Blackening starts from the golden years

After listening to Wei Wei's words, Zheng Qingtian was obviously relieved and said with a smile:
"Anyway, there are no survivors. Even if someone from the Imperial City Bureau comes, there will be no evidence. We should stick to the original plan and push the blame on the Ning Haijun surnamed Chu who has an old grudge against Yang Zhiyuan."

At this point, Zheng Qingtian remembered something. He looked at Wei Wei and asked:
"By the way, you didn't forget the knife I asked you to put in Ning Haijun's hand at the Yang family, did you?"

"I haven't forgotten, but..."

Looking up at Zheng Qingtian, Wei Wei said cautiously:

"Last night, a group of people broke into Yang's house and rescued a woman. We shot one of them. You only told me to change the knife, but not the arrowhead..."

Having said this, Wei Wei didn't dare to continue speaking, because Zheng Qingtian was looking at him with eyes spitting fire, and was obviously extremely angry.

Looking at his useless subordinates, Zheng Qingtian was furious:

"The arrowheads are all made by each county. With a little investigation, we can find out their source. If this matter is exposed, you and I will all be implicated. How did you do it?!"

"I am guilty, please spare my life, sir."

Seeing Zheng Qingtian getting angry, Wei Wei was so scared that he kowtowed and admitted his mistake. Although he was not very smart, he still understood his master's temper. It was not scary to see his master getting angry, but it was scary not to get angry. If he got angry, he would at most receive a certain punishment, but if he did not get angry, he would be really finished.

"idiot!"

"Yes, yes, I am an idiot. I am an idiot."

Wei Wei quickly scolded himself for being an idiot. Seeing him like this, Zheng Qingtian was even more furious. He claimed to be a smart man, but the people under him were all idiots. He could let them kill people, but if he didn't explain it clearly, there would definitely be mistakes.

Just like this time, he arranged people to go to Yang Mansion and wipe out the entire family, saying that no one should be left alive. His original intention was to kill only the entire Yang Mansion, but these idiots directly killed all the people in the Imperial City Bureau.

Killing them was fine, but he specifically instructed to keep Ning Haijun's knife, so that if the truth came out in the future, Ning Haijun's surname Chu would take the blame. But these idiots actually used the arrowheads cast by the county, and the key was that they let a group of people escape. His original plan was to leave no evidence, but now he has both witnesses and evidence. If the truth comes out in the future, wouldn't he be implicated along with his entire clan?

When Zheng Qingtian thought of this, he was furious. He had originally planned well, but because of these idiots under his command, his plan became full of loopholes. With murderous intent in his heart, Zheng Qingtian looked at Wei Wei who was still kneeling in front of him and kowtowing, and said in a deep voice:
"We must find out who were the people who escaped last night. And that woman, who is she? What does she look like?"

"Yes, yes, I will definitely find out. That woman..."

Wei Wei carefully raised his head and glanced at Zheng Qingtian, whose face was as gloomy as water. He swallowed secretly and said:

"It was too dark last night, and that woman had been covering her face with a handkerchief, so I..."

Looking at Wei Wei who was hesitant in speaking, Zheng Qingtian had no idea what he meant, and could not help but said angrily:

"Where is the team that rescued her? Did you see it clearly?"

"They all have their faces covered, my humble servants..."

"idiot!"

"I am guilty, please spare my life!"

Looking at the furious Zheng Qingtian, Wei Wei continued to kowtow and beg for mercy.

"Besides that I am guilty and the county lord please spare my life, what else can you say?!"

Seeing Wei Wei, who was always causing trouble but could not accomplish anything, Zheng Qingtian was furious. He picked up the teacup on the table and smashed it on his head, cursing:
"You are a useless person who is always causing trouble. If this matter is exposed, both you and I will be implicated. We must find out who the person who escaped is!"

Facing the extremely angry Zheng Qingtian, even though his head was broken and bleeding, Wei Wei still dared to kneel on the ground and kowtow and beg for mercy:

"I am guilty, may the Lord forgive me."

As he spoke, Wei Wei suddenly had an idea. He looked up at the angry Zheng Qingtian, and said with a happy expression on his face:
"Sir, I remember now. I know who that group of people are. They are also from the Imperial City Division."

"Someone from the Imperial City Department?"

