Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 709: Confiscating the house? Blocking the door?
Even though Mr. Kong boasted that he had seen countless storms in his life, when he heard the news, he felt his hair stand on end and his back felt cold. An incomparable sense of fear instantly filled his body. Compared to him, Master Kong Jiu was even more panicked. He even subconsciously grabbed his brother.
"Brother, what's going on? Why are soldiers surrounding our house out of nowhere?"
Although both families opened their doors independently, they could not write two Kong characters with one stroke. Master Kong Jiu certainly knew the importance of his little Doctor of the Imperial Household, and was afraid that if one rose, all rose, and if one fell, all fell. He had enjoyed the benefits of his brother's high position in the past, but now he would be implicated. After the initial shock and anger, Master Kong calmed down all of a sudden.
"Why are you panicking? When the news of the Second Prince's shipwreck came in, when I went out early in the morning, weren't there a lot of guards from the Sharp Cavalry Battalion standing outside? Later, when I went out, they also accompanied me as guards. Maybe this time the Emperor sent more soldiers to reassure the ministers because the troops were running around in disorder overnight and everyone was scared."
Although he said this, Academician Kong was extremely uncertain. It was no secret that Zhu Ying had led two hundred soldiers out of the city to Huairou to pick up the eldest prince yesterday. Add to that the soldiers sent to the residences of important officials to stand guard and provide protection, which meant that at least nearly a thousand people were gone... In this case, how many people would be left in the Ruiqi Battalion, which had a full strength of only three thousand people?
How could he possibly spare some men to increase the protection of a minister like him? Last time, he sent 40 men!
But he had a feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong. After all, as one of the top people in the court, he was scheming on weekdays, but he was open and honest in some aspects. At least he was confident that no one in his family could be involved in the clumsy incident last night. So, he finally gave the order in a calm tone.
"It's getting late. I'm about to go out to court. Let me send someone to the door to ask what's going on."
The attendant who was reporting outside the door first heard the Ninth Master panicking inside, but then he found that his own master was still calm. When he hurried out, he naturally passed on the attitude and words of Master Kong to others. For a moment, the originally panic-stricken Kong family finally calmed down as if they had a backbone.
In order to win the credit, the attendant did not ask anyone else to go outside, but straightened his clothes and went out from the corner gate himself. Seeing a group of soldiers in front of the gate, he walked forward, bowed and said, "My master is about to go to court. May I ask what you soldiers have to do? If it is urgent, I will report to my master now."
Seeing those soldiers on horseback looking at each other in bewilderment, as if no one dared to step forward, the attendant immediately held his head high and chest out, thinking that his master, a senior official in the cabinet, would always be respected.
You know, even when Emperor Ruizong ascended the throne, he killed the rebellious sons of Emperor Yingzong and held a funeral for Emperor Yingzong, didn't he rely on the ministers of the time? If not, how could the current deposed Empress Jingfei become the Empress after the current Emperor ascended the throne? Wasn't it because the Empress's family was a famous official at the time?
It's just that the queen was taught to be too stupid by her family. Unlike the daughters of the Kong family, who were proficient in everything at home and became top housewives after getting married .
As long as the civil officials urged the emperor to appoint a crown prince early, it would not be considered a crime. Even if they really angered the emperor because of this matter, or made mistakes in other matters, and ended up being dismissed from office and returning home to live in idleness, it would definitely not cause too much trouble!
Isn't Jiang Ge Lao a good precedent? Duke Zhao was fighting in the front, but people spread rumors behind his back and allowed the censor to slander him. In the end, he was dismissed from office, but there was no major punishment!
And the attendant's confident words were soon met with an equally sharp response.
"It's getting late, and I know that Master Kong has to go to court, so I don't dare to disturb him."
He said the three words "old man" but when the speaker rode his horse slowly to the other side, the attendant saw that the other side had a handsome appearance, but there was a scar on his face. At this time, he said jokingly: "I came here for Doctor Kong of the Taichang Temple. I just sent someone to ask at the door over there. I heard that in the middle of the night, the Grand Secretary Kong invited Doctor Kong from next door to come over. Am I right?"
That attendant was the most trusted person of Grand Secretary Kong. How could he not recognize that the young man with the scar on his face was Zhu Tingfang? He was horrified when he thought about how his master and the Ninth Master were discussing what to do after Zhu Tingfang was seriously injured yesterday, especially that they were urgently reviewing the candidates who could lead the Five Cities Military Department and asked the Imperial Censor to write a letter to fill the vacancy as soon as possible.
