[Comprehensive] leaning on flowers and bamboo

When they came to Zhang's house, Gongsun Ce and Hua Manlou went up and knocked on the door. The gatekeeper opened the door from the inside, and was a little surprised to see the two of them.

In the past few days, the murder case in the city has been raging, and it finally stopped. Everyone is busy with the festival, and it stopped. Why did these two ancestors come to the door directly? It is not a good thing.

"Come here, what's the matter?"

"Is your old man at home?"

"...My master—" Before the concierge finished speaking, a person appeared inside the door and whispered something in his ear. The concierge's expression changed, he opened the door a little, and said with a bow: "You two young masters just now Offend, please, my master invites the two of you into the mansion."

Gongsun Ce didn't expect that Mr. Zhang was so powerful that he could expect them to come.

"Thank you for leading the way."

"You're welcome, both of you, please follow me."

The servant who came from behind led the two of them inside, bypassing the corridor and the garden, and walked for a while before reaching the flower hall.Gongsun Ce looked at the flower hall, knowing that this is probably the place where Mr. Zhang usually meets those who want to ask for something.

The old man was wearing a jacket, holding a cane in his hand, and sat upright on a chair. Even though his eyes were a little cloudy, his eyes were shrewd and sharp, sober.Even at an advanced age, sixty years old, but still in charge of the power in the family, it can be seen that it is definitely not an easy target to deal with.

There is no room for neglect.

Gongsun Ce and Hua Man went upstairs, saluting, "Young Gongsun Ce, please forgive me for coming to visit Mr. Zhang without invitation."

"Hua came to bother me, old man, don't blame me."

The two of them knew the etiquette, Mr. Zhang raised his hand and stroked his beard, and signaled: "Don't bother me, so you don't need to apologize afterwards. I know the reason why you came here. Because of the successive murders in the city, our Zhang family didn't intervene. I also don't want to meddle in things that will only increase the right and wrong, and cause trouble, but since you're here, I'll tell you what you want to know."

Hearing this, Gongsun Ce was surprised and said, "Mister, this is—"

"You are a bright person. I wouldn't even see you if you were any other person." Old Mr. Zhang looked at Gongsun Ce with appreciation in his eyes.

"Thank you sir."

What they want to know is nothing more than the affairs of Yangzhou County Magistrate and Lou County Magistrate after they took office, big and small, and what they did during their tenure.Collusion between government and businessmen, corruption, even if the people know about it, they dare not talk about it indiscriminately, and the inside story and details will not be known to the people.

The Zhang family is a famous family, some are officials in the court, and some are businessmen. Louzhi County has to take into account the status of the Zhang family if he wants to do something, so he is a bit jealous.

"Old man, did you just say that Lou Zhi County's temperament changed drastically two years ago?"

"In the past, although there were some inappropriate things he did, they were all harmless things. But after the Qingming Festival two years ago, he colluded with profiteers in the city to control the sale of rice and grain in Yangzhou City. The price has risen again and again. This year is even more excessive , I even collaborated with salt merchants to raise the price of official salt by two times. The people were miserable, and my joint letters were stopped. I sent several letters from my family to the people in the capital, but they all disappeared. When I sent someone to go, even the people disappeared , this Lou Xiaoer is very arrogant, he came to the door to give gifts in person a month ago, but I turned him away, but invited him at the risk of his family's life, I had no choice but to choose to keep my family, shut the door to see no guests, and don't ask about foreign affairs."

These words shocked Gongsun Ce and Hua Manlou, they didn't know that the bustling Yangzhou City was so dark.

The officialdom is dark, and Gongsun Ce has known it since he was a child. He went to Beijing to rush for the exam and dealt with many important officials in the court, and he understood the pros and cons. But he never expected that Yangzhou City is already like this, but no one in Beijing knows. No one was sent to investigate. It seems that the people behind Louzhi County are powerful.

"Does the old man know why Lou Zhi County's temperament changed drastically? Was there any sign before this?"

"Before Qingming, he went back to his hometown to worship his ancestors."

Hua Manlou on the side listened, understood a little bit, and calmly reminded Gongsun Ce, Gongsun Ce also reacted quickly, and asked some more things.Zhang Lao thought that he really appreciated Gongsun Ce, and even told Gongsun Ce everything he knew.

"I don't care about Yangzhou's affairs at my age. The Zhang family still has some positions that are all supported by clan members. Gongsun Ce, you are a sensible person. Expose that person's true colors and restore Yangzhou's innocence. I, Zhang Heng. Dong, thank you here, if you need it, you can find the shopkeeper there in the Zuixian Tower in the city, and I will ask my family to make it easier for you."

Zhang Hengdong stood up, sticking to his crutches, and Gongsun Ce quickly stepped forward to help him: "Old man, you are being polite. It is Gongsun Ce's job to track down the murderer."

"What a handsome baby, a big deal."

"Sir, it's ridiculous." Being praised all the time, even with Gongsun Ce's temper, he felt a little guilty.

Walking out of the flower hall, a little girl came by the door, she was only twenty-eight years old, she looked pretty, she looked fresh, she looked at her clothes, she was not a maid at home, she must be a lady from the house.

Gongsun Ce withdrew the hand supporting Zhang Hengdong, intending to salute and leave.

"This is my granddaughter, Yan'er. I haven't seen the two young masters yet."

Zhang Yan looked at the two men in front of him, they were both handsome, each with their own temperament, a pair of eyes lingered on Gongsun Ce, with shyness on his face, "Zhang Yan has met the two young masters, I shouldn't bother you about grandpa's request." The two young masters, but there is no way out right now, so I can only do this, hope the two young masters Haihan."

"Miss Zhang is serious."

"I asked the housekeeper to send you out of the house. If there is any difficulty, as long as the Zhang family can do it, they will do their best."

"Thank you."

The two left with the butler, Zhang Hengdong looked at Zhang Yan beside him, and motioned to help him back to his room: "The two of you just now are dragons and phoenixes, do you like it?"

"grandfather!"

"You have nothing to be ashamed of in front of me."

Zhang Yan turned her head, just in time to see the bamboo leaves embroidered on Gongsun Ce's clothes sweeping across the corner column, lowered her eyes, turned around and said, "Let's not talk about this for now, and Grandpa, you should take medicine and rest."

It had been snowing for more than an hour, and there was already a thin layer of snow on the roof at this moment. Gongsun Ce and Hua Manlou were walking side by side in the road. Gongsun Ce was still thinking about what happened just now, and walked alone, not noticing The expression of Hua Manlou.

"Zhang Hengdong has taken a fancy to you."

"what?"

"Don't you think the timing of the little girl's appearance is too coincidental?" Hua Manlou said relaxedly, "Gongsun Gongzi is really young and handsome, and he can be attracted by others even when he is in other places."

Gongsun Ce was startled when he heard the words, and it took him a while to react. He caught up with Hua Manlou who was walking a few steps forward, and said unconvinced: "The Hua family has a great business, and I can't compare with the son of Fu Yin alone. But, Mr. Hua, Are you annoyed? Or..."

The smile at the corner of Hua Manlou's mouth froze, and a trace of embarrassment rarely appeared on his face.

When Gongsun Ce saw this, he was secretly amused, complacent, and put his hand on Huamanlou's shoulder with a smile on his face: "Huamanlou, it's not easy to take advantage of you once."

Hearing this, Hua Manlou shook his head helplessly, and his smile deepened, full of pampering.