The manor in the southeast is different from the north, and the area is not very extensive, but it is exceptionally exquisitely repaired, just like the cultural characteristics of the southeast. Attention to detail, every subtlety, and strive for perfection. This small villa in the countryside was originally an industry of the Wei Guogong's mansion, as one of the pastimes of the Guogong in the summer. Now, it has become the temporary residence of Fan Jin in Shangyuan County.

Outside the gate of the manor, more than a dozen dukes armed with sticks as if they were facing a great enemy, and beside them, eight strong samurai looked at each other with angry eyes. Just that fierce look is enough to scare off most visitors, so that people don't dare to take half a step forward.

This is the family slave of the Duke of Wei, with the army practicing martial arts, the ability is strong and has a certain status, and he does not consider the consequences. Looking at Jiang Ning, there are not many people who dare to provoke them, and generally speaking, when they see them, they know that they should hide.

On the opposite side of the courtyard, several makeshift pergolas had been erected, servants in green clothes fanned their masters, and a fire was lit in the distance, and a simple stove was set up to make tea. Those well-dressed and over-faced figures of different ages all sat under the pergola to enjoy the coolness, enjoying the services of the servants, but they still kept scolding their subordinates for being useless and moving too slowly.

They all craned their necks and looked towards the small courtyard, eager to see through the courtyard wall and see inside. Some sighed with sad faces, while others remained silent, not knowing what they were considering.

After a while, the door of the courtyard opened, and Xu Naiying, the senior of Shilin who was a four-grade prefect, was sent out. I only said a few words at the head of the door, and closed the door casually.

Xu Naiying is in his fifties this year, and his body is relatively obese, and summer is torture for him. In addition, because of the mood, I sweated while walking, and when I came to the pergola, my clothes were soaked through with sweat.

There is no need to ask about the result, just look at his face to know that the negotiation did not go well. Someone asked, "Old Huangtang, how are things going?" What is Fan Dayin's idea, is he willing to settle things and calm people, or does he have to make a big fuss? ”

Xu Naiying shook his head, wiping his sweat while looking for water to drink. The servant said that the tea had not yet been cooked, so he slapped him in the face. Although he was in his fifties, he still had a little strength in his hand, and the servant's face was instantly slapped in the face.

"What do you want you to eat, useless fool? Don't you see that the old man is very thirsty now? Just bring water, it doesn't matter if you turn it on or not, just cold water. ”

After drinking a few glasses of cold water in one go, Xu Naiying took a deep breath and said to a few people: "I'm not afraid of your jokes, I haven't even seen Master Fan, so Miss Six will block the drive." With her sideways, who can see people? ”

"This ...... Miss Six is also there? Fan Jin is a big man, what is the matter with Miss Six here. ”

"When is it, do you still care about what those do? The point is, what does Miss Six say? ”

Xu Naiying shook his head, "What Miss Sixth means is that this matter can't just be settled, and we must find out what is behind the scenes." She has already written a letter to her family to send more people to investigate. Really, why did such a disaster come about, I'm afraid it's going to be difficult for our moral township now. ”

Several squires shook their heads, looking a little helpless. For everything that happened in the countryside, it was inexplicable.

Fan Jin's signboard in the countryside was to inspect the social studies of the townships, especially after Zhang Juzheng dismissed the lectures, all the big academies were closed, and the private academies in small places in the countryside were often still open. Especially in the southeast region, the literary style is thriving, and social studies are booming, and who cares about you in the countryside, what Zhang Juzheng said. The work of the county magistrate already includes culture and education, and there is nothing wrong with inspecting schools and closing down non-governmental lecture venues. But no one is stupid, and everyone can guess that Fan Jin's inspection of the school is fake, and it is true that he took the opportunity to cool off the heat.

Mountains and rivers in the countryside are always cooler than in the city, and it is a good choice to enjoy the cool here. The officials of the Ming Dynasty have no days off in the summer, but the officials themselves are the executors of rope and ink, so they naturally know how to find loopholes in the rules and regulations. In the name of inspecting schools, it is enough to complete the task by going to various villages in the countryside to eat a special meal, and then randomly finding two unlucky schools to deal with them. This method has been used before, but it is not new. What's more, it was Miss Wei Guogong's Mansion who was walking with Fan Jin, and the place where the two went first was the ancestral tomb of the Xu family in Zhongshan, it was more like accompanying a girl out on a date, and no one took it seriously.

It wasn't until Gu Shoushan, the grain chief of Daode Township, who was also the chief grain chief of Shangyuan District B, that he found the squires to ask about the plan, and everyone knew that Fan Jin came out this time, not just to enjoy the coolness. The summer grain collection has just been completed, and he wants to take advantage of this time to thoroughly re-examine the private drawbacks in the summer grain collection. Just in case, they didn't even use the public servants, but the Xu family found Jinyiwei.

