Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 710 Like sister, like brother
Dr. Kong mentioned by Zhu Tingfang, that is, Master Kong Jiu, really did not dare to go out.
The words of Zhu Tingfang, as relayed by the confidant of the Grand Secretary Kong, made Master Kong Jiu feel like a bloody storm. He thought that after he left, he might be stabbed in the chest by Zhu Tingfang and die. After all, just seeing that he was still alive and well, it was clear that the horse race last night might have been controlled by the other party.
In this case, how could he dare to meet this evil star? Did he want to die? Even though his brother was the only one missing a nominal prime minister in the cabinet, it would be easy for others to frame him for a crime.
Therefore, even if Grand Secretary Kong was furious, he would point at his nose and scold him, scolding him for not being able to accomplish anything but causing trouble, scolding him for spreading rumors and bringing a lot of people into trouble, but Master Kong Jiu would not let go, saying that he was a member of the Kong family, "Brother, are you going to watch me die?" In short, he just hoped that Grand Secretary Kong could invite Zhu Tingfang here to talk.
As a result, the noise alarmed Mrs. Kong Gu, and Master Kong Jiu's wife, Mrs. Zhao, heard that someone had come to the door to look for her master before, and then the long street in front of the door was surrounded by soldiers, so she also came in a panic. When the two sisters-in-law met, they had no time to figure out what was going on outside, and saw the furious Master Kong grabbing his cousin by the collar.
"If it weren't for you being so quick to believe everything you hear, how could I have misjudged the situation ? Now Zhu Tingfang has only politely asked you to go out and talk, and he hasn't even rushed in with his troops to arrest you, but you're still cowering here. Did you pass the imperial examination in vain? If you don't even have this much courage, how can you be an official!"
It looked like a fight was about to break out, and the two women finally panicked. Gu knew that Grand Secretary Kong had a reputation for arrogance in the clan, and that many people who relied on him for support were frustrated, and many people hated him; and Zhao knew that although her master was a Jinshi, he was already forty when he passed the exam, and he was only in the third place. In the end, he relied on his brother, Grand Secretary Kong, to become a seventh-rank Taichang Doctor.
If the fight between these two brothers gets out, it would be disgrace to the elder brother and shame to the younger brother!
So, the two women rushed forward without thinking, and the accompanying maids also rushed forward to help their mistresses. After a lot of effort, they finally pulled the furious Kong Daxueshi away. At this time, Kong Daxueshi's two sons and two daughters-in-law also rushed over, all with anxious faces.
However, there was still chaos here. Young Master Kong had just asked what was going on when the noise outside became even louder.
Gu immediately got angry and shouted, "Go and see who is being so unruly. Don't think that the soldiers outside are a big deal! If anyone makes noise again, drag him down and give him twenty strokes of the cane!"
If this was said at any other time, it would be enforced. But at this time and place, not only was it ineffective, the maid who had originally run out to pass the order actually retreated back again with a look of horror on her face. Facing this scene, not to mention that Gu had been an official wife for so many years, even her two daughters-in-law felt that something was wrong.
Sure enough, not long after the maid returned, someone walked in leisurely from outside. The person was standing tall, holding a sword, and his black boots stepped on the bluestone corridor. It was clear that the boots landed silently, but everyone who saw it felt as if they were stepping on their hearts, so heavy that their hearts were beating.
After being shocked, Grand Secretary Kong couldn't help but shouted, "Zhu Tingfang, how dare you trespass into my Kong family?"
"Entering without permission is called trespassing, but I politely asked someone to tell Dr. Kong to come out, but Dr. Kong left me and his men at the door for almost two quarters of an hour. Is this the Kong family's way of entertaining guests? Since someone doesn't take me seriously, I can only come in by myself."
Zhu Tingfang refused to give in and choked back the scholar Kong. Seeing him glaring at him angrily, he pretended not to see it and turned his gaze directly to Master Kong Jiu: "Dr. Kong and my future brother-in-law were both called doctors in the past, but their behavior is really different, isn't it? Do you really want me to die?"
Master Kong Jiu's heart skipped a beat. Although there were many people in the court who were afraid of the Zhu family of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion, no one dared to act rashly after learning from the lessons of Elder Jiang and several imperial censors. How could he dare to respond to Zhu Tingfang's fatal words?
