He Siping heard He Ningxin ask about the matter of going down to the Jiangnan to investigate the official warehouse, and remembered his advice to Emperor Hongxuan, knowing that it was a knife in the morning, and a knife in the evening, sooner or later Mrs. Xu would know the truth, it was better to take advantage of her daughter to say it in one breath here, Mrs. Xu thought that she was also thinking about her daughter and son-in-law, maybe she wouldn't be so angry.

He Siping put down the tea bowl, reached out and touched his beard, and said righteously: "The grain stored in the Jiangnan Guancang has been recovered." With your father and I going out, no matter how treacherous he is, he can't escape your father's discerning eyes! As he spoke, he changed the conversation and told He Ningxin and Mrs. Xu the story of his battle of wits and courage with those corrupt officials who were in arrears in the official warehouse in Jiangnan.

"You don't know, the official surnamed Li is particularly treacherous. Others generally hang their private property in the name of the lady of the main house, but he is the only one who hangs in the name of the concubine. Your father and I, who were overlooked for a while, let him mess around last time. He Siping waved his hand, stood up, and stood up like a storyteller.

He Ningxin heard that the grain in the Jiangnan Guancang had been recovered, and her heart was relieved, listening to He Siping's words, she felt particularly interesting, and she leaned on Mrs. Xu's shoulder, laughing and laughing.

"And how did you know there was fraud this time?" Mrs. Xu took He Ningxin in her arms, patted her back gently, and asked He Siping.

He Siping raised his head, walked back and forth in the warm pavilion a few times, and said, "God also help me." The last time I did a general investigation, I didn't notice anything strange about it. This time, I checked the list of officials who owed grain to the official warehouse one by one, and registered the private property in the names of the wives of each family, only to find out that there was something special about the Cheng family in Li County. Under the name of other people's wives, there are several real estate fields, only the name of this Mrs. Li Xiancheng... Nothing. I was curious for a while, and asked the prefect in the house, saying that this Mrs. Li County was from a humble background and didn't even have a decent dowry? ”

At that time, the county of Jiangnan Fucheng was a positive seven products, and the wife of the main room could be called a widow. According to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, the wives of the fourth rank and above can ask for the title of the edict and become the lady of the edict. Below the fifth grade to the seventh grade... I can only ask for a decree and call it an edict, but I can also call it a lady. is not as good as the seventh grade, and the wives of those eighth- and ninth-grade officials can only be called Mrs., not Mrs.

To be the county Cheng of Fucheng is such a position of the seventh grade, and he is not from the imperial examination, this Li County Cheng... Even if you have some skills, you can only do it if you have a family background. And how can a person with a family background marry a woman from a poor family as the main house?

Maybe Li Xiancheng is an exception, right?

He Siping was curious for a moment, so he was a little more troubled and asked about these gossips.

Who knew that the prefect was stunned and said, "How is it possible? Li Xiancheng is a foreigner, but his wife... But she was married locally, and she was the daughter of the richest man we have here. At that time, when he got married, the dowry was raised like water for three or four days before it was 10,000 yuan. How can she be the daughter of a small family?! ”

The list in He Siping's hand was checked by Ti Qi, and the prefect naturally didn't know how many dowries or private houses there were for each lady, so he didn't know that Mrs. Li County's dowry was missing.

After listening to the prefect's words, He Sifang felt a little strange, so he thought that the list of properties visited by Tiqi was wrong, and hurriedly asked them to check again. and inquired carefully about the prefect... asked where the maiden home of Li County's wife was... personally brought people, pretended to be a merchant who came from the capital to handle goods, and went to Li Ruren's mother's house to investigate and secretly visit.

After this investigation, it was found out that Li Xiancheng and Mrs. Zhengwu had been married for many years... He had two sons and a daughter, both of whom had grown up. Later, Li Xiancheng once went out on an errand, and when he came back, he had an extra concubine, saying that she was a filial daughter who sold herself to bury her father, and she was lonely and helpless, and voluntarily sold herself into slavery. Li Xiancheng took pity on the jade, and was reluctant to let such a jade person be a slave, so he did good things to the end, sent the Buddha to heaven, and accepted this filial daughter as a concubine.

