A-Dong is a glutton, exactly the same as Tang Fan. When she was in the Li family, she would go to the Li family's cook every day to get food. The cook made cakes for the wives and young masters to eat. Two yuan is often cheaper for A-Dong, so that she is now eight years old, and her body shape is not even as slender as a girl.
However, the days in the kitchen are not in vain. At least A-Dong has stolen a hand or two from the chef of the Li family, which can fully meet the various needs of her foodie brother, such as this Huai Ye Tao, after she listened to Tang Fan's description There are also some greedy, one of the brothers and sisters climbed trees, the other made juice and noodles, and finally they really tinkered with them.
The white jade-like bowl was filled with thinly rolled locust leaf juice noodles, and then drizzled with minced garlic sesame oil and vinegar. The vinegar was fragrant in an instant. Tang Fan and A-Dong both closed their eyes in intoxication, saying that they were The brothers and sisters that I met halfway through are really unbelievable.
"Come on, eat and see!" Tang Fan gave Suizhou a bowl and pushed the seasoning and spoon towards him with a smile.
Suizhou didn't say anything. He lowered his head and took a sip. The taste is really good. The freshly picked locust leaves still have the fragrance of grass and trees. After mashing the juice, it seeps into the noodles. Summer is the best, no wonder Tang Fan will never forget it.
Seeing him nodding, Tang Fan's eyes lit up: "Let's try the golden chicken next time!"
Before Suizhou could speak, A-Dong next to him had already called out: "Brother, don't forget that your hand was scratched when you climbed a tree in the morning. Next time you go to catch chickens, will you be pecked by chickens?"
Tang Fan glared at her: "I haven't climbed a tree for a long time, and my memory is just rusty. After a few more attempts, I'll become proficient."
A-Dong wailed: "Come on, I was taking care of you in the morning, and I was worried, for fear that you would fall, but it did fall, but don't do it again, I'm afraid I'll be scared die!"
Tang Fan stretched out his hand to tug at her ear: "It's not bad for the little girl to eat, but she is still nagging all day long, be careful that you won't be able to marry in the future!"
Don't look at A-Dong, who is white and round, but his movements are surprisingly agile. He jumped up and dodged behind Suizhou, grinning at Tang Fan.
Sui Zhou asked, "Are you injured?"
Tang Fan shook his head: "Don't listen to A-Dong's nonsense, she was just cut by a branch."
Suizhou nodded and said nothing.
Sophora japonica leaves, cold cucumbers, sauce beef, one meat and two vegetarian dishes, and they are all refreshing and appetizing dishes. It was originally full of heat, and after eating, I felt refreshed.
Suizhou usually lives alone, even if he knows how to cook, he is busy because he is busy. Many times he pays attention to coping with it, or he just settles it casually in the yamen. After tasting it, there are very few people who can sit together in a group of three or two and chat while eating, and the food can also taste carefully prepared.
At first, he felt that it was unnecessary to come back for dinner after a business trip. It was only because of Tang Fan's persistence that he did so, but now that he got used to it, he had to come back no matter how late it was.
Unconsciously, subtly.
After dinner, A-Dong went to clean up the dishes, while Suizhou said to Tang Fan, "Follow me."
He brought Tang Fan to the study.
"Sleeves." Suizhou said.
His speech has always been concise and to the point.
Tang Daren thought, thanks to his cleverness, otherwise it would be difficult to understand his meaning from these endless words.
When he rolled up his sleeves, he saw a long opening on the outside of his right arm. The opening was not deep, but it was estimated that there was a lot of blood flow before.
Sui Zhou glanced at it, took one of the plaster from the bottles on the table, dipped a little with his fingers, and spread it evenly on Tang Fan's wound.
The wound was aching hot, but the pain could be endured. Master Tang didn't show a grinning expression, but after the plaster was applied, a pleasant coolness immediately came from the wound, and it seemed that even the pain was relieved a lot. .
"Your medicine really works, and I won't have to worry about falling again in the future."
Tang Fan joked, but Sui Zhou glanced at him coldly, and immediately shut up.
