"This younger brother from Ningchang Kingdom is the elder son of the couple in Zhongzhou. Think about it, the couple only had such a son when they were in their thirties or almost forty years old. It must hurt like eyeballs. "Is that so?" Mrs. Ning changed her posture and raised her eyebrows at the three of them, "Young Master is the only one in the family, so you may not feel it. I heard that the Duke and the General have a younger brother. The Duke and the General have a younger brother." Does Madam also love her younger son very much? Does she always give it to her younger son first if she has any good things?"
"You are wrong. The good things about our family are all closely related to the general." Xue Ruitian touched his chin and glanced at Shen Cha with a smile, "In our family, the little girl is the one who should be pampered. Those who go to heaven, brats and so on, have to crawl around in the mud."
"The old man and his wife are wise." Mrs. Ning smiled, "If the couple in Zhongzhou can be like this, Ning Changguo's brother will not end up like that."
"Didn't the two brothers turn against each other and the younger brother denounced the elder brother, which led to the destruction of the Ning Mansion?"
"Yes!" Mrs. Ning nodded, "Because the couple in Zhongzhou doted on their younger son too much, Ning Changguo's younger brother seems to be named Ning Changnian. He is not very old, about three or four years old, and he became a There's nothing he can't do for a little dandy, such as recruiting cats and dogs, going to bed and unveiling tiles," she chuckled. "So, after Ning Changguo was transferred back to Xijing City, he took over his nominal brother. He originally didn't want to come around to discipline him, but the couple in Zhongzhou begged him. They knew that if they continued to pamper him like this, the child would be ruined, but they couldn't bring themselves to discipline him, so they just Can you please ask Ningchang to come forward?"
"Ning Changguo took the blame for someone else and became a so-called bad guy."
"Yes, at least in the heart of the young Ning Changnian, this brother whom he has not seen for many years does not like him, does not love him, and is a bad person."
A sarcastic smile flashed across Mrs. Ning's face, and the expression on her face seemed to be mocking Ning Changguo.
"Old Madam..." Shen Cha looked at Old Madam Ning, "Do you think Ning Changguo is doing this too much?"
"It's true, Ning Changguo is a man. When he should be cruel, he is crueler than anyone else. When he shouldn't be cruel, his heart is crueler than anyone else."
"What...what do you mean by this?" Xue Ruitian frowned slightly and thought of something, but he couldn't confirm it, "Are you referring to the Ning family couple in Zhongzhou?" Seeing Mrs. Ning nodding, he asked tentatively, " What if it were someone like Wang Xie? How would they handle it?"
"I also want to ask you this question. If you were in the same situation as Ning Changguo, what would you do? How should you deal with it?"
"Probably, after passing the imperial examination, he will stop talking before the fraud is revealed!" Xue Ruitian looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, and saw the two men nodded slightly, agreeing with what he said. He looked at Mrs. Ning, "After all, only death can keep all secrets."
"Yes, eradicating this scourge as soon as possible is the right choice. The reason why a secret remains a secret is because the person who knows the secret is still alive. As long as the person who knows the secret is gone, the secret will not be leaked. What's more, , the people who can threaten the Ningchang Kingdom are not the Ning family of Chaozhou and the children of the big families who have the same experience as him, right?"
"Yes, the various behaviors of the couple in Zhongzhou can prove that they are the most likely leakers of this secret."
"That's very good, but Ning doesn't think so." Mrs. Ning nodded appreciatively and said, "Ning always feels that the couple in Zhongzhou are separated from the family. They are considered members of the Ning family, not outsiders. . Since you are one of your own, you must put the interests of the family first, and do everything you do with the family as your top priority.”
"They are too self-righteous, or from the standpoint of the superiors, they wishfully believe that the couple must listen to them, and there is no second way."
"That's right. Look, can you find the reason for some of the incomprehensible arrogance that Ning Changguo showed later?"
"It's true, it's been like this since their home."
