Chapter 6 Chapter 6 She was heartbroken
The moonlight was clear, and the signing room of the Northern Pacification Office was shrouded in moonlight, as if immersed in a clean and transparent lake.
The room was not big, and the bookshelves along the wall were filled with all kinds of books and files. There was a long desk with files piled on both sides of the table. Some of them had been opened, and some were still sealed with the seal of the Northern Pacification Office.
"Did she really say that?" Chen Ling'an raised his head from a pile of case files, surprise in his eyes.
"That's right!" The speaker was Wu Yong, the captain who had accompanied him to the Pingyang Marquis's mansion to arrest someone. "The little girl is really brave. She actually dared to use an adult as a shield and scared our spies."
Chen Ling'an asked again, "How did Zhang Wen react?"
Wu Yong couldn't help but laugh. "I was so embarrassed by the little girl that I couldn't say a word. I didn't dare to offend the Liu family and Elder Chen, but I was also afraid that the adults would support the little girl. It was a dilemma. It was wrong to punish him, and it was wrong not to punish him either. I was so frustrated that my face turned purple."
"And with Jiang protecting her, they never sent her back to the manor. In the end, she wasn't allowed to eat and was forced to kneel in the ancestral hall. When our spies went to investigate, they thought the girl would cry. But guess what? She didn't cry or kneel. She gathered her cushions together and lay down, soundly sleeping!"
Wu Yong winked and approached, "Sir, when did you get a childhood sweetheart? She's quite pretty too. She treats you well, even tossing Liu Jinshu aside."
Chen Lingan pressed the pen against his forehead and slowly pushed it away. "Normally, between me and Liu Jinshu, who would a girl choose?"
"Of course it's Liu Jinshu," Wu Yong blurted out. "He has a good family background, good looks, a good temperament, and he's a legitimate top scholar. As long as he's not blind..."
He shuddered and stopped talking awkwardly.
Chen Ling'an took over the conversation, "Anyone who's not blind would have chosen Liu Jinshu, but she stood by me without hesitation. A beautiful, rustic country girl suddenly appeared from the Zhang family and suddenly showed up at the scene of the arrest. Don't you think it's a coincidence?"
The rustic beauty, Wu Yong smacked his lips and thought it seemed quite appropriate.
"I'll repay you with my life-saving grace." He laughed and teased, "Maybe I just like adults. As the saying goes, if a man is not bad, women will not love him..."
Seeing the warning in his superior's eyes, Wu Yong immediately changed his joking tone and said, "Sir, do you suspect this is a setup? I will send two brothers to Xuanfu to investigate Zhang Xiaoman's background."
Chen Ling'an was silent for a moment. "There's nothing to investigate in Xuanfu. It's enough to keep an eye on her whereabouts in the capital."
Wu Yong scratched his head, unable to figure it out, but agreed. He then began to complain again, "What a great opportunity was wasted! Liu Fang and Chen Ge Lao acted too quickly. How did they know what we were going to do today?"
Chen Ling'an's eyes turned slightly cold. "I'm only a third-rank deputy governor, and I have a commander-in-chief above me. This time, my opponents are the Minister of Revenue who is about to enter the cabinet, and the Deputy Prime Minister who has almost sidelined the Prime Minister. It's inevitable that some people are scheming and trying to please both sides."
"Once I find this guy, I'll tear him into pieces!" Wu Yongqi cursed. "We only caught a few small fish and shrimps, and all the hard work of the brothers over the past few months has been wasted. Our Northern Pacification Division has never been so cowardly."
The night wind blew through the window, the candlelight flickered, and in the flickering light, it was difficult to see the expression on Chen Lingan's face.
He didn't say anything, but Wu Yong felt a surge of fear for no reason. He chuckled and explained to himself, "It's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. Sooner or later, I'll teach those old bastards a lesson!"
While picking up the teacup on the desk, he said, "The tea is cold, and you didn't even bother to change a cup for me, sir. The people who work there are becoming less and less attentive..."
But he took the opportunity to slip away.
I don't know when the candle went out, and the moonlight poured in through the window like water.
A little girl with two buns on her head slowly approached from the crowd. She had a sweet smile and a sweet voice. Even the three ordinary words "Ling An Ge" became unusually pleasant to the ear.
The chubby little round face gradually overlapped with the pretty face in the daytime.
In a trance, someone cried out "Brother", and then the voice was drowned out by the crowd.
