Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 961
"Is there... something wrong?" Seeing Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng like this, Cao Yong's heart sank.The first feeling is that these two children have been wronged?

"Father, can you talk cheaply." Zuo Zhu wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve and said in a low voice.

Cao Yong frowned slightly, glanced at the two adopted sons, nodded, and took them to the study in the front yard to talk.

As far as Zuozhu is concerned, he is usually honest and prudent. Today, he drank a lot of kumiss, and the little guy couldn't help it.On the way from Wutong Garden to the study, the tears could not stop, and my face was blurred.

The boy on duty in the study lit a candle and exited cautiously.

"Crying and crying, what's the matter, what happened?" Cao Yong sat down and asked.

"Father...the father of the child...how did it disappear?" Zuo Zhu raised his head, looked at Cao Yong, and asked in a daze.

Cao Yong only felt a "buzz" in his head, and stood up all of a sudden, his expression was unpredictable, and he couldn't tell whether it was sadness or annoyance.

Although Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng are just "adopted sons", they were born and raised in Cao's family, and they have been Cao Yong's biological father for more than ten years.Right now, he left this sentence, although he was seeking the truth about his father's death, but seeing his adoptive father so excited, he felt uneasy, and always felt that he shouldn't embarrass his adoptive father like this, even if he was thinking of his life, he should also remember his nourishment.

The truth has been buried for 11 years, can it really be said?

Before Cao Yong's eyes, Ning Chun was laughing and cursing, and he felt tightness in his chest, making him hard to breathe.He held on to the book case fiercely, and there was a battle between heaven and man in his heart.

In the eyes of Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng, it was the adoptive father who was emotionally agitated, his face was pale, and his body was crumbling.

Zuo Zhu couldn't bear it anymore, stepped forward and grabbed Cao Yong's arm, feeling ashamed and anxious.

The adoptive father had just returned from a long trip, was tired from the journey, and hadn't rested yet, so he asked his brother to invite him to the front yard.Since it is a secret that has been hidden for more than ten years, it is difficult to announce the appointment, otherwise the foster father would not have kept it hidden for such a long time.Such persecution, they have violated filial piety.

Seeing this, Zuo Cheng also stepped forward, holding Cao Yong's arm on the other side, and wanted to help him sit down with his brother.

Cao Yong sat down, looked at Zuo Zhu in his left hand, and then Zuo Cheng in his right hand, and his mood gradually calmed down.He sighed, pointed to the chair in front of the desk, and said, "It's a long story, you two sit down and talk."

Since Tianyou and Hang Seng are dealing with the outside world like adults, he should no longer treat the two sons as incomprehensible children.

"It was the spring of the 44th year of Kangxi. Sheng Jia toured the south, and then drove to Jiangning..." Cao Yong started from the first meeting of the four friends in Zhizao Mansion, and talked about the friendship of the four people as teenagers, and then they went to Beijing to serve as officials one after another.

The death of Ning Chun and his son involved the scandal of the Second Wasted Prince. The real culprit behind the scenes was probably Fourteenth Brother, otherwise it was Kangxi.On this point, Cao Yong did not say it directly.

It was one thing for two children to know the truth, but he didn't want the truth to bring the children to grow up with hatred.

Father's feud is irreconcilable, and it only applies to civil disputes. When facing the supreme imperial power, this sentence is a dagger for self-killing.

Cao Yong slowly narrated: "Your grandfather has served as the Jiangnan Salt Transport Envoy for many years. He has always been protected by the prince and is regarded as a member of the prince's family. When your father and grandfather were imprisoned, I was in Yizhou, Shandong. Regarding the cause and effect, I heard about it later from your Uncle Qing. That year, just before the second abolished prince, your grandfather was convicted and imprisoned because of Jiangnan’s accounts, and your father was also implicated and was dismissed from office and imprisoned.”

Speaking of this, he paused, and said: "At that time, your Uncle Ma's family was appointed as the magistrate of Changsha County, and he was beyond his reach; after I got the news of your father's imprisonment in Yizhou, I was a step late in mediating. Only you Uncle Qing was in the capital, but there was no way to ask for help for your father. In less than half a month, your father and grandfather committed suicide in prison... Your aunt is a resolute woman. After arranging servants to send your mother out of Beijing , You swallowed gold and died...You Uncle Qing is a man of great righteousness, and Kou Yan exonerated your father from the crime, but he only ended up being dismissed from office and exiled from the family tree."

To say Cao Yong's regrets in his life, one is Ning Chun's death, and the other is Yongqing's situation.

Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng were stunned when they heard this eloquent and eloquent article, involving the imperial court and temples.

After a while, Zuo Zhufang said in a low voice: "Father, grandfather and father are in prison...is it wrong?"

Injustice?It's not wrong.

According to Cao Yong's later knowledge, Ning Chun's father served as the Jiangnan patrol salt envoy for eight years, and he paid more than one million dollars to honor the prince.

Not to mention filial piety to the prince, but to talk about the luxury of Ningchun's family, which Cao Yong saw with his own eyes.You must know that the inspecting salt envoys are only from the third rank, and their annual salary is only more than 100 taels, plus the hereditary assistant leader and title silver, the total is only three to four hundred taels.

When Ning Chun was in Jiangning, he was already a frequent visitor on the Qinhuai River when he was only fifteen or six; **A few, each throwing fee starts at one hundred taels.

There are traces of Ning Chun's father's greed for ink, and he will definitely not be wronged.

