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Chapter 490 Shot (5K+)

A carriage stopped in front of the Gusu County Yamen.

The passers-by who passed by the gate of the county government office just casually glanced here, and then prepared to look away.

This is the case with the usual bustle, and it is the limit to take a look away.After all, for Shengdou Xiaomin, daily work and running around for food and rice are the most important things of the day.

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and someone lifted the curtain, ignoring the guard's support and getting out of the carriage.

The footsteps of the pedestrians passing by carrying the pole paused for a while. The carriage covered most of the man's figure, making it hard to see clearly.

It's fine if you don't see it clearly, the pedestrians carrying the shoulder pole took a second look and were about to leave, but the axle of the carriage turned at this time, the driver of the carriage swung his whip, and the painful horse rushed to the side where the carriage was parked. space.

The carriage left, only to reveal the figure covered by the carriage.

The dark purple gown with a round neck and narrow sleeves is just ordinary clothes, but the orthodox rather than color-biased purple is not something ordinary people can wear. There are not many people in Gusu City who can wear such orthodox purple ordinary clothes Come, plus the pair of thick-soled official boots on the feet... The identity of the visitor is already obvious.

Master Yang Yanyang, who just came back from Chang'an a few days ago, stood in front of the gate of the Gusu County Government.

Pedestrians carrying poles leaned against the corner of the wall to rest, and looked at Yang Yan who appeared at the gate of the county government in surprise. There were many pedestrians like him.

Since the day Master Yang came back and solved the trouble of "crying for mourning" in front of the Yang family's mansion, the entire Gusu City seemed to have returned to the peace of previous years.Nothing happened these days, and even if something happened, it was just a trivial matter of the neighbors and small thieves, and the people in Lizheng and the neighborhood solved it by themselves without even dispatching the county government.

Right now, after being quiet for several days, Master Yang reappeared... A sense of excitement for no reason surged into my heart.

And... is it going to be lively again?
How can the excitement of quarreling, scuffling, hair-grabbing and biting among the neighbors in the four neighborhoods be as interesting as the adults standing there, not moving their hands or feet, but only using their mouths to fight with each other?
After all, he is a scholar, who quarrels and quotes the classics, and he can't figure out what it means to find a teacher to explain what it means.

Yang Yan came to visit suddenly?Zhuang Haoran, who was looking through previous county annals of Gusu City, frowned when he heard the words, and sneered, "The visitor is not kind", and pushed the county annals at hand aside, got up and walked out.

He didn't like Yang Yan, but his efforts on the surface still couldn't be talked about.Yang Yan is an official of the second rank, and his court clothes are purple. Although he is pretending not to be wearing an official uniform, he still wears an orthodox purple uniform. If there is no other meaning, who will believe it?

It's just that this old fox is always like this, he doesn't like to face toughness directly, and prefers to beat around the bush!
"True hypocrisy!" Cursing Yang Yan secretly, Zhuang Haoran straightened his official hat, walked out of the yamen to meet Yang Yan, bent slightly towards Yang Yan from a distance, gave a perfunctory salute, and then said lightly: " Why didn’t Master Yang come over to say hello? It’s better to let the officials prepare for one or two!”

Yang Yan stood at the same place and received a salute that he felt unwilling to see, and said calmly: "Master Zhuang, you don't have to be so polite! Now I'm taking leave to return to my hometown. I'm not an official in the court, so I'm using Gusu Come here as a commoner to ask Lord Zhuang for help!"

Zhuang Haoran, who was speaking in one word, let out a sneer, glanced at Yang Yan's clothes, and unceremoniously exposed his hypocrisy: "Zhuang is the first person in Gusu who is wearing purple uniforms and thick-soled official boots. See you later!"

I'm coming!The passers-by who were squatting in the corner to watch the excitement suddenly became excited. Just this sentence is not in vain that he specially "rested" here to watch the excitement.

Facing Zhuang Haoran's sarcasm, Yang Yan's expression was calm, and he still said lightly: "Master Zhuang asked Yang why he didn't say hello when he came here, so that you can prepare one or two. If Yang said hello, How will Mr. Zhuang prepare for the one or two method?"

There are some things that each other knows well.

Zhuang Haoran flicked his sleeves and sneered: "It depends on the laws of the Great Zhou... Oh, by the way, based on Zhuang's shallow understanding of the laws, it seems that there is no law that stipulates what to prepare for Master Yang!"

