Chapter 17 Back to the door

Although he was appointed as the deputy chief examiner by the emperor, Tang Zengyuan still looked leisurely, as if he was not concerned about this great favor. Since he stood out from the college entrance examination at the age of thirteen, he won the Jieyuan in the provincial examination at the age of 16, and won the first place in the palace examination at the age of 18, and everyone called him a genius. However, such a figure who has mastered all the classics and history has been staying in the two Qingshui yamen of Zhanshi Mansion and Hanlin Academy for twenty years. Although he has repeatedly taught the prince, his rank has stagnated and there has been no progress in practice. However, no one in the capital dared to underestimate this bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. It should be noted that he was not only a disciple, but also many royal children were taught by him, and he could not touch it at all.

Therefore, although there are many people inquiring about the news in front of the Tang Mansion, no one dares to step over the line, and no one dares to blame Tang Zengyuan for being too arrogant. However, the scene of crowded people and bustling traffic still makes the servants in the Tang Mansion happy. These days, the money that those people alone stuffed into their hands is not a small amount.

"Master, you finally got such a fat man, so it's hard to handle it. If you continue like this, you will offend you!" Du complained dissatisfied, "Over the years, the expenses of the family have been taken from those manors. You can't just sit there and eat nothing, right?" She said without any silence, but she was determined to instigate her husband to go out for social events.

"Oh, madam, you know what the situation is now. If you go out to mess around, you may even lose your life." Tang Zengyuan disagreed, "Didn't you always ask me to keep a low profile? Why did you change your mind this time?"

Du smiled slightly, then sat down opposite Tang Zengyuan, and said seriously: "Master, this is the time when the emperor has just ascended the throne. It is the time to use people. No matter what, you have to show it carefully, right? Besides, those people who are looking for news outside are small characters, and they can be passed on in just a few words. But what about the big men behind the court? They are staring at your mission one by one, aren't they just waiting to get a share of the pie?"

"Hmph! They are all a group of greedy guys. The new king ascended the throne and was worried that he would not find anyone to have an attack. They still want to waste it? Does the lady mean..." Tang Zengyuan snorted coldly at first, then seemed to think of something, and his voice lowered a little. He sent the maids who were serving him casually, and then he put his head closer. "Madam wants me to be very outstanding this time? That offended person is so hot!"

Du shook his head inexplicably, "I'm not that stupid. You won't pull Lord Ma together? He is determined to be an important official in front of the emperor. He usually doesn't care about those high-ranking officials, so wouldn't it be appropriate to let him stand out? At that time, you just pretend to mention it casually. In order not to take responsibility, he must jointly sign with you, right? Besides, just choose a few people who don't have eyes and don't like the emperor, and those powerful people don't say anything."

"Madam is really Zhuge!" Tang Zengyuan smiled and said, "After you say this, I feel confident." He has always followed Du's advice, so hesitated at this time. He called a maid and prepared to change clothes and meet outside. Unexpectedly, as soon as he got up, he saw a maid hurried into the house and saluted him and reported: "Master, Madam, son-in-law and lady come to worship together."

Tang Zengyuan was stunned at first, and then his face became a little ugly. "This Zhang Shuming has been back to Kyoto for several days, so why did he know that he came to the door today? Seeing Rou is really hard, she actually married such a utilitarian husband!" He obviously had heard the words of others, and his words were not so nice. However, thinking that his daughter rarely returned to Kyoto once, he had to instruct, "Let them come in!"

Seeing the maid retreat, Du stepped forward and persuaded, "Master, don't take some trivial matters to heart. Now Shuming is a governor of Zhejiang and a second-rank official. Which young talent can be as capable as him? In my opinion, it is a good thing for young people to be utilitarian, otherwise wouldn't they be so qualified in the Hanlin Academy like you? If it weren't for the emperor's wise and wise, you would be less than his current rank!" Seeing that her husband's face seemed to be a little uneasy, she smiled and explained, "It's her blessing for her daughter to marry such a person. Shuming still has only two concubines in the room, but there is no girl whom he did before. There is no one next to him. In this case, I'm afraid that ordinary officials can't match."

"You make sense!" Tang Zengyuan shook his head helplessly. Seeing his daughter and son-in-law coming in, he put away his expression just now and looked at the pair of good friends with some joy.

It has been eight years since the two got married. During this period, Tang Jianrou had a son and a daughter, which was considered to have fulfilled her mother's instructions. However, although she still looked as usual, Du still noticed a trace of freedom in her daughter's eyes and was immediately displeased.

"I have met my father-in-law and mother-in-law!" Zhang Shuming respectfully stepped forward and bowed respectfully. Tang Jianrou beside him naturally followed her salutes.

