Four hundred and ninetieth chapters open and honest (2)
This time, it was Shen Hai and Shen Li's turn to look at each other.
Marriage is a marriage between two surnames, and it is a matter of life and death. If the engagement is broken off, the reputation of both children will be affected, and the woman's influence will be greater.
If for this reason, Yan Juren keeps it in mind and takes this opportunity to deal with the Shen family, it is really possible.
"People are doing it, God is watching. This Chen Yuan's behavior is getting more and more confused every year." Chen Hai shook his head.
In his early years, he received a dowry from the Sun family, but he refused to treat his wife and legitimate son well. He doted on his concubine, killed his wife, and gave up his only legitimate son. Now, in order to gain wealth, he betrayed his trust, which is not surprising.
There had been the incident between the Sun family and Detsu, and the tribe had long known that Shen Yuan's character was flawed. It was just that the matter had nothing to do with him, and no one would think of teaching or admonishing him. After all, people By middle age, one's temperament has already been determined. Those who don't want to make the Shen family's situation more difficult will be an insignificant Shen Yuan.
Now that they know the suspect, everyone no longer has a blind eye. It is better to have a target than to have no clue. Shen Hai's energy has been jumping for two months. He can't eat well and sleep well. Now he looks at Shen Li and Shen Rui. He felt a lot more at ease. After all, he was over sixty years old and his energy was running low, so he left sleepily.
The sound of the second watch was heard outside. It was already late, and Shen Rui and Shen Li also went back to their rooms to rest.
A night of silence.
*
After breakfast the next day, Shen Li took Shen Rui to visit He's family around morning time.
The He family and the Shen family are both large families, and their clansmen also live together. However, the Shen family is directly north of Fuya, and the He family is in the northeast. The distance is not long, and it takes only two-quarters of an hour by carriage.
He Xisheng got the news and took his younger brother to welcome him out in person.
Although when it comes to the seniority of in-laws, He Xisheng is the elder and Shen Li is the younger. However, Shen Li is a scholar and has a fourth-rank official status. It is inappropriate for He Xisheng to talk about elders and younger ones, so they just talk about friendship with peers and are polite.
On the other hand, when dealing with Shen Rui, He Xisheng became a little more intimate and said a few words about Shen Jue, which was very sentimental.
He Bei Sheng Chun Wei failed, and he felt a little uncomfortable when he saw Shen Rui. Although Shen Rui was only a scholar and did not take the filial piety examination, Shen Rui's concubine brother Shen Jin was the top scholar in this subject.
However, Shen Rui only came here as a follower. Whether it was He Xisheng's closeness or warmth or He Beisheng's awkwardness, they were all just clouds in his eyes. What he cared about was the final choice of the He family. He Xisheng, the acting head of the He family, and the relationship between the Shen family and the He Xisheng family. The eldest master is different from the current patriarch Shen Hai. He is not like a gentry, but more like a businessman who is only interested in profit. It is possible if he is unwilling to give up the opportunity at this time.
During the greetings, brothers He Xisheng led Shen Li and Shen Rui to the living room. The guests and hosts were seated. He Xisheng looked at Shen Rui and then at He Beisheng and said: "I remember that Brother Rui loved Zen in his early years. Didn't Shiro get a pair of Nanputuo Huirong The Master’s personal book, The Great Compassion Mantra, happened to bring Rui Geer over to observe it.”
He Beisheng was stunned when he heard this and stood up with some reluctance.
Shen Rui glanced at Shen Li and saw Shen Li nodded, so he also stood up and followed He Beisheng out.
In the living room, only He Xisheng and Shen Li were left. He Xisheng said: "With all due respect, since Duke Zhuangyuan came to the door, he must have noticed something fishy about the Japanese rebellion."
Shen Li nodded and said, "I'm here to ask for forgiveness. Yesterday, my servant escorted my cousin out. I encountered someone robbering someone on the road outside the city and caught a few thieves. I thought it was a bandit coming down the mountain. I didn't want to interrogate someone else who came down. He is a member of the sixth branch of the He family."
Because He Xisheng had made a decision in his heart and was unwilling to lose out in front of Shen Li, he went straight to the point and introduced the topic. He wanted to take advantage of it, but he didn't want Shen Li to have something else ready. Without saying anything else, he just held on. With this witness in hand, the He family may not be able to prove their innocence.
He Xisheng looked at Shen Li with a more thoughtful and solemn look: "Since you are a descendant of the He family, how can you commit banditry? I'm afraid there is some misunderstanding in this?"
"It's not impossible." Shen Li nodded and said, "I'm also worried that someone is pretending to be someone else. The Shen family and the He family have lived together in Songjiang for hundreds of years and have been married for generations. The He family really has no reason to intercept and kill the Shen family." After that, he took the phone from his arms. He took out a portrait and spread it on the coffee table: "Master He Er, let's see if someone else is really impersonating the He family."
This portrait sketch is naturally the work of Shen Rui.
Now that the He family has been captured, whether the He family is willing to cooperate with the Shen family or not, it is one of the Shen family's bargaining chips.
He Xisheng didn't need to look carefully to recognize that the person in the portrait was none other than He Mian, the nephew of a branch of the He family. He was known for his bravery and strength, and was one of the followers He Xisheng took with him when he went abroad.
He Xisheng's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He had previously found out that something was wrong with someone in his family. It seemed that he had other income in the past two months and was inextricably linked to the "Japanese pirates" entering the city, but he did not suspect the people around him. people.
Because He Mian didn't go out these days, He Mian was on a long vacation. Why did he go to intercept and kill the Shen family? Who ordered him? Someone stretched out his hand in front of him. Fortunately, the Shen family he dealt with was the one he wanted to deal with. It's me, can I escape the disaster? Traveling on a boat or horseback is a three-thirds risk. If someone tampers with you while you're out, how can you escape?
