After seeing Chen Xi, Fatty Zhou went back to his home near Chongwenmen.

After experiencing ups and downs, Fatty Zhou attaches great importance to his wealth and life. He has set up houses in various places in the capital, and Chongwenmen is just one of them.

Usually Fatty Zhou is not at all active when seeing Peng Yu because he is also wary of Chen Xi. The people he believes are basically the ones who will never leave him when he is in danger or lend a helping hand to him. Ma Ang is one of them.

After Ma Ang resigned from Ningxia Town, he brought his family to the capital to join Fatty Zhou. This is also the blessing he left when he was an official. After Fatty Zhou returned to the capital with his help, he quickly used the resources at hand to open up the situation and returned to the grand occasion in just over a year.

Ma Ang didn't have much family income, so he was shameless and was lying on Fatty Zhou to eat and drink for free.

Fortunately, Fatty Zhou was "repaying kindness" and his attitude was pretty good.

As soon as Fatty Zhou came back, he immediately went to see Ma Ang.

Ma Ang couldn't wait to ask, "Has the person been sent?"

"I have sent it to you. After seeing Lord Shen, I sent someone in person. Lord Shen seemed to have an interesting expression at that time... However, before I left, Lord Shen did not see your sister, and I don't know if he liked it."

Fatty Zhou said this and laughed and teased, "I said Brother Ma, as the saying goes, "Female, you don't flow to outsiders. You have a good sister, why don't you consider me? Your girl is not simple. Lord Shen decided to stay without even seeing anyone. Although I don't know what the final result is, just letting Lord Shen break the convention and accept this gift from you, it is enough to make people praise..."

Ma Ang smiled and thought to himself: "I have nothing, so this sister can take advantage of it. If you betrothed, how can I rely on?" But he tried his best to explain:

"I am a irritable girl. She likes to dance with swords and guns since she was a child. She fists at the same time when she disagrees. She is really out of tune. In order to avoid making a joke, she has been kept in the inner house and did not dare to tell others about her nature. I heard that the Zhou family has something to do with Lord Shen, so I thought of giving him to Lord Shen. After all, Lord Shen is good at the army, so maybe he can calm that girl?"

Fatty Zhou shuddered: "My goodness, your sister actually likes to dance with swords and guns? This... I thought she could sing and dance well, be knowledgeable and well-known... Oh, no, I didn't explain these things to Lord Shen in detail. I wonder if he would be surprised?"

"If you don't mention it, don't mention it. Maybe Lord Shen is just fine?"

Ma Ang quickly opened the topic and asked in a pretentious manner, "Brother Zhou, didn't you say you wanted to introduce me to the person named Peng under Lord Shen? Why hasn't there been any movement these two days?"

Fatty Zhou shook his hand: "Peng, the man surnamed Peng, works as a servant in the Imperial Horse Supervision, don't underestimate him. This person has a wide range of friends and has relationships with the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Laws and the Ministry of Laws... He is now in charge of work with Lord Shen, and he is in the sixth department and the factory guards respectively. He is more optimistic than the top, so he is afraid he will not help."

Ma Ang's eyes flashed with light and said, "No matter what, I have to try it. Please help Zhou's boss and say something to me..."

Fatty Zhou smiled and joked: "But I don't know what Brother Ma can use to curry favor with the surname Peng?"

Ma Ang's face was full of embarrassment. At this moment, he was at the trough of his life, not even a concubine, and he felt extremely distressed: "Do you want to give my beautiful wife to someone? But it's too unworthy to give it to someone named Peng. He can't really help, but it's just for Lord Shen... If possible, it would be nice to give it to Lord Shen..."

Although he thought so in his heart, Ma Ang said to Fatty Zhou in a humble tone, "I'm sorry, Brother Zhou, help me."

Fatty Zhou said, "The person surnamed Peng doesn't need to pay attention to it for the time being. Let's see if Lord Shen is willing to help you. Let's talk about the rest... In fact, it is also a way to curry favor with the two uncles of Shouning Hou and Jianchang Hou. They control the Beijing camp, and I have some business dealings with the two marquises."

