His face became solemn, he held his sleeves in one hand, and held the chopsticks in the other hand. He stretched it towards the shiny plate, put the food in his mouth, and chewed it twice, with a look of shock in his eyes.
"Delicious food!"
~~
At noon, the kitchen sent two more biscuits to the study.
Du Wulang peeked into the study, pulled over the servant who was delivering food, and asked, "What do you say, Master?"
"Alang doesn't want to eat Hu Pancakes and asked if there are any more dishes delivered in the morning."
"As I expected, what else? Can you tell me what you want to say?"
"As I said, breakfast is a trial of small dishes. Later, Xue Langjun will take Hu Shisanniang to Mrs. Guo Guo's house to cook some big dishes."
"good."
Du Wulang handed over a small bunch of money and whispered: "Don't let me know about it, just go ahead."
Suddenly there was a "squeak" sound, and the study door was opened.
I saw Du Youlin standing there, with a heavy expression on his face as if he would die in danger.
…
As the carriage went out, Du Wulang couldn't help but feel proud, and whispered: "See, my method is more effective than the second sister's persuasion."
Xue Bai shook his head and said: "Maybe."