Hearing Wei Wei say this, Zheng Qingtian frowned slightly and said:

"Do you have any evidence?"

"The firearms they used were very powerful, so I have an impression of them."

Looking at Zheng Qingtian, Wei Wei knelt on the ground, moved forward a few steps on his knees and said with a smile:
"Sir, before at Zhao's Teahouse, the five salt gangsters were killed by the Imperial City Division. The coroner checked and found that they were all killed by a metal bullet shot into their heads. The black-clad men last night also used very powerful firearms. Many of our men died, all shot to death by those metal bullets. Such powerful firearms have never appeared in Qiantang before, but now they suddenly appear. They must be the people from the Imperial City Division."

At this point, Wei Wei said with some doubt:

"However, they killed two people from the Imperial City Division at the beginning. When they saw us killing people everywhere in Yang's Mansion, they didn't care. If we hadn't stopped them from leaving, they probably wouldn't have fought us. How could the people from the Imperial City Division kill their own people?"

After listening to Wei Wei, Zheng Qingtian seemed to be thinking about something. He stroked his beard with his hand and seemed to have figured it out.
"The Imperial City Bureau is not a monolithic entity. Where there are people, there are factions. Where there are factions, there are struggles. Just like us and the guy named Chu from Ning Haijun, we both wish the other person would die."

"Your Excellency is wise!"

After flattering Zheng Qingtian, Wei Wei said with a smile:

"Last night I heard those people calling that woman Madam Zhao. I guess she must be Zhao Pan'er, the owner of Zhao's Teahouse. Zhao's Teahouse is the best teahouse in Qiantang. Zhao Pan'er is very beautiful and good at making tea. She is known as the tea-selling lady. I guess the big shot of the Imperial City Department must have taken a fancy to her, so he sent people to protect her."

"Not bad."

I don't know what he thought of, Zheng Qingtian smiled and said:
"It's good to like her, Wei Wei, go tell Xiao Zhizhou that there is a famous girl in the Hangzhou Jiaofang, who is known as the best prostitute in Jiangnan. Ask her to come to my house."

"Sir, do you want to..."

Looking at Zheng Qingtian, Wei Wei smiled obscenely:
"I will do it right away. Only someone like you is worthy of enjoying the most famous courtesan in Jiangnan."

"idiot!"

Zheng Qingtian snorted coldly, he looked at Wei Wei and said in a deep voice:

"I intend to present the most famous courtesan in Jiangnan to the Lord of the Imperial City Department. Please be polite and invite her to my house, okay?"

"Yes, yes, I understand. I will send someone to Leying to invite him here right away."

"Well, let's go."

"Yes, I resign from my humble position."

"return."

Zheng Qingtian called Wei Wei back and instructed:

"Pass on my order. Tell them that last night some robbers broke into the Yang family's house, set fire and robbed the property. All the checkpoints and posts in the county should conduct a strict search. Find someone to draw their portraits. Send out arrest warrants. Kill them if you see them."

"Yes, I humbly obey my orders."

Wei Wei accepted the order respectfully. He thought to himself, he didn't know if there were enough prisoners left in the prison.

"Also, when you send someone to invite the Lord of the Imperial City Department, you must treat him with courtesy and never offend him. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I will send someone to invite him right away."

"Well, let's go."

After taking a look at Zheng Qingtian, Wei Wei bowed and walked out.

……

At the same time, in Zhao's Teahouse, Yuan Xudong was being chased and beaten by Sun Sanniang with a pillow around the room.

"Stop right there, you lecher!"

"Sun Sanniang, please stop chasing me. If you continue to chase me, I will not be polite to you."

Yuan Xudong warned as he ran.

"You're not being polite, I'm not being polite either, stop right there!"

Hearing this, Yuan Xudong simply stopped. He turned around and looked at Sun Sanniang who had chased him with a pillow in her hands, and smiled slightly:
"I won't run away, what can you do to me?"

"I……"

Seeing Yuan Xudong standing there and looking at her teasingly, Sun Sanniang was stunned at first, and then she became aggressive and waved the pillow in her hand towards Yuan Xudong fiercely, saying:
"I'll beat you to death, I'll beat you to death, you scoundrel, I'll let you bully Pan'er."

"Okay, if you hit me again I'll really hit you back."

