Xiao Er was also a talkative person, and when he looked around and saw no one called him, he continued, "The woman just now was Zhou Jieyuan's wife. This week, Jieyuan's name is Zhou Yongyan. She is well educated and from a good family background. I followed Zhou Jieyuan just now." The servants around Madam belong to the Zhou family."
Hua Ling couldn't help asking in a low voice, "Is Madam Zhou out of her mind?" Otherwise, why did she look crazy.
Xiao Er shook his head, a look of sadness gradually emerged on his face, he sighed and said, "Mrs. Zhou is not out of her mind, she is a poor person. This week, Mrs. Zhou's natal family is not in our Tonglin County, but in the neighboring county. There is a Baiyun Temple between our two counties. It is said that the two met when they were offering incense there. Later, they fell in love with each other and got married naturally. Zhou Jieyuan is also very good looking. Yes, his family background is good, he has literary talent, and he treats others kindly. At that time, everyone said that Mrs. Zhou had found a good home. On the day Zhou Jieyuan and his wife got married, he also told the guests that Mrs. Zhou was the only one in this life, and he would not accept Concubine, this is really more enviable, when girls in the city got married, they had to follow Zhou Jieyuan's standards to find them."
"In the second year of their marriage, Mrs. Zhou gave birth to a boy, and later gave birth to a son and a daughter. When the young master of the Zhou family was three years old, one day, Mrs. Zhou brought a little boy back from outside and said It was picked up on the road, and it seems that it is not much younger than Young Master Zhou. Mrs. Zhou has always been kind-hearted, so she agreed to keep the picked up child as her own. Therefore, the abandoned baby became the Zhou family Mrs. Zhou has always been kind to others, she will not look up to you because of your good family background, and will not look down on you because of your poor family background. Although this second young master is not her own, she treats him like her own. She also warned the old man in the mansion to talk nonsense, and she only told Master Tuesday that he was her own."
Hua Ling was so moved that she burst into tears, "Mrs. Zhou is really a good person, what about after that?"
Xiao Er cleared his throat and lowered his voice, "Actually, this second young master is not an abandoned baby at all, but Zhou Jieyuan and a woman outside. He raised a foreign room outside not long after he married Mrs. Zhou. The young master was only the youngest for more than five months. When he was over two years old, Zhou Jieyuan’s outer room got sick and died, so he brought the child back to his mother, and only told Mrs. Zhou that he picked it up outside. Arrived."
Hua Ling looked angry, "Zhou Jieyuan is really not a thing!"
Although Yan Shi's face remained calm, his fists were clenched even tighter under the table, Qu Liuzhang shook the small bamboo tube in his hand back and forth.
Hua Ling then asked again, "Then what happened afterwards? Did Mrs. Zhou not know?"
"There is no impenetrable wall in this world. After all, Madam Zhou found out about this matter. It didn't take long for Madam Zhou to know about it. It may have been more than two months." When Xiaoer said this, a look appeared on his face. With a look of sympathy, "Mrs. Zhou has a very strong temperament. When she learned about this, she wanted to reconcile with Zhou Jieyuan. You know, people like them pay attention to face, how can they easily agree to reconcile? What's more, if Mrs. Zhou wants to Taking her child away and changing her mother's surname is even more unacceptable to Zhou's family this week. Mrs. Zhou is not easy to mess with, so she went to the county government to file a complaint, but our county magistrate has long been bought by the Zhou family. Naturally, the complaint cannot be made. As soon as Mrs. Zhou saw that the county government failed to file a lawsuit, she went to the government to file a lawsuit, but after going there a few times, the Zhou family was arrested. of."
Zhou Yongyan's disagreement with Heli was not only because of face, the Dayuan Dynasty had expressly stipulated that it was not allowed to keep a concubine, and if this matter got involved, he would probably be jailed.
Hua Ling was full of anger, and was about to speak angrily, when Yan Shi's pleasant voice sounded in his ears, "Didn't the second brother just say that Mrs. Zhou's natal family is in a neighboring county, and they don't know that such a big thing happened here?" ?”
Xiao Er continued, "How about Mrs. Zhou's fate? Her father gave birth to two daughters without a son. The eldest daughter married far away, and Mrs. Zhou married closer. About three or four years after Mrs. Zhou got married. , her father and mother passed away one after another. Before leaving, the huge family property was divided into two and distributed to Mrs. Zhou and her sister. Otherwise, the Zhou family would not have jumped into Tonglin County so quickly. big family."
Yan Shi saw that there was almost everything he needed to know, so he took out a piece of silver from his sleeve, "Thank you, little brother, pay the bill."
After finishing speaking, he took Hua Ling to get up and leave the seat,
Later, Xiao Er's voice came, "Guest officer, I don't need this money."
Yan Shi replied without turning his head, "You will be rewarded for the rest."
Xiao Er thanked him again and again, and cheerfully accepted the money.
Downstairs, Hua Ling tugged at Yan Shi's sleeve and asked, "Brother, are we going to that Zhou Yongyan's house next?"
Yan Shi nodded, and a stern look flashed in his eyes when he spoke, "Since the county magistrate can't take care of it, let me, the official of Dali Temple, take care of it."
Hua Ling said happily beside him, "Then brother must punish him severely."
Zhou Yongyan's home is easy to find, anyone who asks casually will know it.
