After listening to Mrs. Ning's words, the three of them looked at each other, and they all thought silently in their hearts that Mrs. Ning, who was born in the Langya Wang family, is indeed extraordinary.
Now think about it, Ning Cheng and sister Ning Cheng can take her and a child into the Shen Family Jun dungeon without arousing anyone's suspicion, and they can also rely on pretending to be crazy and acting stupid to see whether the Shen Family Jun people are really reliable. A person, if placed in the court, cannot be underestimated.
Shen Cha looked at the frail, gentle but elegant old lady in front of her. Although the years had left traces on her face, and although she had experienced many things that ordinary people could not bear, this person never Inside and out, he still maintains the pride of being a member of a big clan.
She thought about it, and if it weren't for the wife of the Ning family who saved her mother's life, if it weren't for the family's arrangements, if it wasn't for the interests involved, she would never have agreed to marrying Ning Changguo.
However, it was just such a girl who could come up with such conditions and slap the self-righteous Chaozhou Ning family.
Xue Ruitian touched his chin, looked at Mrs. Ning, and said with a smile, "I can imagine that people in the Ning family are not willing to see Mrs. Ning. Although they are related by marriage, they always feel that they are inferior. Even if Ning Changguo later died, The feeling of being in a high position still hasn't gone away, has it? In the eyes of the old lady, they are actually no different from the nouveau riche, right?"
"Basically, you are right. Not all Jiangnan families can be called clans or noble families. Although the Chaozhou Ning family has a history of a hundred years, their behavior does not deserve to be called a clan at all. , noble family."
"I agree with this." Xue Ruitian agreed with Mrs. Ning. "Ever since the so-called magical power of Ning Chang came out, the Ning family no longer knows who they are."
"Not only that, but their family also cooperates with the Qinglian Sect. I don't know what kind of pie the Qinglian Sect has drawn for them. They believe it. They feel that the Qinglian Sect can definitely keep its promise and lead them to the top. Therefore, any No one is in their eyes. This is not in line with the style of a clan or a noble family at all. Not only do I look down on them, but many people in Jiangnan also look down on them." Mrs. Ning raised her eyebrows and looked at Xue Ruitian said, "As you just said, they wanted to show off their power in front of me, but I didn't give them this opportunity, which made them very unhappy."
"They don't have a place to show off their power. I'm not very unhappy." Xue Ruitian shook his head gently, "The ladies of the Ning family are also talented girls from Qingliu family. It's really unimaginable that they ended up being so snobbish."
"That's right." A sly smile appeared on Mrs. Ning's face, and she continued, "Their snobbishness became more and more obvious after Ningchang's official career became prosperous. Every time they come to see me, that face is really noticeable. It goes without saying that they also went to school. They said in and out of words that the Wang family has declined, the Wang family is no longer viable, and the Wang family can only show off its power in its own one-third of an acre of land."
"This is how you judge others by yourself. If you are snobbish, you will also think that others are snobbish, right?"
"Yes!" Mrs. Ning nodded lightly, "Especially after they hooked up with the Lu family in Songjiang Prefecture, the feeling of being a villain became more obvious. Unfortunately, although the young lady from the Lu family married into the Ning family, But they didn't let their family take any advantage. The Lu family didn't take them seriously at all. They wanted to use the Lu family to destroy the Wang family's prestige and put pressure on the Wang family, but they still failed."
"Old madam, you mean..." Xue Ruitian frowned slightly, "They don't have a very good relationship with their in-laws over there?"
"This matter is even more interesting when it comes to talking about it. Do you want to hear it?" Seeing the three people nodding frequently, Mrs. Ning smiled, "That's fine, these things have been pressing in my heart for so many years. No one is listening, so it would be nice to tell you." She thought for a moment, "If we talk about it seriously, the Wang and Lu families are somewhat related. The mother of the second Miss Lu family is my mother's niece. However, we are already very far apart when it comes to bloodline, so let’s just discuss it on our own terms.”
"It seems that the relationship between Jiangnan's prominent families is also very complicated!"
"One way to describe it is that it is intertwined. Jiangnan is such a big place, and there are only a few big families, and they are all related to each other.
normal. Mrs. Ning nodded, looked at the three people, and explained, "The famous family in Jiangnan does not only refer to the so-called clan, nor does it only refer to the scholarly family of only scholars. In fact, the scope is wider." The Qinglian Sect thinks that if it can trick some so-called Qingliu people into doing things for them, it will make Jiangnan’s prominent families turn against them, which is completely idiotic.”