"Okay, it's rare to meet once, so don't make trouble for these false gifts." Tang Zengyuan ordered the two of them to stand up and looked at their daughter's expression. After a long time, he joked, "Well, the water and soil in Jiangnan do nourish people, you will be even more plump when you see Rou. Not bad, not bad..." He suddenly thought of a pair of grandchildren and asked in confusion, "Didn't you two bring your children with you?"

Zhang Shuming quickly replied: "I was going to bring them to see you today, but the two children seemed not to have a good sleep last night, so I still asked the wet nurse to take her to live with her father. If the father-in-law and mother-in-law want to see the two children, the son-in-law will be informed later. Jianrou hasn't returned home for a long time. This time, the son-in-law also intends to let her stay here for two days to comfort the pain of separation between her father-in-law and her."

Tang Zengyuan smiled with satisfaction. After a while, the father-in-law and son-in-law talked for a while, and he still went out to meet, leaving only Zhang Shuming and his wife and Du. Seeing her husband leave, Du scolded a group of maids, and then asked her daughter to sit beside her. She didn't care about Zhang Shuming and was too ignorant. She spoke and scolded: "Jian Rou, you are too ignorant. Fortunately, your father didn't take care of your tears just now. I ask you, what's wrong with your tears? You can't even cover up the rouge and water powder? You are already a wife. Don't just put everything on your face!"

Tang Jianrou knew her mother's nature before, so she had to nod her head, and her heart felt sad. Instead, Zhang Shuming stepped forward and said, "Mother-in-law, I was just tired of playing with her two children last night, so there were no tears. My relationship with Jianrou is well known. It's no problem for husband and wife to follow her, so don't worry."

Du heard his son-in-law's words and then gave up. After a while of gossip. Seeing that Tang Jianrou was not at all energetic, she called a maid to take her back to her room to rest. She signaled Zhang Shuming to sit down, and then asked about the inside story of her job description in Beijing.

"Don't worry, mother-in-law, although the emperor also knows the so-called case back then, it is impossible to depose an official because of this small matter. Not to mention that I have always been diligent in the position of governor, even if I look at the face of my father and father-in-law, he will never make the Ministry of Personnel embarrassed me." Zhang Shuming replied confidently, "Besides, I happened to meet those two people this time when I went to Beijing. Although Fan Hengwen was still very hostile to me, Li Junda seemed to have already exposed this matter. Besides, this time I was lucky enough to meet Zuo Jinhuan, who was highly valued by the emperor, and it doesn't matter if I get some idleness."

"It's best if you can think so." Du was obviously very satisfied with this son-in-law, and said, "The Zhejiang Governor Lu Simang, who is above you, is a confidant of the emperor. You have to pay more attention to him on weekdays. Don't underestimate him. These people are old men in the officialdom and should not be underestimated. In addition, the emperor will definitely promote him vigorously, so you must flatter this person so that the governor's position will not be left behind." Seeing that Zhang Shuming nodded with a smile, she asked a few other things casually, and then she showed her tiredness. Zhang Shuming was also a person who knew the opportunity. He hurriedly said goodbye and left, leaving a message before leaving. Before leaving, he asked Tang Jianrou to stay for a few more days.

"It's a pity, why is such a smart person not my son?" Du muttered dissatisfied, and then slowly walked back to the backyard. She and Tang Zengyuan and his wife have been together for many years, and their husbands never interfere with her affairs, so there is a large area in the backyard of the mansion that Tang Zengyuan didn't know. She took two close maids and entered a small house calmly. The house was pitch black, but it seemed that there was no effect on the two maids. They both fiddled with each other casually for a while, and a creaking sound came from a corner of the house. When the room returned to silence, there was no one else.

Du was carried by the two of them and moved quickly in the tunnel. He changed into a black suit in an inconspicuous corner, put on a hat on his head and covered it with a black veil. Then he left the tunnel and got into a carriage. I don’t know how long it took, but the carriage finally stopped in front of a desolate abandoned house. The three of them dressed up and then quietly covered it in.

In a building deep in the abandoned house, many men in black sat on the ground, not knowing that they were talking strange words. At the very bottom of the hall was a shrine, with a blazing fire burning below, which looked quite gloomy and terrifying. The fire suddenly became prosperous, and everyone straightened their bodies like puppets, shouting: "Please show up!"

Du had already appeared mysteriously on the shrine, and the two maids were still with her. Her voice was very different from the past, and she seemed low and slow. "The hypocrite in the court had already noticed my existence, so there was not much time." Seeing that everyone below was shaking, but no one had a fearful look, she spoke again, "The great god gave you food, clothing, honor and disgrace, so that you can survive, so you must uphold his will to save all living beings. The great god had already given instructions that in this examination, God would bring down the epidemic to punish the hypocrite who pretended to be the destiny of heaven to ascend the throne. As long as you can devote your loyalty to the great god, you will become the real messenger of the world!"
Chapter completed!