Chapter 104 Intuition
Seeing the men slowly approaching from both ends of the street, Ding Zhaolan became more and more angry. He clapped his hands vigorously and said, "Dai, stop making trouble here. Your brother's death has nothing to do with our Ding family."
"How come it's none of your business?" The man surnamed Dai pointed at Ding Zhaolan and said angrily, "Someone saw with their own eyes that your son beat him up and abandoned him on the roadside. No one treated him and he died of dehydration due to the scorching sun. It was such a tragic death."
As he spoke, the man surnamed Dai wiped his tears . He looked very sad and genuine. Even Lu Sen and Zhan Zhao could not tell whether the man's crying was real or fake.
Ding Zhaolan became more and more angry: "You said someone saw it, who was that person?"
"Why, your Ding family wants to kill people and silence them, and then die without a cure?"
Walking down the doorstep, the crowd parted wherever Ding Zhaolan passed. He said coldly, "You, the Dai family, don't even dare to release a witness, but you are framing our Ding family. There is no such thing in the world."
"The principle of this world is the law." The young man surnamed Dai rushed to within ten feet of Ding Zhaolan and shouted, "We have witnesses and evidence. We will see you in court in three days."
"Since we are going to meet in court, why are you blocking the door of my Ding family!" Ding Zhaolan shouted, "Don't think that we are afraid of you just because your master is the governor. There is no one named Dai in Songjiang!"
This statement has some meaning, implying that the Dai family seems to have the intention of rebellion.
The young man surnamed Dai glared and trembled with anger: "Well, Ding Zhaolan is very good at talking, and I can't argue with you. Three days later, we will meet in court. Your Ding family can't cover up everything. If the prefect of Songjiang can't give our Dai family justice, we meet in Kaifeng sooner or later!"
After saying that, the man surnamed Dai turned and left. Then the other people who were blocking the door of the Ding family also left, cursing and spitting.
After everyone left, Ding Zhaolan walked towards the betrothal gift team. He immediately saw Zhan Zhao in the crowd, clasped his fists and saluted, feeling a little ashamed. He was about to speak, but then he glanced to the side and saw Lu Sen.
After being stunned for half a second, Ding Zhaolan swallowed his saliva, took the initiative to walk up quickly, clasped his fists to Lu Sen, and said, "I meet Master Lu, Lu Tianzhang!"
Lu Sen clasped his fists in return: "No problem."
Then Ding Zhaolan clasped his fists towards Zhan Zhao and said, "Brother-in-law...Captain Zhan, I've been waiting for a long time. Please come with me into my home and have a seat. Master Lu is also welcome!"
The group followed Ding Zhaolan into the Ding Mansion.
The Ding family was large, and they had many servants, who were lazily sitting by the side chatting and eating snacks. When they saw Ding Zhaolan coming in with a group of men in red uniforms, they all stood up and clasped their fists in a joke.
After all, his young lady Ding Yuehua and Captain Zhan of Bianjing City have decided to spend their lives together. This news has already spread in the Ding family, but it has not yet spread outside.
Looking at these unruly servants, Ding Zhaolan was filled with embarrassment and depression.
The family tradition is not right!
If only Zhan Zhao saw it, it wouldn't matter. We would soon be a family anyway, and Zhan Zhao would probably not say anything.
But Master Lu was there too.
Whether in terms of reputation, civil service rank, or status as a direct scholar of the Tianzhang Pavilion, Lu Sen is far superior to Zhan Zhao.
It is indeed very embarrassing to be caught by such a person with a lax family tradition.
Ding Zhaolan was leading the way, feeling very nervous and worried about gains and losses.
But in fact, Lu Sen didn't think so much. He felt that these servants dared to joke with their masters. It seemed that the Ding family was relatively lenient in managing their servants.
In this situation, Lu Sen felt that the Ding family should be more kind, which added points to their impression.
When they were about to enter the inner hall, most of the people in the team were left behind, and only Hongniang and a few porters carrying large and small boxes of betrothal gifts went in.
Perhaps having received the news, the elders of the Ding family had been waiting in the inner hall for a long time.
When they saw someone coming in, they all pretended to be serious immediately although they were talking and laughing.
Lu Sen looked around and saw three old people, seven middle-aged people, and a dozen sisters-in-law.
"Father, my brother-in-law is here." Ding Zhaolan quickly walked up the stairs and walked towards the old man in the middle: "He's also coming with us..."
Ding Zhaolan wanted to point out Lu Sen's identity as soon as possible so that his father would be more polite when speaking and not make it too difficult for Captain Zhan, which would otherwise make Master Lu unhappy.
