Shuning's journey to Conghua ultimately failed to materialize. Since the beginning of April, a huge political turmoil has been set off in the city of Guangzhou, and even if it is a good season for spring flowers to bloom outside, it cannot stop the chill in people's hearts.

At the beginning, it was Wu Dan who counted the first quarter of this year's income in the customs tariff silver, and when he was about to seal the box and escort it to the capital, he found that the amount of silver did not match what was shown on the account, so he strictly ordered the customs yamen to check it, and the customs yamen repeatedly promised that it would find out. At that time, everyone thought that this was just a clerical mistake or a small mistake, but two days later, a senator surnamed Jia under the political envoy department accused Wu Dan of the customs officials secretly hiding tax silver and enriching their own pockets, and faintly hinted that the governor Zhu Hongzuo was behind the scenes. He took out a few account books to prove that someone had done anything to the tax money, and found two customs officials to testify, and for a while, all kinds of evidence were very unfavorable to Governor Zhu.

In order to prove his innocence, Governor Zhu invited Wu Dan to the customs yamen, and invited officials from the two divisions of Bu Press, the Guangzhou Prefecture Yamen, and the Nanhai counties of Panyu to testify.

In the face of all kinds of accusations, Governor Zhu denied all of them, and even accused him of fabricating evidence and murdering Shangguan because he had a personal grudge against him, which was really a heinous crime. Senator Jia held human and material evidence in his hand, thought that he was nine out of ten, and disdained Governor Zhu's defense, and said that he had already written to the imperial court, asking the governor to save some effort and wait for the fate of the imperial court.

At this time, the political envoy kindly persuaded Governor Zhu that if there was really any difficulty, he would admit his guilt as soon as possible and strive for leniency. Governor Zhu sneered and ordered a few account books, claiming that this was the real account book. The information provided by Senator Jia is all fake. Because he had two aides from Senator Jia's side testifying, the scene immediately took a turn for the worse. Senator Jia wanted to refute, but unexpectedly, the two customs officials he had originally found to testify temporarily retracted their confessions. claimed that because of a mistake in logging into the account book, Senator Jia took the handle. He had to be coerced by him to testify falsely against the governor, but the two of them had a troubled conscience, and now in front of so many adults, they were unwilling to lie anymore before telling the truth.

Senator Jia was angry at the time. Straight to say that they are framing themselves. One of the older officials, old in tears, shouted "The lower official is willing to die to prove his innocence", while crashing into the pillar in the hall, and died on the spot.

Most of the officials at the venue were stunned, and the Governor stepped forward at this time, presided over the overall situation, and convicted Senator Jia of falsifying account books and murdering Shangguan. He ordered his crown to be taken off and put in prison. and the dead officials were buried with good lives. The family received a bereavement pension from the government. With several orders issued, Senator Jia fell from the clouds to the abyss of hell in an instant. What has been done before. It's all a joke.

Wu Dan didn't say a word from beginning to end, as if he was watching a play. It's just that when the governor ordered someone to take down the Jia Senate, he reminded him that before the emperor's disposal order was issued, the treatment of officials suspected of committing crimes should not damage the dignity of the imperial court.

Zhang Bao and the others present were in a cold sweat, and could only watch everything happen in front of them. They watched as Senator Jia was held on the ground, his official uniform covered with mud; They watched as the surviving customs officials wept loudly and mourned for their dead colleagues; They looked at the political envoy who abandoned the pawn to protect the car, and congratulated Governor Zhu on his grievances with a smile. But they can only watch.

After Zhang Bao returned home, he could not sleep peacefully for several days, and often woke up in the middle of the night. Tong comforted him many times, but it didn't have much effect. When Mr. Su heard about it, he also left his homework to comfort him, but Zhang Bao only smiled bitterly.

It was at this time that the urgent letter from the Earl's Court in Beijing arrived.

The old count Harzi died.

He died suddenly. One day in March, when he was going to the racecourse with some old friends, he met another group of people, who were said to have made a bet on horse racing. Harzi lost, it was nothing, the point was that he fell off his horse and broke his leg. I didn't care at the time, I just tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it casually, and continued to drink with others, and I didn't go home until the next day when I got drunk, but I had a high fever at night, and the wounds were all pus. The government invited doctors to come, and they all said that he was old and had some risks. The old lady didn't know who she had instigated, but she thought that something unclean was causing trouble, so she invited a shaman to go to the courtyard where her husband lived to ward off evil spirits. Her son and daughter-in-law repeatedly stopped her, but she didn't listen, and she refused to change her mind even when her favorite Wanning persuaded her. As a result, Halzi was so troubled that his injuries worsened, and he died on the evening of the seventh day.

The old lady passed out immediately, and has been bedridden ever since, and the overall situation of the family depends on the eldest son Jin Bao and the eldest daughter-in-law Nala. Jin Bao personally wrote to the third brother and asked him to rush home as soon as possible to mourn.