"Well..." Shen Cha smiled sheepishly and looked at Mrs. Ning, "Actually, we think so too."
"This is the consistent thinking of most people in the world." Mrs. Ning took a sip of water and said, "The big families in Jiangnan are relatively evenly distributed, mainly composed of scholars, martial arts, and businessmen. Scholars refer to civil servants. , Wu is the general, and Shang is the big merchants. This is the core of the clan. But because in the past two hundred years, scholars have been the most prominent, so everyone has ignored Wu and Shang."
"The old lady also said just now that big clans like Wang and Xie have also raised soldiers in the past two hundred years."
"Yes!" Madam Ning nodded, "Even many scholars in the south of the Yangtze River think that as long as they study hard, take the imperial examination, and become an official, that is the right path, and everything else is not worth mentioning. But in fact , without Wu and Shang, it is absolutely impossible to gain a foothold in the court just by relying on words and articles."
"I'm afraid most people don't understand this truth, even the adults who currently stand at the top of the civil service can't figure it out."
"No, General." Mrs. Ning shook her head gently, "They know it very well, but they are just unwilling to say it. Once this fact is told, the status of civil servants will be shaken and their prestige will be gone. This kind of damage They will not do things that benefit others." She looked at the three people in front of her and smiled, "Most of the scholars claim to be doing it for the sake of justice, but in fact they are doing it for themselves, making small calculations. "
"So, the Lu family is..."
"Their family started out as a businessman, and later some scholars gradually emerged, but the foundation is still a businessman. Just like the Qin family mentioned before, except that in the previous dynasty, the Lu family's business had been carried out secretly. So many people think that the Lu family is also a clean family that gives lectures." Madam Ning paused, "His family is different from other families. One very special thing is that the daughter's family has more active minds, and so do you. I know that his family has produced several queens, all of whom were very accomplished, but the boy was not very outstanding."
"I've heard about it." Xue Ruitian nodded, "It's indeed very powerful."
"More than that, the people in power in the Lu family and those responsible for the secret business are all women. This has never changed after so many years."
"So that's it!"
"Yes!" Mrs. Ning nodded towards Xue Ruitian, "Except for a few of the girls in the Lu family who marry outside, most of them are looking for husbands. The standards are determined by the girls themselves. Although they are girls You decide for yourself, but the conditions are quite harsh, no worse than mine. And the current head of the household is Miss Lu Er’s biological sister, and she also hired a son-in-law.”
"Please wait a moment!" Shen Cha frowned slightly, "Ningchang State intends to rebel and kill three tribes. Mrs. Ning's mother tribe is also among them. How to escape?"
"Your Majesty is generous and knows that the Lu family is not involved, and although the two families are not related by marriage, their relationship is not good. Therefore, you have issued a secret order to protect the lives of the entire Lu family." Mrs. Ning smiled at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha. She smiled and said, "You can ask your Majesty in person. The one who is really implicated is not the Lu family, but the Ning family of Chaozhou." She thought for a while and sighed softly, "The Lu family moved in from Changzhou Prefecture incognito. Songjiang Mansion is your Majesty’s wish.”
Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Xue Ruitian looked at each other. There must be some secrets here. Song Jue didn't tell them. He might have a reason not to tell them. Ask him later. If he is willing to say it, just say it. If he doesn't want to, it's okay. If you don't force him, who doesn't have a little secret?
"Don't think blindly. There are no little secrets or deals." Old Madam Ning smiled softly. "Have you forgotten the origin of the late Emperor's noble lady?" Seeing the three faces She was puzzled, and she shook her head helplessly, "After all, you are also royal relatives, so you should pay more attention to your own affairs. Princess Wan was born in Changzhou Prefecture.
The Lu family, after all, should be Miss Lu's second cousin. Miss Lu's second wife is the eldest, and Concubine Wan is the only daughter of the third. "
The three people looked at each other. If Mrs. Ning hadn't mentioned it, they really wouldn't have remembered where Mrs. Wan's hometown was.
