() After Liang Shixun finished laughing, he felt happy. He walked over, opened the door of the study, and said to the servant standing guard outside: "Go and find Liang Biao. Mr. Hou, I will wait for him in the study."
Then Liang Shixun returned to the study and took out the portrait of Zhong Jinwei he had painted a few days ago, imagining how Zhong Jinwei knelt down and begged for mercy, but he would never agree, humiliating him in every possible way before killing him to vent his hatred.
About a quarter of an hour later, a voice sounded outside the study door: "Master Marquis, Liang Biao has come to see you."
"Come in." Liang Shixun said as soon as he heard that Liang Biao had arrived.
A short figure walked in quickly and closed the study door. A series of actions seemed very natural.
There is a word Biao in his name. People who don't know him think he is a tall and sturdy man, but he turns out to be a short and thin man. This man is a son of the Marquis of Baoding. He has been trained to do some shady things since he was a child.
He is a man of great intelligence and has extensive connections in the underworld.
Liang Shixun turned around and stared at him and said: "Is the horse thief used before near the capital?"
Liang Biao was a little puzzled, but he still answered truthfully: "Jianlu and King Qin's troops gathered near the capital. They dare not come out and move around and are staying in their lairs."
"Okay, I want to kill a person. He will be back from Tongzhou in the next two days. I want you to kill him on the way. This time the reward is 10,000 taels of silver!" When Liang Shixun said this, he was ruthless.
It turns out that the silver reward was so high that Liang Biao felt that this person must die.
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
"The man I want to kill is called Zhong Jinwei. He has no roots in the Ming Dynasty. He is just favored by the emperor. He was named Zhongxing Bo just a few days ago and is protected by two Dongchang fans."
After hearing this, Liang Biao couldn't help but mutter in his heart: No foundation in the Ming Dynasty? Is there a bigger foundation in the Ming Dynasty than the emperor! But he didn't dare to let Liang Shixun discover his thoughts.
"You have to be clean. After all, you are the earl of the imperial court. It would be better if those horse thieves take action. It will make people think that he just died in an accident. Do you understand?" Liang Shixun warned worriedly.
"Don't worry, Lord Marquis, my subordinates have never made any mistakes." Liang Biao assured.
Liang Shixun nodded with satisfaction, but he had no idea that there is a proverb among the people: Don't tell lies; if you walk too much at night, you will encounter ghosts.
"Okay, then make arrangements as soon as possible and contact those horse thieves to prevent him from returning to the capital again."
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
Seeing that Liang Biao had no intention of leaving, Liang Shixun couldn't help but frowned: "Hurry up and go!"
Liang Biao bowed and said: "Master Hou, we don't know Uncle Zhongxing."
Liang Shixun slapped himself on the forehead, then picked up the portrait on the table, handed it to Liang Biao and said, "This is the person, look carefully."
"Yes, Lord Marquis." After Liang Biao took the portrait, he clasped his fists and left.
"Wait." Just as Liang Biao crossed the threshold of the study, Liang Shixun called him back.
Liang Biao had no choice but to turn back and listen to any other instructions.
"If something goes wrong, we must not let anyone notice that we did it. Do you understand?"
"I know my subordinates well, Lord Marquis, don't worry." Liang Biao had no choice but to reassure him.
Liang Shixun nodded and waved for him to leave.
Zhong Jinwei had no idea that a net was quickly being laid against him to kill him, and he didn't know that his life was already worth ten thousand taels of silver.
At this time, he was happily shopping in Tongzhou. The living conditions of the Yan family were not good. There were 500 taels of silver in one of the two boxes he brought this time. This was where the money for shopping came from.
It was my first time to go shopping in ancient times, and it was really refreshing.
Gu Baichuan and Wang Peng were a little confused about Zhong Jinwei's behavior, so they just asked their servants to do it. They didn't expect Count Zhongxing to do it, but they did it very happily, as if they were playing.
However, they have been following Zhong Jinwei for a while, and they are already a little numb to some of Zhong Jinwei's words and deeds that are different from ordinary people.
Archi and her sister-in-law were scanning goods in front, while Zhong Jinwei hugged the little boy of the Yan family and kept making him laugh. Yan Yingyuan was holding a lot of things in his hands and looked at Zhong Jinwei and his son speechlessly, but he was very happy in his heart. He was his brother-in-law.
He is completely different from ordinary dignitaries. He has no airs at all and the people he is close to are like a real family.
After all, the Jianlu had not long since retreated, so the supplies on the market were not sufficient, and some shops were not even open.
Zhong Jinwei wandered to the back and became a little tired. In addition, the little boy from the Yan family happened to reward him with a urine bath, so everyone had to go home.
Back at the Yan family, Mrs. Yan, Archie and the Yan family's wife started busy. It wasn't until it was getting dark that dinner was ready.
After such a long time of preparation, the dinner was of course very sumptuous. I couldn't place it on my own table, so I borrowed two from my neighbor's house and put them together into a big table.