Suizhou: "Do you want another time?"
Tang Fan: "..."
Master Tang endured and endured, but still couldn't hold back: "But the locust leaves are really delicious, don't you think?"
The tone of voice was aggrieved, Sui Baihu couldn't help but slightly raised his mouth, but he just turned around and didn't let Master Tang see.
"If you still want to eat in the future, let me know." After a while, only Sui Zhou said.
Tang Fan raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Sure enough, they are good brothers!"
Sui Baihu, who was given the title of "good brother" because he was willing to climb trees and pick leaves, was helpless: "Aren't you going to talk about the Li family?"
Master Tang oh oh twice, remembering the business, and immediately adjusted from the foodie mode to the serious state.
He recounted all his guesses from beginning to end, and finally said: "I once heard Lao Li say that when Li Man gave up the imperial examination and switched to business, he suffered a lot due to inexperience, Ben also lost money. The Li family was in debt and was on the brink of desperation. Later, because of what business was done, the Li family recovered overnight. Old Li was only a housekeeper, so he didn't know the details, but now that I think about it, maybe The reason why Li Man was able to survive in desperation was probably also helped by the White Lotus Sect. The two sides had already colluded. Otherwise, with Li Man's current wife, virtuous son and filial son, how could he be bewitched to the point of killing his wife and children? ?"
Suizhou nodded: "I will report this matter and continue to track down the whereabouts of Li Man and Chen's. In recent years, the White Lotus Sect has become more and more rampant. During the change of Tumubao more than ten years ago, it was inevitable that they colluded with the Tara people."
When he mentioned the great change decades ago, Tang Fan sighed.
When this big event that shocked the world happened, he had not yet been born, but it didn't prevent him from understanding the matter. It was not just him, but I was afraid that when people in the world mentioned this matter, they would be the same as Tang Fan. Sigh.
Because of the emperor's willfulness and ignorance, hundreds of thousands of people died among them, many of whom were civil and military officials, heroic Shixun, and the three major battalions of the capital were almost wiped out. Take it out and say it again.
But Tang Fan felt that if a person's growth requires the accumulation of hundreds of thousands of lives, it would be too tragic. If he did it, he did it, and no amount of embellishment could cover up the mistakes he made. The emperor is a human being. The captivity became a national shame. At that time, the Oara people drove straight in, and the capital had no defense. If Yu Qian hadn't stepped forward, defied all opinions, insisted not to move the capital, and established a new emperor, taking the lead in launching the defense battle, what would the city of Beijing be now? What will happen to Daming now is hard to say.
Tang Fan reminded: "It can be seen from the Tumubao incident that the White Lotus Sect has a big picture, I'm afraid Li Man's incident is just the tip of the iceberg."
When it comes to the White Lotus Sect, it is not something Tang Fan can solve alone. Beizhen Fusi has more experience in this area, so it is obviously more appropriate for them to investigate.
Sui Zhou nodded, and said coldly: "With Li Man's personality, even without the Chen Clan and the instigation of the White Lotus Sect, it is estimated that he would have done such a thing."
He made it clear that he didn't like this kind of man who killed his wife and children.
Tang Fan said: "There are not a few people like Li Man in this world, so there is an opportunity for the White Lotus Sect to take advantage of."
Seeing Sui Zhou's tired face again, he asked, "But what troubles did you encounter?"
Sui Zhou shook his head: "That's what I told you last time, the white lotus sect demons used the Fengyue script to mix up rumors and charm the world. Recently, they are just sealing up books."
Master Tang let out a sigh and smiled a bit flatteringly: "Guangchuan, can we have a discussion? If you have seen a book called "The Story of the Pear Flower", if there is no problem after reading it, can you not seal it up? Originally called "Flying Swords"..."
His voice became smaller and smaller under the expressionless gaze of the other side, and finally showed a guilty expression.
Suizhou said: "There is an order above, but all Fengyue storybooks will be seized. Those who go to check just read it at random, and it is difficult to find out whether there is a problem in it, so they would rather kill it than let it go."
