Chapter 129

Qin Zhong was in a hurry and hurried out of the back door of the county government. He said a few words to the coachman and was about to get in the car when he felt someone was secretly spying on him. When he looked up, he saw a shadow passing by the corner opposite the alley. Qin Zhong took a look and thought he had something serious in mind, so he didn't investigate further and just thought he was dazzled.

"Let's go back to the house."

After the Qin family's carriage drove away, the figure that had passed by reappeared, looked at the carriage curiously for a few times before leaving.

…

Zhang Fangyuan returned to the house and told Xu He about today's adventure. For a moment, the result was secondary. Xu He sighed: "Master Luo is worthy of being the chief priest of the Imperial College. These casual old friends are actually high-ranking officials."

"That's right. I heard Master Luo talking about this at the banquet the other day. The Salt Administration was his classmate. They knew each other when they were young. Later, Master Luo passed the imperial examination and was ranked first in the Imperial Academy. He was then transferred to the Imperial College. He has always been a man of integrity."

"Master Yu was ranked third in the imperial examination and became an official in the local government. He was also very successful. I thought both of them had resigned and were enjoying their retirement. I didn't expect that Master Yu would be the salt commissioner this time. This is a lucrative job."

Xu He was standing next to the ice basin, fanning himself with a fan. The wind he fanned out was cool. Summer came early this year, and the weather in May was not very hot, but it was very hot at noon. Those who could afford it started using ice early to cool off. Now iced drinks and iced yogurt could be seen everywhere in the streets.

"Even though I know Mr. Luo's prestige and connections, I'm worried about our Ruijin."

Zhang Fangyuan knew Xu He's intentions: "Our merchant family is really too high for the Luo family. I never wanted Ruijin to get close to the rich and powerful, but the children have grown up together over the years, and they have a bond of friendship. There is nothing I can do."

Xu He said: "I can see what they are thinking. Although Rui Jin never said anything explicitly, I was a little confused at that time. Now I can understand his thoughts. I am afraid he feels that he has delayed Xiao Xing for too long without any accomplishment."

"He has always been calm and composed, unlike Xiaoli who is a fool."

Zhang Fangyuan said with a smile: "If Ruijin really wants to do that, I, as his father, will definitely prepare more betrothal gifts for him, so that Xingge'er will not be wronged."

"We were just gossiping in private. The child is not too old, so there is no need to rush to get married." Xu He said, "Although I want Ruijin to get married and start a family earlier, he is so focused on the imperial examinations that he may not be ready to start a family yet. I won't force him."

Zhang Fangyuan had always loved children, and he ended up having two in his life. It was very hard to raise them, and he waited for the children to grow up and be able to sell them. Xu He also thought about having two more children with Zhang Fangyuan, but perhaps their luck had run out with twins, and they were never able to raise any more children afterwards.

As Ji is older this year, he is not afraid of being laughed at as an old clam giving birth to a pearl. However, Zhang Fangyuan feels that he is not as strong as he was when he was young, and he is afraid that if she gets pregnant, both of them will suffer losses. Such things happen many times in the city, so it is no wonder that Zhang Fangyuan is cautious and taboo.

Seeing that the two children are now raised so well, although they do not have as many brothers and sisters as those in a family, they make less noise and are not rebellious children who would anger their parents to death, he slowly began to relax.

As a result, the burden of supporting the Zhang family now falls on Ruijin.

When Ruijin was a child, he didn't like crowds or talking. He just liked reading and riding horses. The things he liked were relatively normal, but his personality was a little too dull.

He heard people say that no one is perfect, and if one side is too outstanding, the other side must have some flaws. Xu He was afraid that Rui Jin would grow into a cast-iron tree that would never bloom, and would definitely become a typical example of being forced to get married in the future. The Zhang family's incense would be in jeopardy, so he thought about raising two more children with Zhang Fangyuan.

Later, I saw that he treated Luo Yuxing well and their relationship was normal. I felt so happy. He was not afraid that Ruijin would get married early, but he was afraid that he would not get married at all.

After sorting out his thoughts, he changed his mind and said to Zhang Fangyuan, "When Ruijin comes back from the capital, if he still doesn't express anything to Xiaoxing, I'd better mention it to wake him up."

"Well, just wait for my son to come back."

The two were just discussing something good when a servant came in and reported, "Master, Mr. Wang from Qiyuxiang wants to invite you to a gathering at Wangchun Tower."

Hearing this, Xu He looked at Zhang Fangyuan and said, "Mr. Wang likes to entertain guests the most. The Wang family does not meet the qualifications for obtaining salt permits. He knows that our family has participated in the election this time, so he must be waiting for you to go and have fun with him."

Zhang Fangyuan smiled helplessly: "That person just loves to join in the fun."