Ma Ang looked excited: "I said I didn't find the wrong person. With Brother Zhou's help, I'll have hope for the next trip!"

...

...

The incident of Jianchang Hou being corrupt and abused the law and poisoning the people was spreading. It was known to everyone in the streets of the capital, and the crowd was angry. Xie Qian felt that he could not suppress it anymore.

Forced to the point of helplessness, Xie Qian had to go to the palace to meet Empress Dowager Zhang, hoping to teach Marquis Jianchang a lesson through Empress Dowager Zhang and relieve the almost thrilling public grievances.

As for how to settle it, Xie Qian didn't understand. What he had to do now was to "say" to Empress Dowager Zhang... You asked me to help you protect your two younger brothers, but you two younger brothers were really too unscrupulous, committing crimes, and doing all kinds of evil, and throwing away the royal face. I didn't handle it impartially to give you face.

In the warm pavilion of Yongshou Palace, Empress Dowager Zhang summoned Xie Qian.

Last time, Zhang Yanling was rude and offended Empress Xia. It took a lot of time to reconcile with his daughter-in-law. In order to show respect for his daughter-in-law, Empress Dowager Zhang did not let Empress Xia avoid it this time.

Empress Dowager Zhang was sure that Xie Qian would not say anything that would provoke the relationship between new and old foreign relatives, but after hearing Xie Qian's suggestions, Empress Dowager Zhang regretted it because Jianchang Hou's misdeeds were simply slandering her parents' family.

"... Master Xie, the two younger brothers of the Ai family are really not good, and the late emperor has spoiled them. They are unable to do things on weekdays. Master Xie must not be angry..."

Empress Dowager Zhang's face was full of regret when she spoke, but she didn't have much fear or anger. The main reason was that she was confident that no one dared to openly commit crimes among the royal family. No matter what bad things her two younger brothers did, she could be safe in the end.

Xie Qian was very embarrassed: "Now that the public opinion of the government and the public is raging, and the censors are impeaching the censors. The empress dowager should summon two uncles into the palace as soon as possible to scold them. They should not let them be obsessed and continue to do evil!"

"knew."

Empress Dowager Zhang said, "The Ai family originally wanted to meet the emperor and let him limit the power of the two uncles, but the Ai family is not easy to see His Majesty now... Don't worry, when the two uncles come to the palace next time, the Ai family will teach them a good lesson and let them apologize in front of the Mr. Xie!"

Xie Qian thought to himself: "I need them to come to me to apologize, right? Now the people in the world need them to stand up and apologize for their mistakes... Forcibly robbing the people's lives is to solve the problem by just accusing a crime?"

Since his daughter-in-law Empress Xia is behind the screen, Empress Dowager Zhang no longer wants to get entangled in her two younger brothers, and intends to guide the topic:

"Gemaster Xie, how are you doing in the court now? After Eunuch Liu's death, Ai's family lived in the deep palace and was almost completely disgraced at the outside world. You are the backbone of Daming. Ai's family wants to hear your opinion."

Xie Qian said: "The court is generally peaceful, but something unusual happened. First, Shen Zhihou proposed the reform of industrial and commercial tax, and openly punished the gentry and the people; second, His Majesty decided to personally enlist in the next year and launch the grassland to realize his long-cherished wish to seal the wolf's servants. But now that the food, grass and military pay have not been raised, His Majesty asked Shen Zhihou to prepare for it!"

"oh."

Queen Mother Zhang nodded, then frowned and asked, "What's wrong with Chen Qing's family..."

Xie Qian didn't want to complain to Empress Dowager Zhang, and said, "The old minister has been in the court for many years, and it is rare to have peace in the court and the country. The Empress Dowager should urge Your Majesty to put the interests of the people first... Don't let the two uncles have any trouble."