"Also," he paused, looking at Tang Fan, his stern expression finally showed a hint of helplessness, "You are an official of the imperial court, you went to write that kind of storybook anonymously, and if you were found out, you might lose your reputation. "
Tang Fan chuckled: "What's the matter? Actually, it's not just me, there are many people in the court who are doing this kind of thing. Anyway, they use a pseudonym, no one can recognize them, otherwise, how can they be enough to support their family by just relying on their salary? If you don’t want to be corrupt, you can only find another way. I might as well tell you, you know He Shilang of the Ministry of Punishment. He wrote the book “The Sound of the Chaos and the Moon” anonymously. There is also me in the same year, who was originally edited by Hanlin. It was done, but now it has been released. He also wrote one or two scriptures for his livelihood, because the writing is more open than me, the content is fragrant, and it is very popular with booksellers, and the writing fee is more than me. The people in the department, every time the test is over, will sell the answer sheets of the high-ranking people to the bookstore to earn money from it, and the students who want to high school buy it one after another for reference and speculation. Much more profitable!"
Sui Zhou listened to the other party's familiarity, and his face was blank.
He naturally remembered what Tang Fan said about He Shilang of the Criminal Department. He was an old man who was famous for being serious and serious. It was hard for Suizhou to imagine that the old man would write such a story in private, and with Jin Yiwei's investigation methods, he could If you don't know this kind of thing, it seems that you need to reflect on it for a while.
Listening to Tang Fan sighing there again, to gain sympathy: "So, look at us civil servants, looking at all the majesty, in fact, Han Chuang studied hard for decades, and once became an official, it was impossible to walk without money, and it was difficult for Shangguan to do so. Banquet, if you don’t give gifts, you will offend people, and it will be difficult to make progress in the future. If you want to give gifts and you don’t have the money, you can only go down and scavenge. The people are suffering because of this. In the end, I can’t blame them all. , after all, few people can be as smart and witty as me, who can write a book and get paid for it..."
Suizhou: "I have a salary."
Tang Fan continued: "Did you say that, Guangchuan... ah? What did you just say?"
Suizhou: "I have a salary, so don't worry."
Jinyiwei is not the same as the civil servants, they have monthly rations and rations.
The monthly ration is the same as the civil servant, it is the monthly salary, and the ration is the travel allowance. For people like Beizhen Fusi who often go abroad to handle cases, the travel expenses will not be less, not to mention the place, there will be various Filial piety and gray income, and the original duty of Jin Yiwei is the imperial guard of honor, and it must be kept bright and beautiful at all times. In addition, the uncles of Jin Yiwei are ferocious and frightening, so even if the court is sometimes tight, the Ministry of Household cannot provide money for a while. , and never dare to deduct Jin Yiwei's money and food. Everyone knows that persimmons need to be picked up softly.
Tang Fan lives alone, and he doesn't have to support the whole family. With A-Dong, he can't eat much, but he likes delicious food himself, so sometimes he always runs out, and he can't save much in the end.
On the other hand, Suizhou is a good example of diligence and thrift, because he also lives alone, but he has no bad hobbies. He doesn't even have an unusual love for food like Master Tang. He goes home every day except in the yamen. Life is as simple as an ascetic monk. According to the rules, he sends New Year gifts to his family and Shangguan during the festivals. After a year, he still has a lot of savings, completely throwing Master Tang out of the eight streets.
Hearing his words, Tang Fan was stunned for a while, then laughed wildly, and finally had to hold Sui Zhou's shoulders to stabilize his body, while rubbing his stomach: "Hey, my brother and sister will depend on Sui Baihu in the future, When I really run out of salary, you have to help me!"
Suizhou: "Well."
Tang Fan still couldn't help but want to laugh, but he was also moved. He knew that not everyone was qualified to let the other party say such a thing.
"Guangchuan, to be honest, I only had a mediocre impression of Jin Yiwei, but only after I got to know you did I realize that among Jin Yiwei, there are real men like you who are worth making friends with, and whom I think of as a confidant!"
There was a hint of warmth in Sui Zhou's cold and indifferent eyes, although he still hummed briefly.
