After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 187 Rumor
Hai Jiao didn't expect that he could get clues about Du Boqin from Uncle Ma just by deceiving him.

Uncle Ma has been in the Chang'an Vanguard for more than 30 years, and has served four commanders during this period. Although his official career has not been smooth, his foundation in the Chang'an Vanguard is deeper than that of Du Boqin, the commander.

The latter secured this position through his connections with his in-law family, but the officers below may not be truly convinced of him. They were just out of respect for his former boss, and because his beloved son died in battle, his beloved daughter died young, and his successor There is no one, so I can only lament the fact that my son-in-law takes over, and then I will give him face and obey his orders.

But when most people face Uncle Ma, they will identify with him more because he is also a child of a local military family in Chang'an, has also been to the Chu-Hu battlefield, and has suffered from old problems due to injuries during the war.In addition, he had little hope of promotion, but he became even more popular among the middle and lower-level military attachés.

That is to say, in recent years, his leg disease has worsened and he has to take leave frequently. His wife's temperament is not pleasing to the public, and she has become stingy with money. As a result, he can no longer treat his colleagues to drinks, and only now does he have a few people who come to visit him. Nothing more.But in the early years, the officers in the guard were very happy to interact with him. Sometimes after drinking too much, they would inevitably reveal a few words of their innermost thoughts.

Uncle Ma once heard someone say that although Commander Du Boqin was also a son of a military family, his father's achievements were ordinary. He himself was quite talented and had made several achievements on the battlefield, so he could be regarded as a rising star in the army.However, he was promoted faster and higher than other generals of the same age. This was mainly because he won the favor of the former Commander Zhou's daughter, successfully brought the beauty home, and happened to encounter the death of his father-in-law's only son in battle, so he was promoted. As the heir to the Yue family, he focused on training, and he rose to the top through nepotism.

However, he has never been willing to bear the reputation of being a softie. In his early years, he always liked to emphasize in front of his relatives and friends that he relied on his true ability and military merit to gain a foothold in the military. He could still get ahead without his in-laws and wife.

His wife, Zhou, had not been able to conceive for many years. He complained several times in front of his cronies, worried that the Du family would lose their relationship, and he felt that his wife was not filial and respectful enough to his mother.Under pressure, his wife acquiesced to her mother-in-law and took her husband's childhood sweetheart, the girl next door, as a concubine and gave birth to a son.Although the relationship between the Du family's wives and concubines was relatively harmonious, and his wife could treat her concubine as her own, she was always depressed and died of illness ten years ago.

His wife's confidant maid had complained to his in-laws' family, but Du Boqin showed grief and remorse in his wife's mourning hall and vowed never to renew their relationship, and finally gained the understanding of his in-laws' family.As expected, he never remarried and refused my mother's repeated persuasion. Before she died, she forced him to remarry, but he did not relent.He also asked his concubine to host the wedding ceremony, and during the holidays, he asked his son to go to his in-law's house to greet him, as if he wanted to record his son in his wife's name.His concubine always abides by her duties honestly, and his son is also very respectful and close to the Zhou family's maternal grandparents. The latter are naturally happy to see that they have successors, and have always taken good care of his family.

As for the fact that his concubine left his wife's servants as a dowry unused, there were rumors a few years ago.But he always claimed that he couldn't bear to see his old friend again, for fear of hurting his feelings, and he had never lost money or food to his old servants, so gradually no one mentioned it.

As time went by, no one in Chang'an City stopped saying that Du Boqin relied on his wife's clan to rise to power. Instead, they regarded him as a powerful general who had a deep love for his deceased wife.

People who have just watched him rise from a low place to a high level may not necessarily think so in their hearts.There are many of his childhood friends and old neighbors in the Chang'an avant-garde. Who doesn't know the details of his family?However, seeing that he was gaining power, no one deliberately insulted him, just making a few comments in private.

These people who were familiar with Du Boqin had been an important source of his personal soldiers in his early years. They benefited from him and became more knowledgeable.

