Zheng Bingyi was helpless and stood there in a daze, his mind completely confused.
Chen Ruiyang peeked in from outside the door and asked softly, "Dad, did you have a fight with uncle? Are you not going to accompany me to Beijing?"
Zheng Bingyi walked over and said casually, "Of course we have to go to Beijing. Wait a minute, Dad will think about it."
After saying this, he wandered out of the farm, and his followers followed behind him. No matter how they called out to their master, he wouldn't come back. But they couldn't let him walk around outside in his undershirt, so they had to pretend to be brave and pull him into the carriage, and then put his outer coat on him.
When Zheng Bingyi came to his senses, he somehow found himself in the courtyard of the yamen where he usually worked.
He looked down at himself and saw that he looked a bit disheveled. He turned around and was about to leave, but as luck would have it, a clerk was pouring cold tea out through the window and it all fell on his head without leaving a drop.
Zheng Bingyi was drenched in cold air. He reached out to pick two tea leaves from his head and his face turned black.
The clerk hurried out of the room and apologized, "I'm so sorry, Master Zheng, I didn't see you coming! Haha, forgive me, forgive me!"
Zheng Bingyi wanted to curse, but when he remembered that the man was a minor official of his superior, he reluctantly held back.
"It's okay, be careful next time!" After saying that, he waved his hand and left.
The clerk breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his room.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Bingyi felt cold due to the wind and wanted to go back to the duty room to change into spare clothes. He turned around and walked back to the window, just in time to hear the clerk talking to the clerk who was making tea in the room.
The tea-making clerk whispered, "Why weren't you more careful? You splashed it on Lord Zheng's head. If he gets angry, you'll have a hard time in the future!"
The tea-splashing clerk nonchalantly replied, "Oh, what's there to be afraid of? I didn't mean it. Besides, our master is his superior. He would like to kneel down and lick our master's toes every day. How dare he offend me!"
"That's right," the tea clerk also laughed, "No one looks down on such a person. If I can help him get promoted, I'm willing to step on his face all day long."
The tea-serving clerk snorted disdainfully, "He's dreaming! He still wants a promotion? He's lucky to keep his current job! Our masters really dislike him, saying he divorced his wife and remarried, showing how heartless and ungrateful he is! And his father-in-law is dead too, so he has no one to rely on. He's completely screwed."
"Haha, who knows, maybe in a few months, we won't have to look at his bitter face anymore!"
"That's right, that's right!"
The two of them were talking excitedly, completely unaware that Zheng Bingyi outside the window was already furious.
The entourage wanted to go in and argue, but Zheng Bingyi turned around and left.
The attendant looked at his master's face and wanted to ask if he should go home, but Zheng Bingyi went straight to the shopping street and bought a box of good rouge and powder, a pair of silver hairpins with exquisite patterns, and two pieces of good silk, spending a total of more than thirty taels of silver.
"Send it to the Cui family, to the lady. Tell them I've been busy with official duties lately and want her to stay at her parents' for a few more days." Zheng Bingyi stuffed a few pieces of silver into his attendant's pocket and instructed, "I remember the Cui family is going to their farm in the countryside soon. Secretly ask for the specific date and come back to let me know!"
"Yes, yes, sir!" The attendant hurriedly took the things to Cui's house.
In the backyard of the Cui family, Mrs. Cui brought some snacks with her maid. As soon as she entered her mother-in-law's yard, she saw her sister-in-law sitting next to her mother-in-law with a smug smile on her face. She couldn't help but sneer in her heart.
Needless to say, this poor guy is here to beg for money again. I wonder what good things he will take from my mother-in-law's warehouse this time.
Thinking of her own thirteen-year-old daughter, she gritted her teeth in hatred. The old lady was just confused. She didn't leave any good things for her granddaughter as a dowry, but always gave money to her daughter who had already married!
She smiled and walked over to put the snacks in front of her mother-in-law, saying, "Mom, I just baked some snacks, please try them."
After that, she turned to her sister-in-law and said jokingly, "Sister, what good things are you asking mother for again? I'm so lucky to have a daughter like you. There are no more rats in the warehouse!"
Cui knew her sister-in-law was mocking her. In the past, she would have felt a little guilty, but this time, she was unusually firm and retorted, "Sister-in-law, don't be so superficial. It's like I always take good things from mother and then don't know how to respect her! You know, father has passed away, my eldest brother is also useless, and now only my master has a bright future. I'll take some things back, and my master will be given to the higher-ups. When he gets promoted in the future, he will definitely benefit from our family. Besides, I'm not the kind of person who gives without giving back. Don't underestimate me!"
Then, she turned around and signaled the maid to bring something up, and she made up her mind to give a piece of brightly colored silk to her sister-in-law.
"This is what my master just sent. This piece of silk is for my niece to make a new dress, and the other piece is for my mother. As for the rouge, powder, and hairpin, they were specially selected by my master for me, so I won't give any to my sister-in-law."
Mrs. Cui was really surprised. Her sister-in-law has always been like a Pixiu, always taking in but never giving out. Could it be that it was raining red rain from the sky today? Has her sister-in-law changed her nature?
Perhaps her expression was too exaggerated, Cui coughed twice and said, "Sister-in-law, you don't want it? Then I'll take it back?"
"No, no!" Madam Cui quickly threw the silk into the maid's arms and said with a smile, "It's rare for an aunt like you to make a new dress for your niece. I can't stop you no matter what. I just wonder if your brother-in-law has any happy event. Why is he so generous and specially sent something here?"
Cui naturally didn't know, but she was stubborn and pretended to be proud as she touched her temples and replied, "He has been seeing his superiors frequently these past few days. I guess he's going to get promoted. I won't ask too much about a man's affairs outside. I don't have my sister-in-law's ability, so I can't help!"
When Madam Cui heard the word "promotion", she didn't care about her sister-in-law's strict control over her husband. She smiled and flattered, "Oh, this is great news! Let's go to the manor in three days and invite my brother-in-law to come and drink and enjoy the scenery."
"Let's talk about it later, he's busy!" Cui raised her chin, opened the box, and showed off her rouge, powder and hairpin to my mother.
Old Madam Cui was naturally happy that her daughter was favored, and Madam Cui also wanted to make friends with her, so she sat next to her and kept praising her.
The colorful sedan was carried by everyone, and for a while the Cui family's backyard was very lively.
In the front yard, after the Zheng family's attendants had delivered the gifts, they went to the tavern with the Cui family's steward, who they knew well. The two of them often saw each other, so naturally, they talked about everything while eating and drinking, without any reservations.
Soon, the follower got the information he wanted to know and then went back to report.
That night, the candlelight in Zheng Bingyi's study stayed on for half the night.
The servants did not dare to sleep and served in the outer room, ready to be called by their master at any time.
The room was filled with sighs, thumps on the table, and low growls of grief and anger. It wasn't until late in the night that things quieted down. At dawn, the study door creaked open.
The attendant who was dozing on the floor woke up and jumped up. He saw his master standing in front of him with red eyes. He was so scared that he almost wet his pants.
“Master?!”
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