Tranquility

Doctor Lu got the ginseng and went back to the town, saying that the ginseng was very old and it would take a lot of time to produce it.

After finishing this matter, Tangning finally breathed a sigh of relief. Before Sister Cheng gave birth, he just had to keep an eye on her. At least now he could take a breath and not be as nervous as he was a few days ago.

Unexpectedly, when he woke up after a good night's sleep, the troubles from the next door found him.

"What? Pregnant before marriage? Whose?" Tangning frowned tightly. This girl never had a safe life.

Originally, he planned to find a failed student from a similar family background in the same year of the provincial examination, and marry Niuniu to him.Who would have thought that Niu Niu could do anything so fast, she even had a child all of a sudden, Tangning once again had a deep desire to marry her, he decided that no matter who the child's father was, he would rush Niu Niu over there, the sooner the better, Otherwise, according to the speed at which Niuniu got into trouble, he would never be able to survive one day.

Tang Mu rubbed his hands, his face blushed, as if he had done something shameful, he unconsciously lowered his voice, and said, "It's Zhang Youcai's, and it's been more than two months. If the child's mother didn't notice something was wrong, I guess we’ll have to wait until our belly gets bigger to find out.”

Tang Ning slapped the table violently, feeling a sense of gloom in his heart that was about to explode, but looking at his honest and honest brother, he was discouraged again.

This year just passed the number of years that Zhang Youcai was banned from taking the exam. He passed the county exam at the beginning of the year, and came back after failing to pass the government exam. Counting the days, it was exactly that time.Tangning sneered, the two of them are not good friends, they are a perfect match.

Although Zhang Youcai has a good family background, but he himself has poor character and no fame, so the scholar's step-sister married him, and he was in the right family.It's just that he, a scholar, has a grudge against the Zhang family. If the Zhang family holds grudges, it will be troublesome if they don't let go.However, Zhang Dehuai has had no children for many years, and only this one nephew, it can be seen that the problem of heirs must have been a problem that has troubled the Zhang family for many years. Niuniu is now pregnant with a child, and she is not his biological sister. It should not be difficult to marry into the Zhang family.

Tangning spun her hands behind her back twice, her forehead throbbed, he really wanted to leave Niu Niu alone, whether it was Shen He or a concubine, let her do what she wanted, he didn't owe her anything.On the contrary, Niu Niu stole his hairpin, and it has not been seen until now. When he got married at the beginning of the year, Carpenter Tang gave him what was left of his mother, but the hairpin was never found again.

Tang Ning turned around and walked back, bumping into Tang Mu with a "bang". Tang Ning looked at Tang Mu and sighed helplessly. His sister-in-law gave birth to a daughter two years ago. She is lively and cute. He always buys small things to amuse himself when he has nothing to do. Little niece, every time he sees the little girl eating pastry, he loves it so much.Niu Niu is not only her aunt but also her own cousin. If anything happens to Niu Niu, this girl will always be affected.

Besides, Shenhe is not a household chore in the village. It is a human life. It has to be reported to the county government, and then there will be such a sum in the county annals: In a certain year and month in a certain village, the youngest daughter of the Tang family became pregnant before marriage, disturbing the relationship between people, and for the village. family drowned.If it is a concubine, people say that the daughter of the Tang family is a concubine, and they may directly say that Tang Xiucai's younger sister is a concubine.

It's fine to conceive before marriage, but another problem is that Niuniu's actual surname is Zhang, so she is of the same family as Zhang Youcai. Although the blood relationship is far away, it is nothing in modern times. The key is that in ancient times, this was blatant incest.

Niu Niu's identity itself is a mess, for the current plan, I can only let Niu Niu enter the family tree of the Tang family first, at least in terms of etiquette, Niu Niu's surname is Tang, which has nothing to do with the Zhang family.

Since the former dynasty, genealogy has become popular. In the later period, genealogy was not only a privilege that only aristocratic families could have. Many families with good family backgrounds began to have their own genealogy. A family tree, after all, everyone wants to pass on the family tree from generation to generation.

Zhangjia Village has had a genealogy since the establishment of this dynasty, so the people in the whole village are named according to the genealogy, such as "de" and "you".The Tang family was an outsider, and no one could read and write. They didn't have a family tree until Tang Ning passed the exam. With the advice of the village chief, Tang Ning set up a family tree to pass on the family tree.After all, Tangning is a modern person. When he first wrote the family instructions, he stated that women and men are treated equally and can be included in the family tree. He also wrote the family instructions that men are not allowed to take concubines and women are not allowed to be concubines.

