I am imprisoned in Kaifeng Mansion

"What are you doing here?" Cui Mao narrowed his eyes and stared at Cui Tao vigilantly.

"Daddy is getting old, maybe I didn't hear clearly just now, so my daughter said it again, my daughter is here to see Daddy off!" Cui Tao still had a good attitude.

Seeing this, Wang Siniang at the side couldn't help poking Ping'er quietly with her arm, "Why does this sound a bit like yours?"

Ping'er glared at Wang Siniang, "I don't think there is anything wrong."

"That's right." Wang Siniang stroked her chin and looked at Cui Mao, and she saw that Cui Mao's face became even more livid because of these words.

Lu Gongbi and Lu Gongru were not the parties involved, so they didn't quite understand the ingenuity of the words, but they didn't hear anything wrong with Cui Tao's words.

Lu Gongru was still echoing that it was a good thing that Cui Tao came to see Cui Mao off.

"I brought my father the most famous local products of Bianjing, such as sweet-scented osmanthus cake, garlic, pickles, wicker, chrysanthemum..." Every time Cui Tao said something, Wang Siniang put a bag in front of Cui Mao.

The sweet-scented osmanthus cake is wrapped in a paper bag, a stack of ten bags, a total of forty bags.Two sacks of garlic and ten jars of pickles.All kinds of willow baskets, in different styles, were all tied into a bunch with ropes, and when piled up in front of Cui Mao, they were all taller than others.There are sixteen pots of chrysanthemums, and they are all green seedlings before they bloom, but they are growing very well.

When all these things were displayed in front of Cui Mao, Cui Mao, who was standing among the many souvenirs, even though he was dressed in brocade clothes and had a noble posture, he couldn't hold back the fact that these things made him stand out and set up a stall to sell goods temperament.

There were not a small number of people coming and going outside the city gate, and this battle naturally attracted the attention of many passers-by.

Cui Mao's face turned ashen further.

"Is there someone like you to give something like this?" Cui Mao scolded Cui Tao angrily.

Many onlookers could see that Cui Mao was a person of status, and felt that it was a bit cheap for Cui Tao to give such a thing, and it was normal for people to look down on him.

Lu Gongru hurriedly tried to persuade him: "Qiniang is also kind, but she gave too many things. Don't be surprised by my uncle, but after all, her kindness is rare."

"I heard that a big family has five bedrooms and so many brothers and sisters. If you can't take care of anyone, wouldn't it be difficult for your father? I didn't want my father to be picked by others. That's why I did this." Prepare. These things can be loaded in a carriage, so just follow behind. But I didn’t expect to offend, my father didn’t like it, it’s because I didn’t think carefully, please forgive me!”

Cui Tao hurriedly bowed and apologized to Cui Mao, and when she looked up again, her eyes were a little red.

Seeing this, Wang Siniang said injustice: "Miss Cui heard that Cui Zhizhou was leaving, so she rushed to buy these things the day before, and showed her filial piety with good intentions. How could she be disliked by her own father!"

When everyone heard it, it turned out that the gift giver and the recipient were father and daughter.Then there is no need to pay attention to what is precious or not, it is all about the heart.Isn't this a good thing, why do you dislike it?

"If my daughter is willing to give me these, I'll be too happy." One of the passers-by couldn't help but interjected.

"The etiquette is light and the affection is heavy. Besides, when you come to Kaifeng Mansion, you should naturally bring some special products back. Mrs. Cui has put a lot of thought into these preparations!"

Ping'er also didn't like Cui Mao's attitude towards Cui Tao. As a father, his daughter has suffered so much, and now she gave him a gift, but he didn't say a single thoughtful word, and only cared about reprimanding and disgusting. People are chilling.Tiger poison does not eat its sons, how can this father be more ruthless than beasts?

"These things are unique to Kaifeng, so rare. Even the officials will like them if they see them. Could it be that Cui Zhizhou feels that these are demeaning, and only gold, silver and jewelry are worthy of them?"

In the past, Cui Tao was the one who protected them and even cooked for them.Now facing his biological father, Cui Tao can only respect Cui Mao in front of everyone due to etiquette, and it is inconvenient to say anything else.Ping'er felt that she had to stand up at this time and say everything that should be said for her, otherwise she would be so useless!

