Tranquility

"It's very good to give courtesy first and then soldiers!"

When Tangning heard that it was the Shu family who sued him for buying and selling a son from a good family and refused to let him go, she immediately became furious.

Over the years, with his excellent painting skills, he has gained a good reputation in the literary world, and his reputation is getting bigger and bigger. He is not afraid of anything else, but he is afraid of ruining his reputation.The Shu family has already approached his bottom line by doing so.

"Don't be impatient, Zi'an. As far as I know, although Luo Shi, the daughter-in-law of the Shu family, is scheming, she acts quite softly and will not be so tough. This move is probably done by the mother-in-law Mao. She has a domineering temperament and cannot tolerate it the most. The resistance probably annoyed her because of our refusal. Let's see what Roche has to say."

When Jin Yongfu saw that Tangning was angry, he quickly comforted her.

Tangning was only annoyed for a moment just now. He was not an irritable person in the first place. He had already calmed down and thought about the current situation. However, the more he thought about it, the more difficult it became.

If he loses the lawsuit, he will be accused of forcing a good man into a slave. The worst thing is that Shu Hongyu will go back to Shu's house and be the bastard who watched his aunt's face every day. He will never allow Hongyu to suffer Wait for the grievance.

However, if he wins the lawsuit, no matter how strong his evidence is, he will inevitably be labeled as a widow bullying, which is not much better.

Whether he wins or loses, his reputation will be lost. It is best not to fight this lawsuit and keep it private.

After making up his mind, despite his filial piety, he was summoned by the county government, so he had to go out. Tangning decided to go to Qi County to meet the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

"Brother Jin, I'll go to Qi County tomorrow to have a look. You and Auntie Zhao are also leaving tomorrow, right? It's a pity we're on different paths, otherwise we'd better have someone to take care of us on the way.

At this time, the weather is hot, Zhao Auntie is old, and the little nephew is young, Brother Jin may have to spend more time.Anyway, it's not urgent, walk slowly on the road, hurry in the morning and evening, find a place to rest at noon, drink more mung bean soup, no matter what happens, safety is the most important thing. "

What Tangning said was superficial. There was no way Jin Yongfu didn't know the truth, but he still listened patiently. After Tangning finished speaking, he comforted him:

"Zian still thinks that I am the original young master. We are all used to traveling long distances and have enough experience. But the trouble you are encountering now is not small. This is my famous post. I leave Chengxin to you. You, if you run into trouble, let Chengxin use my name card to find my relatives, they have some face with the county magistrate, and they have to honor the county magistrate every year, you don’t need to be in vain, Zi’an is not polite.”

Chengxin was Jin Yongfu's personal servant who grew up with him, and he was the most effective. Tangning looked at Jin Yongfu's undisguised worried expression and smiled very relieved. Jin Yongfu had really found his original self.

Tang Ning originally planned to ask Mo Yi to protect Jin Yongfu and his party. He didn't know that Mo Yi could also inquire about a lot of information, so he only used him as a bodyguard. When Mo Yi left, he happened to be short of someone by his side, so it would be convenient to have Cheng Xin.

As soon as the two of them finished talking, Shu Hongyu rushed over upon hearing the news.

"Third brother, I want to go too!"

"You won't get any favors if you go there. The Mao family is your aunt, so she will overwhelm you in terms of status. If she lets you stay, you will have to listen." Tangning frowned slightly, feeling a little apprehensive.

"She has never been my aunt, I just want to tell her that I am not her son, and I am not something she can control!" Shu Hongyu said stubbornly.

Seeing that Shu Hongyu was determined, Tangning didn't force it. Shu Hongyu is already thirteen this year, and it's not good for a boy to be locked up in the mansion all day. Let him go out and see, let alone this is his own business.

In the early morning of the next day, after Tangning sent Jin Yongfu and Zhao's family away, he took Shu Hongyu, Cheng Xin and Qi County's first arrest team to the Qi County Office in less than two days.

According to Cheng Xin's report, the county magistrate of Qi County, surnamed Leng, came from a family background, has a warm face and a cold heart, and is very greedy for money. Every year, he receives a lot of filial piety from wealthy households in Qi County. collect money.

When Tang Ning met County Magistrate Leng, he was indeed very enthusiastic, and his face was full of chrysanthemums.

