On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the Zhengde tenth year of the Ming Dynasty.
Anlu Prefecture, Changshou County, Zhujia Manor.
Zhu Wanjian was kneeling in the back hall, and sitting next to him were the people in every room except the third room in the house. The old lady Zhu Jiashi criticized Zhu Wanjian in front of the whole family.
Zhu Wanjian was furious when he heard the last part, and immediately refuted: "The one who ran away is from the third family, how can my mother teach me a lesson? Where did I go wrong in this matter?"
The back hall instantly became quiet.
The old lady had a gloomy face and remained silent.
Everyone felt that this was the brief calm before the storm.
At this moment, Butler Liu's announcement came from outside the door: "Old madam, someone from the Jinyi Guards is here, saying they want to see you."
Zhu Wanjian said disdainfully: "Jin Yiwei comes to cause trouble again? The mess in Prince Xing's Mansion will be left to them..."
Zhu Jia ignored his second son and said to his fourth son, Zhu Wanquan, "Watch him. If he gets up, beat him hard with a ruler!"
After saying that, he actually handed Zhu Wanquan the ruler representing the family law.
Zhu Wanjian was even more angry now. He was also his younger brother. How could a younger brother teach an elder brother a lesson?
Isn't this girl biased?
…
…
Zhu's main hall.
Lin Baihu came here after a long journey, and saw that Zhu Jia didn't even have basic etiquette. He stepped forward and asked: "I have only left Anlu for two months, how could something like this happen? It is not you Zhu family who entered Prince Xing's palace.
?They are clearly against you, but the Zhu family didn’t show any sign at all?"
Zhu Jia was reprimanding her son before, but now Lin Baihu was uncharacteristically not groveling, as if she didn't care about the situation of her eldest son in the capital.
Zhu Jia said with a straight face: "Lin Baihu, the prince's companion was kicked out of the palace. It was a decision made by King Xing. Not only my children, but also the son of the Jingzhi County family were kicked out. How can I blame you?"
who?"
Lin Baihu's expression changed and he asked: "Old madam, are you angry at me?"
The smell of gunpowder filled the air instantly.
Zhu Jia walked to the chair and sat down. He did not invite Lin Baihu to sit down, and continued to stare at him with cold eyes: "As far as I know, Lin Baihu is safe and sound in the palace of Prince Xing.
A steady stream of information is brought to you, but Lin Baihu has never thought of sharing this with my Zhu family...
"My poor eldest son is still guarding the prison in the capital. The money that Lin Baihu took from the Zhu family in the past has allowed those who made trouble for my son to have good food and clothing..."
Lin Baihu heard it, and the old lady was very resentful.
He had been holding back and not breaking out before, but now he broke out first, and Zhu Jiashi no longer hid it.
Lin Baihu's attitude softened: "Old madam, don't be offended. In today's world, everyone in Jinyiwei protects himself, who can care about others? If I hadn't used money to manage it, Deputy Zhu Qianhu would still be guarding the emperor.
Where's the mausoleum? As for the internal agents of Prince Xing's Mansion... I have no obligation to share information with the Zhu family. Now that the Zhu family has lost its reliance, if the higher ups want to investigate, the only way to blame it is on the Zhu family."
Zhu Jiashi said coldly: "Pursuit? Then let my son go back to guard the imperial mausoleum!"
Zhu Jia's face was cold and his eyes were vicious. Lin Baihu's face instantly froze when he heard this.
Thinking about it, the reason why Jinyiwei was able to manipulate the Zhu family and constantly exploit the money was because Zhu Wanhong, the eldest son of Zhu who stayed in the capital, was the hostage?
Zhu Wanhong was nominally guarding the imperial prison in the capital, but in fact he was in jail. How could it be any better than guarding the imperial tomb?
Zhu Jia doesn't care about this at all. Anyway, my son hasn't received fair treatment yet, so why don't our Zhu family stop investigating intelligence in Anlu? Do whatever you like!
"Old madam, we are here to discuss things, why are we so tense?" Lin Baihu could only smile.
Previously, Zhu Wanhong was in control, and the Zhu family had to give themselves face no matter what.
But now the Zhu family has made it clear that they want to survive by cutting off their tails and resolutely abandon Zhu Wanhong. In this way, they no longer need to fear the threat of the Jin Yiwei, unless the Jin Yiwei takes another hostage back from the Zhu family, or simply cancels the Zhu family's mission in Anlu... so
The Zhu family couldn't ask for more.
Unable to control the Zhu family's weakness, now it was the Jin Yiwei who was in trouble. Lin Baihu suddenly realized that he could not push the Zhu family too hard.
Zhu Jiashi said: "My grandson has investigated a lot of useful information during the six months he has been in Prince Xing's Mansion. Lin Baihu has brought it to the capital to claim credit. Now that he has been kicked out by Prince Xing's Mansion, he even sneaked away. Even if
Can we retrieve it and stuff it into Prince Xing's Mansion? Lin Baihu doesn't want to use his own people to spy on the news, but he blames us all. What kind of logic is this? "
Lin Baihu hesitated for a moment, then put on a smile and said: "I have no intention of pursuing the matter, I am just here to discuss the next step."
Zhu Jiashi sneered: "I heard that His Majesty is working in the Xuanfu Construction Bank and will soon go to Beiguan to conduct military operations. The imperial eunuch Zhang Eunuch who visited Anlu before went to Xuanfu to take charge of the expansion operation accompanied by Lin Baihu.
In terms of matters, Lin Baihu didn’t mention this news at all.”