"Yes, the world thinks that it is too unreasonable for Ningchang to develop such a temperament because he was born in a poor family. But
In fact, this is the consistent style of their family. The Ning family did not think that the couple in Zhongzhou would pose a threat to them or ruin their affairs, so they did not make up their minds to deal with them, which led to what happened later. Disaster. "
"And Ning Changguo doesn't think that Ning Chang's annual meeting will be a stumbling block for him and will bring him huge troubles, so he is raised by his side just to satisfy himself with some inner comfort?"
"Yes, indeed." Mrs. Ning nodded, "The couple in Zhongzhou have always regarded themselves as benefactors of the Ning family. They kept claiming that they had great merits and great favors to the Ning family, and that the Ning family should meet all their requests. Therefore, Ning Changguo will satisfy them, lest they go around saying that they don't know how to repay their kindness." She sneered, "Actually, I also vaguely reminded Ning Changguo to deal with the couple as soon as possible."
"The old lady reminded you? When?"
"On the wedding night, after all, on the day of the wedding, Mrs. Ning played a very powerful role in front of me!" Mrs. Ning sneered, "Judging from her behavior, she can't be honest and honest. As a person who has a duty to keep secrets, in order that her future words and deeds will not implicate myself or our Wang family, I suggest that Ning Changguo discuss with the Ning clan leader and deal with this couple as soon as possible."
"What did Ning Changguo say?"
"At that time, he was young and hadn't experienced much, and the couple had helped him during the fraud, so he was very hesitant and felt that it was not a good idea to do so and that he was a bit ungrateful. Of course, He also didn't like that this couple always talked about being kind and meritorious, and he also hated some of their ways, but every time they wanted to take action, they couldn't get over it. He told me that he was in their home During the years he lived there, this couple was really good to him and treated him as their own son." Mrs. Ning shrugged helplessly, "If the person is dealt with so quickly, I'm afraid it will embarrass other clan members. If you don’t have such a heart, no one will serve the family wholeheartedly in the future.”
"The people of this clan may not be disheartened by this code. Even if there is no such thing, those branches may not be of the same mind as the clan. This is not the same thing in itself. Ningchang State confuses the two. It can only be said that he is too snobbish." Shen Cha picked up the tea cup and took a sip. "If that couple is of good character and not a villain, they can stay, but they are too snobbish. Sooner or later, they will The one who caused trouble for Ning Changguo. However, this is not like Ning Changguo's behavior. He has always been ruthless, so how could he be so merciful to this couple and the nominal brother."
"That's why I said he was not ruthless when he should be ruthless, but was ruthless when he should be soft-hearted." Mrs. Ning shook her head gently, "It's just that, looking at it coldly, the Chaozhou Ning family is also a bit mercenary. Otherwise, they would not be willing to agree to the harsh conditions I proposed and have a relationship with the Wang family. But in the eyes of outsiders who don’t know the inside story, they are still a famous, reputable, and decent family. Even among their clan members Some people behave inappropriately, and many people don't think there's anything wrong with it. They just think that these clan members don't learn well, which drags down the family's reputation and smeares the family."
"Indeed." Xue Ruitian nodded, "If I remember correctly, the Chaozhou Ning family has a good reputation in the south of the Yangtze River, and there are many people who have come out of the literary world. Otherwise, Taizu would not have been listed as prohibited from participating in the scientific examination. Roster. On the other hand, this aspect of their family’s business is not well known.”
"Everyone in the south of the Yangtze River does some business to some extent. This is not surprising. They only talk about being farmers, farmers, and merchants on the surface. In fact, they value business more. If you don't have money, how can you keep your people in school? Studying is the most important thing. It’s a waste of money, isn’t it?”
"Understood!" Shen Cha nodded, "One more question, old lady, since the couple in Zhongzhou have so many problems, why did the Ning family choose them in the first place? There must be a more suitable family, right?"
