Daming Yinghua

Chapter 28
The scholar who tried his best to dissuade Dong Zuchang was Gu Shouqian.His grandfather, Gu Mingshi, was a Jinshi during the Jiajing period. He was in charge of the jade seal for the emperor. The Gu family was also a well-known family in Songjiang.

Among the younger generation of the Gu family, Gu Shouqian, the second son's grandson, is the most handsome and unrestrained. Although his father died young, he is loved by several uncles.

Gu Shouqian was very talented in calligraphy and painting. When he was in his early tenth year, he happened to meet Dong Qichang who had resigned from office and returned to Songjiang. His grandfather Gu Mingshi took him to Dong's residence to learn from him and became Dong Qichang's closed disciple.Dong Qichang treated Gu Shouqian like a teacher like a father, and last year he personally acted as a matchmaker to match the marriage between the eldest daughter of the Han family, Han Ximeng, and Gu Shouqian.

Gu Shouqian and Han Ximeng, one good at painting and the other good at embroidery, have known each other since they were teenagers. They have seen each other from afar several times during the Lantern Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, and they have long been in love with each other.

Dong Qichang was old this month, and it was really a coincidence that sesame seeds fell into the eye of a needle.

Today, Han Ximeng took Zheng Shoukuan himself to Songjiang Mansion to find Huang Zunsu regardless of his uncle and aunt's obstruction, and asked if Zheng Haizhu had heard from him.

Not wanting to go to Dong's mansion, many strong men with wooden sticks suddenly rushed from all directions, blocking several passages aggressively, and immediately came up a brawny shirtless man who was about to approach Han Ximeng and Zheng Shoukuan Suddenly, someone from the gate of Dong's house pulled them in and closed the door again.

It was Gu Shouqian who came to greet Dong Qichang earlier in the morning to save Han Ximeng.

At that time, Gu Shouqian saw that the momentum was not right, so he wanted to gather a few strong servants and mother-in-law with Dong Zuchang, and take Dong Qichang, Dong's family members and Han Ximeng into a carriage from the back door of the house that had not yet been besieged, and go to Dong's family in Huating County. Grange avoids disaster.

However, because Dong Qichang saw that Huang Zunsu, the new governor of Songjiang Prefecture, had evacuated the villagers yesterday, he thought that the situation would not get out of control today, and he was worried about the hundreds of calligraphy and paintings stored in the house, so he was unwilling to evacuate them.

After such a hesitation, within half a stick of incense, Dong's house was completely surrounded, and the people in the house could no longer get out.

Gu Shouqian often went in and out of Dong's house, and now he stood upright in front of the door, his young face covered with a calm and calm look, he seemed more sophisticated than Dong Zuchang, who was nearly ten years older than him, and he was quite respected by the servants of the Dong family.

"Bring the ladder in the corner of the courtyard and lean it against the wall. I'll go up and have a look." Gu Shouqian ordered.

"Gu...Second brother Gu, be careful." Han Ximeng said from the side, not loudly, but without any hesitation or shyness.

Today was the first time that Gu Shouqian got so close to Han Ximeng, and it was the first time he heard her call him "Second Brother Gu". , still makes Gu Shouqin's heart surge.

He comforted him softly: "It's okay, I heard the shouting outside, there is someone who seems to be acquainted, let me ask him a few words."

Gu Shouqian lifted his robe and climbed up the wooden ladder.

But beyond the high wall, under the stone steps of the gate of Dong's house, there are hundreds of villagers gathered, most of them are holding hoes, shovels, wooden sticks and other tools.

Surrounding the courtyard wall were more people, some of them didn't look like farmers, but like green-skinned rascals, they didn't utter insults, but their eyes were stern.

The villagers at the gate were shouting and clamoring, when they suddenly saw a frail and fair scholar appearing on top of the wall of Dong's house, they felt surprised and shut up one after another.

In this moment of silence, Gu Shouqian's eyes had caught the person he was looking for.

"Weng Yuansheng, just now you said that Mr. Dong asked for bribes in Hubei, was it you?"

The man named Weng Yuansheng, less than [-] years old, is a native of Songjiang.

Fortunately, his old mother used to be a nanny for the Gu family, and she cried and begged for care. Gu Shouqian's uncle accommodated Weng Yuansheng with a job in the government office to sort out official documents and newspapers and copy them. Receive one tael of silver per month to support my mother, wife and children.

During the holidays, Weng Yuansheng would visit the Gu mansion according to the etiquette, so Gu Shouqian was very familiar with his voice.

Weng Yuansheng, who was standing in front of the villagers, did not expect the second young master of the Gu family to be in Dong's house today, and when he came up, he questioned him in an accusing tone, obviously standing out for Dong's house.

Although Weng Yuansheng is often nagged by his old lady to be grateful to the Gu family, he doesn't think so in his heart. Occasionally, when he sees the suave and suave Gu family's nephew in the street, after a moment of admiration, he immediately curses inwardly with jealousy: You just have something to do. It's just a bit of good luck in reincarnation.