Tangning stopped in her tracks, turned around and called Tang Mu to the next door.

Tang Ning entered the main hall. Carpenter Tang was sitting on a stool smoking with his brows furrowed. Seeing Tang Ning coming in, he straightened his brows and said with a smile, "You're here because of Niu Niu's business?"

Tangning also nodded with a smile, "Father, don't worry, I will handle this matter. I thought it would be bad for Niu Niu to be named Zhang, so let her be included in our family tree first, and then follow our surname Tang Bar."

Ever since his son was selected as a scholar, Carpenter Tang has always listened to what his son said. Now that he heard what his son said, he immediately turned around and entered the east room. After a while, he took out a notebook, which was the family tree. Tangning looked around, but found no pen and ink , I thought they were all placed in his original room, so he went out of the main hall and passed through Niu Niu's room. Aunt Tang was talking to Niu Niu who was lying on the bed with her back turned. Since walking.

When he came back with his brush and ink, Aunt Tang stood at the door waiting for him with a flushed face.Tangning was filled with disgust. Her daughter was not a woman, and the mother was not ashamed of it, but proud of it.And because of the other party's shameless behavior, he actually wanted to admit the other party's identity. Originally, Niu Niu was not on the genealogy. After marrying her, she and the Tang family were not legally a family at all.Thinking about it, Tangning felt chest tightness, and naturally she didn't look good towards Aunt Tang.

Aunt Tang looked at Tang Ning and passed her by without even looking at her. She gradually stopped smiling and hummed softly towards Tang Ning's back.

Tang Ning added the word "Tang Niu Niu" under Aunt Tang - he was too lazy to name it again, Carpenter Tang was hesitant to speak, but Tang Ning didn't look up and asked, "Father, just tell me what's going on."

"Well, after all, Niu Niu is our family's daughter, she must never be a concubine for the Zhang family..."

"Mother told you this, right?" Tangning put down her pen.

"Yes, yes, but I thought so too..."

"Well, I see. I will discuss it with the Zhang family in a few days. Does the Zhang family know?" Tangning began to dry the ink.

"I know, her mother has already been there, but the Zhang family only agrees to be a concubine, and this matter cannot be delayed."

"Well, I know. She won't be so anxious that she can't wait for a few days, right?" Tangning put away the family tree and handed it to Carpenter Tang.

Carpenter Tang took the family tree and stopped talking.

Three days later, a group of men and horses hung with red silk began to beat gongs and drums from the entrance of Zhangjiacun, all the way to the gate of Tangjia, so that the whole village followed to watch the fun.

As soon as Tangning opened the door, she heard a loud voice, "Congratulations to Tang Jieyuan, number one in the Second Rank of High School!"

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding villagers were in an uproar. They guessed that Tangning must have won the exam, but they didn't expect it to be Jie Yuan. What does Jie Yuan mean?

Tangning smiled lightly to meet the warm congratulations from everyone, took out a purse from her pocket, gave it to the person who announced the good news, and distributed a few liang of silver to the rest, invited them to eat next door, turned around and asked Tang Mu who was following her not to set off firecrackers , so as not to frighten sister Cheng.

When he was leading the crowd to Tang Carpenter's house next door, he saw another small carriage appearing at the end. Tang Ning signaled Tang Mu to pull the villagers away. He stood by himself and watched the carriage approach and stop.

The car curtain slowly opened. Tangning raised her eyebrows. It was Shui Mingxuan. He smiled and bowed, "The student has met Mr. Shui. I don't know if Mr. Shui is here. What's the matter?"

Shui Mingxuan still had that chubby, amiable face, he said with a light smile, "I'm here to look for Minzhi, I don't want to just meet Zi'an Daxi, I'm ashamed to say, I don't know where Minzhi lives, so I follow the person who announces the good news I came to Zian to ask."

Tangning rolled her eyes and said, "Mr. lives in Li Family Village. You can see it when you pass this hill. Then you can ask someone there and you will know where Mr. Shui lives. I don't know how long Master Shui will stay here, my wife You are happy, the student is planning to get through this period of work, so I invite you to come and stay with me, so as to relieve my husband's concern for his daughter."

