Chapter 123 Li Lao Hu's Conditions (Two Chapters in One)
"I didn't sneak out. Big brother knows, big sister knows too. What about my face? Disguise, it's fun, right? Give me ten taels of silver and I'll change your face too."
Zhao Tingxuan looked at the unfamiliar face in front of him and listened to the familiar voice. He couldn't help but smile. The smile reached his eyes. He was suddenly stunned. It seemed that this was the first time he laughed so happily since he came to the capital.
"Second brother, what's wrong with you? It's just ten taels of silver, and you can't bear to give it up?" Zhao Shiqing stretched out his finger and shook it in front of him.
Zhao Tingxuan thought of the one thousand taels of silver that his younger sister asked the escort company to send to him. His younger sister was the poorest among his siblings. Apart from the not-so-rich Baihe Mountain, she only had a few dozen taels of monthly silver. By the way, his younger sister was driven out of the house by his mother. Could it be that the monthly silver was gone?
"Do you still have monthly silver?" Zhao Tingxuan asked.
"Yes, my sister saved it for me. She gave it to me when I went home for the New Year." Zhao Shiqing said.
Zhao Tingxuan breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly became happy again. Her younger sister was talking about "going home", and she still regarded Prince Liang's Mansion as her home.
"Little sister, you and mother are a family after all. There are no parents who are not right in the world. Mother..."
Zhao Shiqing didn't want to listen to his attempt at smoothing things over, so she changed the subject: "Second brother, your tutor isn't very good."
The simple words "not so good" touched Zhao Tingxuan's sore spot.
He was a gentle man, but those two study companions made even he, who was usually gentle, almost unable to contain himself.
"But they were carefully selected for me by Mother. Besides, my second uncle is no longer with us. If we send them back to the Nie family..."
Zhao Tingxuan looked embarrassed. Although the two companions had restrained themselves a little in the Imperial College, they were still bossy when they returned to the palace. Uncle Nie was still in mourning, so they behaved badly with the maids. One of them was pregnant. Zhao Tingxuan had no choice but to pay money to send the maid out of the city.
But how could he have the nerve to tell his younger sister about these things? She was still a child and an unmarried girl. Such things would pollute her ears.
Fortunately, Zhao Shiqing didn't continue the topic and just said lightly: "As long as you also want to replace them."
Zhao Tingxuan said hurriedly: "Of course I want to change, but..."
Zhao Shiqing changed the subject again: "By the way, second brother, how much do you know about Zhu Yu?"
Zhao Tingxuan couldn't keep up and didn't understand why his younger sister changed the subject so quickly.
He hesitantly said, "Zhu Yu, he's not a good person. Little sister, you're in the capital, if you see him, you must avoid him."
Looking at his expression, Zhao Shiqing guessed that it was useless to ask. Once bitten by a snake, his second brother would probably retreat at the mere mention of Zhu Yu.
The brother and sister chatted for a while, and Zhao Tingxuan asked with concern: "Where are you living now? Why don't you just disguise yourself and live back in the palace? No one knows who you are except me."
Even if the people from Prince Liang's Mansion were not in mourning period, they could not enter the capital without an imperial edict.
Zhao Shiqing shook his head: "Second brother, I found my biological parents, but they have been dead for many years. Fortunately, I also found my grandfather, and this time my grandfather came with me."
Zhao Tingxuan didn't expect that so many things had happened in just half a year since he left Liangdi. His younger sister had found her biological parents.
But it’s almost like she wasn’t found, after all, her biological parents are no longer around. This little sister is so pitiful.
"Where do you live? I'll visit the old man someday."
Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "No need. My grandpa likes quiet time. You should take care of your own business first. Have you finished your homework for today?"
The brother and sister chatted and laughed for a while, and finally Zhao Shiqing promised not to run around and would find a chance to meet again, and then the two separated.
Zhao Shiqing took Ling Bo with him, and the master and servant went home relaxed.
When Zhao Tingxuan came out, he found that Nie Dalang had disappeared.
The clerk at Huibaozhai told him that he saw Nie Dalang leave on his own.
Zhao Tingxuan became more and more dissatisfied with Nie Dalang. If you want to leave, just leave. You should at least say goodbye.
When he returned to Prince Liang's Mansion, Nie Dalang was still nowhere to be found. Zhao Tingxuan didn't care. God knew where this guy had gone to fool around again.
He remembered what Zhao Shiqing had said, so he called the few people he could use in the palace and asked them to go out and inquire about Zhu Yu.
When Zhao Shiqing returned home, he heard that the person his grandfather had sent out had returned.
The people sent to Wanquan County found Li Lao Hu. Coincidentally, the family that Li Lao Hu married into was in the midst of a lawsuit, which was causing a lot of uproar. Therefore, they found the real culprit without much effort.
"Lawsuit, what lawsuit?" Zhao Shiqing asked.