Yuan Xudong warned in a deep voice, but Sun Sanniang wouldn't listen. She continued to wave the pillow in her hand and hit him hard.

"If a tiger doesn't show its might, you really think I'm a sick cat, right?"

Yuan Xudong said in a deep voice, and as he spoke, he grabbed Sun Sanniang's right wrist, twisted it slightly, and directly grabbed her shoulder with his backhand, turning her over and pressing her on the table in the teahouse in an instant.

“Ah, it hurts, it hurts~~”

Sun Sanniang screamed in pain. Yuan Xudong twisted her hands behind her back. He put his feet on the bench next to him and said with a smug smile:
"How about it, do you still dare to hit me?"

"You lecher, please let me go. You bully a woman. What kind of man are you?"

Even though Yuan Xudong pressed her hands behind her back on the table, Sun Sanniang still refused to admit defeat and kept cursing.

Yuan Xudong didn't like outspoken women, but Sun Sanniang had big breasts, so he could barely ignore her little flaw of being brainless. Holding her down with one hand, Yuan Xudong touched her face with the other hand and said with a smile:
"Do you want to try whether I am a man or not?"

"Bah, you are shameless, you scoundrel, let me go."

Sun Sanniang blushed and cursed. After all, she was also a woman, and women had their own weaknesses, especially women in this era. A woman's reputation was very important.

"Try calling me a lecher again?" Yuan Xudong said in a deep voice.

"Lecher, lecher."

Sun Sanniang cursed twice in a row. Seeing her like this, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but curl up a teasing smile. He pressed Sun Sanniang forward with one hand, so that her entire upper body was pressed against the table. Then he took a step forward and used his legs to push her legs apart, making them split. This shameful posture made Sun Sanniang very embarrassed. She shouted in shame and annoyance:

"You shameless bastard, let me go!"

"Shut up!"

Yuan Xudong shouted in a deep voice. He didn't want to disturb Zhao Pan'er in the bedroom. He glanced in the direction of the bedroom and saw that Zhao Pan'er didn't come out. Yuan Xudong lay close to Sun Sanniang's beautiful back. He whispered in her ear with a smile:
"Sanniang, if you call me a scoundrel again, I will let you see what a real scoundrel is. How about that?"

"you……"

Sun Sanniang really didn't dare to scold anymore. She blushed with shame and begged for mercy in a low voice:

"Can you let me go?"

"What did you say? I can't hear you. Say it again, louder."

Yuan Xudong laughed jokingly. Hearing this, Sun Sanniang cursed in a low voice with shame and anger:

"lecher."

"I heard you calling me a pervert again, didn't you?"

Yuan Xudong smiled and leaned forward slightly.

"Ah~~"

Sun Sanniang screamed in shock, her face flushed with shame, she actually discovered...

Looking at the plump and charming Sun Sanniang, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but express his respect to her. There was nothing he could do about it. This was a very natural phenomenon, wasn't it?
People can control how much they eat, but they cannot control the secretion of hormones.

"Woo~~"

Sun Sanniang opened her eyes wide in vain and let out a sad sound. Yuan Xudong did not expect that she was so sensitive. Is this the traditional woman of ancient times?
Looking at Sun Sanniang under him, Yuan Xudong whispered in her ear with a joking smile:
"Sanniang, I didn't expect you to have such a good figure. Although you are a little older, you still have your charm. It's a pity for you to be an ordinary merchant's wife."

"Asshole, let me go!"

Sun Sanniang was about to cry. Although she was fierce and aggressive, she was still a very traditional woman at heart. How could she withstand such teasing from Yuan Xudong?

"Sanniang, Sanniang."

Someone was calling Sun Sanniang outside the teahouse. The voice gradually got closer and it was a woman's voice.

Yuan Xudong let go of Sun Sanniang. She quickly straightened her clothes and adjusted her mood, but her face was still a little red and her eyes were a little moist. She glared at Yuan Xudong fiercely, then walked out of the teahouse and went to meet the woman who was walking towards the teahouse.

Before Sun Sanniang could speak, the woman saw her and said hurriedly:
"Sanniang, please come with me to the ancestral hall quickly. It will be too late if you are any later."

"Ancestral hall?"

Sun Sanniang asked with some doubt:

"Why would I go to the ancestral hall if I have nothing to do?"