Master Zhuang has already made two moves in a few sentences, so how will Master Yang see his tricks?A group of people excitedly waited for Yang Yan to make a move.

It's a pity...Yang Yan didn't even raise his eyelids, and never came back for his "bravery" against the villagers of Yushui Village that day. He just said calmly, "In this case, the law is the most important thing!"

Such a "counseling" method when seeing a county magistrate like this, how can it be like a close minister in front of the emperor?All the people were very disappointed.

Facing Yang Yan who is so talkative... Zhuang Haoran didn't feel any joy in his heart, but became more and more vigilant. He only felt that this person's temperament was mostly to retreat and advance, and troubles were about to be dumped on him.

This premonition was fulfilled the next moment.

"Today, Mr. Yang came to ask Mr. Zhuang to investigate something," Yang Yan said, "Someone imitated my handwriting and wrote a letter back home, disturbing my house and causing my mother to be injured. The old servant is missing..."

"What does this have to do with me?" Zhuang Haoran interrupted Yang Yan's words unceremoniously when he heard this, and looked at Yang Yan with a sneer, "Who can imitate Mr. Yang's family letter? It's probably yourself in your house Man! Since it is the ghost of your own people in the house, Mr. Yang, can you not handle such family affairs by yourself?"

After saying this, without waiting for Yang Yan to open his mouth, Zhuang Haoran gave a salute in the direction of Chang'an, and then looked at Yang Yan with a half-smile: "If Mr. Yang finds it difficult to handle family affairs, why don't Zhuang Mou go to the court to invite someone How about helping Master Yang with the family affairs?"

Ordinary people may find it difficult to understand the words for a while, but some scholars who have read books and understand current affairs have already understood the meaning of Zhuang Haoran's words, so they explained in a low voice to the people watching the excitement.

"Cultivate one's morality, regulate one's family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world. Let's not talk about self-cultivation, just take care of yourself. This family regulation refers to managing family affairs. If family affairs cannot be managed well, how can we govern the country and the world?" Xiucai asked. A group of people explained, "If Master Zhuang is really asked to go to the court to let other people help with such family affairs, Master Yang's official career will be almost the same."

How can a person who can't even manage a mansion govern a country?so……

"Master Zhuang is really brave today, probably because of the incident of the villagers in Yushui Village when Master Yang came back, he was so angry!" Xiucai sighed, looking at Zhuang Haoran, his eyes were inexplicably more I appreciate it very much, "Such a county magistrate who is not afraid of power is much better than the original one who only followed the Yang family's lead!"

After hearing Zhuang Haoran's words, Yang Yan's expression was still calm without any disturbance, but he continued to speak: "If the family matters are not secure, Mr. Zhuang bothers you, but this is not a family matter." Yang Yan said and looked at Zhuang Haoran in front of him. , the expression became meaningful, "When the old servant disappeared, he was carrying a letter from Jingzhou Shinan."

Zhuang Haoran's face changed slightly.

……

……

After leaving Luoyang, I had nothing to do. I traveled during the day and camped in the open space beside the official road at night to rest.

After all, they didn't have any urgent matters to hurry back to Chang'an. Resting is still necessary, especially for the guards following on horseback.

After eating a bowl of Yangchun noodle soup with clear soup and scallions from Shuijia, Jiang Shaoyan sat on the hill next to the official road and talked to Ji Chongyan next to him while taking a break after the meal.

"Yang Yan should have returned to Gusu by now, how do you think he will deal with this situation?" Jiang Shaoyan asked Ji Chongyan beside him.

Her understanding of Yang Yan was still 20 years ago. At that time, Yang Yan's mind was already deep, but it was far from what he can compare to now after 20 years.

Compared to her, Ji Chongyan should know this person better, even though Yang Yan has only been back to Beijing for more than a year, and Ji Chongyan was not in the capital during the year Yang Yan returned to Beijing, but the early layout of Jiangnan Road gave her a premonition: Ji Chongyan should have been eyeing Yang Yan very early.

"Of course he won't wait to die," Ji Chongyan said. "No matter how clean things are done, those letters can always ensure that someone has intervened. Therefore, he will use those letters to investigate this matter."

Anyone who can write such a letter is a master at imitating handwriting.

Jiang Shaoyan thought for a while, and asked Ji Chongyan: "Is there such a master of tracing in Jiangnan Dao?"

"Yes!" Ji Chongyan nodded, "And there are quite a few of them."

