There was a sudden silence in the custody room, and Pan Xueliang's eyes widened.

"Sir Gu, I don't have a guilty conscience. I just don't want other people to suffer innocently." He shook his head and slowly clenched his hands, "There are rumors outside that the old minister left the question to me so that he could help Cao Min win the first place in the apricot list. . These are all ridiculous arguments. Who are these people? How can those people talk so nonsense? Why don’t you spit blood on others and taint their mouths first?"

Gu Changjin watched quietly with his dark eyes. He said with a calm expression: "Then what did you mean when you came out of Gongyuan, 'It's such a coincidence'?"

Pan Xueliang was silent, his fisted hands tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened again, for a long time, he said : "The headmaster of the academy where I studied was an old friend of the old minister. In the 13th year of Jiayou's reign, the old minister came to the academy to teach us once. At that time, none of the students in the academy knew the identity of the old minister. He is a classmate of the mountain chief. I was lucky enough to serve tea with the old minister for two days, and he asked some academic questions."

Gu Changjin understood.

"Are you saying that the questions asked by the old minister this time are very similar to the academic questions you asked originally?"

Pan Xueliang hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.

It was precisely because of the advice and teachings he received from the old minister that Pan Xueliang was able to change his previous pedantry in this examination and answer a paper that was beyond his ability.

Gu Changjin always scrutinized Pan Xueliang's expression and knew that he was telling the truth.

Then he nodded and stood up and said, "I've finished asking. If what you said is true, you can leave here today."

After saying that, he walked out, but Pan Xueliang stopped him and said, "Master Gu."

Gu Changjin paused and looked back. .

Pan Xueliang bowed solemnly and said: "The common people have not spoken before because they are afraid that others will smear the reputation of the old minister. The common people believe you, sir, and now you tell the truth. I hope you will clear the old minister's name. The ordinary people should be grateful." Do it!"

Gu Changjin lowered his eyes and looked at him. The trust in this man's eyes was almost clear, with a bit of innocence and stubbornness.

"If you and Lao Shangshu are truly innocent, the Holy Spirit will naturally restore your innocence." He said calmly.

After leaving the custody room, Gu Changjin told Hu He what Pan Xueliang had said one by one. Hu He paced back and forth in the main room with his hands behind his back and asked, "Is Pan Xueliang telling the truth?"

Gu Changjin said: "The academy where Pan Xueliang studied is in Yangzhou. If you send someone to Lingshan Academy to inquire, you will know whether what he said is true or false."

Hu He glanced at him and said with a smile: "To be honest, it's not what you think."

Gu. Chang Jin paused slightly and said: "In the opinion of the lower official, Pan Xueliang is telling the truth."

Hu He sighed: "It's really difficult to handle."

If Pan Xueliang is telling the truth, then the key to this fraud case is not Pan Xueliang. And on Lao Shangshu.

The old minister taught Pan Xueliang and solved his doubts. Pan Xueliang always remembered the old minister's advice. He probably engraved everything the old minister said in his mind word by word, so that he could stand out in the examination.

When Hu He was still alive, he also gave lessons to his disciples. To be honest, if those brats in the clan are not very talented, but can work as hard as Pan Xueliang and remember every word he said, it will be a good story if they can be named in the celebrity list.

A person who is not very talented but wins the Jinshi through hard work is worthy of admiration.

"Is it possible that the old minister is getting older and has just forgotten that he helped Pan Xueliang?" He murmured to himself: "It's really tricky. The old minister has been sick in bed for a long time. This year is his last time as an examiner. Who can It is impossible that something like this went wrong. It is impossible that the old minister deliberately asked Pan Xueliang to be on the list?"

Hu He laughed at his thought, shook his head and said with a smile: "Gong Sheng still has it. Those who failed to be elected would not believe such a coincidence. Now that we have Pan Xueliang in custody, we can barely appease them. If Pan Xueliang is released today, those scholars will probably make a fuss. "

These officials used to be. A person who respects the old minister very much, but now knows that the person he has always respected is engaging in malpractice for personal gain, how can he let it go?

I'm afraid I wish I could lift the sky!

When the scholar becomes angry, he becomes even crazier than the soldiers on the battlefield!

Gu Changjin said: "Pan Xueliang has not committed fraud, so he should not be detained again. It may not be safe for him to go out this time."

There are always people in this world who act impulsively when their brains are hot.

Pan Xueliang doesn't know how much spit he will get when he leaves here.