Since people greeted her with a smile, and Tangning wanted something from others, she naturally couldn't be cold-faced, but she also couldn't be too enthusiastic or too obsequious, so Tangning just greeted her with a smile, and said politely:

"Student Tang Ning from Cangping County rushed over immediately after receiving the summons from Lord Leng. It's just that the student is still in his father's filial piety, and his clothes are plain. If he is rude, he will forgive Lord Leng."

"Where, Tang Juren has outstanding talent and superb painting skills. Even if he is wearing his father's filial piety, he can visit my small county office in person, which is already a great face for me. I am fortunate to have admired several pictures of Tang Juren's beauties. Especially the painting "Drinking Alone under the Moon", even Chang'e in the Moon Palace is nothing more than that."

"Hehe, the student's qualifications are still young, so I am ashamed to be so praised by Master Leng. I didn't expect the master to love the student's paintings so much. The sword was given to the hero. The student happened to have a small painting here, so I gave it to the master as a reward for his love. "

Speaking of which, Tangning turned slightly to Cheng Xin, and Cheng Xin was also clever, and immediately presented a small wooden box.In fact, there were no paintings in the box at all, only 500 taels of silver bills. Tangning didn't want to give away her paintings, and Leng County Magistrate obviously preferred silver bills.

Leng County magistrate received the banknote, and then began to talk about the topic.

"Has Tang Juren ever heard of the Shu family who sued you? To be honest, this case is very unfavorable to Tang Juren."

"Actually, about five days ago, the student received a letter from the Shu family, asking the student to return her concubine. The student was a little hesitant at the time. The adults didn't know that the student had a chance to meet Hongyu back then. Oh, yes, this It is the concubine son of the Shu family that the student took in at the beginning, named Shu Hongyu."

Tangning seemed to have just remembered Shu Hongyu beside her, so she beckoned Shu Hongyu to come closer and asked him to pack the luggage for Magistrate Leng.

Leng County Magistrate looked Shu Hongyu up and down, tsk-tsk praised: "I didn't expect Tang Juren not only to be outstanding in himself, but also to have such extraordinary bearing in the servants he trained."

Although County Magistrate Leng praised him nicely, he looked at Shu Hongyu with less respect. Shu Hongyu's face flushed with anger, but since Tangning didn't have an attack, he forcibly endured it.

Tangning was also very annoyed, but the situation was stronger than others. He pressed down angrily, with a wry smile on his face,

"I don't know, my lord, Hong Yu is not a servant of my family, he is my righteous brother since I brought him in, and he has studied under Doctor Lu since he was a child, and his medical skills are very good."

While talking, Tangning told how he rescued Shu Hongyu, how he bought his deed of sale, and how he went to the government to put Shu Hongyu under his household registration.

After listening to Tang Ning's story, County Magistrate Leng corrected his attitude: "So that's how it is. I said how could Tang Juren be such a clear-minded person as a slave? Eight years, he really has a kind heart. The Shu family has been doing good for generations, Hongyu can meet you and be able to worship a famous teacher, it is also the virtue of his ancestors."

"When the student heard that Hong Yu was a scholar's son, he couldn't bear to be reduced to a slave. He wanted to send him back to the Shu family, but he was afraid that the Shu family's mistress would sell him again, so he brought him home.

A few days ago, the letter from the Shu family had explained in detail how Hongyu was sold back then, but it turned out to be a swindler, presumably the student had misunderstood the Shu family, which made the Shu family's mistress annoy the student and sue the student to court. "

"Exactly, both of you are families of good deeds. It was a happy event, but it turned out to be like an enemy. There must be a misunderstanding."

"What your lord said is very true. This matter was all caused by a misunderstanding. If it is brought to court, it will have a very bad impact on the reputation of the two families. But our two families have no bad intentions, but we have both gained a bad reputation. It is really wronged. " Tangning immediately followed Leng County Magistrate's words and put on a worried look.

"Hehe, don't worry Tang Juren. I know your concerns. I suppressed the Shu family's pleading paper as soon as it was handed over to me. I won't try the case within half a month. If you can reconcile privately, the Shu family will withdraw the case." The pleadings could not be better."

County Magistrate Leng was proficient in human matters, so he understood what Tangning said, so he immediately gave the correct words.

Tang Ning and county magistrate Leng had been playing officialdom for a long time, and finally got a guarantee. When he walked out of the county office, he felt more tired than riding a horse for two days. This officialdom is really not easy to mess with.

At this time, it was getting dark and Tangning was too tired to move, so the three master and servant found an inn to rest for the night.