Hearing this, Jiang Shaoyan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "It's good to have a large number! It would take Yang Yan a lot of effort and energy to check one by one. If there are only one or two, I'm worried that he would rather kill by mistake. Let it go, if there are too many masters, sudden accidents of many tracing masters will inevitably cause trouble, Yang Yan will not do this!"

After all, there are still political enemies in the court who are staring at Yang Yan, so he will not do such a thing that will make people tongue-tied.

"Of course he won't do that, he will find someone to do it!" Ji Chongyan glanced at her and said, "The newly appointed Gusu county magistrate Zhuang Haoran is the best candidate, and he There is a lot of insight in painting and calligraphy."

Unexpectedly, he would hear this name from Ji Chongyan's mouth, Jiang Shaoyan was surprised: "But Zhuang Haoran is not like the kind of person who can let it go, not to mention his own attitude towards the Yang family, but the political party he belongs to seems to be at odds with Yang Yan !"

Under such circumstances, how can Yang Yan make Zhuang Haoran, who disagrees with him everywhere, obedient?
"The case of the Ye family brought up Mr. Zhuangzheng's name again, and there are endless rumors about being greedy for meritorious deeds." Ji Chongyan met the girl's gaze and explained in detail, "At that time, I met Zhuang Zheng. Haoran entered the official examination. He is the master of Zhuang. His homework is very good. Every time he enters the exam, he does not rank in the top three. He is very famous among the candidates. The world is not a saint. For the students of the same class, there is admiration. There is also jealousy."

Muxiu in the forest will be destroyed by the wind!The case of the Ye family came suddenly, and Zhuang Haoran's reputation was damaged a lot, so some people started to take action without being polite.

"People's jealousy should not be underestimated. For some people, it is no less than deep hatred." Ji Chongyan said, "Zhuang Haoran's father died young, and his mother was gentle and resolute, and she was known locally as a chaste woman."

Regarding Zhuang Haoran's past, Jiang Shaoyan had investigated it, and knew that his mother died of a serious illness when the Ye family case happened.

However, seeing Ji Chongyan's sudden mention of this matter, it seems that Mrs. Zhuang's death seems to have something else hidden.

"It's true that you're depressed and sick, and it's true that the oil is exhausted, but it's true that Mrs. Zhuang passed away so suddenly." Ji Chongyan said, "Zhuang Haoran's father died young, and there was a classmate who had a good time when he was studying. Ye When the family case happened, that classmate was the county magistrate in Shinan, Jingzhou. Because Zhuang Haoran was excluded by his classmates because of the matter of the Ye family in the book garden at that time, he took care of the old man and let Zhuang Haoran go to his mansion to live and study for a while. .”

This is an act of righteousness, but acts of righteousness sometimes cause trouble.

"Old lady Zhuang accompanied Zhuang Haoran to study, and moved into the mansion because she was ashamed. His mother and son lived in the side courtyard, and the adult lived in the main courtyard with his wife and son. It was all right at first." Ji Chongyan said, "That county Ling Huan was running around for Zhuang Haoran's matter, because at that time the matter of Mr. Zhuang Zheng was too big, and the local officials in Jingzhou claimed that Zhuang Haoran's scientific examination quota was given to him because of his family style."

Although the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty are considered open, if the ancestors have problems, such as being a bandit, carrying human life in a lawsuit for evil, etc., whether they can enter the scientific examination will have to be re-evaluated.

"Brother Zhuang's matter had turned into a major political party matter at that time, so someone made a big fuss and described him as a man who disregarded human life. If he was so persistent, Zhuang Haoran might not be able to continue his scientific research." Ji Chongyan briefly explained After recounting the situation at that time, he talked about the incident of Shinan County Magistrate, "This act of righteousness after taking in the deceased was originally a good deed, but something happened suddenly after Master Wang San stepped in to help fix Zhuang Haoran's scientific examination quota."

When Ji Chongyan said this, his expression was slightly cold: "The Shinan county magistrate who ran after the old man was found lying on the same bed with Mrs. Zhuang with disheveled clothes. After the incident, his wife collapsed on the spot and passed out. After waking up, he went crazy, his son ran away from home angrily, and there was no news of him. At that time, we admired the old Mrs. Zhuang together, so the sayings of "resurrection of old love" and "collusion into adultery" can be heard endlessly."

Hearing this, the girl already vaguely guessed what was going to happen next: "It was hard for Zhuang Haoran to wash away his troubles and regain the opportunity to become an official in the scientific examination. With Mrs. Zhuang's temperament, she will never let Zhuang Haoran The official career left a clue, I guess Mrs. Zhuang committed suicide."

