Chapter 1016: Rejected
In front of us is the Fang family’s gate.
The Fang family is indeed a wealthy family. The gate alone is exceptionally grand. The copper lock on the vermilion gate sparkles in the sun, and the two large stone lions at the door are even more majestic and impressive!
A doorman had just finished sweeping the steps and was about to leave with his broom when Wen Jiucheng called out to him.
"Excuse me, is this the Fang family?"
The doorman stopped and looked at them, asking, "Who are you?"
Wen Jiucheng said amiably, "We are friends of Fang Wujiu. We learned that his uncle and his family lived here, so we wanted to come and visit."
After he said that, he took out a visiting card and handed it over with both hands.
Unexpectedly, the doorman's expression suddenly changed when he heard the three words "Fang Wujiu".
He didn't even bother to look at the visiting card, and said bluntly, "There's no one named Fang Wujiu here, you got the wrong person."
After saying that, he quickly walked into Fang's house and slammed the door shut.
Shang Kui already had some grudges against the Fang family, and when he saw the doorman being so rude, he became even more annoyed.
He was about to go forward and knock on the door, but was stopped by Wen Jiucheng.
"Forget it, don't waste your energy. This family is obviously hiding something. They won't pay any attention to us."
Wen Jiucheng made this trip specifically to test the attitude of the Fang family. Now it seems that what the innkeeper said is almost right. The relationship between the Fang family and Fang Wujiu is indeed not good.
Shang Kui frowned and said, "What should we do then? Should we just let it go?"
Wen Jiucheng did not answer but asked: "Did you bring your token?"
Shang Kui took out a metal token, which was the token representing his identity as the commander of the Yulin Guard.
"Is this what you are talking about, sir?"
Wen Jiucheng nodded: "That's right, let's go to the county governor's mansion and have a seat."
The two men rode to the county governor's mansion.
After seeing the token of the commander of Yulin Guard, the chief secretary of the county governor's office hurried out to greet him.
The Chief Secretary politely invited the two men into the mansion, and before long, they successfully met Jian Shujie, the prefect of Lu'an County.
Jian Shujie is a middle-aged man in his forties, tall and thin, with a small mustache under his chin. He has small eyes that narrow into slits when he smiles.
There is a kind of shrewdness in him that is almost mercenary, making him feel more like a businessman than an official.
The county magistrate is a third-rank official, while the commander of the Yulin Guard is a fourth-rank military officer. Judging from official rank, Jian Shujie's status is higher than Shang Kui.
But Shang Kui was a close minister of the emperor and could not be easily offended.
Seeing Shang Kui wanted to greet him, Jian Shujie quickly helped him up and was very warm.
"There are no outsiders here, General Shang, please don't be too polite. Please take a seat."
After Shang Kui and Wen Jiucheng were seated, Jian Shujie quickly asked someone to serve tea, and specifically asked them to use the best tea.
Jian Shujie looked at Wen Jiucheng, asking, "Who is this?"
Shang Kui spoke slowly and calmly according to what Wen Jiucheng had told him in advance.
"This is Mr. Wen, my friend. We came here to look for someone, but we are not familiar with this place and encountered some troubles along the way. We really have no choice but to ask County Magistrate Jian for help."
Jian Shujie immediately said, "Who are you looking for? I'll send someone to help you find him. As long as the person is in Lu'an County, I will definitely be able to help you find him!"
"The person we are looking for is named Fang Wujiu. He came to Fufeng City to visit his relatives half a month ago.
His relatives live on Willow Street.
But when we just went to Fang's house on Yangliu Street, the family refused to admit that they knew Fang Wujiu and even turned us away.
I beg County Magistrate Jian to help mediate and allow us to meet that family."
Jian Shujie immediately agreed: "It's just a small matter. I happen to be free now, so I will personally accompany you to Yangliu Street."
Shang Kui was overjoyed and stood up to greet him: "Thank you, Lord County Magistrate!"
The group came to Fang's house on Yangliu Street again.
The soldiers from the county magistrate's office went up to knock on the door, and the door was banged on.
The doorman ran over to open the door and said unhappily, "Be gentle, be gentle, if the door is broken, you can afford to pay for it..."
Before he could finish his words, he stopped abruptly.
He opened his eyes wide and looked at the officers and soldiers outside the door. Among them, the county magistrate, who was dressed in official uniform, looked particularly majestic.
The doorman was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.
He hurriedly opened all the doors and knelt on the ground to pay his respects to the county magistrate.
Almost all the people in the city had seen the county magistrate, but they could usually only see him from a distance and rarely had the opportunity to come into such close contact with him. The gatekeeper was really scared.
Soon, other members of the Fang family also rushed over after hearing the news.
The head of the Fang family now is Fang Huai. He is almost forty years old this year. If you observe his facial features carefully, you can vaguely see some similarities with Fang Wujiu. He can barely be considered a middle-aged handsome man, but he is not as tall as Fang Wujiu, and he is a little fat. He looks a bit greasy, and his temperament is far inferior to Fang Wujiu.
He, his wife and children knelt down and saluted the county magistrate.
By observing Fang Huai's appearance, Wen Jiucheng has been able to confirm that he and Fang Wujiu are indeed related.
I guess they didn't find the wrong person this time.
Jian Shujie said to Shang Kui with a smile without even looking at the people kneeling in the middle of the room.
"General Shang, please take a quick look, is there anyone you are looking for here?"
Shang Kui shook his head: "That person is not here."
Then he looked at Fang Huai's family who were kneeling on the ground and asked them if they had ever seen Fang Wujiu?
When Fang Huai heard the name Fang Wujiu, his chubby white face trembled as if he was very frightened, but he quickly forced himself to calm down.
"In reply to your question, sir, I do not know Fang Wujiu."
Shang Kui sneered: "It's already this time, and you are still stubborn. Do you really want me to check the household registration?"
Although Fang Wujiu had been removed from Fang Huai's family tree, there were still relevant records in the official household register. If one really wanted to check, one would definitely be able to find out the relationship between Fang Wujiu and Fang Huai.
Fang Huai immediately panicked and broke out in a cold sweat.
He didn't dare to hide it anymore and spoke with a trembling voice.
"Please spare my life, sir. I do know Fang Wujiu. He is my nephew, but he left the Fang family twenty years ago. I have never seen him since then."
Jian Shujie frowned and asked, "Since he is your nephew, why did you say you didn't know him just now? What's the hidden story behind this?"
Fang Huai hesitated and didn't dare to speak.
Jian Shujie saw that he looked like this and it was obvious that he had something to hide.
Jian Shujie became more and more dissatisfied, and said sternly: "I order you to tell me the truth as soon as possible, otherwise I will have you imprisoned and tortured immediately!"
Fang Huai was so frightened that all his fat started shaking.
He kept kowtowing and begging for mercy, like an old dog wagging its tail to beg for mercy, no longer having the demeanor of the head of the family he used to have.
(End of this chapter)
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