Not to mention how Li Yan discussed it with his wife when he got home, and how Shu communicated with the two houses separately. Xiao Qian secretly asked the maid to send three or four pieces of satin cloud gauze to her room, which kept her entertained all night.
Two days later, Li Su rushed back from the provincial capital Nanchang.
There he met with Tang Xuan, the Chief Envoy Si Zuo Shen Zheng, who also came from the family of Wang Ye, a Hanlin scholar. However, Li Su was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Renxuan, while Tang Xuan was a Jinshi in the eleventh year of Renxuan.
Tang Xuan, who was from the same family, naturally received him warmly. On the one hand, he reassured Li Su that the Chen family's case would not have any impact on the Li family;
On the other hand, he expressed his understanding of Li Su's idea of seeking a comeback, saying that the Empress Dowager passed away just after the emperor took office, and the situation in the court was now delicate, so he advised him not to be anxious and wait a little longer.
"The old master seems to be in poor health recently. It is said that after the death of the Empress Dowager, he took sick leave to recuperate at home. The emperor even sent the imperial official and the imperial doctor to visit him twice.
Alas, there are many things happening this year, senior brother, it is not appropriate to act lightly, it is better to be patient!"
"Oh? Is that old guy Yang Shizhen going to be unable to survive?" Li Su rubbed his hands with some excitement.
Back then, he was pulled down by Grand Master Yang (who was still a bachelor of Yang at that time), so he always held hatred in his heart.
"He has gone through four dynasties and controlled the government for twenty years. Now it is finally my turn to see the dawn!"
"Brother Yan Ruo (characterized by Li Su) still has to be patient and don't show your attitude."
Tang Xuan had been in the officialdom for many years and had developed a steady demeanor. Seeing that he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, he quickly offered words of advice.
When he said this, Li Su was immediately shocked and quickly said that he had restrained himself, and asked softly: "So...where is Yang Taige, how is he doing lately?"
Yang Taige refers to the political affairs of Pingzhang of the Inner Academy, Yang Jin, a Hanlin scholar in the Deqing Pavilion. He was a veteran of three dynasties who joined the Inner Academy as a cabinet member the year after Emperor Xuan ascended the throne. Together with Yang Shizhen, he was also known as the second Yang of this dynasty. He was also an influential figure.
Tang Xuan replied in a low voice: "Although Yang Taige and Yang Taishi are both ministers of the late emperor Tuogu, and have controlled the cabinet for many years, their styles and political views are quite different.
Yang Shizhen did not tolerate objections from others and insisted on any rules set by Taizu. In recent years, more and more scholars were offended. Therefore, if the big tree of the Empress Dowager fell, he would soon die!
Yang Taige was kind and tactful, and some of the courtiers who were suppressed by the Grand Master were protected by his care, including you, Brother Yan Ruo.
He is eleven years younger than the Grand Master. I think His Majesty will rely on him more in the future, and at least he will have five or six years of grace in the future.
If my brother wants to resurrect, he might as well send people to go out and visit Taige more. After all, he and his teacher (Wang Ye) have a friendship with the local party. Although the teacher left Hexi the year before last, the friendship should still be there."
After receiving his advice, Li Su felt confident. He asked him if he could try to take care of Chen Shi'an and his family during their exile.
Unexpectedly, Tang Xuan sighed and said: "Senior brother, you and I are from the same sect, and I can understand the friendship towards the original in-laws. But...,"
He looked in the direction of the door and said in a lower voice: "You don't have to interfere with the Chen family's affairs, you can't!"
"How do you say this?" Li Su was surprised and asked quickly.
"The Di newspaper reported that the emperor refuted the opinions of Dali Temple in Nanjing and rebuked them for being too lenient in the sentence.
So yesterday, a new report was sent to the residence. The main culprit was sentenced to death, and three generations of his immediate family were demoted to humble status and sent to Yulin Town.
In addition to the original verdict, the few accomplices and scholars of the three tribes moved to Liaodong Town and changed their registration to military households to serve.
As for Mr. Chen, his exile has been changed to banishment to Lanzhou!"
"Ah? This, this is too..." Li Su opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.
Since Emperor Ren of this dynasty, not many civil servants have been sentenced to military exile, and they were generally given lighter sentences and sent to exile.
Both are punishments for long-distance migration, but if you are exiled, you will only be detained locally and you will not be allowed to leave the country, and you will have to report to the Yamen every month.
Confinement is different, that is, he is sent to serve in frontier military towns!
