Chapter 112 Sui Ning won’t
allow it The one who cried out was a man.
The man was not tall, about forty years old, wearing a gray patched robe, with messy hair and beard, a sallow face, and a gray-blue bag in his arms.
"I want to see the Chang family's wife!"
He cried so heartbrokenly that he was about to rush into Dengtai Tower.
However, before he could get close to the front door of Dengtai Tower, he was blocked by two figures.
The two men were both young men, dressed in ordinary clothes, but the actions and eyes that stopped the man at this moment revealed a silent sense of oppression.
The tearful man took a step back subconsciously, his crying paused, and then he knelt down hurriedly, kowtowed repeatedly and begged: "I have something important to ask the Chang family's wife, it was not easy to find here today... I beg you nobles to have mercy and let me in!"
His crying and shouting for the wife of the Chang family had already attracted the attention of many people outside the building. Now he knelt down to beg. The poor people in shabby clothes knelt outside the Dengtai Tower where the lights were high and the nobles gathered. This shocking scene fell into the eyes of everyone, and the man looked even more pitiful and humble.
"Strange, why does this person want a common lady..."
Many people gathered around, and the surroundings were filled with discussions.
Outside the building were all Cui Jing's men, including the two who tried to stop them. At this time, someone had already hurried upstairs to report the matter to Cui Jing.
Seeing that the evening banquet had entered the second half, Cui Jing wanted to leave early and return to Xuan Ce Mansion. He was planning to say goodbye to Chang Kuo and leave. At this time, he heard his subordinates coming to report, his expression changed slightly, and he walked towards Chang Suining who was standing aside.
At this time, Chang Suining was standing next to a screen with a picture of ladies and talking to Yao Xia and others.
The girls who were chatting and laughing saw Cui Jing approaching, some of them looked nervous and stepped aside unconsciously.
Seeing Cui Jing approaching, two more young ladies retreated behind the screen.
It seemed that every step that handsome and extraordinary young man took was not on the floor tiles, but on their courage.
When Cui Jing really stopped in front of Chang Suining, Yao Xia, who had been holding on to the end, finally let go of Chang Suining's arm silently, bowed to Cui Jing, and walked away holding his breath.
"General Cui..." Chang Suining turned his head and looked outside the building: "Is there someone coming?"
Hearing her question, which was not surprising, Cui Jing nodded slightly: "There is an unidentified man in his forties crying outside, claiming that he has something important to ask Mrs. Chang in person--"
"Since it is an urgent matter, then I will trouble Grand Commander Cui to ask someone to invite him up."
From her tone, it seemed reasonable. Cui Jing bluntly reminded her, "Here comes with bad intentions."
Chang Suining nodded: "Well, the good ones don't come."
Cui Jing: “…”
It's not that I mean to ask her to continue.
Chang Suining continued, "There are so many people watching. If he is allowed to make noise and cry outside, it will be out of control. Even if we expel him, it will be easier for unclear rumors to spread and be embellished."
If there really was someone who deliberately wanted to prevent her from completing the poetry reading today, her trying to drive him away would probably play into his hands. She might as well take this tactic first and see what the other party was up to.
While Cui Jing was thinking, Yuan Xiang couldn't help but whispered, "Madam Chang, you'd better be careful. If he comes alone, we don't have to worry about him causing trouble... But when I looked down just now, I saw that his face was sallow and his eyes were dark. He doesn't look healthy. If he comes with bad intentions and causes someone's death, wouldn't that be unlucky?"
"Unlucky" is a nice way of saying it. If someone dies at the apprenticeship banquet, someone will definitely make a fuss about it, thus bringing unnecessary trouble.
Chang Suining said indifferently: "It's okay, I just like to watch this excitement."
Yuan Xiang: “?!”
Love watching the dead?!
He looked at Chang Suining with some worry in his eyes - watching all kinds of excitement would only harm the wife of the Chang family.
Cui Jing: “…Go ahead.”
Yuan Xiang suppressed his complicated expression and went to arrange the matter.
The man was quickly "invited" up.
His previous movements not only attracted the attention of people outside the building, but also attracted the visitors upstairs who were enjoying the breeze by the fence, and they began to talk about it curiously.
At this time, the man went upstairs and immediately attracted many eyes.
Even though there are many intellectuals from humble or even poor backgrounds among the visitors today, no matter how poor they are, their clothes are still clean and tidy even if they are old and patched.
But this man was different. He not only looked poor, but also unkempt, with messy hair and beard, and the straw sandals on his feet were tattered and dirty.
