Jinghong Tower

Chapter 371 Killing the Chicken

For two consecutive days, Zhong Yi was wandering around the streets. On the third day, when he returned to Madam Renyi's house, he happened to see a well-dressed old man leaving with a smile on his face.

Zhong Yi stared at the old man's back for a few more seconds, and then heard a familiar voice behind him: "The villain is back? Master Ba accepted the gift, what's going on?"

What hatred or grudge do you have that makes you provoke me when you see me?
When he went in and saw Xiaoli, Zhongyi realized that the old man had really come to give Xiaoba a gift.

It was a standing frame made of golden nanmu wood, for Mr. Ba to take a nap.

Mr. Ba has high standards and has seen all kinds of good things, but this stand really caught his eye.

Mr. Ba felt that only the wood with golden threads was worthy of his imperial green.

So, when the old man came to give a gift, the Eighth Master accepted it himself.

Zhong Yi: Fortunately you are a bird, otherwise you must be a corrupt official.

The gentleman who sent the gift was named Wang. He was a doctor in the Ministry of Rites. He was originally from Jinling. When he moved south from the capital, he was considered to have returned home. After the capital was moved, there was a major reshuffle in the court. The Ministry of Rites was affected. Lord Wang was quick-witted and decided to quit while he was ahead. He found an excuse to retire.

Although the Wang family is only a second-rate family in Jinling, it also has some assets. Although the court has been changing in recent years, Lord Wang has no worries about taking sides, and has lived a peaceful life.

Zhong Yi asked, "Did this Lord Wang say anything?"

Xiaoli said: "I didn't say anything, I just came here to show my face."

Like face recognition? Did you learn this from He Ran? As for where He Ran learned it from, of course it was from that person.

However, it took Lord Wang a lot of thought to find out that there was an Eighth Master by He Ran's side.

He Ran was not at Madam Renyi's residence today, as the third batch of officials selected from the capital had already arrived.

The first group went to Xuzhou, Bozhou and other places; the second group went to Yangzhou Zhenyang; the third group was specially prepared for Jinling. They came out the latest and arrived in Jinling yesterday afternoon.

These three groups of officials all have at least one year of work experience. They were assigned to various places after taking the official examination. A year ago, Feng Xieying began to select officials from various places to be sent to Jiangnan. The candidates were not finalized until half a year ago. These people came from all over, both men and women.

He Ran held a banquet at Jiangnan Tower to welcome these officials, and also sent invitations to Jinling's aristocratic families, academies, and retired officials.

It is conceivable that although those noble families and academies also sent people, most of them were younger generations of the family. The Chen family even sent a steward. However, no one came from the academies. Instead, retired officials either came in person or brought their more promising children and grandchildren with them. It was obvious that they wanted to take the opportunity to secure a good future for their children and grandchildren.

The manager of the Chen family was thrown out of Jiangnan Tower by Liuxia in full view of everyone.

Liuxia shouted, "Master Chen is so bold that he dares to disrespect the head of the family. If you don't come to apologize in person within half an hour, don't blame me for bullying the minority with your numbers!
Do you think you can just send a servant over? Who are you trying to annoy? Which noble family would have such dirty thoughts that are not worthy of being on the stage? Don't do the things that concubines in the back house do. It's embarrassing!"

The guests who had not had the chance to enter the house were pale in the face. Some of them reacted quickly and ran back quickly. Some of them who did not like the Chen family wanted to laugh out loud. The Chen family's in-laws were blushing. The Chen family were all concubines in the harem, so what were these in-laws?
The head of the Chen family was feeling very proud. He really looked down on this woman named He Ran.

They are both women, and He Ran cannot compare to He Jinghong back then.

He Jinghong respected Taizu in everything. She only cared about fighting and never competed with Taizu.

But who is this He Ran now? She is just a maidservant who can fight beside King Zhao, but she doesn't take King Zhao seriously. When she entered Jinling City, there was only a flag with the word "Ran" on it, but no flag with the word "Zhao" on it. Is she trying to seize power and usurp the throne?
She was just a maidservant, so the Chen family was honoring her by sending a manager over there.

The steward came back, looking dusty and dejected: "Master, something bad has happened, something bad has happened!"

The head of the Chen family frowned and said unhappily: "How can this be so? Where are your rules?"

The steward was sweating profusely in anxiety: "Master, the Ran army gave us half an hour, and now half of it has passed. You should go over quickly. They have said that if you don't go over in person within half an hour, they will use their numbers to bully the minority!"

