Queen Mother, she just wants to lie down

The heads of the He, Chen, Zheng and Xu families were arrested at the same time, and their families were in chaos.

Some of the female relatives were filled with fear and cried continuously.

Fortunately, they are all prestigious families with a history of hundreds of years, and there are many people who can stay stable.

The four companies quickly sent people to contact each other, and each sent a person with influence to get together to discuss countermeasures.

The He family sent out Mr. He Sanye.

As soon as the four families met, he expressed his idea of ​​finding a servant to take the blame.

The other three companies did not respond immediately. They also had the same idea, but...

"What? You think this method is inappropriate?" Seeing that no one responded, Mr. He San couldn't help but frown.

"The idea is good, but Ma Ziliang suddenly made such a big fuss. Could he have received instructions from above?" Mr. Zheng Sanye pondered for a moment before speaking cautiously.

He didn't know that the Empress Dowager had left the capital, but it was an instinctive political reaction as a son of an aristocratic family.

Logically speaking, the Zheng family not only had someone serving as an official in the capital, but also had a first-rank imperial concubine.

Their family should be more informed about the news in the capital than the Chen family.

However, the one who served as an official in the capital was from the side branch of the Zheng family. He had suffered a lot of bullying from the main branch in the past, so they were not close to each other.

Concubine Zheng Shufei was from the legitimate wife's family, but her father was an official in another place.

Normally, if there was anything, she would only inform her parents and would not write a letter to Qingsha specifically.

"I am also worried about this. Logically speaking, Ma Ziliang would not have the courage to do this if no one was backing him up."

After Mr. Zheng Sanye finished speaking, Mr. Chen Erye took over the conversation.

"Who backs him? The Ma family? The Ma family has some influence in Jiangnan.

But if the Ma family wants to stir up trouble in Qingsha, they still lack some weight. "Mr. He snorted.

"It may not be the Ma family, maybe it is..." Master Chen pointed to the sky.

As soon as he said this, the three people present fell silent at the same time.

After half a cup of tea, Mr. He San spoke again: "This is unlikely. Let's not talk about how a seventh-rank county magistrate who got his position through donations can get in touch with the higher-ups.

To be honest, our family has never done anything taboo.

Of course, land annexation is one reason.

But we didn't take those lands from the people. Instead, they sold them to us willingly and with tears of gratitude.

As for the occasional unpromising members of the clan, this is inevitable.

Which century-old prestigious family dares to say that there are not one or two playboys in their family?

It's impossible for the imperial court to uproot us just for such a small matter.

Our Qingsha has a rich cultural culture, developed commerce, and smooth water conservancy at the dock. Which of these could not have been achieved without the contributions of our families?

If it weren't for our families, would Qingsha have been rated as a top-class county for so many years?

I don't believe the imperial court would take action against us over such a small matter. This matter definitely has nothing to do with the higher-ups.

Most likely, Ma Ziliang found out about our tax evasion and wanted to use this as a breakthrough point to take down the four of us in one fell swoop to pave the way for his own future."

When Mr. He San said this, a ferocious look suddenly flashed in his eyes.

The He family is now at its peak, and he doesn't believe that the court will do anything to them.

However, Ma Ziliang kept picking on the He family, which made him so angry that his teeth itched.

He was convinced that everything he saw was caused by Ma Ziliang.

"Brother He is right. The current emperor has been on the throne for less than a year, and our four families are not small families without any foundation.

The girl from the Zheng family is a first-rank imperial concubine in the palace. If the emperor is really dissatisfied with us, it is impossible that he would not send any news back, right?" The fourth master of the Xu family took over the conversation.

"Brother Xu and Brother He are right. If the court is dissatisfied with us, with the connections of our four families, it is impossible that we will not get any news at all.

Let's do as Mr. He San said, but we still need to think of a comprehensive way to do it, at least we can't leave any loopholes that can give people a handle." Mr. Zheng Er thought for a moment and agreed with what Xu and He said.

Mr. Chen wanted to say something, but when he saw the expressions of the other three people, the words slipped back into his mouth.

"Of course. Let's first hire a good lawyer, write a good lawsuit, and also make sure to arrange for someone to plead guilty.

Make sure there is no evidence, then go to the county government office to ask for the person." said Mr. He San.

The matter was settled, and the four of them quickly dispersed.

The meeting was held at Zheng's house.

As soon as Mr. Chen came out of Zheng's house, he was pulled aside by Chen Lie who had been wandering outside.

"Chen Lie, why are you here? Did something happen at home again?" Master Chen was surprised when he suddenly saw him.

"There's nothing going on at home, but I'm anxious and want to know the result of your discussion as soon as possible.

Second uncle, tell me what you guys have discussed. " Chen Lie waved his hand.

"Why are you so impatient? Let's talk after you get in the carriage." Master Chen glanced at his nephew, turned around and got on the carriage.

Chen Lie immediately followed.

After getting in the carriage, Mr. Chen told Chen Lie about what the four families had discussed.

"Uncle San, do you really think this method is appropriate?" Chen Lie asked after listening.

"What do you think? It won't be easy to rescue your father without this method.

You know, the crime of tax evasion can be serious or minor.

If things get worse, our whole family might get ruined.” Uncle Chen glanced at him.

"That's the truth, but Uncle San, don't you find it strange? Why did Ma Ziliang have the guts to suddenly attack all four of our families at the same time?

Is it really like what Mr. He San said, that he wants to use our four families as a token of his allegiance to pave the way for his own future?

If he had no one to lean on, would he, even with the Ma family behind him, have such a big appetite to eat such a big pie?" Chen Lie asked.

"According to common sense, it is impossible for Ma Ziliang to overthrow the four of us alone.

However, Ma Ziliang is not a person who can be judged according to common sense. He is quite crazy.

If he is not crazy, but has something to rely on..."

When Mr. Chen Er said this, he thought of the letter handed back by Lao Wu from home, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"Uncle, do you and father know something that I don't know?" Chen Lie asked hurriedly.

"Your fifth uncle wrote a letter a few days ago, saying that the current empress dowager might come south for a visit." Master Chen was silent for a moment, then told Chen Lie what was in Master Chen Wu's letter.

Master Chen Wu was the Censor-in-Chief. Although his official position was not high, he was very well-informed about news.

Although he only said it was possible in the letter.

But if he wrote a special letter to remind someone, even if it was just the word "maybe", he couldn't help but be cautious.

The only reason he didn't tell the younger generations was because the fifth brother repeatedly told them in the letter not to disclose the matter.

“No wonder, a few days ago I ran into Magistrate Ma in Jingshan Town, accompanying two women to inspect the fields.

I told my father about it at the time, but he didn't take it seriously. Unexpectedly, just a few days later, the heads of our four families were all arrested.

I don't think this is a coincidence, Second Uncle. We must not do what Mr. He San said.

We have no right to interfere with what they want to do, so we will go and apologize directly.

He explained in detail the process of land acquisition in recent years and the hidden taxes, and made up a plausible reason, and sincerely accepted the punishment.

We also took the initiative to tell Ma Ziliang that we are willing to return the land to the people at the purchase price. If they do not have enough money, they can pay in installments without interest.

It proves that we bought the land out of good intentions." Chen Lie was surprised, his mind raced, and he quickly came up with a suggestion.

"Are you planning to let our Chen family place a bet? What if we bet wrong?"