When Lin Bonian drank his sixth glass of wine, he heard the sound of footsteps on the path leading to the back house behind the rockery, and the light of a lantern flickered slightly. Lin Bonian put down the glass and shouted: "Why are you disturbing me again?" ?Go tell Xiao Qi that if she makes trouble again, I will send her a divorce letter tomorrow and tell her to get out. You bastard, do you really think that my Lin family has no family law? "
Lin Bonian thought it was Madam Seven who asked the maid to look for him and return to his room again. She had already visited him not long ago. However, Lin Bonian guessed wrong this time.
"Master, it's me." The person who spoke was Lin An, an old servant of the family. Lin An was an old servant who had followed Lin Bonian from Hangzhou to the capital and served him to this day. He had followed Lin Bonian for more than thirty years. Lin Bonian was still a young boy. At that time, Lin An, who was in his prime, was his personal servant. Now Lin An is in his sixties. He is the only male servant who has the right to serve in the back house.
"Oh, it's Lin An. Why are you here so late? Why don't you go and rest? Don't try to persuade me to go back. I want to be quiet here." Lin Bonian said.
Lin An stood under the pavilion holding a lantern and said respectfully: "Master, I am not advising you to go back, but there are guests ahead. I want to see the master."
Lin Bonian was stunned and waved his hands and said: "It's so late, who is so short-sighted? See you or not, I'm annoyed."
"Master, this is Mr. Wu Chunlai from the Political Hall. Is it true that Mr. Wu is missing? The old slave went to fetch him."
"Wu Chunlai?" Lin Bonian stood up suddenly and said to himself in shock: "What is he doing here? I don't have any friendship with him. He doesn't like to see me on weekdays."
"Master..." Lin An shouted.
"Go... go and ask him to sit down in the flower hall. By the way, tell Xiao Qi to help me change clothes to meet the guests. I will be there soon." Lin Bonian said hurriedly.
"Hey, hey." Lin An agreed, turned around and left quickly.
Soon after, Lin Bonian washed his face, combed his hair, and put on neat clothes. He had a completely new look. He had wiped away the sloppy appearance from drinking just now. He walked into the second flower hall with the wind at his feet. The huge candle in the flower hall was burning high. A middle-aged man with a good-looking appearance was sitting on a chair drinking tea. It was Wu Chunlai.
"Oh, it's really Mr. Wu. What kind of wind has brought Mr. Wu here? Why don't you inform me in advance so that I can greet you in advance. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Lin Bonian quickly walked into the house and walked away from a distance. He bowed and raised his hands and said loudly.
Wu Chunlai stood up and returned the courtesy with a smile: "I came here in the middle of the night and it was very annoying. I am the one who is rude. Mr. Lin won't be surprised."
"What did you say? Mr. Wu is a rare guest, and you can't even invite him on weekdays. Sit down quickly, sit down quickly. Come and make tea." Lin Bonian said loudly.
"Master, the tea has been brewed." A maid next to him said hurriedly.
Lin Bonian reached out and opened the lid of the teapot on the table, took a look and shouted: "What kind of tea is this? Mr. Wu is a distinguished guest, why don't you brew the West Lake Longjing this spring? Go and change it."
"Oh, oh." The little maid hurriedly came forward, picked up the teapot, and trotted off to change the tea. Lin Bonian looked at Wu Chunlai and smiled and said: "Master Wu, please forgive me, these maids who are calling are all clumsy and don't know etiquette." .”
Wu Chunlai chuckled and said: "It doesn't matter. In fact, I am not particular about drinking tea. You don't have to be like this."
Lin Bonian said: "That can't be done. Distinguished guests must be treated as distinguished guests. How can we lose etiquette?"
Wu Chunlai said with a smile: "After all, we are a big family with a great business, and the etiquette is also thorough. Naturally, someone like me, who comes from a small family like me, doesn't understand."
Lin Bonian shook his head and pretended to be angry: "What are you talking about? A hero no matter his origin. Although Mr. Wu was born in a poor family, he is not inferior to others in everything. Mr. Wu is now the mainstay of the imperial court. His talent and learning ability are superior to those of the emperor and his colleagues.
They all praise me very much. In the future, I will be worshiped as the Prime Minister. It can be seen that one's origin is not important, what is important is ability."
"Hahaha, Mr. Lin is so complimentary." Wu Chunlai said with a smile, feeling quite at ease with Lin Bonian's compliment.
When the new tea was brewed, the green tea juice was clear and mellow, and the flower hall was filled with the aroma of new tea. At Lin Bonian's signal, Wu Chunlai took a sip and felt that the fragrance lingered in his mouth. He couldn't help but praise: "It's really a good tea.
.”
Lin Bonian said proudly: "That's right, this is the authentic West Lake Longjing. And it's new leaves picked from a thousand-year-old tea tree in the dense forest of Wansong Mountain. The tea tree has survived for thousands of years and is still luxuriant today. But every year
We can only get less than three kilograms of tea, so it is extremely expensive. My Lin family bought the tea tree, so I can have a feast every year."
Wu Chunlai smiled and said: "It seems that everyone's great cause is beneficial. One family drinks thousands of years of ancient tea alone, and ordinary people can't enjoy it. I'm afraid the tea tree is worth a lot of money."
Lin Bonian chuckled and said, "It's not much. My eldest brother bought it for ten thousand taels of silver. It's not expensive either."
The muscles on Wu Chunlai's face trembled and he said with a smile: "No wonder Master Lin's mansion is so luxurious. Your Lin family has a fortune of tens of millions, so naturally you don't care about this mere ten thousand taels of silver. But if I were the official, I would never be able to eat this tea in my life."
I can’t live in such a big house.”
