Chapter 22 Diverting the troublesome water to the east

"My son knows. I will order people to prepare it when I get back." Sheng Hong answered respectfully.

Then he thought for a while and said, "My son is thinking that since the source of this rumor cannot be found, we might as well find someone to speak well of our Sheng Mansion and say that it was all a misunderstanding before. Then we can ask some people to publicize my achievements as a judge, and then the rumors can be stopped."

Sheng Hong told her his method, but the eldest lady shook her head after hearing it. The old lady saw it and said, "Do you think this method is inappropriate? You might as well speak out." The eldest lady

was named and smiled awkwardly, "I think your method is not reliable enough. People are saying that you are not good, and suddenly someone says that they are wrong and that you are good. Others will only think that you are in the same group, and will not really believe that you are a good person. I deal with officials and their families in various governments every day, and they like to gossip about the Dong family and the Li family. It is not possible to gain people's trust by saying that you did nothing so bluntly. I have to think of other ways to be safe. "

Sheng Hong thought carefully about what the eldest lady said, and felt that she was right. This matter still needs to be handled with caution, otherwise it will cause new rumors and ridicule if it is discovered. Suddenly, the eldest lady said excitedly: "If there is any other new thing, our family's will not be new. When everyone spreads other people's things, no one will mention our family's things, right?" Sheng Hong clapped his hands and thought this method was good.

The eldest lady went on to say, "The new thing has to be new enough. If ordinary stories cannot arouse discussion among everyone, then everyone will still think that our Sheng Mansion's stories are more interesting. What kind of things can make everyone feel new and fresh?"

Sheng Hong remained silent, but after listening to the eldest lady's words, he had an idea in his mind.

The next day, Zhengyi Lane was extremely lively early in the morning. The entrance to the lane was blocked by people in three layers inside and three layers outside. Passers-by could hear an angry female voice coming from the innermost of the crowd through the noisy voices, "Zhang Maoling, what is your relationship with this bastard?"

The people on the periphery could only hear a faint male voice. They couldn't hear it clearly and didn't know what was said. Passerby A at the back anxiously pulled the sleeve of the person in front and asked, "Brother, what happened in front?"

The one in front The man turned around and chatted with him, "It seems that it was a lady from an official family who came to catch an adulterer. I heard that they caught him in the act. The official's clothes were not even fully dressed, and the servants behind him had to bring them to him to put on them."

The man in front was gossiping and excitedly told the people behind him. The people next to him heard and continued to ask curiously, "Which official is this?"

The man in front was just the one who happened to catch up with the gathering early in the morning. He saw more because he came early. As for which family he belonged to, he really didn't know.

At this time, another person in front joined the conversation, "I know this," and deliberately lowered his voice while speaking, "It's the county magistrate. I stood in front and saw his face clearly. The lady just called Chen Maoling, which is the nickname of our county magistrate."

As he spoke, he secretly pointed his finger inside. "I heard that our County Magistrate Chen was originally from a poor family, but he studied hard and passed the imperial examination. He was chosen by his father-in-law as a son-in-law and married his current wife. I also heard that he became the County Magistrate of Yangzhou with the help of his father-in-law's family. Who would have thought that he could only judge a person by his appearance and not by his heart? He had only been the County Magistrate for two years when he found a mistress. Today, the affair was exposed and he was caught red-handed by his current wife." Another person took the initiative to join the conversation. Obviously, he knew more. As their conversation deepened, more and more people started talking.

Suddenly, an angry female voice was heard, "There is no good thing about men who live off their wives. They made their living by relying on their wife's family background, and now they are thinking about having a mistress. Some are even more shameless and want to divorce their wives and marry someone else. Such men should be severely punished and sentenced to exile. Then, who would dare to abandon their wives!"

People also started talking about the woman's sudden anger. An old lady next to them nudged a woman next to her and nodded in the direction of the woman who spoke, "It's the one from the Yan family. The boy from the Yan family was a poor boy before. There was no bed or bedding at home. There was only a house left by their ancestors, which was also broken and leaky. He went to work in the grocery store in the Li family's hometown. Because he worked hard, Mr. Li noticed him and made him a son-in-law. , but he took over the old man's property and wanted to divorce his wife and remarry. He wanted to drive the original wife out, saying that she didn't have to leave, but she had to be a concubine. This Li lady is also very powerful. She promised benefits to her good uncles and brothers and asked them to help her take the shop back. Oh, you don't say, she really did it. The boy from the Yan family was driven back to the broken house. I guess he thought of himself when he saw the county magistrate's wife. They are all poor people! "The

county magistrate's wife's family name is Hu. Her father is a loyal and military general of the fourth rank. He is a military official and not a powerful person. But he had many good brothers in the past when he was on the march. With the help of friends, she got her son-in-law to the good position of Yangzhou County Magistrate, which everyone was vying for.

The lady of the Hu family is a real kung fu master. She has loved to wield swords and guns with her father since she was a child. It is precisely because of this hobby that no one proposed marriage to her when she reached the age of marriage. General Hu wanted to find a weak scholar for his daughter, so that his daughter would not be bullied. That's why he caught Chen Jintu from the list of sons-in-law. This county magistrate is worthy of being selected from tens of thousands of students. He is stable and treats his wife very well after marrying Miss Hu. He also listens to his father-in-law, Lord Hu. He has been married to Mrs. Chen for many years and has two sons and a daughter. The couple has always been deeply in love. County magistrate Chen has never mentioned the matter of taking a concubine. In the past, every lady was envious of them. Even the eldest lady of the Sheng family has repeatedly lamented that the couple is in harmony.