After he finished speaking, he smacked his lips again and asked the servant, "Are you sure that Master Wang is talking about a gathering at Wangchun Tower?"

The servant said, "That's what the person who came to deliver the message said."

Xu He was confused: "What happened?"

Zhang Fangyuan shook his head: "It's okay, I just asked casually."

After saying that, he stood up and said, "It's hard to wait for the result at home. Time will pass faster if we go out to have some drinks. It's hot outside. You should rest at home. I won't take you with me today."

Xu He's brows twitched slightly. In the past, whenever Master Wang had a banquet with Zhang Fangyuan, he always wanted to take him along. This was because Master Wang was also a loving couple, and he often took his husband along when he went out for banquets. Although the guests had to sit at separate tables or in separate rooms, he was still happy to take his family out. For this reason, Zhang Fangyuan also liked to take him along, but today he didn't let him go.

But he was not surprised. The weather was hot. "I don't like to go to a bunch of rough old men chatting and drinking."

Zhang Fangyuan stood up and squeezed Xu He's hand: "Then I'll go."

"good."

Zhang Fangyuan went out and saw that the servants had already harnessed the carriage: "Go and change to a smaller carriage, my husband will not be going out today."

"yes."

Zhang Fangyuan waited at the door for a while and got in after the carriage was changed. The carriage was small and it was quite hot inside, but many people liked to travel in a small carriage in the summer. They put an ice basin inside and lowered the curtains, so the small space was even cooler.

To get from Qingshan Lane to Wangchun Tower, one has to go from the west to the north of the city. Recently, the houses on both sides of a main road from the west to the north of the city are being repaired. A while ago, the weather got hot and a water leak occurred. The densely packed houses were burned down, and several houses were caught fire in succession.

When passing by this section of road, you can often hear the crackling sound of construction.

The coachman drove the horses leisurely, and the whole carriage felt very relaxed.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! The horses are frightened!"

Suddenly, there was a neighing of a wild horse, and the small stalls on the roadside were overturned, followed by the sound of people hurriedly avoiding the obstacles.

Seeing the tall and strong horse rushing towards them as if it had broken free from its reins, the driver of the carriage could not pull his own horse away from the carriage in time, so he had to rein in the horse quickly to prevent the two horses from running and colliding.

The fierce horse ran straight into the carriage. At the critical moment, the coachman jumped out of the carriage and rolled under the handkerchief stall on the side of the road.

Before they could feel the joy of escaping death, they heard a few muffled bangs and a basket of bricks and tiles fell from the overpass connecting the two sides of the main road, hitting the carriage that was hit by the horse.

The scene was in chaos. People on the roadside subconsciously turned their heads to avoid the accident. Only after the loud noise was heard did everyone look towards the accident site.

The frightened horse was seriously injured after colliding with the two horses pulling the carriage. The carriage overturned on the ground, and the fallen bricks and tiles fell into the carriage, creating several large holes. The summer dust covered the accident site with a layer of gray mist.

The scene was so tragic that people standing on the roadside didn't even dare to go forward to watch.

"This seems to be the Zhang family's carriage..."

"It's the Zhang family's carriage!"

…

Xu He was watching the fresh fish in the kitchen. Some time in the afternoon, fish were caught in the village pond. Xu He liked carp with eggs, and this time a few were caught in the village pond. When they were transported to the shop in the city, they were also delivered to the house on the way.

He looked at the few fish, but they were all big and plump, and thought that Zhang Fangyuan would not be back from the dinner, so he and Xiaoli could not sit idly by, so they cooked a bowl of fish soup at night.

The servants scaled and slaughtered the fish. He was about to make soup when Gan Cao rushed into the kitchen: "My husband, something bad has happened! There was a message just now from outside. A horse got scared and hit a carriage on Beijiao Road. It was our Zhang family's carriage!"

With a clang, Xu He smashed the big soup spoon in his hand directly on the stove when he heard the news.

He pulled off the collar around his waist, his face pale, "Where's the master? Is there any news about the master?"

Gan Cao's eyes turned red. "The carriage fell over, and the house on the road was under repair. Maybe the horse was frightened and rushed around, which also frightened the people who were building the house. The bricks and tiles fell on the carriage of our house without paying attention."

Gan Cao started to cry as she spoke: "The people who bravely stepped forward saw blood pouring out of the carriage."

Xu He's throat was blocked by a breath of hot air, and he almost fell to the ground. He tried his best to maintain his rationality: "Don't let the young master know about this first."

After saying that, Xu He rushed out.

When we hurriedly arrived at the accident site, both sides of the road were still in a mess. The vendors were tidying up their stalls and cursing, while the horses and carts that were smashed in the middle of the main road had been cleared away, and a few pieces of broken wood could still be vaguely seen.

