The housekeeper Lao Li became anxious when he heard this, and quickly said: "Master, Master Tang has a great favor to my Li family..."
Li Lin interrupted him, "Old Li, who is in charge of this family now? Is it you or me?"
How loyal is Old Li, when he heard such words, he was in a panic, and said repeatedly: "Of course it's you, young master!"
Li Lin was impatient: "Since it's me, don't worry about it! Although he is an official and we are the people, can the official be lawless? This is the capital, but not some remote rural area. If it weren't for him, how could the father be? Become a murderer?"
Tang Fan snorted slightly, this young master of the Li family was stupid for reading: "Li Lin, although Mrs. Zhang is not your biological mother, she has raised you since childhood and never faked the hands of others. This kind mother's heart, anyone can You will be moved when you see it. How can there be a difference between the kindness and the kindness? Although Li Man is your father, he is also the murderer of your mother. You feel conflicted and in a dilemma. I can understand, but if you Therefore, there is no distinction between right and wrong, so what's the use of studying hard for so many years?"
Li Lin scratched his neck and said, "Who doesn't know that it's only because she doesn't have her own son that she will be nice to me!"
Tang Fan's eyes turned cold and he shook his head: "It seems that all of your books have been read into the dog's stomach. I'm really worthless for your mother-in-law under Jiuquan."
Li Lin said angrily: "If that's the case, then ask Master Tang to leave. I know you are an official in Shuntian Prefecture, but the whole capital is full of officials, so it's not a big deal for you to be a sixth-rank official, Ah. Dong is the servant of the Li family, what to do with it is naturally up to me to decide, if I say no to sell it, I will not sell it!"
This Li Lin is also a strange person.
Saying that he is stupid in reading, not a common business, and sometimes he speaks quite literally, he is really right, an official of Tang Fan's rank is really nothing in the capital, and he is a Pushing the official, he has nothing to do with the matter that the Li family wants to sell slaves. If he forcibly takes A-Dong away today, if Li Lin makes trouble, although Tang Fan may not be so, but he will inevitably be impeached by the censor for "with People fight for maidservants,” which will also have an impact on reputation.
But to say that Li Lin is smart, Tang Fan's perception of him plummeted immediately from his statement that "the first-mother has ulterior motives for him".
No matter what kind of grievances and grievances there is between Li Man and the Zhang family, it is the matter of the elders. As a junior, it is normal for Li Lin to feel conflicted and painful, but he would rather ignore Zhang's contribution to himself and blindly protect his biological father. .
Of course, this can also be said to be a form of filial piety, but even if it is filial piety, it is also stupid filial piety.
Being a person does not have to be upright and selfless, but at least there must be clear grievances. If there is no distinction between good and bad, then this person will not have much future.
Tang Fan nodded: "A-Dong belongs to your family, so it's up to you to deal with it, as it should be."
After all, he didn't bother to look at Li Lin again, so he turned and left.
When Tang Fan exited the gate of Li's house, Old Li hurriedly caught up behind him, panting and said, "Master Tang, Young Master is still young, you have a lot of knowledge, don't have the same knowledge as him, the Younger apologizes to you!"
Tang Fan burst into laughter: "He's not too young, I think I've already won at the age of fifteen, and marrying my eldest sister is enough to support a family."
Seeing Lao Li panicked, he added: "But don't worry, I won't do anything to him even for the sake of your wife's face, but if your young master continues like this, he will only harm himself."
Tang Fan left Li's house and went back to Shuntian Mansion. Seeing Du Jiang sitting in his duty room, he smiled and said, "Xiaohu is free today?"
Du Jiang's character Xiaohu, as the school inspector of Shuntian Prefecture, he specially helped Tang Fan with some documents and files, and he was also his deputy. The position of school inspector has no rank, so he is not regarded as an official of the imperial court, but there are still many people in this position. Head off. Because the Ming Dynasty has reached the current Chenghua Emperor, the requirements for academic qualifications are already very high. It is very difficult to raise a person to become an official. Even the three-ranked jinshi are inferior to others.
