Needless to say, the Suzhou and Songjiang Inspectorate was a low-ranking official with great power and no one dared to offend him, even the Governor had to give him some respect.
As for Niu Chenshi, Lin Run was in a coma and Zheng Yuanshao was still "crazy". He was already the highest-ranking official in Suzhou and Songjiang.
Hearing that two important officials were coming to visit together, Xu Ge Lao's expression suddenly brightened. He stood up with the help of everyone and went out to greet them in front of Wanhe Songfeng Hall.
Niu Chenshi and Lin Xun'an just arrived outside the hall. Seeing that Lord Xu came out to greet them personally, they both bowed and said, "Congratulations on your birthday, Lord. We are late, please forgive us."
"Hahaha, you two adults are very busy with official duties. I am flattered that you can come and have a drink with me." Lord Xu said with a red face, "Please take your seat quickly."
"If you two gentlemen feel sorry for this, you must have a couple of drinks." Xu Fan also invited them warmly.
"No hurry." Niu Chenshi stood there motionless. "Send the birthday gift to the elder first."
As they spoke, four officers and soldiers came forward carrying a long wooden box.
"What is this? It's not small."
"From the looks of it, this should be something like a zither or a harp." The guests began to discuss in a low voice.
Niu Chenshi did not let them guess for long and ordered someone to open the lid of the box on the spot.
There was indeed a lyre inside, but the tail of the lyre was charred black, which was very eye-catching.
"Wow..." The guests couldn't help but praise it: "Jiaoweiqin, what an elegant gift!"
"Is this the one collected by the Wang family in Kunshan?" a guest asked curiously.
According to legend, the "Jiaowei Qin" was made by Cai Yong in the Eastern Han Dynasty. After Cai Boqi was killed, the Qin was collected in the royal treasury. Later, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Ming of Qi took out the Qin and asked the Qin player Wang Zhongxiong to play in order to appreciate his skills.
Later, the zither changed hands several times. In this dynasty, it was said to be collected by Wang Fengnian from Kunshan, but no one has ever seen its true appearance.
Seeing the guqin with its tail burnt black, the guests could not help but think of that famous guqin from ancient times.
"This is not the guqin made by Cai Bojie, but one that was made by my order." Niu Qian said honestly.
"That's very good, Lord Niu is very thoughtful." Lord Xu drunkenly stretched out his fingers and plucked the strings of the zither.
However, the sound of the piano could only be considered acceptable, and was still far from being a good piano, let alone the level of a Jiaowei piano.
"Good! Great piano!" Of course, some awkward playing is still inevitable.
"That's great! I'll have to play the zither more often in the future." Xu Ge Lao was also very happy. In his opinion, the zither represents love, and Niu Qianshi giving him the zither was a token of love.
"Quick, put it in the hall!" Xu Fan waved his hand, and the servants in the mansion stepped forward to take the seven-stringed harp.
"Wait a minute, I haven't finished what I want to say." Niu Chenshi held down the 'Jiaowei Qin' and said with a smile: "Does the Lord know the origin of this Qin wood?"
"Oh, could it be that he has a great background?" Lord Xu asked with interest.
"You can say that." Then I heard Niu Chenshi say coldly:
"This zither wood was burned during a fire last month. I was outside the fire scene and heard the crisp crackling sound of burning wood. It was very pleasant to the ear. I thought I had found a good piece of wood like Cai Bojie. After the fire was put out, I found this piece of charred wood. I was so excited that I ordered people to make this seven-stringed zither and present it to you on behalf of the governor's office."
"..." The smile on Lord Xu's face gradually froze, and those guests who knew some of the inside story also showed expressions of shock, confusion, and puzzlement.
"Master Niu is really in a good mood, not letting Cai Bojie have all the glory..." Only the distinguished guests from other places echoed him without knowing why at first. As they spoke, they suddenly felt that the air in the yard seemed to have suddenly become colder.
The sky was covered with dark clouds at some point, blocking out the red sun and clear sky, bringing with it a biting cold wind.
The yard fell into a deathly silence, with only Niu Chenshi's voice replying:
"I tried playing it but it was not as good as I imagined. Later I realized that the pleasant sound that night did not come from the burning wood, but from the sound of the loyal ministers' bones being calcined in the fire. The ancients said that a gentleman is like jade, and it is true!"
Xu Jie looked at Niu Chenshi with a pale face. His brain was paralyzed by alcohol and worked much slower than usual. For a moment, he could not figure out the intention of this beast.
"Haha, Lord Niu said it well..." Hu Zhi was just about to say something polite to get around the current hurdle, but he heard Inspector Lin speak again.
Lin Pingzhi took out a memorial from his sleeve, spread it with both hands and said, "I didn't prepare any gifts, so I wrote an article to celebrate your birthday. My words are blunt and blunt, please forgive me."
Without waiting for anyone to join in the fun, he recited aloud to himself:
"Your Highness Lin Pingzhi has been ordered to inspect Suzhou and Songjiang. I have now found out that the retired Grand Secretary and Junior Tutor Xu Jie indulged his family members, bullied the people in his hometown, annexed the people's land, bullied the people in his hometown, and harmed the country and the people, among other ten crimes!"
"Lin Pingzhi! Even you want to disrupt my father's birthday party?!"
Xu Fan finally couldn't help but yelled, pointing at Lin Xun's nose and cursing: "Have you forgotten who promoted you to be the Susong Xun? Even if you feed him a bone, he should wag his tail instead of biting back!"
"Xu Fan, stop slandering me!" Lin Pingzhi's face twitched, and he fought back righteously, "I am the Imperial Inspector, and I am the minister who patrols on behalf of the emperor. Naturally, I am appointed by the emperor. Since when did you, a brass band, become able to act on behalf of the emperor?"
Xu Fan was choked by his words, and before he could retort, he saw Inspector Lin take out another memorial.
"Don't jump so quickly, there is another one for you! This court wants to impeach you for instructing your minions to burn down the granary, dig the levee, besiege the governor and other ten crimes! You should think about how to defend yourself in the memorial!"
Xu Fan was dumbfounded for a moment. He couldn't say, "Digging the dike was the job of the third brother and Xu Bangning, and I didn't know anything about it."
Just when he didn't know what to do, he suddenly heard a cry of surprise from everyone around him.
"Lord, what's wrong with you?"
"Mr. Cun Zhai!"
When Xu Fan looked back, he saw that his old father had fainted in Hu Zhi's arms.
"Father!" he screamed and rushed forward to check.
Niu Chenshi and Lin Xun'an saw the scene of Lord Xu fainting.
"Shit, that's too much force..." The two of them couldn't help but groan in their hearts and exchanged glances.
Go away, what are you waiting for? If the Xu family comes to their senses and kills them in Huating, it will be a waste.
Niu Chenshi snorted and said, "Then, I won't bother you any more."
"Goodbye." Inspector Lin also bowed.
After saying that, the two turned and left.
"My father is still alive or dead, and you want to leave? It's not that easy!" Xu Fan's eyes were red, and he raised his head and shouted: "If anything happens to my father today, you two will pay with your lives!"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the Xu family members in the garden rushed forward and surrounded the two adults and their guards and entourage in the center.
Finally, raindrops as big as beans began to fall.
p.s. My eyes feel better after taking a break. I will post two chapters first, and then write the third chapter.