Before he could finish his words, Father Ding pointed to the chair next to him and said seriously, "Don't bother talking. I'm not dead yet. It's not your turn to interrupt in such a big matter."
"but……"
"Go sit over there." Father Ding pointed to the chair next to him again and said, "Just shut up and watch."
Ding Zhaolan had no choice but to walk to the side and sit down.
Then Father Ding glanced at Lu Sen and Zhan Zhao, frowning.
When he found out that his daughter had secretly married an outsider, he was almost mad with anger. But later, when he heard that the man his daughter had secretly married was Zhan Zhao of Kaifeng Prefecture, he was not so angry anymore. After all, Zhan Zhao's reputation was well-known even in Songjiang.
Then he just said that Zhan Zhao was young, elegant, and handsome.
Then there were two young men in front of him, both of them were extremely handsome.
"Which of you two is Zhan Zhao and Zhan Xiongfei?"
"Me!" Zhan Zhao stepped forward, clasped his fists and bowed his head, saying, "My name is Zhan Zhao, nice to meet Uncle Ding."
Although Zhan Zhao is an upright person, since it concerns his own lifelong event, it is not excessive for him to bow his head and call someone "uncle".
Father Ding looked Zhan Zhao up and down and was quite satisfied. This man was handsome, had a dignified look, and was also an official. He was indeed a rare good man and more than suitable for his daughter.
Satisfied, he looked around and frowned, "Xiong Fei, you don't have any elders with you. Is there no elder left in your family?"
"My father, mother, uncles and other elders, a total of eleven people, are in good health." Zhan Zhao answered seriously.
"Oh, then why don't they invite someone to come and discuss such an important matter with me?" Father Ding's expression gradually became cold: "Or does your Zhan family look down on my Ding family? Not even an old man is willing to come with you?"
At this time, Hongniang spoke up: "Mr. Ding, what you said is wrong. My master Zhan's home is too far away from here, it's not convenient..."
"Getting married is not a convenient thing." Father Ding glared at Hongniang: "You have no right to speak here. How dare a mere brothel owner call the shots in my Ding family!"
These words are very hurtful... Indeed, most matchmakers are not very clean, but this matchmaker still respects herself very much, otherwise Zhan Zhao would not have asked them to come and help.
Matchmaker smiled awkwardly and took two steps back.
She was very good at reading the atmosphere and knew that now was not the time for her to say too much. It would be best not to even argue, otherwise it would only add fuel to the fire and cause unnecessary twists and turns in Mr. Zhan's marriage.
Then Father Ding looked at Zhan Zhao, "It is said that Captain Zhan is calm and steady, a close confidant of Bao Longtu, and a modest gentleman. But now it seems that rumors are not to be believed. You want to marry my daughter, but you only invited a matchmaker to come, and you don't even have an elder to testify. Are you looking down on our Ding family?"
As he spoke, he already had a chilling anger in his voice.
Father Ding is also an expert in martial arts, otherwise he would not have been able to train the two heroes of the Songjiang Ding family.
Zhan Zhao felt a little ashamed after being scolded. He clasped his fists and said nothing. He planned to wait until Ding's father calmed down before speaking.
Ding Zhaolan was almost getting anxious. He stood up and was about to speak, but his sharp-eyed and sharp-eared father suddenly turned his head and said, "Sit down. It's not your turn to make the decision in the Ding family yet ."
In the past, Ding Zhaolan would have obeyed his father's scolding, but the current situation did not allow him to do so.
He stood up and said with all his strength: "Father, my brother-in-law didn't mean that."
"Brother-in-law, what brother-in-law!" Father Ding roared, "I haven't agreed yet."
Ding Zhaolan was anxious at this time and said, "My brother-in-law invited a respected person to come and help witness it."
"What big shot? How can he be so virtuous and respected?" Father Ding snorted, of course not believing it. He glanced at Zhan Zhao and others: "There is not even one with a beard, how can there be such a great sage!"
The Ding family members nearby laughed.
"The person standing next to my brother-in-law is Master Lu, Lu Tianzhang!" Ding Zhaolan couldn't help but shout.
"I don't care about Lu Tian..." Father Ding muttered subconsciously, but then reacted very quickly and said: "Wait, what did you just say, Lu Tianzhang, Master Lu!"
Now, everyone's eyes were on Lu Sen.
Because among the few people, except Zhan Zhao, Lu Sen has the best temperament and a sense of transcendence.
At this time, Lu Sen's reputation had spread very far. In the entire Song Dynasty, the only people who had not heard of Lu Sen's name were young children or dead people!
Everyone in the Ding family stood up subconsciously.
Father Ding turned his head and looked at his eldest son, and asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course it's true. I went to the capital more than a year ago and met Master Lu. You are not unaware of this, father!"
