Shipin Dalizheng

"Has Fuxinzhuang been appeased?"

Rong Wanli's eyes were filled with warmth, "I said, they cried."

Just these seven words contain so much grievance and so much sadness.

"So, when do you think I should go?"

The sugar-making workshop needs to be planned, the equipment needs to be in place, the workers need to be properly arranged, and everything needs to be taken care of.

Rong Zhan said, "Openly, you can't go yet."

That means that Rong Tang is still a "victim" and it is inappropriate for him to travel around in such a brazen manner that he can be used against others.

"Then let's wait a couple more days. Sweet sorghum isn't much left here, so I'll finish it up and think of a few more new products. Ha... I'm so sleepy, I'm going to bed."

In fact, Rong Tang was not physically tired, he just overused his brain and was exhausted.

The next day, the business venture in the compound was in full swing again. There was no time or energy to take care of anything else, and of course no one knew what the Jin family in Beijing had experienced.

Jin Shizhao was locked up in a dark room all night and was released just after dawn. Strictly speaking, he was only locked up for two hours.

He was in a very gloomy mood at the moment, and he also knew that Gu Zhongxun was giving him some face by letting him go home when there was no one on the street.

But the anger and powerlessness in his heart made it impossible for him to vent them. He just wanted thunder and lightning to rain down from the sky and destroy the world.

He walked towards the Minister's residence as if his legs were filled with lead. At the door, Butler Wu seemed to have not slept all night and was anxiously waiting for him. He stamped his feet when he saw him and said, "Master, where have you been? The mansion is looking for you like crazy. The old lady has fainted again."

During this period, it seemed that his mother had been fainting all the time, and Jin Shizhao was numb. "I know."

Anyway, he won't die. He can just faint and wake up later. His mother is very strong mentally.

Housekeeper Wu cried out in grief, "The second master of the Yang family is dead, and the whole family is dead. The Jingzhao Prefecture just notified us last night to go and claim the body. The old lady couldn't bear it and vomited blood."

Jin Shizhao staggered and turned pale for a moment.

"What did you say?"

Butler Wu said it again, and Jin Shizhao almost fell to the ground.

"Master, what should we do now?"

What can he do? What else can he do?

"Did you say how he died?"

"It's said that a couple had a fight, and the young master and young lady tried to stop them. The whole family fell into the river and drowned."

Jin Shizhao didn't believe it, not even a single punctuation mark.

"Where's Madame?"

"Madam, Madam is just crying and has no idea."

Jin Shizhao closed his eyes, suddenly feeling bewildered. When Rong was still healthy, she'd managed matters both inside and outside the palace with impeccable care. Even when something catastrophic happened, she remained calm and handled it properly. Everyone in the capital praised her for her courage and insight, a woman who was as capable as any man. If it weren't for her poor health, she'd have the demeanor of a military commander.

When did she become indifferent? That's right, it was when Yang brought her son into the family. The fact that she was the eldest son out of wedlock was a huge blow to her, and she no longer wanted to help him with his external affairs. But at that time, he was the son-in-law of the Earl of Jian'an, and many people in the capital gave him face, so he rose rapidly to the position of Left Vice Minister.

Now, she had been dead for only a month, and a bastard had come back. His good luck was gone, and the knives and swords of officialdom began to stab him.

He responded in a panic, while Yang could only cry.

Yes, she was just a country woman, illiterate, how could she help him to protect him from the wind and rain? When he was rich and prosperous, she enjoyed the good life with him, but when he was down and out, she was just a burden.

How could he have been so obsessed with her that he believed that she was his wife and Rong was just a stepping stone to wealth and status?

He walked into the mansion in a daze, and heard loud cries in the courtyards, as if the person who died was him.

"Don't cry, don't cry."

He shouted towards the courtyard where the crying was loudest, which was where Old Madam Jin lived now.

The weeping people stopped crying and came out to greet him. Yang's eyes were as red and swollen as a peach, and Mrs. Jin's face was also full of sorrow and misery.

