Idle courtiers

Chapter 51

Regarding the debt relationship between himself and the Mei family, Zhou Nan also thought about it carefully after coming down.

What the torture master said was reasonable. With Zhou Nan's current political status in Andong County, even if Mei Kangmei came to sue with the IOU from the dead Zhou Xiucai, the Shi Zhi County would not accept it.

He was single-handedly picked up by Shi Jieren, and he is the most useful confidant, so it is inevitable to protect him.Moreover, it makes sense in theory.A gentleman has the friendship of general talents, and it is normal for scholars to help each other with money.It is your duty to help your classmates financially in the same year. After all, if your classmates get fame in the future, they will give back to you.

It was polite for people to give you the IOU at the beginning, but now you are taking the IOU to press for the debt, which is too much.If scholars all over the world do this, where is the world and where is the morality?

However, this is only on the moral level. If the Mei family really wants to wipe their faces and not take the legal route, the government has to enforce the law impartially.

Anyway, the torture room was dragging on for a day, and Shi Zhixian also pretended not to see the matter.

I'm afraid that the Mei family will see that they can't do anything about Zhou Nan, and they will plot ghosts to vent their anger in private, and even directly file the complaint to Huai'an Mansion. At that time, Shizhi County will cover Zhou Nan.

It's strange to say that since Mei Kang came to the county government to deliver the pleading paper and was returned by the execution room, six or seven days have passed, and there is no movement there.

Could it be that member Mei swallowed this breath alive?Impossible, Zhou Nan shook his head, how deep is the hatred of killing his son.What's more, there is also hatred for humiliating the daughter-in-law, which makes the Mei family unable to hold its head high in the circle of big landlords in Andong County.If the Mei family wanted to hold their heads up high in front of the world, they had to get rid of him, Zhou Nan.

Conflicts are irreconcilable, depending on when they erupt.

Don't be afraid of thieves stealing, but be afraid of thieves thinking about it.If the Mei family is mobilized, Zhou Nan can see the move.But people just hold back, which makes him uncomfortable.

"Master, I heard people say that the Mei family has been running to the east salt field very frequently recently. Could it be a future attempt?" Lin A'er came to report.

Zhou Nan snorted: "What is Mei Kang's status and wealth? Could it be possible that he can still get on the Yandao Yamen? Isn't Mei Kang's boat responsible for transporting salt? What's so strange about him going to the east?"

Lin A'er scratched his head: "That's right, didn't the master tell the little one to keep an eye on the Mei family and report every move?"

Zhou Nan: "You really don't have enough brains, so let's talk about such big things."

……

Lin Ada: "Fourth Master, something is wrong, the Mei family sent someone to Fucheng."

Zhou Nan shook his head: "But you are going to sue?"

Lin Ada shook his head: "That's not true. If it is to sue, not only the young mistress of the Mei family, but also Mei Kang will go there in person. This time, the Mei family only sent a few servants into the city to purchase books and the four treasures of the study."

Zhou Nan breathed a sigh of relief, and scolded: "Isn't Mei Pu, the third young master of the Mei family, studying? Why is it so strange for his family to buy books and the four treasures of the study? Ada, I think you and your younger brother have the same problem. If you don't know how to analyze, summarize and summarize the information at hand, you will report all kinds of news, which is all useless information.

"Yes, yes, what the fourth master blamed is that the villain knows."

In the next few days, the yamen began to get busy.It turned out that the rice in the field had already turned yellow, and it was the summer harvest season, and the season of slack and yellow crops had finally passed.

The court's decree finally came down, to praise Shizhi County for its great contribution in changing the land to mulberry, and to exempt Anton from the current and next two years of taxes. .

The people were relieved to be exempted from paying taxes on imperial grain for two years by the imperial court. This year they can be considered to have enough to eat. All this is thanks to Shi's parents.In the mouths of the common people, Shi Jieren is simply a man of perfect morals, the master of Qingtian.

This made Zhou Nan a little jealous. The instigator of this incident was me, Zhou Nan. From the beginning to the end, Shizhi County was just a decoration!How did it get its name but become a county official?
It is very complicated to seal up the arrears from previous years. After all, you have to sum up a figure before you can report it to the court.There was not enough manpower in the household room, so I reported to Shi Jieren.Shi Zhixian waved his hand and said, "Let Zhou Nan preside over it."

