In a hurry, those friends who were invited by Li Mingming all ran clean, and Li Mingming's face fell to the ground, and he was a little embarrassed for a while.

Zhao Xuemei sneered and said to Li Mingyuan: "Look at these friends your brother has made, what are they, as soon as I heard that we offended the government, they were all scared with my grandson." ”

Then she turned her head to look at Li Mingming, and snorted coldly: "I already knew that with your bear-like appearance, the friends you made must be some fox friends and dog friends, what did I say yesterday, let me say it!"

Zhao Xuemei was proud of her foresight, and took advantage of her momentum to desperately count Li Mingming.

Li Mingming's face was ashamed, full of grievances, and he lowered his head and didn't dare to speak.

Li Mingyuan shook his head, extremely disappointed in Li Mingming, and when he turned around, he found that there was still a person sitting in the corner who had not left, and was drinking himself.

This person is Qin Tao.

Qin Tao was naturally not afraid of any magistrate, but he felt pity for Li Mingming's cowardice.

"This friend, you can also go, I understand your kindness for my brother, our Li family's affairs, let's come out by ourselves." Li Mingyuan thought that it would be useless for Qin Tao to stay, so he directly issued an eviction order.

"Why don't you leave, waiting to eat and drink. Zhao Xuemei came angrily, and said politely.

Qin Tao frowned, and said with a light smile: "I am a guest invited by Brother Wise, if you want to bombard me away, you have to speak wisely." ”

If it weren't for the robbers he encountered during his study tour, he was no longer entangled, and he fainted in Dingyuan County with hunger, and Li Mingzhi gave him food to save his life, so he wouldn't be angry here?

Li Mingyuan and his wife also knew what happened back then, so they looked down on Qin Tao, a poor scholar who almost starved to death.

Li Mingyuan was unhappy with Qin Tao's ignorance, and said to Li Mingming: "Mingming, let's let your friend go, we will have a banquet for Master Zhao and the wealthy businessmen of Jiangling Mansion later, and we may not have time to entertain him." ”

Li Mingzhi looked at Qin Tao hesitantly, and then at his brother, but he didn't dare to speak, I don't know if he didn't dare, or he didn't want to.

didn't say that Qin Tao would stay, nor did he say let him leave, and he was unassertive.

Qin Tao couldn't bear it anymore, went up and looked at Li Mingzhi and said: "The Li Mingzhi I know, it's not the cowering and unresponsible wretch in front of you, where is your ambition back then?"

In Qin Tao's impression, Li Mingzhi is a talkative and cheerful teenager, and he is full of ambition, I don't know what he has experienced in the past year or so that he will become what he is now.

Qin Tao didn't know that since he failed in the last imperial examination, Li Zhizhi had been looked down upon by outsiders, and he was ridiculed by Zhao Xuemei everywhere, and his confidence had long been exhausted.

This time the disaster in their family was also caused by Li Mingming, so he is looking ahead and backward when he encounters something now, and he is becoming more and more unassertive.

Just when Li Mingming was entangled, there was a noise outside the door, and only one person shouted: "Brother Mingyuan, I'm late." ”

Li Mingyuan saw that the guest he invited had arrived, and felt that letting Qin Tao leave at this time would make people see a joke, so his face sank, and he said to Li Mingming: "Okay, take this friend of yours and sit in the corner, don't embarrass me in front of the guests." ”

"Yes, big brother. Li Mingming actually looked happy, probably because he didn't need to make a choice.

Li Mingzhi pulled Qin Tao to sit in the corner, and his colleague apologized: "Brother Qin, I'm really sorry, it's all my fault." ”

Looking at the spineless Li Mingzhi in front of him, Qin Tao shook his head angrily.

He could more or less guess some of Li Mingming's experience, and he couldn't help but feel sorry, feeling that if he continued like this, this person might really be useless.

Qin Tao followed and sat in the corner, taught Li Zhizhi silently, and said: "You and I are brothers, and you have kindness to me, I can't bear to see you so depraved, look at what you have become now." ”

Li Mingyuan and Zhao Xuemei greeted the guests there.

Not all the tables are full, and most of them are rich businessmen with big bellies and fat heads and big ears, and a few Qin Tao still know each other.

There are also a few fierce and grinning guys, who look like people in the rivers and lakes.

"Brother Li said, if there is anything, as long as the brother can do it, there is no ambiguity. A rich businessman with a shiny face and a wide body patted his chest and behaved very righteously.

"Yes, what kind of friendship do we have with Brother Li, a matter of one word. These friends of Li Mingyuan screamed, looking like they could go up the knife mountain and go down to the sea of fire for Li Mingyuan.

Li Mingyuan was full of excitement, feeling that with these brothers here, there was nothing that could not be done.

Zhao Xuemei glanced at Qin Tao and Li Mingming who were sitting in the corner, and sneered at Li Mingming: "Mingming, learn more with your brother in the future, and make friends with righteous heroes like everyone here." ”

This remark added Qin Tao by the way, as if saying that Qin Tao was not righteous.