Empress Dowager Zhang's face was full of distress: "How come the Ai family doesn't understand the painstaking efforts of Mr. Xie? Let's do this, the Ai family will send people to spread the word that two uncles will come and teach them a lesson... Mr. Xie doesn't have to blame himself. This matter has nothing to do with you. You can go back first. Is it okay to leave this matter to the Ai family?"

"The old minister sue him!"

Xie Qian finished talking about the matter and didn't want to stay for a long time. After performing the ceremony, he retreated to Yongshou Palace.

...

...

An hour later, Zhang Heling entered the palace to meet Empress Dowager Zhang, and immediately left the palace to rush to the Marquis of Jianchang. His anger did not subside along the way.

"Second brother, look at the good things you did!"

When Zhang Heling saw Zhang Yanling holding a maid, he was furious, "If it weren't for you, the Empress Dowager wouldn't blame me in every way... You are so good, you can't hide from the palace, what's the intention?"

Zhang Yanling stepped down and crossed his legs, said leisurely: "Since I know that I will be scolded by my sister when I enter the palace, why should I enter the palace and ask for trouble? My sister is just getting angry. What can others do to us brothers? Why should I worry so much?"

Zhang Heling said: "Who said others can't do anything to you and my brothers? The Empress Dowager said that this time, Xie Yuqiao, the chief assistant of the cabinet, personally entered the palace to report the matter. He also said that the case has been reported to His Majesty, and His Majesty will inquire about the case at any time."

"Who are you scaring?"

Zhang Heling looked disdainful, "Brother was scared by her sister's words? Don't you think about what our eldest nephew is usually busy with. He doesn't care about anything in the court. When the eunuch Liu Jin rode on his head and stooled, he still relied on Shen Zhihou to take action to see the sun. Will he care about these?"

"Let's take a step back, so what if the eldest nephew knows that we have done something wrong? Our brothers are the uncles of the current dynasty and have control over the military forces of the Beijing camp. If the eldest nephew doesn't want to make trouble, he will never do anything to you and my brother! Brother, just put your heart back in your stomach!"

Zhang Heling said in surprise: "Now this matter has been known to everyone in the court. You can still deal with it so calmly. It seems that you will not shed tears without seeing the coffin!"

"What coffin, what tears! Brother, have you forgotten our identity? You and my brother help the royal family to protect the business. Can the royal family treat us badly? It's just a little untouchable. I have already released the people according to your instructions. There will definitely be no problem... This matter will be calm in the court for a few days. If you don't have anything to do next to me, I won't leave you to have dinner at the mansion... Please come back!"

Zhang Yanling seemed very impatient, as if there were important things waiting for him to do.

Zhang Heling asked: "You really put the person back? Could it be that you lied to me, right?"

"Otherwise? Since the matter has spread, I can't make mistakes, right? Naturally, people have sent them back. Even the embezzled land I plan to let them redeem it, but I have to add a little more money... You and my brother are not doing a loss-making business, right?" Zhang Yanling said.

Zhang Heling was helpless, sighed a long time ago, shook his head and said, "I really can't do anything to you. I hope Your Majesty will not hate my Zhang family for this... You must remember what you said today, put the people back, and return the land to others. At least it can calm the situation. I believe that the Empress Dowager will discuss with Xie Yuqiao for the rest. No matter what, Xie Yuqiao will also give the Empress Dowager a little bit."

Zhang Yanling said disdainfully: "Do you think Xie Laoer is really kind to help us? It's clear that he knew why the Zhang family was not allowed to do anything, so he just deliberately delayed it... In the end, he saw that the court was too much and couldn't stand it anymore, so he ran to his sister to complain... This is just a slick old bureaucrat who doesn't do anything, and it's not to be afraid!"

"It's all your fault!"

Zhang Heling shouted with a dark face and shook his sleeves, "I will send someone to supervise these days. If you refuse to release someone or don't return the land of the people, how can I get in with the Empress Dowager? Then I will escort you into the palace and apologize to the Empress Dowager... According to the Empress Dowager's wishes, you have to meet Xie Yuqiao and apologize to him. Our Zhang family always needs the support of the important officials in the court!"