Fortunately, at best, this matter was just hearsay that went wrong, and the master was not going to roll up his sleeves to fight in person anyway, so he immediately tried his best to force a smile: "So it's Master Zhu. If the master came for Master Jiu, he is now talking to the master in the study. If you want to see him, I will go in and invite him out right away."
"I never thought that I, who was 'seriously injured' in the assassination, would be busy all night, and Mr. Kong and Dr. Kong would also be busy for half the night. They are really hardworking."
Zhu Tingfang paused, then continued calmly, "Yesterday, Dr. Kong told everyone that he saw my future brother-in-law sending someone to buy tonics for me, claiming that some of the herbs contained old mountain ginseng that could prolong life. This shows how serious my injuries were. Thanks to him spreading the word, groups of people came to my house to check on my injuries, and my second brother had a hard time dealing with them."
Seeing that the attendant's smile suddenly froze on his face, Zhu Tingfang smiled and said, "Thank you for spreading rumors for me. As a result, those traitors thought they had succeeded last night, so they continued their treasonous plan. In the end, I followed the clues and caught them all. In this way, Dr. Kong has also made great contributions. The emperor should remember his contribution for the defeat of the eldest prince."
Knowing that Zhu Tingfang was speaking in a sarcastic way, the attendant's heart was beating wildly. However, he was not sure what Master Kong Jiu had done, so he could only smile apologetically, not daring to say a word.
Seeing that Zhu Tingfang had finally finished speaking, he could only squeeze out a sentence, "I will report to the master right away," and then ran into the door like a puff of smoke. He was calm when he went out, but his face was ashen when he came back. The other people in the Kong Mansion saw this, and their hearts, which had just calmed down, became restless again. For a moment, it was just like a group of demons dancing wildly.
Every household has servants who are obedient on the surface but cunning in secret. Seeing that their master might lose power, they naturally flee when the disaster comes. Therefore, the managers in various places cannot take care of their own affairs, and all kinds of rumors are spread. Among them, the most popular theory is that Confucius has committed a heinous crime, and the troops outside are here to arrest this important cabinet official.
The reason why so many people were sent here was not to confiscate the family property and slaves? As for not rushing in, it was just to keep a little dignity.
Therefore, when the Grand Secretary Kong was furious because of the news brought back by his personal attendant, an abnormal panic was spreading rapidly among the servants of the Kong Mansion. Zhu Tingfang, who was waiting at the gate leisurely, ignoring the gloomy sky and the cold wind, saw a servant looking furtively in front of the corner gate. Although he was young but experienced, he immediately understood.
He gently stretched out his hand and waved, signaling the soldiers behind him not to overreact, and then stared at the east and west corner doors of the Confucius Mansion with interest. Sure enough, after seeing that the people outside did not make any move to stop them, a man with a small bag tentatively slipped out, looking like he was going out to do something, and tried his best to walk out calmly.
As the first person left smoothly without any hindrance, soon there was a second and a third... In less than a quarter of an hour, Zhu Tingfang watched with a smile as five or six people, some carrying bags and some covered in baggage, left from the corner gates on the east and west sides.
Although he was not sure whether there were people fleeing in a hurry in places he did not see, such as side doors, back doors, and even walls, and whether they would be stopped, he was sure that this escape would soon become an irreversible trend. Soon, he finally saw a scene that everyone liked to see - a middle-aged man came out of the door pushing a wheelbarrow and looking around!
Until this moment, Zhu Tingfang led his horse forward and blocked the man. As expected, as soon as he stood there, the man immediately trembled, but he didn't even dare to raise his head and asked: "This sir..."
"You even pushed out the wheelbarrow, so you're not planning to come back?" Zhu Tingfang asked with a half-smile. Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, he said calmly, "If someone like those people in front of me slipped away with a bag in their pocket, I could just pretend I didn't see it. But if someone like you seems to be moving away with all your belongings, it would be unreasonable for me to pretend I didn't see it."
The middle-aged man turned pale. He still didn't dare to look up at Zhu Tingfang's face, but lowered his head and shrank his neck and said, "Sir, I took the initiative to write a letter of indenture to serve the Confucius Mansion as a servant, but I am not actually a slave, and I have not received a penny of the indenture money. I still have parents and elders to support outside, I beg you to show mercy..."