"fine?"

The woman who came hurriedly said:

"Adoption is such a big thing, and you, as a mother, don't even go and take a look?"

"Adopt, who is adopting?"

Sun Sanniang was a little confused. She only had one son, Fu Zifang. It was impossible that her son was going to be adopted, right?
"Who else could it be? Your family's Zifang."

The woman who came said this. Sun Sanniang was stunned for a moment. When she came to her senses, she ran towards the Fu Family Ancestral Hall.

……

Fu Family Ancestral Hall.

Sun Sanniang's husband Fu Xingui, son Fu Zifang and widow Tao stood in the center of the ancestral hall, with members of the Fu family on both sides. The old patriarch of the Fu family held the contract in his hand and read it loudly in front of Fu Xingui, Fu Zifang, widow Tao and members of the Fu family:

"I now wish to pass on my son Fu Zifang to my cousin Fu Xincai as his successor, and to establish Fu Xingui, styled Renyuan, and Fu Xincai's widow, styled Shan, as his wife, Tao."

As soon as the Fu clan leader finished speaking, the door of the ancestral hall was kicked open by Sun Sanniang, and she rushed into the hall.

"Sanniang?"

Looking at Sun Sanniang who rushed into the ancestral hall aggressively, Fu Xingui hurriedly said:

"Sanniang, listen to me."

"Fu Xingui, shut up!"

After glaring at Fu Xingui fiercely, Sun Sanniang looked at Tao Shi beside her and said angrily:
"Tao, we are not familiar with each other, but we have no grudges against each other. Why did you steal my son?!"

Seeing Sun Sanniang yelling at Tao, Fu Xingui pulled her over and said angrily:

"Sun Sanniang, come here!"

After taking a look at Sun Sanniang, Tao quickly looked at the Fu clan leader and the Fu clan members on both sides of the ancestral hall, and said with a face full of grievance:

"I don't understand anything. I only know that my husband is gone, leaving behind a huge fortune with no one to manage it. Naturally, I have to appoint a son from the younger generation of the same clan to inherit it."

"I bother!"

Being pulled by Fu Xingui's arm, Sun Sanniang looked at the hypocritical Tao and cursed:

"Fu Xincai is several rooms away from our family. Besides, there is no reason to give your only son to someone else for adoption. I worked hard to raise Fu Zifang. If someone is jealous and wants to take advantage of the situation, they are dreaming!"

Tao glanced at Fu Xinggui and gave him a look that told him to quickly deal with Sun Sanniang. Fu Xinggui nodded secretly. In fact, he and Tao had been having an affair for a long time. Tao had taken a fancy to him, and he had taken a fancy to the property in Tao's family. In addition, Tao was gentle and attractive, while Sun Sanniang was fierce by nature. Fu Xinggui had wanted to divorce her for a long time, but he just lacked an excuse.

Now, Tao secretly paid off the clan leader and several respected elders in the clan. With the support of these old guys, Fu Xingui could divorce Sun Sanniang with just any plausible reason. He had already discussed it with his son Fu Zifang. It just so happened that Fu Zifang also didn't like his mother. Sun Sanniang controlled him every day and sometimes even beat him. On the other hand, Tao treated him very well. Therefore, Fu Zifang also wanted to change his mother, and he and his father hit it off. They were indeed father and son.

Looking at Sun Sanniang who was still cursing Tao, Fu Xingui raised his hand and slapped her hard on the face. Sun Sanniang was stunned. She covered her face with her hands and looked at Fu Xingui, muttering:
"You hit me?"

"What's wrong with me hitting you? You slandered your sister-in-law and trespassed into the Fu family ancestral hall. You deserve to be beaten!"

Looking at Sun Sanniang, Fu Xingui cursed:
"Sun Sanniang, I've had enough of you. You beat and scold me and Zifang every day. You are obviously the daughter of a butcher, but you insist on imitating Meng Mu and force Zifang to go to school every day. If he doesn't go, you beat him. If I stop you, you beat me too. In this world, is there any wife and mother like you?"

"When did I hit you? Yes, I did hit Fu Zifang, but I did it for his own good. All things are inferior, only reading is superior. Don't you understand this truth?"

