Ning was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "How come?" I haven't always been a little ashamed of Chen Liangben's stallion characteristics, but I also admit that he has done a good job as an official and is a person with brains, how can he make his father angry?

Shi remembered that he was also a little angry, and when he saw that Zhang Bao was still black-faced, he pulled his daughter to the next room and told her the reason carefully.

Today, when Zhang Bao came to visit, he took full courtesy, and he did not lower his identity. That Lord Chen Liangben didn't know why he had a straight face, but he just barely smiled. Later, when talking, Chen Liangben always said something that made people scratch his head, and when he saw that Zhang Bao didn't know why, he said it sternly and frankly.

Overall, three things.

First, when someone impeached him in the spring, many officials who were good friends with him suffered, but Zhang Bao was fine, but he did not help him, and he specially avoided places outside the capital, and many officials of the Chen faction were dissatisfied with this.

The second was Chen Liangben's friend of the same year, the former prefect of the Daimyo Mansion, who complained to him that his son accidentally caused some small trouble and was attacked by Chen's political enemies as a target, and as a result, he almost lost his life, and finally changed the sentence to exile, but he was targeted by the imperial envoy and lost his office. Zhang Bao knew that he was good friends with Chen Liangben, but he helped others use false confessions to harm his own son, which was too deceitful, and he didn't know if he wanted to curry favor with the enemy.

The third one, however, has happened recently. One of Chen Liang's achievements in Jiangnan was to defeat corrupt officials and recover the salt tax, and he was told that Zhang Bao had secretly taken in the son of a big corrupt official, perhaps to his detriment.

Chen Liangben's meaning, the first article may just be Zhang Bao's timidity. It's not a crime, but the last two are a bit excessive. He asked Zhang Bao what he was dissatisfied with him, and now he came to give gifts, not because he was still a high-ranking official and asked for him.

Zhang Bao was so angry that he was almost speechless, and asked Chen Liangben directly, he was that kind of villain. Chen Liang was a little hesitant. Unexpectedly, his second wife came out at this time. Hand back the gift sent by Zhang Bao as it was. said that he "used this old thing that no one wanted as a gift, but he didn't take my husband seriously."

Zhang Bao didn't say anything, just took the gift and said goodbye, and he kept sulking after returning home.

After hearing this, Shuning couldn't help but be furious. It seems that the stallion surnamed Chen can't even tell right from wrong recently, what kind of nonsense is he talking about?! She hurriedly said to her father: "Amma, don't be angry, you can't be angry with that kind of person. He didn't even recognize who was right and who was wrong. Let's see when he's out of luck. ”

Zhang Bao saw his daughter so angry, but felt better, and muttered: "He has never been this kind of person, although I don't have much contact with him, but I also know what he is, now it seems that someone probably slandered him, and he just came back from Jiangnan." I don't know much about Kyozato. There is also a place for misunderstanding. ”

Shuning also calmed down a little at this time, felt that her father's words were reasonable, and thought about it. "If that's the case, it's better to clarify things as soon as possible." As the saying goes, three people become tigers. Today, Ama came out of the Chen Mansion angrily with gifts, and someone must have seen it, if it caused any gossip, it would damage Amma's reputation. And let that Chen Liangben know that Ama was wronged earlier, and it can also make the real villain have nothing to hide. ”

Seeing that Zhang Bao's face slowed down, he was also happy, and after listening to his daughter's words, he asked: "It's just that now that Chen Liang has prejudice, how can we clarify it?" ”

Shuning remembered someone: "Find Yuheng, he has always been good friends with Amma, and he has always been in Beijing, so he is clear about these things." Gu Quansheng's conversion of slavery must also be registered in Shuntian Mansion. What's more, the matter of the prefect of the Daimyo's Mansion, I'm afraid that he also has resentment in his heart, you must know that the son of the former prefect of the Daimyo's Mansion died under the jurisdiction of his Shuntian Mansion. ”

Zhang Bao nodded: "It's okay, but I heard that he may be transferred to a foreign post recently, so it's too early to go." ”

In order to prevent a long night of dreams, Zhang Bao, under the urging of his daughter, went to visit Yuheng that night, and told everything about it, even saying that the gift was the ancient inkstone of the previous dynasty, and by the way, he also transferred the gift to him, and attached a few good seal stones. Yu Heng has been very interested in the seal recently, and he is in the middle of it, and he promised to help him explain to Chen Liangben, and complained about the former daimyo prefect Yitong by the way. His son committed a crime, causing Shuntianfu to be involved in the crime of "not looking", and he was already deducted with silver, and he did it in vain for a few months, you know, in this kind of Qingshui Yamen, many subordinate officials have to live on silver, and as a chief, he has no face.