"No, that pickle is a specialty of our county."

"Hey, this willow weaving is from our county, and I even made it and sold it."

Two more passers-by who were watching couldn't help but interjected.

"Isn't this Mrs. Cui, Mrs. Cui from Kaifeng Mansion!" Mrs. Su used to be an old resident of Xinghua Lane, and she had testified in the Xinghua Lane case. Today, she happened to be out of the city for a visit, so she recognized Cui Tao at a glance. , hastily exclaimed.

The people nearby didn't know why, but when they heard that this handsome young lady was related to the Kaifeng Mansion, they were naturally curious and wanted to ask who the Su family was.

Sun then said that Cui Tao was so powerful in Kaifeng mansion.Since the Xinghua Lane case, she also liked to respect Cui Tao, so she often inquired about Cui Tao's affairs.After all, there is only one woman in charge of handling the case in Kaifeng Mansion, so everyone is curious.

The Su family immediately counted all the cases that Cui Tao had handled, and sighed that thanks to her, they were able to appeal for the grievances of the deceased, also known as Xinghua Lane. Now these residents can finally live in peace.

"I also know Mrs. Cui. I heard that it is because of her participation that Kaifeng Mansion has solved so many major cases recently."

Immediately, several people also remembered what they had heard in Bianjing, and followed suit.They lamented that the recent case of dismemberment in Bianjing, which was famous in Bianjing, was really scary, and it was due to Mrs. Cui's contribution. Some people saw Mrs. Cui lead someone to arrest the villain who knew the butterfly magic.

"Miss Cui has done a lot for the peace of our Bianjing. Anyone with a conscience knows to be grateful to our lady Cui!" Wang Siniang shouted.

The onlookers and the common people agreed one after another.

Let's look at Cui Tao who gave souvenirs to Cui Mao, he has a heart of filial piety, which is very rare.But I don't know why Mrs. Cui's father doesn't have the slightest sense of joy?Could it be that this father is a wolf-hearted man who can't see the true feelings of his heart and only sees real money?Look at his elegant appearance, is it possible that he is more vulgar than ordinary people like them who have not read the book?

Under the scrutiny and contempt of the crowd, Cui Mao's face became even more ugly.

Cui Tao indeed lowered her eyes, looking pitiful, standing there without saying a word, like a child who made a mistake and was reprimanded.

"You can put on a show!"

Cui Mao couldn't help but recall that when he was in Kaifeng Mansion, Cui Tao was eloquent and threatened him several times. When did this girl become so scheming?

"That day in Kaifeng Mansion, you threatened me with a few words, did you forget?"

"The daughter really had to stay in Kaifeng Mansion to take responsibility, so she couldn't follow her father home. She didn't threaten her father with this."

Cui Tao blinked lightly, a teardrop flashed across her pure and lovely face, which made people feel pain in their hearts.

What's wrong with such a woman staying in Kaifeng Mansion and continuing to solve the case for everyone?How could this be called a threat by her father?A daughter should listen to her father, but how can a father not love her daughter at all!He sees off and gives things away, and speaks well and politely, why does he dislike it so much?

Everyone was very angry and pointed at Cui Mao, saying that he is simply a wicked father.

"I know that I've lost my father's face by doing post-mortem work in Kaifeng Mansion." Cui Tao apologized to Cui Mao again.

Cui Mao was trembling with anger, and his lips trembled accordingly, "Ni Nu, you turned black and white and plotted against me in public! What you said that day was not so nice!"

"How could father... Oh, forget it, does father have witnesses to prove that I said something ugly?" Cui Tao asked Cui Mao helplessly.

Cui Mao immediately went straight to Lu Gongbi.

Cui Tao immediately turned to look at Lu Gongbi.

Lu Gongbi didn't understand which song Cui Tao sang.He also thought that it would be inconvenient for him to intervene, so he just watched silently and asked Cui Tao later, but the flames of war between the two suddenly came to him.

At this juncture, everyone wants to know who is framing who between the father and daughter.So what Lu Gongbi said at this moment is particularly important.

After Lu Gongbi and Cui Tao looked at each other, they looked at Cui Mao again.

