Chapter 103: The Emperor's Way of Celebrating the New Year
Finally, the owner of the house noticed the commotion and called over a dozen strong guards to separate the group of young people.
At this time, all the heads of the families rushed over. Young Master Chen protected Young Master Chen, who had a bruised face and nose, behind him, and then looked at the several illegitimate sons of the Cui family who were also injured, with his brows wrinkled into the shape of the Chinese character "川".
Most of the young men and their families who participated in the melee looked unhappy, but considering that this was in someone else's house and the host was always there to mediate, out of respect and courtesy, they did not quarrel.
Seeing that everyone had calmed down, the host asked everyone to go back to the front yard and the banquet would start soon.
A group of people walked towards the front yard again. Where no one noticed, a black, blood-stained needle fell from the sleeve of Master Cui and fell into a pile of dry grass.
It would be bad to leave early. Even though his brother said he was not feeling well, Mr. Chen still advised him to eat a few bites before leaving, otherwise he would be embarrassed to say goodbye to the host.
Young Master Chen touched his neck. During the fight just now, he felt an inexplicable pain in his neck, as if he had been pricked by a needle.
But compared to the fists and feet hitting him, the pain was nothing, so he didn't pay attention to it at the time, but now the painful area suddenly felt a little itchy.
Young Master Chen grabbed his neck and suddenly his stomach started to hurt. He reached out to grab his eldest brother's sleeve, wanting to say that he was feeling uncomfortable, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a stream of black blood gushed out of his mouth.
A scream rang out, and Young Master Chen fell into his eldest brother's arms, his body twitching and spitting blood.
He heard his brother calling him, and he tried to respond, but he had no strength.
It hurts so much, he wanted to tell his elder brother that his whole body was in pain.
But until his last breath, Young Master Chen did not utter a single word. His eyes were wide open, his pupils dilated, and he died with his eyes open.
Someone died during the birthday banquet, and the old birthday star was so frightened that he fainted on the spot.
When the doctor arrived, Young Master Chen's body was already cold.
After inspection, it was confirmed that Young Master Chen died of poisoning. The poison was extremely toxic and once it took effect, there would be no time to rescue him.
Everyone ate the food at the banquet, and no one was hurt except Young Master Chen, so the poison was not in the food.
Young Master Chen was fine before entering the mansion, which means he was poisoned after entering the mansion. And the most suitable time to poison without being easily discovered was when the group fight just now happened.
Coincidentally, the doctor found that there was a swollen and purple area on Chen Ershao's neck, and guessed that the murderer should have stabbed Chen Ershao with a poisonous silver needle, which led to his death.
This made Master Chen even more certain that the murderer had committed the crime in the melee just now.
Seeing his brother die in his arms, Master Chen became furious and demanded that no one, whether they were fighting or trying to separate them, leave. He wanted to search them one by one to find the poisoned silver needle.
But everyone present was an important figure, and he couldn't search them just because he wanted to. Especially the Cui family, they expressed their dissatisfaction directly.
"Master Chen, although it is a great pity that Master Chen is gone, you have no evidence, so what right do you have to search us?"
"Also, the murder weapon would have been thrown away long ago after the murder. Why would they wait for you to search them? Moreover, the silver needle is tiny. If the murderer took advantage of the chaos and secretly hid it on an innocent person, wouldn't the innocent person be unable to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River?"
If it was someone else who raised the question, Young Master Chen would think that his concern was justified, but it was a member of the Cui family who asked the question, so Young Master Chen knew what he really meant without even having to think about it.
The Cui family was afraid that the Chen family would plant weapons on them and frame them during the body search.
Young Master Chen's eyes were red, and he looked at the Cui family coldly: "The innocent will be innocent. Even if the situation you described could happen, my Chen family will definitely clear the innocent. But you are so eager to jump out and refuse. Do you have something to hide?"
The Cui family members sneered: "Look, you've already started to suspect this and that before you even searched me. If you really found something, you would probably just chop me to death. You wouldn't even give me a chance to redress my grievances!"
Chen Dashao retorted: "Are you the roundworm in my stomach? How do you know what I will do?"
The two men started swearing at each other, but in the end, Master Chen's idea of searching him was not realized.
On the one hand, the guests refused to agree, and on the other hand, his father rushed over with government officials.
