The eldest son is fierce

In order to help Emperor Yanwen share his worries, Tang Jing, Liu Wen and other ministers argued fiercely in the Zhuangyuan Building.

At this time, Lin Bao also delivered Liu Gongjin's letter to the Liu family.

"I am Lin Bao, a captain of the Imperial Guard. I have been ordered to deliver a personal letter from Lord Liu Jin to the Liu family. Please inform us."

Lin Bao jumped off his horse and bowed to the gatekeeper.

However, before the doorman could say anything, a woman came out from the main door and asked with a frown, "A letter from Liu Gongjin? Written by the Jinyiwei?"

It was no secret that the Jinyiwei took over Liu Gongjin's case.

"Exactly."

During these days, while investigating Liu Gongjin, Lin Bao also investigated the Liu family. He knew that the woman in front of him was Jiang, the wife of Liu Gongjin's younger brother Liu Gongzhi.

Jiang was the younger sister of Imperial Censor Jiang Haoran, making her Tang Yi's second aunt. Lin Bao didn't hide the fact and said, "The letter was written by Lord Liu Gongjin himself. Tang Yi asked me to deliver it back to the Liu family without delay to report his safety..."

Before she finished speaking, Jiang said irritably, "Give me the letter, and you can leave."

Lin Bao frowned. Tang Yi said that the letter should be handed over to Old Lady Liu personally to avoid worrying her.

"Give me the letter and you can leave. Didn't you hear me?" Jiang repeated with a cold face.

Lin Bao subconsciously wanted to draw his knife and chop someone, but when he thought that it was Tang Yi's aunt, he held back.

"Well, thank you very much. Please make sure the letter is delivered to the old lady."

Lin Bao handed the letter to Jiang, turned around, jumped on his horse and galloped away.

Jiang looked at Lin Bao's receding back, her face gradually turning cold. She raised her hand, tore the letter into pieces, and stuffed them into the mouth of the maid beside her.

"Second Madam, this is a letter from the master to the old lady." The doorman's face changed slightly. Now the whole Liu family is worried about the master's news. Why did you tear it up?

"Listen carefully, you didn't see or hear anything that happened today."

"Anyone who dares to reveal a single word will be beaten to death!"

Jiang glanced at everyone coldly and said, "Think about your family. Liu Gongjin wrote a letter from the Jinyiwei, and he must have asked the Liu family to sell all their property to make up for the deficit."

"That's hundreds of thousands of taels. Even if we sell the entire Liu family, it won't be enough to fill the shortfall."

"When the time comes, you and your families will be sold out too."

When the servants and doormen heard this, they turned pale and lowered their heads.

Jiang snorted coldly and turned back to the house.

The maidservant paid no attention to her as she picked out the letter fragments from her mouth and hid them back inside.

Today, the Liu family gathered in the hall to discuss matters. When Jiang entered the hall, she went straight to the second house and sat down.

At this time, the Liu family was dead silent, without a trace of life.

Jiang curled her lips. If she didn't want to divide the family and get more property, she wouldn't want to get involved in the Liu family's mess at all.

Just then, the old lady of the Liu family came out with a cane.

The Liu family has been in chaos these days. It was only because Old Lady Liu, who had not been in charge of the family for several years, came out again and took charge of the family that the family was temporarily stabilized.

"Mom, we've used all the connections we can, but we still can't get any information about Big Brother."

The second son of the Liu family, Liu Gongzhi, looked haggard. He had been running around for the past few days for his eldest brother Liu Gongjin's affairs, but to no avail, and was already exhausted.

"Mother knows everything. This isn't your fault."

Old Madam Liu shook her head, a bitter look on her face: "After your father passed away, people became distant and the relationship we had before is no longer as solid as it used to be."

"Plus, this case happened at an inopportune time."

"Your Majesty is about to deploy troops against the Northern Di people and start a war, and that's when money is most needed."

"At this time, your elder brother has been falsely accused of dereliction of duty and embezzlement of tax silver. His Majesty will punish him as an example to others."

"At the very least, the whole family will be exiled, and at the worst, the entire clan will be beheaded. At this time, anyone with a bit of self-interest will naturally stay as far away from us as possible."