Cui Mao looked at Lu Gongbi confidently, waiting for him to tell the truth.

"Uncle, let's leave soon, it's getting late. Why don't uncle take back Qiniang's filial piety and distribute it to relatives, they will be happy too." Lu Gongbi persuaded.

Lu Gongbi couldn't tell the truth, which made Cui Tao lose face in front of everyone.It was his fault that he rashly brought Cui Mao there last time, and he couldn't be sorry to Cui Tao anymore.As for Cui Mao, he is an elder after all, so it's not good for him to embarrass him directly.

But Lu Gongbi's answer is actually tantamount to standing on Cui Tao's side, everyone can understand that as a junior, he is giving face to the elders by saying this.

Cui Mao stared at Lu Gongbi rather speechlessly, then laughed at himself.Suddenly, he felt that he was doing it on his own, and the original intention was to Zhang Luo Lu Gongbi and Cui Tao's marriage. Wasn't Lu Gongbi's infatuation for Cui Tao what he was satisfied with?Now that Lu Gongbi chose to be hostile to Cui Tao for Cui Tao, Cui Mao felt like he was shooting himself in the foot.

"Father, go all the way." Cui Tao said politely to Cui Mao.

Cui Mao glared at Cui Tao, unable to hide his disgust towards Cui Tao.He wanted to break out on the spot and sever the father-daughter relationship with her, but he knew that if he couldn't control himself in this scene, his reputation would be ruined.Everyone sided with Cui Tao, thinking that he was not a loving father.

But after all, he is the father and she is the daughter, and after waiting, I don't believe he can't deal with her!

Cui Mao didn't say much, turned around and left.

The servant didn't know whether he should bring these special products, so he went to ask Cui Mao what he meant.

Cui Mao had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree. Now that everyone is watching the situation, he has to take it if he doesn't.

So all kinds of local products were placed on the carriage. The chrysanthemums were not easy to put, so they were put in woven baskets, and then tied with ropes to the outside of the goods, just enough to circle.A carriage full of things, placed high and pointed.When the car was driving, the circle of chrysanthemum seedlings placed in woven baskets swayed left and right, as if they were very happy.

Cui Tao looked at the receding carriage and gave Wang Siniang a wink.Immediately, Wang Siniang and Ping'er followed slowly on the little donkey.

Lu Gongru touched his nose, then patted Lu Gongbi on the shoulder, feeling that his second brother was too difficult.On the one hand, I don't want to offend my sweetheart, and on the other hand, I can't offend my future father-in-law, but I'm afraid that no matter what he does, he won't be able to please him.

Lu Gongru hurriedly excused that he had an appointment with a friend and fled the scene.

Lu Gongbi looked at Cui Tao silently, his expression seemed to remain cold and solemn, but the frequently rolling Adam's apple showed his concern.

"In the past three years, there must have been women who fell in love with you, why not?" Cui Tao suddenly asked Lu Gongbi.

Lu Gongbi was stunned for a while, "Ask knowingly."

"They are to you what you are to me."

Cui Tao wanted to tell Lu Gongbi that other women didn't feel the same to him, so he didn't feel the same to her.

Lu Gongbi frowned seriously, staring at Cui Tao.

"Thank you today. If you have something to do some other day, I will do my best to help you." Cui Tao bowed his hands to Lu Gongbi to thank him, and then he mounted his horse gracefully and left.

Lu Gongbi stared at Cui Tao's back, his lips were tightly pressed into a line.

Half an hour later, there was only a tea stall ten feet away from the city gate.

Cui Tao was sitting at one of the tables drinking tea, when Wang Siniang and Ping'er returned.

Wang Siniang and Ping'er got off the donkey and went straight to Cui Tao.

Cui Tao had already poured tea for the two of them on the table.

Wang Siniang took up the tea bowl and drank it all, and said to Cui Tao: "Ms. Cui guessed, Cui Zhizhou ordered someone to throw away the whole car on the way. Ping'er and I are not idle, we will meet people on the way back I shouted that there were good things to pick up on the side of the road ahead, and told them clearly that those things were thrown by Cui Zhizhou."

"Well done." Cui Tao said calmly.