Li Xiancheng is said to be very fond of this concubine, and rewrote the name of the concubine instead of his wife's name on all the private property in the family. also persuaded his wife to coax out her dowry and private room, and also wrote the name of the concubine, saying that it was to prevent corruption from being investigated on his head, and his black gauze hat would be lost.

Although this widow's maiden family is in the local area, he is only a businessman, only Li Xiancheng's son-in-law is their biggest backer, and he has done a lot of business with Li Xiancheng's momentum, for fear that the mountain of Li Xiancheng will fall, of course, whatever he says, is what he is, and he does not dare to stand up for his daughter.

Li Xiancheng's wife is not stupid, of course such a ridiculous idea is not followed, but she can't stand even her own mother's family on Li Xiancheng's side, forcing her to hand over her private house and the private property of the Li family in her name, and change the name of the concubine.

To say that this trick still worked. When He Siping went down to Jiangnan for the first time to investigate corruption, he actually let Li Xiancheng hide and did not find him. So after Qin Cha left, Li Xiancheng and his favorite concubine knew the marrow, intensified their efforts, and used both soft and hard, forcing the lady to write her dowry under the name of the concubine.

Hearing this, Mrs. Xu sighed first and said, "Why is this lady so easy to speak?" If she bites to death and doesn't let go, what will happen to her mother's family, right? ”

He Ningxin smiled and asked He Siping: "Then this filial daughter and concubine, does she have a son?" ”

He Siping clapped his hands and said with a smile: "My daughter is just smart and can always hit the nail on the head!" - Yes, less than eight months after she entered the door, she gave birth to a son, who was said to have been born prematurely.

Later, a year later, another daughter was born. Li Xiancheng's wife moved into the small Buddha hall to chant sutras, and Li Xiancheng's second door was the concubine in charge. Let people call her 'second lady,' and don't call her aunt. ”

He Ningxin sighed and said, "Since I have a son, I naturally have to fight for the family property." If Li Xiancheng's wife thinks about her own children and asks the woman to sign the deed of sale when she enters the door, no matter how many sons she has and how much property she has in her name, it will be in vain. "If you sign a deed of sale, you are a lowly person, and being a concubine is also a lowly concubine, and you can't be corrected.

He Siping stopped smiling now, looked at He Ningxin and said, "Have you heard someone say this?" Then he muttered to himself suspiciously: "I only participated in this Li County's favored concubine to kill his wife, and the chaos is constant, but I haven't said anything else?" ”

He Ningxin knew that she had guessed correctly, and covered her sleeves and smiled: "Great! It turns out that this lady is not blindly weak, in fact, she has quietly taken the three inches of the filial daughter's favorite concubine! ”

He Siping nodded... Laughing: "Exactly. Later, I found out that Li Xiancheng's private property was in the name of this filial concubine, so I directly took people to the Zhuangzi under her name, copied all the grain, and returned it to the official warehouse. ”

He Ningxin looked at He Siping's eyes full of smiles. Knowing that he didn't have anything to say, he glanced at Mrs. Xu with a smile and deliberately urged.

He Siping was equal for a long time, and seeing that He Ningxin hadn't asked him yet, he was a little anxious. This thing... It was He Siping who relieved his tense mood in the treacherous situation of the grain storage in the Jiangnan Inventory Official Warehouse, and consciously did a very good job, and couldn't help but show off in front of his wife and daughter.

He Ningxin saw that He Siping's face was flushed, so she smiled and asked, "What else?" That lady just let this matter be revealed?! ”

He Siping hurriedly picked up the conversation and said, "Of course not." Since this lady has the deed of sale of her favorite concubine, she has been holding it back, how can she allow this matter to be lightly revealed? ——Since the Li family's Zhuangzi was copied... The lady came out of the small Buddha hall, and the central people wrote a pleading, accusing the filial daughter of the favored concubine for plotting to rob the wife's dowry and private house, and tried to kill his wife with a concubine several times, demanding that his dowry and private house be recovered, and the concubine was brought to justice. ”

