Chapter 309 Iron Face
Beauty without the power to match it is a burden rather than an advantage.
Especially in this era.
Zhen Yinglian was born with a beauty mole, which is why Feng Yuan and Xue Pan both liked her and fought for her to the death.
Looking at the timid girl, Shen Ning felt a little sad.
In the Dream of the Red Chamber, when Jia Baoyu first saw her, he felt that her 'brows were as furrowed as spring mountains, and her eyes were as ruddy as autumn water'.
In addition, the little girl's temperament is quite gentle and soft, often giving people a pitiful feeling.
Unfortunately, fate has never been kind to her.
Xue Pan took her away, but he was not the kind of person who was gentle and kind to her.
"Madam~"
The little girl mustered up her courage, and when Shen Ning waved at her, she hurried forward a few steps, knelt on the ground, and said in a trembling voice, "You... do you know where my parents are?"
As she spoke, tears were about to flow out.
In her dreams at midnight, she always felt that her parents were very, very good people.
However, when I want to see it carefully, it is always blurry.
“Get up!”
Chen Ning personally helped the little girl up, "I don't know how your parents are doing now, but your family is originally from Gusu. When you were lost that year, your parents searched everywhere, crying day and night, and almost tried to commit suicide. Later, I heard that your house caught fire..."
Having said this, she paused.
When Xing'er was asked to look for her, he said she was a girl from Shen's relative's family.
But in fact, there is really no relationship.
To make up one lie, you need countless lies.
Shen Ning was unwilling to do such a thing.
"These things were mentioned in the letters from my family. She felt sympathetic and did some research. She found out that you were sold to Jinling. Since the Jia family is originally from Jinling, she wrote to inform me, thinking that it would be more convenient for me to find you. As expected, I found you. As for Gusu, I will send someone to find out the whereabouts of your parents."
I see!
"…Thank you, ma'am!"
Yinglian's tears fell, and she quickly knelt down and kowtowed to her.
"Don't cry, don't cry. No matter what, it's always a happy thing to escape from the sea of suffering."
This child's name is really bad.
Yinglian, you should be pitied. Zhen and Zhen are homophones, and when put together they mean Zhen Ying Lian.
Instead, she was later called Xiangling and lived with Baochai in the Grand View Garden, where she enjoyed some freedom.
But after Xue Pan married Xia Jingui, Xia Jingui, out of jealousy of Xiangling, forcibly changed her name to "Qiu Ling", and her fate took a turn for the worse.
"Let's go. It's too distant to call me Madam. Just call me Auntie!"
Chen Ning took Yinglian's hand and asked, "Did the kidnapper change your name? What is your name now?"
"…In reply to your aunt, my name is Yinglian."
She remembered that her name was Yinglian.
"Yinglian?"
Shen Ning smiled, "The homophony of this name is not very good."
Yinglian: “…”
This was something she had never thought of.
but……
She silently chanted her own name in her mind and couldn't help feeling sad.
"The great scholar Zhou Dunyi of the Northern Song Dynasty once wrote an essay called 'On the Love of Lotus'."
Chen Ning pulled her towards the inner courtyard, saying, "It says in the book, 'I only love the lotus because it grows out of the mud without being stained, washes in the clear water without being coquettish, is straight inside and outside, has no vines or branches, and its fragrance becomes clearer as it spreads further away...'
It just so happens that the fragrance of lotus has always been my favorite. How about I change your name to Xianglian? ”
Fragrant lotus?
Xianglian looked up at the noble lady who smiled at her gently, and finally nodded, "Listen to my aunt, I will be called Xianglian from now on!"
"good!"
Shen Ning really didn't want to change someone's name so overbearingly.
The little girl has been with the kidnapper for so many years, and her name has never been changed. But who can blame her for having a really bad name? To prevent that damn fate, she'll just be a bad person for now!
"Xiaodong, tell the steward outside to investigate the kidnapper carefully."
Shen Ning ordered, "Get a few more big red envelopes as a reward for whoever brings back Xianglian."
"yes!"
Xiaodong went away as requested.
At this time, in the city of Jinling, all the families related to the Wang family, such as the Shi family, the Xue family, etc., all knew what Jia Zhen was doing.
Now to talk...
Jia Zhen dared to suppress the head of the entire Wang family and made such a big fuss, it was most likely Shen's idea!
If Shen wants to do something, can anyone stop him? Even the princess who is in power would be slapped in the face if she was asked to.
And he did it in front of the concubine and many other people.
After slapping her, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had to apologize to her politely. I heard that they even gave her a lot of gifts.
now……
Because of Wang Zipeng, how many people have taken turns to fight against Jia Zhen?
But what is Jia Zhen doing?
