Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 424: Grand Husband

Sheng Hong and Madam Wang wanted to resolve the matter quickly, but since Old Madam Sheng was unwilling to step forward, there was nothing they could do.

Sheng Hong had no choice but to go to the Liang family in person.

However, the Liang family wanted Old Madam Sheng to come and discuss the matter in person.

Madam Wang sent people to catch the adulterer, but she did not dare to bring Liang Han back.

Liang Han was worried that Sheng would cause trouble, so he hurried home and told his mother.

When Mrs. Wu found out about this, she was so angry that she slapped Liang Han in the face. She did not dare to hide the matter and told Earl Yongchang.

Just as Old Lady Sheng guessed, Earl Yongchang was worried that the incident would get out and affect his eldest son's future, so he asked Liang Han to marry Molan.

The relationship between Earl Yongchang and Madam Wu has always been bad, and Earl Yongchang doesn't like the legitimate son born to Madam Wu very much.

I don’t care who Liang Han marries.

But Mrs. Wu was unwilling. It was not that she was unwilling to let Liang Han marry Molan.

Madam Wu really looked down on Molan, and it was obvious that Molan did this on purpose.

How could she be willing to let Liang Han marry such a shameless person?

However, no matter how unwilling she was, she had no choice but to accept the situation as it had come to this point.

Otherwise, if the matter gets out of hand, even though Liang Han is a man and the impact won't be as great as a woman, his reputation will be ruined and it will be difficult for him to be granted a title in the future.

And it would also offend the Hai family.

But Mrs. Wu was unwilling to agree so easily.

Molan was originally a concubine's daughter. Now that she has done such a thing, the Sheng family will let her return home for the sake of their reputation, but she can forget about getting any benefits from the Sheng family.

This meant that the Sheng family saved face, but she married a scheming and vicious daughter-in-law.

Not only can I not persuade Liang Han, but my mother's family can't help me either.

Mrs. Wu was not willing to accept this.

She suggested that Old Madam Sheng come to negotiate the situation, which meant she wanted to discuss terms with her.

Earl Yongchang didn't want to go through so much trouble, but Madam Wu said that if he didn't agree, she would not let Liang Han marry Molan.

The Liang family refused to give in, so Sheng Hong had no choice but to go home to find Old Lady Sheng.

……

While Sheng Hong and the others were racking their brains over Molan's affairs, Rulan also found out what had happened.

This greatly inspired her, and she ran straight to tell Madam Wang that she and Wen Yanjing had already secretly decided to spend their lives together.

After hearing this, Madam Wang fainted from anger.

What happened next was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

After waking up, Madam Wang slapped Rulan in anger and had someone check her body. She was relieved to find out that she was still a virgin.

She still looked down on Wen Yanjing and was unwilling to marry Rulan to him.

However, Sheng Hong gave Madam Wang a severe scolding.

Molan's issue hasn't been resolved yet, and now this has happened again.

In order to avoid any hidden dangers, Sheng Hong insisted on marrying Rulan to Wen Yanjing.

Even if Madam Wang was unwilling, she could do nothing because Rulan was in the wrong.

As for Old Lady Sheng, after Sheng Hong's constant pleading, she finally gave in.

She could go to the Liang family, but Lin Xiaoniang first murdered the concubine, then murdered the descendants of the Sheng family, and now she has instigated Molan to do such an immoral thing, which almost ruined the reputation of the entire Sheng family's women and brought disgrace to the Sheng family.

Therefore, Lin Xiaoniang must not be kept. Considering that she had given birth to children for the Sheng family, she had made a contribution, so she was given a cup of poisoned wine and buried with great honor.

Although Sheng Hong was angry about what Lin Xiaoniang had done, he couldn't bear to execute her when the time came.

But Mrs. Sheng's attitude was very firm. If Sheng Hong did not agree, she would not go to the Liang family.

In the end, Sheng Hong agreed.

Old Lady Sheng went to the Liang family and no one knew what they talked about. Not long after, news came out that the fourth daughter of the Sheng family fell into the water at Sanqing Temple and was rescued by Liang Liulang.

The marriage was destined by heaven, so the two families arranged a marriage for their children and they became in-laws.

When this news came out, many people did not believe it. Some even said that the Sheng family let their daughter seduce the Liang family's son in order to curry favor with the rich and powerful, and the Liang family agreed to it for the sake of their reputation.

At this time, another piece of news came out that Sheng Hong promised his second daughter to his student Wen Yanjing.

This move restored a lot of reputation for the Sheng family, which was something Sheng Hong had not expected.

Apart from these two pieces of news, the death of a concubine of the Sheng family did not cause any ripples.

Sheng Hong originally planned to wait until Molan got married before sending the poisoned wine to Lin Xiaoniang.