"Bah, what's that? Everything is inferior except for studying. I think you've been brainwashed by Zhao Pan'er because you've been with her every day. You said there's nothing wrong with her being a courtesan, but she insisted on becoming a good woman. And Song Yinzhang, she earns more money from her hair wrapping in a day than I earn in a month. She wears gold and silver every day and has maids serving her. She doesn't enjoy such a good life and keeps thinking about becoming a good woman. Isn't this a disease?"

Fu Xinggui cursed and said that he was very jealous because Song Yinzhang and Zhao Pan'er were both richer than him, and he, a grown man, was actually not as good as two women. This made him psychologically distorted. In addition, he was a businessman with greedy nature for profit, and he had little knowledge and was short-sighted. In his cognition, being rich was enough, and everything else didn't matter. He didn't care about the saying "all things are inferior, only reading is superior" at all, because he was just a small merchant and could not reach the level of "official" at all. Naturally, he didn't understand what it meant that all things are inferior, only reading is superior.

According to the treatment of scholars and officials in the Song Dynasty, even an honest official like Bao Zheng was a wealthy man, far beyond the reach of ordinary people. This was just in terms of salary. Coupled with the power in their hands, there were a series of privileges such as "no punishment for officials". No wonder people say that all things are inferior except reading.

Take Bao Zheng as an example. At his highest point, he could get an annual salary of about 18000 strings of coins. Sun Sanniang worked as a butcher for three years and saved up 1 string of coins. 18000 strings of coins vs 1 string of coins, this means that all things are inferior except for studying.

Let's get back to the point. After giving Fu Xingui a fierce glare, Sun Sanniang didn't want to argue with him. She looked at Fu Zifang next to her, took his hand and was about to leave the ancestral hall, saying:
"Zifang, come back with me."

"I don't want to go back with you!"

Fu Zifang shook off Sun Sanniang's hand. He hid behind Fu Xingui and Tao and looked at her and said:

"I don't like you, but you only know how to beat me and force me to study to earn you a tiara and a robe. I don't want you to be my mother!"

"Zifang, you..."

Looking at Fu Zifang, Sun Sanniang felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. At this time, Fu Xingui jumped out and said:

"Sun Sanniang, you heard it too. My father and I have had enough of you. Today, while everyone from the Fu family is here, let's all be witnesses. I, Fu Xingui, am going to divorce you."

"You want to divorce me?"

Sun Sanniang's eyes widened. Now her son didn't want her anymore, and even her husband wanted to divorce her.

"That's right. I want to divorce you, Sun Sanniang. From today on, you are no longer my Fu Xingui's wife."

Fu Xingui said loudly.

Not far away, Mrs. Tao was secretly proud of herself. She just spent some money to buy Fu Zifang some delicious food and fun things, and just like that, he didn't want his biological mother anymore. Naturally, Mrs. Tao looked down on such a bad guy. When she and Fu Xingui had their own children in the future, Fu Zifang would naturally send the child away and let him be an apprentice in the store. As for what she and Fu Zifang said about giving him the inheritance of the family property in the future, that was naturally a lie. He didn't even want his biological mother, so how could Mrs. Tao dare to want such an ungrateful person?

Fu Xinggui wrote a letter of divorce on the spot, but Sun Sanniang was naturally unwilling to sign it. With the help of some members of the Fu family, Fu Xinggui forced Sun Sanniang's hand to press her fingerprint on the letter of divorce. Sun Sanniang cried heartbrokenly, but no one else cared. Fu Xinggui was smiling, and even Fu Zifang looked happy, not caring at all about how miserably his biological mother was crying.

All of this was seen not only by Sun Sanniang, but also by other members of the Fu family. People value filial piety, and Fu Zifang treated his biological mother in this way. Although other members of the Fu family would not say anything, in their hearts they all classified him and his father as people with whom they should not have close relations.

Seeing her husband and son no longer wanting her, Sun Sanniang collapsed on the ground and cried loudly. She was eventually thrown out of the ancestral hall by the Fu clan. Meanwhile, in the ancestral hall, Fu Zifang finally got his wish and became Tao's stepson. Tao reached out and gently touched his head. He looked up at Tao and called her happily:
"mother."

"Hey."

Tao responded gently. Fu Xingui and Fu Zifang were both smiling, not caring at all about the sad cries of Sun Sanniang in the ancestral hall.

...(End of chapter)