20demayo Chapter 148 It's good to be confused sometimes.
Chapter 148 It's good to be confused sometimes.
"Changes?" Xie Wenyou looked at his sister. "What do you mean, sister? Your husband is doing a good job as an official, what changes could there be?"
Xie Wenyu flung his hand in frustration: "I wasn't talking about how well he was doing as an official, I was saying..."
She stopped abruptly as the words were about to come out.
Could Xie Wenyu really tell her younger brother what was on her mind? Let alone her brother, she probably wouldn't be able to bring herself to tell her own parents either.
But after holding it in for so long, I always feel the urge to confide in someone.
"That's enough, that's enough!"
Xie Wenyu straightened up, her expression turning serious: "I'll test your studies first. If you've been slacking off lately, I won't let you off the hook!"
As she spoke, she picked up a book from the side to test her younger brother.
"No, please!" Xie Wenyou quickly put on a smile. "Let's talk about your brother-in-law first. We can talk about your studies later."
Xie Wenyu stopped turning the pages of the book and looked up at her younger brother.
Xie Wenyou tilted his head: "My brother-in-law has been focused on his official duties these days, and he can be considered a better official than before. What's even more commendable is that he takes good care of my sister. The couple is very harmonious, which is the envy of many."
"Is it rare...?"
Xie Wenyu was somewhat lost in thought.
At this moment, Xie Wenyou moved closer to her and lowered his voice, saying, "Sister, in life, sometimes, as Father said, it's good to be a little confused. It's better to be confused for a while than to be confused forever, don't you think?"
"You!" Xie Wenyu looked up in surprise.
Xie Wenyou grinned, his meaning unspoken.
Come to think of it, could a servant really describe all of the original owner's personality traits and behaviors so clearly? Moreover, Li Chong had to go through another layer of intermediaries to recreate the persona.
It's perfectly normal for someone close to you to notice something different about you.
Most people might just suspect and speculate that his personality has changed.
But after hearing his sister's question and considering all the previous unusual occurrences, Xie Wenyou couldn't help but confirm something.
However, as the saying goes, for a family, having an official's support is indispensable, especially since Li Chong is still so young.
In the future, even if one doesn't become the prime minister of the central government, it's not a pipe dream to become a high-ranking official in charge of a region.
Furthermore, given that everyone witnessed his attitude of equality and respect towards Xie Wenyu, it's not surprising that Xie Wenyu made such a choice.
Seeing his sister's surprised expression, Xie Wenyou immediately grinned and resumed his normal voice: "The most urgent thing is for you to have a child with your husband as soon as possible, so that the Li family will have an heir, and your husband can give an account to our ancestors."
There's a saying that goes, "What's past can't be changed, but what's to come can still be pursued." Although the original Li Chong is gone, he can still leave behind descendants. Although the bloodline is different, the surname is still the same.
In the eyes of the ancients, this was the most important thing.
With her younger brother's comforting words, Xie Wenyu seemed to have let go of some worries.
She smiled gently: "If I had a child, wouldn't things be easier for you?"
"What you're saying, sister, hehe." Xie Wenyou shrank his neck.
Compared to his previous indifferent brother-in-law, he still prefers his current brother-in-law, who is good to his sister and also treats him well—that's enough.
The siblings laughed at each other, then Xie Wenyu's face hardened: "Let me ask you, in the sentence 'The Great Learning teaches us to manifest our bright virtue'..."
No matter how happy he was, Xie Wenyu couldn't escape this test; Xie Wenyu would still examine him.
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As Li Chong's arrangements were gradually implemented, subtle ripples began to stir within Yanggu County.
In the West Market, Bai Ning, who sold wine, saw off several yamen runners with a beaming smile.
"Goodbye, gentlemen. If you'd like to have a drink again next time, just let me know."
Only after those figures in black had completely disappeared into the distance did Bai Ning's expression suddenly change.
"Pah! When are you going to drink yourselves to death?!"
He spat at his retreating figure before turning around and walking back into the shop.
As soon as I entered the store, a regular customer came up to me.
"Hey Ning, you've had a lot of dealings with people in the government offices, let me ask you something."
Bai Ning was somewhat annoyed, cursing inwardly, "Who wants to deal with those thugs? They're all incredibly greedy, aren't they afraid of robbing themselves?"
But since he was a guest, he had no choice but to pull himself together and ask, "What would you like to ask?"
"I heard that our new magistrate was stopped on the road again the other day, crying out for justice? This time it was a little beggar crying out for justice, but why haven't we heard anyone from the yamen arresting him?"
Bai Ning curled her lip: "Just because someone cries out for justice, you arrest them? Putting aside whether there's any injustice, even if there is, when have you ever seen the government touch those wealthy families? Do you really think there's a just and upright official in this world?"
Only because the person in front of him was a regular customer whom Bai Ning recognized could he speak a little more frankly.
"That's true." The person on the other end nodded slowly, then added, "However, I think this magistrate might not be an ordinary person. Look at him, he immediately started suppressing bandits after taking office, and he even gave the second young master of the Zhu family a good beating. Perhaps he really has some ambition."
Bai Ning shook his head: "Who knows if it's true or not."
"I think it's true. A few days ago I heard that someone encountered a pair of wheat ears during the autumn harvest. Maybe it's a sign from heaven praising our sir."
Bai Ning became interested: "Twin ears of wheat? How so?"
"Let me tell you..." the guest said, spreading the rumor with great interest.
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With Li Chong's encouragement, the story of the little beggar crying out for justice in the street became widely known, and even the people on the street talked about it. Zhu Bingzhong naturally couldn't have been unaware of it.
"bump!"
In Zhu Bingzhong's room, he lay sprawled on the couch, his face contorted with rage. A teacup lay smashed by the door not far away.
"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"
Zhu Bingzhong was furious: "They all claim to be good fighters, but they can't even catch a little kid. What's the point of me raising them!"
"Young Master, please calm down, please calm down, don't hurt yourself," a servant beside him advised.
"Shut up my ass!" Zhu Bingzhong glared at him. "If that guy surnamed Li finds out, I'll get hundreds more lashes. That's what really hurts my health!"
On the surface, he was angry, but deep in Zhu Bingzhong's eyes was a profound fear.
He was afraid of Li Chong.
A servant tentatively suggested to Zhu Bingzhong, "Why don't we talk to the master and ask him for help..."
"Aren't I being scolded enough already?"
Zhu Bingzhong grabbed something and threw it at the other person, glaring fiercely.
The revenge was his own idea, and Zhu Zhicheng had no idea about it. Of course, Zhu Bingzhong didn't dare to speak up.
He was still holding his breath, wanting to prove himself to his father and outdo his older brother. How could he possibly expose his shortcomings?
After thinking about it irritably for a while, Zhu Bingzhong took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "It should be alright. That guy surnamed Li hasn't come to arrest anyone, so there's still no evidence."
"Go!" He stared at his trusted aide. "Send some money to those men and tell them to stay put and not go out!"
"Yes, sir, I'll take care of it right away!"