Old Mrs. Sheng was worried that things might get complicated, so she refused to agree.

After the Sheng and Liang families decided on the marriage, Molan was taken away.

Although Lin Xiaoniang was still locked up in the woodshed, she was not afraid. She felt that she had already won and would be released as soon as Sheng Hong's anger subsided.

As a result, the food served that night was very sumptuous, and there was also wine. She didn't think much about it and ate a big meal.

By the time he felt severe pain in his stomach, it was already too late and he died soon after.

……

Li An didn't know anything about the Sheng family, but from some rumors about Molan and Liang Liulang, he had guessed something.

As the saying goes, many things will not stop happening just because certain things change.

What happens between Molan and Liang Liulang depends entirely on their personalities.

Ang Lee's presence has changed some things, but this change will only affect the sooner or later of this happening.

However, Li An ignored these things. A few days after the appointment, it was the day for Yang Tao to go to the Liu family to propose marriage.

Ang Lee prepared a generous gift and attended the wedding banquet.

A few days after the engagement, Liu Wan'er took a boat to Yangzhou to get married.

After Li An finished his work at Shizhu's wedding, he went to visit the residence of Grand Master Han Zhang with gifts.

There is an unwritten rule in the imperial examination that after passing the joint examination, the chief examiner will be the tutor of the new Jinshi.

Students who pass the exam will visit him in person.

Of course, there are so many new scholars that the examiner cannot meet all of them. He will only choose some of them to meet properly.

There is a term in official circles called "disciples and former officials". In the past, when there was a recommendation system, aristocratic families would open private schools to recruit students.

The so-called disciples and former officials are those who studied privately in his home or were recommended by him to become officials.

However, after the implementation of the imperial examination system, the so-called disciples were actually the scholars who passed the examination when the examiner was the chief examiner.

When you visit someone in person, if the examiner sees you, you become his disciple.

The chief examiner this time is Grand Chancellor Han Zhang, and the deputy examiner is Hai Wenren.

Logically speaking, one should pay a visit after the notice is posted.

However, Han Zhang did not meet anyone who came to visit him, and refused all the gifts he brought. When Li An found out, he did not go either.

However, after being appointed this time, Li An thought about it carefully.

It was very likely that Han Zhang or Hai Wenren contributed to the fact that he was granted the title of Shujishi.

Li An hesitated for a moment, but decided to give the man's home a try.

No matter whether it is helpful or not, you should always give it a try. Otherwise, if you don’t thank others for their help, it would seem like a bad person.

In Li An's heart, he actually prefers him who is helped by Hai Wenren. After all, Hai Wenren always likes to recommend talented people to the government.

But he was not sure, so he went to Han's house to try it first.

But he remembered to tell the doorman, and after the doorman went in to report, he came out and invited him in.

Could it be that Han Zhang really helped him?
With this doubt, Li An followed the doorman to the main hall.

"Student, nice to meet you, sir." Li An bowed and saluted.

"hehe."

Han Zhang smiled and said, "If I remember correctly, your courtesy name is Ziqian, right?"

"That's right, sir," said Li An.

"Ziqian, please sit down." Han Zhang said.

Li An thanked him and sat down. Han Zhang smiled and said, "Boxian has told me many times that you are a young hero. I also read your essay in the provincial examination. It is very well written."

"Thank you for your praise, sir. I still have a lot of shortcomings. I hope you can give me more advice in the future." Li An bowed.

Han Zhang shook his head slightly and said, "I did contribute to your selection as a scholar. That is my duty as a great minister, not to form cliques or cultivate followers. That is why I refuse to see all the scholars who come to visit me. The reason why I want to see you is because the essay you wrote in the provincial examination is very insightful, and I want to meet you in person."

"I admire your virtue, sir." Li An bowed.

Han Zhang's performance in the play is very admirable.

After Zhao Zongquan ascended the throne, when the situation was unstable, he took the initiative to propose that the empress dowager rule the country from behind the curtain.

His behavior could easily arouse Zhao Zongquan's suspicion.

After all, Zhao Zongquan was not a child. He was already in his thirties when he ascended the throne. Anyone at that time would want to monopolize power and not have a empress dowager ruling the country from behind the curtain.

But Han Zhang did it.

Later, when the situation stabilized, Zhao Zongquan did not want to be a puppet and wanted to take power, and Han Zhang spared no effort to help him.

The government even asked court officials to take sides by posthumously conferring a title on his biological father, and Han Zhang firmly stood on Zhao Zongquan's side.

You must know that Zhao Zongquan's plan to posthumously confer the title of Emperor Father on his biological father is not tenable in terms of etiquette and law.

Some people may find it strange that when an emperor becomes emperor and posthumously conferring an honor on his biological father, it is a filial act. What’s the problem?
In fact, the problem was very serious, because Zhao Zongquan was adopted by the emperor's family and inherited the throne.