Xu He's eyes were bloodshot, causing his entire eyeballs to be somewhat red. He choked and trembled as he walked to the handkerchief stand on the side of the road, and asked in a fragmented voice, "Auntie, where are the carriages and people involved in the accident just now?"

The woman who was tidying up her stall was already filled with anger. Not only did the frightened horse ruin everyone's business, but no one came to compensate. It was not easy to run a small business, and she had no place to vent her anger. She shouted angrily, "Take them all away, you evildoers!"

Xu He's eyes immediately filled with tears. The woman looked up and saw how sad the man was. Her heart softened: "You are the family of the man who just had an accident, right? Oh, I am not good at talking. Husband, don't take it to heart. They have already been sent to the Shencaotang. The man was very agile and jumped under my stall in an instant. I don't think it's a big deal."

"really?"

"Why should I try to coax you? Go and have a look!"

Xu He wiped the tears from his face, climbed onto the carriage and sat directly outside. He didn't even want to move a step to sit inside, and hurriedly asked the servants to drive to Shencaotang.

Xu He jumped off the carriage before it stopped. He ran straight into the clinic and saw a familiar figure standing with his hands on hips with his back to the door. Tears immediately burst out of his eyes like a flood.

"He's here!"

Zhang Fangyuan was straining his neck to watch the doctor stitching the driver's clothes. Although he had abandoned the coach in time to save the driver when the horses collided, he still hit his head when he rolled to the ground.

Zhuang Qi poked him with his elbow before he reacted. Turning back, he saw the person in tears at the door and rushed over quickly.

Xu He came straight over and threw himself into his arms, his voice full of sobs and surprise: "You're okay, you're okay!"

Zhang Fangyuan bent his elbows and hugged the shoulders of the person in his arms: "Didn't I send someone back to tell you that there is nothing wrong. He is in Shencaotang."

"I only heard that the family's carriage had an accident, and I thought you..." Xu He hugged Zhang Fangyuan tightly, burying his face in the thin waist. After all, no one would see his embarrassed look, so he didn't care about other people's eyes.

Zhang Fangyuan frowned and said, "I asked the people from the martial arts school to come back and tell you the news. I told them repeatedly that there was nothing wrong. I'm afraid the servants at home heard it from someone and you missed the people from the martial arts school in your haste."

But it doesn’t matter what happened, as long as the person is fine.

Zhang Fangyuan patted Xu He's back gently, trying to comfort the frightened person. Zhuang Qi came over and saw the couple like this, which made him feel embarrassed to speak.

"Those bastards..."

Hearing this, Xu He rubbed Zhang Fangyuan's chest, raised her head and wiped away her tears: "What's going on?"

Zhang Fangyuan touched Xu He's head and replied to Zhuang Qi's words first: "First, lock up the others, record their confessions and sign their names, and then send them to the government office while the salt administration is still here."

"Okay." Zhuang Qi said, "Then I'll go back first. Come over when you're done."

Seeing Zhuang Qi leave, Xu He clenched his sleeves nervously and said, "What on earth happened? Don't hide it from me."

"I didn't mean to hide it from you."

Zhang Fangyuan said slowly, "When the servant informed me that Master Wang wanted to invite me to Wangchun Tower, I realized something was wrong."

A while ago, he and Boss Wang were drinking in Wangchunlou. A waiter there was ignorant and offended Boss Wang. The shopkeeper did not scold the waiter, but protected his own people. The two had a quarrel, and Boss Wang said that he would never go to Wangchunlou again.

The incident happened not long ago. Even if the two parties reconciled privately, Boss Wang had threatened that he would not go again. It would have been humiliating if he went alone, but it would have been embarrassing to ask his friends to come along.

Boss Wang is very proud and would never do that.

Thinking about the panic in the city regarding the salt permit issue, it wasn't that he was being too cautious, but he really had to be on guard.

If what he guessed was wrong, then someone was deliberately trying to lure him out.

To go to Wangchun Tower, one must pass through Beijiao Road, and that area is the domain of the Qin family. Over the years, he has been at odds with the Qin family, so it was hard for him not to think about Qin Zhong, even though he didn't know why.

So he didn't let Xu He go out with him. He said hello to the coachman before leaving. When passing by Ji'an Martial Arts Hall, he got off the carriage quietly and went to the hall to call people, and followed the carriage closely.

As expected, something happened on the Qin family's territory. He immediately arrested the people riding the horses and throwing bricks and stones with the people from the martial arts school.

Xu He was afraid: "Fortunately, you noticed it and took precautions in advance."

"It's all right. The Qin family has done too much evil and will eventually perish. The evidence is all there. How can he make excuses? The magistrate can't protect him anymore."