Yu Heng moved quickly, and the next day he found Chen Liangben and explained things one by one. When Zhang Bao left Beijing, he really wanted to hide from right and wrong, but he was a middle-level official who was worried at home, and he couldn't help in that situation; The son of the former Daimyo Mansion deserved it, Zhang Bao's neighbor's daughter was almost killed, and Zhang Bao just stopped the gentleman from robbing people; As for the son of the corrupt official, he was the only son of Gu County's order, and became an official slave, because he was bought by Zhang Bao's brother-in-law, he was just transferred to Zhang Bao, and he was on the official mansion. Wait a minute.

Yu Heng also said bad things about a few officials of the Chen faction who were at odds with him, claiming that during Chen Liangben's departure from Beijing, they formed a party for personal gain, excluded dissidents, and also caused a struggle between the DPRK and China, which brought Chen Liangben a lot of trouble, and now the Chen faction has suffered heavy losses, all of which have been harmed by them. I talked like this for a long time before leaving.

said that Chen Liangben has been upset for the past few months. The situation in Jiangnan was more complicated than he imagined, and there were always people in the court who were holding him back, so he racked his brains and finally made some achievements, but he was transferred back to Beijing, and some of his plans had to be stopped. The wives and concubines at home don't let him worry, they don't talk about it every day, and occasionally they get into trouble outside, which causes him to lose his reputation.

Because the emperor felt that he had been wronged some time ago, but it was not easy to compensate him clearly, he promised to give him a decree in one of his side rooms. Chen Liang chose the daughter of a rich family, but he didn't expect the other concubines to agree, and even the always well-behaved little family Biyu cried that he was eccentric, he grew up with him since he was a child, and he was the daughter of a serious family, and she accepted her fate if she didn't become a wife. Now she is not even as good as a merchant's daughter. The daughter of a rich family thinks that she has worked hard and deserves to be ordained, so she gets into trouble with them. The Chen family's backyard is in turmoil again.

Chen Liangben was tired enough to deal with other officials in the court every day, and he couldn't be quiet when he returned home, so he was naturally unhappy. However, two more officials of the Chen faction switched to the Suo faction, which made him even more angry. At this time, someone slandered him, saying how Zhang Bao was. He couldn't help but be furious. As soon as I saw Zhang Bao come to the door. As if nothing had happened, and some of them wanted to slap him, so they couldn't help but be sarcastic. He didn't see the gift clearly, but he heard the second lady who was born from a rich family say that it was a worthless thing, so he also believed it.

It wasn't until Yu Heng came to tell him that he knew that he had wronged Zhang Bao, and he began to be wary of some people who made irresponsible remarks. He inadvertently complained to the second lady for a few words. As a result, the backyard was ruined, and the bar was noisy again. Chen Liangben was exhausted, so he had to write a letter to Zhang Bao, with an apology, saying that he knew the truth, everything was a misunderstanding, and as for the new official position he requested, he had been optimistic about the lack of the prefect of Jinan for him, and he would do his best. Yunyun.

Zhang Bao has always been

Angry. After receiving the letter and apology, the anger also subsided. But he was so worried about this in his heart that he couldn't trust Chen Liangben as much as before.

Seeing this, he persuaded him: "Forget it." In the past, we had to rely on him, and it was inevitable to be a little low, but now we have other places to rely on, so don't have too much contact with him, and his reputation outside is not the best now. ”

Zhang Baodao: "It's just that in the past, I still helped a lot thanks to him, but now he is a little uncomfortable, so I will throw away my hand, and others will gossip." I don't want to go in my own heart. ”

Shuning listened and said: "Ama is already estranged from him, why bother to reluctantly make peace with him?" And this time he wronged Amma, it's not that we are at fault, if we are still friendly with him, it seems that we want to slap him. Carefully speaking, at the beginning, Ama only interacted with him because of the relationship between Yuheng people, and his official achievements were all earned by himself. He's only done a few small favors, do you still have to work for him? Besides, we've had a lot of good ideas for him. He listened to a few words of gossip from others, and he was going to turn his face with you, this time we remedied it quickly, so it's okay, if you don't ask Yuheng people to say something, who knows what will happen? "That stallion is in trouble right now, so it's better to stay away.

Shi was also a little afraid after listening to it: "Shu'er is right, I heard that there are several officials who were good friends with him in the past, and they have a closer relationship with Lord Suo Etu, and two of them have been accused of illegal things recently, and it is rumored that he is taking revenge." ”

Zhang Bao sighed: "These are just rumors, I can still trust him after knowing him all these years, but because of a misunderstanding, I alienated him...... I really don't want to do that. What's more, he also said that he would contribute to my recovery, the prefect of Jinan is a good shortage, and my brother-in-law is there, so I can take care of it. ”

Shuning couldn't help but sigh that her father's heart was too soft, thought about it, and said, "In this case, Amma shouldn't be too close to him, and there is no need to be estranged from him, let's take a look at the situation first." ”

Zhang Bao hesitated for a moment, agreed, and put the matter aside for the time being, and cared about his son's participation in the inspection of the officials. As long as Duan Ning successfully passes, he will be able to obtain a grassroots official position, for which he has been preparing for a long time, and the clan has specially greeted his mother's side.