Father Ding hissed subconsciously, then turned his head to look at Lu Sen. He immediately clasped his fists and bowed to perform an official salute: "Your humble servant, Songjiang Route Division Supervisor, Songjiang Navy Deputy Commander Ding Yang, greets Lu Tianzhang, Doctor Lu."
Lu Sen was a civil official, while Ding's father was just a local military officer. The gap between the two was huge.
Then everyone in the Ding family, including Ding Zhaolan, bowed and called out: "Greetings, Doctor Lu Tianzhang."
"Please stand up. You're welcome. I'm here as a friend of Captain Zhan, not an official." Lu Sen raised his hand gently: "I came with you this time just to witness Xiong Fei's engagement."
"I see, I see." Ding Yang stood up and said with a smile, "Lu Tianzhang, please sit down. And my dear son-in-law, please sit down too. Come on, don't be polite, treat this place as your own home."
Ding Yang suddenly became enthusiastic.
Lu Sen still sat down and said, "Because Xiong Fei's home is too far away from here, it is inconvenient for the elders to come, so they asked me to come and help talk to Supervisor Ding. Please don't blame him."
"Okay, okay. Oh, you should have said it earlier. Matchmaker over there, please come over and sit down." Ding Yang smiled happily.
Hongniang naturally said she didn't dare, but she still came over, stood and said, "Eunuch Ding, can we have a light betrothal gift? Is there anything else we can do about the wedding?"
Ding Yang glanced at Lu Sen and saw that he was not angry. He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Of course you can, of course you can."
After that, the matchmaker communicated with the elders of the Ding family to confirm that both parties were willing, asked about their birth dates, calculated the date, etc.
In less than half an hour, everything was settled. Hongniang had arranged so many marriages for people, but this time the bride had the highest status and the process was the smoothest.
The other party will agree to whatever you ask this time.
They even gave her a huge amount of dowry.
After the betrothal arrangement was completed, Lu Sen and Zhan Zhao temporarily stayed at the Ding family.
Zhan Zhao sat opposite Lu Sen, clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Lu Xiaolang. It was indeed the right thing to invite you here. Otherwise, it would have been a long time before good things came."
"I don't think so. The Ding family is just testing you to make things difficult for you." Lu Sen said jokingly, "I heard that the Ding family has already given you a batch of dowry. This is obviously a sign of being in a hurry to get married."
"Giving the dowry doesn't mean the person will come with her." Zhan Zhao was the head of the police, so he was naturally familiar with the law: "If something happens along the way and she doesn't want to get married, the dowry must be returned."
Lu Sen chuckled: "I don't think so. There are very few women in this world who are unwilling to marry you."
Zhan Zhao also chuckled when he heard this.
He has confidence in himself. No matter in appearance, temperament or status, he is a leader among the younger generation.
Lu Sen stood up, opened the window, and said, "By the way, do you remember what happened this afternoon?"
"Is Lu Xiaolang talking about the dispute between the Ding family and the Dai family?"
Lu Sen nodded: "This Dai family seems to be a military family. What is their background?"
"If I remember correctly, the Dai family should be the commander of the Songjiang Road and the commander of the local garrison."
Lu Sen said, "In other words, one is the navy and the other is the army. Now they are making trouble. I feel like there is a conspiracy involved."
"Oh, why does Lu Xiaolang have such an idea?"
Lu Sen explained: "Xiong Fei, do you still remember when I resigned from the post of military supervisor and returned to Bianjing, I was ambushed outside the city? Although the main envoys seemed to be from Penglai, the fact that they brought archers with them was not fake."
"Then what is their relationship with Songjiang?"
Lu Sen thought for a moment and said, “It seems unrelated, but my intuition tells me that this matter may be related to the matter.”
Zhan Zhao's face darkened, and after thinking for a while, he said, "We have to wait and see what happens in the lawsuit between the Ding and Dai families in three days."
"Not only that, Xiong Fei, you'd better disguise yourself and get some information here in Songjiang Prefecture." Lu Sen put his hands behind his back and looked at the sky through the window: "If both parties are right, then it is obvious that someone is playing tricks in secret."
Zhan Zhao nodded to show that he understood.
Lu Sen was a civil servant and a direct scholar of Tianzhang Pavilion, so he did have the power to command Zhan Zhao.
Besides, the two of them have a very good relationship, and it is more like helping each other than commanding each other.
And Lu Sen hadn't said anything else: someone was trying to sow discord between the local soldiers, and at the same time between him and the court, and even wanted to kidnap him secretly! These things seemed to be happening at the same time.
The person who did this secretly even regarded him as a prey.
This is very unpleasant.
