Wu Shilin, the head of the Wu family, couldn't help but throw away the cup worth a hundred taels in his hand, his face covered with frost.
In the past few days, rumors have been circulating in the streets and alleys of Prefecture that his third son, Wu Xiuming and Su Dashan, turned from love to hatred and turned into enemies. This kind of romantic gossip has always been the favorite of ordinary people in the city, so it spread quickly.
Even his beloved youngest son Wu Xiujie received a few words of ridicule when he went out to participate in the poetry meeting.
He had just received news that Yuan Suijun and Zhang Chengwang were preparing to sue Xiu Ming for malicious injury.
hateful!
This must be the fault of the Mo family! And Yuan Suijun and Zhang Chengwang, who are just mere scholars, dare to go against the Wu family. If it weren't for the reputation of the Wu family, he would have killed these two people long ago. .
The Mo family must have known the reason why he sent Xiu Ming to Guangning County, so they deliberately made a big fuss about this matter. Although the world is not so discriminatory towards Long Yang's addiction, as long as it does not affect the inheritance of the family line, they regard it as an elegant matter. But the problem is that Su Dashan is an old, ugly and low-class person. Xiu Ming even got himself scarred and injured because of this, so it became a complete scandal.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Call Xiu Ming over!"
He gave the order, and Wu Xiuming was carried over. Now his hands and feet were wrapped like pig's trotters. Being wrapped like this in this weather was really a kind of torture for him who was afraid of heat. But Wu Xiu Ming had no other choice. On his way back, he was unlucky and the carriage hit a rock, causing him to fall off the carriage. He had already suffered a broken bone and fractured it again.
After returning home, the Wu family originally wanted to punish him, but after seeing his miserable state, they gave up the idea of punishing him. Especially when they asked a doctor for treatment, the doctor said after the diagnosis that it was best not to touch the wound in the past three months, otherwise I'm afraid that his hands and feet will be completely disabled. Wu Xiuming is now very vulnerable to injuries, more fragile than porcelain.
"Dad, please look for me." Wu Xiuming tried his best to smile.
Wu Shilin gritted his teeth and asked, "What's going on between you and Su Dashan?"
Wu Xiuming now hates the name Su Dashan the most. If the person asking the question was not his own father, he would probably scold him bloody.
"Dad, it was really just raining and the road was slippery. He accidentally fell on me, and those untouchables happened to see him, so they misunderstood. I only like women."
This is an insult to him.
He seemed to have remembered something, the color on his face suddenly faded, and his voice trembled, "Dad, the news won't reach our state capital, right?"
Wu Shilin nodded, his face heavy.
Wu Xiuming almost fainted. Guangning County is a day and a night's journey from the state capital. How could it spread so fast? What does shopkeeper Xu do for a living? Hasn't he suppressed the news until now?
Wu Shilin said with a dark face, "Are you stupid? You asked people to beat Su Dashan in public. Now they are determined to make this matter bigger. The Mo family has also been fishing in troubled waters these days."
"Su Dashan has a scholar son-in-law and a scholar niece-in-law, and his niece-in-law Yuan Suijun is not an unknown person either."
If this matter is not handled properly, it will affect the Wu family's reputation.
Wu Shilin didn't expect that just by sending his son to Guangning County, he could cause such a big disaster.
Wu Xiuming's lips twitched, but he still didn't dare to say a word. In the past, he was used to using his power to suppress others in the state capital, and he naturally did the same in Guangning County. Although he knew that Yuan Suijun was a scholar, he thought that Yuan Suijun would not do anything for him.
Su Dashan came to the fore, and he didn't expect that Su Dashan's son-in-law Zhang Chengwang would also become a scholar.
"Dad, can't you suppress these rumors?" He showed a pleading expression. Now he really regrets going to Guangning County and making himself look like a stranger. Especially when he comes back,
I heard that his father had intended to marry him to a concubine from an official family some time ago, and he regretted it even more.
You guessed it, in his current situation, he couldn't even think about getting married.
Wu Shilin said angrily: "You think our family is still the same as before, able to cover the sky with one hand."
In the past, they were able to beat the Mo family because they had a lot of connections. However, now those people prefer the Mo family because of the white sugar. Even before, their family could not cover the sky with one hand. The reason why they looked arrogant was,
It is also because they will not offend those who cannot afford to offend.
He looked at Wu Xiuming and said in a deep voice: "Xiu Ming, I have to consider the reputation and interests of the whole family. I can't harm our Wu family for you. So I can only send you to Zhuangzi first."
Going to Zhuangzi, doesn't that mean he's exiled? He's directly away from his family. This exile, he doesn't know when he can come back.
Wu Xiuming was naturally unwilling, but he also knew that he could not change his father's mind. He only hoped that his matter could be put down as soon as possible. After the storm passed, his aunt could whisper in his father's ear and ask him to come back as soon as possible.
Wu Shilin called the housekeeper over and asked him to arrange for Wu Xiuming to go to Zhuangzi.
On the other hand, he also sent another experienced steward to Guangning County to make Yuan Suijun and Zhang Chengwang give up pursuing the matter. As long as they give up, the matter will still be under control.
But what Wu Shilin didn't know was that there were new surprises waiting for him.
…
A pear orchard in the state capital.
Zhao Congfeng happily took a book and rushed to find his adoptive father, Zhao Kou, who was also the leader of their Nazhifang troupe. Nazhifang was the most famous troupe in the prefecture, but it has declined in recent years and has been gradually forgotten by the world.
, actors such as Zhao Congfeng were adopted by the class leader Zhao Kou when they were young, so they all took his surname.
Zhao Kou saw his cheerful look and asked, "What good happened? You are as happy as if you have seen a hundred taels of gold."
Zhao Congfeng said: "Father, please read this book quickly. A beggar brought it to me today. He said it was written by a former guest of our Liyuan. He thought it was suitable for us to put on the stage, so he specially asked someone to send it to me.
"
Zhao Kou took the notebook. The handwriting in this notebook was precise and the paper used was the cheapest.
"Did you know? This story is said to be based on a story about the third young master of the Wu family and an old man that has been circulating in the streets recently."
Zhao Kou couldn't help but perked up. This matter was a big fuss in the state capital, and no one knew about it.
I don't know what the story is like.
He turned it over and found that the other person did not directly name Wu Xiuming, but was called Wu Ming, and the other person was Su Shan.
Originally, he just wanted to flip through a few pages, but once he opened it, he couldn't stop.
This story is not too long, and Zhao Kou finished it in half an hour.
His cloudy eyes sparkled with surprise, "Call them all over and let's discuss how to stage this play."
He had a hunch that the rise of their Nanzhifang depended on this book.