Chapter 322 Chapter 322 Choose him or me?
Song Tong couldn't even lift his head after being scolded by Xu Yunfan.
It was really strange. His official rank was obviously higher than Xu Yunfan, but he was scolded by Xu Yunfan like a child who had done something wrong, and he didn't even dare to breathe.
After Xu Yunfan finished venting, Song Tong asked weakly, "What is labor law?"
"Let me tell you briefly... workers are the main force of our Great Yan Dynasty, the vast majority of our Great Yan Dynasty. If they can't even protect their most basic rights, and we officials can't stand up for them, who can they rely on?"
Xu Yunfan spoke bitterly, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. You should understand this principle better than I do. After all, I'm still too young, having just entered the Imperial Academy, a mere fifth-rank official. They all look down on me. Even when I come to their homes, they all make excuses. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to you."
During the Great Yan Dynasty, the imperial court, namely the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate, was responsible for the revision, drafting, and review of laws.
As the saying goes, it's easier to get things done when you have connections. He had no connections in the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate, and the Right Prime Minister had his men there, so naturally no one gave Xu Yunfan face.
After all, Qin Run did not give face to the Huo family, and thus indirectly slapped the right prime minister in the face. This old bitch was secretly trying to deal with Xu Yunfan.
After thinking about it, Xu Yunfan realized that the only person he knew in this regard was Song Tong.
Song Tong was quite polite to Xu Yunfan because of Fang Zixi's incident. In addition, he had been "disgusted" by Xu Yunfan in the carriage before, so he had a very fresh memory of Xu Yunfan and couldn't forget him even if he wanted to.
"This matter is of great importance, concerning the wages of hundreds of people. I must report it before making a decision. He can swallow the wages of hundreds of workers, and even the county magistrate dares not intervene. This person must be..."
Xu Yunfan knew what was going on. "Actually, I know who's behind that master."
Xu Yunfan did not ignore everyone who came to him with a request. Before coming to find Song Tong, he asked someone to conduct a thorough investigation.
It took hundreds of people a year to build a mansion. It was a huge project, and it was easy to investigate. However, for ordinary people without any background, trying to confront the other side was like hitting a stone with an egg, let alone investigating. Even if they wanted to investigate, the county magistrate who had taken bribes would not let them find anything.
The martial servants sent out by Xu Yunfan were different. They had undergone special training and were no worse than the secret guards trained by the palace, whether in terms of boxing skills or channels for gathering information.
Song Tong was from the Dali Temple after all, so he knew all about the blood on Xu Yunfan's hands. He naturally knew that Xu Yunfan had secretly trained a group of martial servants. "Have your people investigated thoroughly? Who is the person behind this?"
"Right Prime Minister." Xu Yunfan said without any ambiguity, "The owner of that mansion is the Right Prime Minister's cousin, named Lu Xiao. I heard that he is uneducated and has a love for beautiful women. He already has thirty concubines in his backyard, all of them are beautiful women and Liu Ruofufeng's little brother. With so many concubines, I heard that they have given birth to more than a dozen children. The reason he built such a large mansion was to accommodate his concubines and children."
Song Tong was shocked. He had heard that Lu Xiao was fond of beautiful women. That year, Lu Xiao got drunk at a banquet and molested the daughter of the Minister of Justice. The Minister of Justice was the top person in the Ministry of Justice and was of the first rank. Although he was not as powerful as the Right Prime Minister, the Right Prime Minister was in the wrong in this matter. The daughter of the Minister of Justice was only sixteen years old at the time and was known as one of the ten most beautiful women in the capital. This daughter was his pride, but even such a daughter was almost ruined by Lu Xiao, a lecher. In a rage, how could the Minister of Justice let it go? In order to calm things down, the Lu family had to compromise and expel Lu Xiao from the capital.
Xu Yunfan was very curious, "What's going on with the Lu family? They don't care about a child like this, and let him ruin the family tradition?"
Song Tong held his forehead with his hand. "Lu Xiao is the youngest son of the Lu family. He looks the most like his grandmother. He has been doted on by his grandfather since he was young. As a result, the Lu family doted on him, which is why he developed a lawless nature. Since this matter involves him, I'm afraid it's not easy to take action. It's not difficult for him to understand why he dared to do such a thing."
"It's not easy to take action, so forget it? Why, you..." Xu Yunfan frowned, "You don't want to confront the right?"
"no."
