"It's ...... Something? Cao Hao saw Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng like this, and his heart sank suddenly. The first feeling is that these two children have been wronged?

"Father-in-law, can you speak cheaply?" Zuozhu wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve and whispered.

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

If you want to say that you live on the left, Ping Suri is also honest and steady, and today I drank a lot of mare's milk wine, and the little guy couldn't help it. On the way from Wutong Garden to the study, the tears couldn't be stopped, and a small face was pasted.

The little servant on duty in the study lit the lamp and candle and cautiously withdrew.

"Crying and crying, what kind of system has it become, what is going on?" Cao Hao sat down and asked.

"Father-in-law...... Father of the child...... How the hell didn't it happen? Zuo Zhu tilted his head, looked at Cao Hao, and asked in a daze.

Cao Hao only felt that his brain was "buzzing", and he stood up suddenly, his expression was unpredictable, and he couldn't tell whether he was sad or annoyed.

Although Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng are just "righteous sons", they were born and raised in the Cao family, and Cao Hao has been his own father for more than ten years. At present, this sentence is to seek the truth of his father's funeral, but seeing that his father-in-law is so excited, he is worried in his heart, and he always feels that he should not embarrass his father-in-law so much.

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

Cao Hao's eyes floated with Ning Chun's playful and angry scolding, and he only felt that his chest was stuffy, making people breathless. He held on to the book case fiercely, and the heavens and men were at war in his heart.

fell in the eyes of Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng, that is, the father-in-law was emotionally agitated, his face was pale, and his body was shaky.

Zuo Zhu couldn't help it, took a step forward, and grabbed Cao Hao's arm, feeling ashamed and anxious.

The father-in-law had just returned from a long journey, and he was tired from the journey, and before he had rested, he asked his brother to come to the front yard. Since it has been a secret for more than ten years, it is difficult to declare it, otherwise the father-in-law would not have concealed it for a long time. Such persecution is already a violation of filial piety.

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

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

Since Tianyou and Hengsheng are dealing with the outside world like little adults, he should no longer treat the two righteous sons as children who are incomprehensible.

"It was the forty-fourth spring of Kangxi, the holy driving south tour, driving Jiangning ......" Cao Hao started from the first meeting of the four friends of the weaving mansion, talked about the youth friendship of the four, and then entered Beijing one after another.

The death of Ning Chun's father and son involved the turmoil of the second abolished prince, and the real culprit behind the scenes was most likely the fourteenth elder brother, otherwise it would be Kangxi. Cao Hao didn't say this directly.

It's one thing to let the two children know the truth, but he doesn't want the truth to grow up with hatred from the children.

Fatherly enmity is not shared, it is only applicable to civil disputes, and in the face of supreme imperial power, this sentence is a dagger for self-killing.

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

Speaking of this, he paused and said, "At that time, your uncle of the Ma family was in Changsha County, and he was beyond the reach of the whip; After I got the news of your father's imprisonment in Yizhou, I made mediation, and I was a step late. Only you, Uncle Qing, are in Beijing, begging for people for your father, but there is no way. It took only half a month before your father and grandfather committed suicide in prison...... Your mother-in-law was a resolute and resolute woman, and after arranging for a servant to take your mother out of Beijing, she swallowed gold and died...... You Uncle Qing is a righteous person, knocking on the door to clear your father's name, but only to end up with dismissal and exile and family tree removal. ”

If you want to say that Cao Hao regrets in his life, one is Ning Chun's death, and the other is Yongqing's situation.

This is sprinkled with a large article, involving the imperial court and temples, and Zuo Zhu and Zuo Chengdu were stunned.

After a while, Zuo Zhufang said in a low voice: "Father-in-law, grandfather and father are in prison...... Wronged? ”

Is it wrong? It's really not wronged.

According to Cao Hao's later knowledge, Ning Chun's father served as a salt patrol envoy in Jiangnan for eight years, and the silver money for filial piety to the prince was more than one million.

Not to mention the filial piety to the prince, let's just say that the luxury of the Ning Chun family was also seen by Cao Hao himself. You must know that the salt patrol envoy is only from the third grade, and the annual salary is only more than 100 taels, plus the hereditary assistant and the title of silver, the total is only 3 or 400 taels.

When Ning Chun was in Jiangning, he was only fifteen or sixteen, and he was already a frequent visitor on the Qinhuai River; After entering Beijing, before meeting Qiu Niang, he often mixed in the Qinglou Workshop, and was picky, only scooping and clearing, and had to open a few buds every month, and each time he threw the fee, it was a hundred taels to start.

Ning Chun's father's greed for ink has traces to follow, and he will never be wronged.

Ning Chun, as a son-in-law, before his father entered Beijing, he was circling in all directions, and if he really wanted to ask for the guilt, he couldn't break the relationship.

If you want to say that they are not wronged, their deaths are not clear, and they have not been reviewed and convicted by the Criminal Department and Dali Temple, so they inexplicably "committed suicide in fear of crime".

If it is really entangled, there will be fewer officials in the Qing Dynasty officialdom who are greedy for ink?