Yan Shi and his party came to the gate of the Zhou Mansion without any problems. Zhao Chunhai went to talk to the porter. The porter glanced back and saw that the people were all dressed in high-quality clothes.
Not long after, Zhou Yongyan came out. This man is about thirty years old, looks gentle, has a refined air, and his attitude is modest and polite. If you don't know what this man looks like, you will definitely be deceived by his appearance. Presumably Mrs. Zhou I have been deceived like this for more than ten years. Seeing that there were three masters and two servants, Zhou Yongyan could tell at a glance that Yan Shi should be the leader of these people, so he clasped his fists and said, "Next week Yongyan, I don't know if your Excellency is..."
Just now the concierge went in and reported that they were from the imperial city, but did not reveal their identities.
Zhao Chunhai took out his token, "We belong to Dali Temple."
Zhou Yongyan's heart skipped a beat. He didn't know why the people from Dali Temple came. Logically speaking, Mrs. Zhou even left Tonglin County, but she was arrested after a short walk. It is impossible to meet other officials, could it? Just now she was seen by this group of people on the street? The more Zhou Yongyan thought about it, the more he felt that it was right, but his face remained unchanged and he hurriedly sat down in a gesture of invitation, "Several officials are tired from the journey, please go to the mansion to rest."
Zhou Yongyan let them into the mansion, and hurriedly flirted with the confidant who followed him. This young man has been with him for many years, and his master knows what it means with just one look. He hurriedly looked for an opportunity to sneak away, but was blocked by a waist knife. Zhao Chunhai said, "Where do you want to go?"
The boy had never seen this before, his legs were so frightened that his legs went limp, he quickly calmed down and said, "The villain thought that the kitchen ordered them to prepare good meals for the officials."
Yan Shi said, "No need, we are here to investigate the case, please ask Zhou Jieyuan to take us to meet Mrs. Zhou."
Zhou Yongyan didn't dare to say no, but he didn't dare to bring them in front of Mrs. Zhou, so he could only say, "My lords, please follow me to rest in the hall. I'll let my servant pass on my wife..."
"No need for Zhou Jieyuan," Yan Shi interrupted Zhou Yongyan before he finished speaking, "Where is Mrs. Zhou, just take me there."
Zhou Yongyan made another plan after failing to make a plan, and said with a distressed face, "My lord, it's not that I don't let you go, it's just that it's inconvenient for you to enter the inner house as a foreigner."
Yan Shi sneered, and turned his gaze to Hua Ling again, his tenderness was like water, "What Zhou Jieyuan said is reasonable, it is indeed inconvenient for me to enter the inner house, so let my wife go instead of me."
Although Hua Ling is also a man, but he is a man's wife, as long as he is accompanied by servants from the mansion, he can enter the inner house. Zhou Yongyan was speechless at the moment, he didn't expect that there would be men and wives in this group of people.
Hua Ling immediately puffed out her chest in a pretentious manner, which made Yan Shi secretly laugh. Zhou Yongyan had no choice but to order someone to bring Hua Ling into the backyard.
Not long after, Hua Ling brought Mrs. Zhou out. He walked in front of Mrs. Zhou, walked in front of Yan Shi with small steps, pointed at Zhou Yongyan with a jade finger and said bitterly, "Brother, this He is so bad, he tied Mrs. Zhou to a chair!"
Yan Shi raised his eyebrows when he heard this. When Zhou Yongyan repeatedly prevented them from entering the inner house to find Mrs. Zhou, he guessed that there was something he didn't want them to see, but he only wanted Zhou Yongyan to lock Mrs. Zhou up in the future. will tie her up.
Yan Shi narrowed his eyes, "What's going on with Zhou Jieyuan?"
Mrs. Zhou also came over while she was talking, and she brushed her hair with her hands, and gave a salute, "Ms. Zhou Zhang, a commoner's woman, kowtows to my lord."
Yan Shi nodded, "Get up, do you know what this official is talking about
"
Mrs. Zhou said, "Women know."
Yan Shi said, "Since you know, then follow me."
What they were going to was no other place, but the county government of Tonglin County.
At the gate of the county government office, Zhao Chunhai directly showed his token and entered the county government office.
It was just after noon at this time, and the county magistrate was still taking a nap. When the yamen servant called him out, he was getting dressed while walking, and when he saw Yan Shi, he was also dressed.
"The next official sees your lord." The county magistrate hurriedly knelt on the ground, and seeing Zhou Yongyan and his wife behind Yan Shi, he immediately knew what this lord was doing, and broke out in a cold sweat.
Looking at this appearance, Yan Shi already knew something in his heart, "Master Qian, since you already know the purpose of my visit, then I ask you to make a decision about the Zhou family." After finishing speaking, he found a seat in the lobby and sat down.
Although County Magistrate Qian received a lot of money from Zhou Yongyan, he didn't dare to disobey Yan Shi's words. He gave Zhou Yongyan a embarrassed look, and bit the bullet to get promoted.
"Wait—" Yan Shi suddenly said, "Magistrate Qian, don't you ask the people in Tonglin County to see how this case is being tried?"
When the county government hears the case, the common people can stand outside and listen. When County Magistrate Qian heard this, beads of sweat dripped down his neck, but he had no choice but to order someone to go down to handle the matter.
After receiving the order, two county magistrates went in opposite directions with their gongs, knocking and shouting, "Your Excellency, the case of Zhou Jieyuan's family is about to start trial!"