Old Madam Qu listened to the second old man Qu Xian's reply, and then stopped talking.

At one moment, the maids and servants set up tables and chairs, and set up the dishes and chopsticks, and the Fang family came to invite Mrs. Qu to sit down and prepare for the banquet.

Lu Jiayue and Qu Wei sat next to Mrs. Qu on the left and right, Qu Ying, Qu Qian and Duan Wenxin sat together, Meng and other ladies and Xu's Hu sat at one table, and several old masters and young masters sat at another table.

Although it was a family banquet, the small kitchen also tried her best to make the dishes very rich, Lu Jiayue tasted everything, and the taste was good, but her stomach was full, and she couldn't eat anything else, so she concentrated on serving Mrs. Qu, who felt that she acted meticulously and properly, and loved her even more.

The ladies drank less, but the table on the side was already drunk for three rounds, and several masters were getting drunk, and the second master Qu Xian drank a full cup again, put his hand on the shoulder of the fourth master Qu Ning on his side, and said with a smile: "Fourth brother, have you heard about what happened in the court this morning?" ”

Qu Ning glanced at him, "I don't know what the second brother said?" ”

Qu Xian laughed a few times, "The fourth brother pretended to be a brother again, this morning, Liang Shaokuan, the imperial history of the capital, impeached Tong Baili, the governor of the two Huai Salt Transport, and Guan Ming, the head of the household department, and the fourth brother and Liang Shaokuan served in the same court of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, how could they not know?" ”

"Although Liang Shaokuan and I serve in the same Metropolitan Procuratorate, he is a fourth-grade official, and his official rank is higher than mine, so how can he say that he knows about me if he wants to impeach other other in this book?" Qu Ning smiled, picked up the wine jug and poured a glass of wine for Qu Xian, "My current official position, like the second brother, I don't even have the qualifications to face the saint in the morning, but I am also happy to be idle, why bother to pay attention to the affairs of others?" ”

Qu Xian picked up the wine glass and drank it all, smacked his tongue, and said: "That being said, who are Tong Baili and Guan Ming relying on behind them, and who does not know the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty?" This is a move that affects the whole body - only he, Liang Shaokuan, has such courage! ”

"Big brother's words are wrong," Qu Ning smiled faintly, his eyes flashed slightly, "The crime of picketing and impeaching hundreds of officials is the duty of the imperial historian, and it has nothing to do with guts. ”

Qu Xian raised the corners of his mouth disapprovingly, and said with a smile: "The fourth brother is worthy of being a member of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and his words are so loud. ”

"Second brother said and laughed," Qu Ning picked up the wine glass and took a sip, "My official position is low, and I am a soft-spoken person, just trying to be quiet and comfortable." ”

Qu Xian squinted his eyes and looked at Qu Ning, "Yan Que knows the ambition of the bird, and sometimes I can't see through you as a brother." ”

Qu Ning smiled, drank half a glass of wine, and didn't say anything more.

The third old man on the side, Qu You, heard Qu Xian mention Guan Ming, the head of the household, he is a businessman, money and silver exchanges, and it is inevitable to deal with the household, so he has been listening attentively with his ears.

But when they heard it, they didn't hear Qu Xian and Qu Ning talk about it carefully, and seeing that the two of them were speechless, they picked up the wine jug and poured a glass of wine for each of them, and the three of them drank it together, Qu You carefully asked: "I don't know what crime Liang Shaokuan impeached Guan Shangshu?" ”

Qu Xian patted Qu You's shoulder, shook his head and smiled: "It's a shocking crime, I really can't say it, I can't say it." ”

Qu Ning understood Qu You's thoughts, and saw that Qu Xian was playing tricks, so he smiled at Qu You and said: "Third brother, don't worry, this matter is not hindered by the third brother's business, not to mention that the eldest brother is still in the household department, and the third brother's business must still be prosperous." ”

Qu You nodded, and poured another cup for Qu Ning with a smile.

Old Madam Qu saw that her sons were talking lively, so she asked them what they were talking about, and Fang replied with a smile: "I'm talking about the affairs of the court." ”

"It's so easy for a family to sit together and have a meal, what do you do about government affairs?" Old Madam Qu's face sank slightly.