As long as outsiders know that there is a gap between Cui's father and daughter, it will not be so easy for Cui Mao to suppress her in the name of 'filial piety'.She did act preemptively in this matter, but if she did not act, Cui Mao would definitely suppress her with an absolute advantage in terms of the father-daughter relationship with Cui Mao.

It's been so long, what weird and ugly things haven't been seen?Human feelings are cold, and family affection is thin, so what is it?Theoretically, the "self" in this world has already died under the guillotine.That's why Cui Tao doesn't care about the relationship between father and daughter in a holy way. For her, all getting along corresponds to each other.You are good to me, and I am good to you.You are ruthless and ungrateful, so don't blame me for being strong.

"Ms. Cui is not easy. If I had such a father, I would be so angry that I would wash my face with tears every day, and even not want to live." Ping'er took a deep breath, as if she still hadn't vented her anger.

Cui Tao saw two people passing by outside the tea stand holding a pot of chrysanthemums, so she ordered Wang Siniang and Pinger to go first.

Cui Tao stood up, blocked the two people's way, looked at the two potted flowers, and asked loudly: "Why are these flowers here with you? Tell me! Did you rob my father on the way!"

"What robbery, this little lady, don't wrong people! We picked up these flowers on the way, and I heard that some wealthy people deliberately threw away a cart full of things, and everyone was robbing them madly when they saw it. Some people don’t want to take this flower because they can’t handle it anymore. We rushed there late, so we had to grab two pots of chrysanthemums and come back.”

"Besides, the chrysanthemums are all about the same size, I'm afraid you must have made a mistake, right? How did you know it was your father's pot?" Another person laughed.

"I personally gave this chrysanthemum to my father. I have carefully selected each one, so I recognize it. If you don't believe me, look for yourself. There is a word 'Cui' written on the bottom of each flower pot." Cui Tao asked them to take a look pelvic floor.

At this time, the tea shops and passers-by were attracted by the noise of quarreling, and they joined in the fun.

The two middle-aged men immediately checked the bottom of the flowerpot, and sure enough there was a fingernail-sized word 'Cui' written with a brush.

Cui Tao: "Let's go to Kaifeng Mansion and talk about it!"

"Oh, little lady, please spare me! We really don't know, we really picked it up, and we didn't rob it." The two middle-aged men argued helplessly, they were really afraid of going to the government to cause trouble.When the two were panicked, they saw a middle-aged woman coming in at the city gate, carrying three paper bags in one hand and a pot of chrysanthemums in the other.They quickly pointed to the woman and said that she was there at the time, and everyone picked it up on the side of the road together.

When the woman heard Cui Tao's accusation, she hurriedly said: "I've heard people say that these things were deliberately unwanted by Cui Zhizhou, but we didn't snatch them!"

Everyone understood now, and asked Cui Tao if Cui Zhizhou was her father.

Cui Tao looked at the crowd in embarrassment, pursed her lips and said nothing.

At this time, the people outside the city gate who happened to see the excitement of Cui Tao sending off his father, slapped their thighs and sighed: "It turns out that everything that Mrs. Cui gave to my father has been thrown away?"

Everyone looked at Cui Tao.

Cui Tao covered her eyes with her arms and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Things happened too fast, and everyone was curious to find out because they didn't get the confirmation from the real master.Everyone began to gossip and discuss, each providing the news they knew.Those who have good things, see people who come to the city with baskets, chrysanthemums, pickle jars, etc., will take the initiative to ask a few questions about the situation.In the end, everyone understood very clearly that Mrs. Cui's father, Cui Zhizhou, pretended to accept his daughter's filial piety outside the city, but then changed his face and threw the things away in disgust.

This is a bit funny, but also a bit strange. Why would a good father treat his daughter like this?As a result, this matter soon became a topic of conversation among people in Bianjing after dinner, and it spread in Bianjing.

So much so that a family member of the royal family heard about it, so they deliberately inquired about what happened, and when they met the Empress Dowager Liu, they took it as a joke and told the Empress Dowager Liu to listen to it.

Empress Dowager Liu knew about Cui Tao earlier, and heard that she was pardoned for her outstanding service in Kaifeng Mansion.The several cases he assisted in solving were all complicated and confusing, and they were all of great influence. Bao Zheng had played all of them, so Empress Dowager Liu had heard of them.