The men were used to transport auxiliary troops and work for the craftsmen, while the women worked for the military households such as starching, sewing, etc. They were a class inferior to ordinary soldiers, and their exile was usually limited to a certain period or could be waived if they were pardoned.
However, in the case of military confiscation, the offender would not die, and the family members would not be able to escape. There were even many generations of military conscriptions that could not be completed even if the whole family did not die.
So Li Su was shocked when he heard the introduction of Tang Shenzhen. This was definitely his plan to let Chen Shi'an die in Gansu!
"Your Majesty will...?"
"Yes." Tang Xuan told him with certainty: "And the Holy Emperor has already approved it. It is estimated that in the past few days, there will be news coming to your county to request that the Chen family be escorted to the provincial capital, and then go up the Shuo River to Nanjing." He sighed.
: "So I say Brother Yan Ruo should stop thinking about it. The deal is already done, who can make His Majesty change his mind?"
"Dixuan (characterized by Tang Xuan), why is this?" Li Su clicked his tongue: "Mr. Chen actually just took office, this matter is really...!"
"Hmph!" Tang Xuan stroked his proud long beard and sneered: "I think it's probably some lieutenant who chewed his tongue in front of His Majesty. These things are more likely to fail than succeed!"
Tang Xuan knew that many people in the civil service felt that Chen Shi'an was wronged, but no one dared to stand up for him.
This report was made possible by Su Mingju, the eunuch in charge of Nanjing. The eunuchs were looking at it with wide eyes as if they had found a treasure.
Any civil servant who opens his mouth at this time is tantamount to jumping into the well!
After returning home from Nanchang, Li Su hesitated whether to tell his second wife the news about Chen's house, but he felt that the decree was not fulfilled, and it seemed inappropriate to reveal the news from his own family.
While he was hesitating, someone suddenly came to report that Fan Taizun had sent someone. "It's strange, the county magistrate knew I was coming, but why did he send someone here so late at night?"
He was suspicious. He wanted to shirk it, but Aunt Wen persuaded him not to take the candy. After all, the county magistrate was in charge, so Li Su had no choice but to wear a Taoist robe when he came out.
When I went to the front hall, I saw that it was Mr. Sun who was in charge of punishment in the Yamen. "Hey, it's so late. How can I help Mr. Sun to make a trip? I'm really sorry."
Li Su knew that this man had been working in the yamen for almost ten years and was the longest-serving official in the county, so he hurriedly stepped forward and clasped his fists to accuse him.
"I was the one who was rude. Brother Yan Ruo had a long journey back from Nanchang and was tired all the way. I came to disturb him. Even though I was following orders, it is still very inappropriate!"
Master Sun always had a smile on his face. After exchanging gifts, he took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over: "I have been entrusted by the county elder to bring a letter to my brother on my way home."
"Oh?" Li Su was confused. He took it and saw that it was well sealed with fire paint. He smiled and said, "Besides, does the county magistrate have anything else for you to bring to me?"
Mr. Sun stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Exactly. The county elder said: National laws and family affairs, if Yan Ruo is capable, he will know the importance and urgency. I hope brother will analyze it carefully, and don't let the small lose the big. Don't do it!"
"Ah?" Li Su was even more confused. He spread his hands and said, "This... Sir, can you tell me the inside story? I, I really don't understand!"
"Brother, don't be nervous. Mr. Fan said it. It's detailed. Please go back and read the letter carefully and you'll know. It's getting late, so I won't disturb you too much. I'll take my leave now."
After saying that, he cupped his hands and left Li Su turning around in the hall, but he went out and left.
Li Su took the letter and returned to Aunt Wen's room, then sat down and opened it to read. It didn't matter if he didn't read it, but now he jumped up again and shouted: "Oops!"
"What's wrong?" Aunt Wen hurried over after hearing the sound and took the letter from his hand, but there were only three pieces of paper. She read it for a while and remained silent.
"Wu Niang, what do you think?" Li Su asked, calling Aunt Wen by her nickname.
"Who sent this letter?"
"The county sent Mr. Sun from the execution chamber to bring him over and hand them over to me."
Aunt Wen sneered and held up the bottom piece of paper: "Your Majesty invites you to have lunch at Shuifu Restaurant outside Houya at noon tomorrow. Will you go or not?"
"This..., I think since it's not a Hongmen banquet outside the Yamen, just go and he won't take me on the spot anyway!" Li Su said with a glare.
