Jiapingguan Chronicle

"The younger brother of Ningchang is the old man of the Zhongzhou couple. Think about it, when the couple were in their 30s and almost 40 years old, they only had such a son. Doesn't it hurt like an eyeball? Mrs. Ning changed her posture and raised her eyebrows at the three of them, "Master Hou is the only one in the family, so you may not feel it. I heard that the Duke and the General also have a younger brother. Don't you also love your younger son? Does anything good go to your younger son first?"

"You are wrong. Our two families are good, but they are all close to the general." Xue Ruitian stroked his chin, and glanced at Shen Cha with a smile, "In our family, the little girl is the one who should be spoiled." Those who go to the sky, brats, etc., all go to crawl and roll in the mud."

"The old man and his wife are wise." Mrs. Ning smiled, "If the couple in Zhongzhou can be like this, the younger brother of Ningchang country will not end like that."

"Didn't the two brothers turn against each other, and the younger brother reported the elder brother, which led to the destruction of the Ning Mansion?"

"Yes!" Mrs. Ning nodded, "Because the couple in Zhongzhou spoiled their youngest son too much, the younger brother of Ning Changguo, who seems to be called Ning Changnian, is not very old, that is, he looks like three or four years old. Little dandy, recruiting cats and giving dogs, going to the house to expose tiles, there is nothing he would not do." She chuckled, "So, after Ning Changguo was transferred back to Xijing City, he took over his nominal younger brother. He didn't want to do this at first, but the Zhongzhou couple begged him. They knew that if they spoiled him like this, the child would be ruined, but they couldn't bear to discipline them, so they just I can invite Ningchang Kingdom to go out."

"Ningchang Kingdom took the blame for someone else and became a so-called bad guy."

"Yes, at least in Ning Changnian's heart, this elder brother who has not met for many years, does not like him, does not love him, 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 Chang is doing too much?"

"Indeed, Ning Changguo is ruthless when he should be ruthless, and when he shouldn't be ruthless, his heart is more ruthless than anyone else."

"What do you mean by this?" Xue Ruitian frowned slightly, thinking about something, but he couldn't confirm it, "You mean the Ning family couple from Zhongzhou?" Seeing Mrs. Ning nodding, he asked tentatively, " What about everyone like Wang Xie? How would you deal with it?"

"This question, I also want to ask you, if you are in the situation of Ningchang, what would you do? How should you deal with it?"

"Probably, after you are admitted to the imperial examination, you should silence the fraud case before it comes out!" Xue Ruitian looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, and saw that the two nodded slightly, expressing their agreement with what he said. He looked at Mrs. Ning, "After all Only when a person is dead can all the secrets be kept.”

"Yes, eradicating this curse as soon as possible is the right choice. The reason why the secret is 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 Chaozhou Ning family and the children of those big families who have the same experience as him, right?"

"Yes, the performances of the Zhongzhou couple 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 thinks that the couple in Zhongzhou were separated from their own family, and they are considered members of the Ning family, not outsiders. .Since you are one of your own, you must put the interests of your own family first, and you must put your family first in everything you do.”

"They are too self-righteous, or standing on the position of the superior, they wishful thinking that the couple must obey them, there is no second way to choose."

"That's right, you see, can you find the reason for the incomprehensible arrogance that Ningchang showed later?"

"Really, it's been like this since their home."

"That's right, everyone in the world thinks that it's unreasonable for Ningchang to be born in a poor family, but in fact, this is their family's usual style. They pose a threat and will ruin their business, so they didn't make up their minds to deal with them, which led to the subsequent disasters."

"And Ning Changguo doesn't think that Ning Changnian will become a stumbling block for him and will bring him great troubles, so he was raised by his side just to satisfy some comfort in his heart?"

"Well, it is indeed." Mrs. Ning nodded, "The couple in Zhongzhou have always regarded themselves as Ning's benefactors, and they kept claiming that they have made great contributions and benevolent to Ning, and Ning should meet all their requirements. Therefore, Ningchang Kingdom will satisfy them, lest they go around saying that they don't know how to repay favors." She sneered, "Actually, I also reminded Ningchang Kingdom cryptically to deal with their couple as soon as possible."

"The old lady reminded you? When?"

"On the wedding night, after all, on the wedding day, that Mrs. Ning played a big role in front of me!" Mrs. Ning sneered, "From the way she behaves, she can't be honest, For those who keep the secret dutifully, so that her words and deeds in the future will not implicate myself or our Wang family, I suggest Ning Changguo to discuss with the patriarch of the Ning clan and deal with this couple as soon as possible."

"What did Ning Chang state say?"

"At that time, I was young and hadn't experienced too many things. In addition to the fraud case, the couple helped him, so I was very hesitant, thinking that it was not good to do so, and I was a bit ungrateful. Of course, He also doesn’t like that the couple always talk about their kindness and meritorious deeds, and he also hates some of their practices, but every time he wants to make a move, he can’t get past his own. He told me that he was in their house During the few years of his life, the couple treated him really well, and they really treated him as their own son." Mrs. Ning shrugged helplessly, "If he is dealt with so quickly, I am afraid it will make other clansmen cold. Since then, no one will serve the family wholeheartedly."

"One size fits all, people of the clan may not be chilled by it, and those branches, even if there is no such thing, may not be of one mind with the clan. This is not the same thing in itself. Ningchang State confuses the two, It can only be said that he is too confused." Shen Cha picked up his teacup and took a sip, "If the couple's character is not bad, and they are not so villainous, they can stay, but they are too snobbish. It caused trouble for Ningchang Kingdom. However, this is not like Ningchang Kingdom's behavior, he has always been cruel, how could he be so soft-hearted to this couple and his brother in name."