He had clearly loosened up, and now this was the case, it must be Shen's intention.
Thinking about the nine or tenth branches of the Jia family having their land taken away and their shops and farms sold, everyone's heart couldn't help but tremble.
This is really unthinkable.
The more I think about it, the more scared I become!
So no matter whether it was the girls of the Wang family who married into other families, or the old aunts or young aunts who married into the Wang family, they were all controlled by the heads of the families.
In short, take a look at everything first.
Didn’t someone from the Wang family already come to the Jia family’s door crying and making a fuss? There were so many servants coming and going to check that even the common people who originally didn't know about it looked over here.
Once you see this, you can’t leave.
This is because the East China Sea is short of a white jade bed, so the Dragon King came to invite the King of Jinling’s family.
Oh my, is there such a miserable time for the Wang family? Among the four major families, the Wang family has to stretch its legs for everything, and the people of Jinling have suffered from it for a long time.
Especially those Japanese are supported by the Wang family.
Several old ladies of the Wang family who were of high seniority had never thought that one day when they came to the Jia family, they would not even be able to get in the door.
People often say that love grows when one meets another. How can they beg for mercy when they can't even see Shen?
What they didn't expect was that after a lifetime of glory, they would be pointed at and laughed at by the peasants.
An old lady couldn't bear it and fainted on the spot.
As a result, the army of people begging for mercy immediately fell into chaos.
After a while, he left in disgrace.
But when I got home, it was still a mess.
Either the women were crying, or the children were crying, and even the servants looked as if the sky had fallen.
Of course, those who are scheming are hiding their private possessions in secret.
The masters have been beaten, what’s the next step? Prefect Chen didn't want to consider the next step right away.
There is also Wang Ziteng in the Wang family in Beijing.
They are fighting Annan and are said to be doing very well.
He wanted to wait and see if there was any news from the Wang family, but he didn't expect that before he could get any news from the Wang family, the emperor's decree arrived again, ordering all prefectures to strictly investigate the Japanese, confiscate their property, and report everything to the emperor.
Hiss~ Although it was not explicitly stated that there would be a strict investigation of the Da Zhao people who were related to the Japanese, but everything has been reported to the emperor, and the purpose is to settle the accounts later.
Looking at the Jia family stewards who were looking at him coldly, Prefect Chen's hands trembled twice, and he finally said, "Come here! Wang Zipeng's crime is proven, his house is strictly sealed off, and all his property is registered one by one. If anyone hides it, he will be severely punished!"
This is equivalent to a house search!
A group of yamen runners immediately became excited.
In any case, those who confiscate the property will gain some benefits.
People at that time paid attention to several generations living together, and brothers would basically not split up as long as there were elders around.
Wang Zipeng still has his mother at home, so naturally they have never divided the family.
His valued younger brother had long been thrown into the government jail because he was in charge of some matters.
He only has one half-brother, Wang Zizhao, but because his mother doesn't like him and he himself doesn't care about him, all his family receive only a small monthly allowance to live on, and they have no job to do.
But his two brothers were arrested, and he felt very uneasy.
His aunt was once favored, but she died early, and the wives he married were just daughters of ordinary families.
now……
"Master," his wife Liu said with a worried look on her face as she entered the study, "I asked the two children to bring all the jewelry and other things that belonged to my aunt to the farm."
“…Alright!”
The prince sighed.
When he was young, the Wang family was very wealthy.
My aunt had been greatly favored by my father. Over the years, when the monthly payment was sometimes not timely, his family had to rely on the gold and silver jewelry left by my aunt to make ends meet.
"You should follow too."
“…I won’t leave!”
The couple has always lived their life behind closed doors and has never done anything harmful to others.
“You don’t understand!”
Wang Zichao sighed, "As for the direct branch, not only can distant water not quench immediate thirst, but even if it could, they would not help."
“Is it because of Madam Shen?”
"It's not just because of her, but also because the delegations from the Rakshasa Kingdom and the Japanese came together."
Wang Zichao had a complicated expression on his face. "What is Japan? It has been our vassal state since ancient times, but the lesson of the Japanese pirates in the previous dynasty is too great, so we must be on guard against it now."
Not only the emperor is on guard, but I'm afraid all the knowledgeable people in the court are on guard as well.
Otherwise, with the cowardly look of Prefect Chen...
"The reason why Ito Rui and his people were able to gain a foothold in Jinling was because of my eldest brother Wang Zipeng."
At this point, he felt bitter, "Not to mention the Jia family, even the emperor can't forgive me."
Finally, he took out the divorce letter that he had thought about for a long time, "I have already filed this divorce letter in the government office this morning."
What? Liu couldn't believe it.
"Luckily we went early."
