Chapter 365: The Man Carrying Firewood for the Public
After Gong Shao finished speaking, he finally told Zhu Lan and the others the real reason why his family was wiped out.
“Ever since the Ning’an Marquis’s Mansion began to exploit tea merchants and tea growers, my father has been maneuvering in the middle, trying to protect the interests of those tea growers.
In this process, we collected a lot of evidence of Ning Anbo's collusion with the government."
Zhu Lan's eyes narrowed, "What kind of evidence is it?"
"Remember the tea tax I just mentioned? The extra tea tax is not recorded in the open account. In other words, it is impossible to find out that the tea farmers paid such an extra tea tax.
The government may have records, but they will definitely hide them very well and will never let outsiders get them."
Gong Shao's voice became slow. "But because those tea farmers trusted my father very much, my father joined forces with them and used a special method to record the amount of each so-called tea tax received by the Ning'an Earl's Mansion, as well as the time and place of collection."
Zhu Qingyan asked worriedly, "But this is very risky, right? Won't it be discovered?"
As soon as she asked the question, she regretted it. It was really a stupid question.
If they hadn't been discovered, how could the Gong family have been wiped out?
Gong Shao said in a heavy voice, "Of course there are risks, but only in this way can we have the opportunity to send evidence to the capital and file a complaint with the emperor, so that the court will know what the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion did in Yunzhou."
“My father had been secretly communicating with the tea growers for half a year, and since everyone was united, nothing went wrong.
Soon, my father felt that he had enough evidence in his hands, and was trying to find a way to avoid the eyes and ears of Ning'an Marquis's Mansion and the county government and send the evidence away...
But the news leaked out during the last meeting with the tea farmers, and the Ning An Earl's Mansion learned about it."
Gong Shao's eyes turned red again.
"They couldn't do it openly, so they asked Zhou Yang to find a way to slander that there was something lethal in our tea, hoping to find a reason to put my father in jail - that way, they could force him to tell them the whereabouts of the evidence."
"My father realized something was wrong and wanted to take us away from Yunzhou immediately. But he didn't expect that within a day... we would encounter such a thing in the ruined temple!"
Zhu Qingyan asked quickly: "Where is the evidence? Did they take it away as well?"
"No." Gong Shao shook his head. "Before my father took us out of the city, he already had a bad feeling."
"Just in case, he didn't take the evidence with him. Instead, he hid it in several places in Yunzhou City. He planned to ask a trustworthy friend to bring the evidence out after we successfully left Yunzhou."
Having said this, Gong Shao suddenly knelt in front of Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan, with tears in his eyes, and kowtowed without hesitation.
"My father was captured by those people. They would torture him severely and force him to tell them the whereabouts of the evidence. But my father was stubborn. In order to protect the tea farmers, he would never tell them even if he was beaten to death.
How could those jackals and beasts let him go?
Please, as long as you can rescue my father, I, Gong Shao, am willing to work like a slave for you. I will do anything you ask me to do!"
Zhu Lan and the other man were both shocked. They took great effort to stop Gong Shao, who kept kowtowing, and helped him up.
Zhu Lan said: "According to what you said, the most important thing for us now is to find the evidence left by your father, so as to avoid any more trouble."
Zhu Qingyan also agreed: "Yes, if we get the evidence, we will have the bargaining chip to negotiate with Ning Anbo Mansion!"
Gong Shao nodded, but then shook his head.
"The evidence was hidden so well that only I could find it. But the guards in Yunzhou City know me, and the city is full of people from Liao Xing and the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion.
If I show up, I will be arrested immediately."
Zhu Lan thought for a moment and said, "If you go into the city alone, it will be easy to attract attention. But if there are three of us together, the chances of you being noticed will be much smaller. Most importantly, our identities can provide you with cover."
When Gong Shao heard this, his eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.
"But even if the three of us go into the city together, and I pretend to be your follower... I will still meet those people at the city gate when I enter the city. If I wear a mask, it will attract attention."
