Chapter 98 What to do
Su Luo's eyes suddenly widened. She looked at the boy, then at Qin Huai, and asked incredulously, "Your son?"
Qin Huai nodded with a slight smile, "My name is Qin Qi. Xiao Qi, this is Aunt Su."
Su Luo was still a little bit incredulous. During the New Year's chat, she once asked Qin Huai, and Qin Huai just said that he had no wife. Su Luo naturally thought that Qin Huai had always been single. Until now, Su Luo realized that she actually knew nothing about Qin Huai. Without a wife, did he not have concubines? Haven't you read enough stallion novels in all these years? Of course, a man who traveled through time would kill anyone who stood in his way, and she treated him as a close friend just because she was a traveler, without thinking about whether he was willing or not. Of course, in fact, who Qin Huai's family was had nothing to do with Su Luo. Su Luo just felt that this feeling was wrong. She trusted him too much, but found that she didn't know him at all. Or maybe Su Luo was confused by Qin Huai's masculinity. Women always have a sense of trust in handsome men.
Qin Qi bowed like a little adult to show his respect. Su Luo smiled and stretched out his hand, "Qinqi? Is your calligraphy called 'Shuhua'?"
Su Luo stretched out her hand and wanted to touch the top of Qin Qi's head, but Qin Qi took a step back, leaving Su Luo's hand awkwardly suspended in mid-air. Qin Qi said in his childish voice: "Aunt Su, are you joking? If so, it's not funny at all. If not, you should know that people can only choose their own name after they reach adulthood. I am too young to have any name."
Now not only Su Luo's hands were embarrassed, but even her face was embarrassed.
Okay, she admitted that her jokes weren't very funny, but but ... kids should be cuter!
Seeing Su Luo's eating turtle, Qin Qing seemed very satisfied and said with a smile: "Xiao Qi is not used to being touched by others, especially outsiders."
Outsiders. Su Luo pondered over these two words, and became more and more convinced that Qin Qing and Qin Qi had a purpose for their sudden appearance. She certainly would not stage such a scene just to show the deep brotherly love between her and Qin Huai, so... Su Luo looked around and saw Bai Qing, who was following Ji Mei, also looking at her with hostility . Suddenly, a nerve was connected.
Touching her nose, Su Luo felt that there was no need for her to stay and continue to be someone's imaginary enemy. She smiled dryly and signaled to Qin Huai before retreating. She still had to worry about her mother's affairs. But it was strange. Didn't Qin Qing and Bai Qing fall out from being good friends? Why would he help Bai Qing to squeeze her now?
Su Luo studied the matter while retreating. Even if the two of them fought again, that would be a contradiction among the people, while his own was a contradiction between the enemy and us, which were different in nature.
Qin Huai caught up from behind, "I'm sorry."
Su Luo asked inexplicably: "What are you sorry for?"
"Xiaoqi's matter, I..."
Su Luo quickly raised his hands and made a gesture of surrender, "Hey, you don't have to tell me about your family affairs. I'm just a little surprised." Su Luo took the opportunity to glance back and saw Qin Huai returned to Ji Mei. His face was no longer distant and indifferent to him just now. He looked very attached to Ji Mei. Su Luo pointed his chin over there and teased, "Is he your and Ji Mei's illegitimate child?"
"Don't talk nonsense." Qin Huai's expression was a little serious. "Can you joke about a woman's reputation?"
Su Luo was scolded and said awkwardly: "It's just a talk, do you really think you are an ancient person?"
"Xiaoqi's mother has been gone for a long time," Qin Huai lowered his eyes and let out a sigh, "Xiaoqi was still young when we arrived in Nanjing. At that time, my aunt had a good relationship with Miss Ji. Miss Ji often visited the Qin Mansion and became familiar with Xiaoqi."
"I think the relationship between you and your son is a little strange." Su Luo forgot the embarrassment just now and expressed the doubts in his heart.
Qin Huai was silent for a few seconds, obviously not wanting to say more. Su Luo didn't continue to dwell on it. It was better not to care too much about other people's affairs.
"You are also very cold to him. Go back and have a chat with him. You haven't seen each other for a year. Your son will definitely miss his father." Su Luo saw that Qin Huai was still silent and pushed him. "I don't know what your problem is, but as a father, you should do what a father should do, right? Be patient with children, and all problems will be solved."
Qin Huai smiled, hesitated for a short while, then turned around and walked back to the lobby.
Qin Huai's smile was still the same, but Su Luo always felt that it lacked some essence, and it was not as sunny as before.
When she walked into the garden, she saw from afar Zhou Chongwen surrounded by several middle-aged socialites, and bursts of laughter could be heard from time to time.
Su Luo narrowed her eyes, and a scene of a celebrity woman reaching out her claws to an innocent boy emerged in her mind. She immediately transformed herself into a righteous superhero who rescued the little white rabbit. When she flew to the little white rabbit, she found that the little white rabbit didn't need her rescue at all!
Zhou Chongwen had a gentle smile on his face as he listened attentively to a lady speaking, occasionally saying a word or two, which drew laughter from those around him.