She had heard of this curious thing before, but this time she just ignored it and let it go.

Two days later, Cui Mao submitted the papers, and the Kaifeng government detained his daughter and refused to let her return.

This matter immediately attracted the attention of the censors in the court, especially Lin Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, who had a grudge against Kaifeng Mansion because of the loss of his son. Zhao Zhen came forward and accused Kaifeng Mansion of disregarding ethics and forcing his daughter to stay in Kaifeng Mansion.

"Since the sin has been forgiven, the daughter obeys her father's order and should return home." The censors expressed their opinions to Queen Mother Liu and Zhao Zhen.

Empress Dowager Liu didn't say a word, and watched Zhao Zhen's handling of the matter with cold eyes.

Zhao Zhen naturally felt that strange women like Cui Tao should stay in Kaifeng Mansion and be reused, but listening to the censors chattering about the principles of ethics in front of him, Zhao Zhen could fight against these professional critics with just his own mouth son's mouth.

Zhao Zhen summoned Bao Zheng for questioning. Bao Zheng expressed his confusion with a dazed face, and then called Han Qi to explain.Han Qi briefly described how Cui Tao mistakenly burned the book, and made a document agreement with Cangcao to join the army, saying that both Cui Mao and Lu Gongbi were present to testify.

Zhao Zhen laughed: "This Cui Mao knows the reason but still reads this book. I don't know what's his intention?"

The several supervisory censors who had just said so much that they were spitting all over the sky, now all of them looked at the ground in unison and remained silent.They couldn't help scolding Lin Shangshu in their hearts, and encouraged them to do such a stupid thing.And wait, this grudge is written down, and I want him to look good in the future!

Zhao Zhen saw that these people with strong mouths didn't want to tell the truth, but wanted to question these censors, he had to say what Cui Mao's intention in joining the book was.

"I heard that Cui Mao intends to ask his daughter to go back and get married."

"I'm afraid I want to kiss and make a kiss, to curry favor with the rich."

"Cui Mao and Lu are linked together."

……

These censors are used to talking poisonously, and they are not ambiguous when they provoke Cui Mao.

Han Qi stood by Bao Zheng's side, and the two of them remained silent on this matter.

Behind the curtain, Empress Dowager Liu took a sip of tea, glanced sharply at the few censors present, as well as Bao Zheng and Han Qi, and the corners of her mouth slightly curled up.She lowered her eyes and fiddled with the gemstone ring on her hand, but didn't say a word from the beginning to the end.

After leaving the palace, Bao Zheng praised Han Qi for handling the matter properly.

Han Qi nodded slightly, "The Queen Mother didn't say a word."

"No problem." Bao Zheng patted Han Qi on the shoulder, feeling that he must be exhausted after taking on two government duties recently.Now Judge Wang finally recovered from his illness and returned to his throne, and asked Han Qi to rest and take a bath for two days.

……

As the Dragon Boat Festival approached, there were no major cases in Kaifeng Mansion, only a few jobs to urge the payment of grain taxes.

This "Lao Lai" has always been there, and it was no exception in the Song Dynasty. The more respectable the big family, the more picky they are, and they don't like to pay.Even more because these few households are a little bit clingy to the emperor's relatives, they dare not chase after them ruthlessly, for fear of offending them.

Among these people, Wang Yuanwai, Gan Yuanwai and Wan Yuanwai were the most troubled.When Judge Wang was at the end of his rope, people around him proposed to him to second people to deal with the matter.

"I can't do anything with these people, how about just borrowing a few more yamen servants?" Judge Wang shook his head, sighing that it was impossible.

"Of course the borrower can't be an ordinary person, it has to be the most powerful person in our Kaifeng Mansion." Huang Wenshu said.

Judge Wang looked at Huang Wenshu with some understanding.

Huang Wenshu was also worried that Judge Wang didn't expect it, so he reminded him again: "The one who knows everything."

Half an hour later, Judge Wang came to Han Qi's house to greet him with a gift.

Han Qi was resting at home for the past two days. At this time, he was wearing a comfortable and loose ivory white robe, standing by the window, bowing slightly, concentrating on painting the fan.