Chen Ling'an suddenly opened his eyes, his chest heaving violently. In the moonlight, he took out a pill from the drawer of the desk and swallowed it. He coughed for a while before gradually calming down.
It’s been nine years. Do I have to wait for my enemy to die of old age?
He clenched his fists tightly, then closed his eyes and uttered two words from between his teeth, "Chen, Shao!"
-
As the sky brightened, sparrows chirped on the branches, adding a bit of vitality to the usually deserted and silent Zhang Family Ancestral Hall.
Mrs. Jiang looked at Zhang Xiaoman who was eating and drinking happily, feeling angry, amused, and helpless. "You can still eat at this time, you are really heartless."
"The world is vast, but eating is the most important thing." Zhang Xiaoman finished the last mouthful of porridge in his bowl, patted his belly, and squinted his eyes happily. "I only had a proper meal yesterday morning, but the people guarding the ancestral hall only gave me water. The more I drank, the hungrier I got. I was so hungry that night that I almost went crazy. Luckily, my mother thought of me."
Mrs. Jiang poked her forehead with a finger and said, "Stop trying to be nice. You've gotten into big trouble. Don't think you can scare your father by bringing up Chen Ling'an. He's waiting."
"Wait?" Zhang Xiaoman didn't understand.
"Your father has spread the news that he's punishing you. If what you said is true, Chen Ling'an will definitely respond. If you're just making it up..." Madam Jiang sighed, "It won't be as simple as kneeling in the ancestral hall."
Zhang Xiaoman smiled and said, "At worst, I can just go back to where I came from. I'll just be letting my mother down."
Mrs. Jiang sighed inwardly. This child still thought too simply. The relationship between her and Chen Ling'an had been widely spread outside, and people from all walks of life were watching. How could she easily extricate herself from the vortex?
"Listen to your mother's advice. Maybe Chen Ling'an was once a good person, but now, he is no longer the Chen Ling'an you knew."
Zhang Xiaoman could tell there was something else behind her words. "Mom, can you tell me about him?"
Mrs. Jiang sighed again. "It's a long story. It happened nine years ago, when the late emperor was still alive. The Chen family was a famous and prominent family in Jiangnan, even more prestigious than the Liu family. Chen Ling'an's father, Chen Shou, was a highly respected scholar. He served as a Hanlin scholar in the previous dynasty. Just as he was about to enter the cabinet, he was involved in a cheating scandal in the imperial examinations."
"Chen Shou committed suicide to prove his innocence, but the late emperor still deemed him 'suicide out of fear of punishment.' Chen Ling'an's mother, unable to bear the blow, also hanged herself. His brother, enraged, went to beat the drum to protest his grievances, but on the way he got into an argument with angry students and was beaten by someone. He died before he could even reach home. In the chaos, his little sister was left unattended and lost."
"Later, the Chen family opened an ancestral hall and expelled Chen Shou's branch from the Chen family, transferring all the family property to the clan. In fact, only Chen Ling'an remained. Before leaving, he swore a solemn oath, demanding that the blood debt owed to Elder Chen and the Chen family be repaid with blood."
Zhang Xiaoman was stunned after hearing this.
The young man's eyes, filled with worry and anger, slowly appeared before my eyes.
Nowhere to go? Me too...
The sourness and bitterness made her heart ache like it was exploding, and she had to take several deep breaths before she felt a little relieved.
Mrs. Jiang sighed so many times that she couldn't recall how many times she had sighed. "To have a family destroyed overnight, let alone a child of ten, even an adult couldn't bear it. The Chen family was so powerful, and he was just a child... People just thought he was crazy and no one took it seriously. But then two years ago, he transformed himself into an Imperial Guard and really came back to fight."
"He's scheming, sinister, and cold-blooded. He'll do anything for revenge. Xiaoman, you must not continue to associate with him."
Zhang Xiaoman was silent for a while. "Mother, what is this imperial examination cheating case you mentioned?"
Mrs. Jiang was startled and gave Zhang Xiaoman a cold look. "You care about this?"
"I can't say for sure, but I just heard your father talk about it a few times. Chen Shou was the chief examiner for that imperial examination, and he only admitted scholars from the south. This caused an uproar. Northern students jointly filed a petition accusing the chief examiner of favoritism and fraud. Then officials from the north impeached Chen Shou and the other examiners. As a result, it became a major case."
"So is his father innocent?" Zhang Xiaoman wasn't quite sure. "If he's truly innocent, Chen Ling'an is now a highly valued official under the Emperor. Can't we ask the Emperor to re-examine the case?"
