Chapter 005 Stupid Uncle
Xu Lezhi smiled maliciously, "Third uncle's family is doing business outside, so bribes and flattery are inevitable. Seeing how proficient Sixth Sister was just now, she must have mastered the essence. However, the business style is not elegant after all. If Sixth Sister wants to find a good husband, she should learn more about women's work, poetry and literature."
"Don't worry, sister. Maybe in a few days we will not only learn the art of business, but also go to the fields to farm. It's good for female workers to be good at poetry and books, but the peasants don't like them. They like those who are easy to bear children, can work, and can endure hardships. Sister, if you want to get married, you have to work harder. Don't you think so, auntie?"
The eldest aunt, whose name was suddenly called, was still distracted and nodded without understanding. "Yes, yes, yes... Sixth girl is right. You don't know that country people always choose wives with big arms, thick waists and round butts——"
Xu Lezhi's face flushed red with shame, and he cursed in a shrill voice, "Xu Qingying, you're so vulgar! You're an unmarried girl, and all you talk about is looking for a man. Aren't you ashamed?!"
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about finding a man, let's just talk about the beheading in a few days. Do you know where we're going to be beheaded? How can we do it less painfully? Should we bribe the jailer to pick a skilled executioner for us? What if he's not skilled and runs out of energy halfway through? I don't want to be reborn with my head hanging."
"Sixth girl, shut up! Stop talking nonsense!" Second Aunt scolded angrily, then yelled at Miao, "Miao, this is the good girl you've raised. If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have asked Third Brother to manage the Xu family's business. He wouldn't have let her have such a bad temper and corrupted the other girls in the Xu family. The reason Sixth Girl has become like this must be because you haven't disciplined her enough!"
Miao was so frightened by the sudden roar that she trembled and tears welled up in her eyes.
This second sister-in-law was the daughter of an official family, so she was naturally a thousand times more noble than a scholar's daughter. Lian Shi would usually order her around, but she always tolerated it, thinking that a harmonious family is the key to success, and that everyone couldn't be too competitive.
But now that Miao was being scolded like this in front of her children, she felt extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to say something, but she was tongue-tied and couldn't utter a word for a long time. Instead, she was so anxious that tears were about to come out.
She had never felt so humiliated before. Her daughter was being scolded and pointed at. Her lips trembled, "Second sister-in-law...how could you say that about Ying'er..."
"The one who teases first is a mean person. Don't try to take advantage of my mother, a weakling." Xu Zhenying glanced at Lian and said indifferently, "My father manages the Xu family's assets, and Fourth Aunt's family is also in business. But Le Zhi keeps calling her merchants, looking down on her two uncles, while enjoying the fine clothes earned by others. I was wondering what was going on. It turned out to be Second Aunt's teaching. If that was the case, you should have told me earlier. How could a common merchant like me dare to answer the Xu family's legitimate daughter like this? I was wrong, Second Aunt. No matter how much Le Zhi scolds me this time, I will definitely not talk back."
Very sarcastic and mean.
Even Xiao Huang couldn't help but feel that the sixth girl from the third room had been taken away from her.
These words came out like a string of cannonballs. How could the weak and shy sixth girl say them?
Lian had never thought that Xu Qingying was so sharp-tongued. She was so angry that her chest heaved, but she didn't know how to refute.
Xu Yinxi quickly pulled Xu Lezhi and Lian Shi to her side. She frowned. Although she did not approve of her mother and sister's behavior, she had to protect them in front of outsiders.
"Sixth sister, calm down. We're all family, how could it come to this? Third Uncle is out there managing the Xu family's business. Without Third Uncle, there would be no Xu family, and my father wouldn't have been able to achieve such a successful career. The same goes for Eldest Uncle. Without the support of Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt, my father wouldn't have been able to pass the imperial examination and change his family's status. We're all connected, and now that we've fallen on hard times, everyone's in a bad mood, so it's inevitable that we're a little blunt. Now that our family's fate is uncertain and the future is unpredictable, we should all work together."
Xu Zhenying couldn't help but look at Xu Yinxi again.
As expected of the eldest daughter carefully brought up by the second aunt, she speaks without making any mistakes, which shows her high emotional intelligence.
Xu Zhenying immediately made his stance clear, "I will not offend others unless they offend me. If others treat me kindly, I will naturally treat them with courtesy."
Xu Lezhi was obviously dissatisfied. She had been like this since she was a child. She relied on her second uncle, the only official in the family, to make a living and never took other branches seriously.
In her eyes, the first, third and fourth wives were all vampires, burdens, and country bumpkins who were not presentable. They were her sore spots that would be mentioned every time she went out to a party, and the reason why she couldn't hold her head up among her other sisters. She was about to argue with them, but she saw Xu Zhenying's face change instantly. His face, which had been cold just now, smiled and he stood up to greet them.
It turned out that it was Gao Yayi who came back.
What flattery!
Xu Lezhi spat in his heart, but couldn't help but prick up his ears to listen.
Gao Yayi shook his head, seeming to find it very ridiculous. He met the expectant eyes of the Xu family's elderly, weak, women and children, and thought of the expression of the second master Xu, and couldn't help feeling regretful.
He coughed softly, "Second Master Xu said that you women should stop meddling in men's affairs. He has his own plans."
That’s it?
A large group of people were all stunned.
