555 Ping An, come here for a moment
When Ping'an and his friends arrived at the county town, Fang Wu and Hu Zi had already returned to the inn.
"Master, we have met Lord Chang. Lord Chang said he will wait for you at the government office tomorrow."
Fang Wu thought about it and said, "I saw that the people in Dingzhou government office were in a hurry to come and go, as if something happened. I asked around in the city and it seemed that an official was involved in something."
Ping An frowned. It would not be good if something went wrong only two months after his father took office. Even if there was something, he would have to wait at least half a year until he was familiar with the job, otherwise it would be easy to make mistakes.
The next morning, Ping An set off with Xiao Wu, Lin Feng, Xu Song and Tong Lin.
Dingzhou Prefecture is a good place. It is close to the capital, and only takes a day and a half to get there. If you ride a fast horse, you can get there in one day. The master bought two medicine shops for him here. The shops were rented out for two years, and the annual income of the medicine shops was not small.
He is taking advantage of Baicaotang and his master.
Baicaotang has so many medical clinics throughout the Great Zhou, and most of the medicinal materials come from its own pharmacies and medicine valleys, and very few are purchased from outside.
The master said that he had already contacted the local pawnbrokers, and if he came across a good shop or farm, they would help him buy some. A few tens of thousands of taels of silver would be enough for emergencies. It was almost the end of the year, and the year's dividends would be credited to his account, so he would not have to worry about not having the capital to buy a property.
Three hours later, at exactly noon, they arrived at the government office.
Unexpectedly, they had just got off the carriage at the government gate.
A maid came over and said, "Master, Madam asks you to go to the back hall and sit for a while first."
The girl's name was Lingzhi. Ping'an knew her. She was one of the four maids who came as a dowry with his stepmother.
"What's up? I'll go in and say hello to your master first."
"Master, you should go to the backyard first. Madam has something urgent to discuss with you."
Ping'an glanced at her indifferently. Judging from the girl's appearance, it seemed that her stepmother had encountered some difficulties. So, he decided to go over and take a look.
"You lead the way, Xiao Wu, follow her, I'll see what's going on."
The Dingzhou government office was not small. The maid took them in through an alley behind the government office. The alley was only wide enough for one car, so it was a one-way street. A quarter of an hour later, the maid stopped at the gate of a small courtyard.
"Master, it's right here."
Ping An got off the carriage. This was the backyard of the government office. My father and his family lived in the middle yard.
Lin Feng and Xiao Wu followed Ping An into the yard. When Ping An looked up, he saw his stepmother standing at the door, looking absent-minded. It seemed that something really happened, and it was a big deal.
"Just stay here, you don't have to follow me in."
Ping An walked forward, and when he reached his stepmother, he bowed and said, "Ping An greets mother."
"Ping An, come in quickly."
This is also a small courtyard with two entrances. The courtyard is not big, but it is clean and fresh.
Ping'an sat down in the main hall. The maid served tea and left. Ping'an saw that his stepmother was hesitant to speak, so he thought about it and asked, "Did something happen to mother?"
Zhang Jinyu suddenly started crying softly: "Ping An, I really encountered a big problem this time, and I didn't know what to do. Yesterday, I saw your guard come to report that you were coming today, so I asked Lingzhi to wait for you there."
"What happened? Mother, just tell me straight away. In case my father's men see us, he will be here soon. I think you may have encountered something that you don't want to tell my father."
Zhang Jinyu wiped away her tears: "Ping An, something really happened."
It turned out that Zhang Jinyu was not used to the Dingzhou Prefecture when she first arrived, but she was reluctant to leave her husband. Unexpectedly, a few days later, the wives of officials from various yamen took the initiative to invite her to visit their homes. As the wife of the prefect, everyone respected her very much, which made her feel like a fish in water.
After all, in the capital, there are too many wealthy families, as well as first-, second-, and third-rank officials. They have to pay respects wherever they go, but here they are the ones with the highest status.
For a while she was somewhat carried away. Sometimes when she went out, other people rushed to pay for the materials and jewelry she bought. She was not used to it at first, but later she felt that it was no big deal, just a few dozen or a hundred taels of silver.
Having said that, she looked at Ping An somewhat embarrassedly. Ping An was also speechless. This was definitely the wife of a corrupt official. She was so bold just after taking office. What would she be like in the future?
Fortunately, these are not a big deal.
"Four days ago, the maid of the wife of the prefect came to me and said that her wife had found some good fabrics and insisted on giving them to me. I refused, but she left and ran away. I thought it was nothing, just two pieces of fabric.
But I never thought that there were silver notes hidden in the material, two thousand taels of silver. I felt something was wrong, but your father was busy until midnight that day and then he came into the room. He fell asleep as soon as he got on the kang. When I woke up the next day, he was no longer in the yamen. I didn't know where he went?
Yesterday morning, Mammy heard some news that something happened in Mr. Hu's family in the city and the palace soldiers had surrounded his house. I don't know the specific reason, but his family is a salt merchant with a big business. The lady who sent me the gift is from the Hu family.
Your father was so busy that he couldn't be seen at all. The nanny who brought the things came to see me quietly yesterday evening, but my maid said I was not at home, and she said she would come again today.
Ping An, my mother doesn't know what to do. If something happens to the Hu family, the judge might be involved."
Ping An finally understood: "Mother, even if you can't see father in the past four days, you should have someone return the things to her as soon as possible. Also, are you sure her nanny threw the things away and ran away? Did you really not know there were banknotes in it?"
"Ping An, I really don't know. I already regret not chasing after her and returning the things to her in time. What should I do now?"
"Mother, what are you waiting for? While the judge is still safe, have your nanny return the things to that lady immediately.
Just say that her nanny dropped the things and ran away, and you didn't want to accept them at all. She would have sent them to you on the same day, but illness delayed her for two days. Your stepson has rushed over from the capital and is treating you. Tell the nanny not to agree to anything she says.
If she says something unpleasant later, just tell her that either this matter never happened, or you should hand it over to the government directly, which will be even more disadvantageous to her husband.
If her family has been implicated and the things can't be delivered, bring the things back immediately. I will quietly hand them over to my father and see if it can be used as a bribe to register at the government office. Two thousand taels is not a small amount. If we are unlucky, my father may be dismissed from office, and my uncle and grandfather will also be implicated. This banknote must be delivered before anything happens."
Zhang Jinyu was already at a loss, but she still told Ping An some lies. She had thought about returning the things during these four days, but she was reluctant to do so. Later, when she found out something had happened, she was scared to death, for fear that her husband, father, and elder brother would be implicated.
"Mother, hurry up, I'll let Xiao Wu follow." Ping'an was restless. This stepmother was doing some bad things. His biological father worked so hard for his career, he didn't want it to be ruined by this woman. This time he had to help his father bring her back to the capital.
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