But the fact that refugees were being hidden in Lin'an was no small matter. The wealthy families in Lin'an had taken in refugees who did not need to be registered, who could be used as they pleased as long as they were not starving to death, and who were much more useful than tenants. The Li family incident caused a great deal of controversy. Some people were afraid that the governor Tang would make up his mind to gain political merits in this incident and would not let it go; others were afraid that the refugees would know that the government office could help them to register and stop obeying orders, and that they would do something like looting and damaging the interests of their families. After discussing with the wealthy gentry in Lin'an, they approached the Pei family.
"Third Master," the country gentleman cried and said with great sadness, as if he was not the one who had cheated those refugees to sign the indentures privately without going through the government office. "We just felt sorry for those people and took in only the old, weak and disabled. Who knew that the Li family was so bold that there were thirty or forty young and strong people. When the government office went to investigate, some of them died. Didn't they care about the safety of Lin'an City and the Pei family? No matter what, you must come forward and tell the prefect Tang to severely punish those refugees, otherwise the people of Lin'an will not be able to sleep at night!"
Pei Yan sat on the armchair with a majestic posture, gently blowing on the floating leaves of Biluochun tea in the teacup, without even looking at the country gentlemen in front of him, the youngest of whom was over 40 years old.
He had heard about this a long time ago.
He had long known that the Li family was restless.
However, when the Pei family moved here from Laoji, they offended the public in Laoji, and violated the interests of most people, and even caused dissatisfaction in the court. That's why they fled to Lin'an City with only a few property to settle down. From then on, the entire Pei family began to strictly practice the doctrine of the mean, and only dominated in Lin'an City, and no longer extended their hands to other places. It is precisely because of this that the Pei family's purpose has always been to be kind to neighbors, leaving some space for others to survive, and even deliberately set up a family to compete with the Pei family in public, so as to prevent the Pei family from becoming the only one, causing jealousy and causing trouble.
The Li family was their target during this period.
Pei Yan certainly couldn't let their family fall.
He drank a few sips of tea, and waited until those country gentlemen had vented their dissatisfaction before he said slowly, "I have also heard what you said. Where is Governor Tang? I have already informed him. This matter ends with the Li family and will not be investigated further. As for those refugees, I will talk to Governor Tang again according to everyone's opinions and send people to find a way to drive them out of Lin'an City. Although registering them as refugees is a lenient treatment by the court to refugees, it depends on the situation. There are so many young and strong people. If something happens, we, the prominent families in Lin'an City, also have an unshirkable responsibility. Our Pei family cannot afford the emperor's wrath!"
Pei Yan's expression looked cold, but his words hit the spot. Several of the country gentlemen were overjoyed and said, "We are relieved to hear what Third Master said."
There were also people who flattered him, saying things like "No matter what happens in Lin'an, Third Master Pei has to step in", "With Third Master Pei in charge, the literary style of the Pei family will surely flourish and reach a higher level", and some even said things like "Without the Pei family, there would be no Lin'an City today".
Pei Yan felt as if he had swallowed a piece of fat meat and was so disgusted that he quickly stood up and sent the group of country gentlemen away on the pretext of entertaining Zhou Zijin who was visiting his home.
The third steward Hu Xing, who was white and fat and looked like he was pregnant, walked in with a smile. He said, "Yu Xiucai from Qingzhu Lane sent a name card and said he wanted to see you. I saw that you were not very patient to deal with people outside these days, so I took the initiative to ask Yu Xiucai why he came. He said that his wife has been doing well since she took the health pills prescribed by Doctor Yang Yu last time. He heard that Doctor Yang Yu came to check the pulse of the first wife, so he wanted to ask Doctor Yang Yu to come and check his wife's health and see if he should change the prescription."
There are big differences in health-preserving prescriptions for winter and summer.
And now the weather is getting colder.
Pei Yan frowned as he listened but said nothing.
Hu Xing still had a friendly smile on his face, but his back was covered in sweat.
The third master in their family has been capricious since he was young. Even when the old lady was alive, he could not discipline him. Now that the old lady is gone, the second master closes the door and refuses visitors. Not only does he copy Buddhist scriptures for the old lady every day, he also asks the second wife, the eldest daughter and the third master to copy Buddhist scriptures with him. The eldest daughter is not so bad, as she was enlightened at the age of three and is already twelve years old. The third master is only six years old and can hardly hold a pen... And the eldest wife and the two masters stay obediently in the Tinglan Waterside Pavilion where they live and do not come out, without even a sound.
If someone said that the Third Elder had not done anything secretly, he would be the first one to not believe it.
He was serving such a master, and he was a man who had only managed to keep his position as the chief steward by means of a "fight between gods". How could he dare to play tricks in front of Pei Yan?
The third elder frowned. Was he dissatisfied with his private decision?
Hu Xing carefully reviewed what he had done in the past few days and found that apart from this incident, he had done nothing wrong. He then said carefully: "Third Master, I was wrong in this matter. Next time..."