Madam Jiang laughed, "Silly child, how can you overturn a case that was tried by the three courts and approved by the late emperor himself? Besides, what about the current emperor..."
She bit her tongue sharply. The current emperor was originally the Prince of Yan, and was not the late emperor's chosen heir.
The current throne was forcibly snatched from his nephew!
The reign title of the deposed emperor has been erased by the current emperor, which shows how secretive the current emperor is about that past.
In order to show the legitimacy of his succession and to appease the hearts of his ministers, the current emperor always claims that he is "acting in accordance with the teachings of the late emperor" and it is impossible for him to make this case a wrongful case.
I can only think about this in my mind and cannot say it out loud.
Mrs. Jiang then sighed, "The verdict has already been reached, so Chen Ling'an is venting all his anger on Lord Chen."
Zhang Xiaoman asked, "Why did Elder Chen show up? Who is he? Lord Liu also mentioned him specifically today."
Mrs. Jiang said slowly, "Lord Chen is Chen Ling'an's second uncle, and also... his enemy. He was the first person to report his father's cheating in the imperial examination."
This information was really unexpected. Zhang Xiaoman stared at his stepmother with wide eyes.
Mrs. Jiang's face turned serious. "Chen Ling'an is like a mad dog right now. He'll bite anyone who has anything to do with the Chen family. The Pingyang Marquisate, the Liu family, and the Chen family have long been tied together, and our family has already set foot on the Chen family's ship. Do you think he can let us go? He was so nice to you yesterday, but who knows what evil plans he has in mind!"
"Listen to your mother. No matter what happened in the past, you must cut off all ties with him now."
Zhang Xiaoman lowered his head and said nothing.
"You kid..." Mrs. Jiang was about to persuade her again when Fang's mother's voice came from outside the door, "Madam, the master wants you to come over. The Liu family's wife and son are here."
Mrs. Chiang immediately became excited.
If she refused the marriage, it would be enough for Xiao Jiang to come and tell her. At most, she could add Madam Qin. There was no need for Liu Jinshu to come to her house.
What does the appearance of Liu Jin’s book indicate?
Mrs. Jiang patted Zhang Xiaoman on the back and said, "Fools have their own luck!"
Zhang Xiaoman grimaced and cried out in pain from the slap she gave him. "Mother, don't be too happy too soon. What if she's here to call me to task? Didn't you see how Madam Qin looked yesterday? She practically wanted to eat me alive."
This sentence made Mrs. Jiang feel uneasy again. She poked Zhang Xiaoman on the forehead with a finger, "I had chosen you yesterday, alas!"
Zhang Xiaoman spoke her mind, "Mother, I don't want to marry Liu Jinshu."
"If not him, who would you marry? Chen Ling'an?" Mrs. Jiang's face suddenly changed. "Don't even think about it. Impossible!"
Zhang Xiaoman hurriedly explained, "No, no, I mean I don't want to get married yet. Brother Ling'an and I haven't seen each other for nine years. Even if we were close as children, it's not like we felt like meeting an old friend the moment we met."
Mrs. Jiang looked at her suspiciously, then softened her tone. "An old acquaintance? I think it's a creditor! You're still young and don't understand many things. Don't act rashly. Mother has made plans for you. Be obedient, okay?"
After repeated instructions, Mrs. Jiang left the ancestral hall. She did not go directly to see the Liu family. She first went back to her room to change clothes, drink some tea and rest for a while before getting up and going to the flower hall.
I happened to run into Zhang Junyi standing at the door of the flower hall with tea in his hand, as if he was about to go in.
Mrs. Jiang's anger, which had been suppressed for a whole day and night, suddenly ignited. She immediately stopped her and said, "There's no place for you to stand here. Get down!"
Zhang Junyi bit her lip and replied according to her aunt's instructions, "Madam, you misunderstood. It was my father who asked me to serve tea."
Mrs. Jiang knew she was lying as soon as she heard it. "Nonsense! How can you let the young lady show up before the mistress of the house arrives? Even if your father favors you, he wouldn't be rude in front of the Liu family."
"Perhaps you and your aunt both thought that by ruining the third girl's marriage, you could take over. Oh, how short-sighted you are. Your past with Chen Ling'an will affect the entire Zhang family. If the Liu family minds this, they will definitely not marry any girl from the Zhang family."
"Too clever is half the trick." Mrs. Jiang glanced at Zhang Junyi, whose face was pale, and walked past her leisurely.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
