Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

In the mansion of Xincheng Marquis, Xincheng Marquis Wang Guoxing was quietly walking out of the mansion with a fishing rod, but he was discovered by his wife before he went far.

"Hehe, madam." Facing his wife, Wang Guoxing showed a simple smile.

"Wang Guoxing, fishing, fishing, all you do every day is fishing." Wang Guoxing's first wife Zhang was holding a feather duster in her hand, with her hands on her hips and a look of anger on her face.

"I'll just go fishing for a while, two hours at most." Wang Guoxing twitched his beard and seemed a little scared, but he still refused to give up.

"If you go fishing again, don't come back at night!" Zhang issued an ultimatum.

The Marquis of Xincheng was henpecked, and all the nobles and relatives in the capital knew about it. Zhang had a hot temper and was a cousin of the Duke of Ying. Her family was strong enough, so she could hold her head high in her husband's family.

If it were in the past, Wang Guoxing would have compromised, but he hadn't been fishing for more than ten days.

"Hmph! If you don't want to go back, then don't go back." As he said this, he walked towards the carriage with a wooden bucket in one hand and a fishing rod in the other.

Wang Jingduo suddenly slipped out from the side and snatched the wooden barrel from his father's hand.

"Wang Guoxing! If I let you into my house tonight, I will take your surname!" Zhang was furious.

With Wang Guoxing away and the sensible second son acting like that, all matters in the mansion, big or small, had to fall on her shoulders.

"Wang Guoxing! Come back!"

"Wang Jingduo, you little bastard, are you going to imitate your father too?"

"Get back!"

Wang Jingduo shrank his neck but still did not retreat. He got into the car under his father's suspicious gaze.

"Aren't you afraid that your mother will beat you when she gets home?" Wang Guoxing asked his son.

"If my father is not afraid, then neither will I be afraid." Wang Jingduo said with his neck stiff.

"You've made progress, daddy will catch a big fish for you today." Wang Guoxing rarely praised Wang Jingduo.

Wang Guoxing has always been worried about his son being too timid. He felt that a good father gave birth to a bad son, but he did not dare to question his wife.

Wang Guoxing never thought that he was afraid of his wife. After all, he was the Marquis of Xincheng, and he just didn't want to quarrel.

In his opinion, his son Wang Jingduo made him despise him even more. It was really outrageous that an old man was afraid of even a mouse.

He had only one wife, Zhang, and they had four sons. The eldest and the third died young, the second broke his leg while riding a horse a few years ago, and the fourth was in that state. In his sorrow, Wang Guoxing learned how to fish.

Only fishing can make him forget his worries. His children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, so all he needs to do is live a good life.

However, he was very satisfied with his son's performance today. He even dared to disobey his mother. That was a sign of progress.

The carriage bumped along for a long time before reaching a river outside the capital.

Wang Jingduo obediently helped his father carry the wooden barrel, thread the fishing line, and looked for earthworms everywhere with a small shovel. Wang Guoxing sighed that his son had grown up.

At this moment, perhaps because the father and son were frightened or something, a huge snake with patterns all over its body suddenly crawled out from the meadow. It was about three or four feet long.

Wang Guoxing was startled. Wang Jingduo gritted his teeth and ran over with a shovel in his hand. However, when he was a few steps away from the snake, his legs began to tremble and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

But his father was right behind him, and Wang Jingduo didn't want to give up this opportunity to show off. When he thought about the great things that their Second Sons Group would do in the future, Wang Jingduo wiped the sweat from his face, ran towards the snake resolutely, and then swung the shovel in his hand and hit it frantically.

In a short while, the grass snake was knocked to pieces, but Wang Jingduo was too nervous and continued to knock it with his eyes closed. Even Wang Guoxing couldn't bear it anymore.

"Okay, okay, my son, stop knocking. He is just passing by."

Wang Jingduo then stopped. He looked at the snake in front of him that was beaten to pieces by him and immediately began to retch.

After a long while, Wang Jingduo walked up to his father, squatted down, looked at the float not far away and said:

"Dad, I'm not a coward anymore. I'm going to do great things in the future!"