"I just said, why does this Changzhou Prefecture Lu family sound so familiar to me? I always feel as if I have heard it somewhere." Shen Cha was a little embarrassed. Every time she entered the palace, she would take the time to sit with Concubine Wan. The concubine is very martial, and every time the two of them meet, they have to spar. Although Shen Cha would not use all his strength, he could still make the Dowager Empress happy for a long time. "However, the Dowager Empress Xiwu does not look like a girl from Jiangnan at all. Every time I see her, I feel that she seems to be from a distinguished family."
"That's because the third room is really good at martial arts. The concubine's mother has been fond of martial arts since she was a child. In that room, the only one in their room who is the concubine's father is a real scholar."
"This is amazing!" Shen Cha nodded, "Because of the concubine, it makes sense that the Lu family is not implicated."
"There are so many twists and turns here that I can't explain clearly at the moment, but the factor of the Dowager Queen does account for a large part." Madam Ning smiled, "However, another point is that the Lu family does not I don’t agree with Miss Lu Er’s marriage, no matter which room it is in, I am very opposed to it.”
[In view of the general environment,
"Objection? Why? In the eyes of the Lu family, the Ning family's family status is not high?"
"The Lu family are not that kind of people, they don't just care about family status." Mrs. Ning shook her head gently, "The person in charge of the Lu family now is Miss Lu Er's biological sister and my former handkerchief. She is my We have a good relationship, so she also knows some things about the Ning family. I also asked her to help me with the conditions I proposed. The original intention of both of us was to make the conditions as harsh as possible, so that we can achieve the goal of our withdrawal. The purpose of the marriage. Unexpectedly, the Ning family all agreed, which surprised us. From this, we can also conclude that the Chaozhou Ning family is a profit-seeking family with evil intentions. They must have hidden secrets. Otherwise , it is impossible for a normal family to accept such conditions."
"Later, the truth about the Ning family's work for the Qinglian Sect was exposed. They tricked the Wang family. Did the eldest lady of the Lu family also know about it?" Seeing Madam Ning nodding, Shen Cha thought for a moment, "Wait a minute. , there is a contradiction here, Ning Changguo was introduced to Miss Lu Er by the young master of the Lu family, is his brother trying to trick his sister?"
"Because he wants to stand out!" Mrs. Ning sneered, "Although the young master of the Lu family is good at learning, his knowledge and vision really follow the son-in-law who came to the door. They feel that the Lu family is not It should be in the hands of a woman. The two men only think about one thing every day, which is how to snatch the power of the family from their wife and mother. And they found an opportunity, which was to find a door for Miss Lu Er. A good marriage."
"This is my biological daughter, my biological sister. Is this how they plan?"
"There's no point in plotting. Even if they have this intention, if Miss Lu Er doesn't agree, there's nothing they can do."
"Then their goal has been achieved. I heard that Miss Lu Er admires Ning Changguo very much."
"I've heard about this too. Miss Lu knew that her younger sister had fallen in love with my husband-in-law, so she came all the way from Changzhou to Songjiang. She told me about the bitterness for several days, saying that she never expected it. , the two people who were closest to me both fell into this Ningchang country."
"This statement is not accurate. The old lady was not in trouble, she was just forced to do so."
"I had no choice but to bear the name of a Ning family member!"
"Miss Lu and you are close friends. Didn't you tell Miss Lu that Ning Changguo was married a long time ago?"
"She knew it, but she also knew that we were in name only, so she didn't care at all. She told her sister that she liked Ning Changguo and was going to marry him, and the rest had nothing to do with her."
"This is someone else's fault." Shen Cha sighed softly, "Why is it that no matter how hard I try to persuade you, it doesn't work?"
"The Lu family had quarreled many times because of this marriage, and it was such a turmoil.
, but it was no use. Miss Lu Er ignored the opposition of her family and insisted on marrying the talented man in her mind. There was a price to pay for doing so. "
"What price?"
"General, what's the price? Cut off ties with the family!" Mrs. Ning smiled nonchalantly, "She has agreed on terms with her mother and sister. After she gets married, she will have nothing to do with the Lu family. No matter what difficulties she encounters in the future, she will never seek help from the Lu family, nor will she implicate the Lu family."
"Mrs. Lu and Miss Lu agreed?" Seeing Mrs. Ning nodding, Xue Ruitian sighed with emotion, "Miss Lu really paid a huge price for Ning Changguo. No wonder she was embarrassed by the Empress Dowager later. , and refused to seek help from the Dowager Empress, so many of us didn’t quite understand that she and the Dowager Empress were cousins.”