"I don't know who these two are?" someone was curious about Qin Tao and Li Mingming, who were sitting in the corner and had not spoken.

Li Mingyuan looked at Li Mingzhi and sighed, and said: "Hey, that's my brother who can't make it and one of his friends, this person was studying and fainted at my door with hunger, it was my brother who saw him pitiful and saved his life." ”

For the insignificant Qin Tao, Li Mingyuan didn't introduce too much, and the others also nodded silently and didn't ask more.

When they heard that Qin Tao had fainted from hunger, their eyes when they looked at Qin Tao revealed a trace of disdain, and they felt that Qin Tao was also a poor scholar.

After pondering for a while, Li Mingyuan said: "Don't hide it from your brothers, this time I offended the magistrate in my hometown, and my father was also arrested in prison, so I want to ask my brothers to help me and ask me to settle this matter." ”

Finally, he added another sentence and said, "Don't worry, all the expenses up and down are mine." ”

As soon as Li Mingyuan's words came out, everyone was stunned for a moment, these friends of his were similar to those friends of Li Mingming, and they all retreated.

After all, the official word has two mouths, and who wants to provoke them if there is nothing to do.

In the end, it was the rich businessman who was wide and fat, and said: "Brother Li, it's not that I don't help, it's really that I haven't dealt with people in the government, so I can't help." ”

"Yes, yes, I can't help it. ”

These people spread their hands one after another, saying that they could not do anything.

Qin Tao looked at the helpless Li family from the side, and thought secretly: "Forget it, if I help Li Mingzhi today, it can be regarded as repaying the life-saving kindness of the day, and I don't care what happens to him in the future." ”

So he stood up and said to Li Mingming, who bowed his head: "Brother Mingzhi, I also understand the affairs of your family, isn't it just offending a magistrate, I managed to solve it for you." ”

This matter is not difficult for Qin Tao, and it is a matter of saying hello to Ling Qianshan.

"What a big breath. ”

Hearing Qin Tao say that he would settle the matter for Li Mingzhi, the wealthy businessman was the first to disdain and said: "Little brother, let's talk big, the matter of the county master can be handled by a little scholar in a few words." ”

"Today's young people really don't know the sky, and they think that after two years of studying, they will be amazing. Could it be that the things that so many of us can't solve, you can solve as soon as you open your mouth, why should you rely on your mouth?"

A strong man with a meaty face snorted coldly, very dissatisfied with Qin Tao, and felt that Qin Tao was completely unspeakable.

Everyone looked at Qin Tao and shook their heads, they understood from Li Mingyuan's introduction before, Qin Tao was a poor scholar, otherwise he would not faint on the street hungry.

secretly thought, if you have the ability, how can you almost starve to death, and how can you be arranged in the corner by Li Mingyuan and his wife.

Zhao Xuemei glared at her man angrily, and said angrily: "I see that you are similar to your unpromising brother, and you will only make some wine and meat friends who talk big, and it seems that you still have to rely on my distant uncle Master Zhao." ”

His words offended everyone, and Li Mingyuan and Li Mingming felt extremely embarrassed.

When Li Mingyuan's friends heard Zhao Xuemei's words, they all wanted to slap the table and leave.

The rich businessman who was obviously wide and fat brightened his eyes, and asked cautiously: "The sister-in-law said Master Zhao, but the Zhao Mingzhuo from the prefect's yamen, Master Zhao." ”

Zhao Xuemei tilted her chin and said, "That's right, Zhao Mingzhuo is my distant uncle." ”

As soon as the fat rich businessman heard this, the fire in his heart immediately disappeared, and he directly arched his hand and said: "Disrespectful and disrespectful, if Master Zhao comes out, I think I should be a little sure, I heard that this Master Zhao knows the trust of Lord Fu." ”

"Brother Mingyuan, you have married a good daughter-in-law, this Master Zhao is much more reliable than those young people who talk big. ”

"Yes, Mingyuan, sister-in-law is such a drifting daughter-in-law, how did you deceive it. But I want to say two things to you, don't let your brother make some messy friends in the future, what kind of people are these? ”

As soon as Li Mingyuan's friend heard that Master Zhao was Zhao Xuemei's uncle, he immediately suppressed the plan to slap the table and leave, but instead complimented Zhao Xuemei constantly.

At the same time, he began to satirize Qin Tao, a poor scholar who "couldn't help himself".

Zhao Xuemei listened to everyone's compliments, smiled proudly, glanced at Li Mingzhi and Li Mingyuan, and thought secretly: "Look, your Li family doesn't depend on me." ”

Qin Tao couldn't help no matter how good his temper was, but at this time, Li Mingzhi secretly pulled him and said, "Brother Qin, this matter has the sister-in-law's uncle Master Zhao come forward, and if you think it will be solved smoothly, you don't want to get involved." ”

Li Mingzhi thought that he knew Qin Tao and thought that Qin Tao was also an ordinary scholar, otherwise he would not have fainted on the street in Dingyuan County back then.