Ji Chongyan nodded and looked at the girl with a soft expression: "Old Madam Zhuang committed suicide, and only left a suicide note before she died saying that she was persecuted for her affair with the Shinan County Magistrate. Once Madam Zhuang died, his mad wife disappeared. The magistrate of Shinan County also chose to commit suicide, and the suicide note he left before leaving also stated that he was innocent."

An act of righteousness becomes a tragedy.However, for those who are really hands-on, they will not feel that it is a pity to lose a few lives. To them, they will only feel that it is a pity that a game that was so hard to start is gone.

Things are not over yet.

"Since people like Wang San want to use Zhuang Haoran, they will naturally not leave any excuses, so they immediately used manpower to find another survivor besides Zhuang Haoran—the son of the Shinan County Magistrate." Ji Chongyan said, "The child is here He was 15 years old at the time, and he hadn't been identified yet. He was already easily taken advantage of by others, so when he found the child, he hated his father and Mrs. Zhuang. After the two were murdered, they also chose to believe it, but...he said that he hated his father's actions because he didn't know the inside story, so he wrote a letter and asked someone to send it to Chang'an to sue the imperial court."

Of course, it is not so easy to sue the imperial certificate, but for a 15-year-old boy, he doesn't understand the twists and turns in it.

"After Wang San found out, he immediately sent someone to intercept the letter..."

When Jiang Shaoyan heard this, she couldn't help frowning: "Didn't you catch it?"

"The sender has intercepted it." Ji Chongyan glanced at her, paused, and said, "It seems that the letter has also been intercepted, but he didn't get the letter himself."

Jiang Shaoyan was stunned: "What went wrong?"

With the methods of Wang San and other leaders of the political party, it is reasonable to say that doing things will not leave such a handle.

Ji Chongyan glanced at the frowning girl, and said in a nutshell: "It was a thunderstorm when we stopped, and the messenger was chopped into black ashes by Lei Lianren's letter in front of everyone."

Jiang Shaoyan: "..."

"This kind of coincidence, of course people like Wang San will not believe it casually, and they are also dubious. But thinking that this incident is aimed at Zhuang Haoran, Zhuang Haoran has been on guard against sudden appearances since he was admitted to the official position and even in the years after that. The letter came out." Ji Chongyan said, "We have lived in peace for so many years, and even I almost feel that the lightning strike back then was just a coincidence."

He will be sure that this matter is not a coincidence and naturally it is not aimless.

"The son of the Shinan county magistrate and the crazy magistrate's wife accidentally fell off a cliff during a trip a few years ago, and both of them had been dead for a long time when they were found." Ji Chongyan said, looking at Jiang Shaoyan: "This is too much Coincidence!"

The person who wrote the letter was already dead at that time, if another letter came out at this time, there would be no proof of death.And at that time, the son of Shinan County Magistrate hated his father and Mrs. Zhuang the most, and the content of the letter would definitely judge these two people with the greatest malice. Zhuang Zheng's boss is the same.

Of course, that's not the only thing that made him sure that Yang Yan would use this matter to blackmail Zhuang Haoran.

"I received a letter from Fei Ge this morning. Two days ago, Yang Yan went to Zhuang Haoran. Something happened in the Taoist family. He wanted to sue the officials and ask Zhuang Haoran to take over the matter." Ji Chongyan smiled at this point, his tone There was some sarcasm, "My family is in Gusu, and when something happened in Gusu, I asked the local officials to handle it. Yang Yan has always done things like this, and he can't find any faults from the beginning to the end."

"So, you suspect that the letter is in Yang Yan's hands, and he used the letter as a threat to make Zhuang Haoran come forward to be this villain and help him?" At this point, the cause and effect of the matter have been clarified, Jiang Shaoyan couldn't help but said, "Let's talk to Yang Yan Zhuang Haoran, whom Yan Yidang hates to the core, has to do things for him, and it's really ruthless!"

"Compared to him, Mrs. Yang and Dali's tricks are just like childish play!" Jiang Shaoyan snorted, "But I don't think Zhuang Haoran will be controlled by others like this!"

The newly appointed Gusu county magistrate is not a person who is left alone.

"Whether he wants to or not is one thing, but he has to deal with it first." Ji Chongyan's eyes were clear at this point, "If he has no official career, what will he use to fight against the people who persecuted his family back then?"

(End of this chapter)