Chapter 23 News
Chapter 23 News
Zhu Shenzhui chatted with his brother-in-law Zhou Anmin for a long time that night and drank a lot of wine. The next day, Zhu Shenzhui got up late, which was unusual for him. When he woke up, it was already noon.
When he left the room, he saw a bowl of noodles on the table outside the main hall. Needless to say, it was definitely prepared for him by his sister Zhu Xiuer.
Zhu Shenzhui sat down and ate. After he finished, he cleared the dishes and went to the yard to get some water to wash them, then he took them to the kitchen as if he knew the way.
The eldest nephew Zhou Chong has gone to a private school, and the little one Zhou Bin is in the house with his sister Zhu Xiuer.
Zhu Xiu'er was sitting on the kang doing needlework. Zhou Bin was not far from her, happily playing with the rattle that Zhu Shenzhui had given him yesterday, laughing as he played.
"Sister, where is my brother-in-law?" Zhu Shen lifted the curtain and entered the room. He lay on the kang and teased Zhou Bin for a few times, then picked up the little guy and put him on his lap and asked.
"The distinguished guest from the South Courtyard left early in the morning. Your brother-in-law went out after seeing the guest off, saying that he was going to do something. I didn't ask where he went specifically." Zhu Xiu'er said while doing needlework.
Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly. If he guessed correctly, Zhou Anmin went to help him find out about Li Hu.
The brother and sister sat and chatted, just about some family matters.
Who would have thought that the topic of Zhu Shenzhui would come up, and Zhu Xiuer looked up and said to Zhu Shenzhui, "You are the only male in the family now, and you are not a child anymore. Your father is no longer here, and you can't just put off your marriage like this. How about I ask someone to find one for you?"
"Sister, why did this happen? There's no rush." Zhu Shenzhui shook his head.
Zhu Xiuer's expression suddenly became serious. She said sternly, "Why not? How old are you this year? Your brother-in-law already had a son when you were your age. Besides, you are the only male in our family now. We will have to rely on you in the future. Do we have to keep dragging it on like this? I told you about this before. How long do you plan to drag it on?"
As she spoke, Zhu Xiuer suddenly thought of something, and her face changed slightly: "Little brother, tell me that you will not be with Zhang...?"
"Sister! What are you thinking about? Zhang is your brother's wife and my sister-in-law! How could it be possible for us!" Zhu Shenzhui did not expect Zhu Xiuer to suddenly drag Zhang into this, and he quickly shook his head to deny it.
Seeing that Zhu Shenzhui's expression did not seem fake, Zhu Xiuer's expression finally eased a lot. She sighed and advised Zhu Shenzhui: "Don't say that what I said today was inappropriate, but you should also think about yourself. In the past two years since my eldest brother and father passed away, Zhang, a little widow, has been living with you in the old house with Qiao'er. Even if you are upright, you can't guarantee that others will not say anything."
"Little brother, people's words are scary! When people throw dirty water on you, you won't be able to explain it even if you have a mouth full of words. Besides, our family is a royal family. If the royal family's affairs are exposed, don't you consider the consequences?"
"I bring this up today not only for you, but also for Zhang. Think about it, if there are any rumors, you may be fine in the end, but what about Zhang? A widow has such a reputation, are you going to let her die? Little brother, listen to my advice and get married early. Once you have a family and your own children, let alone continuing the family line, no one will talk about Zhang and Qiao'er's affairs."
I have to say that what Zhu Xiuer said makes sense. Not to mention that it is the Ming Dynasty now, even in modern times, if a young sister-in-law who has lost her husband lives with her children and brother-in-law, it is hard to guarantee that someone will not say something.
Moreover, a woman's reputation is more important than her life. Once she loses her reputation, she might as well die. Moreover, Zhang's character is soft on the outside but strong on the inside. Zhu Shenzhu is very clear about this. As Zhu Xiuer said, if someone really took advantage of the situation and made a big deal out of it, Zhang would have no choice but to commit suicide to prove her innocence.
For a moment, Zhu Shenzhu was silent, and he admitted that Zhu Xiuer was right.
At the same time, Zhu Shenzhu couldn't help but leave Zhang and his niece alone. If so, how could Zhang and his niece survive? Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu had a secret affection for Zhang in his heart over the years of living under the same roof, but he never expressed it to the outside world.
After thinking for a while, Zhu Shenzhui nodded: "Sister, I understand what you mean. Let me think about this matter carefully and wait until next year. I will find time to do this next year."
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Xiuer's face showed joy. Her younger brother finally came to his senses and was willing to start a family.
You have to know that Zhu Shenzhui is not young this year. A man becomes an adult at the age of 16. Logically, he should get married after he becomes an adult. In some places, it is not uncommon for men to get married at the age of 14 or 15.
Because of the misfortune in his family, Zhu Shenzhui's marriage had been delayed. But now that Zhu Shenzhui had established his family and his family's situation had improved a lot, it would be inappropriate to delay it any longer.
Although Zhu Xiuer was eager for her brother to find a suitable wife and start a family right away, she also knew Zhu Shenzhu's personality and temper. She couldn't rush this matter and couldn't force him too much. Since Zhu Shenzhu promised her today, at least he gave her a promise, which was enough. Zhu Xiuer felt relieved and felt much more relaxed.