After being brought into the courtyard by Zhang Chang, Judge Wang saw Han Qi's figure through the window, and couldn't help but sigh how this person is so different from other people?People dressed so casually, and their actions of splashing ink casually, are like a painting, which makes the surrounding mundane scene into a fairyland.But for ordinary people like them, they just do whatever they want. If they have a slightly fat body like his, it would be like a stupid maggot wriggling.

Although Han Qi heard Zhang Chang report that Judge Wang had arrived, he still focused on his eyes, holding a slender brush in his hand, delicately pointing at the peach blossom stamens on the fan.It was not until the painting was perfect that Han Qi stopped writing, politely greeted Judge Wang to sit down, sighed how neglectful he was, and invited him to drink tea.

"Don't dare, it's the lower officials who have taken the liberty to come here and disturb Han Tuiguan's tranquility." Judge Wang hurriedly bowed and apologized before taking his seat.

Judge Wang stared at Han Qi's unparalleled handsome face, and was stunned for a moment, his mind went blank.Immediately, he quickly drank a sip of tea, subdued his shock, and then carefully explained to Han Qi why he came, expressing that he wanted to borrow Cui Tao for a few days.

Han Qi laughed lightly when he heard about his troubles in urging taxes and rations, "It's not difficult, just do business."

"If Han pushes the official over this matter, he can do it in a decent way, and naturally it won't hinder anything. But the lower official never dares. The lower official's family background is low, stupid and timid. If he gets troubled later, he won't To deal with it with a sharp tongue. In the end, if you can’t say it, it’s a mistake, and you have caused a commotion in vain, but the matter has not been resolved.” Judge Wang spread his hands and complained helplessly.

"I rested, but let her rest for two days. If you want to invite her, you don't need to ask me, just ask her what she wants, and let her decide whether to go or not." Han Qi said.

When Judge Wang heard this, his heart was half relieved, he quickly thanked Han Qi, and then went to beg Cui Tao.

Magistrate Wang heard that Cui Tao loves delicious food, so it is natural to ask for help.He specially brought Cui Tao two pieces of top-quality sauced beef shank, which was his mother's handicraft, and it was the only one of its kind.

Cui Tao had smelled the sauced beef shank before, so she nodded and praised it as a good thing without even having to taste it.

The sauce sticking to the sauced beef leg is reddish-brown in color, and the yellow watercress can be seen when you look closely. It is salty and sweet, exuding a rich sauce and fat aroma.I'm afraid that as long as there is this flavor sauce, no matter how unpalatable the ingredients are marinated in it, I'm afraid it will become delicious.Not to mention that these two pieces of sauced beef are fresh and tender veal legs, and the taste must be improved.

"This sauce is wonderful. It can be seen that it is a carefully selected broad bean. It is brewed in a suitable season and requires very experienced experience."

There is no temperature control device, and it is all based on rich experience to master the degree of fermentation of beans. This is not only technical work, but also the accumulation of talent and experience.

"Miss Cui really knows the goods. My mother is a master at making sauces. No one in the family praises them. When I came to Bianjing to catch the exam, I brought a can of sauces made by my mother with me." After Wang Judge explained, he immediately She smiled and asked Cui Tao if she would be willing to help him with this.

Cui Tao rubbed her chin and said, "Judge Wang can't handle this offending job by himself, so just leave it to me with a little girl?"

"Oh, Mrs. Cui is not an ordinary little girl, but a heroine. If it were someone else, I wouldn't ask for it. I know it's useless to ask for it." Judge Wang saluted Cui Tao again and again, telling him that now The whole year's performance appraisal depends on this matter.

"But I heard that Judge Wang is Lu Xiang's disciple." Cui Tao sighed leisurely.

Judge Wang hurriedly explained: "Lu Xiang's disciples are all over the world, and I'm just a small person. Besides, Lu Xiang doesn't care about me, so I can't help. I have to count on Mrs. Cui for saving my life." Ms. Cui, feel free to ask for any conditions, as long as I can do it, I will do my best."

Cui Tao lost two fingers to Judge Wang: "First, how to make this sauce—"

"I will ask my mother when I go back tonight, and I will write it down to Mrs. Cui in detail, and I promise to have no reservations."