The head of the Chen family was stunned: "What do you mean by using the majority to bully the minority?"

Steward: ". They might come to my house soon. They threw me out of Jiangnan Building. Master, look at my injuries here and there. They were all caused by them."

The head of the Chen family finally understood what was going on. He threw the pastel teacup at the steward and said, "You useless idiot! You can't even handle such a small matter!"

The aunt beside him came over quickly and touched his chest with her hand: "Master, calm down, calm down, it's not worth it for such a small thing."

The steward looked at the clepsydra in the corner and said, "Master, it's getting late. You should make plans quickly."

Only he knew that the woman just now was not threatening anyone, she really dared to come and arrest the master.

The head of the Chen family slammed the table and said, "I want to see who dares to come to our door!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the eldest son of the Chen family came in hurriedly. The head of the Chen family glared at him and said, "Nonsense, who told you to come in without being informed?"

The eldest son has always been doted on by his father, but he would not normally come in rashly, especially when he knew that his aunt was also there.

He didn't have time to admit his mistake to his father, and hurriedly said, "Father, just now my eldest uncle asked the servant to tell me that I must persuade you to go to Jiangnan Tower in person. He also said that something is wrong. If you don't go, I'm afraid it will bring disaster."

The head of the Chen family was stunned. It would be fine if the steward said that, but now he is his uncle-in-law.

Although the uncle-in-law is young, he is already in charge of the household affairs.

"Has your eldest uncle gone?" asked the head of the Chen family.

"Yes, my uncle went there in person. After seeing Ran Jun's men sent Manager Liu away, he sent someone to invite my father-in-law. Yue's family is not far from Jiangnan Tower, so I think my father-in-law should have arrived by now." said the eldest son.

The head of the Chen family frowned. The in-laws were actually father and son. Did the family’s dignity disappear altogether?
There were three Jinshi and more than a dozen Juren in the family.

How would other noble families view this, if one were to be servile and subservient in front of a maidservant?
It’s so polite!

If I had known this would happen, I should not have agreed to this marriage. Now, my in-laws have done such a despicable thing, and my family will also suffer.

"Tell your wife not to go back to her parents' home recently. You too, stop associating with your uncles!"

The head of the Chen family waved his sleeves and said, "Back off!" The eldest son was driven out by his father, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got, but there was nothing he could do. At this time, the third son heard the news and came over and said to the eldest son, "Brother, father is right. When the emperor went south, the King of Qi sent the Grand Secretary Shi to personally invite father to come out of retirement. But He Ran only sent someone to send an invitation. This is clearly not giving face to the Chen family and trampling on the entire Jinling family. If we give in this time, Wu Bi will become more aggressive in the future and do whatever she wants. Where is the integrity of our Jinling family?"

The eldest son looked at the third son deeply and said, "Do you know how the Ran army opened the city of Yangzhou?"

The Third Young Master said disdainfully: "Fight? How could the Ran Army conquer Yangzhou City? It was clearly not wanted by Duke Dingguo. Everyone knows that Duke Dingguo abandoned the city and fled back to Nanjing with Emperor Yonghe. If Duke Dingguo was still in Yangzhou, what would the Ran Army have to do with it?"

The eldest son shook his head and said, "No, I heard that the Ran army used artillery to blast open the city of Yangzhou. Duke Ding fled because he saw that the situation was hopeless. If he hadn't fled, he would have been buried in the artillery fire."

The Third Young Master: "Brother, you have been brainwashed. He Ran, that maidservant, is always using this trick. You are not going to read those comic books secretly like those ordinary people, are you? Hahaha!"

At this moment, a servant came running over in a hurry: "Eldest Young Master, Third Young Master, Ran, the Ran army's men are here!"

That’s right, half an hour had passed and Liuxia came to arrest the person in person.

Before the Chen family's doorman could ask who the visitor was, the door was kicked open and Liuxia strode in. The Chen family mansion occupied a large area, but Liuxia walked like the wind. The eldest and third sons had just received the news and had not had time to report to the head of the Chen family, but Liuxia had already arrived.

The Third Young Master quickly sent someone to call the guards, who rushed over but were still a step too late. Liuxia had already picked up the head of the Chen family like a chicken.

The head of the Chen family is of medium height among southerners, while Liuxia is tall with long legs and a thin waist. Moreover, one is a scholar who is powerless, while the other has walked out of a sea of ​​blood and corpses. Not to mention their height, just in terms of aura, the head of the Chen family is much shorter.