Wang Zichao smiled bitterly, "Otherwise, the clerk over there would probably ignore me. Qianniang, you have to believe me. If nothing goes wrong with the Wang family, I will definitely remarry you. If something goes wrong with the Wang family... at least with you here, my two children and I won't be left without a place to stay."
At this moment, he was extremely grateful that in order to save face for his wife, he had included the 60-acre small farm that his father had given to his aunt into the betrothal gift to his wife.
Yue's family was kind enough to add some to his wife's dowry.
"you……"
He was about to say something else when the noisy crying outside got closer.
The little maid rushed in and said, "Master and Madam, something bad has happened. A lot of soldiers have come and said they want to confiscate our property."
really!
“Go!”
Wang Zichao did not dare to delay and quickly hung the bag he had packed on his wife and said, "Go through the back door."
On this day, the sky really collapsed for the Wang family of Jinling.
Even if Wang An, Wang Zipeng's butler, was willing to die to show his determination and take on all the responsibilities, it was too late.
Of course, it was precisely because he died so quickly that Wang Zipeng, as a suspect, was taken to the lobby and received thirty lashes of the cane.
This time, the thirty lashes were real.
Mr. Wang, who had lived a life of luxury all his life, fainted several times. When he was dragged back to the prison, he couldn't even find a doctor.
There was crying in the prison.
Prefect Chen submitted a memorial overnight.
He thought it was enough, but, early in the morning of April 18, some men from the Shi, Jia, and Xue families were also sued.
The victim brought the complaint and the evidence...
Prefect Chen's legs went weak.
But before he sent anyone to invite Jia Zhen, Jia Zhen came on his own.
"Family rules do not exceed national laws!"
Jia Zhen casually flipped through the evidence he had asked people to collect and smiled, "The clan rules do not violate the king's rules. Lord Chen, these people in the Jia family should follow the rules!"
"……yes!"
What can Magistrate Chen say? Just work honestly! So the ninth old master of the Jia family, who believed that he had been skinned alive under the high pressure of Shen and Jia Zhen, was also taken into the hall.
Chen Ning thought that the house would be very lively today. She prepared dozens of copies of the Dazhao Law and the Great Edict to give to the group of crying women. However, she did not expect that she would wait and wait in the flower hall, but no one showed up.
I asked the maid to ask the doorman, and the doorman came over wiping his sweat and replied that there was really no one here today.
Shen Ning was confused.
I couldn't help but ask the sweaty doorman what he had been doing.
But seeing how scared he was, he finally waved his hand and let him go.
Not coming, right?
It doesn't matter! "Xiaodong, find more people to deliver these books and the imperial edict to each household one by one."
"yes!"
Xiaodong was carrying a stack of books in each hand. For some reason, he couldn't help laughing when he came out.
Their wives seemed unaware of their own reputation.
At this time, the panicked Jia family members were almost scared to death.
The Wang family was so miserable, they...
If you think about Jia Zheng of Rongguo Mansion, you will know that Shen can really be cruel.
No matter what she wants to do, no one can stop her! Just when they were busy dividing the family and transferring the property, the maid who delivered the books finally arrived.
Oh, the Dazhao Code and the Dagao? I've heard for a long time that in the capital, almost every branch of the Jia family has a copy because of Shen Shi, and they...
No one took it seriously before, and even laughed at the fact that no one in the Rongguo Mansion could stand up.
But now I am really grateful! If we give them the books and they behave themselves and don't break any laws, then everything will be fine, right?
In fact, many people in the Jia family didn't know that Shen Ning had already complained in her heart that eight out of ten men in the Jia family were just stay-at-home and bully people at home.
She was glad in her heart that the Wang family was the boss in Jinling, but at the same time she despised the men of the Jia family for not being able to stand on their own.
"Grandma, I went out to make friends a few days ago and got to know a few people. I think they can be invited to the clan school as teachers."
After dealing with what needs to be dealt with, the next step is clan studies.
Rong Ge'er was very good at sharing worries. "Moreover, we can also work with Jinshan College in Yangzhou and ask them to send an impartial gentleman to take charge every three years. As for Mr. Wu, the same goes for our family to send guards to take turns, also every three years."
In this way, the possibility of them being bribed to let the water out is much smaller.
Don’t seek to become a talent, at least become an adult.
“…Alright!”
Shen Ning thought for a moment, "I'll leave the clan studies here to you. If there's anything wrong, I'll ask you later."
"Just ask."
Rong Ge'er smiled, "I am more nervous than you are. I don't ask them to be my right-hand men, but I am also worried that they are the ones who hold me back."
As a family, all prosper together and all suffer together.
He is the eldest son and the future clan leader. If he can't even manage the clan members in the school, how can he expect to be granted a title of nobility or become a prime minister in the future?
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