"What is Xie Yuqiao? Why do you want me to apologize with him? Is the eldest brother willing to fall behind?"

Zhang Yanling asked with a sneer.

"If you didn't act rudely and incite public anger, I wouldn't have fallen to this point today... Now the Zhang family has become a public enemy of the court, and almost all officials are submitting memorials to attack, and the empress dowager loses all face. You are throwing feces on the Zhang family's lintel!"

After scolding his younger brother, Zhang Heling did not want to stay in the smoky Marquis' Mansion for a long time, so he left with his sleeves.

After Zhang Heling left, a strong servant came over to ask Zhang Yanling for instructions: "Mr. Marquis, do you really want to listen to the uncle and let the person go?"

"If you let it go, I'm tired of playing anyway."

Zhang Yanling looked down on it and said, "Return the land to those untouchables. Remember to ask them to use silver to redeem the price. The price is three times that of the original. If they have no money, let them take someone to pay it. A woman has 100 taels of silver. As long as she is beautiful, one is counted as one!"

The Zhuangfu said in embarrassment: "Mr. Marquis, will you cause trouble again if you do this?"

"This group of unruly people, without looking at their identity, dared to make things worse and make me embarrassed. This time, I just treat it as a lesson for them, and at the same time remind those who are waiting and watching, to see who will dare to go against me in the future... I want to see, next time I will buy land and bring the woman back, who dares to obstruct me!"

Zhang Yanling clenched his fists tightly and spoke fiercely.

Zhuangfu felt guilty and continued to ask for instructions: "What should we do if those untold people don't pay for redemption or refuse to hand over to others?"

"I will teach you this? Of course, I'm trying to grab people! But let them write an IOU first, and if they refuse to sign, they will force them to cover it, and then let them pay off the debt... Humph, they will never pay off this debt in their lifetime!" Zhang Yanling said arrogantly.

...

...

It was fine if Xie Qian didn't go to the palace to see Empress Dowager Zhang. After seeing him, Zhang Yanling was angry when he heard the message from his elder brother. His behavior became more and more extreme, causing the farmers in the capital to go bankrupt and suffer so much that a civil unrest was about to happen.

There is no airtight wall in this world. Even if Zhang Yanling tried his best to suppress and even sent troops to block people at various intersections in the capital, the officials in the court heard the news that the Qinggui's censors had nothing to do. Now they finally found the target of venting and wrote memorials to criticize Zhang Yanling's crimes like crazy.

He Jian heard the news and quickly went to see Xie Qian again. This time he was with him the new Minister of Justice Zhang Zilin.

Because He Jian was promoted from the Minister of Justice to the Minister of Personnel, and even the three officials yamen followed He Jian's leader, this is also the fundamental reason why Hong Zhong and Zhang Zilin kept plaguing He Jian.

"...Yu Qiao, this time the matter was even more amazing. Marquis of Jianchang put the plundered woman back and returned the innocent people who were imprisoned, but it became even worse. He asked those who sold the fields to redeem the fields. The price was three times higher than the market price. If you don't buy it, you can't pay it back. If you don't have money, you will pay the debt with someone..."

Xie Qian said with a dark face: "Isn't buying and selling land common? I don't want to care..."

He Jian said anxiously: "You can't care... Didn't you say that seeing the Queen Mother can prompt the Zhang brothers to reflect and restrain their actions? Now the Marquis of Jianchang has become more and more serious, making the most wise land in the capital. If you let them do anything wrong, aren't you afraid that the people will rise up?"

"Now it is not just the resentment of the people in the capital, but even the surrounding provinces are in chaos. Originally, there were loud horses in the mountains west of the capital. Once the rioters and bandits merged and formed a climate, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"What do you do to tell me this?"

Xie Qian waved his hand impatiently, "I have said that I have done what I can do, and I have seen it with the Empress Dowager. I have also reminded me if I should take down the Marquis of Jianchang? Is it in the name of Shuntian Prefecture or the Ministry of Justice?"
To be continued...