"In two days, my grandmother's birthday, would you like to go with me?" he asked.
Suizhou's grandmother, surnamed Zhou, had an unusual identity. She was the sister of the current Queen Mother Zhou.
The Zhou family was originally from an ordinary background, and there were rules in the Ming Dynasty. The women in the harem were all selected from good folk families. No high-ranking officials were prominent, so as to prevent the relatives of the harem from uniting and disrupting the government. The Queen Mother, the Zhou family naturally followed the chicken and the dog to the sky, soaring into the sky. In addition to Empress Dowager Zhou's father who was posthumously named, the brothers also named Houbo each. Because of the Zhou family, Suizhou's grandfather also had to seal a commander of Jinyiwei.
The commander of Jinyiwei is the highest official position of Jinyiwei, but not only one person can hold it. Like Concubine Wan's younger brother Wantong, he is also the commander of all Jinyiwei now, but he is a real authority. There is another commander named Yuan Bin. He once saved the life of the late emperor, and he has a great influence in Jinyiwei, and he is also a real power faction.
In addition to these two people, there are many more commanders of Jin Yiwei. Most of them are vain positions awarded by the emperor.
This kind of title of relatives belongs to the ranks of the nouveau riche, and it cannot be compared with the hereditary lords like the Marquis of Wu'an, who have no real power at all, so it sounds good.
The Sui family entrusted the Empress Dowager Zhou's blessing, and Suizhou's father and brother also hung up a false position in Jinyiwei. This kind of false position only took money and did nothing, which is also very attractive. They are not directly relatives of the Queen Dowager Zhou, nor are they surnamed Zhou. , they were separated from each other by one layer, so after Suizhou entered Jinyiwei, he could only start from a small flag and gradually move up.
He has neither real power, nor is he a relative. Generally, civil officials are reluctant to associate with the Sui family, one is to avoid suspicion, and the other is that they do not want to surrender their identity.
But Tang Fan listened to his words, but said without thinking: "Brothers, your grandmother is naturally my grandmother. You can call me in two days and go together."
Suizhou's heart was slightly warm, and he hummed.
Because it is related to the White Lotus Sect, the matter of the Li family was reported by Suizhou, and the Beizhen Fusi attaches great importance to it, but as Tang Fan expected, Li Man and the Chen family have already planned their plans and must have done it. All preparations, when the people of Beizhen Fusi caught up with the suspected Li family's carriage in Baoding, they found that only A Qiu and a few other Li family servants were left inside.
According to A Qiu and others, the master "Li Lin" did not move his family to Nanjing as he had said before, but immediately distributed some money to each servant after he left the capital. Disperse everyone on the spot, let them go in different directions, and go north in a carriage alone, missing where they are.
As for A Qiu, they still don't know the "Master Li" they have seen, and it is very likely that they have changed people long ago.
So far, finding "Li Lin" and the Chen family is not a day's work, nor is it within the purview of Shuntian Prefecture. After Suizhou handed over the matter to his colleagues, Tang Fan can leave it alone, but he Every time I see A-Dong, I still occasionally think of Zhang Shi, A-Xia and others, and I can't help but feel that good luck makes people.
With Suizhou's testimony and all kinds of suspicious things, this case became an unsolved case, and the matter of impeachment against Tang Fan was over. Pan Bin specially sent Pharaoh and the others to find Tang Fan to return to his post. Although senior brother Yin Fu often caused Tang Fan all kinds of troubles, his heart was not bad and he still had fellowship. If not for this, Tang Fan would not have given up the noble official position edited by the Hanlin Academy to come to his senior brother. under the command.
Two days later, on the day of Mrs. Zhou's birthday, Tang Fan brought A-Dong along with Sui Zhou to Sui's house to celebrate his grandmother's birthday.
Mrs. Zhou gave birth to only one son and one daughter, and the daughter was Suizhou's mother.
After Sui's mother married Sui's father, she gave birth to three children. Suizhou ranked second, with an eldest brother Sui An above and a younger sister Sui Bi below.