Ever since Zhou Nan entered the county government, Shizhi County has become accustomed to being a hands-off shopkeeper.Poor Zhou Nan, a liberal arts monk, now spends all day with the book office of the household room, picking up the four arithmetic operations that have been returned to the teacher for many years, dazzled by numbers, and soft in planning.

At the same time, Zhejiang's new policy of reforming the land into sang is also being promoted in full swing. As for what kind of troubles occurred later and what kind of turmoil it aroused in the court, that is not Zhou Nan's concern.

Shi Jieren, a small county magistrate, was like a mustard seed in the political arena of the Ming Empire, and now he has made a small name for himself.

The county magistrate was so happy that he rewarded Zhou Nan with two taels of silver.It's a pity that Zhou Nan distributed the money to the book office of the household as soon as he got it.There is no way, as a master, if you want your subordinates to do things for you, you have to give some benefits.You have been rewarded, shouldn't we errand runners also get some rewards?

In this way, Zhou Nan posted some more money instead.He wailed in his heart: I am now a regular-level cadre anyway, and others who are the boss will collect money from the family, but I am good and take the money from the family.This leader is not easy to do, Shi Jieren, straight mother thief, stop rewarding me!
However, it's not all bad news.First of all, this month's salary has come down.Andong County is now a political star, and the higher-ups feel that it is not appropriate to withhold the salaries of the officials, so the three stones of rice were paid out in full.Not only that, but the part that was deducted in the previous two months has also been made up.

Seeing a cart full of about [-] catties of rice, Zhou Nan was a little worried: There is so much food to eat, so let’s sell it and exchange it for silver. This year, Huai’an Prefecture has a bumper harvest, and Andong County was exempted from taxes.The price of rice is low, only [-]% of what it used to be, so it would be a pity to sell it.

Well, I have to pile them up at home first.

Zhou Nan was so busy that he forgot about the Mei family's affairs.

***************
To the west of the city, the Mei Family Courtyard.

"Ah, ah, father, mother, stop beating, stop beating, I am obedient, I want to be obedient!" A painful voice came from the monastery.

I saw that the third young master, Mei Pu, was pushed on the bench by two family members.Mei Kang was holding the twig and pumping his ass with all his strength, beating and cursing at the same time: "Little bastard, I will provide you with good food and drink every day, that's how you repay your father. Don't let you study hard , let you not study hard!"

Poor Mei Pu is only a 12-year-old child. Although the ancients matured early, the third young master Mei often represents his father in contact with people outside, so he can be regarded as a mature young man.

But Yuanwai Mei's hands are so strong, with a few thorns down, a few bloodstains appeared on the poor third young master's pink buttocks, and then blood flowed out.

It was so painful, how could Meipu bear it, and wailed loudly.

At this moment, with a bitter cry, a woman rushed in and grabbed the note in Mei Kang's hand, "Sir, stop beating, that's your biological son, the only seedling of our Mei family, the weather is so hot , If you hit him again, you will break him."

This is a woman about 40 years old, born skinny, with a dark face.No need to ask, it was Yuanwai Mei's old wife.

"You came at the right time, look at your good birth, do you know what this kid did today?" Member Mei roared angrily: "I heard from Mr. Private School that the third son... hey, what kind of articles did the third son do? It's pure nonsense. It's going to be a boy's test soon, and my husband said again. With the stereotyped articles of this little bastard, even if the county respects him to save face, he barely passed the county test. Don't think about it. Give me the note, as the saying goes, good people come from yellow wattle sticks, if you don't teach the little beast a lesson, you don't know how to grow. Give it to me!"

"No." Mei's mother cried: "I'm just such a son. I was born to support you and me in the old age, not just for you to play with?"

"No, I will beat you too."

"You can kill me, anyway, I am such a son now. If something goes wrong, I can't survive. I, I, I, I will die before you today."

As she spoke, Mei Mu slammed headfirst into the pillar.

Shocked, the servant girl beside her hurriedly hugged her, and also cried loudly: "Old madam, old madam, don't want it!"

All of a sudden, there was a loud cry in the abode.

Yuanwai Mei is now a wealthy man, but in his early years he lived in a shabby household, and the couple made a living by fishing in the water, and this is how they are now.Therefore, he respected and feared his old wife, and never thought of taking a concubine.

Seeing his wife crying like this, and mentioning his dead boss again, Mei Kang felt sore, and shouted: "Forget it, take this little beast down and have a look at the doctor, straight mother thief, it will make people angry."

After speaking, he sat down on the chair sullenly, his chest was so angry that it seemed to explode.