"No? Then what is it?" Xu Yunfan thought about the interpersonal relationships of Lu Xiao's family and suddenly realized, "Huo Zhiyu's mother is a member of the Lu family. He is Lu Xiao's cousin, so it's not easy for you to take action, right?"
"Some things are better known in your heart, there is no need to say them out loud." Even though I know that I am being a bootlicker, how can I just let go of someone I have loved for more than ten years?
Xu Yunfan rolled his eyes in anger. "You... you know you can't be relied upon. It's a pity that someone like you can even enter the Dali Temple. Let me ask you, if one day Huo Zhiyu breaks the law, will you also protect him? You have to know that because of Lu Xiao, hundreds of workers can't get their wages. As men, they are the pillars of their families. They work hard, and this wage is the hope of their families. In the end... don't you feel guilty for doing this? Just for someone who doesn't like you and uses you as a backup, you gamble your future and even the reputation of the entire Song family. Is it worth it? For someone like you, do you think I will praise your love as strong as gold and sincere? I will only think you are stupid and confused."
Since entering the Dali Temple, Song Tong has always been diligent and has never done anything wrong. Today, it would be a lie to say that his conscience doesn't pang, but he really has a hard time making a choice. "If it were you, what would you choose?"
"No ifs? Song Tong, do you know that the word "if" itself already represents regret? Am I a fool for liking someone who already has someone else but is still hanging on to you? Or am I destined to never get married? Life is not just about love and romance. Career, family, friendship, etc. are all indispensable."
"Song Tong, you're not young anymore. Our backgrounds mean we shouldn't be too emotional. When flowers bloom, butterflies naturally come. Whether it's a man or a woman, you'll meet all kinds of people in your life. Are you sure the person who can accompany you to the end must be Huo Zhiyu? In fact, when you were hesitant, you already had the answer in your heart, didn't you?"
Song Tong was stunned for a long time. Ever since he fell in love with Huo Zhiyu, everyone around him was not optimistic about him, but no one told him this. Both his mother and elder brother were very disappointed with him. They never said anything bad about Huo Zhiyu, but only told him that Huo Zhiyu was not a good match. No one had ever told him this.
"I did hesitate. I was afraid that one day he would come back and I would not be there and would do something to hurt him."
Xu Yunfan: “…”
At this moment, Xu Yunfan really wanted to slap him to wake him up. No matter how much he tried to persuade him, he still couldn't change his bad habits. Soft tactics didn't work, so he resorted to hard tactics. "I'm asking you, will you let me investigate this matter? If not, I have many ways to deal with it. If it weren't for our friendship, I would have gone to my uncle long ago. Once my uncle tells the emperor about this, do you think you and Lord Song are really in the clear?"
Before Xu Yunfan came to find Song Tong, perhaps nothing had happened between them, after all, ignorance is not a crime. But after Xu Yunfan came to the Song family, if they didn't express their stance, once the matter was over, they would probably be held accountable.
Song Tong suddenly thought of this, "Xu Yunfan, you... are plotting against me?" Didn't they say they were still friends?
"How can you say it's a calculation? I'm just giving the credit to you, aren't I? Master Song, please stop talking nonsense. So, what do you choose? Me or Huo Zhiyu?"
Song Tong: "...You really look like a concubine in the harem, fighting over men in jealousy."
"Go away, and choose now."
"You've said so much. If I don't get what you want, wouldn't I be as stupid as a pig?"
"I'm glad you know." Xu Yunfan was very satisfied and patted Song Tong on the shoulder. "Go find your father and tell the Minister of Justice. I'm sure he'll be happy to help you if he gets the chance."
With the intervention of the Dali Temple, even if the original matter of withholding wages was a small matter, it has now become a big deal.
After all, Lord Song and the Minister of Justice jointly reported Lord Lu. How could Fu Qingyu not take it seriously when the two great ministers took action together?
Fu Qingyu angrily slammed the table, and this slam frightened all the ministers into silence. "How could such a thing happen? Who is the magistrate of Dongling County?"
Lord Song stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the magistrate of Dongling County is Liu Wang."
Xiao Hengzhi snorted, "A mere county magistrate, yet he refuses to give justice to the people, is he accepting bribes, or is he taking advantage of others?"
The Minister of Justice immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, according to my humble investigation, Liu Wang not only accepted 1,000 taels from Lu Xiao, but also broke the hands and feet of several civilians who came to demand their wages. Such arrogant behavior was all authorized by Lu Xiao."
"Asshole," Fu Qingyu said angrily. "Lord Lu, what do you think about this?"