The head of the Chen family slapped Young Master Chen in public, apologized to the guests on his behalf, and then sent people to forcibly send Young Master Chen home. He reached an agreement with the host of the birthday banquet and, together with the officials who came to investigate the case, conducted a carpet search of the entire backyard.
After a whole day, I finally found the silver needle in a corner.
The murder weapon was found, but there was still no clue as to who the murderer was.
There were so many people in the backyard that day who participated in the fight and tried to stop the fight, from children of wealthy families to servants. It would take a lot of time to check them all, and it would be even more difficult if someone refused to cooperate.
While the head of the Chen family was helping to arrange the relationship with the noble families to cooperate with the investigation, he also sent people to investigate the source of the poison. This thing could not be obtained in ordinary pharmacies, so it was estimated that it was sold privately.
The case had not been investigated fully yet, so the body of the second young master Chen could only be kept in the morgue of the government office. It was not until nightfall that the head of the Chen family returned home.
He could not hide the fatigue on his face. Young Master Chen and Young Master Chen had been waiting for him. The slap marks on Young Master Chen's face not only did not disappear, but became more obvious.
Patriarch Chen sat down, his face pale, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is your mother okay?"
When the news of her son's death reached the Chen family, Chen's mother fainted from shock and grief. The head of the Chen family could not take care of his wife, so after ordering the servants to find the court doctor, he hurried to report to the authorities.
After a busy day with nothing to show for it, the pain of losing his son eroded his soul, leaving him exhausted from the inside out.
Young Master Chen said, "Mother is still in a coma. The court doctor said that she just fainted due to anger, and there is nothing wrong with her body."
The head of the Chen family nodded, then looked at the young master Chen with tears in his eyes and said, "Do you blame me for hitting you before?"
Young Master Chen is a sensible man. He had done something offensive at the birthday party only because his brother's sudden death had disturbed his mind, causing him to do the wrong thing impulsively.
"Father is thinking about his son. I understand that as long as the murderer who killed my second brother can be caught, I will not complain no matter how many beatings I take." Young Master Chen's voice was choked with sobs. Watching his brother die with his own eyes was too much of a blow to him.
Patriarch Chen did not give his son an accurate answer, but sighed helplessly.
Because he had a feeling that this matter would end up in nothing.
Sure enough, afterwards they checked all the suspects, but found nothing. The source of the poison was not found either. Both avenues were blocked.
The Chen family knew that Young Master Chen died unjustly, but they couldn't even catch the murderer.
Mother Chen cried until her eyes were almost blinded. She grabbed the sleeve of the head of the Chen family and begged, "Grandpa, please check again. You will definitely find out. Don't give up. If the child knows about it and finds out that we didn't avenge him, he will be so sad."
The eyes of the eldest and third sons Chen were also filled with tears. The eldest son Chen said angrily, "Dad, why do we need to investigate? It must be the Cui family who did it. They were the ones who kept provoking my second brother that day. I heard it all. It was they who scolded my third brother and our Chen family, so my second brother took action to teach them a lesson. I didn't expect that I would fall into their trap!"
The head of the Chen family looked pale. After hearing what his eldest son said, his face showed no emotion, but that didn't mean he wasn't sad.
Although he had previously claimed to be calm and thought that he would never lose his mind for a son like the head of the Li family, when he saw the tragic death of his second son and knew why he had fought with several bastards of the Cui family, he still couldn't control his tears.
Although the second son is a little stupid, he respects his elder brother, is filial to his parents, and is willing to maintain family honor, unlike Li Ao, the prodigal son.
Before, he had always compared Li Ao with his second son, saying that he was afraid that Li Ao would end up like Li Ao. Unexpectedly, his words came true, and he, like the head of the Li family, had to experience the tragedy of seeing his younger son die before his elder son at this age.
But no matter how angry he was or how much he hated the Cui family, as the head of the Chen family, he could not act on impulse.
"You said it was the Cui family who did it, do you have any evidence?" The head of the Chen family looked at his eldest son coldly, "You can go to the Cui family and make trouble, let them see the joke of the entire Chen family, and then send you to the government. Isn't the lesson your brother paid for with his life enough to wake you up?"
Master Chen bursts into tears: "Are we just going to let them go like this?"