He Xisheng's mind was in chaos, and he no longer had the certainty he had before.
*
In the study, He Beisheng absentmindedly took out a scroll from the bookshelf and laid it flat on the big desk.
Both of them knew that coming to read the calligraphy was just an excuse, so that He Xisheng and Shen Li could discuss important matters. Although Shen Rui and He Beisheng had met before, they were not really familiar with each other, so they only kept silent for the reason of looking at the calligraphy and painting. Silent.
Still He Beisheng couldn't help it and asked: "You are a little scholar, and it won't be of much use when you come back. Why isn't Shen Jin coming back? Or is he seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, and is afraid that he will be implicated, so he deliberately doesn't come back?"
He Beisheng was also in his prime years. When he was young, he competed with Shen Zhu, and later with Shen Jin. Now one is the top scholar in a new subject, and the other is a failed candidate. Although they are not comparable, they are still unavoidable.
"Uncle Hong and his wife from Wufang also went south with us. Because Uncle Hong was ill, they disembarked in Tianjin, and Brother Jin sent the two elders back to Beijing." Shen Rui said.
He Beisheng nodded, not sure whether he was more disappointed or more comforted.
Looking at Shen Rui, who was as steady as a young adult, and seeing that he didn't mean to be alienated or hostile to Shen Jin, He Beisheng was a little curious: "Don't you bear any grudge against Shen Jin?"
Shen Rui looked confused: "Why do you hold grudges?"
"Obviously you are the legitimate son of the fourth house, but you were forced to step aside. As a concubine, Shen Jin occupied the magpie's nest and enjoyed the family property to himself." He Beisheng snorted coldly: "You are not looking at Shen Jinzhong. After winning the top prize, you want to borrow from him in the future, so you put down your complaints and still get close to him, right?"
Shen Rui couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Master He Si, you are thinking too much."
He Beisheng was only in his weak years, and he didn't want to be called the "Fourth Master" the most. He immediately got angry when he heard this: "Fourth Master is not the Fourth Master, don't call me the Fourth Master, starting from the Fourth Fang, you should call me Si."
uncle."
"The fourth master also said that it starts from the fourth house. The fourth master also knows that although I was born in the fourth house, I am now the grandson of the second house. Naturally, it is not easy to judge seniority from the fourth house." Shen Rui said slowly: "Fourth House.
If the master wants to hear about this uncle, he needs to go to Brother Jin to talk about it."
Hearing the series of "Four Masters", He Beisheng became very irritable and said: "It's not that you are too conceited. Back then, my eldest brother wanted to recruit you as his son-in-law, but you are too conceited to look down on my daughter of the He family."
Shen Rui said: "Fourth Master should know that in matters of marriage, parents' orders, and matchmaker's words, there is no reason for subordinates to act independently. Fourth Master, do you think this is the truth?"
He Beisheng was not a fool. Naturally, he noticed that Shen Rui was deliberately biting the "fourth master" when speaking. He was really dumbfounded. He pointed at Shen Rui and said: "You look like an old man, you are really narrow-minded."
Although Shen Rui had a bad impression of He Beisheng when they met for the first time and thought he was arrogant, but now it seems that he is an open-minded person and not a fussy person.
The two looked at each other and smiled, no longer feeling unfamiliar with each other.
He Beisheng said: "It seems that this time is not only the Shen family's trouble, it should also involve the He family. My second brother hasn't been out for two months, and he was extra solemn when entertaining guests today. Shen Rui, do you know what's going on?
?”
He Beisheng was a middle-school boy who grew up as a middle-school boy. Shen Rui couldn't reveal the truth about this matter, so he could only vaguely say: "I only know that there are people behind the scenes who are instigating a fight between the He family and the Shen family, hoping to reap the benefits."
benefit."
He Beisheng suddenly realized: "I see, no wonder my second brother has changed so much. He was so gloating about the Shen family's corruption lawsuit that he didn't even care about his nephew Shen Jun. I was annoyed for several days because of this. But in the past half month,
He always frowned and was sent to the magistrate's office to ask someone to take care of Shen Jun. It was completely different from before."
He Xisheng's transformation also shows that the Kehe family is aware of the people behind the scenes.
Thinking of this, Shen Rui's heart moved: "Did the second master ask someone to check Yan Juren in the government office?"
"Eh? How do you know, that was half a month ago, and you haven't returned to Songjiang yet?" He Beisheng was a little surprised: "Or have you also started to investigate Yan Juren? I have long noticed that something is wrong with him, and one is an aide.
The person who was promoted turned out to be aloof and not interested in wealth.
Doesn't he look ridiculous? If he really didn't love money, he wouldn't think of ways to make money for Magistrate Zhao. Hmm, how could he, an outside aide, squeeze out others and become Magistrate Zhao's number one confidant?
It’s just doing what he likes.”
Songjiang is a wealthy and powerful government, and the prefect of Songjiang is also in short supply. Zhao Xianzhong was able to get this vacant son, so he naturally had to repay his mentor in the capital who promoted him. It was also normal in officialdom to use clever names and exploit places.
"His little staff encouraged Magistrate Zhao to be greedy, but he didn't touch a penny himself. Who would believe that he had no other purpose? If it's not for money, then it's for something else. Magistrate Zhao thought he was using his confidants, but he didn't know
All my leverage fell into the hands of Yan Juren." He Beisheng talked eloquently.
From a young man in middle school to a wise and wise man, the jump is a bit long.
"Is this all what the fourth master thought of himself?" Shen Rui said with a bit of admiration.
He Beisheng smiled coquettishly, touched the back of his head and said, "My second brother and the housekeeper said it. I heard it from the side."