"That's why I said that he is not cruel when he should be ruthless, but he is ruthless when he should be soft-hearted." Mrs. Ning shook her head lightly, "It's just that, looking at it coldly, the Chaozhou Ning family is also a bit mercenary. Otherwise, they would rather agree to the harsh conditions I put forward and get involved with the Wang family. But in the eyes of outsiders who don’t know the inside, they are still a famous, prestigious, and relatively decent family. Even if they are members of the family Some people behave inappropriately, and many people don't think there is any problem, they just think that these clansmen don't learn well, which drags down the family's reputation and discredits 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 quite a few people who have come out of the literary world. Otherwise, they would not be listed as prohibited by the Taizu from participating in the scientific examination. The roster. On the contrary, the part of their family's business is unknown."

"Everyone in the south of the Yangtze River knows how to do some business. It's not surprising. They only talk about scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen on the surface. In fact, they value business more. If there is no money, how can it be possible to support the clan to study? Reading is the most important thing. Costs money, doesn't it?"

"Understood!" Shen Cha nodded, "There is one more question, old lady, since this couple in Zhongzhou has so many problems, why did Ning choose them in the first place? There should be someone more suitable, right?"

"I don't know about that." Mrs. Ning shook her head lightly, "I'm not too willing to inquire about the affairs of their clan. But these years, I have watched the ups and downs of their clan with a cold eye, and watched their clan's behavior style, so I can somewhat understand One point, the snobbery of the Zhongzhou couple and Ning's snobbery are actually exactly the same, but their goals are different, and the way they show it is different. The Zhongzhou couple loves vanity, loves glory and wealth, and they value money more However, they don’t care much about their reputation. Therefore, in their view, being a high-ranking official in Ningchang Kingdom means that they will get a lot of gold, silver, jewelry, etc., and they will live a life of servants. It is their goal, so they have been spared no effort to ask for money from the Ning family and the Ning Chang country."

"What the Ning family wants from top to bottom is the so-called supreme power. Almost everyone in their clan is busy for this." Seeing old lady Ning nodding, Shen Cha thought for a while and said, "The old lady means 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, about a hundred years ago, the Chaozhou Ning family had a good reputation in the south of the Yangtze River. It has a place in the literary world. Although the influence is not as great as that of the big clans, there are still many students and customers who come here because of their reputation. They have opened several academies before and recruited scholars from all over the world. Seriously speaking, if they follow this path If we continue, it is just around the corner to join the big clan. Of course, everyone has their own aspirations, and they want to go another way, and no one stops them."

"Because what they want is not just these things, what they want is the power once owned by the Wang Xie clan." Shen Cha spread his hands, "If it's just to open an academy, I'm afraid it will take some time to reach such a height. Many generations of people have not been able to complete it, so I want to use the power of the Qinglian Sect to achieve my goal."

"This is daydreaming. The Qinglian Sect is ultimately unreliable. Once something happens, aren't they the first to be abandoned?" Mrs. Ning sneered, "What they want will never be obtained, no matter what No matter what method you use, you will end in the same way. Your Majesty, the royal family of Daxia is not the previous dynasty. Scholars control the court."

"The old lady can see it clearly." Shen Cha nodded, "Those people are so busy fighting dogs, they can only fetch water from bamboo baskets in the end."

"Because their thinking is still 200 years ago, and they think that big clans and scholars can become the protagonists of this era, regardless of the changes in the outside world, and they are no longer what they used to be." Mrs. Ning sighed, "Since Ning After the Ning family joined the Qinglian Sect and Ning Chang State began to emerge in the court, the Ning family's family style changed a bit. It no longer restrained the behavior of the children in the clan as before, and no longer strictly demanded them. The number of playboys gradually increased."

"Did the matter of sister Ning Cheng also happen after this?"

"No, after joining the Qinglian Sect, the Ning clan has a good reputation. Otherwise, it would not be possible to produce such talents as Ningchang. After Ningchang, there are still seven or eight Ning's children who have achieved good results and gained a good reputation. It's also quite good. At one time, the Ning family was very famous in the south of the Yangtze River, and many children from poor families went to join them. However, since Ning Chang entered the cabinet, there have been more and more uneducated Ning family children. The private school has gradually become nameless, the husband doesn't teach well, the students don't study hard, and the whole family is a bit dirty."

"Does Ningchang know about it?"

"I probably don't know. Even if I knew, I would be too far away. Besides, the Ning clan dared not let Ningchang know. They may not be very good at other things, but they are good at deceiving."

"The old lady doesn't know?"

"After Ningchang State entered the cabinet for the first time, I completely moved from Chaozhou Mansion to Songjiang Mansion. At that time, my father-in-law and mother-in-law in name had passed away, and there was no one I needed to socialize with. Naturally, I did not continue to live there. It’s necessary to go down.” Mrs. Ning sighed, “Little Chengzi told me these things. He said that he felt that a big change had taken place in his family overnight. He didn’t know what happened. What, some people I knew before, and some people who played well, seem to be a little unfamiliar."

"At that time, how old was Ning Cheng?"

"According to him, he is about four or five years old, and he has already started enlightenment." Mrs. Ning shook her head, "When a family, from the patriarch to the ordinary people, has swollen to the point where they can't really face themselves, the direction of the family Decline is already predestined."