Fortunately, Gu Shoushan is a member of the Gu family in Xiyuan, and he also has a relationship in Jinyiwei. As soon as he checked on him here, news came from there, telling him to be more cautious.

Everyone knows the private disadvantages in the summer grain, especially the whip law was implemented early in Jiangning, and the squires have a lot of knowledge of the private evils in it, and they all know how to exploit loopholes. Each family has a part in the holes in this year's summer grain, and if it is found out, it will be a little troublesome. Besides, if the grain manager who is usually friendly with him wants to capsize because of this kind of thing, who will cooperate with him in the future? In any case, this matter must be suppressed.

Everyone has a share when collecting money, but now that something happens, no one wants to run, and they all have to find a way to solve it. According to Xu Naiying's idea, each family made up a sum of money to bribe Fan Jin, and then according to the rules, they allocated a regular amount of money to him every year. Otherwise, find a beautiful woman to accompany him for a few more nights, and everything will be solved. When I was in the prefect, I did a lot of such things, and I guaranteed that there would be no problems.

However, Gu Shoushan was a little worried that Fan Jin Lion opened his mouth widely, this kind of kid from a poor family and favored by the prime minister is the most likely to not know the height of the sky, and if he can't ask for a large amount, he is afraid that he can't afford it. It's better to do it hard than to do it softly, buy a few dead people from the countryside, and scare him with a knife. Let the county officials know that the countryside is not as good as the city, and they will flee back to the city.

Just when the two parties were discussing whether to do it softly or hard, the news of Fan Jin's assassination injury spread, and then the whole thing got out of control.

Even the most radical Gu Shoushan never thought of buying a killer to assassinate. Killing an official is tantamount to a rebellion, not to mention Zhang Juzheng's quasi-son-in-law, killing him is not his own life. Everyone is trying to find out who is so idiotic that they actually make trouble to the point of inviting a killer. Everyone blamed each other for a long time, but the assassin was not found, and there was a cumulative disagreement within themselves. Now the squires of Daode Township look like they are separated, and many people have their own calculations in their hearts.

Internal matters are one thing, and how to solve external matters is another. Fan Jin's identity is not comparable to an ordinary county order, not to mention that there are six young ladies accompanying him. Sending a few people to scare him, it can be said that he committed public anger, and sending a killer is a taboo in officialdom, Zhang Juzheng knows that he will definitely not be spared.

Before looking for the messenger, the most important thing is to appease Fan Jin's emotions first. All the gentlemen who have a reputation or are from an official position take turns to lobby, not only for self-defense, but also to ask Fan Jin to calm his anger. all said that the assassin had nothing to do with him, he was a decent gentleman, how could he do that kind of thing. But who did it, I can't say why.

From the time the assassination was carried out to the end, everyone heard the rumors, and no one saw the truth. As for what happened to Fan Jin's injury, and what happened to the assassin, no one knows. Those who wanted to see Fan Jin were all blocked, and they couldn't even see anyone. Although there are many bigwigs in Jiangning, this matter is obviously Fan Jin's reason, how can others speak? What's more, the sixth lady of the Wei Guogong family gave Fan Jin the platform, whether it was an official or a famous person in the literary world, there were too few people who could afford to provoke this bastard Guogong.

The most suspicious person in this matter is Gu Shoushan. First of all, he is the chief grain chief, and he is the first person responsible for bribing the grain manager to withhold summer grain. The second is that he is a member of the Gu family, that is, Gu Shi Gu Shouclums, the Gu family, Gu Shi almost became the prime minister's son-in-law, but was cut off by Fan Jin, and his family held a grudge and bought a murderous assassination of Fan Jin...... It seems to be able to justify itself, and it can be fully explained from the motive for committing the crime.

The squires didn't say anything, but they probably had a tacit understanding in their hearts, and they were ready to let Gu Shoushan be a backstabber. But this matter has to be seen by Fan Jin before he can continue to talk, and now he can't even see anyone and talk about a ghost.

Xu Naiying is the one with the highest official position among the living people in Daode Township, even he was blocked, and the others were afraid that there was no way. Several people sighed for a long time, complaining that they didn't know which daredevils did this, and even dared to do the thing of buying a murderer, and if they were found out, they would have to skin him. On the other hand, you have to think about how to get through this level at the moment.

