Chapter 1770 Incident

Chang Zhi had the list in his hand and knew that the Ding family's scholar had lost his title, but the list did not say that the family had borrowed money at interest. Hearing a cry, Chang Zhi walked over with a heavy heart.

The servant said, "It's dangerous ahead."

The guard dressed as a servant also whispered: "It's better to be careful."

Chang Zhi waved his hands and said, "It's okay, let's go over and take a look."

When they arrived at the gate of Ding's house, they saw an old woman lying in a pool of blood in the yard. A couple and several children were kneeling beside her. The five debt collectors were dumbfounded.

One of the men said, "It's bad luck."

The kneeling man grabbed the knife on the ground, his eyes red, "Say it again?"

The man's eyes were full of sarcasm. "Master Xiucai, no, you are no longer a scholar. How dare you fight me with a knife? Humph, the old lady committed suicide. If you want to hate someone, don't hate me. You should hate your elder brother who died a long time ago."

The man seemed to have lost all his energy and the knife in his hand fell to the ground. Two older children froze, their eyes filled with fear and confusion.

Chang Zhi also got all the information from the villagers' conversation. The kneeling man was the person he was looking for. The one who borrowed money with interest was his elder brother Ding Jue. He went to take part in the Autumn Examination and borrowed some money. He failed the examination which he was sure to win. His mother at home was seriously ill. The elder brother at home could not borrow money and had nowhere to go, so he was deceived into borrowing money with interest.

One can imagine what happened next. After failing the exam, he had to repay the borrowed money and the interest. He sold the last piece of land in the family to repay the borrowed money, but once the interest was borrowed, it was impossible to repay it. To make matters worse, Ding Jue lost his official title. In order to repay the money, Ding Jue's eldest brother died unexpectedly, and his sister-in-law left behind two children.

The Ding family has not had a single day of peace in the past few years.

Chang Zhi looked up at the sky, which was not clear, and he could not get rid of the anger in his heart.

The servant lowered his voice and said, "The one who lends money at high interest is the third master of the An family."

Chang Zhi nodded. Even if the people assigned by the emperor wanted to investigate you, they could find out even if you hid behind their backs. Besides, the An family was not low-key.

At noon in the capital, Zhou Shuren left the Ministry of Revenue and went to a teahouse. Wang Ju had arrived early and was sipping tea while listening to storytelling downstairs.

Zhou Shuren came in and said, "You finally went out."

This was the first time Wang Ju stepped out of the house after the old man left. It can be seen how sad Wang Ju was after the old man left.

Wang Ju signaled the servant to close the door of the private room and poured tea herself. "I won't go out, and you won't come to see me."

He thought he could get comfort from Zhou Shuren, but it turned out that this guy didn't return the notes in person!

Zhou Shuren shuddered, "Talk nicely."

Wang Ju cleared her throat and said, "I'm out of touch with news at home, so I don't want to come to you to find peace of mind."

Zhou Shuren glanced at him and said, "The recent disturbance has nothing to do with your Wang family."

Wang Ju is clear, "I'm afraid of stepping into a trap that I shouldn't step into."

Zhou Shuren, "With me watching over you, what are you afraid of?"

Wang Ju then smiled and said, "Then I will continue to stay at home."

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "It's been a while since we last met. You've lost so much weight that I almost didn't recognize you."

Wang Ju pointed at her belly and said, "It's gone now. All my clothes have been altered."

Zhou Shuren said sincerely: "Keep it up. I see you are healthier now."

Wang Jugan laughed and said, "That's what the doctor said."

The two chatted about other things, and Wang Ju suddenly asked, "The Changzhong Prefecture exam is over, aren't you worried about it?"

"I have confidence in him."

Wang Ju said cheerfully, "I am also waiting for the Marquis' Mansion to produce a top scholar."

He also had confidence in Changzhong. When he went to the Marquis' Mansion, he would test Changzhong when he met him. He estimated that this child could fulfill the Zhou family's dream.

In Pingzhou, Changzhong brought Minghui to the appointment. Cheng Xiang had secretly met the two of them. When he saw them arrive, he hurriedly stood up to greet them, "Please come in, gentlemen."

Changzhong looked up and saw other people in the box. He nodded and went in.

Cheng Xiang introduced them, "They are all sons of officials in the prefecture. They knew that Master Zhou accepted my invitation, so they came here shamelessly."

Changzhong, "Nice to meet you."

Cheng Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and continued to warmly invite everyone to sit down. He then said, "There's no need to introduce these two people. Everyone knows them. You can introduce yourselves."

Afterwards, the young masters introduced themselves one by one, and they were indeed all sons of officials in the provincial capital.

Changzhong and Minghui are the center of attention at today's banquet. To them, these are just small occasions. Changzhong's circle of friends is too high, and Minghui's circle of friends is not low either, so the two are very calm.

Cheng Xiang looked at it for a while and understood what was going on. He was indeed a young master of a marquisate. "Come on, stop talking and have some tea."

Changzhong raised his eyebrows slightly. This prefectural governor's son was quite interesting. He always set the pace of the banquet and was very good at controlling it, not making him annoying at all.

Cheng Xiang saw Master Zhou looking at him and said with a smile, "My father was talking about you yesterday."

"What did the prefect say?"

Cheng Xiang, "Let me read more of your article."

He ran away during the day yesterday and was taken to the study by his father at night. He finally read Zhou Changzhong's article and blushed.

The banquet ended quickly. Knowing that Changzhong was coming back to take the examination for the scholar, no one dared to take him to any indecent place. In the end, only Cheng Xiang was left, and everyone else left.

Changzhong, "Are you going to take us back?"

Cheng Xiang glanced at the guards beside the carriage and said, "I would like to, but it's a pity that I can't use it."

Minghui said playfully, "Then let's go ahead."

Cheng Xiang twitched the corners of his mouth but didn't say anything in the end. When the others left, he thought with a sigh that his father's plan to use Young Master Zhou to get into the Marquis' Mansion was unlikely!

In Xiaoxi Village, Chuanzhou, Changzhi came back again. The Ding family had already passed away. The coffins in the yard were all borrowed, and the villagers did not help much, which made the situation seem particularly desolate.

The servant held the document in his arms and asked, "Sir, shall we send it over now?"

Changzhi: "Well, don't let the old man leave feeling uneasy."

He sent someone to return the silver and get the receipt back. The Ding family had repaid more than twenty taels of silver over the past few years, but the borrowed silver was less than one tael. If no one had died, it would have been difficult to get the receipt back.

The people sent by the emperor had their own connections, so he didn't need to show up and got the document in the afternoon.

The servant went into the yard and burst into tears again. Then Ding Jue ran out of the yard, stumbling all the way, and finally knelt in front of Chang Zhi.

Chang Zhi looked down at Ding Jue, "What are you doing?"

Ding Jue felt that his life was particularly ridiculous. He passed the imperial examination smoothly all the way, but his second attempt at the imperial examination turned into a life-changing event. He had experienced many ups and downs in recent years. When he was most discouraged, he saw the light again. "Sir, please let my mother go in peace. I have no merits and cannot repay you. What do you think of me?"

Chang Zhi frowned, "Are you going to sell yourself out?"

Ding Jue smiled bitterly, "My family really can't afford to pay you back, sir."

He didn't want to sell himself, as he had a family to support, but he really couldn't afford to pay the money back to the gentleman!

(End of this chapter)