After he inherited the throne, he posthumously conferred the title of Imperial Father on his biological father and the late emperor on him as Imperial Uncle.

In fact, he no longer acknowledged the late emperor as his father.

The concepts of later generations are different from those in ancient times. Both adoptive father and biological father can be called father.

But in ancient times, there was only one father. Even if a child was adopted while his biological father was still alive, he could not be called father.

Zhao Zongquan did that just to find an excuse to force the officials to take sides, not because he really wanted to deny the late emperor.

Otherwise, he would be denying the legitimacy of his throne.

However, what Zhao Zongquan did was against etiquette and law. If it was not done well, those who supported him might be blamed for it.

But Han Zhang still stood on Zhao Zongquan's side.

From this we can see that Han Zhang is a person who attaches great importance to the country and is not the kind of person who is blindly loyal to only one person.

What he cared about was national stability, not who the emperor was.

"hehe."

Han Zhang smiled and said, "Have you read military books?"

"Students are occasionally involved." Li An replied.

"Ah."

Han Zhang nodded and praised: "Your essay in the examination had a very good strategy against Xixia. Later, your essay in the palace examination also proposed many strategies that benefited the people. You are a talented person who is both civil and military. That's why I recommended you to His Majesty. You don't have to thank me. You just need to be loyal to your duties and serve the country well."

"Yes, I will keep in mind the advice of the great master." Li An said.

Han Zhang fiddled with the tea lid and asked, "What do you think of the reform?"

Li An pondered for a while and said, "The world is like the Yellow River. Over the years, a lot of silt and sand have accumulated in the Yellow River. If it is not cleaned up, it will easily cause floods."

Han Zhang's eyes lit up. Li An's analogy was interesting. He was silent for a while and said, "But repairing the Yellow River requires conscripting civilians. The burden of the people in the affected river section can be understood, but the rest of the civilians are not threatened by floods, so how can they be willing to do so?"

"Tempt them with benefits." Li An said.

"You are so cunning." Han Zhang was stunned and scolded with a smile.

If the Yellow River was really to be repaired, why would there be any need to tempt people with benefits? Ordinary people have to perform labor service anyway, so why would anyone care whether they are willing or not?

He just followed Li An's words and likened the construction of the Yellow River to reform.

If the imperial court could gain benefits by making those people agree to the reform, then why would there be any need for reform?

"Before, Boxian told me that you gave Jiefu some advice, and Jiefu asked to be transferred to another post because of your influence. Why don't you dare to say it now?" Han Zhang said.

"My Lord, I was just talking nonsense at first, but I didn't expect Jiefu to take it seriously. I..."

"All right."

Han Zhang waved his hand to interrupt Li An and said, "I don't mean to blame you. I know Jiefu's character. He has the ability but is too stubborn and inflexible. It's ok to let him be in charge of execution, but if you really let him be in charge of leading the reform, it will be difficult to quell the various opposing voices."

After hearing this, Li An admired Han Zhang even more. He had to admit that Han Zhang was very accurate.

"He has been taught a lesson in Yuzhou. I have the ability to protect him, but I didn't because I wanted him to calm down and think clearly. With his temper, it's not easy for you to convince him. I want to hear your opinion, too."

Han Zhang said and looked at Li An.

Li An pondered for a while and said, "My dear lord, after I talked with Jiefu last time, I thought about it carefully. Of course, my original idea was still a bit idealistic. Later, I thought of a countermeasure, but I don't know if it is feasible."

"Oh?"

Han Zhang smiled and said, "Tell me about it."

"My Lord, the reason why reform is difficult to succeed is that it affects the interests of the majority of people, so naturally there will be great resistance. And the reason for this is that the steps are too big, and we want to solve all problems at once. In this case, why not do it step by step. You can choose one point to start with, and not to talk about reform or anything, but to rectify and investigate thoroughly. For example, the salt business. My family is from Yangzhou. I have traveled between Yangzhou and Bianjing several times, and I found that it is no secret that private salt is rampant in Jiangnan.

If we only investigate the salt business, although there will still be great opposition, it will be much smaller than if we carry out reforms.

Once the salt business is cleared up, the pressure on the national treasury can be relieved. After the situation is settled, the land in the country can be cleared up. In short, we can do it step by step. "Li An expressed his thoughts.

This is the solution he came up with during this period.

"What you said is indeed a good idea, but if it continues for too long, it will cause domestic turmoil, which is not a good thing. Moreover, if it is delayed for too long, the old illness will relapse." Han Zhang shook his head.

Of course he had thought about these things, but taking the salt administration that Li An just mentioned as an example, even after the investigation, some people would still be greedy after a long time.

If it is delayed for too long, as problems are solved one after another, new problems will arise later.

(End of this chapter)