Cui Tao nodded, "Secondly, Judge Wang can no longer pass on any news about me to the Lu family."

Judge Wang was taken aback when he heard the words, but he didn't expect Cui Tao to know about his relationship with Lu Gongbi.He immediately felt a little embarrassed, scratching his head with a silly smile, not knowing how to explain it.

"I don't ask about the past, as long as I make promises in the future, I also believe that Judge Wang is a gentleman, and it is hard to keep what he says. If Judge Wang can do it, I will take care of it. If he can't, I'll trouble Judge Wang I beg the brothers of the Lu family who have a good relationship with you, I think they can handle this well." Cui Tao said bluntly.

Of course Judge Wang would not ask Lu Gongbi. If the prime minister's son was to be involved in this kind of government affairs, the things involved would be complicated, and Cui Tao would definitely not be able to do it properly.

Judge Wang thought about it for a while, then gritted his teeth and agreed.The Lu family are all sensible and upright people, and he believed that as long as he explained his difficulties clearly, Lu Erlang would not make things difficult for him.

"Deal." Cui Tao immediately asked the residence of the three outsiders, and told Judge Wang that she had to prepare for a day before going to settle the matter.

The next day, Cui Tao went to Wang Yuanwai's house first with two small wicker baskets hanging from her waist.

Wang Siniang and Ping'er were with Cui Tao, and they both had the same small baskets hanging from their waists.

As soon as the steward of the Wang's house heard that Cui Tao and the others were from Kaifeng Mansion to urge the tax payment, he directly told them that Wang Yuanwai was not at home.

"Then when will he come back?" Cui Tao asked.

"It's hard to say. We go out to inspect the farm, sometimes we come back in a day or two, sometimes we change our minds, and even the farm in Xijing will be inspected, so it will take at least half a month. gone."

"It's okay, let's wait." After Cui Tao said, she took Wang Siniang and Ping'er directly into the mansion.

The three of them were all members of the yamen, so the housekeeper naturally couldn't be too negligent, and led the three of them to wait in the main hall, and served them tea.

After waiting for about half an hour, Cui Tao began to yawn wearily.

Seeing this, the housekeeper quickly advised them to go back to Kaifeng mansion first, and after Wang Yuanwai came back, he sent someone to Kaifeng mansion to inform them.

Cui Tao snorted and laughed, "You have told the officials of Kaifeng Mansion eight times to fool people, can you still believe it?"

"Hey, look at my head! It must be because I am busy with things in the house, so I forgot."

The housekeeper said this skillfully and naturally, it can be seen that he has said it countless times.Probably every time the tax collectors from Kaifeng Mansion came to question him, he would use such words to prevaricate.

"Then let's wait here, so that the housekeeper won't forget the ninth time, and the housekeeper won't send someone to find us." After Cui Tao finished speaking, she asked the housekeeper if they had any snacks. They were a little hungry.

Seeing that Cui Tao was so rude, the housekeeper had no choice but to serve them some snacks.I thought that they would have to leave sooner or later because they would not see anyone. It was just a waste of a few plates of snacks, which was nothing compared to the food tax paid.

When the snacks came, Cui Tao sat around the table with Wang Siniang and Ping'er.Cui Tao immediately took off the basket at his waist, and poured out the bamboo shoots and maggots inside. They were inch long, fat and white, round and round, densely spread out on the table, wriggling.

The butler was startled when he saw it, and exclaimed why Cui Tao and others brought the maggots to their house.

"It's not a maggot. It's my baby. It's the same as other people's dogs and cats. But if they don't feed them for a day, they will die. In order to wait for Wang Yuanwai to come back, I have no choice but to take my little one. The babies are all brought here, so that they can be fed in time." Cui Tao said, taking one of the little white worms, and lovingly poking the little white worm's thin eyes and small black mouth with her fingertips, Praise it again and again for its cuteness.

The butler and the servants behind him felt itchy all over, got goosebumps, and felt sick to their mother's stomach.

"There's more, come out to get some air." Cui Tao also took off the other small basket from his waist, and poured it out, and the number of wriggling on the table doubled instantly.