He Ningxin nodded... Road; "This lady is really smart. She also picked the timing very well. In the capital, the case of Ning Yuanhou's two concubines who murdered the main room has just been concluded, and she will not dare to slack off when she comes out. And my father happened to be there, as a messenger from the capital, that Li Xiancheng couldn't do it even if he wanted to make the silver suppress this matter. ”

"But in this way, she and Li Xiancheng's husband and wife can be regarded as the end." Mrs. Xu said with some regret, "The men in the world are so unfortunate that they are so unlucky... There are few who value love and trust. The woman is really careless... You will meet people who are not ladylike. ”

He Ningxin was silent. In order to get back his dowry and private house, he took the lawsuit to the yamen to fight, instead of asking the Li family's clan to come forward to solve it, it is conceivable... This lady is actually desperate not to want that property, and she doesn't want to cheapen the greedy filial concubine.

As we all know, once this kind of lawsuit reaches the yamen, at least half of the property cannot be recovered. Some of the old parents and officials who have risen in the official office every year have used methods to squeeze money out of the hands of the rich. Therefore, when there is a dispute over property in the clan, the vast majority of people will solve it within the clan and will not sue the court.

That lady's heart can be seen.

He Ningxin sighed leisurely.

He Siping was busy assuring Mrs. Xu that he was the one who valued love and trust, and then said approvingly: "That lady is extremely strong, and she doesn't want to live with Li Xiancheng at all." In addition to accusing the filial daughter of taking away her family property, the paper also listed the four major sins of Li Xiancheng's disloyalty, injustice, and unkindness, saying that he was ashamed to be married to such a person, and demanded that he be repudiated and take back all her original dowries and private houses. ”

He Ningxin and Mrs. Xu were both surprised by that lady's determination, but they couldn't help but admire.

If the government sentences righteousness, the official of Li County Cheng will also be done. Not to mention that He Siping was there to help the lady secretly.

He Siping sat back on the kang with a smile, poured tea for Mrs. Xu, and then said, "So, I helped that lady again and participated in this Li County Cheng's book." He was not born in the imperial examination, but he went through the door, made money, and stayed up for many years to rise. I stabbed him here to the Holy Place, and those below who received his benefits, for fear of being implicated by him, began to fall into the ground. The will of this son to dismiss his official should have reached the capital city in the south of the Yangtze River. ”

He Ningxin couldn't help but praise: "This lady can break her wrist as a strong man, but she is also a brave and knowledgeable heroine." She has crossed the clear road like this, but people dare not despise her.

He Siping also nodded and praised: "Exactly." This lady's children are also older, and she also married a daughter-in-law, and she is a talent. If the township tries to lift the bird, it is also an official body, so there is no need to be afraid of anything. ”

Mrs. Xu sighed: "After so many years, I finally came out." But she's also getting old. ”

Seeing that this incident actually made Mrs. Xu sad, He Siping hurriedly changed the topic again, and said: "So this time, although the inventory of grain in the official warehouse is very smooth, there is really not much grain in stock. "Turn the bull's head against the horse's mouth.

He Ningxin suddenly threw out the emotion she had just given birth to Mrs. Li County, and asked He Siping anxiously: "What do you say?" Didn't you say that they were all traced back? ”

He Siping said curtly: "Of course, everything on the book has been recovered, but there is not much ...... on the book."

He Ningxin's heart suddenly sank to the bottom again.

"Daddy... Can you just give me a word? How much worse is it? — Let's also have a preparation and see if we can figure it out. He Ningxin had already quickly thought about where to get food to solve the urgent needs of the southwest......

Mrs. Xu also urged He Siping: "Don't sell it." Look at the other people's housework you talked about before, and you know that you still have something to say later. - Let's talk about it, how much worse? ”

He Siping thought for a while, and said, "How much is the difference, this is a secret... I can't say. But I can tell you that the amount of grain stored in the southeast has not yet been reported, and besides, I have suggested to the Holy God that I need to raise money and go to ...... Go ......" He Siping suddenly softened and glanced at Mrs. Xu worriedly.

Mrs. Xu has been married to He Siping for many years... immediately understood what He Siping had in mind, and he also understood why He Siping had to talk about him left and right before to ease the atmosphere.