Such a person appearing in such a place is so out of place that it cannot be ignored.
Wherever it appears, some people will retreat on their own.
Those visitors who noticed him stopped talking for a moment because they were confused.
The man was obviously not used to this kind of occasion. He was even more anxious and uneasy. He held the bundle tightly with both hands and asked anxiously, "Where is Madam Chang? Where is Madam Chang? Didn't you say you would take me to see Madam Chang?"
"I am the Madam Chang you are looking for." Chang Suining walked over and stopped three or five steps away from him, looking at him calmly: "You don't recognize me, why are you looking for me?"
Without answering, the man knelt down in front of her with a plop.
His voice was filled with panic and pleading: "Please, Madam Chang and your family, please be kind and tell me the whereabouts of my nephew!"
"Who is your nephew?" Chang Sui'an came over and asked with a frown, "Why are you asking this in front of my sister?"
"My nephew has a reputation!" the man cried, "He is a scholar, his last name is Zhou Ding! He is familiar with Madam Chang!"
"Zhou Ding?!" Chang Sui'an frowned greatly. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Chang Suining who stepped forward and spoke first.
"You mean, your nephew is Zhou Ding, and you came to ask me about his whereabouts?"
The man nodded tremblingly: "Yes, that's right..."
At this time, many people had gathered around, including Wei Shuyi and Duan's mother and daughter.
"...Who is this Zhou Ding?" Wei Miaoqing frowned and asked in a low voice: "Is he a scholar? Have you heard of him?"
Wei Shuyi narrowed his eyes and looked at the man, shook his head slightly, and said nothing.
Duan gave her daughter a disapproving look - the matter seemed strange at the moment, and not giving the other party any response would not cause trouble for Sui Ning.
Wei Miaoqing seemed to sense something, nodded slightly, and stopped talking, just watching seriously.
At this time, Chang Kuo heard the noise and strode over.
Amid the noise, Cui Jing raised his hand to stop him silently.
Chang Kuo looked at the young man in front of him in confusion.
Cui Jing: "General, please be patient and listen first."
This is what Chang Suining told him - there is no need to let General Chang get involved for now.
General Chang is certainly not a rude person who only does bad things, but he drank too much today, and his words were inevitably inconsiderate due to his concern. There were many literati present, and his every word and action would be infinitely magnified under the watchful eyes of the public. In addition, his external image was too oppressive, which easily gave people the feeling that he was bullying others by taking advantage of his power.
If you meet someone who is timid, he will be scared to death on the spot, and it is hard to explain.
In short, General Chang's sword is not suitable for the current situation.
Her thoughts make sense.
After hearing Cui Jing's words, Chang Kuo frowned and listened patiently.
Chang Suining asked the man curiously, "Then why do you think I know Zhou Ding's whereabouts?"
The man raised his head and looked at her, his expression seemed a little difficult to speak, but he finally made up his mind and said: "...My nephew and you, Madam Chang, have been in private for a long time and have been in love with each other...When he disappeared, it was just a few days after General Chang returned to the capital after winning the battle!"
There were sounds of surprise and surprise all around.
Privately interacting, and being in love with each other?! Although Wei Miaoqing didn't say anything, she couldn't help but widen her eyes.
What does a man who makes Chang Suining fall in love with him look like? !
She saw that Chang Suining didn't even look at her brother straight in the eye, could it be that the man was better looking than her brother? Her thoughts were relatively pure, but many people had already imagined a lot from the words "privately dealing with each other for a long time". Although they didn't dare to say it clearly, their eyes towards Chang Suining inevitably changed.
Hitting someone is at most just audacity, and if you say it to the sky, you will just be known as a tyrant...
But now, as a woman, if you are involved in this matter, it will be a stain on your reputation for life!
At once, many people, including Cui Jing and Wei Shuyi, looked at the girl who was suddenly pushed to the center of the vortex by these words.
She was very calm, so calm that she didn't even try to explain or defend the crucial words that could destroy her.
She did not mince words: "So, what you mean is that after my father returned to Beijing, he knew about the secret exchange between him and me, so he did something to him?"
Facing those calm eyes, the man secretly felt that the young lady's reaction was different from what he had imagined, but his face was filled with fear: "I... I just want to know the whereabouts of my nephew. I would never dare to ask General Chang for punishment..."
As he spoke, his lips moved for a moment, as if he could no longer bear the pressure from all around, he kowtowed again and cried, "My brother and sister-in-law only have this one son. In the past two months since my nephew disappeared, my brother and sister-in-law have both fallen ill! I really have no other choice, so I dared to come here..."