"That's right, it's time for my baby to be fed." Wang Siniang quickly picked up the small basket on her waist and poured it out.

"And mine." Ping'er tried her best to keep her voice from trembling. She was really afraid of this kind of bug, but after Cui Tao explained how clean this bug is good for people, she reluctantly accepted it, and she It is the responsibility to cooperate with Cui Tao to carry out the task.

The housekeeper and a few servants couldn't take it anymore, turned around and ran out of the house to vomit.

Cui Tao took the snack crumbs and sprinkled them on the insects, as if feeding them.

After the butler vomited, he heard people around him ask him what to do.

The housekeeper gritted his teeth, "Let them go, I want to see how long they can wait, at worst, I won't want that table."

After a while, the people in the palace found that Cui Tao took Wang Siniang and Ping'er to wander around the palace holding their small baskets.They said they wanted to give their little ones a breath of air, but it happened that they had never seen a mansion like the palace before, so it would give them a lot of insight.

For example, when they arrive at the water pavilion, they grab a handful of 'little babies' and put them on the stone table or on the railing.

Seeing this, the servants asked the housekeeper if they could still have those waterside pavilions?

Before the butler could answer, he heard Cui Tao say that the sun on the roof is good, and that 'little baby' needs to go to the roof to bask in the sun.

Wang Siniang hurried over to ask the housekeeper where the ladder was.

The housekeeper couldn't take it anymore, "Please put away your things, three of you, this kind of bug is too disgusting, we can't stand it. Wherever they crawled, there is absolutely no way to get them."

"Hey, isn't it a last resort for us? If we can finish the errands in time and go home on time at night, we won't expose this hobby to outsiders. Just go home and take care of the babies at night." Cui Tao smiled with a good temper and discussed with the housekeeper, "Let's all accommodate each other, after all, you are the ones who didn't pay taxes and food on time first?"

After Cui Tao finished speaking, she looked around and asked why the ladder hadn't come yet.

"If not, why don't we just throw the little baby up there?" Wang Siniang suggested.

Cui Tao and Ping'er nodded in agreement.

"Three, take your time, I'll go find you myself!" The butler ran away and came back not long after. He came over with ten cards in his hand, "Oh, what a coincidence, we are back. You said you still owe the government taxes, so you scolded me a lot. Mrs. Cui, please collect it!"

Cui Tao took it over, checked it and put it away, and asked the housekeeper with a smile: "I don't know if the housekeeper knows the housekeepers Gan Yuanwai and Wan Yuanwai? Please send someone to send a message for us, and we will go to the two The mansion outside the staff."

The housekeeper finally understood that the three ancestors wanted him to remind them to pay taxes obediently.Come on, let's hurry up and send a message in advance to let them be prepared, anyway, he can't handle it here.

Afterwards, Cui Tao, Wang Siniang, and Ping'er collected all the taxes and rations of Gan Yuanwai and Wan Yuanwai's family in less than two sticks of incense.

After Cui Tao went to work, he returned the six small baskets of bamboo worms he had borrowed.This thing is hard-won, has high nutritional value, and is crispy and delicious when fried.These are all purchased from the south by the Eight Immortals Building at a high price, and they are specially prepared for those who like to eat bamboo worms.

After the matter was settled, Cui Tao planned to go to Judge Wang to ask for the sauce recipe.Just as she was about to go to Judge Wang's room, she suddenly saw an old eunuch holding a whisk in his hand blocking her way. Behind this eunuch were two young eunuchs. He is at the level of the chief eunuch in the palace.

"Follow our family into the palace." Luo Chongxun turned and left.

Cui Tao followed Luo Chongxun into the palace suspiciously, and then met the queen mother.

Empress Dowager Liu asked Cui Tao to look up, and after taking a look at her, she smiled kindly and praised Cui Tao's appearance, but her eyes were extremely sharp, as if she could see through Cui Tao's whole body.

"I know you arranged a scheme to hide from your father and deliberately stay in Kaifeng Mansion. You are so powerful that you can get both Bao and Han to cover for you."

Cui Tao was startled, and hurriedly knelt down to plead guilty, but did not refute.Because she knew that Empress Dowager Liu would definitely not summon her personally because of such a trivial matter, and there must be follow-up.