The old lady's mourning made the old master very upset. There were many things to do at home. He was saddened by his son's passing, but it was too shameful for his son to be beaten to death for drinking with prostitutes. He didn't need another son. Yuanbao was usually raised in the old lady's courtyard, and the father and son's relationship was not very deep.
Although Master Yuan's relationship with his illegitimate youngest son was lukewarm, he still respected his mother. However, no matter how much he respected her, he didn't like her making such a fuss every day!
The person is dead, and it's done in such an undignified way. She said she wanted someone to be buried with her, and he did it. Does she expect him to be buried with her too?
"Mother, I have some things to attend to. Let Fan Min keep you company!"
Fan Min is Madam Yuan.
Upon hearing this, the old lady glanced at her daughter-in-law, who was hanging her head like a silent gourd, and became even more annoyed: "If you dislike this old woman, you should have said so earlier. There's no need to insult me like this." After saying that, the old lady glanced at Fan Min sideways, her eyes full of contempt.
These words indirectly insulted Fan Min, who was also quite temperamental. Upon hearing this, she raised her head and said, "Mother, I know you miss Yuanbao, but he's gone now. You should also think about Master. He was your own son. He's been so busy these past few days, and at your request, he wanted Yuanbao to leave with dignity. You may not care about your son, but I do care about my husband!"
Fan Min was not truly heartbroken for her husband.
Although Master Yuan did not favor his concubine over his wife, he also bore a great responsibility for Madam Yuan's miserable life.
Yuanbao dared to be so arrogant when she was alive, partly because of the power of the old lady and partly because of the indifference of Master Yuan. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been bullied by a son of a concubine.
Upon hearing this, Master Yuan glanced at Madam Yuan and realized that only she truly understood and cared for him.
The old lady exploded upon hearing this: "What do you mean? Are you saying I don't love my son? Wasn't Yuanbao his son? Is it wrong for me to be sad when Yuanbao is gone? You vicious woman, I think you have no good intentions."
Fan Min's eyes immediately reddened as she looked at Master Yuan: "I don't think I meant that. Go ask the servants in the manor, who in the manor could surpass Yuan Bao when he was alive? He even gave you the gift that Yuan Feng bought for you last time. Master, I'm innocent!"
The old man's headache worsened.
“Mother, please say less. Yuanbao is already gone, let him go in peace. Fan Min meant well. You are old, if you grieve for too long, it will inevitably harm your health.”
The old lady was getting increasingly frustrated.
Fan Min, who was standing nearby, quickly said, "Mother, Master is right. We mustn't get angry, or we'll ruin our health."
But what Fan Min was really thinking was how to keep herself from getting angry! This old woman was so annoying, a complete troublemaker.
"Shut up."
Fan Min really shut up.
When the two of them came out of the old lady's room, they didn't look too good. Seeing Master Yuan's ugly face, Fan Min actually felt quite relieved.
“Master, Mother is just confused for a moment. She will definitely come to her senses after a while. Yuanbao has grown up by her side since he was a child. It’s okay to feel sorry for him. These past few days, Master has been busy. I feel bad seeing him like this. If it’s really not okay, I will come and serve Mother for the next few days. You should rest for a couple of days.”
Master Yuan knew that his mother didn't like his wife, so he was really pleased that his wife could say such sensible things.
Master Yuan patted Madam Yuan's hand: "You've worked hard. Mother is getting old and is indeed a bit confused. Please don't take it to heart."
Fan Min smiled and agreed, "How could I possibly hold a grudge against my elders?"
But Fan Min was thinking that of course she should take it to heart. Every single thing the old lady had done was disgusting.
Watching Master Yuan's departing figure, Fan Min thought about the next few days and felt instantly relieved.
The old lady dares to be so domineering; soon she'll rely on her son. She'll see if her son will stop obeying her every whim after he gets tired of her nagging.
Fan Min had it all planned out. She would go to the old lady's side every day to make her angry, serve her well, and then subtly undermine her. When the old lady complained, she would take the blame herself. In that case, the old lady would only seem more unreasonable and argumentative to her son.
Fan Min had a good plan, but plans can't keep up with changes.
After investigating the matter, Kangxi stopped staying at the inn and went directly to the county government office.
Looking at the closed gates of the county government office, it was quite strange that the county government office was closed even in broad daylight.
"Liang Jiugong, go knock on the door."
"yes"
Liang Jiugong knocked on the door, thinking it would be a normal knock, but it took about fifteen minutes for the door to open.
The person who opened the door was a lazy young man who was covering his mouth and yawning. He opened the door, squinted his eyes, and shouted, "Don't you know the rules of the government? Why are you knocking so loudly on the door?"
Liang Jiugong was taken aback. Was there some kind of rule about knocking on the door of the government office?
He casually remarked, "We're from out of town, here to report a crime. We're wondering what the rules are at this yamen?"
“You’re from out of town, no wonder. You only need to knock once. If no one answers, it means the government office is busy. If you’re delaying the official business, can you take responsibility for that?”
Liang Jiugong thought to himself that he really could take responsibility.
"Come in and tell me what case you want to report?"
"It wasn't me, it was my husband who wanted to report it to the police."
The constable frowned: "Your master?"
After speaking, the constable looked down at the steps four or five meters behind Liang Jiugong, and there were indeed quite a few people there.
He seems to be a wealthy person.
Their government office really liked rich people, and they immediately put on a smiling face, which turned into something resembling a painted face.
Just four or five meters away, the yamen runners saw them, and Kangxi and his entourage had been listening to their conversation the whole time. This was the first time Kangxi had ever seen such an unprofessional yamen on their journey.
His brows immediately furrowed.
This place is close to Luoyang, so logically it shouldn't be like this!
After being invited inside, Kangxi simply asked, "Where is your county magistrate?"
“Our magistrate has some family matters to attend to and hasn’t come over yet. You can tell us what it is first.”
Emperor Kangxi frowned again: "Shouldn't the county magistrate be at the county office at this hour? Why is he at home?"
The constables naturally wouldn't tell him the truth and just made up some excuse to brush it off.
Emperor Kangxi instructed one of his men to hand over a plaque: "Go to the magistrate's house and bring him here."
"yes"
After saying that, the man quickly left the government office.
The yamen runners standing nearby were stunned. What was going on? They took a plaque and went to summon the magistrate. Who was this guy?
Thinking of this, the constable suddenly realized what he had just done and broke out in a cold sweat.
"May I ask your name?"
Kangxi glanced at him, which terrified the yamen runner. An angry Kangxi was naturally not an easy person to get along with.
Kangxi ignored the man and instructed Liang Jiugong to bring over a chair.
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