"Hehe, I came here to discuss something with Minzhi, and I won't delay long, don't worry, Zi'an." Shui Mingxuan said with some embarrassment, "I think Zi'an is busy, so I won't bother you any more, and I will leave."

Tang Ning folded her arms and watched Shui Mingxuan go away. Just as she was about to rush to the next door, a small sedan chair appeared at the end of the road. It was the Zhang family's sedan chair. Tang Ning smiled lightly. There are so many distinguished guests today.

Seeing the servants of the Zhang family lift up the curtain of the sedan chair and Mrs. Zhang tremblingly being helped off the sedan chair, Tangning was a little disappointed. It would be great if Zhang Dechun came over.

Before Mrs. Zhang could stand still, Tangning stepped forward, "Mr. Zhang, why bother you to come here all the time? If it's because of my useless sister, you should just send a friend over here."

"Hehe, I would like to congratulate San'er Zhongjieyuan first. I knew you were smart and promising at the beginning. You can't be wrong. Look, this is Zhongjieyuan. You are more promising than my family." Zhang The old man was full of smiles on his face full of age spots.

Tangning led the people into the room, and said modestly, "The old man appreciates the prize. I was able to pass the exam, mainly due to luck."

After entering the room, Tang Ning poured tea, and the two sat down separately. Mrs. Zhang waved her back and her smile faded. Tang Ning was a junior. It's not the same, Niu Niu is your younger sister, her status has risen with the tide, and she is considered a good match when she marries into my family, but she doesn't follow women's morals first, and she is not Xie Yuan's biological sister, and she is of the same family as the Zhang family. Wife marrying a virtuous wife, my Zhang family really can't afford a daughter-in-law like her. If she married into the door, other people's saliva would drown the Zhang family. It can't be done."

It's a matter of principle, even if the other party is an elder, Tangning can't back down, "The old man also said that Niu Niu is my younger sister, whether she is related or not, her name is on the family tree of my Tang family, and it is always my Tang family, not the Zhang family. Relationship. In this way, if I get rid of Yuan, how can I let my sister be a concubine? If I become an official in the future, no matter how big an official I am, my face will be dull. Besides, this kind of thing can't be slapped, my sister If he doesn't obey women's morals, isn't Zhang Youcai a modest gentleman? Seducing a woman from a good family is not a serious crime, but it will not be easy for him to become an official if he is charged with this crime?"

Mrs. Zhang took a sip of tea and took a breath, "You can't slap a slap, and you can't tell who seduced anyone. It's just this kind of thing, if you tell it, it's Niu Niu who suffers, her reputation is gone, and she's not a young girl. Where can she marry in the future? Go, let's go, for the sake of the child, my family can marry her with three matchmakers and six servants, and there is a marriage certificate, but at most she is Teng's concubine."

Tang Ning lowered her face and snorted coldly, "Niu Niu has been recorded in my family tree of the Tang family. The Tang family has a motto that even if a daughter of the Tang family dies, she will never be a concubine. If this news gets out, for the sake of the Tang family's reputation, I can only I gave her a bowl of medicine cruelly, and then sent her to the temple to pray for blessings. If it really didn’t work, I would simply call the whole village and sink the river to rectify the family tradition. It’s no wonder I’m cruel if she does such a thing by herself. It’s a pity It’s a sin to kill an unborn child, that’s all, at worst, I’ll burn more paper and ask the monk to do a ritual, so that he will have a good pregnancy in his next life.”

Mrs. Zhang did not expect the young man in front of him to be so decisive and ruthless. Although he suspected that Tangning was probably threatening, Niuniu was not his biological sister after all. Many things happened in the Tang family over the years. How much affection did Tangning have for Niuniu? , everyone knows it in their hearts.

Seeing Tang Ning's plain and handsome face, Mrs. Zhang was hesitant. One was the heir the Zhang family had longed for for many years, and the other was the Tang family's dispensable oil bottle. In this negotiation, the Zhang family was born to lose. , Mrs. Zhang sighed, throwing out the final bottom line,

"San'er, you also know the situation of the Zhang family. The whole family is just a bad guy, and his uncle has no heirs. You don't know yet, his uncle has received an order to go back to the capital, and he is in charge of the household department. What happened back then was originally bad. Now that so many years have passed, Cheng Xiucai’s daughter has married you, and his uncle has also been promoted. Let’s let these things go. It’s better to get rid of enemies than to marry them. It’s best for our two families to get married .”