The visitor said, "Li Lao Hu's real name is Li Qiu. It is said that this name was changed later. It was given by his father-in-law, but his family still calls him Lao Hu.
He is a son-in-law, his wife's surname is Yang, but he is a night owl.
Don't underestimate the night incense business. The Yang family has been in this business for three generations. Not only in Wanquan County, but also in the other two neighboring counties, the night incense business is monopolized by the Yang family.
Li Laohu's father-in-law had only one daughter, and he wanted a son to inherit the family line by marrying into his family. However, Li Laohu had been married for many years and had only three daughters.
Now that his wife is dead, according to the rule of leaving the house after the wife's death, Li Lao Hu must leave the Yang family, marry and have children, and have no connection with the Yang family anymore.
But Li Lao Hu refused to agree. He filed a lawsuit against his wife's cousin, saying that his wife died during childbirth due to being pushed by his cousin's wife. Although the Yang family was of low status, they were wealthy and prosperous with many people. As soon as Li Lao Hu left the court, he was beaten black and blue by the Yang family.
I happened to meet Li Lao Hu and rescued him. Now he has arrived in the capital, but I didn't dare to bring him back directly, so I settled him in an inn outside the city.
By the way, it was Li Lao Hu himself who requested not to go into the city. He said that he would never return to the capital in his lifetime, and even if he went to the capital, he would not enter the city.
Zhao Shiqing and Zhen Wuduo exchanged glances. Without wasting a moment, the two of them left the city before the gates closed and stayed at the inn outside the city.
After dinner, Zhao Shiqing met Li Lao Hu.
Because of the name "Lao Hu", Zhao Shiqing had a preconceived notion that Li Lao Hu must be a strong and sturdy man.
But when Zhao Shiqing saw Li Lao Hu in person, he was shocked.
Li Lao Hu turned out to be a fair, delicate and weak scholar. Even if he was beaten into a pig's head, it was still a delicate pig's head.
His eyes only glanced at Zhao Shiqing's face, without stopping, and then looked at Zhen Wuduo who was sitting next to him.
This fat white old man seems to be the one in charge. As for the little girl sitting in the main seat, she was pushed out by her own master to act pretentiously.
"Old sir, you brought me all the way from Wanquan County back to the capital, but was it because of that fire?"
Zhen Wuduo was stunned.
Zhao Shiqing was also stunned.
Before they even opened their mouths, Li Lao Hu got straight to the point?
This is so refreshing, so refreshing that it makes people have to start conspiracy theories.
Zhen Wuduo nodded: "Yes, it's because of that matter."
Li Lao Hu: "Since you're asking about what happened back then, you must be an official, right? Well, I have a condition. As long as you agree to it, I'll tell you everything I know."
Zhao Shiqing and Zhen Wuduo had already guessed what he was going to say, but the grandfather and grandson remained calm and nodded again. Zhen Wuduo said, "Okay, tell me, what are your conditions?"
Li Lao Hu's eyes were filled with rage, as if they were about to burst into flames at any moment, just like the fire in the slum alley more than 30 years ago that destroyed his family and killed everyone.
"You avenged my wife. She is pregnant and has consulted several midwives. They all said it would definitely be a boy. We were very careful, fearing that something might go wrong.
But my wife's cousin deliberately pushed her to the ground. When I heard the news, I went to call a doctor, but her two sons stopped me and wouldn't let me go out. I knelt on the ground and begged them to let me out, but they remained unmoved and humiliated me instead. I felt pity for my beloved wife and my unborn son.
Li Lao Hu burst into tears. Zhao Shiqing asked, "After your wife died, did your father-in-law's branch of family have anyone else besides your three daughters?"
Li Lao Hu shook his head and said angrily, "If there are others, how dare they so brazenly take over the entire family? My wife has passed away, and my three daughters are still young, aged thirteen, ten, and five. If I am kicked out of the Yang family, they will have to be raised by relatives, and the family property left by my father-in-law will have to fall into the hands of my cousin."
Zhao Shiqing understood and said to Li Lao Hu, "I will have someone investigate this matter. As long as what you say is true, I will give your wife justice."
Li Lao Hu didn't expect that the person who made the promise to him was actually this little girl. He asked, "Who are you?"
Zhao Shiqing smiled faintly: "You've been hiding for over thirty years. Don't you know that the less you know about some things, the better?"
Being taught by someone who could be his daughter, Li Lao Hu blushed and said, "If you don't want to ask, then don't ask. But you have to give me a deadline. Don't expect me to say another word before I see the results."
Zhao Shiqing thought for a moment and said, "Five days, I'll give you justice after five days."
The next day, Zhao Shiqing called Meng Hu over.
That’s right, Zhao Yunnuan asked Zhao Shiqing to bring a team of people, namely Meng Hu and a dozen of his men.
