Chapter 1151: Climbing the ladder of fame and prestige (7)
When Ao Shiyan heard the old beggar's words, he couldn't help but cough lightly, looking a little embarrassed, but Ao Shichu remained calm. Rong'an Hou just loved to keep a concubine. There were many other old men who were more disrespectful and sanctimonious than him. What was there to be surprised about? Ao Shiyan was still too young.
The old beggar also wanted to tell the brother and sister in detail how many concubines Rong'an Marquis had, where they lived, whether they had any children, and which one was more favored by Rong'an Marquis...
Ao Shiyan hastily stopped him. He had no interest in Rong'an Hou's romantic affairs and wanted to know more about other things.
The old beggar could only say with regret: "What about other things? It's about the second son of Marquis Rong'an who raped a woman and killed her whole family. Marquis Rong'an helped to clean up the mess..."
Ao Shiyan asked anxiously: "Has he been arrested?"
The old beggar sneered, looked at him sarcastically with his cloudy eyes, and said, "Caught? Boy, how can you be so naive? The family of the robbed woman are just ordinary people, powerless, so if they are killed, who will seek justice for them? Even if there is a kind-hearted person who will definitely help their family, but before that kind-hearted person can testify in court, they will die in an 'accident'... Who dares to say a word now?"
Ao Shiyan was suddenly filled with indescribable anger for the family that had died in vain.
Ao Shichu suddenly asked him: "You said that no one dared to stand up for their family, so how did you know about this?"
"Really?" Ao Shiyan also looked at the old beggar in confusion.
"Humph, only the high officials don't know about this matter. Many common people know about it privately. That common woman's family is all gone, but don't she still have relatives and neighbors? Everyone is afraid of the power of the Rong'an Marquis' Mansion and dares to be angry but not speak out. But can't they curse a few words in private?" The old beggar snorted coldly.
"Are you guys trying to use this incident to bring down the Rong'an Marquisate? I tell you, it's useless. They protect each other among their officials. You'll be killed before you can even report it to the higher-ups. Even if you're lucky and really report it to an upright official, they can push a servant to be the scapegoat, saying that they knew nothing and it was just a servant's initiative. Then they can easily get rid of the charges, and even turn the tables and accuse you of falsely accusing them..." the old beggar said sarcastically with narrowed eyes.
Ao Shiyan fell silent. At this point, he would not be so naive as to think that Rong'an Marquis Mansion was a good place to go.
Ao Shichu only pretended to be indignant and said, "Are we ordinary people just going to watch the people in Rong'an Marquis' Mansion live in glory and arrogance for the rest of our lives?"
“Not really.” The old beggar shook his head and said, “Everything that rises must fall. When they are done with their prosperity, the current Rong’an Marquis will be gone, and his sons will be good-for-nothings and incompetent. At that time, the Rong’an Marquisate will start to go downhill, and slowly the things they have done will be exposed.”
Ao Shichu was a little surprised when he heard what he said, and said, "Old man, you can say such things, you must be a knowledgeable person, right?"
"Hmph, what's the use of having knowledge? You've still fallen to the point of becoming a beggar!" The old beggar sneered again.
Ao Shichu shut up immediately.
Ao Shiyan finally digested the bad news about Rong'an Marquis's Mansion, and finally asked the old beggar with a faint hope: "Old man, what you just said were the bad things done by Rong'an Marquis and his first and second sons, then what kind of character is his fourth son?"
Rong'an Hou's fourth son, Cui Xiulin, is the cousin of the siblings' mother, and the husband of their aunt Li Xiuer, whom they wanted to seek refuge with when they went to Beijing this time.
Maybe this cousin-in-law is different from his father and brother? Ao Shiyan thought with a glimmer of hope.
But the old beggar rudely broke his last fantasy: "The fourth master is also a talented person. Unlike his father and brother who like beauty and sex, he only likes money and is very good at making money. How does he make money? He gives people usury, which is a very profitable business. He likes people who can't pay back the money the most. He can sell out their entire family. If they can pay back, they will lose all their property before they are done... In addition, if he sees a shop with good business, he will insist on buying it; if someone has a secret recipe for food, he will force the person to sell the secret recipe to him at a low price... He will do everything he can to make money, and he has used all kinds of means. It can be said that he has opened people's eyes..."
Ao Shiyan: ...
Ao Shichu was not surprised at all. In the original world's plot, the fourth master's family lived an extremely extravagant life and was the richest family in the Rong'an Marquis Mansion.
Ao Shiyan and his sister listened to the old beggar talking for most of the bad things that the Rong'an Marquis Mansion had done. When they left, Ao Shiyan no longer had any good feelings towards the Rong'an Marquis Mansion and was only filled with disgust.
"Brother, the Rong'an Marquis's Mansion is full of filth and evil, and has ruined countless families. There is not a single good person in it. Do we still want to rely on such relatives? Aren't you afraid that their evil deeds will be exposed in the future and we will be implicated?
If we enjoy their protection, we will definitely have to pay a huge price for it in the future, which is obviously a matter of endless trouble. Also, brother, you are going to take the imperial examination, and your reputation is very important. If you are implicated in the trouble of Rong'an Marquis Mansion, it would be so unfair, and your future will be ruined! Even if we are poorer now, at least we are clean. As long as we can wait until brother passes the imperial examination, the hard days will be over. There is no need for us to seek refuge in Rong'an Marquis Mansion, right? "Ao Shichu analyzed it in an orderly manner, and wanted to completely dispel Ao Shiyan's idea of seeking refuge in Rong'an Marquis Mansion.
Ao Shiyan heard her words and naturally knew what she was worried about, so he patted her head and said, "Don't worry, I am not confused. Since Rong'an Marquis' Mansion is so terrible, I certainly can't take you to fall into their trap. Now that they are not at the end of their rope, they are indeed powerful and can give us a lot of convenience; but the news I heard from the old beggar is enough to know that they have bad character. Even if we go to them, we will probably be looked down upon by them. In this case, how can we humiliate ourselves? So forget about going to my cousin's house."
Ao Shichu immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said sincerely, "Then I feel relieved."
As long as they have nothing to do with the Rong'an Marquis' Mansion, the life of the brother and sister will definitely be safe and smooth. Anyway, their cousin has long forgotten about such a poor relative.
In the original world, Ao Shiyan took his sister to the Rong'an Marquis' Mansion, saying that they were relatives of the Fourth Madam's mother's family and wanted to seek refuge with their relatives. He also reported the names of their mothers. However, they waited for a long time but did not see their cousin. They were also severely ridiculed by the doorman, who said that they were country bumpkins who came from nowhere and wanted to curry favor with the Rong'an Marquis' Mansion. How shameless...
(End of this chapter)
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