The head of the Chen family had a cold and hard expression: "The second son is gone, but we still have to live. Going head-on with the Cui family is like hitting a rock with an egg. Do you want to drag the entire Chen family to be buried with the second son?"
Young Master Chen wanted to say something, but Young Master Chen stopped him, suppressed the hatred in his eyes, and echoed what the head of the Chen family said, "As long as we are still alive, we will always find a chance to avenge our second brother in the next few decades. But if we all die, who will remember the injustice of the Chen family? Isn't the He family the best example?"
The He family's downfall was partly due to the Chen family's doing.
At first, members of the He family were either beheaded and exiled, or reduced to prostitutes and slaves. Their status fell from heaven to dust, with no chance of recovery.
If the Chen family and the Cui family were to fall out and fight openly, the Chen family's fate would probably not be any better.
The head of the He family said: "Only if you stand higher than the Cui family, you are qualified to talk about redressing the grievances. Otherwise, you will only become a laughing stock of others."
Upon hearing this, Chen's mother turned around and shed tears of despair.
Young Master Chen lowered his eyes and said nothing. It was unknown whether he took his father and third brother's words to heart.
The case of the poisoning of the Second Young Master Chen remained an unsolved case. In order to let their son rest in peace as soon as possible, the Chen family held a grand funeral for the Second Young Master Chen a few days later.
The head of the Cui family came to express condolences in person and told the head of the Chen family that whether he believed it or not, he had not ordered anyone to poison and kill the second young master Chen, and the murderer was definitely not a member of their Cui family.
His condescending attitude made the Chen family hate the Cui family even more. No one knew whether the Chen family believed what he said, but it was obvious that the Chen family wanted to eat him alive.
But to be honest, Mr. Cui really didn't know that the murderer was his second son.
After he heard that the second young master Chen was poisoned to death that day, he interrogated several members of the Cui family who went to the birthday banquet. No one admitted to the murder. They provoked the second young master Chen just to dampen his temper and prevent the Chen family from always wanting to go against the Cui family.
The fight and Chen Ershao's death were actually not within their expectations.
Patriarch Cui saw that they did not seem to be lying and he himself had not found out anything, so he had no choice but to believe their words.
In fact, even if it was really the Cui family who killed the second young master Chen, the head of the Cui family would not think it was a big deal. The disobedient guy deserved to die.
He felt that the poisoning this time was too obvious, as if he wanted the whole world to know that the murderer was a member of the Cui family. The method was too low-level and could easily cause trouble, which was what made him very dissatisfied.
The head of the Cui family actually had a suspect, and that was his second son, Cui Laoer. When the other illegitimate sons were interrogated by him, they were trembling with fear, but the second son was the only one who was so calm, as if he was not the one being interrogated.
However, ever since the last rumor incident, the second brother had unilaterally started a cold war with him and had always had this neither salty nor cold attitude towards him, so Patriarch Cui was not sure for a while whether he was the murderer.
This matter only troubled the head of the Cui family for a day or two, because he knew that even if the second young master Chen died, the head of the Chen family would not easily retaliate against the Cui family for the sake of the entire Chen family.
There is nothing to be afraid of for a family that doesn't even dare to take revenge.
All I can say is that things change. Last year, the Cui family did not have a good year, while the Chen family enjoyed watching the fun. This year, someone in the Chen family died, while the Cui family is watching.
On the day of Chen Ershao's funeral, the white paper money was scattered as if it was competing with the snowflakes in the sky. Not only did it cover the road, but a lot of it was blown onto other streets, looking very obtrusive.
The head of the Chen family and the eldest son of the Chen family asked for a few days of sick leave, and Zong Zhengxiao agreed.
Rong Yin looked at the puppies sleeping in his arms with an expression of disbelief. He looked at Zong Zhengxiao and said, "Could it be that my wish has really come true? Why didn't I know that I have the ability to make my words come true?"
There were also two puppies lying on Zong Zhengxiao's legs. He stroked them gently and said with a smile, "Perhaps it is these grandchildren who really brought us good luck."
Rong Yin said happily: "Then I will have to rely on their good luck in the future to help me achieve my dreams."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly felt an inexplicable heat on his legs. He looked down and found that Sandou was peeing on him with Xiaodouya.