Old Madam Liu did not blame anyone, but just felt a little sad. Back when Old Man Liu was still the Minister of Personnel, the Liu family was so crowded that the threshold was almost trampled flat.

Today, the Liu family is in decline. Not to mention the relationships they had in the past, even dogs dislike them now.

After hearing what the old lady said, dozens of people in the Liu family lowered their heads, looking depressed.

"Mom, this isn't just about my husband now..."

Liu Gongjin's wife, Shen, looked at Old Lady Liu, bit her lip, and said, "My daughter-in-law has received news from several families. They... they don't want to be implicated by our Liu family, and they all want to divorce me."

"I'm afraid that once my husband's case is determined, my sister-in-law and the married daughters in our family will be divorced and sent back to the Liu family."

Everyone in the Liu family looked grim when they heard this.

If all the girls of the Liu family were to have their engagements broken off, the Liu family would become a laughing stock in Kyoto, and it would also confirm the fact that Tang Yi's mother, Liu Ruyu, was jealous.

The reason why those families informed the Liu family first instead of divorcing the wife directly was simply because they wanted to save some face.

But once Liu Gongjin's case is determined to be corruption, bribery and misappropriation of tax silver, those people can use the excuse of poor family education to divorce all the women of the Liu family, and then no one in Kyoto will say anything.

"No matter what, we can't let this happen. Otherwise, the reputation of the Liu family, my sister, and my father will be ruined."

Liu Gongzhi clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

Old Madam Liu closed her eyes in agony. How could she not know the seriousness of the matter? Under normal circumstances, His Majesty might have remembered the old man's merits and at most punished Liu Gongjin.

But the situation is special now, and Your Majesty may use Liu Gongjin as a warning to others!

"Where's Brother Yan? Why don't I see him?"

Old Lady Liu didn't know that Liu Wenyan had been arrested by the Imperial Guard. The Liu family was afraid that the old lady couldn't bear it, so they didn't tell her about it.

Now that the old lady was asking, Shen could only make up excuses: "Pingyuan Bo's son came to see him, saying that there was someone who could help him rescue his husband. He left with Liang Shao and hasn't returned yet."

The old lady sighed when she heard this. Now even if the second son of the Liu family came forward in person to ask for help, it was of no use.

Liang Shao doesn't look like a reliable guy, so how can the person he finds be reliable?

"Actually, there's a solution!"

At this time, a woman's voice sounded.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Liu Gongzhi's wife, Jiang, who was speaking.

Jiang was fiddling with her nails. Seeing everyone in the Liu family looking at her, she said calmly, "There was no way before. That was because it was Mr. Liu who asked for help, so there was no way."

"But if mother is willing to come forward and ask for help, the effect will definitely be better."

"When my father-in-law was in power, my mother helped many people. If my mother is willing to ask for help, those people will more or less give her some face."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Liu family's expressions changed drastically.

Old Mrs. Liu is already sixty years old. Because her husband and beloved daughter passed away one after another, she was so sad that she looked no different from a seventy-year-old at the age of sixty.

She has white hair, a hunched body, and a face full of wrinkles, and now she is asked to come forward and ask for help?

"What nonsense are you talking about?!"

Liu Gongzhi stood up suddenly and shouted angrily.

Jiang shuddered at the shouting and immediately stood up, one hand on her waist, and angrily shouted at Liu Gongzhi: "Why are you being so mean to me? I'm not thinking about your Liu family."

"You, Mr. Liu, have been begging people everywhere these days. Your knees are almost broken. Does anyone pay attention to you?"

"But the old lady is different. She has an imperial decree. Who among those people would dare to make her kneel?"

"And Tang Jing, isn't Tang Jing her son-in-law?"

"Go ask Tang Jing for help! Maybe he'd be willing to help!"

Hearing this, everyone in the Liu family changed their expressions.

When Liu Ruyu died, Old Lady Liu slapped Tang Jing in public and forced him not to change the heir to the legitimate son. This incident caused a sensation in the city.

Now Tang Hua has won the top three places in the imperial examinations and is among the best among the younger generation in Kyoto. Tang Jing and that evil woman Yan Shuangyu must hate the old lady.

If the old lady comes to visit at this time, won’t she be bullied by the Tang family?