Lord Lu's legs softened and he knelt down, "Your Majesty, your humble servant..."
"What do you mean? A son's failure to teach is the fault of his father. If you can't even teach your own child well, how can you talk about important matters?" Fu Qingxu sneered, "Such abuse of power to oppress the people will not be tolerated."
Lord Song continued, "Your Majesty, Scholar Xu once said that the people are the foundation of the country. Only with the people can there be a country, and only with the country can there be a family. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. If this matter cannot be given a satisfactory explanation to the people, how many people will be heartbroken?"
"Oh, is this what Master Xu said?" Fu Qingyu changed the subject so quickly that Lord Song almost couldn't keep up.
The Right Prime Minister said nothing, perfectly demonstrating the principle of "I would rather die than my fellow Taoists die".
Lord Lu was extremely panicked, but Fu Qingyu suddenly became quite interested in what Lord Song had relayed. Knowing that he could not escape, he still hesitated to strike him with a knife. This was the most tormenting thing.
He secretly glanced at the right prime minister, but found that this grasshopper on a rope seemed to be unaware of anything. He looked at the sky and the earth, but not at him.
Husband and wife are birds of a feather, but they fly away separately when disaster strikes. What's more, they are relatives who are neither too close nor too distant, but are tied together by interests. Now that he is in trouble, the other party will naturally protect himself.
Xu Yunfan "incited" Song Tong to rebellion with a few words. After Xiao Hengzhi came back and told him what had happened to Lord Lu, Xu Yunfan laughed happily, "Now that he's out, who's going to take his place? Could it be another one of the Right Prime Minister's men?"
Xiao Hengzhi looked at Xu Yunfan deeply. For the first time, he realized that his understanding of Xu Yunfan was one-sided after all.
He originally thought that Xu Yunfan was a bit knowledgeable and knew some "weird" things, but today he finally realized that this man was a very deep-minded person.
He clearly had no qualifications to attend court, but his reach was so great that even when he was not in society, his legends were everywhere.
The labor law and the labor bureau that Song Tong talked about in the court aroused Fu Qingyu's interest. Unfortunately, Song Tong knew very little from Xu Yunfan, so Fu Qingyu couldn't get any specific information even if he wanted to ask.
But it must be said that Xu Yunfan's proposal can indeed provide certain rights protection for the grassroots people.
According to Fu Qingyu, why did the people who were owed wages look for Xu Yunfan instead of someone else in the Lu Xiao incident?
When Xiao Hengzhi heard this question, if he didn't know Fu Qingyu's character, he would have suspected that Fu Qingyu was asking this question just to kill someone with a borrowed knife.
"Your Majesty asked this question in public. Firstly, it was to praise your standing in the hearts of the people to the other ministers, and secondly, it was to affirm your previous actions. However, because of this, those who hate you will probably be even more eager to get rid of you as soon as possible."
Xu Yunfan flipped the sweet potatoes roasting on the charcoal fire, without even looking up, and said disapprovingly, "Want to get rid of me as soon as possible? Father-in-law, don't joke with me. It's not certain who will get rid of whom."
Xu Yunfan raised his head and laughed, "As for me, if someone respects me a foot, I will respect them ten feet. If anyone wants to get in my way, I will definitely make sure he has no way to go."
Xu Yunfan was clearly smiling, but Xiao Hengzhi could see that Xu Yunfan was hiding a dagger behind his smile.
"You kid, be careful."
"What are you afraid of? The Huo and Lu families have been dealt with, and there are only a few left. Take your time. The most taboo thing for hunters is impatience."
It is difficult to cut down a towering tree, but if you slowly trim its branches, you will still be able to cut it down.
Xiao Hengzhi glanced at Xu Yunfan, not knowing whether he should be glad that his brother-in-law was mature and scheming, or worried that one day Xu Yunfan would change his mind. He was afraid that Qin Run would be sold out and still be foolishly happy to count the banknotes for him.
The Huo family had offended Xu Yunfan before. Qin Run had suppressed the Huo family in business, and Huo Zhengwen had also reported Xu Yunfan. Xu Yunfan was a gentleman who would never be too late to take revenge. Some time ago, Xu Yunfan, through the left prime minister, had arranged for Huo Zhengwen to accept money from others to help them get rid of disasters. In other words, Huo Zhengwen took money from other officials who had made mistakes and turned a blind eye.