Du Jiang is in his thirties this year, and he was in his twenties. After that, he failed the jinshi exam twice, so he had to find a way to enter Shuntian Mansion, first find a job to support his family, and then make plans.
There were many people like Du Jiang in the Ming Dynasty. Before Tang Fan entered Shuntian Mansion, Du Jiang had already worked in Shuntian Mansion. He was meticulous by nature and serious in his work. That kind of person, but Tang Fan admired him very much. After he came in, he asked people to come over to fight him. Du Jiang did not live up to his expectations. He helped him a lot, and sometimes gave Tang Fan advice. No different from staff.
Du Jiang listened to his teasing, but he did not laugh along, but instead looked serious: "Sir, Mrs. Chen is gone."
Tang Fan picked up the hand of the tea cup and said, "What's going on?"
Du Jiang said: "After Li Man was imprisoned, she was kicked out by the Li family, and then she found an inn to settle down. I listened to your instructions and let people stare outside the inn. Who knows yesterday? I haven't seen Mrs. Chen go out for a day, so the people from the yamen went to ask the shopkeeper of the inn, and the shopkeeper said Mrs. Chen had checked out yesterday, and didn't say where to go."
Although Li Man killed his wife, although there was evidence, there were causes and consequences, and it seemed that it had nothing to do with the Chen family from beginning to end, Tang Fan always felt that this beautiful woman must have played a role in fueling the flames. Seeing her low-key and unusual from beginning to end, she was neither scared because Li Man was imprisoned, nor panicked because she was kicked out of the Li family. She acted too calm, but was unusual, so she let people stare at the Chen family, but Unexpectedly, he even let the other party slip away.
Tang Fan said, "Have you had people search the room where she lived?"
Du Jiang nodded. He was meticulous and cautious, and these things didn't need Tang Fan's orders.
"It was searched, and nothing was out of the ordinary. Mrs. Chen's luggage was originally small. Later, I went there again and found a small mark in the corner of the wall. The trace seems to have been newly engraved. The two knuckles are so high, I don't know if it has something to do with the Chen family."
Tang Fan was aroused curiosity: "What does it look like?"
Du Jiang took the paper and drew the outline of the mark on it from memory.
As soon as Tang Fan saw it, he blurted out, "White Lotus Sect?!"
Du Jiang was also taken aback: "What, is that woman still related to a cult demon, isn't this an ordinary wife murder case?"
Tang Fan's expression gradually became solemn: "I originally thought this woman was a little suspicious, so I asked you to stare at her. Who would have known such a thing would be involved."
Du Jiang said: "It's a bit difficult to do now. Since she is related to the White Lotus Sect, she stays by Li Man's side and is willing to be a concubine. She must have encouraged him to kill his wife, and she doesn't know what the purpose is."
Tang Fan smiled wryly, now it's alright, one wave has not settled, another wave has arisen, the white jade horse that Wang Zhi has not yet fallen, and the matter of the Li family here is related to the White Lotus Sect, and all the troubles come together.
He thought for a while: "That's it, you continue to have people looking for Chen's whereabouts. Someone has already entered the inn room, and now they are shocked. Even if they are related to the White Lotus Sect, they will not appear again, but you still send someone. Keep an eye on it to avoid any omissions, and then report it to Master Pan. I will go to the people from Beizhen Fusi, and let them know that Jin Yiwei has investigated the White Lotus Sect before, maybe they will What's the point."
Speaking of this, Tang Fan recalled the incident where he was strangled in the middle of the night before. The other party deliberately pretended to be a ghost in front of him, and later proved that it was related to the White Lotus Sect. It seems that since the Li Zilong incident, the remnants of the White Lotus Sect have not left. After passing through the capital, it just turns from light to dark and hides.