"I don't know about that." Mrs. Ning shook her head gently. "I'm not willing to inquire about the affairs of their clan. But over the years, I have watched the ups and downs of their clan with a cold eye and looked at the behavior of their clan members. I can understand it to a certain extent. One point, the snobbery of the couple in Zhongzhou is exactly the same as the snobbery of the Ning family. It’s just that their goals are different and the way they display them is different. Zhongzhou
That couple loved vanity, glory and wealth, and money was more important than reputation. Therefore, in their view, becoming a high official in Ningchang State means that they will get a lot of gold, silver, jewelry, etc., and they will live a life of servants. This is their goal, so they have been sparing no effort to ask for money from the Ning family and Ning Changguo. "
"What the Ning family wants from top to bottom is the so-called supreme power. Almost everyone in their clan is busy working for this." Seeing Mrs. Ning nodding, Shen Cha thought for a while and said, "What the old lady means is that if a family is obsessed with a certain goal from top to bottom, it will go crazy sooner or later, right?"
"The general is right." Mrs. Ning nodded, "Actually, a long time ago, probably a hundred years ago, the Ning family of Chaozhou had a good reputation in Jiangnan. There were several famous literati in Jiangnan. They have a place in the literary world. Although their influence is not as great as that of the big clans, there are also many disciples and followers who come here because of their fame. They have opened several academies before and recruited scholars from all over the world. Seriously speaking, if they follow this path If you continue, it will be just around the corner to join a big clan. Of course, everyone has their own ambitions, and if they want to take another path, no one will stop them."
"Because what they want is not just this. What they want is the power that the Wang Xie family once had." Shen Cha spread his hands, "If you just open an academy, if you want to reach such a height, I'm afraid it will take a long time. Many generations of people have been unable to complete it, so I thought of using the power of the Green Lotus Sect to achieve my goal."
"This is just daydreaming. The Qinglian Sect is ultimately unreliable. Once something happens, aren't they the first to be given up?" Madam Ning sneered, "What they want will never be obtained, no matter what. No matter what method you use, the result will be the same. Your Majesty, the royal family of Daxia is not the same as the previous dynasty. They will not be at the mercy of scholar-bureaucrats and will not repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty. What's more, Daxia established the country by force, and it is even less likely to let civil servants and officials Scholars control the court."
"Old Madam, you can see it clearly." Shen Cha nodded, "Those people are just trying to make ends meet, and in the end they can only draw water from a bamboo basket to nothing."
"Because their ideas are still stuck two hundred years ago. They think that big clans and scholars can become the protagonists of this era. They don't care that the situation outside has changed a long time ago. They are no longer what they were back then." Mrs. Ning sighed, "Since Ning After the Ning clan got involved with the Green Lotus Sect and Ning Changguo began to rise to prominence in the court, the Ning clan's clan style changed a bit. It no longer restricted the behavior of the clan's children and no longer strictly required them as before. The number of dandies gradually increased."
"Did the incident with Sister Ning Cheng also happen after this?"
"No, after joining the Green Lotus Sect, the Ning clan has a pretty good reputation. Otherwise, it would not be possible to produce talents like Ning Changguo. After Ningchang Kingdom, there are still seven or eight Ning clan children who have achieved pretty good results and gained a good reputation. It's also quite good. At one time, the Ning family was very famous in Jiangnan, and many children from poor families went to join the family. However, since Ning Changguo entered the cabinet, more and more Ning children are unlearned and unskilled, and the family's The private school gradually became a name only, the husband didn't teach well, the students didn't study well, and the whole family was a bit messy."
"Does Ning Changguo know about it?"
"They probably don't know. Even if they know, they are out of reach. What's more, the Ning family doesn't dare to let Ning Changguo know. They may not be good at other things, but they are good at deceiving others."
"The old lady doesn't know either?"
"After Ning Changguo entered the cabinet for the first time, I completely moved back to Songjiang Prefecture from Chaozhou Prefecture. At that time, my nominal father-in-law and mother-in-law had passed away, and there was no one there for me to socialize with, so naturally I did not continue to live there. It's necessary to go down." Mrs. Ning sighed, "This is what Xiao Chengzi told me. He said that it felt like a big change had happened in the family overnight. He didn't know what had happened. What, some people I knew before and some people I played well with now seem a little unfamiliar."
"How old was Ning Cheng at that time?"
"According to him, he was about four or five years old and had already begun to enlighten." Mrs. Ning shook her head, "A family
From the clan leader to the ordinary clan members, when the clan has expanded to the point where they can no longer truly face themselves, the decline of this family is already doomed. "
