Chapter 24 Bitter Fruit

Ever since General Lin's death, Wen Rugui has had some thoughts.

He waited patiently for more than a year, and thought about today's scene countless times in his mind. Every possible omission was blocked by his repeated imagination.

He had made all the necessary preparations, and therefore, he knew something was wrong when he heard Wen Rusheng's words.

"Myna, the old lady is asking when I will get married." Wen Rugui emphasized the word "when".

The old lady hit his feet with her cane, sending dust flying. "What are you saying?"

"My son-in-law is worried that my cousin might get nervous and say something wrong—"

The old lady sneered: "I think you are guilty."

Wen Rugui choked and looked at Wen Rusheng with a warning in his eyes.

Wen Rusheng scratched his head, looking at a loss.

The old lady's tone softened: "Just tell me what you know, and don't worry about others."

Wen Rusheng looked at Wen Rugui, then at Lin, feeling even more embarrassed. "But I can't quite remember when my tenth brother and his wife got married. They got married in the capital, which was too far from home, so I couldn't come..."

Upon hearing this, the crowd's discussion suddenly became louder.

Why does it sound like Minister Wen has ever been married in his hometown?

Wen Rugui's face darkened, and he suppressed his anger and reminded: "My dear brother, the old lady asked me before I came to Beijing."

"Before coming to Beijing?" Wen Rusheng looked bewildered. "Tenth brother wasn't married before coming to Beijing."

As soon as these words were spoken, Wen Rugui's face changed drastically.

Even the old lady felt like she had been hit by a pie in the sky.

This is indeed an honest man.

"Myna, are you confused?" Wen Rugui said in a stern tone, with veins popping out on his forehead.

He never expected that he would fail in something that was foolproof.

When Wen Rusheng and his son came to the capital, he treated them well without any neglect and even introduced his nephew to many people.

Even a fool would know that Wen Feng's future would depend on his help, but he couldn't figure out what was going on no matter how hard he tried.

Faced with Wen Rugui's questioning, Wen Rusheng couldn't stand it anymore, and his eyes couldn't help but glance at Wen Hao.

"Crack." The girl who stood behind the old lady and had little presence took something out of her sleeve and took a bite of it expressionlessly.

Wen Rusheng shuddered and his face turned pale.

The old lady knocked the ground with her cane. "Wen Rugui, why are you trying to scare an honest man? Do you think everyone else is as heartless as you?"

Wen Rugui almost couldn't catch his breath.

But at this time, if we want to reverse the unfavorable situation, we still have to rely on Wen Rusheng.

"Myna, have you forgotten Xiaoqing?" Wen Rugui tried to keep his tone calm and motioned Chang to come forward.

Xiaoqing is Chang's maiden name.

Facing countless gazes, Chang bowed to Wen Rusheng and asked, "Myna, do you still remember me?"

Wen Rusheng stared at Chang for a moment, then realized something: "It's Sister Xiaoqing."

Wen Rugui's expression eased slightly, and he took the opportunity to remind her, "Myna, don't you remember what happened between me and my cousin?"

Wen Rusheng slapped his forehead: "Remember!"

Before Wen Rugui could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Wen Rusheng say, "Didn't you two verbally engage? Later, when my tenth brother went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, I heard that you had passed the exam and married a noble lady. Then, sister Xiaoqing disappeared. It turns out she came to Beijing to look for my tenth brother..."

Wen Rugui's face turned completely cold: "My dear brother, I got married to my cousin before I came to Beijing. You remembered it wrongly!"

The honest man Wen Rusheng got anxious when he heard this: "How could I have forgotten whether you and Sister Xiaoqing got married? I am not as good as my tenth brother in other aspects, but he has a very good memory..."

The crowd was in an uproar.

"Didn't Minister Wen say that he was forced by General Lin to divorce his wife and marry someone else? It turns out he didn't marry his cousin."

"Then I don't understand. Why do you insist on saying you were married when you weren't? In our Great Zhou, divorcing your wife and remarrying is against the law."

One of them stroked his goatee and gave his reason: "What's so hard to understand? Look at the two little girls standing next to the old lady of the Lin family, and then look at the son and daughter standing behind Minister Wen. Minister Wen must be making plans for his only son."

"But even if he's a bastard, as Minister Wen's only son, he'll inherit everything in the Minister's Mansion in the future. Why do this?"

"That's the case for an ordinary family, but it's not necessarily the case for a minister's mansion. Didn't you hear what the old lady of the Lin family said? Even the house where Minister Wen lives belongs to the Lin family. How could it be so easy for Minister Wen to give all of this to his son?"

"Oh, man!"

Wen Rugui could no longer listen to these discussions. He stared at Wen Rusheng, extremely angry.

I clearly told you what to do, what happened to the starling?

But no matter how angry he was, he couldn't show it in front of everyone.

At this moment, Wen Rugui tasted the bitter fruit of shooting himself in the foot.

"Wen Rugui, do you have anything else to say?" The old lady felt both angry and relieved.

Wen Rugui tried his best to remain calm: "Myna said he was possessed by an evil spirit that day, could it be that he hasn't recovered yet, so his memory is confused and he's talking nonsense?

"Being possessed by an evil spirit?" Wen Rusheng quickly glanced at Wen Hao, shaking his head like a rattle. "No, no, no, how could I be possessed by an evil spirit? What's wrong with my tenth brother? Why does he have to say that he was married to Sister Xiaoqing——"

"Myna, think carefully before you speak!"

Wen Rusheng's face turned pale with fear: "Ten, Tenth Brother, what do you want me to think?"

"You--" Wen Rugui was so angry that his blood boiled. He realized that he could no longer rely on Wen Rusheng.

He knew there was something fishy going on, but at this moment he had no chance to find out.

As a last resort, Wen Rugui called out Wen Ping.

Wen Ping lowered his head and stepped forward, not daring to look Wen Rugui in the eye: "The old servant is here."

Wen Rugui looked at the old lady and said, "My cousin is addicted to drinking and is a little confused. Wen Ping has been with me since I passed the imperial examination and is well aware of the situation. Old lady, you might as well listen to what he has to say first. I know Wen Ping is my man and his words are hard to trust. Later, old lady, you can send someone to Wenjia Village to investigate."

Given Wen Rugui's family financial situation at that time, they naturally could not afford to support a servant. But it was different after he passed the imperial examination. Some people gave him gold and silver, some gave him land, and some even gave him servants.

Wen Ping was sent by a local official.

Wen Rugui knew that Wen Ping's words carried little weight, but there was no better solution at the moment. Even if the vast majority believed the Lin family's side, as long as there was a dispute, there would be reason to go to Wenjia Village to investigate.

It would be strange if outsiders could find out the truth if they came to Wenjia Village.

Over the years, he has donated money to the village to repair the ancestral hall and build a school. People from other villages dare not offend the people of Wenjia Village because he is a high-ranking official in Wenjia Village. It can be said that everyone in Wenjia Village has benefited from him.

He didn't believe that there was someone as stupid as Wen Rusheng.

"Wen Ping, you were present when my cousin and I got married. Tell the old lady the details of what happened."

Wen Ping bowed his head and did not move.

"Wen Ping?" Wen Rugui suddenly had an ominous premonition.

Wen Ping looked up at Wen Rugui, sweat on his forehead: "Master... maybe you remembered it wrongly, you and Madam Qing were never married."