Two or three years ago, Li Zilong secretly made friends with eunuchs in the palace, almost turned the palace upside down, and even the emperor was almost brought down, that is, in that incident, the emperor felt that Jinyiwei and Dongchang were useless, Wang Zhi Taking advantage of the emperor's mentality, he took advantage of the situation and climbed to a high position in a short period of time. After that, Jin Yiwei woke up and turned the capital upside down. During this period, there were many conflicts with the White Lotus Cult, and many people were damaged. This suppressed the arrogance of the White Lotus Cult. Who knows after two or three years. , The White Lotus Sect has not been completely eradicated, and with a little chance, it can be reborn in the spring breeze.
However, since the White Lotus Sect has been able to continue from the Song Dynasty, and has experienced the chaos of the late Song Dynasty, the darkness of the Yuan Dynasty, and the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty, until today, such a long-standing cult organization that has existed for hundreds of years must also have its own set. Survival methods, it is almost impossible for Jin Yiwei to completely wipe them out in just two years.
After Tang Fan explained Du Jiang, he went to Beizhen Fusi first.
Unfortunately, Xue Bing was not there, and the person on duty at the Beizhen Fusi was not a familiar face that Tang Fan knew. Tang Fan asked a few questions, and seeing that they refused to reveal it, he didn't force it, and turned around to leave.
But he heard a familiar and cold voice behind him: "Why are you looking for Lao Xue Zuo?"
Tang Fan turned his head and said happily, "Brother Guangchuan, are you back?"
Suizhou still had the same ice face, but when he saw Tang Fan's unmistakable joy, there was a smile in his eyes, and he nodded: "Well, are you looking for Lao Xue?"
Tang Fan smiled and said, "I wanted to find you originally, but I came here a few days ago. At that time, Lao Xue said that you were on a business trip, but I didn't expect you to come back so soon. If it's convenient for you, it just happened to be I want to tell you something."
Sui Zhou said, "I also heard about your request for Lao Xue."
He paused, turned his face slightly to the side, and gestured to the people behind him: "If neither I nor Lao Xue are here in the future, you can find Pang Qi."
Pang Qi was also dressed as a guard, but his official position was slightly lower than that of Lao Xue, and he was younger than Lao Xue. He had a baby-faced face and smiled at everyone, very gentle and harmless.
But Tang Fan didn't dare to underestimate him because of this. He was able to serve in the Beizhen Fu Division and watch all kinds of prisons without changing his face. It must not be measured by the standard of ordinary people. , often the more harmless a person looks, the more powerful the character is likely to be.
Tang Fan nodded towards the other party and introduced himself: "Tang Fan, Tang Runqing, the official of Shuntian Prefecture, when you followed Brother Guangchuan to Huichuntang to investigate the case, we had already met."
Being able to match the words directly, and after hearing Suizhou's phrase "you can ask Pang Qi if you have something in the future", no matter how stupid Pang Qi was, he knew that this person had a good relationship with his boss and could not offend him, so he quickly bowed his hands and bowed: "Master Tang You're too polite, just give me an order in the future!"
However, Suizhou didn't have the patience to listen to what the two of them said in a nutritious scene, and interrupted them directly: "Jianxian, you have to go ahead."
Pang Qi left in response, and the two of Suizhou left Beizhen Fusi and walked outside.
Suizhou said: "The whereabouts of the white jade horse you asked Old Xue to check last time has been found out."
Tang Fan hurriedly asked, "Where?"
Suizhou said: "It's in the house of Shang Ming, the master of the East Factory."
Tang Fan looked strange: "..."
Suizhou said: "The white jade horse was originally bought by Shang Minghua from the British man at a high price. At that time, Wang Zhi also wanted it, but he couldn't rob Shang Ming, so it has nothing to do with him."
Tang Fan smiled bitterly: "Master Pan is going to be embarrassed now, it's just why Wang Zhi is so good at making fun of him like this."
Knowing the whereabouts of the white jade steed is useless, could Shuntian Prefecture still go to Shang Ming to ask for it? Don't say that this thing was originally Shang Ming's, even if it wasn't, with Pan Bin's face, could it be that Shang Ming would give it if he asked for it
To put it another way, does Wang Zhi not know that the thing is in Shang Ming's place? But he also asked Shuntian Mansion to look for it. Wasn't it obvious that he wanted to make trouble for Pan Bin
Could it be that Wang Zhi is domineering and self-willed, as rumored by the outside world
Sui Zhou thought for a while and said, "Wang Zhi has always been at odds with Shang Ming, maybe he just wanted to disgust Shang Ming."