Aunt Wen smiled and raised the other two sheets one after another to signal him: "These two sheets are the tax payment situation of the Li family in the past five years, and the total tax payable if the three families are calculated separately.
When you compare the two, the difference is obvious. The county magistrate is telling you that it is inappropriate and even illegal for the Li family to pay taxes on one house only.
Therefore, he has something to say to his husband tomorrow. Since it is a discussion, how can it be a Hongmen Banquet?"
"Oh!" Li Su's heart suddenly became clear. "My wife is smart! So, what do you think he wants to say to me? Do you want me to pay back taxes?"
"How can you make up the payment if you are still one family? If you say you have to make up the payment, it implies that you have divided the family and divided the property."
"What? This old guy came to me to force me to separate our family? Has he, the county magistrate, reached his end?" Li Su was furious.
"Husband, please don't be angry. We have always had a very good relationship with Fan Taizun. It's really inexplicable that Hulabadi came here today.
My husband has been seeking revenge, and he knows this, so why would he fight for these taxes for the court regardless of the future? I think there must be a secret to it!"
"What's the secret?"
Aunt Wen didn't answer, but pointed in the direction of the second and third bedrooms. Li Su's eyes widened immediately, and then his brows knitted together.
He squinted his eyes and thought, what Aunt Wen was referring to was really possible.
After a while, he suddenly sneered and said: "Well, there is no way to avoid the disaster. I will go to see what the 'county elder' is doing at noon tomorrow. Then it will not be difficult to reveal the person behind it.
I think I have worked hard to run this family for so many years, and you, Wu Niang, have also sacrificed a lot. If you want to refuse to admit your debt, or don't have someone to serve as your back, then I, Li Yanruo, am not someone to be bullied!"
"It's not that powerful." Aunt Wen comforted: "At most, they just want to borrow Master Fan's prestige. I don't think they should take it too seriously.
The third uncle is a thief but not courageous, and the second mistress is soft-hearted. What big thing can they achieve together?
Since the county magistrate is in front of you, you might as well be more generous, but just remember the saying, ‘It’s important to divide the property without dividing it’.”
"Is there no division of labor?" Li Su rolled his eyes, suddenly put his hands on his hands and laughed: "Wu Niang is really my daughter Zhuge. With you here, I have no worries about being a husband!"
After saying that, he stood up, hugged me, and walked excitedly towards the inner room. The maid behind him was so panicked that she quickly kicked all the maids out, then hurriedly put the screen in place and closed the door.
Inside, there are already red candles waiting for dawn, and the spring light is appearing.
The meeting between Li Su and Magistrate Fan was full of drama. First they greeted each other cordially, then sat down for a friendly chat, and then Li Su swore that he would never monopolize the family wealth.
Of course Magistrate Fan lost no time in affirming Li Su's character and love for his brothers, but he also veiledly mentioned the evaded and unpaid taxes.
Li Su quickly asked for advice on how to remedy the situation, and County Magistrate Fan took advantage of the situation and proposed dividing the property among the three families. One was to avoid gossip, the other was to compensate for taxes, and the third was to protect the family.
Li Su agreed to do it this way, but there was a condition called "separation of production without division of production"!
Magistrate Fan laughed when he heard this. As long as you agree to divide the property, it has nothing to do with me whether to divide the property or not.
So he said that you should discuss this among yourselves. As long as there are no legal issues involved in tax collection in the future, you can do whatever you want. Li Su was overjoyed and quietly handed over a banknote to the county magistrate.
The matter was basically concluded at this point. Through the mediation of Magistrate Fan, the parents of the three families were summoned to discuss the matter together. Since the second wife's legitimate son, Wu Lang, was underage, it was Gao who accompanied Li Shuo to attend.
Everyone gathered in the back office flower hall to discuss how to handle this matter.
There were also two old men present, one was Li Wuqi, the patriarch of the Yuqian Li clan, and the other was Li Tonglu, the elder of the clan.
Although Li Wuqi's family only has thirty acres of land, he has a high seniority. He and the man who was given the memorial arch by the late emperor are uncles and nephews, so Li Dan has to call him great-grandfather.
Li Tonglu is a little far away from his own clan, and can barely be considered Li Wuqi's cousin who has not yet been born in the fifth service. However, this old scholar has been a teacher in the clan school for thirty years and can be regarded as highly respected.
Generally, if there are any big or small matters in the clan, they will be invited to be present to witness or judge.
Of course, people will not pay for it in vain, and money for respecting the elderly will still have to be collected later.