Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 141: Blame-shifting and taking the blame
At the gate of Qin Garden, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying saw a row of people kneeling on the bluestone corridor inside, all with their heads drooping and their clothes all in the same style. But just from Zhang Chen's angry voice just now, they knew that these people were the main reason for Zhang Chen's anger.
To put it in easy-to-understand terms, these people are not regular staff members of Qin Yuan, or the Qin Duke's Mansion.
Sure enough, the next moment, Zhang Chen's voice suddenly rose more than an octave: "Secretly keeping outsiders? Do you believe that those censors in the court will dare to report our family for secretly taking in a fugitive if they get the chance? It's simply lawless! Tie them all up, tie them up tightly, and then send them to Shuntian Prefecture Yamen, and say that they..."
Zhang Chen was stuck on what crime to charge these people with when they were sent to Shuntian Prefecture. He was not very familiar with laws and regulations. When he heard the people crying and begging for mercy, he not only did not show mercy, but gestured to shut them up. But the more he thought about the crime, the more irritated he became, and the more irritated he became, the more angry he became.
Just at this moment, he heard a gentle voice coming from outside: "He is not on the list of Qin Garden but is inexplicably in Qin Garden. That means he is trespassing and trying to steal."
"That's right, breaking into a private residence and attempting to steal!" Zhang Chen echoed, and then immediately looked outside the door.
When he found out that it was Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying who came together, he quickly dropped his whip and went forward to greet them. Before he could speak, Zhu Ying rushed to say, "It happened to my family before. We found out that an outsider had sneaked in. And those servants who I thought were diligent before, some were hiding filth, some were doing private accounting, some were fooling around, and some were thieves... Anyway, there were all kinds of messy people!"
Upon learning that Zhao Yuanzhong was in the same situation and that it was not just his own family that was in trouble, Zhang Chen's expression finally softened a little.
Zhu Ying continued, "I saw the sound of beatings in Xiaocuitang early in the morning. More than a dozen people were driven to the stone quarry and coal yard in one breath. Even many elderly people who had followed my father were sent to the same place. Thinking about it now, I feel sad. However, it is better to find out early than late, otherwise I don't know what will happen in the future."
"I have already whipped more than a dozen people, and if it were my temper, I would tie stones to their feet and sink them into the lake, or at least give them a good beating!" Zhang Chen said angrily, "Those people in my family are usually respectful to me, but who would have thought that they would bring in outsiders and set up gambling games behind the scenes!"
Zhu Ying glanced at Zhang Shou and saw that he had been silent after reminding Zhang Chen just now. It was the same now, so she had to speak up: "I heard that other families are also checking after hearing the news from my family, so I plan to go around with Shou and apologize. After all, the incident started from my family."
"Then I'll go with you!" Zhang Chen was a man who acted on his own initiative. He even forgot that the chaos in his own family had not been completely settled. "In case someone doesn't take your reminder seriously, I'll remind them. I have just found out that there is a guy who had connections with the rebels in Linhai Camp in the past, and he often leaked my whereabouts. What a bastard!"
So, Zhang Shou, who was following behind Zhu Ying and Zhang Chen, calmly watched as the top daughters of the capital and the young masters of aristocratic families joined forces to create a huge storm in the neighboring gardens like a whirlwind.
Considering that now is the last time of the year suitable for a short stay in Haidian Manor, about half of the gardens are owned by others. In addition, the word "traitor" is of great significance, so at least one-third of the gardens have heard the message from the Zhu family and are hurriedly searched and rectified.
Especially after Zhu Ying and Zhang Chen came in person and described the chaos with saliva flying everywhere without fear of exposing their family's dirty laundry, most families even stepped up their efforts.
As for the remaining two thirds, more than half of them were because the owner was away, but the gardener also hurriedly began to clean up the place secretly and quickly, and even destroyed the evidence; and the remaining small half also dealt with a few minor matters in a perfunctory manner.
Anyway, when Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying met Zhang Chen to go back to Beijing in the evening, the famous manors in the entire Haidian area were swept away like a typhoon, and countless people cursed the Duke Zhao and the Duke Qin for having nothing to do when they were severely punished. No one thought that this was just Zhang Shou's way of passing the buck.
Since the owners of these famous gardens were not only nobles, but also many civil officials, including Lu Shangshu, who had a wealthy family, and several university scholars and high-ranking officials who were poor but were granted gardens by the emperor, even if the news was reported back to the capital, the censors, who always had the most sensitive noses, did not dare to act rashly because it involved at least a dozen civil and military officials.
Inside Fucheng Gate, when Zhang Shou and his party were respectfully let in by the guards, several officers in black clothes came to greet them. After the leader respectfully bowed and greeted them, the head of the prison, Lin Lao Hu, smiled and said, "Doctor Zhang, my master has just imprisoned the two traitors, and he asked me to bring you a message."