The one who was speaking was the wife of the Tongpan of Yingtian Prefecture, equivalent to the wife of a modern vice governor, and definitely not an ordinary lady. Su Luo stopped and leaned over to listen like a thief. After listening for a long time, it seemed that she was recalling something from the past.
"He was so young back then." The magistrate's wife measured his height with her hand at her waist. "He was like a little adult. Every time he saw me, he would recite the Analects to me and ask me if I knew what it meant. How could I, a woman, understand so much?"
Several noble ladies around him laughed softly with their hands covering their mouths. Zhou Chongwen said embarrassedly, "I was still young at that time and didn't know the etiquette..." Looking up and seeing Su Luo eavesdropping, his face turned even redder. At this time, the wife of the Tongpan sighed, "It's just that we left Beijing too early. Later, we heard that your father was dismissed from office. Your great uncle also asked many people to inquire about it, but... you also know the situation at that time. When the wall falls, everyone pushes it. Once the Prime Minister falls, many people are implicated. Not to mention that everyone is in danger, everyone also keeps a low profile. Even if they know your father's character, they didn't write to the ministers. Later, we heard the news of your father's death. Alas... This matter still bothers your great uncle to this day."
The Prime Minister who fell from power as mentioned by the Lady Tongpan should be Zhang Juzheng, who was committed to promoting reforms and made great contributions to the economic development of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Wanli trusted him very much and even followed his opinions in everything. At that time, Zhang Juzheng was respected by court officials and loved by the people. He was second only to the emperor.
As the saying goes, the higher you stand, the harder you fall. Zhang Juzheng didn't fall when he was alive, but he was completely pulled down from the altar after his death. In June of the tenth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng died of illness at home with his unfulfilled ideals. His death was a huge blow to Wanli, but it was also a relief for Wanli. The court officials had been suppressed for too long, so on the fourth day after Zhang Juzheng's death, the ministers began to impeach the officials he had arranged during his lifetime, and found that this prime minister who had always been known for his integrity and frugality was actually very wealthy. A vigorous impeachment campaign kicked off. Anyone who had anything to do with Zhang Juzheng had no good end. The specific events are unknown, but Zhou Chongwen's father must be one of them. No matter whether you have done anything wrong, just because you were close to the prime minister before, you became a criminal .
This sounds like a false accusation, but it also partially shows that he was not very smart. Let's not talk about others, just Li Rusong's father Li Chengliang, he was smart, when Zhang Juzheng was in power, he was Zhang Juzheng's confidant, when the prime minister fell, Li Chengliang turned around and became the close comrade-in-arms of the successor prime minister Shen Shixing, this kind of method should make him live a hundred years, Li Chengliang seemed to live to more than ninety years old before he died, much better than old Zhou.
Su Luo shook her head and sighed repeatedly. Zhou Chongwen listened to the words of the magistrate's wife and immediately bowed to her with a serious face, "Madam, please don't say that. My father has been cared for by Lord Zeng, and he has lived up to his friendship with Lord Zeng. At that time, let alone not writing a letter to the emperor, even if I wrote a letter to defend my father, it would definitely not have any results, and it would have implicated Lord Zeng."
Su Luo nodded. That was true. In those days, if one had anything to do with the name "Zhang Juzheng", even a small thing would become a big deal.
The wife of the Tongpan sighed with relief, "When we knew your father had passed away, we looked for you, but we searched all over the capital and Luoyang, but couldn't find you. We never expected to meet you here, and your uncle can finally have one less thing to worry about. Come back with me today, and we can have a good reunion."
Zhou Chongwen wanted to refuse, but the magistrate's wife insisted on her opinion. Zhou Chongwen had no choice but to say that he was an employee of Shiseido and could not leave his post easily. The magistrate's wife frowned and looked at him unhappily, "Do you think what I said today is just a courtesy to you? Do you think that just because your family has fallen into poverty, your great uncle and I will turn against you and no longer recognize you as a member of the Zhou family?"
Zhou Chongwen quickly denied it, and the judge's wife relaxed her expression, "Then go back with me today. As for your job here, just quit. You are a descendant of a scholarly family, how can you be a businessman? If your father knew, he would not rest in peace."
I didn't expect this guy to have such a strong backer. Su Luo looked at Zhou Chongwen, who was sweating from anxiety. He thought that Master Zhong from Kaifeng Prefecture was quite remarkable. He didn't expect that he still had connections with the upper class after leaving Henan. The key point was why didn't he mention a word about it? Not only did he not mention the connections left by his father, but he also rarely mentioned his past. As time went by, Su Luo really regarded him as a poor boy who made a living by selling calligraphy. He forgot that he also lived in a garden villa and had passed the imperial examination. If he hadn't been implicated, he should be a small official somewhere now, and then step by step, he would work hard to get promoted by his ability or management, and eventually become a frontier official.
"...Miss Su, is that right?"
Su Luo was in a daze when her name was called unexpectedly . She looked up and saw that it was the wife of the Tongpan. Seeing that Su Luo did not respond, the Tongpan's wife said again, "A scholar should still do what a scholar should do. If you stay here, not only will you not make any achievements, but you will also waste your life. Miss Su, don't you agree?"
Su Luo was confused for a moment and looked at Zhou Chongwen. What should a scholar do? Was he... going to leave here?