If you have bad luck and encounter those unreasonable people, you may have to suffer some physical pain.

Hu He let out a long sigh.

"Forget it, I'll ask him if he wants to go out or stay, let him make his own choice."

Gu Changjin thought of Pan Xueliang's almost stubborn eyes and knew that he must have chosen to go out and go out in an upright manner.

Sure enough, when he was on duty, Gu Changjin heard from Hu He that Pan Xueliang had chosen to leave the custody room and go back to the guild hall in Zhuangyuan Alley.

When the carriage arrived at Wutong Lane, Gu Changjin said to Hengping: "Go to the guild hall and keep an eye on Pan Xueliang. Don't let anything happen to Pan Xueliang."

Hengping followed the order and left.

...

Time flies and it’s the end of March, and the apricot grove outside Mingluyuan is blooming with apricot flowers.

Rong Shu put the counted land deeds back into the wooden box.

Seeing her smiling and money-obsessed look, Mrs. Shen couldn't help but said: "If you are short of money, I will give it to you. As for a few land deeds, are you so happy?"

"Madam, I don't know, the girl bought these. The hot spring holes were dug out of the land a few days ago, and now the land is worth a lot of money." Ying Que raised a finger and said proudly: "I don't know how many times my brother asked Fang Ya who I found before, and he said he would sell it now. If we go out, we can at least double it."

Rong Shu smiled and said, "I won't sell it now. I'll double it in another two months. Then I'll sell it again."

Shen calculated and doubled it. The last time I looked it up, it was almost four to fifty thousand taels of silver, which was a lot of money.

He asked hurriedly: "What kind of business do you want to use the money for?"

Rong Shu moved the brocade tree under his body towards Shen's side, "Auntie, I want to go to Datong Mansion to buy a horse ranch."

Shen's eyebrows furrowed. , said: "Horse ranch? You want to raise horses? This is a money-losing business. The money you spend raising a horse can support twenty-five people. Do you have money but no place to spend it?"

Rong Shu Said: "I know that raising horses costs money, and I have already thought of other ways to earn money. At present, the wars in various places in the border areas are tense, and Dayin is so short of horses that they have to requisition private horses everywhere. I don't expect to be able to raise any big ones. The horse ranch can be used to help the generals at the border."

Shen glanced at Rong Shu: "Are you afraid that the Mu family will lose the battle?"

The Mu family has guarded Datong Mansion for generations, which is the northern border of Dayin. It is one of the important cities guarding the border and has been invaded by Tatars all year round. Rong Shu chose to build a horse ranch in Datong. If he did raise horses, he would probably give priority to the Mu family army in Datong.

"Ni Jing has a lot of thoughts on his end, but the most important thing is that as a citizen of Dayin, if I can use my abilities to do something, my trip to this world will not be in vain."

"Not yet. Did you come to this world for nothing?" Mrs. Shen laughed angrily, "I didn't know that I gave birth to a darling who cares about the world! Come on, do whatever you want, and you will be penniless after all, and you still have a mother to support. you."

After thinking for a while, he said: "The Holy Emperor is a wise Lord. At the beginning of the founding of the dynasty, he implemented the Horse Protection Law, reduced taxes and burdens, and encouraged the people to raise horses. The Mu family has deep roots in Datong Prefecture. If you want to raise a horse ranch, , It’s not impossible.”

This matter comes from Lao Huangli.

At the end of Jiande period, during the years when Prince Qiyuan was in charge of the country, Dayin was in a precarious period surrounded by foreign enemies and constant internal strife.

Afterwards, the kings besieged the capital and competed for the Dragon Throne in the Jinluan Palace. They lost a lot of combat power and the Dayin border fell into a dilemma of lack of food, horses and soldiers.

Emperor Jiayou was aware of the crisis at the Dayin border at the beginning of his reign. He tried every means to increase revenue and cut expenditures to raise military pay. At the same time, he also implemented new laws in the crisis. One of them was the Horse Protection Law. This law officially made Ma Zheng a great official. One of Yin's important political affairs.

War horses represent the number of cavalry, and cavalry is the core combat force of an army.

Now that the Horse Preservation Law has been in effect for twenty years, it cannot be said to be very successful, but at least the number of private horses has increased significantly compared with before.

Folk horses cannot compete with well-trained war horses, but Dayin is really short of horses, so he doesn't want to choose.

Rong Shu actually had a very selfish motive for opening a horse ranch to raise horses.