As Ning Chun's legitimate son, before his father came to Beijing, he had to deal with all directions, and if he really wanted to question him, he couldn't break the relationship.

If there is no injustice, their deaths are not clear, and they "killed themselves in fear of crime" inexplicably without being reviewed and convicted by the Ministry of Criminal Justice and Dali Temple.

If it is really entangled, there will be fewer officials corrupting ink in this clean and upright officialdom?

Especially like Ning Chun's father, those who have a master behind them are those who are thrown out by the master to make money.How many people were really questioned and brought disaster to their children and grandchildren?

Even if Ning Chun's father should die, Ning Chun should not die, how can he not be wronged?

"Although they were implicated in the storm of seizing the heirs, they were imprisoned, but the crime of embezzling ink is not groundless." Cao Yong said after deliberation.

In these years of being an official, Cao Yong has witnessed the corruption of this officialdom with his own eyes, and has a deep feeling for the corruption of officials.So, while raising his children, he made them understand that luxury is not necessary for a comfortable life.Moreover, when it comes to spending money, let them record their own income and expenditure account books after they enter school.

After Cao Yong took office in the Ministry of Household Affairs, he came into contact with a lot of official documents on local prices.He often picks some and tells them to the children to let them know the livelihood of the people.

To be honest, brothers Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng are richer than Tianyou and Hang Seng.The land and real estate owned by the two of them are enough to ensure that they will live a prosperous life for the rest of their lives.

Cao Yong's teaching is not to let them find ways to make money, but to let them not be tempted by money, not to be swayed by money.

Therefore, after hearing Cao Yong's affirmative answer, the two little brothers changed their faces.

The father they had never met was actually a corrupt official.

Although it is said that since ancient times, the son has never said anything about his father's faults, but this blow also made the two brothers stunned.

In their hearts, their father is not only a friend with their adoptive father, but he must also be a person who looks up to the mountains and is not a common man. Who would have thought that he was actually a corrupt official who was in the same rank as his grandfather.

For a while, they all went silent.

Seeing them like this, Cao Yong said: "When you grow up, you will know what it means to be 'involuntary'. When your grandfather was working in Jiangnan, your father was only ten years old. How can you speak? Your grandfather, although you should not be greedy for ink, you are not a heinous sinner."

Hearing Cao Yong say good things to Ning's father and son, Zuo Zhu turned his face to the side and muttered: "To build a world, you must always pay attention to integrity. As an official, shouldn't you be the one who rewards the king and comforts the people? The place where you owe your kindness and shame the people is already..."

In the end it is the parent, and the dead are the most important. He still can't say the word "disloyal and unrighteous".

Not only Zuo Zhu was hit, but even Zuo Cheng was depressed all of a sudden, he said: "The adoptive father, second uncle, and fourth uncle are also officials, why there is no 'involuntary'?"

Cao Yong shook his head and said: "It's just that I didn't tell you about it. During his lifetime, the old man was in charge of the Jiangning Weaving Mansion for decades. He was short of millions of taels of silver from the household department and Jiangnan Fanku. He was called a moth of the country. It's just that The infamy was not for himself, and the millions of taels of silver that were in short supply were also spent on Shengjia’s southern tour. Your fourth uncle, before being admitted as a Jinshi, worked as a servant in Henan Prefecture, and received thousands of taels of silver from the magistrate. The dust is the same as the light, and it has only passed two years safely; the money has not been touched at all, and it has been donated to the national treasury. At that time, you have to choose how to protect yourself."

The world of adults is not as pure as children imagined, it is not only black and white.

Although Cao Yong felt that Ning Chun's home was luxurious, he didn't feel that his home could be any better.

While generations of the Cao family were loyal to Kangxi, they also enjoyed the favor of the emperor's close ministers.

Among the several million taels of loan money that was spent like flowing water, the Cao family also took advantage of it, except for the pick-up.Of course, the Cao family later sold their land and properties, but their lives were more relaxed than those of ordinary officials and eunuchs.

Hearing what Cao Yong said, the two brothers were a little confused.

It is clear that the righteous father taught in the past that "don't accept ill-gotten gains" and "don't be greedy", but now he uses "involuntary self-control" to speak well for their biological father; The performance of the Cao family man in officialdom.

Having said all this, Cao Yong felt dry mouth, put down the teacup, and looked at Brother Zuo Zhu who had been silent for a while.

"Father... Is there no one left at Grandpa's house?" Zuo Zhu asked with his head down, thinking about the scene of the mother and son living in the Cao Mansion.

"There is your grandfather's step-wife and her adoptive son. Because of your grandfather's crimes, the position of assistant leader of his branch has been inherited by other clansmen, and the title of Captain Yunqi has been inherited by that adoptive son. .” Cao Yong replied.

Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng didn't ask why they didn't go home, why Cao Yong arranged for them in the future, and they didn't hear about the arrangement of recognizing their ancestors and returning to their ancestors.

Cao Yong rubbed his temples, followed Sheng Jia on his way this morning, got up earlier, and now he is a little confused.

Seeing him, Zuo Zhu couldn't hide his lackluster expression: "It's getting late, the boy and his younger brother are going to settle down, and the adoptive father should also rest earlier."

Cao Yong nodded, got up and took the two brothers out of the study.

After entering the second gate, Cao Yong said: "You brothers are both sensible. When you know the past, you will be more sad than your mother. In front of her, speak carefully. If you want to know about the past, just ask me……"

*
Under the jurisdiction of the Lifan Academy, the official post.

Amidst the flickering candlelight, there was a low voice of reciting Buddha...

(End of this chapter)