Hearing the words "personal clerk", Zhu Tingfang immediately sneered.
The families of officials often have hundreds of servants, but are they all hereditary servants or purchased servants? Among those without any foundation, a lot of them are villagers or idle people who see others pass the imperial examinations and become officials, so they come to the door and ask to be slaves, and even specially present the documents of reliance, that is, the indenture.
However, it was beyond his expectation that for an official as high as Mr. Kong, he would have servants in his house who became slaves after writing documents of reliance .
"Oh, since you said that you entered the Kong family after writing the certificate of accreditation, then when did you write the certificate of accreditation, and how many years have passed? If you swear that you only wrote the certificate of accreditation and entered the mansion in the past two years, then get out of here as soon as possible!"
Seeing Zhu Tingfang's sudden change of attitude, the middle-aged man was finally so frightened that he could no longer stand. He hurriedly knelt down behind the wheelbarrow and swore, "I have been writing for thirteen years. When I first entered the mansion, I was only twenty-one years old. At that time, Mr. Kong was still Mr. Kong. The lady was looking for a gardener, and I happened to be skilled in flower and tree work, so I took the initiative to come to your house."
"If I sign a contract for employment, I will have to go back and forth every day. The government will not provide food and lodging , and will only pay me 1,000 coins. But if I sign a personal contract, the government will not only provide food and lodging, but also pay me 1,000 coins. I am the second son in the family, my family is poor and I have no wife, so I made up my mind and asked someone to sign a personal contract."
Seeing that Zhu Tingfang was still half-smiling and had no intention of letting him go, the middle-aged man could only say in a tearful voice: "I covet a comfortable life, and my family also covets the false reputation of being a family member in an official's mansion, so I have been staying here peacefully. But I am also worthy of the wages, and the garden of the Confucius Mansion is also famous in the capital!"
"But all the credit was taken by Chen Jin, the gardener, and the rewards were all taken by him. I only got the fixed salary! It was just a transaction of money and goods. Now that the master is in trouble, why should I, a gardener, be implicated?"
Hearing this, Zhu Tingfang finally couldn't help but clapped his hands lightly. Seeing that the middle-aged man raised his head in surprise and joy, as if he thought he agreed with what he said, he laughed.
"When you depend on others for a living, you are cautious and servile. Even if the rewards are preferential to some, you dare not say anything. Now that you feel that your master is in trouble, you have to go out to avoid disaster and draw a clear line to show that you are not of the same kind. This is also human nature... Well, get out, don't regret it later!"
He rode his horse to make way, and saw the middle-aged man was stunned at first, then he knelt down and kowtowed with gratitude, climbed up, pushed the wheelbarrow and flew away. He then stretched out his finger and hooked it. The next moment, a guard from the Duke of Zhao's mansion hurried over.
"Follow this guy. He dares to talk nonsense in front of me. How interesting." Zhu Tingfang pouted at the man pushing the wheelbarrow. Seeing that his guard nodded immediately, but dismounted and went around from the other side, he couldn't help laughing.
Sure enough, after a while, Dr. Kong, whom Zhu Tingfang specifically wanted to see, did not come out, but the guard who had just been sent out had hurried back. When he came to Zhu Tingfang, the guard whispered, "After the man pushed the wheelbarrow out of the street in front of the door, he left the wheelbarrow and walked around the wall of the Kong Mansion from a distance. He found that several doors were guarded, so he went to the back door and pretended to be a servant of the Kong Mansion on business outside, and went in again."
"Haha." Zhu Tingfang couldn't help but laugh again when he found out that he had guessed it right.
Which gardener would abandon his master and flee from the east and west corner gates instead of the back door in the garden, and push such a conspicuous wheelbarrow? This was not an ordinary servant. Perhaps one of the branches of the Confucius Mansion felt something was wrong and sent someone to push a wheelbarrow to test the waters. The things on the wheelbarrow were all worthless!
Sure enough, in a moment, two people pushed a wheelbarrow with a lot of messy things on it and hurried out from the east and west corner gates of the Confucius Mansion. But the many excuses they prepared were useless. As soon as the talents came out, they were captured by Zhu Tingfang's eyes. It was only at this time that Zhu Tingfang said word by word: "Search and see what it is! Since Dr. Kong has not come out yet, it seems that I have to go to see him in person!"