In fact, Mrs. Xu turned her mind to the grain of the Wa Kingdom when He Siping said that the grain in the Jiangnan Guancang was still not enough. In recent years, she has had a fleet go directly to the Japanese country to do business, and then buy cheap grain from the Japanese country and come back to sell... Naturally, I know a little about the grain stocks of the Japanese country.

"Where to go?" He Ningxin saw that He Siping just didn't say the last word, so she was in a hurry and asked tightly.

Mrs. Xu said, "Go to the country to buy grain, isn't it?" He Siping glanced at him.

He Siping's back was a little stiffer, and he drank tea behind the kang table, not daring to look at Mrs. Xu opposite.

He Ningxin remembered in a trance, Mrs. Xu told her that the country has been in good weather in recent years, and there has been a lot of grain production... The population of the Wa Kingdom is not large... A lot of grain cannot be sold in the country, and it is sold cheaply. Therefore, Mrs. Xu has relied on the grain business with the Japanese country in recent years, and her strength has increased a lot.

"It is feasible to go to the country to buy grain, but there is the same problem... It's a question of how much to buy. If it's not much, it is estimated that my father will not propose to go to the Japanese country to buy grain. If it is much worse, then how to go to the country to buy grain must be carefully discussed. ”

He Siping didn't understand these ways of doing business, so he drank tea on the sidelines, and listened to his wife and daughter discuss it one by one.

If you want to buy more, the news must be tightly blocked. If it is known by the Japanese people, it will not be beautiful to take the opportunity to raise the price of grain. And how to buy it when the time comes, without attracting the attention of others, is a question from the university. Madame is a veteran of business. In this life, under the teaching of Mrs. Xu, He Ningxin also learned many tricks. At this time, the difficulties and key points are listed on paper one by one, and naturally the head is the Tao.

Mrs. Xu took it and looked at it, nodded and said, "Although it is only an approximation, it covers all aspects." As he spoke, he handed the paper in his hand to He Siping, and said angrily: "Take it, go and write a fold carefully for the saint according to your number." - Don't mention our mother and son. ”

He Siping took the paper and looked at it, and said curtly: "...... What's so embarrassing about that? ”

He Ningxin pursed her lips and smiled, and shouted outside, "Bring Xiao Ziyan in and rest for a while." ”

Counting the hours, Xiao Ziyan has been running outside for more than half an hour.

The green tea waiting outside responded crisply, and went out to bring the boy in.

It didn't take long for the boy to run in like a gust of wind, holding a small wooden sword in the warm pavilion and continuing to shout.

He Ningxin had a headache when she saw Xiao Ziyan like this, pulled Xiao Ziyan over, touched his back, and asked his nurse calmly: "You just let Xiao Ziyan run like this outside all the time?" - Look at the sweat on my back, what should I do if I get caught in the wind and cold? ”

The nurse hurriedly knelt down and pleaded guilty, and stammered: "Madam, the slave doesn't dare anymore." ”

When the boy saw the nurse kneeling, he didn't know what was going on, but he didn't cry out, and leaned on He Ningxin's arms in a daze, much more honest.

He Ningxin's other big maid, Baicha, was also serving outside, and when she heard the conversation inside, she quickly called the maid who served Xiao Ziyan to come over, and asked them to go and get Xiao Ziyan's clothes to change, wipe off the sweat, and change into dry clothes.

Xiao Ziyan's maid and mother-in-law hurriedly went to get the clothes and brought the white tea in.

Mrs. Xu and He Ningxin wiped Xiao Ziyan's back with warm water... He wrapped him in a blanket and put on dry clothes.

The boy played around for a long time, and he was a little sleepy, so he changed into comfortable clothes and the warm embrace of his mother, so his little head was like a chicken pecking rice, and he dozed off little by little in He Ningxin's arms.

He Ningxin saw that the nurse was full of shame... also knows that she is very dedicated to her daily life. It may be that Xiao Ziyan is too excited today, and she doesn't dare to care about it.

He Ningxin patted the boy for a while, and saw that he was really asleep, so she slowly put it in the nurse's hand and said softly: "Carry him to his room and sleep." Forget it now, if there is such a thing in the future, the punishment will not be spared. ”

The nurse hurriedly responded, and took the boy back to his room to take a nap.