Who knew that Pei Yan waved his hand, interrupted him, and said lightly: "Let's talk about it when Pei Man comes."
Pei Man went to see the guests off, and after they waited for a while he came back.
Pei Yan asked him, "Are you sure that it was Yu Xiucai who leaked the Li family incident?"
Pei Man said respectfully: "I have checked it myself, and it was indeed Yu Xiucai who told Prefect Tang."
Pei Yan nodded, a slight smile appeared on his face, and said: "I didn't expect Yu Xiucai to have such integrity. Isn't he afraid that the Li family will punish him?"
Pei Man then said, "The Yu family had a very unhappy quarrel with the Li family because of their daughter's marriage. Even if Yu Xiucai did not go to Magistrate Tang to file a complaint, the Li family would not let the Yu family go."
Yu Tang's face suddenly appeared in Pei Yan's mind.
The moment Yu Tang found out that he was rescued, his eyes were as bright as stars when he looked over...then his eyes gradually dimmed after he realized that he was the one who saved him...the cunning flash in his eyes when he thanked him...he had never seen anyone with eyes like the restless young lady of the Yu family, as if they could speak, and always looked at something with a bit of curiosity, as if, as if it was a child...when he saw him in the shop, he was surprised. I looked at him with a trembling expression, very curious; I found him at night on Changxing Street, secretly spied on him, very curious; I found him at the dock of Tiaoxi River, and listened to his movements with my ears tilted up, pretending to be calm, as if nothing had happened; at Beiguan Night Market, I wanted to eat pig's trotters and kept putting down my chopsticks, quickly glancing at him, thinking that he was not paying attention, and immediately showed a look of relief, quietly grabbed the pig's trotter and started chewing...
He couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter with the marriage between the Yu and Li families?"
Pei Man said: "I haven't looked into it carefully. All I heard were rumors. I don't know exactly what happened."
This Pei Man was brought back from the capital by the third elder. They knew nothing about what he did in the past, where he was from, how he sold himself to the Pei family, and why he took the surname "Pei". But from a few things he did, they could tell that he was a pretty good person.
Hu Xing was shocked to hear his answer.
Even if it's just hearsay, if your masters want to know, you can tell them for fun!
Given the Third Elder's nature of nitpicking about everything, he wouldn't be scolded, right?
Pei Yan did not scold him, but said in a good-tempered tone, "Hu Xing just told me that the Yu family wants to invite Doctor Yang Yu to see Madam Yu. You can talk to Doctor Yang Yu later and ask him to stop by the Yu family when he comes to check the eldest Madam's pulse."
Pei Man was obviously a little surprised and confirmed: "Will you go to the Yu family every time you come to check the eldest lady's pulse?"
Yang Douxing was the doctor appointed by the eldest wife to check her pulse. The Pei family also treated him accordingly. Not only did they give him generous medical fees every time, but they were also picked up and dropped off by the chief steward. The Pei family and the Yu family lived in the east and west of the city respectively, so it was impossible for them to be on the same route!
Pei Yan didn't seem to realize it either. He was stunned for a moment after hearing what Pei Man said. He lowered his head and thought for a while before saying, "We are from the same village. Then tell Doctor Yang Yu and ask him to make a special trip."
All the expenses for Yang Douxing's visit to Lin'an were borne by the Pei family, and the carriage and driver for his visit to the Yu family for a pulse diagnosis were of course also arranged by the Pei family.
Pei Manyu replied "Yes". Zhou Zijin walked in with his shoes clacking, and raised his eyebrows and said: "What's so much to talk about those mundane things? Don't avoid me. I came here just to talk to you about your last lecture on the Spring and Autumn Annals - why did you choose the Guliang Commentary instead of the Gongyang Commentary? Your second senior brother has always promoted the Gongyang Commentary and rejected the Guliang Commentary among Confucian scholars. I saw your second senior brother sitting down, his face was blue. Can you He helped you get the chance to attend the imperial lecture. When you returned to your hometown to observe the mourning period, I found that your second senior brother didn't even say hello to you, and you and your second senior brother didn't exchange letters as frequently as before. Tell me the truth, did you have a quarrel with your second senior brother? Do you still want your second senior brother's help when you get back on your feet? Among all of you brothers, your second senior brother is the best, don't be stupid!"
Pei Yan looked unhappy, stood up with a stern face, and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to go to Qingshan Lake? Are you going or not?"
"You have such a bad temper!" Zhou Zijin said angrily, "I'm talking to you seriously, don't talk nonsense. If you don't explain it to me clearly today, I'm not going anywhere."
"It's better if you don't go." Pei Yan said indifferently, "I've been running around with you these days and I'm exhausted. If you don't go, I can take a few days off." After saying that, he got up and left.
Zhou Zijin was stunned, and it took her a while to come back to her senses. She ran after him and said from behind, "What do you mean? If your second brother hadn't invited me, I wouldn't have come."
Pei Yan said without even turning his head, "Then go find my second brother. He plays tricks at home every day, and you can just keep him company."
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