Although Zhu Ying's unhappy look was real, and Zhang Chen's eyes were clearly annoyed, no matter how great the nobles were, they could not stand up to the current prefect, so Lin Lao Hu could only bite the bullet and continue to speak. He knew that this was the city gate where people came and went, so he simply took two steps forward and then lowered his voice further.
"Wang Dayin said that when you were out of the city, Dr. Zhang, a member of the royal family was first imprisoned in the Shuntian government prison, and then two rebels from the Linhai camp were thrown in. Then, several manors sent a bunch of so-called lawless criminals who broke into private homes. Even if the Shuntian government prison is big, it will be full if it continues like this!"
"What does this have to do with A Shou? It's always others who provoked him!" Zhu Ying was so angry that she tried to defend him, but soon after, Lin Lao Hu turned to her and Zhang Chen.
"Miss Zhu, Master Zhang, Lord Wang also said that he knew that Dr. Zhang was not to blame for this, because after all, there are so many lawsuits these days, and most of them are attributed to you two. Can you please behave yourself? Otherwise, he is too busy at the end of the year, and who knows, he might get too busy and accidentally hurt someone in the two mansions."
There was no need to specifically mention who was who, Zhu Ying and Zhang Chen both understood. Who doesn't have a few lice on their head? The Zhu family had a Zhu Er who used to get into trouble all the time. As for the Zhang family... not to mention others, Zhang Chen himself had gotten into trouble a lot in the past! As for the slaves who did evil things in the name of their master, it was even more difficult to stop them.
Even though they were unhappy, due to Wang Datou's reputation as a ruthless person and the fact that what he had just said was not wrong, Zhu Ying and Zhang Chen kept their faces gloomy and said nothing.
When Lin Lao Hu bowed respectfully and prepared to leave, Zhang Shou suddenly said, "Please tell Wang Dayin a message. I don't want to do this, but since the matter has been pushed to Wang Dayin, he should do more work for this busy man. Just treat it as a general cleaning! As the ancients said, if you can't clean your own house, how can you clean the world? For him, if he can't clean the capital, how can he clean the court?"
Lin Lao Hu quickly looked around and confirmed that the people he brought with him were all his trusted servants, and they would not dare to talk nonsense. He then breathed a sigh of relief, but he couldn't help but feel worried in his heart.
How could Zhang Shou, a doctor of the Imperial College, know Wang Jie's wish? Even he had only heard Song Tuiguan mention the original words of the prefect once in a while: If you can't clean up the capital, how can you clean up the court?
But he just wanted the three people in front of him who he couldn't afford to offend not to vent their anger on him, that was enough, so he immediately agreed with a smile on his face. However, he still didn't leave this time, because Zhang Shou stopped him again.
"By the way, the list of candidates for the Jiuzhang Hall interview, Wang Dayin promised me before that he would have Shuntian Prefecture send officials to post the list in the next two days and notify everyone one by one. But I forgot that the Imperial College is a place for students to study and take classes, so it is not suitable for interviews. So, I would like to borrow your precious place. Please report this to Wang Dayin and have the interview at the prefectural office."
Lin Lao Hu was stunned. Why did they need to use Shuntian Prefecture Yamen to recruit students? Could it be...
Needless to say, when the prefect's face turned dark, even a child would be scared to tears, not to mention some lucky people!
However, this time, Lin Lao Hu was very careful. He did not dare to promise everything, but only said that he would convey it when he returned. As soon as he left, Zhang Chen cursed angrily, but his words were a little unclear. It was obvious that Master Zhang did not want anyone to hear how he cursed Wang Datou. He said hello to Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying with a stern face and said goodbye, then he tried to whip them hard.
But before he could spurt his horse, Zhu Ying said angrily, "It's taboo to spurt your horse on the streets of Beijing. Be careful or Wang Datou will pick you up and scold you!"
Zhang Chen hurriedly tried to retract his strength, but the whip almost hit him as it turned halfway.
Seeing his embarrassed look, Zhu Ying couldn't help laughing and felt much better. Seeing Zhang Chen trotting away angrily, she chuckled and glanced at Zhang Shou and said, "A Shou, are you going back to the Imperial College tonight, or..."
"Of course I'm going back to see my mother." Zhang Shou shrugged nonchalantly and said with a smile, "How about you come as a guest? I'm not in a good mood today, so I plan to make something delicious to reward myself!"
Zhu Ying was slightly stunned, then she smiled happily: "Okay, you have to wait for me. I will go back home and tell my grandmother and mother first, and then I will go to your house!"
Zhang Shou smiled and nodded, but then thought to himself that whether it was Lu Sanpang who was looking for a cute girl, or the other noble sons who were hoping to marry someone of equal status, it was time for Zhu Ying to come forward and think of a matchmaker for them.