"Ah! If you don't want me to take advantage of your good luck, then don't pee on me!" Rong Yin's scream was heard outside, followed by a burst of chaotic barking of puppies and Zong Zheng Xiao's unbridled laughter.
On the eve of New Year's Eve, Zong Zhengxiao gave Rong Yin a painting as a New Year's gift. Rong Yin excitedly opened it and found that Zong Zhengxiao's painting showed him holding Sandou, looking down at his wet pants and crying loudly.
Rong Yin gritted his teeth and spoke each word: "Zong Zheng Xiao!"
Zong Zhengxiao was still smiling: "Ayin, I'm here."
"You big-headed ghost! You're dead today!" Rong Yin put down the painting, rushed over and jumped onto Zong Zhengxiao's back, pretending to "strangle" him with his arms.
Zong Zhengxiao ran outside with him on his back, laughing and shouting, "Rong Yin is trying to murder her husband!"
"Nonsense! I am clearly acting in the name of justice!" Rong Yin started to laugh as he made a fuss.
“Woof woof woof!”
Xiao Ai, who was taking her child to a nap, heard the voices of the two fathers. She immediately stood up and ran out, sprinting into the snow, raising her front two legs and throwing herself at Zong Zheng Xiao.
The puppies were not to be outdone and bravely ran towards their mother and two grandfathers.
Fortunately, the palace servants had just swept the snow in the courtyard this morning, otherwise if those little kids rushed in, they would have been buried in the snow.
Rong Yin saw several puppies gathered around Zong Zhengxiao's feet and quickly reminded him, "Your Majesty, be careful not to step on them."
Zong Zhengxiao lifted him up and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I will pay attention."
There was a light snowfall. Zong Zhengxiao was walking around the courtyard with Rong Yin on his back, while Xiao Ai was following behind them with a few puppies. The scene looked warm and cute, and the palace people passing by couldn't help but stop and watch.
This year, the New Year's Eve in the Silver Shark Park was much more lively because of the arrival of the puppies. The puppies were running everywhere on their short legs, and everyone seemed to have returned to the time when Xiao Ai first came. Whoever saw the puppies couldn't help but touch them.
The puppies have successfully inherited their mother's social nature. They are friendly to everyone and can always get snacks to eat. Later, they almost became as fat as puppy balls.
When it was time to eat the New Year's Eve dinner, Zong Zhengxiao and Rong Yin sat side by side, picking up food for each other. Xiao Ai and the puppies squatted in a row, with delicious food in the bowls in front of them.
After dinner, it was time for the much-loved red envelope distribution session in the entire garden. The palace maids were grinning from ear to ear as they held the bulging red envelopes. The puppies received red envelopes in the form of small gold lock necklaces, the same style as their mother, Xiao Ai’s. Each dog received one, which was hung around their necks.
Late at night, the bed curtains in the bedroom shook for a long time before stopping.
Zong Zhengxiao and Rong Yin hugged each other sweatily. Rong Yin rested her head on Zong Zhengxiao's chest and yawned lazily, "The first shot of the New Year, Your Majesty, you are going to blow me to death."
Zong Zhengxiao put his arm around his waist, touched his slightly bulging belly, and chuckled, "Don't you think A Yin doesn't like it?"
Rong Yin snorted, "If I didn't like you, I would have kicked you out of bed a long time ago."
Zong Zhengxiao laughed twice more and sat up while holding Rong Yin.
Rong Yin asked: "Are you going to take a shower?"
Zong Zhengxiao shook his head and pried open Rong Yin's legs. "No, I want to blow up A Yin again."
Rong Yin glared at him: "You really want to blow me to death."
Zong Zhengxiao said, "We have to stay up all night anyway, so let's just have fun until dawn."
Rong Yin supported Zong Zhengxiao's shoulders and sat down with him. Even at this time, she did not forget to complain, "Your Majesty, I guess only you would stay up all night like this. This is simply the behavior of a tyrant."
Zong Zhengxiao started to move, "My Ayin Fairy Concubine, do you like this strength?"
Rong Yin groaned and hugged Zong Zhengxiao's neck, "More force."
"As you command, my Ayin."