Xu Naiying's eyes suddenly lit up, "Brothers, as far as I know, Shou Zhuo seems to have returned to his hometown from the capital, and it seems that he has nothing to do." Why don't you ask him to come forward and talk to Fan Jin, anyway, the two always have a friend in Beijing, maybe it is most suitable for him to come forward......"

In the upper room of the courtyard, the fragrance of medicine overflows. Xu Liu frowned and said, "Brother-in-law is obviously not injured, why is there a room full of medicinal smells, and it smells bad to death." ”

Fan Jin, who was sitting on the chair of Huanghuali Taishi, posing with a folding fan, made a gesture of knocking his head with a fan, "Sixth sister is a smart person, why is she confused at this time?" If you have to do a full set of plays, you have to give up halfway, what kind of good means is it? I just couldn't let them see if I was hurt or not, and when someone who couldn't stop them entered the room, they couldn't figure out what was going on with me as soon as they smelled the medicine. This is also part of the trick. ”

Xu Liu couldn't help but nod when he heard it, his eyes were full of admiration: Brother-in-law is the best, brother-in-law is the best.

She thought about that night a few days ago, when her brother-in-law and she were walking in the courtyard, the Assassin suddenly appeared. It is also a long time of peace, and no one has considered that there will be assassins near Jiangning who dare to kill the imperial court officials, so there are some omissions in defense. Although there are big masters like Feng Mingqi to suppress the formation, they will not really suffer losses. But assuming that there was no Fan Jin desperately blocking the front and fighting those assassins, Xu Liu could not guarantee that he would not be injured.

Thinking of the scene where his brother-in-law faced a few single knives with his bare hands and protected himself behind him, Xu Liu's heart beat inexplicably, and the stories he conceived gradually condensed into physical images, which flashed in front of him. His face blushed involuntarily, and he looked at Fan Jin with something else in his eyes besides admiration.

Fan Jin said: "I'm not the most powerful, the person who sent the assassin is the real power." Several assassins have good martial arts and relatively neat techniques, and they look like professionals, not people who can be accessed by rich people in the countryside. After several people were caught, they committed suicide, and the remaining one actually said that they were hired by the Duke of Qianguo. Ordinary people almost fall for them! ”

Xu Liu remembered the content of the interrogation, and also clenched his fists hatefully. "My uncle hasn't arrived in Jiangning yet, so how did he do it. Besides, my uncle is an old man who is an official of the imperial court, where would he do such a thing? Someone must have framed it. ”

Fan Jin also said: "I don't comment on how the Duke of Qianguo behaves, but I believe that if he wants to kill me, he will definitely not choose such a crude method." Buy a few swordsmen to stab me, it is better to use poisoned arrows, Qianguo Gong is very skilled with this, and it is more than enough to deal with me. I believe that this matter has nothing to do with Qianguo Gong, and it is estimated that the mastermind behind the scenes is to send people to pretend to be Qian Guogong's subordinates to hire murderers, and even deliberately bring out some Yunnan habits to mislead them, once they are caught, they can mislead the government. That person didn't expect these people to really kill me, what he or they wanted was for me to make trouble with the Duke of Qianguo, and make a scene in Jiangning recently. ”

"So what's in it for them?"

"Good question! I think the biggest advantage of this is that the court's attention will be attracted to right and wrong, and will no longer pay attention to him. And he can take the opportunity to correct his mistakes, or dig a bigger hole and run away. No matter which path he takes, he needs time, and to buy that time, he has to make the market chaotic. The opportunity for this assassination was well chosen, if I was assassinated in Daode Township, the biggest target of suspicion would be the Gu family. Even if these assassins were caught, they would only confess to the Duke of Qianguo. Then whether I am dead or alive, for him, I can achieve the goal. The only thing that can make him work in vain is that I am not fooled at all. ”

"Yes, that villain is destined to be in vain this time, my brother-in-law is so smart, how can he be fooled! He deserves all his efforts! Brother-in-law, who is this bad guy, do you already know? ”

"Well, there is a direction, but the evidence is incomplete, and it's useless to say it now, and you can't move him."

Xu Liudao: "Then you tell me, I'll let my father arrest him and beat him, I'm not afraid that he won't move." ”

Fan Jin got up with a smile, "Sixth sister doesn't have to worry about it, I have my own sense of proportion in this matter, and the sixth sister can just rest." I'll play chess with you in a moment. ”

"Really, my brother-in-law always treats me like a child." Xu Liu shook his head depressedly, and was a little depressed. Jinyiwei, who was easy to find, turned around and the news leaked, so useless, no wonder my brother-in-law treated himself as a child. Sooner or later, one day, I will do something beautiful, and my brother-in-law knows that he is not a useless person. What my sister can do for him, I can ......