The thing is like this, Mr. Mei's private school is from Suzhou, quite talented and learned, and has a reputation as a scholar.In order to train Mei Pu, he spent a lot of money to invite her husband here in ten days.

Scholars in the south of the Yangtze River have weird tempers. The gentleman said that when an apprentice chooses a teacher, the teacher must also lose his apprentice.Reading depends on talent, and it is also very important to worry about the source of students.I will try to teach for a few days first to see if your young master is suitable for studying, and whether it is worth cultivating before deciding!

As a result, after teaching for two days, my husband quit.Said that Meipu is invincible, and he has not been able to win the exams, but the students he teaches can basically get a scholar's reputation. Such a student's fame is not to be expected, and it will ruin the old man's reputation.So, Shu Xiu didn't want it anymore, just flung his sleeves and left.

Seeing that her son was finally rescued by herself, and seeing her husband thumping his chest in anger, Mei's mother hurriedly wiped away her tears, brought him a cup of hot tea, and comforted him for a long time.

Seeing that Mei Kang's temper was getting better, Mei Pu's mother said: "My lord, I don't think Mr. is capable enough to teach our third child by himself, so I will say that Pu'er has no ability to read. Our third child used to be able to read well. All right, the scholars in the county say that he is talented, and we will become rotten wood in the mouth of those poor people? He wants to run away after coming to our house for less than ten days. How can there be such a cheap thing in the world? Master , immediately take someone to chase after him, no matter what, beat him up first, and let him get out of this." She is a cruel person, and suddenly, a fierce light flashed in her eyes.

"What do you know?" Mei Kang glared at his wife and scolded, "My son's family is good. Anyway, you think the third child is good. I'm so confused. Our family has nothing but money. These years, At the gathering of scholars in the county, the third child pays for food and drink, and because he has a short population, it is natural to say that he is good, but he only deceived you, a woman who does not know the time. I am afraid that what the gentleman said is true, and the third child is indeed Not for reading."

"What is not the material for reading, I think Pu'er can read." Mei's wife was still not convinced.

"Just lie to yourself."

Mei's wife said: "The third child is only 12 years old today, and he is still young. Take your time to study. Some people wake up early, but our third child has to go to school later. There is no need to worry."

"Don't worry, you still don't admit that you have long hair but short knowledge. I've asked other people. It's a good time to study and get fame early. The Ming Dynasty loved prodigies the most. Every time the imperial examinations, the examiners always take two young children with long hair. , to help him win fame. Only in this way can Zhang show the cultural and educational achievements of local officials. If it is delayed for a few more years, after the age of 16, there will be no advantage. Therefore, the best among twelve or thirteen-year-old scholars.” Mei Kang whispered: "A few days ago, I asked someone to inquire about it. This year, due to the annual examination outside the court, the boy's examination in our province cannot be held as scheduled, and it will be postponed to the sixth day of next month. The third child must fight for it. If it passes After passing the boy's test, the fourteenth year of the next year will not be good for God to bless him to get a juren. Otherwise, it will take two years, and once he turns sixteen, I am afraid that he will not be able to sing. Therefore, this year's boy's test, I swear In Bide. Hey, our family hasn’t produced a famous scholar in these years, so don’t you suffer a lot from walking on the stage?”

The Ming Dynasty used imperial examinations to select scholars, but there was a special feature in the imperial examinations, which liked to recruit child prodigies.In addition to the fact that the examiner wants Zhang to show his achievements in culture and education, it is estimated that there is also the unique interest of literati who want to make a good story.

In fact, once a child prodigy is discovered, it will become a good talk between the government and the opposition.Far away is Yang Shen Yang Sheng'an, a 12-year-old Zhongxiucai in the early years of Jiajing, and a 21-year-old Jinshi; nearby is Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Baigui, a 12-year-old Zhongju in Jiajing and a 25-year-old Jinshi.

It can be seen that one must be famous early in the imperial examination field, and age is an advantage.

"So that's how it is." The old wife suddenly realized, and snorted again: "It's the same sentence, there are many teachers in the world, without him, the butcher still eats hairy pigs, and we don't need to invite teachers from Yangzhou, Nanjing, or Suzhou. I think there are some great talents in this county, so just invite one nearby."

After finishing speaking, she turned to ask a servant: "Tell me, who is the most talented and famous person in our county? Go and invite him. He can do as many courses as he wants. As long as he can help our youngest with his homework, he will be selected." Scholar."