Therefore, when the Chen family guards rushed over, what they saw was this scene: the head of the Chen family was held in the hands of a young woman, half of his leg was dragged on the ground, both shoes had fallen off, and the aunt's hysterical screams came from behind him.

What’s interesting is that the scene in front of me doesn’t seem out of place and seems quite normal.

The guards were stunned until they heard the roar of the Third Young Master. Then they reacted and rushed towards Liuxia waving their eyebrow-high sticks.

Without saying a word, Liuxia pushed the head of the Chen family to the front to serve as a shield.

The guards' sticks stopped in mid-air. How could they fight? If they continued to fight regardless of the life or death of the Chen family master, who would be responsible for the death or injury?

More than twenty guards of the Chen family watched helplessly as Liuxia carried the head of the Chen family across his horse's back and rode away in a cloud of dust.

Bullying the few with more?

No, only one person came!

The eldest son was stunned for a moment, then got on the carriage and chased after him.

The Third Young Master jumped up and down on the spot, pointing at the guards and yelling, "What's the point of keeping you, a bunch of trash?"

Jiangnan Tower.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the head of the Chen family finally arrived in person, but his appearance was not very decent. Not only were his hands tied behind his back and he was escorted in with dishevelled hair, he was also shoeless and wore a home robe that was wrinkled like a rag.

The head of the Chen family originally wanted to face death with indignation and make indignant accusations, but when his eyes met the guests who arrived earlier, his throat seemed to be choked by phlegm and he could not utter a word.

Those were all acquaintances. Some had family backgrounds that were not as good as his, while others had family backgrounds that were better than his. Some were relatives of the Chen family, while others were old friends of the Chen family.

These people were all well-dressed, wearing gorgeous flowers, and had smiles on their faces.

And he is like an alien!
The head of the Chen family was filled with shame and anger, and wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

He knew he was finished.

From today onwards, he and the Chen family became the laughing stock of the entire Jinling City.

He regretted it. If he had known this would happen, he should have listened to his eldest son's advice, put on a decent Hangzhou silk gown, wore gold-threaded shoes, a green jade crown on his head, a mutton-fat pendant on his waist, and an ivory fan in his hand. He came in a light carriage and toasted with his old friends. He could have ignored the maidservant and invited one or two good friends to find a quiet place, boiled a pot of tea, listened to a new song, and then scolded the maidservant eight hundred times!
If this is the case, wouldn’t it be joyful?
But at this moment, the head of the Chen family could only lower his head and look at his socks that were so dirty that their original color could not be seen.

The banquet had already begun. Although the head of the Chen family lowered his head, the sounds that he found harsh still penetrated his ears.

"I am Song Wenru. I have brought a piece of writing and would like to ask Master He to comment on it."

Song Wenru? A low-ranking scholar who only passed the imperial examinations and was a mere juren. How shameless!

"I am Yuwen Xinzhe, and I have composed an impromptu poem. I would like to ask for your comments, Mr. He."

What Yuwen Xinzhe? I have never heard of him. I don't know where Wu Bi found this person from. How shameless!

In addition, there were the officials who were about to take up their new posts. They stood up one by one and introduced themselves. None of these people's names were ones that the head of the Chen family had heard of.

In other words, He Ran found a group of people with no reputation to serve as officials in Jinling.

What made Patriarch Chen even more angry was that there were women among them, women, and women!

What a shame!
That maidservant Wu wants to use women to humiliate the scholars in Jinling!
The head of the Chen family was shaking with anger, but his head drooped lower and lower. He was afraid. He didn't dare to ask He Ran why she let these people become officials. He didn't even have the courage to look up and see with his own eyes.

Young Master Chen had been waiting outside the restaurant until he saw the head of the Chen family among the guests who came out. Only then did he feel relieved.

"Father, let me help you into the carriage."

The head of the Chen family was taken in, but he walked out on his own. He was dejected and wished he could hide himself in the dust. He was worried that some acquaintances would come to greet him. Fortunately, he was overthinking it. Those acquaintances avoided him as much as possible, fearing that they would be targeted by He Ran's people because of him. How embarrassing it would be.

Patriarch Chen got on his carriage in a daze. After being stunned for a long time, he said, "Water! I want to drink water! Cold water!"

After drinking two glasses of cold boiled water in one breath, the head of the Chen family finally came back to life.

He took Master Chen's hand and said, "Let's go, out of the city, to the manor. Come on, take me to the manor!"

He was too embarrassed to stay in Jinling City. No, he didn't even have the courage to go home. Whenever he thought about how he was taken away from home by a woman, he didn't want to go back in his life.