Father can be an enemy to the country

"The two of them got into trouble once they got into it, and they stayed together day and night after the war. Later, your second uncle was transferred away from Nanchang, and he even swore that he would redeem her life when he came back, but you know what our men say..." The uncle sighed with a complicated expression, obviously he had done such immoral things back then.

Moreover, with the appearance of the eldest uncle, the number of crimes committed must be at least ten times that of the second uncle. No wonder he was so active in bringing the two together, it was to alleviate his own guilt.

"By the way, why does Old A Fang call his second uncle Zhang Lang? He calls his uncle Zhang Brother. Do you tell others that your surname is Zhang?" Lao Liu asked again.

"That's right. We can't smear your mother-in-law." The uncle nodded and imparted his experience: "If you go out to play in the future, you must hide your identity."

"Well, whatever bad things I do, I always do it in the name of Lao Qi." Lao Liu nodded.

"That won't work either." The uncle smiled bitterly and said, "It's better to change your last name."

"Okay." Lao Liu followed Shan Ruliu and said, "Then my surname is Zhang. Zhang Gong Zhang is a common surname, so it is the least noticeable."

"No, ours is Li Zaozhang." The uncle shook his head.

"Does this mean you're determined to get up early?" Lao Liu asked.

"No. In fact, it is a determination..." The uncle shook his head, feeling a little embarrassed to speak, so he changed the subject and whispered: "The one who is following is gone."

He has rich experience in the world and knows that the more mysterious and cautious he is at this time, the easier it is for the other party to become suspicious. Therefore, he has always been generous and swaggering through the market. As long as the stalker wants to stalk, he will be able to catch him.

"Did they withdraw?" Lao Liu asked softly.

"No, we stayed in Chunfang Pavilion." The uncle shook his head slightly and said: "It should be just a follower, and he has no skills at all. But this also shows that we did not attract their attention, and we were just a routine follower."

"That's ridiculous. Everyone who visits Zeng Tai will be followed. How guilty must those people be?" Lao Liu said solemnly.

"There is a ghost in my heart, and it's a big ghost." The uncle nodded.

~~

While talking, the two came to Nanchang City's most prosperous Toad Street.

As the name suggests, this is a place where Nanchang people sell toads and eat toads. Fortunately, it is the first month of the year. If they had come two months later, the streets would have been full of croaking toads.

This street is also called Fuhou Street, which is the street where the back gate of Nanchang Fuyamen is located. In addition to toad shops, this street is also dotted with teahouses, restaurants, bathhouses, inns and other service industries.

The inn was used by people from all over the Nanchang Prefecture who were involved in lawsuits or who came to the magistrate's Yamen to intercede and handle matters.

After you settle in, you have to find people to litigate, inquire about information, give gifts, intercede, and bargain. So where can these people be found? The waiter at the inn will tell you, guest, don't worry, go next door to make a pot of tea, have a meal, and take a bath, and you will naturally find the person you need.

Because in those teahouses, restaurants, and bathhouses, there are litigators who litigate people's cases, brokers who help people make connections, 'scries' who help people write documents, and local snakes who work for people's affairs all day long. This is what these idle people rely on for their livelihood.

These matters are often dark and dark and cannot be put on the table, so they cannot be placed on Yaqian Street, which represents the face of the imperial court and has two pavilions, Shenming and Jingshan. They were all located in the back streets. This is the so-called ‘back door’.

My uncle knew that this kind of place was the best informed, so he booked him to stay at Tongfu Inn on Toad Street.

A group of about thirty people occupied the entire courtyard. The guards live in the sitting room and the side room. There are three main rooms, one for the eldest uncle and the second uncle, and one for Lao Liu and Liu Li, so they are fully occupied.

Hu Quan was originally a little worried that His Highness, who was accustomed to ostentation, would find the arrangement too cramped. However, Lao Liu remained calm. The biggest advantage of their brothers was that they were not picky. After all, this condition is much better than living in a thatched hut and sleeping in a Datong bunkhouse in Jinqiaokan.

As soon as Lao Liu came back, after wiping his face and washing his hands, Liu Li served hot meals. She knew that her junior uncle never ate out...

Zhu Zhen was already hungry. He cheered when he saw the food, took the chopsticks and started eating. While eating, he was full of praise: "My little niece's cooking skills are getting better and better. If this continues, I won't be able to eat the food cooked by the chef."

"Uncle Junior is used to coaxing people." Liu Li sighed softly and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine. There's no need to comfort me."

"I'm telling the truth. If it's delicious, it's delicious. I never give compliments politely, especially when it comes to food." Lao Liu said seriously.

"..." Liu Li was amused by his serious look and wanted to laugh, but she couldn't. Her father's coffin is parked in the feudal government office not far away, and she still can't go there and cry over it.

"Let's hurry up tomorrow and ask my uncle to find a way to take you to meet your senior brother." Lao Liu said that he couldn't empathize, but he could still understand Liu Li's mood.

"No, I can't cause trouble for you." Liu Li bit her lower lip lightly, lowered her head and said, "It's the same as paying homage from afar in the inn."

"It's okay." Lao Liu said, "My uncle has to go there. There are many things that need to be clarified in person."

For example, where did his two guards go? Why is there still no news yet?

"Yes. I will listen to my junior uncle's arrangements." Liu Li said obediently.

~~

The next day, the imperial envoy, who was slightly depressed, came to the Chief Secretary's Yamen.

Xiong Qitai and Zeng Tai, leading the officials of the Second Division, had been waiting at the Yamen Gate for a long time.

When the imperial envoy got off the carriage, he saw that Shen Liben was not wearing the crimson official robe, but had changed into a plain linen white robe, and a black horn belt around his waist, looking like a standard official condolence dress.

According to the arrangement, today he had to go to Liu Shenzhen's mansion to express his condolences, so he dressed up like this. Xiong Zeng and other officials were also dressed in the same attire. After seeing the ceremony, they solemnly entered the Chief Secretary's Yamen together.

Xiong Qitai led the way and led the imperial envoy to an official mansion on the east side of the Yamen. I saw that under the outer wall of the official building, there were piles of wreaths and banners. Naturally it is the Liu Lian family.

After entering, there were no wreaths and curtains, only a simple mourning hall. The only strange thing was that there was no word on the elegiac couplet hanging outside the mourning hall, only two white notes were pasted.

In the mourning hall, only Liu Jing was keeping vigil for his brother, while Liu Kong and Liu Meng were responsible for welcoming and sending him off, which looked very shabby.

"Mr. Liu, the imperial envoy Shen Butang has come to express condolences to your brother." Seeing Liu Jing kneeling and sitting motionless, Xiong Qitai said to him loudly.

"..." Liu Jing only glanced at Shen Liben and then lowered her eyelids.

"You..." Xiong Qitai was very dissatisfied with him for being so neglectful.

Shen Liben waved his hand, indicating that he should be quiet.

"My lord, that's a lot." Xiong Qitai quickly complimented.

Shen Liben could only smile bitterly. They were the only local officials who took him seriously. Little did he know that in the eyes of the nobles and young men in the capital, he, the minister, was not even considered a piece of shit.

After all, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the average tenure of a minister was less than one year. Then, if he was lucky, he would be demoted and removed from office, and if he was unlucky, he would be beheaded and go to jail. Who would take such a high-risk group of people seriously?