The servant was a little embarrassed: "This, this... The villain dare not say it."

Mei Pu's mother was furious: "You slutty slave speaks in a hurry, say something quickly, and fart quickly."

Jia Ding: "Madam, you have to forgive the innocence of the villain first. If you talk about the most talented people in our county in the past 20 years, I am afraid that Zhou Nan and Zhou Zimu are the only ones. I heard rumors that if it wasn't for the thief who harmed the young master, he would have been awarded a Jinshi with his beautiful essays. Now that I'm back, even though I don't have any fame and dare to become a subordinate, the poems are even worse than before. It is much better. Especially the song "What Immortal", I heard that it can stand shoulder to shoulder with Yang Sheng'an, and it should be regarded as the number one in the country."

"Shut up!" Before she finished speaking, Meipu's mother threw a teacup angrily, hitting the servant's head right in the middle: "Don't mention that beast's name in front of me!"

As soon as Zhou Nan was mentioned, Mei's mother's eyes were full of anger, and her body trembled violently because of the anger: "Master, master... I, I, I..."

Seeing that she was old-fashioned, Yuanwai quickly reached out and patted her on the back.

After a long time, Meimu finally recovered, and gritted his teeth: "Meikang, you old bastard, it's useless for you to say that you are so majestic in front of me, how can you do nothing to that bastard surnamed Zhou. Go kill him and ask someone to kill him! No, no, no, he owes our family 300 taels of silver, but he wants to, or he will be caught and used as a cow and horse for our family if he comes back. What are you doing all day long? Don't you want to take revenge, old man?"

Thinking of her eldest son who had died for many years, Mei's mother cried loudly.

Member Mei sighed and said, "Old lady, why don't I want to avenge this great revenge? Isn't the yamen not accepting it? Even if we go to the government yamen and let that little bastard sell us as slaves, the hatred is relieved, but Shi Xianzun Completely offended. The surnamed Zhou is very popular in Shizhi County. We cut off one of his arms. This time, the boy will not pass the county test, not to mention the two gates of the government and the court. So, the old man just endured it for a while .As long as the third child is selected as a scholar, he will immediately tell that little bastard Zhou to live or die."

Mei Pu's mother laughed angrily: "You are an idiot, you are an idiot, even if you don't seek the bad luck of that beast, can he let us go? If he is in the yamen for a day, the third child will not even think about it." Pass the county test."

"Ah! The old man really didn't expect this." Member Mei was stunned.

He stroked his beard and thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said: "It seems that before the third county test, I have to find a way to drive the beast surnamed Zhou out of the yamen. Even if it doesn't work, I have to make him lose favor with the county lord."

At this time, Miss Mei Er came in, her eyes were red: "Father, please stop beating my younger brother. In fact, my younger brother's homework is still good, although it is not enough to take the imperial examination now. However, as long as you read more After a few years of study, it may not be impossible to read. The county test is coming soon, and my brother is really broken, how can I go to the test?"

Member Mei sighed: "Hey, being a father is also annoyed for a while. Chier, I was worried about your younger brother's hiring a teacher. Do you know any good teachers in the prefecture and county who can guarantee the talents of the third middle school? We can go there too." Please."

The third Miss Mei, Mei Chi, shook her head: "Studying depends on your daily accumulation, and it's useless to sharpen your guns in front of the battle. Who can guarantee that the students you teach will be successful? By the way, did parents invite the doctor back? Can you go and show your sister-in-law."

As soon as her daughter mentioned Sister Su, Mei's mother became old-fashioned: "What's wrong with her, is she sick?"

Miss Mei Er: "Probably because I ate something bad and vomited badly."

"Staying at home all day eating and drinking, and getting sick? A stinky whore, who is acting like a young mistress... What, vomiting all day long... Shame, our Mei family has let us down!"

Mother Mei let out a mournful cry: "I'm going to kill that bitch, I'm going to kill her!"

"You bastard, you little bastard, you and I are irreconcilable!" Member Mei slapped his face on the table.

The teacup jumped high and fell to pieces on the ground.

……

Fortunately, the doctor gave Sister Su the pulse and said that the weather is hot recently, and she has dysentery, and it will be fine to take medicine and rest for two days.

This made Yuanwai Mei and his wife breathe a sigh of relief, otherwise, they would really be ashamed to see the world in the future.

　It is another large chapter of more than 5000 words, and I am too lazy to divide it into two chapters.Ask for collection, please recommend votes for support, thank you!

　　


(End of this chapter)