Fang's observation of the words and expressions, and immediately conveyed the meaning of the old lady Qu to the fourth old man Qu Ning, Qu Ning hurriedly held the wine glass, came over to toast the old lady Qu, Qu Xian Qu You, and Qu Huai Qu Zhang also toasted one by one, the ladies were not far behind, and everyone who came and went also gave Mrs. Qu a glass.

Mrs. Qu is not good at drinking, and she is old, but she touched the wine glass with her lips, which can be regarded as receiving the hearts of the younger generations.

The feast was not over until it was almost over, and the maids and servants cleaned up everything, and everyone drank tea and ate some fruits and snacks before they dispersed and went back to their rooms.

*

Because Qu Hong was left in the palace by the holy oracle, and I don't know what the reason is, Meng Shi was inevitably worried, and he was not in a hurry to wash and rest when he returned to the room, but just sat under the lamp in a daze.

Seeing Meng's appearance, Lu Jiayue naturally couldn't rest assured, so she stayed and quietly accompanied her.

But not long after, Qu Hong and Qu Song returned.

Only then did Meng Shi's face smile, and he greeted him and asked, "What is the matter with coming back so late?" ”

Qu Hong and Qu Song both looked tired, Chunxia held the hot tea, Qu Hong took it in his hand, took two sips, and then said slowly: "In the early dynasty today, Liang Shaokuan, the imperial history of the capital, participated in the two Huai Salt Transport Governors Tong Baili and Guan Ming. ”

Meng Shi was very surprised, and hurriedly asked, "What crime?!" ”

Qu Hong's expression was solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "Liang Shaokuan played, Yan Tong Baili and Guan Ming secretly colluded, and divided the two Huai official salt taxes and silver of more than one million taels, and Tong Baili even secretly crossed Chen Cang and started selling illicit salt. ”

Meng Shi's face changed instantly when he heard this, "You are also in the household department, but you will be implicated by Guan Ming?" ”

Qu Hong suddenly frowned.

On the side, Qu Song hurriedly smiled: "Mother cares about it, but she forgets what my father is really like." ”

Meng Shi was stunned for a moment, remembering that Qu Hong was an old man, an official for many years, he had always been cautious, and he had never exceeded the rules at all, even the household department that dealt with money and silver in Cheng Ri could also be honest and honest, so the breath in his heart relaxed.

"It's me who is in a hurry and confused." Meng sighed.

"The saint trusts me as a human being, so he left me to ask," Qu Hong took the tea lid and gently skimmed the floating leaves on the tea, and his calm tone was not arrogant, "In fact, I have also heard of Guan Ming's hands and feet, but there is no empirical evidence, and he has always trusted Li Tong, the left waiter, and the matter of the official salt, tax and silver of the two Huai is only handed over to Li Tong to deal with, and the twists and turns are only clear to the two of them." ”

Meng Shi asked again: "Then the Holy One has already made a decision?" ”

Qu Hong nodded, "Tomorrow will be a two-pronged approach, Guan Ming and Li Tong will be escorted to Dali Temple for trial, and Tong Baili will be escorted to Beijing," he said, putting aside the tea bell, and reached out to dust off the purple official robe on his body, "The saint hates officials the most for forming parties for personal gain, and the two Huai salt transportation has been accumulating disadvantages for a long time, the Manchu Dynasty civil and military affairs know it, and the saint is also aware of it, so Liang Shaokuan's book is in the heart of the saint." ”

Meng Shi was silent for a moment, took a light breath, and said quietly: "It's just anything else, that Liang Shaokuan is really-this book is considered to have broken the sky." ”

Qu Hong said with a smile: "Liang Shaokuan came out of Dali Temple, he was originally a well-known iron-faced judge, and he has only been in the Metropolitan Procuratorate for a year, and he has participated in nearly ten officials, so that almost everyone in the court is afraid and hated him. Today, I even participated in Tong Guan's two people, who are so loyal and selfless, not afraid of the powerful, I admire him very much. ”

Meng Shi snorted lightly and said indifferently: "Mu Xiu is in the forest, the wind will destroy it, although you have a reputation, you have a feud with people in vain, I don't want you to do such a thing." ”

Qu Hong still smiled, "The woman has seen and has no ambitions. ”