In the late spring of the 23rd year of Jiayou's reign, thousands of war horses in Datong Prefecture were infected with horse plague. The Tatars took this opportunity to invade Datong, and Datong was almost lost.

Emperor Jiayou was furious and immediately asked Taipu Temple to mobilize war horses from the thirteen northern states to support Datong.

If at this critical moment, thousands of folk horses that are comparable to war horses are donated to Datong Mansion, it will be a great achievement, and Rong Shu wants this credit.

This is a way out for her and herself.

"Then it's settled. Nijing will be able to return to Beijing in May. At that time, I will hand over the money to her. If she knows that I want to open a horse ranch, she may be very happy."

Mu Nijing is the general. A tiger girl with a bubbly temperament and a good rapport with Rong Shu.

The county head was born into the Mu family, a family of military generals. The Mu family has been stationed in Datong for generations. The sons and sons of the Mu family are all buried in horse leather, and their ancestors have made countless military exploits for generations.

In the 14th year of Jiayou's reign, Mu Nijing's father, uncles and several brothers were plotted against by the Tatar national army and died on the battlefield.

There were only two single seedlings left in the entire Mu family, one was Mu Nijing, and the other was Mu Nijing's brother Mu Rong.

Emperor Jiayou specially gave Mu Nijing the title of Danzhu County Princess and allowed her to have hundreds of personal soldiers.

Such an honor is unique in Shangjing.

In the circle of noble ladies in Beijing, there are many noble ladies who want to have sex with the Lord of Danzhu County. However, Mu Nijing's temperament is too straightforward, and many noble ladies come away disappointed after being in contact with her for a few days.

Rong Shu is the only one who can be said to be on a handkerchief with Mu Nijing.

It can be said that the friendship between the two began at the spring banquet when they were fifteen years old.

At that time, Rong Shu was laughed at for running a shop, saying that dragons gave birth to dragons, phoenixes gave birth to phoenixes, and mice's children could dig holes.

This happened to make Ni Jing listen, and he directly pulled out the long whip from his waist, and smashed the cases beside those people with one whip.

"If everyone in Dayin could work hard to earn money to pay taxes, instead of just eating tea and gossiping all day long, the sons and daughters of the prison over there would not have to go to war in cold clothes and hungry."

Mu Nijing's county title is Gifted by Emperor Jiayou personally, other than the princess, the noble daughter in the capital must be greeted by others when they see her.

Those noble ladies dared not speak out in anger.

Dayin's border was in a state of emergency. The Tatars and Jurchens were invading the north, and the Diluo kingdoms were causing trouble in the coastal defense in the south. Unexpectedly, there have been constant natural disasters in the past few years, and the tax collected every year cannot make ends meet. Isn't this just what Mu Nijing said?

What do they dare to refute?

From then on, no one dared to blatantly make fun of Xiao Shu.

Rong Shu heard that the head of Danyang County had whipped him angrily because of her, so he sent someone to deliver a message to the Mu family, asking her if she wanted to join the family and open a shop together, and he would share the profits with her.

Rong Shu just wanted to repay the favor, but he never thought about making friends with Mu Nijingtou.

Mu Nijing was quite happy and came to the Marquis of Chengan's Mansion to look for Rongshu with his entire fortune.

Rong Shu only found out after looking at her private room that the Danzhu County Lord was really extremely poor. I originally thought of sharing 20% ​​of the profit with her, but seeing how poor she was, my heart softened and I gave her 30%.

On the day when Mu Nijing received the dividend, he came over to her with a knife to burn on the altar and said, "You, Miss Rong, will be my, Mu Nijing's God of Wealth from now on."

This made Rong Shu dumbfounded, but she also completely surrendered. Hand this handkerchief.

Mrs. Shen couldn't help but said: "You used to tell your mother that you would go to Datong Mansion to join the county master when you were twenty. Now that you have reconciled, are you going to pick up your old ambition and go to Datong Mansion?"

Rong Shu really has it. This idea, but it can only be done after she comes back from Yangzhou, and she also has to find a way to coax her to come with her. It is best to let her divorce her father smoothly before then.

Thinking about it this way, there is still a lot to do.

Rong Shu was very busy in the next few days. On the first day of April, Mrs. Shen was going to check the accounts of several shops on Chang'an Street, so Rong Shu accompanied her.

The carriage passed through the city gate and headed straight for Chang'an Street.