The next day, Tangning didn't get up until the sun was up. Anyway, the county government had already delayed her, so there was no rush for a day or two.

Cheng Xin went to Jin Yongfu's relatives early in the morning to inquire about the news, and came back at noon pretending to be gossiping.

"Mrs. Shu is a widow with a bad temper and bad popularity. She doesn't go out much on weekdays. Only her natal nephew goes to visit her every now and then.

When Mrs. Shu got married, her natal family was in its heyday, and her elder brother was admitted as a scholar, so the dowry was very generous. Otherwise, how could she, the daughter of a merchant, marry into a family like the Shu family.

It's just that later her brother died early, and her nephew was a prodigal son. After decades, her mother's family has long been in decline. Her nephew is fond of gambling, and his family property has been ruined by him. Now she only lives on the financial aid of her aunt. Look, my little one, the Shu family The young master must have been spoiled by him. "

Speaking of this, Cheng Xin couldn't help being happy for a while, and then said: "The young mistress of the Shu family is the opposite, she is very kind to the servants, Master Tang, to be honest, those mistresses are not necessarily friendly to outsiders. Kindness, being kind to servants is really good-tempered. When the young master of the Shu family was still there, the young mistress of the Shu family often went out, and the women of the other family loved to associate with her. It's just that she doesn't come out much now. I heard that Mrs. Shu was sad Too much sickness, she is serving her mother-in-law at home."

Tang Ning couldn't deny it. If Mrs. Mao was really ill, how could she still have the strength to sue him.It seems that Luo Shi probably didn't know about Mao Shi's complaint, otherwise she wouldn't have remained silent until now, probably because Mao Shi pretended to be sick and held her back.

"What about the nephew of the housekeeper of the Shu family?"

"This... I don't know much about it. I only know that the old housekeeper of the Shu family was named Tao. He died five years ago, leaving only one daughter. His daughter is also a hard-fated one. She was originally assigned to be a steward. Who wants to marry her?" Less than a year after her husband died, she returned to Shu's house and worked as an errand in Master Shu's yard. Unexpectedly, Master Shu went again, and Mrs. Shu felt that it was her fate that killed Master Shu, and she thought she didn't manage well. Young master, let him stay out at night and beat her up. I don't know if she is dead or not.

As for Steward Tao's nephew, I haven't heard much about him. He was not a servant of the Tao family. He was said to have been in prison. He was released several years ago and joined Steward Tao. It is said that he is a murderer, and other servants are afraid of him. He, he was silent all day long, and no one dared to talk to him anymore.Recently, because of Master Hongyu's affairs, he was imprisoned again. "

After Cheng Xin finished speaking, she lowered her head, as if she felt guilty for not doing a good job.

Seeing Tangning, she smiled and comforted her.

Tangning's worry now is not how to persuade the Shu family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. He has decided to persuade Luo Shi first, and then Luo Shi will help persuade Mao Shi.What they want is to keep their family property, adopt a child for them, ask the county magistrate to take over the Shu family, and he will take care of them occasionally.

What he is worried about now is how to meet Luo Shi. You must know that there are only two widows in the Shu family, and he has a foreigner coming to the house, so the influence is really not good.

The matter had to be resolved, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and post the post first.Thinking that Luo Shi is not an unreasonable person, if she accepted the post, she should have made her own arrangements.

Sure enough, Tangning received a reply that day, inviting him to visit her the next day.

The next day, Tang Ning and his party rushed to the gate of Shu's house. As soon as Tang Ning stepped through the door, he felt a very uncomfortable sight. He frowned slightly, and the corner of his eyes swept to the corner of the corridor ahead. Stretching his body, poking his head, he looked at Tangning with obsession and obscenity.

This person is most likely Mao's nephew, Tangning snorted softly and passed by.

Tangning didn't bother to argue with this kind of person, but Shu Hongyu, who was following behind, was extremely annoyed. He took out a needle from his sleeve, and took advantage of the person's unsuspecting, and ruthlessly pierced the person's acupuncture point.

There was cold sweat on the man's forehead, and he screamed in pain, as if he had rolled back and forth in hell. When he regained his strength, there was no sign of Tangning.

He stared at the end of the empty corridor with resentment, thinking that Mao Xiuqing was also an imposing master and young master, how had he ever suffered such a disadvantage, he tried his best to recall the appearance of Shu Hongyu in his mind, vowed not to avenge this revenge, and vowed not to be a human being!