She'd given away the only valuable thing she had, and this was the message she got back? No Morse code or code?
Xu Zhenying was stunned for a moment.
She even began to reflect on whether she had overestimated her second uncle's IQ.
How could I forget that my second uncle was a pedantic scholar?
The old lady was so angry that she beat her chest and stamped her feet, "Oh my God, I knew that the second son would become jealous from studying, but I didn't expect him to be so jealous——"
The eldest aunt was so angry that she laughed, "Stupid, the second son is really stupid!"
The second branch of the family also had extremely ugly expressions on their faces, but because they were related to the second uncle, they could not say anything and remained silent in the face of everyone's vicious gazes.
Xu Lezhi wanted to speak up for his father, but seeing his grandmother's expression, he held back.
She didn't want to get into trouble.
Xu Zhenying immediately asked Gao, "Uncle Gao, are my uncles and brothers okay?"
"Don't worry, they didn't use torture. Your second uncle is a coward, and I heard that the official in charge confessed everything after being frightened. The other few people had nothing to do with the matter, so naturally they won't be embarrassed."
Finally, I've said something of value.
This was the best news the women had heard in the past few days.
My aunt mustered up the courage to ask, "Sir...will we be released soon?"
"How should I know that?" Gao Yashi was unhappy. "Ask the official."
Seeing that Gao Yayi was about to leave, Xu Zhenying hurriedly said, "I still want to ask Uncle Gao about something——"
Gao Yanei's expression changed slightly, and he straightened his attitude, with a fake smile on his face, "Your second uncle is right. Why would a girl ask so many questions?"
Xu Zhenying knew what was going on and just said, "Uncle Gao, please wait a moment."
After saying this, she turned around and gestured to the Xu family members who were looking at her, indicating with her eyes that they should take out some silver to send Gao the runner away.
Everyone looked at each other, pretending not to understand. The eldest aunt just smiled, while the second aunt turned away with an embarrassed look on her face.
Their lives are uncertain now. If they are exiled and their property is confiscated, the silver they have on them will be their last money.
Therefore, no one is willing to take it out until the critical moment.
Xu Zhenying frowned, but Fourth Aunt took out a piece of silver and handed it to him.
"Thank you, Fourth Aunt." Xu Zhenying replied, then calmly put the silver into Gao Yayi's sleeve. "Uncle Gao, I have a few questions for you. I hope I won't embarrass you."
Gao Yayi took the silver and weighed it in his hand. He seemed very satisfied with Xu Zhenying's knowledge and understanding. His tone became a little better. "Ask."
"Since we were imprisoned, if there's anything major happening in Bianjing City, no matter what, just tell me..."
Although Gao Yayi didn't know why Xu Zhenying asked this, he didn't refuse since he was taking money. He just said, "It's a big deal... Many officials have been beheaded and their property confiscated, doesn't that count? Look... there's going to be another one coming to your neighbor later. It's said that he's a third-rank official and was the late emperor's tutor."
Taifu? Isn't that the emperor's teacher?
Is the administrative system of the Zhou Dynasty so unstable?
A third-rank official position is close to the level of a ministerial cadre, and he can be dismissed just like that?
"Then have there been any major cases in the city recently?"
"Oh, that's a lot. You know about the timber case? A few months ago, several large timber merchants had their entire families executed. One of their loyal servants filed a complaint with the emperor, saying that corrupt officials in the court had embezzled millions of taels of silver from their master's family. It seems that a great scholar named Lin was also implicated. The capital has been very busy these days, with many scholars making trouble at the palace gate. You are also lucky. A lot of students have been arrested these days, and the cells are full. The higher-ups have probably forgotten about you. Just wait and see--"
"Okay, thank you Uncle Gao for your advice." Xu Zhenying said politely.
After Gao Yayi left, Xu Zhenying was lost in thought.
The original owner was a lady who never left the house and never paid attention to the changes in the court.
She only vaguely remembered that there had been a prince in the past, but the prince died inexplicably. The late emperor had been a little crazy and manic since then, and later converted to Taoism. He not only built Taoist temples on a large scale, but also gave Taoists official positions, exempted them from excessive taxes, and even allowed them to receive monthly salaries like students with their identity documents.
In a short period of time, the number of Taoist priests in the Zhou Dynasty increased dramatically. The poor men in the Zhou Dynasty either became eunuchs or Taoist priests. The expenses of Taoist priests and Taoist temples accounted for a large proportion and even became a considerable financial burden.
Before the late emperor's death, he became increasingly insane and distrustful of the civil servants. Not only did he slaughter the civil servants, he also intentionally or unintentionally promoted the eunuchs. The eunuchs, led by Li Ping, and the civil servants were in opposition, and the three forces were mutually restraining.
Then the late emperor drove the second prince, who had the highest support, to the desolate Qiongzhou, and ordered that he was not allowed to enter the capital without being summoned, otherwise it would be regarded as treason.
The four-year-old Seventh Prince was then appointed Crown Prince. The young Emperor, now only six years old, ascended the throne, relying entirely on the Zhu Guifei clan for all matters, big and small. Within the court, with Eunuch Li Ping acting under the late Emperor's will, while outside, with Uncle Zhu assisting as Regent, the two sides frequently disagreed on political views, with frequent changes in government policy. The court was already in a state of chaos.
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