Therefore, he had just been grabbed by the collar by Master Kong, so he had to smile awkwardly and explain in a somewhat disheveled manner: "Master Zhu, you are too kind. How could I! I just happened to run into the servant of Master Zhang's family yesterday. He said the wrong thing, so I misunderstood. Please don't blame my elder brother, it's all my fault. I regret listening to the wrong words..."
"Haha." Zhu Tingfang laughed again, "Ah Liu is more into action than talk, and he doesn't like to talk much to irrelevant people, so people who have nothing to do with him will be easily led into a ditch by him. But who asked you to think about it? And thinking about it is fine, but you also swear outside that you are dying. Can you just regret listening to others' words and then end it?"
Seeing that Master Kong Jiu was like a clay sculpture or a wooden statue, he took out a memorial from his arms slowly and waved it casually: "Although I was very busy last night, I still stole some time to write the memorial to impeach you and your brother overnight. The reason I want to see you is just to tell you in person."
Confucius was so angry that his face turned blue. When impeaching you, you have to tell you in person, how arrogant and presumptuous you are!
But because of Master Kong Jiu's unnecessary action, he wanted to retort, but he couldn't find the right words for a while, so he could only sulk. However, this is not the end yet.
"Oh, by the way, I don't know who was behind all this last night. There was trouble in the palace, and a mob was causing trouble in various houses. There were so many loopholes, but they actually implicated a Minister of Rites, Wang, and two heads of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works. It's incredible to think about it. Is this crazy?"
"What's even crazier is that I just wanted to ask Minister Wang a few questions, but he actually took poison and committed suicide. He didn't even think that if he was alive, he could explain everything clearly, but if he died, others would just throw dirty water on him! And the head of the Ministry of Works, Chu, actually said bitterly that he was just trying to stick to the principle of being the eldest son."
At this point, Zhu Tingfang smiled at Mr. Kong and said, "Back then, there were many people like him who made suggestions."
Scholar Kong was finally enraged: "Zhu Tingfang, if you want to use this crime to frame someone, then you have made a wrong calculation! When we first suggested establishing a crown prince, we were all fair-minded! Whether it was the legitimate heir or the eldest son, it was all fair under the circumstances at the time! Besides, now that there is no legitimate heir, both brothers are guilty, so the crown prince should naturally be established!"
"Oh, is that so?" Zhu Tingfang smiled and said nonchalantly, "If it is really as you said, Master Kong, your servants should know your views and be well-informed. Why did they abandon their master and run away at the slightest noise? You know, just before I came in, two people pushing wheelbarrows to transport furniture outside were stopped at the door."
"Tsk tsk, boxes and boxes of gold beads, even I am dazzled by them!"
This time, Master Kong took a deep breath. He glared at Gu and Zhao, but saw that his wife and sister-in-law were also filled with anger. He immediately realized that they were the mistresses of the house after all, and they should not be so stupid and short-sighted. Sure enough, when he looked at his two sons and daughters-in-law, he found that his eldest son was pale and his eldest daughter-in-law was shaky.
If he still didn't know what was going on, he would have served as an official for so many years in vain. He was so angry that his hair and beard stood on end, but after glaring at the two men, he made up his mind not to admit it.
Behind closed doors, he could beat his stupid eldest son to death or divorce his eldest daughter-in-law, but if the news got out that the army was approaching and his eldest son's family was busy moving their belongings, the entire Kong family would be disgraced! Just like his cousin, Master Kong Jiu, who refused to go out and face Zhu Tingfang just now!
Scholar Kong immediately denied it, saying, "It must be that some cunning servant took advantage of the chaos to steal the family's property. Since Lord Zhu intercepted him, you can do whatever you want with him!"
Seeing Master Kong and his wife standing there in despair, Zhu Tingfang said slowly, "Oh? Did someone steal the Kong family's property? Maybe it's possible. In addition to the two boxes of gold beads, there are also a lot of clothes that look simple but are actually made of high-quality materials. As for the gold bead jewelry, the styles are exquisite, and many are inlaid with gems and jade. It is said that they were sent to a cloth shop in Xisi Pailou."