Tang Fan spread his hands: "But the irrelevant Master Pan was dragged into the water because of this."
Suizhou: "Then how are you going to deal with it?"
Tang Fan shook his head: "I'll go back and tell Master Pan the news. By the way, I have something to tell you."
He briefly talked about Li Man's killing of his wife and Chen's disappearance, and also mentioned the imprint of the White Lotus Sect.
Sui Zhou nodded: "The remnants of the white lotus are revived, they will only make trouble in secret, and I will let people pay attention."
I don't know why, as long as Suizhou said these words, Tang Fan knew that he would do it with all his heart, and he felt a sense of reassurance that he was entrusted with heavy responsibilities.
Maybe some people are reliable and can be reassuring by nature, and Suizhou is such a person.
Tang Fan said with a smile: "Then I'll leave it to you. Originally, when you came back from other places, I should sit down and chat with you, but Master Pan has always been very concerned about the white jade horse, so I have to go back and tell him first. Why don't we make an appointment another day?"
Sui Zhou hummed, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "When are you going home today?"
Tang Fan: "If there is nothing else, I will go home as usual, what's the matter?"
Suizhou: "Then I'll find you tonight."
Tang Fan subconsciously responded, but when he looked back, he felt that something was wrong.
What's wrong with it
The extremely smart Master Tang thought hard on the way back, but couldn't come up with a reason.
Not to mention how entangled Pan Bin was when he heard the news about the white jade horse. Without A-Dong, he came to deliver snacks. Before leaving get off work, Tang Fan solved the dinner problem outside and then went home, but think about what Sui Zhou said during the day today. When he was about to come, Master Tang turned to the grocery store on the street to buy some lo-mei, and bought a small jar of yellow wine from the wine shop next to him to take back.
After a long journey, when he returned home slowly, he found that there was someone standing in front of the house, wasn't it Sui Qianhu
"If I had known that you had come so early, I would have gone home first, lest you stand at the door!" Tang Fan hurriedly walked towards him, with an apologetic smile on his face.
"It's okay." Suizhou said.
Tang Fan found that he was also carrying some food in his hand.
Suizhou: "My home is far away from yours, so I simply stay with you tonight, don't you mind?"
Tang Fan: "Ah? I don't mind, I don't mind, take a bath tomorrow, and we can talk at night!"
Master Tang lived completely the life of a legendary bachelor.
People become officials, not to mention those who are married and have family members, at least one or two little servants should follow him. Only Tang Fan lives alone, eating snacks in front of the moon and reading the book at night, which is quite interesting.
It's just that there is one more person, and after all, it will be more popular, and it will not be desolate after dark. Although this person is expressionless and taciturn all the year round, he is always better than nothing.
The two put their things down, Tang Fan went to get a glass and poured wine, and Sui Zhou untied the paper bags wrapped in food one by one.
Tang Fan bought braised pig ears and tongue, which are delicious and delicious.
Suizhou bought crispy sausages with peppercorns, fried tofu, salted peanuts, and cold cucumbers.
"Come here, why bring something, you and I are so familiar, don't waste your money next time!"
Master Tang pretended to talk about the scene, and took a bite of the crispy fried tofu. The tofu skin was fried to a crisp, but after biting it, the inside was white like tofu flower, soft as if it was about to flow out from the inside, the beans Fragrant.
"Where did you buy this crispy fried tofu? Why is it so delicious?" Tang Fan wondered.
"There are some ingredients at home." Sui Zhou said concisely.
"You can cook?" Master Tang was extremely shocked.
The corner of Suizhou's mouth twitched, but he didn't speak.
After a few breaths, Tang Fan was still immersed in shock: "Brother Guangchuan, you actually know how to cook? Really, really, really... "
He really didn't come out for a long time, and there was a hurried knock on the door outside.