However, in recent years, for some unknown reason, the elderly members of his army have withdrawn as they have grown older. However, the younger members of his family have been unable to fill their seats. On the contrary, there are more and more unfamiliar faces.Many of them were not even locals from Chang'an, and some claimed to be from a certain border town in the northwest. Soldiers from the same town came to recognize them, but their accounts did not match up.The middle and lower-ranking soldiers of the Chang'an vanguard could no longer arrange their nephews into the personal ranks. Seeing that Commander Du was acting more and more arbitrarily, their private grievances became deeper and deeper.Uncle Ma also pointed at his wife and said to his younger sister Ma: "Your sister-in-law has been trying to arrange for your two nephews to be soldiers beside the commander, but she doesn't even look at it. Now the soldiers around the commander How many of them are our own disciples in the guards? I tried to persuade her to stop dreaming, but she just refused to listen, so I had to let her go."

Uncle Ma's wife couldn't help complaining: "What you said is too much. Why are you just daydreaming? Didn't the nephew of Jia Qian's family become a personal soldier of the commander? After two years, he was promoted to the seventh rank. . He is no better than Da Lang in terms of riding and shooting skills. If he can do it, why can’t Da Lang Erlang do it?!"

Uncle Ma sighed: "How can this be the same? Jia Qianshi is Commander Du's confidant. He single-handedly promoted him, and he obeys his orders in everything. But he has always had an average relationship with Commander Du, how could he His son? Besides, the soldiers around him don’t like the rules of the garrison, and no one controls them. I don’t want my children and grandchildren to get into such bad habits."

This time Mrs. Ma was speechless.She also felt that the soldiers commanded by Commander Du were eating, drinking, whoring and gambling in private, so she warned the second wife of the Du family in private.The second lady reasoned that she was only in charge of the household affairs and had nothing to do with the commander's official affairs, so she could not say anything more.She no longer forced her sons to serve as soldiers for Commander Du, as she was somewhat concerned about the bad style of soldiers.

However, Mrs. Uncle Ma still felt that it was a pity: "The second wife is really a good woman when we get along with each other on weekdays. She is very tight-tempered and doesn't put on airs. Her son is also smart and strives for success. He is polite and considerate at a young age... Now But what to do? Commander Du has put himself in a big situation, and he still doesn’t know whether he can escape unscathed. His son’s future is uncertain. The boy has not been accustomed to riding and shooting since he was a child, and he is determined to pass the imperial examination. What if he fails? If your future is ruined, won't your whole life be ruined? Alas..." She looked at Haijiao, "Isn't it true that the second lady was unjustly accused? What will be her funeral arrangements? Has the Du family sent a message to her son?"

Hai Jiao spread his hands: "How do I know what happened at home? But I heard that the concubine of the Du family has been buried in a hurry, and even the two maids who were waiting were sold. Even if the son of the Du family came back for the funeral after hearing the news, , and it’s impossible to catch up with my biological mother for the last time.”

Mrs. Majiu took a breath of cold air and couldn't help but said to her husband: "Sir, Commander Du can't really tell that he is such a heartless and unjust person! After all, he gave birth to the only child. The son's concubine was chosen for him by his mother, and even his wife praised her, so why was she buried so hastily? The matter has not yet been decided, maybe the second lady was unjustly accused?"

And those two maids, one was the granddaughter of Commander Du and his wife’s confidant, and the other was also the daughter of the Du family’s housekeeper, were they sold just as they were told?Isn't Commander Du afraid that the stewards at home will rebel? !
Mrs. Uncle Ma thought this was impossible, and even refuted Hai Jiao: "You must have heard wrong! Who are these people talking nonsense? Is it necessary for such confidants to sell? They don't know how to sell. Master’s house.”

Hai Jiao raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "If even the children of close confidants are to be sold, Commander Du must be hiding an extremely important secret, right?"

Would the stewards of the Du family really not know about such a secret?Didn't they have any special reaction to their daughter being sold?

(End of this chapter)