Zhu Lan looked at him with steady eyes.
"I have a way, it just depends on whether Master Gong is willing or not."
Upon hearing this, Gong Shao immediately said that as long as he could get into the city, he would not mind going through fire and water, or even crawling under a manure cart.
…
Soon, Gong Shao looked at the light blue dress in front of him and fell into a brief silence.
"Master Gong, whether you are disguised as a beggar or an attendant, there is a high probability that you will be recognized."
"But in the capital, women often wear veils of various styles when they go out to prevent their skin from getting tanned by the sun."
"You can dress up as a woman and put on a veil so that no one will notice you."
Zhu Lan spoke calmly and did not rush Gong Shao, giving him enough time to make a choice.
Seeing Gong Shao staring at the dress in a daze, Zhu Qingyan couldn't help but frown and said, "Isn't it just a dress? This is the only solution right now. If you feel wronged..."
"Haha." Gong Shao smiled softly, "What's there to be wronged about?"
"You two ladies are very smart. I admire you."
Gong Shao carefully held up the dress with both hands, but his face did not show any shame or humiliation.
"This world is a place of yin and yang. Although women are feminine, they can also be as talented as Miss Zhu in governing a country, and are no less capable than men.
Throughout history, there are countless stories of women dressing up as men. So what's wrong with me wearing women's clothes now?
Besides, how can a man's character be changed by a piece of clothing? "
Gong Shao's words made Zhu Lan look at him with a new respect.
She thought Gong Shao would resist. Even in modern times, men dressing as women will inevitably be criticized and ridiculed.
I didn't expect Gong Shao to be so calm.
Gong Shao held the woman's skirt and bowed deeply to Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan.
“Thank you two ladies for the clothes.
But I am in such a mess that I am afraid I may dirty the girl's dress. Let me wash myself and change into a dress, and then we can go into the city immediately."
After Gong Shao finished speaking, he held the clothes and walked towards a nearby stream.
Zhu Qingyan suddenly seemed to remember something and called him.
"Wait! Can you wear a skirt?
We...we won't help you!"
Gong Shao turned around and nodded slightly to her, indicating that he was okay.
When I turned around, the wind blew and I couldn't help but wet my eyes.
In the past, I was with my wife every day, and she always liked to act coquettishly and ask me to help her change her clothes.
The smile from the past is still ringing in my ears, but in the blink of an eye, I am the only one left in the world.
God’s will is so cruel!
…
Zhu Lan and the other man were both feeling heavy-hearted as they waited for Gong Shao to wash up.
Zhu Qingyan hesitated for a long time before speaking:
"Although I also think we have to help him...but I'm a little worried."
Zhu Lan: "What are you worried about?"
Zhu Qingyan bit her lip and said, "Didn't we come to Yunzhou to ask Earl Ning'an about the identity of the Crown Prince? If we help Gong Shao's family, we will have to break off relations with Earl Ning'an's mansion."
"Well, of course, we have to help - what I mean is, shouldn't we have a good chat with Earl Ning An first, ask what we want to ask, and then deal with the Gong family's affairs?"
Zhu Lan heard this and said, "What you said makes sense, but Gong Yuanliang has already fallen into their hands. Every day of delay means a day of risk."
"Those who carry firewood for others should not be allowed to freeze to death in the snow and wind."
Her voice was gentle, but it was unquestionably firm.
Zhu Qingyan asked: "Then we won't talk about it anymore?"
Zhu Lan raised the corners of his mouth, but his eyes were like an abyss, "Human words are meant to be spoken to other people."
"When facing beasts, you have to use hunter's methods."
Hearing her words, Zhu Qingyan's heart was filled with blood and he clenched his fists.
"Well said. Then don't waste your time talking to them! Just -"
She thought about it and realized that there were really no elegant words that could express her anger at the moment.
I simply mustered up the courage to imitate Ah Jing and said:
"Fuck him!"
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