Chapter 364 Public Heart
After Gong Shao finished speaking, the three of them fell into a long silence.
In the end, it was Zhu Lan who spoke first and asked softly:
"You just mentioned three tea merchants."
"One family chose to protect themselves and spend money to avoid disaster. The other family became the running dogs of the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion."
"Then...what about your Gong family?"
Zhu Lan looked into Gong Shao's eyes.
She had a hunch that the answer was the reason why the Gong family was wiped out.
Zhu Qingyan also did not get over the heavy emotion just now. She spoke in a low voice:
"Yes, if you had left earlier like Liuyang Tea House, maybe you wouldn't have..."
The Gong family must have been reluctant to give up such a huge family business, so they hesitated and only wanted to get out at the last moment, but found that it was too late.
Zhu Qingyan thought so and tried to speak as tactfully as possible.
Gong Shao's next words made her freeze in place.
"Leave?" Gong Shao shook his head and gave a bitter smile.
"If we run away, what will happen to those poor tea farmers?"
"My father is gone. Who else in the entire Yunzhou City will speak for them?"
Zhu Lan and the other man were both startled.
"Your father... stayed here for the sake of those tea farmers?" Zhu Qingyan asked in surprise.
Gong Shao nodded. "My father couldn't bear to see them being bullied, so he tried to provide them with a lot of help, both openly and covertly. Some tea farmers who were framed also cleared their grievances with the help of my father and uncovered the conspiracy. They didn't end up like the man I just mentioned... with his family destroyed."
"It is precisely because of this that our Gong family is regarded as a thorn in the side by Zhou Yang, who wants to get rid of us as soon as possible."
"Your father... is very powerful." Zhu Lan said softly, feeling a little admiration for the man named Gong Yuanliang.
After thinking for a while, she asked again, "Since Manager Zhou works for the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion, what is his relationship with the County Magistrate Liao you just mentioned?"
"They are in the same group! They are all in the same group!" Gong Shao suddenly shouted, extremely excited.
He waved his clenched fists in the air a few times, and finally let them hang down dejectedly.
"The entire Yunzhou City is rotten to the core. The officials, big and small, are in collusion with each other from top to bottom."
"It is our Gong family that was wiped out today. The next one... haha, we don't know who will be!"
Zhu Lan thought about it, but still felt that something was not right, so he continued to ask:
“But if what you said is true, your father only helped those tea farmers.
Is it just because of this that County Magistrate Liao... or rather, the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion, sent people to kill your entire family?"
You know, killing 16 people overnight is a big case. Not only does it involve risks, but it also takes a lot of effort to escape legal sanctions.
Would a small tea merchant really allow those behind the scenes to take such risks?
Gong Shao's expression slowly turned cold, "Of course it's not just because of this."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Zhu Qingyan and Zhu Lan again with a scrutinizing gaze, as if he was judging whether they could be trusted.
After all, what he said next not only concerned his own life and property, but also involved many poor tea farmers.
Zhu Lan saw his concerns and made a decision.
She asked Zhu Qingyan to take out the two people's Hanlin Academy badges and the pass from the capital from the bag and hand them to Gong Shao.
"My name is Zhu Lan, and the man beside me is Zhu Qingyan. We are both officials from the Imperial Academy, and we are traveling from the capital to Yunzhou—"
Zhu Lan considered what to say next.
"Investigate the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion."
"Zhu Lan?" Gong Shao seemed to be familiar with the name. After thinking for a moment, he said in surprise, "I seem to have heard that... there was a female champion in the imperial examination today, and it seems to be this name."
Zhu Lan smiled at him.
Zhu Qingyan looked at Gong Shao and blinked twice, thinking that he would mention him next.
After all, the third place in the imperial examination...isn't that bad?
"You're actually the top scholar. What a pleasure to meet you." Gong Shao showed a complicated bitter smile on his face and bowed slightly to Zhu Lan.
Then he nodded politely to Zhu Qingyan.
Zhu Qingyan felt a little melancholy after being ignored, and silently swallowed back the words on his lips.
Since we have Yu, why do we need Liang?
"Then are you willing to believe us?" Zhu Lan said to Gong Shao.
Gong Shao said slowly: "I believe in you, not because of your status as the top scholar or the Imperial Academy."
Zhu Lan raised his eyebrows slightly, somewhat curious.
"You have been to Qingxi Town in Tongzhou before, right?" Gong Shao looked at Zhu Lan and suddenly asked.
Zhu Lan nodded.
She naturally remembered the debate she had with Mr. Lu from Qingzhu Academy in Qingxi Town.
Gong Shao sighed softly, "To be honest, that's my mother's hometown."
"When I was very young, I often heard my mother talk about the situation in my hometown. In my impression, the people of Qingxi Town are stubborn and have little contact with the outside world. The restrictions on women are even more severe than in the previous dynasty."
"If my father hadn't passed by there on his business trip and married my mother, she would probably never have had the chance to leave that place in her life."
At this point, Gong Shao chuckled softly, but it was very bitter. I wonder if it was because he was thinking of his mother.
"To be honest, I have always had a bad impression of that place."
"But some time ago, I met someone by chance. He also came from Qingxi Town."
Gong Shao raised his eyes and looked at Zhu Lan, "His last name is Lu, you should know who he is."
Zhu Lan thought for a moment and asked, "Could it be Lu Zhiyi, Master Lu?"
"That's right." Gong Shao nodded, "I met him by chance and heard him mention you."
"He was very impressed by your ability to debate with him on your own. He said he had never thought that a woman could be so talented, and he realized the consequences of closing Qingxi Town."
"After you left, Qingxi Town... became very different, which is great. Maybe if you have time, you can go and take a look."
Hearing that Qingxi Town has become a better place now, not only Zhu Lan, but also Zhu Qingyan, who was an eyewitness at that time, felt relieved.
Gong Shao raised his head and looked at her seriously, with a different light flashing in his eyes.
“I believe you because what you have done in Qingxi Town is enough to prove that you have a public spirit and care about the people.
They are definitely not the same kind of people as those harmful termites in Yunzhou City."
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