Then he turned his words to the onlookers, as if he had no choice but to seek justice: "We in the Zhou family have no power or influence, and our generations have been farmers. Maybe my nephew read a few books and passed the examination to become a scholar, so he became a little ignorant and dared to associate with the girl from the Chang family... If we can find my nephew, my brother and sister-in-law will definitely discipline him strictly and never let him have such delusions again!"
His eyes were filled with tears and snot, and he looked ignorant and foolish, but his ignorance made him look even more miserable and pitiful.
Someone sighed quietly, "How stupid! He said all this in public and ruined the reputation of the Chang family's wife. How can there be any possibility of reconciliation?"
"Haven't you heard that we've been looking for him for more than two months? Maybe there's really no way out. You can tell from one glance that he's uneducated. He's so eager to find the person that he can only come up with such a bad idea..."
"It can't be that General Chang is really... breaking up the couple?
And the person has been missing for more than two months... Can he still be found?
"The situation is still unclear. As scholars, how can you make arbitrary speculations?" It was rare for Qiao Jijiu to rebuke someone in a serious manner.
The scholars bowed and lowered their heads in shame.
Qiao Jijiu and his wife Wang both stepped forward.
When passing by Chang Kuo, Qiao Jijiu paused and said anxiously in a low voice: "They are asking you for someone by name, why are you standing there like a spectator?"
Chang Kuo, whose face had already turned red with anger, glanced at him and then looked at his arm.
Qiao Jijiu looked over and saw that his forearm was being grabbed by Cui Jing.
Chang Kuo lowered his voice as much as he could: "Sui Ning won't allow it!"
"Why is that, Ningning..." Qiao Jijiu's expression changed constantly. After looking at the Grand Commander Cui, he consciously decided to stay here with Chang Kuo for a while.
Xier's fist was already harder than the stone that Nuwa used to mend the sky.
But the man continued to cry: "We were wrong because we didn't discipline him properly... I don't dare to ask for your forgiveness... But I think he should have learned his lesson now. I only hope that you can show some mercy and tell me the whereabouts of my nephew! When we take him home, we will definitely keep him under strict discipline!"
Chang Suining felt that he had heard almost everything.
The other party's words may sound crude at first, but precisely because they are crude and straightforward enough, they are able to cause the biggest sensation in the shortest time.
But if you listen further, you will easily find that he is repeating the same words over and over again.
It was as if someone had taught him, so he recited it as if he were reciting it. There was some kind of rules and he didn't dare to disrupt them.
If she continued to remain silent and not respond, the other party would have no way to continue his performance, which would be quite difficult for him.
Chang Suining then spoke: "I have been listening for a long time but still don't understand. You first slandered my reputation, and then kept asking us for someone, and a dead person. I don't know what your intention is."
There was a sudden silence all around.
The man's expression suddenly froze: "Dead...dead?"
Dead!
Really dead?!
He looked terrified: "You...you actually dared to kill someone..."
Chang Suining frowned in confusion: "Don't you know how your nephew died?"
"I..." The man opened his mouth, his face suddenly turned pale: "You..."
The year is peaceful and clear.
It seems that he really didn't know -
This would explain why he had the confidence and courage to cause trouble.
Everyone around looked at each other.
What does Mrs. Chang mean?
Should she admit in public that her family murdered the scholar? Amid the confusion, the girl turned to everyone and said, "Don't misunderstand me, this man's nephew Zhou Ding is indeed dead, but it was not caused by my family. My father is a kind man and would never do such a thing that disregards the law."
As she spoke, her eyes fixed on one person: "As for the inside story, I think it would be more appropriate for Yao Tingwei to come forward and explain it."
Yao Tingwei? Everyone subconsciously looked at Yao Yi.
What does this have to do with Yao Siqing? Yao Yi, who had long been unable to listen, seemed to think and weigh the pros and cons for a moment, then nodded and walked to Chang Suining's side.
Mrs. Xie, who was standing not far away and watching quietly accompanied by several other women, frowned slightly.
There were some things she didn't understand very well, but this scene was very different from what she had imagined. Facing the reputation that was more important than anything else to a woman, there was no chaos, not even any arguments. Everyone in the Chang family was surprisingly calm and orderly...
But it doesn't matter.
In the face of evidence, no matter how calm you are, it will be shattered.
For a moment, her eyes fell quietly on the bundle the man was holding in front of him.
Good night everyone~ This is a bit long plot, you can save two days to read together, it may be more coherent (then you won’t say I’m breaking the chapter (end of this chapter)
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