This time, Weng Yuansheng was chosen as a pawn by a well-known figure, and he was filled with the idea of ​​going all out for a gamble. Not to mention Gu Shouqian, the grandson of the Gu family who has not grown a stubble. Nor does it shrink back half an inch.

Therefore, Weng Yuan raised his eyes with contempt, and raised his voice: "It's good to teach the second young master Gu to know that Weng has been working in the yamen for six or seven years, whether it's handling the mansion report, or listening to the advice of the adults, more than a thousand times? Dong This eunuch has a bad official reputation, which is well known inside and outside the capital. Now that he has been expelled from the court, his personal morality after returning to his hometown is so unbearable. It is unbearable to connive at his children and do evil!"

Gu Shouqian met this Weng Yuansheng at home before, and felt that this person's facial expressions were not right. Seeing what he did today, he concluded that he was probably a villain who was used by someone to make a boss.

The Second Young Master Gu confronted each other: "Weng Yuansheng, don't fool the folks with such nonsense. Tell me, what is Dong's doing wrong, and what is wrong with it?"

A strong man with a hoe beside Weng Yuansheng rushed to answer: "Well, Dong Shichang's second son wants to snatch the youngest daughter of the Lu family as a concubine."

Gu Shouqian bowed his hands to the strong man: "This friend, the daughter of the Lu family you mentioned is called Luying. Her mother was going to remarry and go to the Lu family, so she didn't want to take her with her, so she sold her to a woman a long time ago. A couple with the surname Chen is the daughter. The Chen couple are long-term employees of Dong Gong's family, and Luying also comes to do some needlework on weekdays. A few days ago, Luying's mother claimed to be seriously ill and wanted to see her Daughter, the Chen couple kindly sent Luying away, but they did not see her back for more than ten days. They came to ask for someone, only to find out that Luying's mother-in-law and Lu's husband were going to sell their daughter to Suzhou as a concubine. The Chen couple Called a few servants who are familiar with the Dong Mansion, and came to the door again to argue."

Having said this, Gu Shouqian climbed up another ladder, bravely exposed more of his body, and boldly said to the people outside the wall: "This is a matter of reason and reason, it's all wrong between the man from the Lu family and Luying's mother. How can the Weng Shuban in the yamen make a play to slander Dong’s mansion? You keep talking about Minnv Minnv, did you see Minnv and her mother, go to the Yamen to beat drums and cry for grievances?”

There was a whisper among the crowd.

Someone said: "Ah Ertou, haven't you seen that Lu Ying go to sue the government?"

"Ah? I didn't, I wasn't, you heard me wrong, okay? The little lady I saw was from the theater troupe. She said that someone wrote a play and asked them to play Dongfu to rob a woman. After the performance, that person didn't come. pay."

When Weng Yuansheng heard this, he turned his head and said angrily, "Because that Fan Dashan, who wrote the playbook, was furious to death."

After saying that, Weng Yuansheng simply left behind the gentleness of a half-student, and ran up the steps of Dong's mansion.

He pointed to a group of strong men in the front row, and spit and said: "The one on the wall is the young master of the Gu family in the east of the city. They are rich children who wear a pair of trousers. Folks of the Fan family village, Fan Chang, the talented man who came out of your village with great difficulty." , Lu Jianbuping wrote a play that ridiculed the Dong family for doing evil, but Dong Zu often came to the Yamen to make a fuss, demanding that the magistrate put Fan Xiucai in prison. Fan Xiucai was so angry that he died. Asking for an explanation, Dong Zu ordered him to strip his clothes and humiliate him. The men in your Fanjiazhuang are still in command, so you just allow yourself to be bullied like this?"

"Weng, my Dong family has no grievances with you, why are you talking so nonsense!"

With a bang, the door of Dong's residence was opened, Dong Zuchang was finally out of anger, and rushed out, wanting to confront Weng Yuansheng.

Weng Yuansheng couldn't wait for this scene, he glanced triumphantly at the open ebony gate, smiled grimly at Dong Zuchang, and then called to the Qingpis on both sides of the wall to rush in.

However, as soon as he turned around, he let out a miserable "Aiyo" and fell down on the stone steps.

A wooden arrow flew from the air, and hit him on the shoulder impartially.

The arrow was not equipped with an arrowhead, but it was powerful. Although it couldn't penetrate the flesh, it caused Weng Yuansheng to be in great pain, and he wailed on the ground.

The people who were about to rush to Dong's house all froze instinctively and stood there in a daze.

"Soldiers, soldiers, officers and soldiers..." Someone finally shouted from the back row of the crowd.

Immediately afterwards, everyone saw a man in a flower robe and a scarf and helmet jumping down from the big camphor tree behind him.

He took a few steps to the front of the Dong Mansion steps, and made sure that Weng Yuansheng, who was howling like a pig, was fine, before turning around to face the stunned people.

There were a few people in the crowd who usually listened to books, and after seeing clearly the red flying fish with white horns embroidered on the man's chest, they exclaimed in surprise: "Jin, Jin Yiwei."

(End of this chapter)