Tang Ning picked up the teacup and sneered to herself. We were the ones who suffered at the beginning, so you made it seem like I did something wrong.

Tangning complained in her heart, but she also knew that it was not time to turn her face, not to mention that he had doubts about Zhang Dehuai's return to Beijing. The most important thing now was to send away Niuniu, a humanoid killer, and get married. Hmph, Tangning drank some tea. As the saying goes, if you have a grudge against someone, spoil your daughter and marry him.

Seeing Tangning's calm action, Mrs. Zhang felt a little depressed, "I have something to do. I have been planning for a long time, and I will reveal it to you today. I plan to let the scoundrel marry two wives, and each of the two wives will marry a regular wife. The one on the side has already been found, the Geng Tie's big engagement has been completed, the villain has already gone to the capital, and the life is getting better, and he will wait for his uncle to come back to preside over the wedding. As for Niuniu, how about letting her be the second wife? It's just that this day can't be passed sooner. On the side of the big room, you have to wait for the sister-in-law to come in, right?"

Tangning put down the teacup, looked down and thought, this method is good, but the wedding date must not be late, and she must be sent out before Niuniu gives birth.

So the two dawdled a few more words about the date of their marriage, and finally decided on the early summer of next year, when Niu Niu was seven months pregnant, and she happened to have a stable pregnancy to marry.

On the other side, Tangning sent Mrs. Zhang away and went to meet the congratulators next door.Over there, Shui Mingxuan was sitting in Mr. Cheng's study, and the conversation was deadlocked.

"You really don't want to be an official? If you want to test for fame, it couldn't be easier." Shui Mingxuan said unrelentingly.

Mr. Cheng said impatiently, "I don't want to."

"Well, then, how about being a guest at my house? It's very leisurely, not an official, just giving me advice, you are my guest, what do you want to do..." Shui Mingxuan carefully looked at the Mr. Cheng's complexion gradually became incapable of speaking.

Mr. Cheng's face was ashen, "I'm not that bad yet, don't worry about it, my grandson is about to have a grandson, I don't want to do that, now I'm just thinking about how to make my grandson happy and support her for the rest of my life."

Shui Mingxuan's ruddy face began to turn pale, and Nuonuo said: "Old Yu Ge was sentenced to prison not long ago, the situation is unknown, Gao Pu is appointed as the new chief assistant of the cabinet, he is the emperor's teacher, he is deeply trusted, but he is the most You are a villain, but corruption, forming a party for selfish interests, nepotism, and the court will definitely be full of storms in the future. Cheng Dingmeng said that you punished Zhang Dehuai, the magistrate of Guangling County a few years ago. He is from Gaopu, and has now been transferred back to the capital by Gaopu. You His disciple Chun Wei will become an official in three years, and with his talent, he will definitely go to high school, if Gao Pu deliberately makes things difficult, his official career will be completely ruined, don't you want to help him by becoming an official?"

Mr. Cheng was silent for a while, then Fang sighed: "It's sad, Yu Ge is old and in danger."

Shui Mingxuan didn't believe it, and said: "Old Yu Ge's prestige is there, if anyone in the court can overthrow him, at most he will be dismissed from office and return to his hometown. Don't just think about Elder Yu Ge, think about your beloved disciple is the right way .”

Mr. Cheng looked into Shui Mingxuan's eyes and said, "Don't you think Zi'an looks like a person?"

Shui Mingxuan was taken aback, then smiled in disbelief: "Could it be that he is really the bastard child of that ice cube?"

Mr. Cheng looked at him with pity, "You have only grown flesh these years, have you not grown brains?"

Shui Mingxuan choked, thought deeply, and said in surprise: "The rumor that his twin sister was kidnapped by bandits is true? Didn't his sister die of illness? Besides, Zi'an is the son of a carpenter."

"It's hard to say what happened back then. Since she was able to die of illness on the way, why couldn't she be taken away by bandits on the way? After so many years, only the concubine, mother and daughter who were traveling together know what happened. But after so many years If you inquire, Zian is indeed his nephew, you can't be wrong."

Shui Mingxuan was stunned for a while, then Fang sighed: "So, it would be great if Zi'an had him to protect him. Since you know, why didn't you tell him, he's had a really hard time these years."

Mr. Cheng looked at the darkening sky outside the window, and said quietly: "Zi'an, it's not suitable for that place. I only hope that he will never go to the capital for the rest of his life."