But today, Mrs. Chen found out that County Magistrate Chen had a mistress outside, who was his childhood sweetheart. They had a son and a daughter, the older of whom was only a few days older than Mrs. Chen's eldest son, and they were pregnant and gave birth to the child one after the other. Even the onlookers could not help but marvel at how well County Magistrate Chen pretended.

County Magistrate Chen was kicked to the ground. He listened to the discussions of the onlookers, his face turned pale and blue. He regretted it very much. He had always kept Yunniang's affairs well hidden. No one knew except his trusted steward. He had kept it a secret for so many years. Moreover, he never stayed at Yunniang's house. He only visited Yunniang and the two children at night or in the morning when he was busy with official duties, or when he was free. He acted so cautiously, how could his wife know? Did his trusted steward betray him? Impossible. He had done him a favor, so he could only be good if he was in charge. Then who was the one who informed the lady?

Sheng Hong was sitting in the study, listening to the servant telling him the news from outside. He said that someone had been asked to spread the news about the old man's achievements when he was the magistrate of Yangzhou, and someone else had sworn that the two maids died of illness. In addition, Dong Rong went to the homes of the two maids to express condolences with great fanfare and prepared thick funeral supplies. Now some people said that the official of the Sheng family was kind-hearted!

Sheng Hong smiled after listening to this, and then listened to the servant talking about the embarrassing situation of County Magistrate Chen being beaten by Madam Chen after being caught cheating. He also said that now people no longer talk about the evil woman in the Sheng family. After all, he did not see it with his own eyes, and the authenticity needs to be verified. But the fact that County Magistrate Chen was caught cheating is an ironclad fact, and many eyes have seen it. It is also the gossip about the mistress of the main wife and the unfaithful man that everyone likes to hear more about, and the people's attention is diverted at once.

Sheng Hong sat there calmly, smiling, but his eyes were ambiguous. In his heart, Sheng Hong said to County Magistrate Chen, "I'm sorry, Brother Chen!"

The old lady also received the news sent by Sheng Hong. The old lady knew County Magistrate Chen. She had been very close to Sheng Hong for a while. It was said that he had been the county magistrate of Yangzhou for two years, and he should be able to be promoted after another year. After all, Yangzhou is a rich place, and being a county magistrate is to make money.

After this incident, let alone promotion, I'm afraid he can't keep his official position. Mrs. Chen has a hot temper and will not let it go. I'm afraid that County Magistrate Chen's career is over.

The old lady was feeling emotional, and wanted to talk to Madam Fang, "My son can move up in career, he's ruthless enough, and he's a good match for Lin Qinshuang in this respect!"

Madam Fang smiled and replied, "Only if he's resourceful enough can he lead the Sheng family forward! Old lady, you just take good care of young Master Zhenzhen in this courtyard, let him enjoy the happiness of family, and spend his old age. You can worry about the things outside."

The old lady breathed a sigh of relief, "Now that this matter is over, I can accompany Zhenzhen wholeheartedly! Minglan is also a pure-minded girl. She comes to see you and Zhenzhen every day, so we won't be lonely!" After the old lady finished speaking, both of them laughed heartily.

Let's go back to Dong Rong's condolences. When he arrived at Zhu Lou's house, her parents were very polite to him. When they saw him coming, they wanted to leave the other guests who came to pay their condolences and entertain him alone. Zhu Lou's mother, with tears still in her eyes, took the opportunity when he was drinking a sip of water to mention her little son, saying that her son was about to grow up and could go to the mansion to work. She asked Dong Rong to give her a chance to arrange a job for him. Dong Rong concealed the disdain in her eyes and readily agreed. Then she did not stay any longer and said goodbye and went to Lu Luo's house.

The atmosphere in Luluo's house was obviously more sad. There were two young people, a man and a woman, kneeling in the middle. Dong Rong came with mourning clothes, but after entering the door, it was not the young brother and sister who came to talk to him, but a drunk old man. When Dong Rong saw the people coming, he knew it was Luluo's father who loved drinking and beat their mother to death. He didn't care that Dong Rong came to mourn his daughter, and pulled Dong Rong to establish a relationship. Dong Rong couldn't stand it, but he came here today to gain a good reputation for the Sheng family. He was so irritated by the smell of alcohol in Luluo's father's mouth that he wanted to vomit but couldn't push him away. His face turned blue from holding back. However, the kneeling young man heard his father's endless nonsense and pulled his father aside to rescue Dong Rong.

Dong Rong had a very good impression of this young man. After explaining his purpose, he learned that the young man was indeed Lu Luo's eldest brother, named Huai Xuan. He said that he gave himself the name, while Lu Zhu and Lu Luo were named by the master family. He was just a handyman in the outer courtyard and never met the master family. No one cared whether he was called Datou or Huai Xuan, so he asked his eldest sister to find someone to give him a nice name. He believed that only by having a decent name could he live a more decent life.

Dong Rong admired him even more after knowing this, and then he told her the purpose of his visit, and also mentioned Lin Qinshuang's punishment in a subtle way. Huai Xuan didn't say anything after hearing this. Dong Rong thought he remembered his sister's grief, so he didn't say much. He comforted her with a few words and said his condolences, and then he left. When he left, there was still a large group of people, just like when he came. So Dong Rong didn't see the undisguised anger and hatred on the kneeling girl's face.