Mrs. Yan insisted that everyone come to the table for dinner, and Zhong Jinwei also agreed. Naturally, no one else would refuse. So, the Yan family, including Gu Baichuan and Wang Peng, all sat together and had dinner together.
The dishes are probably the richest in the history of the Yan family, including chicken, duck, fish, pork, mutton, vegetarian dishes such as radish, tofu, and even mung bean sprouts, cucumbers, and leeks.
In this cold winter season, when supplies are in short supply, even Gu Baichuan and Wang Peng were surprised by the richness of the dishes. At that moment, Wang Peng couldn't help but ask where he could buy mutton and fresh vegetables. When he went shopping with him just now,
I haven't seen any of these.
Mrs. Yan chuckled and explained: "These were sent by the county magistrate. I refused to accept them. The other party kept them alive before leaving. He said it was a little thought from the old lady He Xi."
After hearing this, everyone knew what was going on. Wang Peng also gave up the idea of buying some to go back to the capital for the New Year.
Fresh vegetables are basically not available in the market. Even in the capital, they are grown specially by wealthy people in their own greenhouses, and the output is very small.
During the Tianqi Dynasty, there was no need to worry about not having anything to eat. The situation is different now. My mother at home has been thinking about eating fresh vegetables during the New Year many times.
Mrs. Yan saw that everyone was seated and cleared her throat. Everyone heard and knew that the old lady had something to say, so they all listened quietly to Mrs. Yan's speech. Even the little boy didn't make a fuss and looked at Nainai.
"The Yan family has undergone earth-shaking changes in the past few days, and I have seen it all. Although I am old, I am not yet blind. I know exactly who is responsible for all this."
As Mrs. Yan spoke, she looked at her future son-in-law. Everyone knew this and looked at Zhong Jinwei. Archie was sitting next to his mother, a little shy. The only one who didn't look at Zhong Jinwei just lowered his head.
Before Zhong Jinwei could say a humble word, Mrs. Yan said again: "I am very satisfied with you being my son-in-law. It's not about your status or money. It's because I see your kind-heartedness and the way you treat my daughter."
It’s good, I still know.”
Zhong Jinwei was very happy when he heard that his mother-in-law approved the marriage in person, and not just because of the marriage granted by the emperor. He hit the snake with the stick and immediately shouted: "Mother!"
"Hey, what a good son-in-law!" Mrs. Yan agreed with a smile. Archie, who was sitting on the side, lowered his head, as if he was looking for the non-existent ants on the soles of his feet.
Seeing this, other people congratulated Zhong Jinwei one after another, and Zhong Jinwei responded one by one with a smile.
After everyone was happy, Mrs. Yan said again: "You are going back to the capital tomorrow. I know you have a lot of things to do and you won't be able to come to Tongzhou during the Chinese New Year. Therefore, this meal today will be considered as this year's meal."
Let’s celebrate the New Year together at the New Year’s Eve dinner.” No wonder this meal was so sumptuous, it turned out to be the New Year’s Eve dinner.
After Mrs. Yan finished her speech, she started to eat. Everyone looked at the sumptuous dishes and felt in their stomachs, especially the little boy from the Yan family who was impatient to wait.
After everyone chatted and laughed for a while, Zhong Jinwei had something to say, and everyone became quiet: "Mom, there is something I want to tell you."
Mrs. Yan nodded: "Son-in-law, if you have anything to say, just say it."
"At present, the state affairs are corrupt and the people are suffering. The emperor calls on the civil and military officials and everyone in the capital to save money and tide over the national crisis. I have made it clear to the emperor that everything in my wedding will be simple, but I feel a little wronged by Archie."
When Zhong Jinwei was talking, Archi looked at him secretly. After hearing his words, he didn't wait for his mother to speak and said directly: "The slave family doesn't care about this. It is the slave family's blessing to be able to follow the young master."
With a sound of "coaxing", there was a roar of cheers at the dinner table. However, Archie did not lower his head this time, but looked at Zhong Jinwei.
Mrs. Yan stopped laughing herself first, then stopped and asked everyone to calm down. Then she said to Zhong Jinwei: "My son-in-law is the most important thing in the country. That is loyalty. I can understand it, so don't worry about this set of false etiquette." Yan Yingyuan in history
He regarded the glory and wealth of the Qing Dynasty as nothing but dirt, and vowed not to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. This is due to the merits of Yan Laotai's daily teachings.
Zhong Jinwei was a little worried at first. After all, the ancients valued these etiquettes more. Now that Mrs. Yan has expressed her stance, she feels relieved.
Everyone started to eat again. During this period, the Yan family's daughter-in-law went to bring noodles and distributed them to everyone. After eating, they left the table with Mrs. Yan and Aqi.
A few grown men then began to eat and drink, chatting while eating, which was a great way to enjoy themselves.
There was no more chatting that night, but I went to bed soon after eating. Firstly, I didn't sleep last night, and secondly, I have to travel tomorrow, so I can't stay up all night again.