Although they have relatives with the Queen Mother Zhou, the Sui family is an ordinary family after all. They do not have three wives and four concubines like the Marquis of Wu'an and the Li family. The father of Suizhou has only one wife, the mother of Sui, and the grandfather and grandmother of Suizhou. also passed away.
Mrs. Zhou's son's family is a small official in a foreign country, and only her daughter's family is still in the capital. The two brothers and sisters together, in order to prevent the old mother from traveling to another place for her old age, they decided to let Mrs. Zhou live there. In the capital, the Sui family bought the house next door to the old lady and moved to live next door to the old lady, so that they could take care of the old lady without causing people to gossip.
After hearing about the seniority of the Sui family's relatives, Tang Fan was a little strange: "So, your family has a simple population, why do you still have to move out alone?"
Sui Zhou said indifferently: "My brother Yin seals hundreds of households, but he is only a vacant post. He is not used to being a clerk in Jinyiwei, and he still wants to get ahead by reading, but he has not yet made it, and although I started from a lower than him, now But it is also considered to be an official and a half-job, so my sister-in-law thinks that I am a little awkward, rather than being at home all day long, it is better to move out and be quiet."
Tang Fan understood now, and indeed every family has a hard-to-read scripture.
Sui An is the eldest son, and he will inherit the family business in the future, so his parents will definitely pay more attention. According to Sui Zhou's character, he must be impatient to talk about these household trivial matters, so he simply moved out and avoided conflicts. Lest the brothers be against the wall.
Mrs. Zhou's birthday, the son's family can't come back from other places, so the daughter will take care of it. Originally, because of the relationship between Mrs. Zhou and the Queen Mother, the Sui family didn't dare to be slow, but the old lady didn't want to make a big deal. She said that she I came from an ordinary family, and I only got rich and noble today because of the queen mother's glory, and I should cherish happiness. So instead of doing everything, wasting money, and calling a bunch of people I don't know to come here to celebrate my birthday, it's better to call my own children and grandchildren together. Just having a meal.
The birthday banquet was held in the Zhou family's old house, and the Suizhou family only needed to go from next door to congratulate the old lady on her birthday, which was convenient.
When Tang Fan arrived at Zhou's house, he realized that apart from him and A-Dong, everyone else was from the Sui family.
The old lady Zhou was over sixty years old, with white hair and kind eyes. She smiled when she saw Suizhou, and reached out to pull him: "My good grandson is here to see me, hurry up, come here, come here!"
Rao is Suizhou's habit of keeping his face cold and solemn all the year round. When he saw the old lady Zhou, he couldn't help softening. He first gave the old lady Zhou a birthday prayer, and then presented the gift, and respectfully called the grandmother.
"Okay, okay, okay!" Mrs. Zhou said good things three times in a row. Seeing Tang Fan and A-Dong standing next to Suizhou, she smiled again, "Azhou, is this your friend?"
Before Suizhou could answer, someone next to him said: "Second brother, today is a family banquet, the old lady said not to bring outsiders, why do you bring outsiders you don't know, there are female relatives here, it's not The goodness of the family is too careless!"
The speaker was Jiao Shi, wife of Sui Zhou's brother Sui An.
Married brothers do not get along. Nine times out of ten, it is because of the conflict between the concubine and Suizhou. Suizhou has not yet married, but since Mrs. Jiao does not like him, he blows pillows in front of her husband all day long. Over time, the relationship between brothers will indeed change. Affected.
What's more, Sui Zhou grew up in front of Mrs. Zhou since he was a child. His parents preferred the eldest son, but Mrs. Zhou preferred Sui Zhou. Jin Yiwei was a popular big fat shortage. Sui Zhou was the second son, and his surname was not Zhou. However, when Mrs. Zhou spoke in front of Empress Dowager Zhou, Sui Lili became a real job that was more sought-after than a virtual job. No wonder Jiao was jealous of this differential treatment.
But she forgot that Sui Zhou was not someone she could shape and flatten at will.
As soon as she finished her words, Sui Zhou replied lightly: "From now on, it will be a good thing for the family."