Zong Zhengxiao kept his word. He did not take the already asleep Rong Yin to take a bath until daylight shone through the window. Then he changed the bedding skillfully and took a nap with his little Yu'er in his arms.
Before falling asleep, Zong Zhengxiao leaned over and kissed Rong Yin on the forehead, saying softly, "Wife, Happy New Year."
…
Winter goes and spring comes, summer fades away and autumn arrives, the days pass by in this leisurely and fulfilling way, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye.
This is the ninth year that Rong Yin has traveled through the book, and also the ninth year that he and Zong Zheng Xiao have been in love.
In the spring, when flowers are in full bloom, Rong Yin is sitting on the second floor of the bakery, still thinking about what new flowers to put in the vases in the private room, when the little monkey runs in excitedly, shouting, "Here he comes! Boss! The number one scholar is here!"
After learning both literary and martial arts, he sold them to the imperial family.
After years of studying, the only dream of a scholar is to be recognized by the emperor in the Golden Palace, enter the officialdom, rise to the top, and leave a mark in history books after reaching the highest position.
After the spring examination, the palace examination is held, in which the emperor selects the top three - the top scholar, the second place, and the third place, the highest ranking in the imperial examination. Even a country child can understand that the top scholar is an extremely talented scholar.
After the rankings were announced, the top three wore red robes given by the emperor, and rode across the street to the sound of festive gongs, attracting countless people to stop and watch. Scented bags, handkerchiefs and spring flowers from the girls rained down on the three men. It is no exaggeration to say that this was the most glorious moment in life.
The sound of the gong was getting closer and closer. Rong Yin was pulled to the window by the little monkey. She then realized that both sides of the street were full of people. The windows on the surrounding shop floors were all open, with heads sticking out from inside, all looking in one direction.
The little monkey was lying on the windowsill, and said excitedly: "I heard that this year's top scholar is a poor student. Not only is he very talented, but he is also very handsome. If it weren't for his talent being more outstanding than his appearance, His Majesty would have nominated him as the third place."
Rong Yin said: "This year's No. 1 scholar is indeed good-looking, but the No. 3 scholar is more handsome than him."
"Haven't they come yet? How did you know, boss?" The little monkey was puzzled. He didn't know Rong Yin's true identity yet.
Rong Yin couldn't tell him that she had disguised herself as a eunuch to watch the excitement on the day of the palace examination, so she laughed and said, "I guessed. If you don't believe me, you can watch later."
"Oh, so that's it." The little monkey did not doubt Rong Yin's words.
Soon, seeing that the parade team was about to arrive at the bakery, the little monkey quickly gave the spring flowers in his hand to Rong Yin and said, "Boss, here you go. When the champion and his friends pass by later, we will throw them at them."
Rong Yin didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Girls throw flowers to the top scholar to express their admiration, why are we two men throwing flowers?"
The little monkey said anxiously, "Who said throwing flowers means marrying the number one scholar? I just want to take advantage of the good fortune. They were able to get the top three places, in addition to their ability, luck must also play a part. Taking advantage of their good luck, maybe our store's business will be more prosperous."
Thinking of how Rong Yin had used the puppy's luck before: "..."
It is true that what kind of boss you are, you will raise what kind of employees.
Rong Yin stuffed the flower back into the monkey's hand and said, "You throw it. I'm afraid I won't hit the target and this chance to get lucky will go to waste."
"That's fine. I used to shoot birds with a slingshot and I'm very accurate. I'm sure I can hit all of them this time!" The little monkey was full of confidence.
Finally, the team arrived downstairs of the bakery. The little monkey held the flower, aimed at the direction of the top scholar, and shook his wrist, and several spring flowers flew out.
The little monkey was not bragging, he threw the flowers accurately, but the bad thing was that he was too accurate, because those flowers hit the number one scholar's forehead at the same time. If someone didn't know, they would think he was trying to assassinate him.
"Oops!" Realizing that he was in trouble, the little monkey quickly squatted down and hid behind the wall.
"Hahahaha, you want to be an assassin!"
Rong Yin was still laughing at the little monkey, but when she lowered her head, she happened to meet the gaze of the top scholar who was looking at her.
After the little monkey squatted down, Rong Yin was the only one left by the window.
Rong Yin's laughter stopped abruptly: "..."
I said it wasn't me, do you believe me, brother?
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