Especially like Ning Chun's father, who has a master behind him, he is thrown out by the master to make money. How many of them have really been questioned and their children and grandchildren have been harmed?

Even if Ning Chun's father deserves to die, Ning Chun doesn't deserve to die, how can he not be wronged?

"Although they were implicated in the robbery turmoil and were imprisoned, the crime of embezzlement of ink is not groundless." Cao Hao pondered and said.

Over the years, Cao Hao has seen the erosion of this officialdom with his own eyes, and he has a deep feeling for the rule of officials. So, when raising a few children, he made them understand that a comfortable life does not require luxury. Moreover, in terms of the amount of money spent, from the time they entered the school, they were allowed to keep their own books of income and expenditure.

After Cao Hao took up his post in the household department, he came into contact with a lot of official documents on local prices. He often picked some and told them to his children, so that they could know about the livelihood of the people.

To tell the truth, the two brothers Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng are richer than Tianyou and Hengsheng. The land and real estate in the names of the two of them are enough to ensure that they will live a prosperous life for the rest of their lives.

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

Therefore, after listening to Cao Hao's affirmative reply, the two little brothers changed their faces.

The father, whom they had never met, turned out to be a corrupt official.

Although since ancient times, the son has not spoken of the father, but this blow also made the little brothers confused.

In their hearts, their father is not only a friend of their father-in-law, but also a figure who looks up to the mountains and is not ordinary, who would have thought that he would be a corrupt official who is in the same stream as his grandfather.

All of a sudden, they all went silent.

Seeing them like this, Cao Hao said: "When you are older, you will know what it means to be 'involuntarily'." When your grandfather served in Jiangnan, your father was only a teenager, where could he speak? It's your grandfather, who shouldn't be greedy for ink, but he's not a heinous sinner. ”

Listening to Cao Hao's good words to Ning's father and son, he turned his face to the side and muttered: "To establish a world, you must always pay attention to guarding." Isn't it true that those who are officials should report the favor of the king and appease the people? It is already a ...... place where you are greedy and have the grace of the king, and you are ashamed of the people."

In the end, it is the eldest parent, and the deceased is the greatest, he still can't say the four words "disloyal and unjust".

Not only was Zuo Zhu hit, but even Zuo Cheng was depressed all of a sudden, and said: "My father-in-law, my second uncle, and my fourth uncle are also officials, why don't you have 'involuntarily'?" ”

Cao Hao shook his head and said: "It's just that I didn't know you, the old lady was in charge of the Jiangning Weaving Mansion for decades, and he lost millions of taels of silver in the household department and the Jiangnan Fanku treasury, and was scolded as a moth of the country." It's just that this infamy is not borne by himself, and the millions of taels of silver that have been lost are also used on the Holy Driver's Southern Tour. Your fourth uncle, before being admitted to the Jinshi, worked as an errand in Henan Mansion, and was given thousands of taels of silver by the prefect, and he spent two years peacefully with the same light as the dust; Not a single cent of the silver was touched and donated to the treasury, which was another kind of preservation. Now that you have passed the college examination, you will have to take the township examination and the general examination in the future, and when you enter the office, you must choose how to protect yourself. ”

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

Although Cao Hao felt that Ning Chun's family was luxurious, he didn't think that his family could be any better.

While several generations of the Cao family have been loyal to Kangxi, they are also enjoying the grace of the Son of Heaven.

Among the millions of taels of borrowed silver that were spent like flowing water, in addition to the driver, the Cao family also took advantage. Although the Cao family later sold land and property, it was also more relaxed than ordinary eunuchs.

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

It is clear that his father-in-law used to teach "do not accept ill-gotten gains" and "do not be greedy", but now he uses "involuntarily" to say good things for their biological father; used "with the light and dust" to name the performance of the Cao family's men in the officialdom.

After saying so much, Cao Hao felt that his mouth was dry, put down the teacup, and looked at the left-sided brother who had not squeaked for a long time.

"Father-in-law...... Is there no one left in my grandfather's house? Zuo Zhu thought about the scene of the mother and son living in Caofu, and lowered his head and asked.

"There is your grandfather's stepwife, and her stepson. Because of your grandfather's questioning, the title of the leader of his branch has been inherited by other clansmen, and the title of Captain of the Cloud Cavalry has been inherited by the son of the step-step. Cao Hao replied.

Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng didn't ask why they didn't go home, why Cao Hao arranged the future for them, and they hadn't heard of the arrangement of recognizing their ancestors and returning to their ancestors.

Cao Hao rubbed his temples, he got up earlier with the holy car this morning, and he was a little confused now.

Zuo Zhu couldn't hide his fatigue when he saw him: "It's not early, the child and his younger brother will go to settle down, and the father-in-law should rest early." ”

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

After entering the second gate, Cao Hao said: "You two brothers are sensible, when you know the old things, you will be sadder than your mother." In front of her, speak carefully. If there's anything you want to know, just ask me......"

*Under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Court, the official post.

In the flickering candlelight, a low chanting sound sounded......

(To be continued)