Qiao Lan's first thought was, how did the Du family find this place?
The Du family had no time to hide from their family, so how could they come here now?
Things about the fraud case immediately flashed through Qiao Lan's mind.
Before she reached the door of the courtyard, she heard crying and pleading coming from the door.
"...It was all my fault in the past. It was all my fault. I was blinded by lard...I am not a thing...wuwuwu..." The woman's cries and shouts reached the door.
Qiao Lan was still seven or eight steps away from the door when she suddenly stopped, turned slightly and said to Wang next to her, "Who is here from the Du family?"
The Wang family has not had much dealings with the Du family, and it is difficult for the Du family to recognize them clearly. "Two women came, one old and one young, and several children, and the eldest son of the Du family also came.
"
"That's it!" Qiao Lan knew clearly in her heart that she should be here for the eldest grandson of the Du family.
But why are there only so many people here?
Qiao Lan looked around the yard, saw Mo Qiming standing next to him, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.
-
After a while, Qiao Lan went to the entrance of the courtyard and saw the Du family kneeling at the entrance of their courtyard. She also saw a group of neighbors standing not far away, all coming to watch the fun.
Duan Mingjing was still talking to the crying woman, his face was red.
"...Master Duan, our Duan and Du families are relatives..."
"Who is related to you!"
"...Please Master Duan, please save my son. I kowtow to you, Master Duan!"
"..."
It is useless for the Duan family to rely on Duan Mingjing. Coincidentally, Duan Mingqing and Duan Mingchen are not here today, and they went to the Yamen to do things together. But even if Duan Mingqing and Duan Mingchen are here today, I am afraid it will be difficult to deal with them.
.
Beijing values reputation. If a scholar has a bad reputation, he will not even be able to pass the exam, let alone become an official.
Qiao Lan stepped forward and said, "Go down and I'll handle it."
"Mom, this woman..." Duan Mingjing was so angry that he trembled for a while when he was arguing with others. Now he couldn't speak clearly to Qiao Lan.
Qiao Lan comforted her gently, "It's okay, our family lives here again, so we don't have to worry about our face!"
Duan Mingjing:????
What did his mother say?
Seeing Qiao Lan come out, the Du family kowtowed like crazy and shouted, "Old madam, please save the baby! I beg you, you have a Bodhisattva heart!"
The leading woman spoke, and the children behind her kowtowed as hard as they could. Only the elder man of the Du family stood aside, silently weeping.
It looks like a family is desperate.
Qiao Lan watched the performance of the people in front of her for a moment. Seeing that their crying was a little quieter, she suddenly said, "Who is giving birth?"
When the Du family heard this, their crying suddenly stopped. Maybe they didn't expect Qiao Lan to say this.
The leading woman had no choice but to sob, "The baby is my eldest son!"
"Who are you?" Qiao Lan looked curious.
"I...I, I am the eldest daughter-in-law of the Duan family. We have met several times, old lady, don't you remember?" The woman raised her head and said, her face full of tears.
"Which Du family are you from? Why haven't you heard of it?" Qiao Lan continued to ask, with a look of confusion on her face.
She can't compare to the Du family in being shameless, but there's no telling who is worse than the other by pretending to be stupid.
After hearing Qiao Lan's words, the woman didn't come back to her senses for a long time. After a while, her chest heaved slightly, as if she had just forgotten to breathe.
"Our Du and Duan families are two families whose ancestors were related to each other! If the late Mr. Duan were here and saw my father-in-law, he would probably call me cousin..." the woman explained patiently.
"Oh...I remembered..." Qiao Lan said in a long tone, pretending to be an old lady who likes to forget things.
"Old Madam, I remember!" the Du family's eldest daughter-in-law said with a little relief on her face.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Lan raised her face and said coldly, "I am just a concubine's maternal wife, but she comes to visit my relatives? How shameless!"
If it is a family that is related by relatives, a bunch of peacemakers will definitely come out and say good things to the family and everything. But if it is a concubine, there is not so much emphasis on it. Concubines are not serious relatives.
If anyone dares to treat the concubine's natal family as a relative of this family, not only will Beijing's laws not allow it, but he will also be scolded by his own clan.
The ancestor of the Duan family did marry a girl from the Du family, but that girl's name was not listed in the family tree, which meant that she was not considered a real wife, let alone a relative of the Duan family.
After Qiao Lan finished speaking, she looked at the neighbors next to her. When she saw that their eyes were changing, and they were no longer as condemning as before, she knew that her words had an effect.
But the woman's face suddenly turned pale again, and her neck was slightly tilted back, as if she was about to be stunned by Qiao Lan's anger.
Du Dalang hurriedly stepped forward and patted his wife's back, then knelt down in front of Qiao Lan and said, "Old madam, my aunt treats the old man like her own son. Even if this old man is not my aunt's biological son, please take care of me."
The old man has saved his face for many years and is thinking about the late old man. Please help our family!"
"You are really thick-skinned to say that you are thick-skinned. My deceased husband was lonely since he was a child. He studied hard in school every day. When he grew up, he passed the imperial examination and went to the capital to become an official. He only got married and had a family. You said you
My aunt has been taking care of her late husband. Please tell me how many years and months she took care of her! What evidence is there? The Duan family has slaves and maids. How can a concubine take care of the main wife's legitimate son and keep saying that she misses her late husband!
"
The anger in Qiao Lan's tone became more and more obvious, "I would like to see if the skin on your face is thicker than the city wall before you can say such shameless words!"
Qiao Lan tried her best to deny the relationship between the Du family and the Duan family, which made Du Dalang anxious. If the old lady refused to let go, what would his eldest son do?
The thoughts in Du Dalang's mind were so chaotic that he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Old lady! It was my fault before. I shouldn't have had random relationships. I have no brain..."
As Du Dalang spoke, he began to slap himself, saying one slap at a time.
"But I am a father. When I saw my son in prison, I came to you in a hurry! Please save my son. If you are willing, I can do anything.
!The old lady is also a parent, so she will understand what I am thinking." Du Dalang cried.
This time he struck very hard, and each slap was so loud that it was difficult for others to pretend not to hear.
What a loving father!
Qiao Lan sneered and tried to be kind and said, "You said your son was detained in the county government office. What mistake did your son make?"
Du Dalang froze and calmed down for a long time before he hesitated and said, "Old madam, my son was falsely accused of cheating in the exam and was imprisoned in the government prison cell..."
"It turns out that your son was caught cheating in the national education examination!"