Tong Shi read the letter, couldn't help crying, and hurriedly asked someone to go to the front yamen to invite Zhang Bao back. Zhang Bao's expression was gloomy, and after hearing the bad news, his face became even more ugly, and he hid his face and said with tears in his eyes: "Why is E-Niang so confused?!" Then he was silent.

Tong Shi wiped his tears and said: "I have already asked someone to find Brother Duan'er, and the people below are also packing their luggage, let's rush back to Beijing as soon as possible." When she saw that Zhang Bao didn't speak, she thought he was so sad that she was stunned.

Mr. Su, who came over, persuaded them to mourn, hesitated for a moment, and still spoke: "Maybe the student said too much, but I always have to remind the adult." You are worried about the system because of your father's funeral, you only need 100 days to enter the council, Guangzhou is thousands of miles away from the capital, it will take nearly three months to go back and forth, if you come back late, someone will take your place......" He saw Zhang Bao's expression, so he stopped talking and saluted and retired.

Zhang Bao silently walked into the study and sat on the chair thinking about something. When the follow-up Tong saw him like this, he said: "I'll go and ask someone to pack up my things, just bring the usual place, leave Lin Wang and others on Thursday to watch the house, and we will only take Changfu and a few of them back to Beijing, how about it?" ”

Zhang Bao looked at his wife in a daze, and slowly called, "Madam." ”

Tong Shi was stunned: "What? ”

"I want to take this opportunity to resign and return to Beijing, firstly, to hold a funeral for Amma, and secondly, to ...... It's good to take care of Eniang. ”

Tong reluctantly smiled: "What kind of stupid thing did the husband say?" You have been the prefect for less than a year, what are you resigning? We just need to keep it for 100 days and fulfill our responsibilities as sons of man, if Ama hears that you don't even do it under the Nine Springs, I'm afraid you will be the one who is the most angry. ”

Zhang Bao shook his head: "I think very clearly. resigned and returned to Beijing, Ding was worried about the system, and then stayed in the house to take care of his mother. Let someone else sit in the prefect's seat. Come to think of it, if it wasn't for the explicit provisions of the Holy Decree. I took over the official position of Lord Liang, that is, one year. ”

Tong saw that he didn't seem to be a fake. changed his face: "There are still a few brothers in the house, the eldest son of the eldest house, and the fourth room is the most favored, who can't take care of the old lady?" Even if you are filial, she may not appreciate it. Again. You want to resign and go home, but I'm afraid that the first objection will be her! She felt that she had said too much, and then she breathed a sigh of relief: "I know that you were frightened a few days ago, and you always want to get rid of these disputes, but who is not like this when you are an official?" We've seen it more excessively before, haven't we? Like Qin Tongzhi when he was in Fengtian, he was an innocent land-throwing official. What's more, you and Senator Jia Tang Er was stunned to read the full text of that kind of person who has no roots and no foundation can not be compared at all, no matter how you do, you will not fall to that point? Why resign? ”

Zhang Bao stroked his forehead and said, "You don't know what the scene was that day." Senator Jia was higher than me, and in the blink of an eye, he was pressed to the ground. Grizzled and dirty, he said that he would be imprisoned, and he was imprisoned, and his reciprocal folds were also intercepted. All the witnesses he found turned back, and even those who were used to him were accusing him. Although the Governor and the Governor said that they would wait for the Imperial Court to deal with it. But did you know? I just received the news in the yamen. Senator Jia in prison...... He committed suicide in fear of sin. ”

Tong Shi was surprised: "Could it be...... How dare they? ”

"Why don't they? Who in this province would dare to disobey their orders? General Wu Dan only paid attention to the garrison of the Eight Banners. As long as all the customs money can be deposited in the warehouse on time, he will not care what those people are fighting, at most he will mention it in the secret compromise. What else can I do? Remain neutral, people on both sides don't want to see each other, just cling to one side, and the other side will not let you go. Even if you stand with the two Governors and Governors, who knows when they will be sacrificed? Didn't you see that as soon as Senator Jia lost power, the political envoy followed suit? ”

The more Zhang Bao spoke, the more excited he became, and said to his wife with tears in his eyes: "Madam, I'm afraid!" This is not something that can be done by losing office. I now have a family and a room, a loving husband and wife, both children, and a rich family property, I still want to live with you peacefully for the rest of my life, I want to watch Duan'er marry a wife and have children, watch Shu'er get married, and watch Xian'er grow up, I don't want to be involved in these officialdom battles again, and lose my life for no reason. ”

"Husband!" Tong hugged him with red eyes, and couldn't help but cry.

Zhang Bao hugged his wife and said, "I really don't understand, why are they fighting?" No matter how capable the eldest brother is, can he still take the prince off the horse? The crown prince is the future emperor, and the entire country is his, what is he fighting for all that silver? I don't want to be swept up in it anymore, I am worried all day long, even if I have more money, no matter how decent I am, what's the point? Madame, shall we go home? ”

Tong could only nod vigorously and accepted her husband's decision.