The more the conversation continued, the more embarrassed Lin Baihu felt.
I thought that the Zhu family didn't know anything in a remote place like Anlu, but I didn't expect that the capital would know every move.
At the moment, the focus of the court's attention is not on Anlu. Even Jin Yiwei is not interested in asking how King Xing's son is doing. The entire court is paying attention to the emperor's various nonsense behaviors.
Lin Baihu was determined to stay in the capital, and this time he came back just to put pressure on the Zhu family to use it for him... But now it seems that the Zhu family is determined to fight him to the death.
"Old madam, Your Majesty said that Eunuch Zhang would go to Xuan Mansion to supervise the army, but he did not say anything about the expansion. As for His Majesty going to Xuan Mansion to supervise the army, it is even more false. Remember the rumor... you should understand the rules." Lin
Baihu was evasive, his face full of avoidance.
"snort!"
Zhu Jiashi just hummed in response.
Lin Baihu continued: "There are rumors spreading all over the world now, all because Youxiaoxiao used the excuse that His Majesty favors a traitor to confuse the people and do unethical things. As the emperor's personal soldiers, we, the Jinyi Guards, should put an end to such voices and should not listen to them."
It's wind or rain...I will definitely prepare a copy of the information that should be provided by Prince Xing's Mansion and send it to the Zhu family in the future, so that the Zhu family can communicate with the higher authorities."
Zhu Jiashi sneered and said: "No need, our Zhu family has our own way to complete the errands entrusted by the court."
Lin Baihu was startled and asked curiously: "Could it be that the Zhu family... bribed someone from Prince Xing's Mansion?"
When I asked this question, my heart suddenly became clear.
No wonder the old lady of the Zhu family suddenly became tough. The sentimental family found a way to obtain information, which may be more reliable and efficient than my channel. Then wouldn't I in turn want to curry favor with the Zhu family?
Zhu Jiashi didn't want to explain too much to Lin Baihu, and rolled up his sleeves and said: "I, the Zhu family, work for the imperial court with a clear conscience... If Lin Baihu has nothing important to do, he can leave without seeing you off!"
An eviction order was issued.
Then Zhu Jiashi walked away with a puff of his sleeves.
Butler Liu greeted at the door: "Master, please."
Lin Baihu felt bad and wondered secretly, how could the Zhu family be so stubborn?
It is said that there is a news channel, but what channel is it? Why haven't I heard it mentioned before? The nails I buried in Prince Xing's Mansion didn't bring any news!
He thought to himself: "Lu Song has always been just a representative of Prince Xing's Palace. His position is not high and he doesn't know much about the core secrets of Prince Xing's Palace. It seems that the Zhu family has caught a big fish this time. He originally returned to Beijing early after completing his mission.
Now it looks like we will have to stay in Anlu for a few more days."
…
…
Zhu Jia returned to the back hall and no longer practiced family law on Zhu Wanjian.
It's just that she can no longer rely on this son. Zhu Wanjian will be excluded from decision-making whenever it concerns the core interests of the Zhu family.
The eldest son is in Beijing as a hostage, and the third son is absent. The only person Zhu Jia can trust is the fourth son Zhu Wanquan.
After the family meeting was over, Zhu Jia left Zhu Wanquan behind. He wanted to give Zhu Wanquan some instructions and let him do things, but unfortunately Zhu Wanquan was not very interested in court disputes.
"Mother, I don't understand intelligence gathering. Why don't you delegate it to someone else?"
Zhu Jiashi sighed and looked embarrassed, as if to say, if there are still people under me, why bother looking for trouble?
Zhu Wanquan continued: "The child failed to pass the provincial examination last time, and the child was sad for a long time. He wants to study hard and strive for the top spot in this subject. I hope my mother will succeed."
Zhu Jiashi nodded helplessly: "Everyone has his or her own ambitions, so I won't bother you with family matters, just study hard."
After letting Zhu Wanquan leave, Zhu Jia thought for a while. He originally had an eldest grandson who was already an adult and could be used at his disposal. Unfortunately, his character... was exactly the same as that of his second uncle. In this family meeting, he wanted his eldest grandson to attend, but he couldn't.
No one could be found, so he might be having a good time in a gold-selling cave.
After much deliberation, I could only ask Butler Liu to come over.
"If you don't trust him, who can you trust?"
Zhu Jia also knew that there might be a spy in the Zhu family, but at this time she had no other choice but to call Butler Liu, who had done a lot for her before.
Butler Liu seemed very reserved in front of Zhu Jia, and said respectfully: "Old Madam, are you looking for a younger one?"
Zhu Jiashi said: "Yes, in a few days, someone will come to Anlu, or there may be secret communication. I want you to be responsible. If there is any news, I will bring it over as soon as possible."
Butler Liu immediately saluted: "Yes."
"Don't you ask who it is?"
Zhu Jiashi looked at Butler Liu up and down.
Butler Liu said sincerely: "The old lady arranges things, I don't dare to ask more questions."
Zhu Jiashi sighed softly, thinking that since she was going to use Butler Liu, she couldn't show distrust. She had to say what she had to say. Even if she didn't say it, Butler Liu would still know about it after he went to see the person. It would be better to be more generous and say it in advance.
He came out and said, "That is the new teaching that Prince Xing's Mansion brought back from Changsha. He will cultivate Prince Xing's knowledge in the future. If he found any information in Prince Xing's Mansion, you can ask clearly and report it when he comes back."
Butler Liu was secretly happy, but his expression was unmoved, and his tone was calm: "The small association operates in secret and is not known to outsiders."