Lin Bonian didn't notice the change in Wu Chunlai's mood and the hidden meaning in his words, and said with some pride: "Master Wu is joking. My house is nothing, Beijing is much better than mine."
It is not difficult for Mr. Wu to live in a big house. I have a manor in the Western Outer City. If Mr. Wu likes it, you can live there."
"Oh? Mr. Lin is so generous? I can live here if I like?" Wu Chunlai said with a smile.
"Of course, this is a gift to Mr. Wu. Isn't it just a house? These are all personal belongings. Making Mr. Wu happy is the most important thing, hahaha." Lin Bonian stroked his beard and smiled. The large manor in Xicheng was originally
I bought it as a bribe, but I haven't had the chance to do it for so many years.
"How generous. A manor house must be worth at least one hundred thousand taels of silver. Lord Lin just gave it away like this? It's incredible." Wu Chunlai smacked his lips.
"Haha, it is said that pink is given to beauties and swords are given to heroes. Things are dead, but people are alive. As long as Mr. Wu can be happy, what do those things mean?" Lin Bonian said proudly.
"But...this is how Mr. Lin bribed Prime Minister Zhang Jun, and then asked Zhang Jun to hand over the water transportation business of the two Zhejiang roads to your Lin family?" Wu Chunlai suddenly said coldly.
"What?" The smile on Lin Bonian's lips had not had time to disappear, and it condensed on his lips like frost flowers frozen by a sudden cold.
"The Sansi Yamen falsely reports the amount of silver taels for the water transport freight on the Liangzhe Road. Is it you and Mr. Zhang who share the tens of thousands of taels of silver each year? In recent years, the Sansi Yamen has received a 10% rebate when allocating various silver taels to various places.
Isn’t this money shared by the chief and deputy envoys of your three divisions? Also, you allocate two million taels of silver to the Queen Mother to build Gen Garden. You even received a kickback of 150,000 taels, right?
?You are so brave. Are you treating the money of the imperial court as your own? You guys are lying in the imperial court's warehouse sucking blood. The imperial court trusts you so much that it allows you, the Sansi Yamen, to be in charge of the money and food of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Are you so crazy and unscrupulous about corruption and amassing money? Is this how you repay the emperor’s trust? The court’s trust?”
Wu Chunlai's face was cold and stern, and his words were like a knife. Every word he spoke was like a whip hitting Lin Bonian. Lin Bonian's face was frightened and gray, his body was shaking violently, and his face was pale.
"I...I...don't have anything to do, Mr. Wu, please don't talk nonsense. How could Mr. Wu..."
"You are still denying it. If I didn't have conclusive evidence, would I say this? To tell you the truth, your Third Secretary's Office has my people. Your actions have already attracted the attention of Prime Minister Lu and me, but we have been expecting
You can stop. After all, it’s not easy for you to reach where you are today. Lu Xiangzhai is kind-hearted and doesn’t want to interfere with you, causing you to lose your official position and lose your life. But this does not mean that we do not know, and it does not mean that we can condone it.
You guys keep doing this nonsense. If you still deny it, then I will have nothing to say to you." Wu Chunlai scolded sternly.
Lin Bonian's legs were trembling and weak. How could he have imagined that Wu Chunlai's midnight visit tonight was actually to expose his background. What Wu Chunlai said just now was indeed true. In the past few years, several of the Third Secretary Envoys
The chief and deputy envoys indeed obtained a large amount of illegal income through clever pretexts, and they also got a lot of money. Unexpectedly, Wu Chunlai actually knew all these things. There is a traitor in the Sansi Yamen, which is for sure. It is said that Lu Zhongtian and Wu Chunlai are in each Yamen
They all have spies, I'm afraid this is true.
"I have evidence for all the things you have done. I am investigating your affairs seriously. Fang Dunru can't help but read your book first. If I tell them these things, I don't know what will happen. Hehe
"Mr. Lin, I'm afraid your good days may not last long." Wu Chunlai sneered.
Lin Bonian couldn't hold on any longer, his knees bent involuntarily, and he knelt down in front of Wu Chunlai. He cried in a low voice with a mournful face: "Master Wu, please don't tell anyone, please show your respect to Master Wu. Those things are all Zhang Jun's fault."
What Ren Daoyuan, Huang Qianyuan and others want to do, I am just an errand boy in Sansi Yamen. How dare I do these things? I have no choice. If I don't agree, I will block their way of making money.
There is no place for burial. I, Lin Bonian, have no backing and no power in the court. What can I do? If Mr. Wu informs Yan Zhengsu and Fang Dunru of this matter, they will definitely put me to death. I
All the lives of this family have been lost. Mr. Wu, you are so compassionate and noble."
Wu Chunlai sat there, looking coldly at the deputy envoy of the Third Division who was kneeling in front of him and begging him. He felt very proud. Just now, this guy was showing off his family background and wealth, but now he was kneeling in front of him like a pug.
Begging. This further confirms what I have always believed in. The most important thing is to have power, and the most important thing is to follow the right people.
Although my betrayal of Fang Dunru brought about mental suffering and criticism from many people, it turned out that I was on the right path. If I hadn't taken that step, I might still be outside the center of power today.
.Perhaps like the deputy envoy of the Third Department in front of me, he was pleading like a pug when faced with an official position lower than his own.
It's ridiculous that Lin Bonian was showing off his wealth in front of him just now. This kind of person doesn't understand what it means to be low-key. He doesn't understand that wealth without the protection of power is actually fragile and can be lost at any time. He also doesn't understand that power is actually the
The best wealth, they are stupid enough to grab money, but they don't know that if they want to be greedy, they should be greedy for power, the greatest treasure. With power, you can exchange it for anything at any time. In fact, you only need to open your mouth, and someone will send you a big house.
Large tracts of land and manor, and a large number of lovely women are for themselves to enjoy. These people just don't understand this truth.