Looking at her younger brother, and then thinking of her father and older brother who had passed away, Zhu Xiuer couldn't help feeling sad.
Zhu Shenzhui quickly sensed the change in his sister's mood and understood what she was thinking. He quickly changed the subject and talked to Zhu Xiuer about other things. After talking about some interesting things in daily life and Qiaoer's liveliness and cuteness, Zhu Xiuer temporarily forgot about her worries and gradually smiled again.
My brother-in-law Zhou Anmin didn't come back until after noon. He first talked to the postman when he got back to the post station. The post station was relatively empty today and there was nothing to do. The distinguished guests who came yesterday left early in the morning, so everyone was just cleaning up.
After settling things in the front and taking another walk, Zhou Anmin returned to the backyard.
Zhu Shenzui, who heard the noise, walked out of the house. Seeing Zhu Shenzui, Zhou Anmin nodded slightly at him and gave him a wink.
Zhu Shenzhui understood and followed Zhou Anmin to the main room. After they entered the room, they sat down. Zhou Anmin looked outside and Zhu Shenzhui told him that his sister and nephew were in the main room. Zhou Anmin then felt relieved and spoke to Zhu Shenzhui in a low voice.
Just as Zhu Shenzhui thought, Zhou Anmin went out early this morning just for Li Hu's matter. He went to Pingshun City and went to the Jinyiwei's base in Pingshun to inquire about Li Hu's news.
Fortunately, someone happened to know about this matter. Zhou Anmin invited the person to a restaurant in the city for a few drinks. It didn't take much effort for him to get the news out. After finding out the details, he returned to the post station without any delay.
According to the information Zhou Anmin had inquired about, Li Hu's situation was basically true. Li Hu was indeed a servant of Deng Guozhong, the former deputy garrison commander of the Left Guard of Datong Town, and had a military rank with a small flag hanging on his body.
Deng Guozhong was blamed for his death in battle, and Li Hu was implicated for speaking out for Deng Guozhong. Not only was he stripped of his military position, he was also exiled to Wuxiang to work as a miner.
Talking about this matter, Zhou Anmin also sighed a little. In the Ming Dynasty now, civil officials are respected and military officials are despised. Even if the Jinyiwei knew the truth of this matter, there was nothing they could do. It was a decision by all parties that Deng Guozhong should take the blame. Even if Wanli knew about it, what could he do?
Could the emperor turn against a group of civil officials for a mere deputy garrison commander who had already died? He could only turn a blind eye and wrong the Deng family.
As for Li Hu, he was completely an innocent victim. If he had not gone around speaking up for Deng Guozhong, no one would have taken action against such a small fry like him.
After being stripped of his military post and exiled to Wuxiang to work as a miner, Li Hu stayed in the mine for several years. Not long ago, a mine riot broke out in the mine. Li Hu led a group of miners and killed several mine managers in the conflict. Then the group of people robbed some things and ran away without a trace.
This was originally considered a big deal. After all, miners killing mine workers and managers was tantamount to rebellion, not to mention that the people they killed were the mine supervisors.
At first, the mine supervisor was furious and gathered his miners to capture Li Hu and others who had escaped. However, who would have thought that Li Hu, who had been a low-ranking officer, actually evaded the pursuit and hid from place to place without being caught. No one knew where he had gone.
At that time, the Jinyiwei also sent people, because they were asked by the Mine Supervisor to assist. However, the Jinyiwei did not take this matter seriously. The Jinyiwei and the Mine Supervisor originally belonged to two different organizations. They just dealt with the task for the sake of face. They sent a few people to understand the situation, and then went back after a few rounds. Otherwise, with the ability of the Jinyiwei, how could Li Hu and others escape so easily?
In this way, the whereabouts of Li Hu and others were not found for more than three months, and this matter became an unsolved case. Although the mine supervisor was angry, he could do nothing about it.
Although the mine supervisor could make a big deal out of this matter and directly ask the prefectural government or even the provincial government to arrest Li Hu and others, once this was done the nature of the matter would change completely.
Firstly, the civil service group was already extremely dissatisfied with Emperor Wanli's establishment of mining supervisors in local areas. If this matter were known to the prefectural government or even the provincial government, the situation would be different. Instead of helping, the civil service group would take advantage of the situation and directly write to the emperor to accuse the mining supervisors of harming the people and inciting civil unrest.
Secondly, as a local mine supervisor sent by the emperor, if the civil officials caught Li Hu, regardless of whether he could be arrested, the mine supervisor would definitely not benefit. Not only would he have to withstand attacks from the civil officials, but even the emperor would not be able to protect him. He might lose his lucrative job, or even suffer a great loss.
Taking all this into consideration, the mine supervisor was also afraid of the consequences and had no choice but to suppress the matter. Anyway, the several miners and managers who were beaten to death were all the mine supervisor's men, and they were not formal officials. They were dead, so as long as the job was still there, there would be as many miners as needed. As for Li Hu and others who escaped, they just didn't raise the flag of rebellion and make a big fuss. It was better to make a big thing small and a small thing nothing, and just let it pass vaguely.
(End of this chapter)