"It's really amazing!" Master Tang sighed and added his sigh before getting up to open the door.
A-Dong was standing outside. Before Tang Fan could speak, she hurriedly said, "Master Tang, save me!"
The little girl was about to kneel, but Tang Fan stopped her: "What happened?"
A-Dong grimaced: "Sister A-Chun told me that the master asked Renya to come over tomorrow and want to sell me!"
Tang Fan was taken aback: "Only sell you one?"
A-Dong nodded: "I already sold a batch a few days ago. Grandpa the housekeeper knew that I wanted to come to you, and he didn't have any objections at first. Who knew that they suddenly changed their minds today and said they would sell me!"
In order to clarify the matter, she gritted her teeth and held back her tears, but after speaking, she couldn't help choking up: "Master Tang, what should I do, go and tell Grandpa the housekeeper if it's okay, I don't want to be sold!"
Tang Fan knew that this must not be what the housekeeper Lao Li meant. Ninety percent of it came from the idea of Li Lin, the young master of the Li family.
It is estimated that the incident in the morning made Li Lin feel resentment in his heart, and he couldn't directly confront Tang Fan, so he simply prepared to act first and sell A-Dong, which made Tang Fan's plan fail. Anyway, this is the servant of the Li family, who is it? Can't handle it either.
Thinking of this, Tang Fan was speechless for a while.
When Mrs. Zhang was there, he had met Li Lin several times. At that time, he was shy by nature and spoke a little bit, but he was also a scholar. He also pointed out a few words.
Unexpectedly, times have changed, because of changes in the family, Li Lin's personality has changed greatly, and he has become the appearance that is not human.
I don't know how Zhang's Jiuquan will feel.
In the final analysis, it is only natural that Li Lin wants to sell A-Dong. Tang Fan really has no control. He wanted to think of a solution in the next few days. Who knew that Li Lin would sell him immediately. A family, then A-Dong will have to suffer.
Looking at this cute little girl, Tang Fan couldn't bear it: "That's it, don't worry, you go back first, I'll think of a way."
A-Dong had a natural sense of trust in him. Hearing that, he nodded obediently and went back with tears.
She sneaked out, so naturally she couldn't come out through the front door, and when she went back, she had to go back through the back door in a big circle.
Tang Fan watched her figure disappear from sight, thinking of a way in his heart.
But I heard someone say from behind: "Do you want her?"
Tang Fan nodded, and felt that this sentence seemed a bit ambiguous, so he briefly said about A-Dong: "It just so happens that I also lack a person who cleans and cooks. A-Dong is also diligent and competent."
Suizhou nodded: "Actually, this matter is not difficult, you don't need to worry about it, I will help you solve it."
Where can I find such a righteous friend, Master Tang was so moved that he quickly cupped his hands and said, "Then thank you Brother Guangchuan!"
Suizhou said again: "Since you have such a conflict with the Li family, what should we do about the residence?"
Tang Fan didn't tell him that he was looking for a house, but Suizhou could notice this, which showed that he had a delicate mind.
"The capital is big and there are many houses, so I can still find it." Tang Fan said.
Sui Zhou pondered for a moment: "If you want, you can move in with me."
Tang Fan was stunned for a moment: "Is this wrong? Isn't Mrs. Sister-in-law unhappy?"
Suizhou said coldly, "I haven't married yet."
Tang Fan: "That's what Madam always has..."
Suizhou was displeased: "Neither concubines nor messy servants."
Before Tang Fan could ask anything, he added, "My parents live with my eldest brother. I'll move out by myself, so don't worry."
That's all said. The other party sincerely invited Tang Fan to refuse. He bowed to the end and said sincerely, "Then let's harass Brother Guangchuan for the time being!"
In fact, people from Suizhou are cold and cold, but they are not difficult to get along with. The two also have common topics, and the most important thing is that they not only can cook, but their craftsmanship is more than a hundred times better than their own.
Thinking about it this way, Master Tang is actually a little excited.
The corner of Sui Zhou's indifferent mouth finally twitched slightly.
"You and I are familiar, so why be polite."