Shuning and Duanning were standing outside the study at this time, and when they heard their parents' conversation, their hearts were sour.

When Duan Ning first heard the news of her grandfather's death, she had already cried, and now she couldn't help but redden.

Shuning didn't have a deep affection for her grandfather, who had only met her grandfather a few times, but she felt very sad when she heard her father's words. He is a bit of a bookish man with a mediocre intellect, and it has been very hard to get to this day in order to fight for a breath. Although he usually does not refuse to accept favors from others, and sometimes he is complacent, he still often feels uneasy, so he does his best to do more good things for the people under his control. In the past year, he has been under much greater pressure than before, and his whole person seems to be ten years old, and he is tired and emaciated all day long.

Perhaps, he is not actually suitable for survival in officialdom, since he does not want to be involved in political struggles again, he should simply take this opportunity to get out.

The door of the study opened, and Zhang Bao and Tong walked out. Seeing the two children standing there, Zhang Bao said: "Clean up, say goodbye to whoever you want, we have to go back to Beijing as soon as possible." ”

Duan Ning took a step forward and said: "The child agrees with Amadhi's opinion, whether it is in the central or local courts, the two factions are fighting more and more, let's avoid it as soon as possible, so as to save any disasters in the future." It's just that Lord Wudan has said a lot of good things for Ama in the past six months, and he needs to explain it well, so as not to offend him instead. ”

Shuning said: "Ama has been in Fengtian to assist Jingqi Huitun for more than ten years, and he has lived in the Earl's Court for less than a year. ”

Zhang Bao nodded slightly and said, "Good boy." He stretched out his hand to put his arms around his wife and a pair of children, and heard Xianning shouting, "I want to hug me too." But it was Xiao Liu who hugged Xianning and stood at the other end of the corridor.

Tong broke into tears and laughed, walked over and hugged his little son, and then grabbed Xiao Liu, who was about to walk away, and said, "Silly sister, we are a family, what are you hiding?" We're going back to Beijing, and you'll be able to see Xiaobao soon. ”

Xiao Liu looked at Tong in a daze, speechless, I am the dividing line of the next day

It's easy to say, but if you really want to go, you can't get on the road in a day or two.

Zhang Bao submitted a request to the governor to resign and return to Jingding to worry about the system, but he was not blocked. In his opinion, the other party was even a little happy, and soon there were rumors that the Tongzhi of Huizhou Mansion would be arranged to temporarily take his place.

Wu Dan felt very sorry, but Zhang Bao said with tears: "Xia Guan has been an official outside for more than ten years, and he has not been filial piety in front of his parents, so that he can't even see his father for the last time, which is really unfilial. Wu Dan had nothing to say, so he had to comfort him in turn, and told Duan Ning that even in filial piety, he could not leave behind his homework and martial arts. Duan Ning solemnly responded.

When Wen heard the news, he took Zhenzhen to the prefect's back office to bid farewell to Tong. Wen first cried with him, and then said: "It's rare for you and me to fall in love like this, don't be estranged in the future, although you are not here, but remember to write more." The business of cyclamen over there, Bian Cai looks at it, and I will personally collect the dividends every quarter, and let people send them to you, you don't have to bear the Tong family's words: "It doesn't matter if the idea is money, it is a waste of manpower to send it to and fro, it is better to let the shopkeeper Bian use it to make the capital, and you can get more benefits in the future." As for correspondence, be of good cheer. It's rare that you and I are so good, and the children are also compatible, as long as you are not annoyed, I wish I would reply to you in three or five days. ”

Shuning and Zhenzhen held hands, tears in their eyes, they didn't know what to say, and Shuning said, "We're leaving, take care." Zhenzhen's nose was sour, and she hurriedly rubbed it with a handkerchief, and said: "Although you can't go to Conghua, I asked people to bring back a few bottles of nectar, and they were all handed over to your maid ring, you remember to eat, and write back to tell me how it tastes." Shuning nodded, and then she said a few more words, and suddenly burst into tears, hugged Shuning and said, "Good sister, I can't bear you!" Shuning couldn't help but redden.

Seeing this, Tong and Wen came over to comfort them, and Zhenzhen stopped crying. Tong Shi saw that her face was stained with tears and her hair was a little scattered, so she asked Yahuan to bring a basin of water, took the makeup box and personally cleaned her face and makeup, and Wen and Shuning were also there to help. After combing her hair again, Tong took a jasper hairpin that she wore every day, helped her tie her hair, and then said: "Good boy, you are reluctant to us, and we are reluctant to you, but there is no banquet in the world, even if it is dispersed today, there will always be a day of reunion, as long as you still remember the relationship between our two families, you are a caring person." ”

Zhenzhen's face blushed a little and responded, "I won't forget it." Wen also smiled and nodded.

At this time, Yahuan came in and reported: "Madam, Grandma Rong is here." ”