No matter how much Huo Zhengwen received, Xu Yunfan used the excuse of delivering silver frost charcoal to the family of his good brother Xie Baizhou to have a chat with the Left Prime Minister. What he said was so righteous and passionate. The next day, the Left Prime Minister went to court and directly impeached Huo Zhengwen. With witnesses and evidence, the unprepared Right Prime Minister could only watch as the chess piece he had finally placed in the Supervisory Council was pulled out by the Left Prime Minister. He was so angry that his veins were bulging.
Perhaps the Right Prime Minister was not aware of this, but Xiao Hengzhi had inquired about it and found out that all this was not the work of Xu Yunfan.
"When did the Right Prime Minister ever offend you? You must get rid of him."
Xu Yunfan: "Father-in-law, please don't ask questions even though you already know the answer. The Right Prime Minister wants to win me over. After all, if you can win over a genius like me, you will undoubtedly have a powerful general. Unfortunately, I am a man of great loyalty. Xie Baizhou and the others are my brothers. I dealt a heavy blow to those teachers in the Imperial College. In addition, I rejected the advances of He Fan and the other four young masters of Wenjie in the capital. How can the Right Prime Minister let me go? In this case, knowing that water and fire cannot mix, it's either him who messes with me or I who messes with him. Besides, I have a big family to take care of. I have to pave a way for myself. Father-in-law, don't think that I am looking for trouble and trying to hit a stone with an egg."
"No, the Right Prime Minister... he's just like that anyway. Do whatever you want. If anything goes wrong, I'll cover it for you."
Hearing this, Xu Yunfan was so moved that tears almost welled up in his eyes. He pulled a low stool, moved closer to Xiao Hengzhi, clung to Xiao Hengzhi's arm, and said in a cheesy way: "Father-in-law, you are so good to me. I really love you to death. Father-in-law, you are the best father-in-law in the world. No wonder you have such a good brother-in-law like me. People like us are beautiful, have excellent looks and similar personalities. It really proves the saying that people of the same family are like one! Father-in-law, don't you think it is a very lucky thing to have such a good brother-in-law like me?"
"Get lost." Xiao Hengzhi pushed away the person who was leaning against his arm in a mushy and funny way. "Stop bragging. When I was young, your father-in-law was much more handsome than you. I used to be loved by everyone. Many boys and girls insisted on marrying me. I was much better than you."
"Stop bragging. Run'er said I'm much more handsome than you. Why do you still doubt the truth of your brother's words?"
"Really? Then why don't you ask your father? Your father also said that I am the most beautiful. What? Do you still doubt your father's words?"
Xu Yunfan: “…”
"Come on, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I won't argue with you about this. Father-in-law, do you want to eat a sweet potato?"
Xiao Hengzhi waved his hand, "No, I heard that if you eat too much of this stuff, you'll fart really stink. I sleep in the same bed with your father, so farting is not good. Just wait, the Ministry of Justice should be looking for you in a few days."
"Looking for me? About the labor law?" Xu Yunfan asked, obviously knowing the answer.
"Isn't this what you want?" Xiao Hengzhi felt helpless. Xu Yunfan was meddling here and there, and now he was even trying to interfere in the Ministry of Justice. He had done so many things, and his accumulated political achievements were enough for him to be promoted one or two levels.
Xu Yunfan raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Indeed, the laws of the Great Yan Dynasty should be expanded. If the laws are not universal, there will always be people who find loopholes."
Xiao Hengzhi laughed and said, "In short, just do whatever you want to do. I, your father-in-law, am your strongest supporter. With me here, no one dares to touch you."
"Father-in-law, you are so kind, but you still have a little flaw. If you didn't force me to read every day, it would be more perfect."
"Go away, you kid, you have to force it." Xiao Hengzhi slapped Xu Yunfan, then got up and went to wash up.
Ever since Xiao Qin's house was renovated by Xu Yunfan, Xiao Hengzhi took a look around and didn't ask Xu Yunfan at all. He just moved his luggage over overnight on the pretext of taking care of Qin Feiyu. After he arrived, he didn't leave and ate and lived in Xiao Qin's house.
Xu Yunfan didn't say anything about this. Xiao Qin's house was not as big as Prince Xiao's mansion, but there were quite a few rooms, so he could stay there if he wanted.
"Daddy, Zixi, have you been sleeping warmly recently? Do you want another quilt?" Qin Feiyu added a quilt to Qin An and Qin Mu's room. It was raining and snowing today, and it was colder than yesterday. The quilts at home were made in the factory, which were very warm, but Qin Feiyu was afraid that they would be cold, so he added another one.
Fang Zixi shook her head. "No, I don't feel that cold."
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