"Hey, you really can't underestimate this Chi Hong, how rich he is?" Bai Meng looked at Shen Haolin and then at Shen Cha, "Isn't he known as a scholar? He has always been very arrogant and arrogant, but he is willing to be tainted by the smell of copper. I really didn’t expect it!”
"Is there anything you can't think of? Scholars also have to live, eat, drink and have sex?" Tantai Pingchuan raised his eyebrows slightly, "Students spend more money. They have all kinds of banquets, the only ones you haven't heard of. There’s nothing they can’t think of. Without additional income, they simply can’t support their huge expenses.”
"A penny is too much for a hero, let alone a weak scholar like them!" Xuanyuan Liang smiled faintly, "If you want to truly establish a foothold in Xijing City, you can't do it without some money. The case you are trying today , isn’t it just because of lack of money? The nobles, military generals, and royal children are all Zhuangzi with imperial gifts. They don’t have to worry about food, drink, and clothing. But the same cannot be said for civil servants. If they don’t do some business or something, It can't be sustained at all. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that Chi Hong can do business. However, after His Highness Prince Ning named these restaurants, restaurants, and teahouses in the court, the business became unsustainable. Great."
"Because of the income issue, he hates Uncle Ning even more?"
"It's not just that it affects his income." Tantai Pingchuan waved his hand, "but for four consecutive days of morning court, all the impeachments were directed at the Ministry of Rites and Old Man Chi. It was not intended to be targeted, and it just so happened that Chi The old man hit the knife edge of His Highness Prince Ning. During that time, he was responsible for cleaning up the accounts of the Household Department. There were problems in the Sixth Department and other yamen, but the Department of Rites was more prominent. The amount of deficit was huge. His Highness Prince Ning did not take advantage of him. It is impossible to convince the public by opening your mouth. Therefore, old man Chi was depressed for a long time. On the one hand, it was the accounts of the Ministry of Rites and on the other hand, Chi Hong's problems, which made him very anxious. Although he went home After that, Chi Hong kept silent about what happened, but Chi Hong still heard some news from his friends. He knew that his father was not doing well during this period, and the source was His Highness Prince Ning, so he jumped up and down even more. "
"Does he think that Uncle Ning doesn't dare to confront him head-on, so he attacks his father instead?" Seeing Xuanyuan Liang and Tantai Pingchuan nodding at the same time, Shen Cha frowned slightly, "The deficit in the household department is a major matter related to the national treasury. How can it be related to personal grudges?”
"This is the difference between people." Bai Meng held his cheek and sneered, "There have been rumors before that this young master of the Chi family is unexpectedly small-minded, but now I look at it. This statement is true, I guess this person only has..." He stretched out his little thumb, "The nail cap is so big."
"You still think highly of him, Commander-in-Chief, he's already pretty good if he's half his age." Tantai Pingchuan snorted, "You all can't imagine what he did after knowing that Old Chitou was in trouble, and he got even worse. He continued to spread rumors about His Highness Prince Ning in the market. The previous rumors at most said that His Highness Prince Ning's knowledge was not very good. This time, he changed the direction and began to attack His Highness Prince Ning. His character, saying that he avenged his personal revenge. Even if the Ministry of Revenue later issued a special notice explaining the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites for the deficit, it could not make Chi Hong restrain himself. "
"Uncle Ning Wang, don't you care about being slandered?" Shen Cha picked a glutinous rice dumpling made with matcha from the small plate on the table and took a small bite, "You can definitely go to the Jingzhao Mansion Yamen to sue him. Bar?"
"I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but later I did file a lawsuit, but it was not Chi Hong who was sued, but the small magazine and the restaurant, restaurant, and tea house in his hand. Because the evidence was conclusive, these companies were ordered to close their doors. ”
"At this time, Old Man Chi felt that his youngest son seemed to have gone crazy, so he found him and gave him a severe lesson. It is said that this was the first and only time in Chi Hong's life that Old Man Chi had scolded him. ." Tantai Pingchuan shrugged, "Because he didn't want his father to be angry again, he temporarily stopped fighting and no longer targeted His Highness Prince Ning. The two sides entered a relatively peaceful period of complementary interference. The two sides had conflicts again, that is Three months before His Highness Prince Ning's accident, there were suddenly more rumors about His Highness Prince Ning in Xijing City. The late emperor sent people to trace the source of the rumors, but before the Forbidden Army and the patrol camp had a clue, something happened to His Highness Prince Ning."
"Wait a minute!" Shen Cha interrupted Tantai Pingchuan. She suddenly thought of something. Although it was a bit whimsical, her intuition told her that this was probably a speculation closer to the truth of His Highness Prince Ning's case. . She looked at the people around her who were staring at her, and waved her hands towards them, "Wait a moment, I'll sort out my thoughts, it's a bit confusing now."
Shen Cha slowly stood up and walked slowly in the tea room, clearing his thoughts bit by bit. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that her conjecture was right. The tragedies suffered by Uncle Ning and the people he implicated may have had only one source, and this source was not the so-called family feud. In fact, there was only one source. It’s Chi Hong.
In her speculation, Mrs. Teng should have known about Chi Hong's existence for a long time. After all, the two people looked very similar in appearance. Although there are people in this world who look very similar but are not related by blood, the chances of actually meeting them are very rare. If they can, these two people are somehow connected. .
Shen Cha believed that since the Tantai family had set up a lot of spies in Xijing City a long time ago, part of it was to obtain information about Xijing City, and a small part was probably that Mrs. Teng wanted to find her younger brother. Moreover, Shen Cha guessed, she wanted to find her younger brother. This purpose is much more urgent than the previous one.
According to the information currently obtained, Chi Hong was once quite active in Xijing. Mrs. Teng’s spy must have seen him many times. Someone who knew the inside story should have sent his portrait to Mrs. Teng.
Shen Cha couldn't guess how Mrs. Teng would react when she got the portrait or received the news. She might send someone to take a sneak peek, or she might come to see it in person. In short, it was all possible. If she had confirmed at that time that Chi Hong was her long-lost brother, then Chi Hong’s every move, food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc. would all be under the control of Mrs. Teng, as well as the relationship between Chi Hong and Uncle Ning Wang. The ridiculous grievances and hatreds between them.