"You said that the Lord Danzhu County will be back at the end of this month. You should also go to those two shops to settle the accounts and sort out the dividends from the County Lord Danzhu." Mrs. Shen said, waving her fan.

Rong Shu had been dealing with the old accounts of the Marquis Mansion, but he had forgotten about it. Mu Nijing invested in Rong Shu's two most profitable shops, one was the Silk Shop on Chang'an Street, and the other was the Jinlou on Changtai Street.

Every year when Mu Nijing returns to Beijing with Mu Rong to report on his work, the first thing he does is ask her for dividends.

Who in Beijing would have guessed that the dashing Danzhu County Lord would be a money-lover?

"Okay, I'll pick out some clothes for her on the way." Rong Shu said, "I probably don't have a few good sets of clothes left for her last year."

The shopkeeper of the silk and satin shop, whose surname is Chen, is the former Rong Shuwai. People whose ancestors were in Yangzhou were a little surprised when they saw Rong Shu come in. They put down the guests they were entertaining and stepped forward and said, "Why is my boss here?"

"Come here to take a look at the accounts, and take the opportunity to sort out the dividends given to the owner of Danzhu County. . "

Shopkeeper Chen is a very thoughtful person. Although the owner of Danzhu County can enter the shop owned by shareholders, even though the capital is not much, what he wants is the gimmick to scare people, so the dividends given to County Owner Danzhu are always in advance. There is only a lot more to prepare.

After entering the inner room and handing the account book to Rong Shu, shopkeeper Chen took out a mahogany box and said, "This is the dividend from the head of Danzhu County this year."

Rong Shu opened the box and saw two sheets of paper inside. With a thousand taels of silver notes, he raised his eyebrows and said, "How much profit is the shop making this year?"

Shopkeeper Chen hurriedly bowed and said, "It is indeed more than last year."

"But it's not much more. To this amount." Thinking of something, Rong Shu said with a faint smile, "Are you deliberately trying to give the county owner extra dividends?"

Normally, the dividends given to Mu Nijing by the silk shop are only one thousand two hundred taels. , She had just read the account books in the shop. Even if business was better last year than before, the 30% dividend would not exceed 1,500 taels.

This is shopkeeper Chen who wants to take the opportunity to make good friends with the head of Danzhu County.

Everyone in Shangjing knew that the head of Danzhu County had invested in Rong Shu's two shops, but they didn't know that the two had a close friendship in private, and Rong Shu never used Mu Nijing to flatter himself, so this matter Even shopkeeper Chen didn’t know.

Rong Shu said with a smile: "Uncle Chen, you don't have to be like this, just do whatever you want. The county master doesn't like this."

Shopkeeper Chen cupped his hands and said, "I heard that General Mu won a battle in Datong this spring and will return to Beijing soon to report on his duties. This time, the Mu family will probably be able to restore the former glory of the Mu family army.

" Nijing's father, uncle, and several cousins ​​died in the battle, leaving only Mu Rong, a man supporting the family.

Na Mu Rong was originally a sick boy and grew up in Shangjing. When his father and brother had an accident, he was still working as a supervisor in the Imperial College.

When he went to Datong alone, everyone was not optimistic about it and said that the Mu family army was about to disperse.

Unexpectedly, this sick man went to Datong, and it took him less than five years to regain the prestige of the Mu family army. This year's victory really defeated the Tatar army.

Isn’t it just around the corner that the Mu family can regain its former glory?

Rong Shu put the banknotes back into the wooden box, looked at shopkeeper Chen, and said with a smile: "Uncle Chen has good intentions. Let's talk about it, but are there any bad rumors about going to Beijing?"

Shopkeeper Chen is from the Shen family. The old servant who had watched Rong Shu grow up, after hearing what Rong Shu said, did not hide it from her and said: "After the eldest lady went to Minglu Courtyard, a rumor spread in Beijing that the Marquis of Cheng'an wanted to divorce his wife. So I can use this to rehabilitate Pei Shangshu's orphan. And -"

Shopkeeper Chen glanced at Rong Shu and sighed: "My boss, the news about your relationship with Master Gu was also reported a few days ago,"

the old shopkeeper said. I won’t go any further.

Rong Shu smiled and said nonchalantly: "Master Gu and I made peace with each other a month ago. I thought this matter had already been a thing of the past in Shangjing. Why did no one talk about it these days?"

After thinking about it, This matter is probably suppressed by Gu Changjin. Paper alone can't cover up the fire. Sooner or later, someone will be talking about it and chewing it after dinner.