The reason why Zhao Shiqing called Meng Hu over was because when he sent people to Wanquan County a few days ago, Meng Hu was there too. He said, "Wanquan County belongs to Heyang Prefecture. My senior brother is the magistrate of Heyang Prefecture. If you can't find the person in Wanquan County, I will ask my senior brother to help me find this person through the government."
Zhao Shiqing asked Meng Hu to bring Li Lao Hu as a witness and go to Heyangzhou in person.
Regardless of whether the task is accomplished or not, Li Lao Hu must be brought back safe and sound.
After finishing the business here, Zhao Shiqing and Zhen Wuduo returned to the capital. Before they even sat down, they heard that A Ye had come to see Zhao Shiqing.
A Ye is Xiao Yue's junior fellow apprentice, and also the little boy who answered the door when Zhao Shiqing first went to Mr. Bai's house.
That day, Zhao Shiqing left her home address to Mr. Bai and asked them to come find her if they had any problems.
Loach said, "I told him to come back tomorrow. If he really has something to do, he will definitely come tomorrow."
The next day, A Ye came as expected.
Zhao Shiqing asked, "Does Mr. Bai want to see me for something?"
Ah Ye said, "My master asked me to come. He asked me to bring a message to the fourth lady. He met an old friend the other day and learned that Sun Hongbin was Sun Lingzhi's father. Sun Hongbin loved gambling before, and now that he has more money, his gambling addiction has become even worse. He went to Jinbao Casino to gamble, and after losing all his money, he took money from the casino in the name of Sun Lingzhi. The Jinbao Casino was run by the Baoqing Marquis Mansion. Of course, they knew that Sun Lingzhi was just a concubine in the mansion, so not only did they not lend him money, they also drove him out.
He felt ashamed and told everyone he met that he regretted marrying his daughter to the Baoqing Marquis's mansion.
Zhao Shiqing asked Ling Bo to pack some candies for A Ye and gave him a handful of silver coins. A Ye left happily.
Zhao Shiqing was also very happy. He brought Lingbo and Niuqiu with him, and all three of them changed their appearances.
In fact, not many people in the capital knew them, but Zhao Shiqing had just learned some disguise skills and was itching to try it out.
Sun Hongbin and his wife opened a grocery store.
Most grocery stores in the capital have good and stable businesses, and if you don't pay attention, they can become time-honored brands that are passed down from generation to generation.
This was not the case with the Sun family grocery store, and the reason was Sun Hongbin's gambling addiction.
Not only did he gamble himself, he also dragged a few neighbors to the gambling house.
The grocery store was a neighborhood business. Those neighbors lost all their money, and their family members went to the grocery store to make trouble several times. The Sun family's reputation was ruined, and the grocery store's business plummeted.
When Zhao Shiqing arrived, Sun Hongbin was not there, only his wife, Mrs. Cai, was in the shop.
Sun Hongbin used to be a zither player, but later he developed a hand tremor problem due to drinking too much. He could no longer be a zither player, so he worked as a handyman in the opera troupe with Cai Pozi.
Mrs. Cai also learned opera when she was young, but she never met a kind-hearted famous actor like Xiao Huangying. Therefore, she never had the opportunity to go on stage. However, she sang in many private performances and often went in and out of the backyards of wealthy families, where she witnessed wealth and luxury. Unfortunately, her voice later became worse and she could no longer sing in private performances, so she could only do odd jobs in the opera troupe.
She always regretted why she didn't take advantage of her youth and beauty to marry a rich young man. Even if she could only be a concubine, it would be better than marrying Sun Hongbin, a loser.
Therefore, Sun Lingzhi gave up the opportunity to become famous that she had finally obtained and was willing to devote herself to Zhu Yu and his son. Cai Pozi played an important role in this.
At this time, Mrs. Cai was sitting at the counter eating melon seeds, with a large gold bracelet on her wrist, two fingers wide, shining brightly.
Loach walked in and said, "Where's Sun Hongbin? Let him come out!"
Before going out today, Niu Qiu specifically asked Zhao Shiqing to draw him to look fiercer. Zhao Shiqing not only gave him thick eyebrows, but also glued a beard on his face.
Unfortunately, Mudfish suffered a lot when he was young, and it was difficult to raise him back to normal even when he grew up. He ended up with a thin and small body, which was very inconsistent with his big beard.
Mrs. Cai just took a look and continued to concentrate on eating melon seeds.
Loach snorted coldly: "What, you want to play dumb? If you don't let him out today, believe it or not, I will destroy this place."
Mrs. Cai spat, and the melon seed shells landed on Loach's face. Loach was startled, and heard Zhao Shiqing coughing behind him.
Loach understood what she meant and grabbed Mrs. Cai: "You stinky woman, you dare to spit at me? I think you don't want to live anymore."
Before she could finish her words, Mrs. Cai was hit on the face.
Mrs. Cai didn't expect the man in front of her to hit her so quickly. She was frightened and said quickly, "He's at Widow Liu's house in Baihui Hutong. That's his safe place."
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