"Master." Yang cried out in tears.

"Shizhao." Old Lady Jin shouted and cried.

"father!"

Jin Yaoyang and Jin Xiangxiang supported Yang on both sides, also with sad faces.

Jin Shizhao couldn't stand it anymore. With such a family atmosphere, all the good luck was about to disappear. No, no, that was the bad luck of the Yang family, not the Jin family.

"No one is allowed to cry! If anyone doesn't listen, I'll send him to the countryside to farm!"

His ferocious expression frightened the whole family, even Mrs. Jin was stunned.

"When you encounter problems, you can only cry. What problems can crying solve? Can it bring people back to life, or can it kill the enemy? What bad luck have I, Jin Shizhao, had? With your family, no one can give me any help, but only hold me back without any bottom line."

Whoever he turned his eyes on took a step back.

"master……"

"father……"

"Shi Zhao..."

Those eyes that only wanted to rely on him used to be a reflection of his ability, but today it is a great irony.

He was exhausted, but he still asked, "Where is the body?"

Madam Jin was swaying again, and Yang said sadly, "Mother can't bear it. The bodies of my second brother and his family are still in Jingzhao Prefecture."

It was already dawn, and Jin Shizhao knew that he had to take another day off today.

Rongjia Village.

Although Rong Tang didn't have time to pay attention to the Jin family, someone still brought news about the Jin family to him.

Steward Tao brought two young women to him and said, "Prince, I bought these yesterday. They are a sister-in-law and a young woman. Their family suffered a disaster and they have no one left. They are willing to sell themselves as slaves. I think they are young, pretty and clean, so I sent them here."

The two young women kowtowed to Rong Tang, who asked their names and ages.

"My lord, this servant, Liu Huixiang, is twenty years old."

"My servant, Wang Huizhen, is eighteen years old."

Rong Tang saw that both of them were pretty good-looking. Although they had women's hairstyles, their features and eyebrows did not look like those of married people. However, everyone had their own reasons, and he did not want to ask too much about other people's private affairs.

Steward Tao gave the two's indentures to Chuncao for safekeeping. "Don't worry, my lord. These were all bought from the government office. They have a clean background."

"Chuncao, take them down and teach them how to work."

After Chuncao took the two away, Butler Tao showed his joy, "Sir, the matter is settled. The two women were defeated and returned in disgrace."

The two women were of course Ma and Lai Funiang. They had been too arrogant in the Bo's Mansion and were schemed against by the housekeeper Tao, who took a great loss for them. They were too embarrassed to ride in Tao's carriage and had to walk back.

Butler Tao showed Rong Tang two IOUs, each signed for one hundred taels, which was enough for them to bear.

"They cried and shouted that they had no money, and Aunt Xiu said that they should work to pay off the debt. In the future, if the Bo Mansion needs them, they must be available at any time and pay one or two taels of silver at a time."

After talking about the two of them, the next thing is the Jin family.

"Minister Jin went to the Jingzhao government office to identify the bodies. He didn't believe that Yang Liangui and his family had fallen in a fight. The prefect showed him the witness statements. Wow, there were hundreds of them, all from veteran soldiers in Fuxinzhuang. They all swore that it was their family that fell. Some swore they would never marry, some swore they would give birth to sons without anus, and some swore their property would be inherited by their son-in-law. Each one was different. It took Minister Jin two hours to read through them all."

Rong Tang laughed so hard that his face hurt, "Where did you hear that?"

In theory, this was all top secret in Jingzhao Prefecture and no one would spread it outside, let alone Jin Shizhao himself.

"This was all confessed by the veterans of Fuxinzhuang themselves. Minister Jin asked Jingzhao Prefecture to arrest a few veterans from Fuxinzhuang for trial, but the prefect refused. Minister Jin then reported the case to the Dali Temple, and they arrested several men, all of whom were half-dead."