He Siping said to He Ningxin: "It's not early... It's time for us to go back, too. Tell your son-in-law on our behalf. ”

He Ningxin was busy leaving her father and mother for dinner.

He Siping wanted to go back and show Mrs. Xu the gifts he brought back, so he smiled at He Ningxin and said, "When I came back this time, I brought some gifts for you, Feiyang, and Xiao Ziyan, and I have already sent them to your housekeeper first." Remember to take a look, if you don't like it... Tell me, I'll give you something you love. ”

He Ningxin hurriedly thanked her, personally sent her father and mother out, and sent them all the way to the gate of the Zhenguo Mansion before seeing the He family's car go away.

He Ningxin turned around and went back to the inner courtyard, and asked her subordinates to move the gifts brought by He Siping to her house, and watched He Siping go down to the south of the Yangtze River this time, and brought back a nanmu cage and a camphorwood cage for her. In the camphor wood cage, there are all kinds of new kinds of cloth purchased in Jiangnan. The Nanmu box cage was filled with some local dried goods from Jiangnan, as well as ten fine Qamdo hams.

He Ningxin asked people to carry the cloth to the couch... Check them out one by one.

I saw that there were four embroidered brocades of green and golden peony flowers... Four primrose yellow satin brocades woven with silver folded chrysanthemums, four blue lotus-colored mud gold dark flowers, and four red silk flowers of Jin Bo Gu Tuanhua, squeezed a camphor wood box tightly.

He Ningxin knew He Siping's thoughts. The embroidered brocade of the green peony blossom in the lake is probably for himself... The brocade of primrose yellow satin woven with folded branches and flowers should be made for Xiao Ziyan, and the blue lotus-colored gold and dark flower Su Luo must have been brought for Jian Feiyang. There is only red silk all over the gold, which is generally used for gifts.

He Ningxin pursed her lips and smiled, and instructed Bai Cha who was waiting on the side: "Take a silk horse with a red Jinbo Gutuan flower, and take some of the various local dry goods in that box, plus a Qamdo ham, and send it to the second wife." ”

Bai Cha knew that it was going to be sent to the second master Jian Feizhen and their family, so he hurriedly responded yes, brought a few little maids over, took the things again, and changed to a larger basket to carry it, went to the courtyard of the second room, and gave gifts to the second wife Lu Zhenxian.

Xiao Ziyan took a nap, played for a while, ate dinner again, and waited until his eyes drooped, and before his father Jian Feiyang came back, he was carried by the nurse to sleep.

Jian Feiyang came back very late in the evening, the expression on his face became more and more serious, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

He Ningxin knew that Jian Feiyang was worried about the situation in the southwest, and understood that he probably already knew about the grain storage in the Jiangnan official warehouse in the palace.

After Jian Feiyang washed up and went to bed, He Ningxin comforted him: "Don't worry about storing food, my father has already suggested that the saint go to the country to buy grain."

The Japanese country has a lot of grain, which should be able to solve the urgent needs of the southwest. ”

Jian Feiyang smiled bitterly and said, "The Holy Lord is naturally very happy to listen to his father-in-law's words. After his father-in-law left, he asked the people from the household department to check the silver deposits in the treasury. ”

He Ningxin's heart hung up again: "Could it be that the deposit in the treasury has gone wrong again?" ”

Jian Feiyang shook his head and said, "There is nothing wrong with depositing silver, and it is all in line with the accounts." But like the stockpile, the amount is smaller than expected. ——As soon as the saint ascended the throne, he cut all the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes of Emperor Jiaxiang, and reduced the taxes to the level of Emperor Longqing. In recent years, there has never been a tax increase, and from time to time the national treasury has been used to build roads and bridges in various places, in this way to help the affected people resume farming. ”

He Ningxin understood that Emperor Hongxuan was short of silver to buy grain.

The word, including the addition of the blue yarn to the promotion of the grandmaster. Shake your fists, tomorrow will be the addition of the blue yarn to the leader of the alliance, and victory is in sight!