Hearing that the child was to be sent to a cloth shop in Xisi Pailou, Gu, the mother-in-law, immediately gave up her last bit of luck - everyone in the family knew that the cloth shop was her eldest daughter-in-law's dowry! Usually, the eldest daughter-in-law always complained behind her back that she favored the youngest daughter-in-law. Now that she did this stupid thing, she didn't think about it. If the family really suffered a big change, as a wife of the Kong family, she would be convicted as well!
I've only heard of a married daughter's family coming to ask for her dowry after she died, but I've never heard of a married daughter's dowry being exempted from confiscation if her husband's family was convicted... Her eldest son is so stupid. What's the point of giving away all the gold and pearls if something really happens!
Although she hated him to death, Gu could only hold her nose and take the blame on herself. She lowered her head and said apologetically: "Master, it's because I indulged my family members on weekdays, so once something happened, everything got messed up."
Although he knew that the servants in the house had all fled and that Zhu Tingfang might have played some tricks, Academician Kong could not suppress his anger at this time. Even though he knew that he should not blame his wife too much, he still got angry.
"How do you manage your family? They are all in a mess, jumping around. Then they took my post to the Shuntian government office to hunt down those escaped slaves!"
However, just as he finished speaking, Zhu Tingfang touched his chin and said thoughtfully: "Speaking of escaped slaves, I stopped a guy pushing a wheelbarrow in front of the door before, but he kept saying that he was employed as a gardener in the mansion. He just coveted the comfort of being a servant of a wealthy family, so he wrote a letter of accreditation and became a slave in the mansion. When he spoke, he burst into tears, so I let him go."
"I am a little curious. Could it be that the Kong family is such a big family, and they have been a family of scholars for generations, and they would just casually accept people from outside to join them?"
"It's ridiculous. If this person calls himself that, do you take it seriously?" Academician Kong was so angry that he almost fumed. "My Kong family is such a noble family. How can we be like some nouveau riche guys who take in all kinds of people!"
Zhu Tingfang knew that Academician Kong was veiled in accusation, saying that Zhang Shou had a shallow foundation. Even though he had inherited the huge Zhang Garden, his family did not have enough staff. Not only did he urgently transfer a group of people from the countryside, but Ah Liu also recruited a few from the market. Even people like Guan Qiu and Yang Zhan were signed contracts to stay at home.
This does not include the increasing number of guests living in Zhang Garden...
In the past, Zhu Tingfang would defend such a prospective brother-in-law, but he would feel uncomfortable in his heart. But now he doesn't think so. It's not because Ah Liu accidentally helped him a lot and screwed over Kong Daxueshi, whom he wanted to deal with before, but also because when he got the news last night and rushed to Zhang Garden, he found that everything was in order and safe.
It might be hard to find someone who is responsible, capable, and obviously compatible with Zhu Ying.
Therefore, he looked coldly at the Grand Secretary Kong who was taking advantage of the situation, and after a long while, he sneered and said, "The mansions attacked last night included my family and several nobles, the homes of the two cabinet elders Wu and Zhang, the elegant residence where Yue Shanzhang and others lived, and the Zhang Garden of my future brother-in-law Zhang Shou and Zhang Jiuzhang."
"However, compared to the servants in the house of Master Kong who thought they were in great danger and fled, Zhang Yuan not only captured all the thieves in one fell swoop, but also kept them all safe and sound. There were so many people from all over the world, but not one of them abandoned their master and ran for his life. In comparison, the Kong family's management really needs to be improved. Is there such a big difference between a noble family and a nouveau riche?"
At this point, seeing that Master Kong seemed to be about to explode, Zhu Tingfang casually flicked his sleeves and said, "Okay, I have said everything I need to say. Goodbye!"
But he hadn't walked a few steps when he suddenly stopped again, and said without even turning his head: "I forgot that the people the emperor assigned to you, Master Kong, were to guard against external thieves, not internal thieves. I came in now, and I don't know if anyone has escaped again."
"After all, although my followers have stopped two slaves who were pushing carts and stealing their master's property, they can't stop everyone from leaving your house. If that happens, it might be like I blocked your door and prohibited everyone from entering or leaving. I'm not your sister. After all, I have to be reasonable when I do things."
You are talking nonsense, you might as well block my door like Zhu Ying did, so that I can have a place to reason! Seeing Zhu Tingfang disappear from his sight so leisurely, Kong Daxueshi felt aggrieved and angry, and suddenly he felt a black screen in front of his eyes, and he fell down headfirst!