On the day of the fourth elder brother's wedding, Zhang Baoshi and Duan Ning were both invited, but they were just ordinary guests, staying with the people at home, and the gifts they gave were ordinary items, and others were not suspicious. No one expected that another carefully prepared gift was quietly sent to Pumpkin Alley, which included a few winter coats made by the clan himself, as well as a gray squirrel fur gown, and two women's sleeved cloaks inlaid with fur piping, but they were specially prepared for the wives and concubines of the fourth elder brother.

On this day, because her parents and brother went out to attend the wedding banquet, Shuning stayed in the Earl's Court to accompany her younger brother. After lunch, she saw that Xianning's eyelids began to droop, so she asked Xiao Liu to help take care of him, and let him and Xiaobao both go to take a nap. She went back to the house alone, and let all the frangipani holly out for a walk, intending to squint on the bench for a while.

I don't know how long later, she felt like there was someone in the room, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a woman in a pink cheongsam, with her back to her. She got up and looked carefully, it was actually Wanning!

Wan Ning sat on the chair, looking ahead in a daze, and when she heard the sound behind her, she turned her head and smiled: "Third sister, are you awake?" Shuning walked to the basin in the corner of the house, washed her face, straightened her hair, turned around and asked, "Second sister, why are you here?" Don't call me when you come. ”

Wan Ning smiled, and there was loneliness between her eyebrows: "I really envy you, you don't understand anything, as long as you live your life in peace." And I'm ...... It's not a good thing to know too much......"

What kind of mess is this? Shuning frowned, and stepped forward to speak, but smelled a smell of wine: "Second sister, you have drunk?!" ”

"What's this? It's just a few glasses of rice wine, not Moutai. Wan Ning waved her hand absently, "I'm ...... today." Happy today, of course, drink a few more glasses, this is a happy event, a happy event! ”

Shuning is very sure that she must be drunk, and her maid ring is not there, why is she not with anyone? Thinking about it, he poured a cup of tea and handed it over: "Second sister is sober and sober with a cup of tea, what are you doing here with me today?" There's always a reason, right? ”

Wan Ning took a sip and suddenly sobbed: "Why...... Will it be? I also said that I was a good friend, I went to see her, but I couldn't see her, saying that the bride can't see outsiders, phew! I'm not a man, so what's the matter?! She cried and scolded, but her words were a little indistinct: "Woo...... He's so ruthless, he didn't give me a chance at all, and now he has a wife and a concubine, hum...... Beware of kidney ...... Men are not good things, they obviously said that they only love me, and they turned around and went to marry someone else, damn it, what am I?! Do you think I'm really going to give in?! ”

Shuning was confused, who is this talking about? Doesn't it sound like a person? However, she slowly guessed most of it, it seems that Wanning is because of the marriage of the fourth elder brother she has been thinking about, and she heard that the fifth elder brother is going to marry the side room, so she will drink to drown her sorrows.

She looked at Wan Ning with an embarrassed face, so she kindly handed over the handkerchief and poured tea, but was suddenly grabbed by Wan Ning's hand, only to see the other party smile weirdly, and said with a smile: "Third sister, you are so virtuous and virtuous, I don't know what you will think of that room of concubines when you marry in the future?" ”

Shuning was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly rushed into a person, but it turned out to be Qiaoyun. I saw that she insisted on helping Wan Ning up, and after hurriedly thanking Shu Ning, she smiled reluctantly: "Third girl, our girl accidentally drank too much today, and what she said was drunk and nonsense!" Don't be surprised, just don't hear it. Then he desperately pulled Wan Ning away half-supported and half-dragged.

Shuning frowned and stood for a while, until someone entered the house to change the water, she shook her head and went to practice calligraphy.

Wanning was drunk, not too many people found out, although there was some gossip in the house, but it was quickly diverted by the good news of the monthly money in advance, and then it was the day when Fang Ning was hired, and when the matter was over, no one remembered it. Wan Ning later lay down for two days, saying that she was not feeling well, but it was fine, Shu Ning saw her a few days later, but found that she looked a little depressed, a listless look.

Just after entering October, Zhang Bao received a letter from Chen Liangben, saying that he had set the position of Jinan prefect for him. Zhang Bao and his wife were very happy in their hearts, and they both felt that Chen Liang himself was still trustworthy. Who knew that a few days later, the will of the imperial court came down, but it was another official who got this position, and this official was not only the nephew of one of the officials who had followed Chen Liangben the longest, but also just accepted the niece of Chen Liangben's rich daughter as a concubine.