Shopkeeper Chen said: "Mr. Gu's reputation is really good. At first, people outside were rumoring that you were too domineering, and that's why Mr. Gu had to propose a divorce. Fortunately, later Mr. Gu personally refuted the rumors and arrested a few people. Only then can I clear my name for you, a gossip."

Rong Shu was still enjoying his fruit tea leisurely. After hearing this, he hurriedly swallowed the tea soup in his mouth and said, "Mr. Gu. "Jin arrested someone?"

It's such a trivial matter that I don't bother the Lord to arrest someone personally.

"You don't know something. It's just that those words were too unpleasant to hear. Well, I'd better not tell you so as not to make you feel bad."

Shopkeeper Chen feels sick just thinking about it now. This is what happens in this world. People who don't know the truth of a matter at all, yet insist on pouring dirty water on people indiscriminately.

Shopkeeper Chen is really worthless for his boss.

When my boss married into Wutong Lane, the people in the upper capital thought it was a good match. One was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Mansion, and she was as beautiful as a fairy. of.

Who wouldn’t like such a story about a talented man and a beautiful woman?

However, in less than a year, this golden marriage broke up. In the eyes of ordinary people, if a good marriage ends in harmony, there must be something fishy inside.

Mr. Gu has won the hearts of the people because of the two cases of Xu Li'er and Yang Xu. The common people were reluctant to criticize him, so they put the blame on his employer.

Fortunately, Mr. Gu is still a conscientious person.

When Shopkeeper Chen said this, he didn't know what he was thinking about and hesitated for a moment.

"There is one more thing that I think I would like to know about my boss. At the spring banquet a few days ago, the second girl Rong was invited by the British father-in-law. I heard that the second girl had a few quarrels with others there. Sentence. "

Rong Juan? "

Rong Shu paused slightly, "Has she had any quarrels with her friends?"

Her sister has a bad temper, but she is about to marry into the Jiang family, so she shouldn't be so out of control. In the past, when she went out to banquets, she had always behaved in a gentle, courteous and frugal manner. If not, how could she have been known as one of the "Three Beauties in Beijing"?

"This matter is also related to you, my boss. At the spring banquet, someone made some bad remarks about you, but Miss Rong refuted it."

Rong Shu suddenly became interested and said with a smile: "How did she refute it? But the praise "Me?"

Shopkeeper Chen was a little helpless. Previously, the boss was not very interested in Mr. Gu's refutation of rumors for her. Now when he heard that the sister she had grown up with since childhood spoke for her, he was very happy. In high spirits.

"The second girl said, when Mr. Gu was injured, he had to bring medicine back from his mother's house to recuperate his injuries. It is impossible to achieve success without your hard work. How can we be harmonious together?" I just blamed you. Do you think they are easy to bully from the Marquis of Cheng'an?"

Shopkeeper Chen looked at Rong Shu's face and smiled when he saw the smile on her face: "It's rare for the second girl to do so. I can also speak for my boss, but it's a pity that these words have not been spread."

Rong Shu said: "It would be better if it was not spread. The eldest lady of the Jiang family is not easy to deal with."

Now Rong Wei is the eldest grandma of the Jiang family. What kind of mother-in-law would like the fact that the wife of the clan, after getting married, still talks to us about the Marquis of Chengan Mansion? In particular, the eldest lady of the Jiang family was kind-hearted and cruel, and Rong Shu did not want Rong Juan to cause unnecessary trouble because of her.

After all, she no longer cares about what others think of her. She has more important things to do and has no time to care about what others say.

Shopkeeper Chen smiled and responded.

Rong Shu settled the accounts, got up and left after eating the fruit tea: "The owner of Danzhu County can do whatever she wants with the dividends, just remember to leave her a good ten yuan, it doesn't need to be fancy, the most important thing is to Come on. Let's stop here today. I have to go to the Jinlou."

Shopkeeper Chen responded quickly and walked Rong Shu out of the house.

However, less than half an hour later, a waiter suddenly ran in panting and said: "Shopkeeper, something happened in Zhuangyuan Alley! A large group of officials are making trouble there!"

People doing business in Shangjing. What I fear most is the word "making trouble".

Shopkeeper Chen's eyelids twitched, and he didn't know what he thought of. He slapped his forehead and said hurriedly: "Oops!"

Just now, the owner went out from the Straw Hat Alley at the back door of the Silk and Satin Store. That alley was connected to the Zhuangyuan Alley, but Mo About to run into that mess!