"Well, my son is ambitious, but before you do anything big, don't forget to ask your mother." Wang Guoxing stared at the float without blinking.

"Dad, let me go with you to the banquet tomorrow." Wang Jingduo finally spoke nervously after his true intentions were exposed.

Wang Guoxing turned his head and glanced at his son, seeming very confused, but the confusion only lasted for a moment, and then he showed a strange smile.

"Dad was going to take you there originally. Your brother has trouble walking, and Dad has already told your mom about it."

……

Near noon on March 17th, the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the palace became unusually lively.

Carriages drove into Chang'an Avenue from various streets. The residence of Marquis Chengyi was closer to the imperial city. Marquis Chengyi Liu Kongzhao and his third son Liu Jiawei were still playing chess.

Although Liu Jiawei is only fourteen years old, he is as good at chess as Liu Kongzhao. In fact, Liu Jiawei's academic performance is also the best among all the poor students in the Second Sons Group.

"Oh, Dad, I lost." Liu Jiawei made a wrong move and said with some disappointment.

Liu Kongzhao stroked his beard and glanced at Liu Jiawei, then lectured his son in a dissatisfied tone:

"You clearly did it on purpose. Confucius said: I do not wish others to impose on me, and I also do not wish to impose on others.

This is not right. How can you force me to do something I don’t like? ”

Seeing that his father had started teaching him a lesson again, Liu Jiawei quickly raised his hands and feet in surrender.

"Dad, I was wrong. I shouldn't have let you."

"After the family dinner, copy the fifth chapter of the Analects a hundred times." Liu Kongzhao said mercilessly, and frowned after saying it. He always felt that something was wrong.

"I said, if you want to take something, you must give it first. You must be hiding something from me."

Liu Jiawei stood up straight like a child who had done something wrong, but kept silent about his father's question, neither admitting nor denying it.

Fortunately, Liu Kongzhao was not the kind of person who would dig deeper into the details. He looked at the sky and said to his son:

"It's almost time. Have you prepared everything for the family dinner?"

"Ah? What else do we need to prepare for the family dinner? Just change your clothes." Liu Jiawei rolled his eyes and pretended to be calm.

"Hmph." Liu Kongzhao snorted coldly.

……

Forbidden City, Huangji Palace.

The huge palace was filled with exquisitely carved mahogany round tables. The eunuchs and palace maids were carrying jade plates of delicacies and carefully avoiding the nobles who were walking around and chatting.

According to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, except for those who held official positions in the Governor's Office and those who had important matters to report, other relatives did not need to attend the court unless they had something important to do.

It has been a long time since the nobles and relatives have gathered together like this. They all had smiles on their faces and greeted each other.

After all, most of the nobles and relatives had idle positions and had not been involved in state affairs for a long time, so they did not have much to talk about with each other. It was nothing more than me asking about your business and you asking how many sons I had.

Compared to the nobles themselves, there are actually more children of the nobles in the hall. After all, nobles basically have more than one son, and the emperor did not say that he could only bring one.

However, nobles and relatives also have to save face, and at most they can bring two sons and daughters. After all, it is the emperor's family banquet, and showing up will not do any harm in the future. If they can be appreciated by the emperor, it will be their good fortune.

The vast majority are in their teens and early twenties, which is the golden age for them to find a way out for themselves.

Zhang Shikang sat with the brothers of the Second Sons' Group. He counted the people twice and found that only Sun Dasheng was missing. He was a little anxious. After a while, Sun Dasheng limped into the hall with Marquis Huaining.

Zhang Shikang thought that this guy's crime had been exposed, but after Sun Dasheng explained with a grin, everyone felt relieved.

Zhang Shikang quietly put the banknotes that Sun Dasheng had deposited here into the other party's pocket and said to his brothers in a low voice:

"Brothers, whether our Second Sons Group can win the first battle depends on today. Act separately."

After saying that, more than a dozen people from the Second Sons' Group stood up one after another and dispersed to the wine tables where there were more children of nobles.

……