Since Shen Zhou returned home, Shen Rui has never met him face to face.

At that time, when he learned that Shen Zhou was back, Shen Rui rushed back to the mansion from the village - no matter how angry he was with Shen Zhou because of the exposure of Sun's regretful marriage, this was his uncle in terms of etiquette, and he would not go back to see him. It doesn’t make sense either.

It was just that when Shen Zhou entered the house, he went directly to the ancestral hall. Shen Rui stayed at home for a whole day and no one came out. However, Mrs. Xu sighed and persuaded him to go back first.

"I'm afraid your second uncle won't feel very comfortable seeing you." Mrs. Xu sighed. "After a few days, he will change his attitude. I'll send someone to call you back so that the whole family can have a reunion dinner." Consider it a blessing for him to catch the wind and get rid of bad luck..."

Shen Rui nodded in silence, knowing in his heart that Xu was actually giving him a buffer period.

After being busy at the village for more than ten days, Mrs. Xu never sent anyone to call Shen Rui back.

Shen Quan, on the other hand, had previously helped Shen Lian establish a liaison with him. Later, Du Laoba went directly to Shen Rui and took over more and more of the work. As a result, Shen Lian had less things to do. Shen Quan would go to Zhuangzi from time to time to help. Shen Rui was busy at work, and he brought all the news from home.

Shen Rui learned from Shen Quan that after Shen Zhou knelt for two days, Mr. Xu and the third master took turns scolding and persuading Mr. He. Finally, Mr. He pulled Brother Xiao Nan to show up and walked out of the ancestral hall.

Because he was feeling guilty, angry, and cold and hungry while kneeling in the ancestral hall, Shen Zhou fell ill when he came out. He had a severe fever for a time. Fortunately, his health was still good. He asked a famous doctor to treat him, and he soon got better.

Shen Quan said with an unhappy look on his face: "I think the eldest uncle was afraid that you would make him more worried in front of the second uncle and make him sick for a while longer, so she didn't ask you to go back."

Wufang had received great favor from the Sun family and was the closest to the Sun family. When Shen Quan learned that it was Shen Zhou who regretted his marriage that made Sun family marry someone like Shen Yuan, he felt very angry and didn't care much about Shen Zhou. Such a good attitude, I couldn't help but complain to Shen Rui.

Shen Rui knew his mentality, but he could not encourage him to resent Shen Zhou, so he patted his arm and sighed: "Third brother, a drink and a peck are predestined, and it is useless to bring it up now. Now the Shen family When faced with a catastrophe, it is best to work together to cope with it."

Shen Quan nodded and said dullly: "Brother Rui, don't worry, I'm not one of those people who don't know what's important."

A few days later, the New Year was approaching. From the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Yamen was sealed and the New Year officially entered. Shen Rui could not stay in Zhuangzi all the time, so he handed everything over to Li Chang and took his long entourage with him. The boy returned to the city.

It snowed for the third time this winter just the day before yesterday. Since the snow was not too heavy and the sun has been abundant in the past two days, most of the snow has melted away and the road is quite muddy.

Shen Rui opened the curtain in the car and looked at the road. He couldn't help but think, if Xiyuan could become popular in the whole city, I wonder if Brother Shou or the wealthy businessmen would invest in repairing the main roads leading to Xiyuan. .

It's a pity that in his previous life, he didn't know the road construction technology or the proportion of cement. He only vaguely remembered that in ancient times, glutinous rice juice was used to build walls, which would be very strong. He didn't know what the specialties of this road surface were.

Now Liu Zhong happens to be solely responsible for the work-for-relief matter, and often dispatches disaster victims to build roads. He can look for opportunities to go around, get to know a few professionals from the Ministry of Industry, and chat with them, maybe they will have some ideas.

While I was thinking about it, the chief attendant reported outside that my uncle Mao Chi was driving ahead and wanted to talk to Shen Rui.

Shen Rui jumped out of the car, and Mao Chi also got out of the car and came over to greet him, so he asked Shen Rui: "Second brother, where are you going? It just so happens that I am going to look for you."

Shen Rui said with a smile: "I just came back from the village outside the city. Chang Qing happened to be at home together."

Mao Chi responded and got on Shen Rui's carriage, and thanked Shen Rui for the fresh vegetables he had sent a few days ago, saying that the elderly at home and Sister Yu were very happy.

That day, after Du Laoba personally went to Shen's farm to catch Shen Rui's line, he specially sent fresh vegetables to the farm twice to show his closeness.

When Shen Rui collected his vegetables, he thought they were grown by him for the management of the restaurant. Later, when he heard Zhang Hui talk about it, he realized that such a vicious and vicious gangster with hands full of blood was actually a believer in Buddhism.

On the 15th day of the lunar month, we have to fast, and we even built a farm specifically for this purpose, and set up a greenhouse to grow vegetables.

Shen Rui was speechless after hearing this. He wondered if this guy knew that he had sinned deeply, so he found someone to put his soul in.

Fresh vegetables were hard to find in winter, and Shen Rui would not refuse. After collecting the vegetables, he sent them home and asked Xu to distribute them to relatives in Beijing. The Yang family and the Mao family naturally received the most.

The two chatted for a while in the car, but Shen Rui found that Mao Chi looked a little unnatural, as if he was about to say something, but he was hesitant to say anything.

Mao Chi didn't say anything, and Shen Ruibian didn't ask any questions.

When they arrived at the mansion, the two of them went to see Mrs. Xu first. Since Shen Zhou had just taken medicine and was resting, the two of them left alone and sat in Jiuruju's study.

Mao Chi confirmed that all the boys outside Shen Rui's study were far away, then closed the door tightly and sat down opposite Shen Rui.

Seeing that he was so cautious, Shen Rui became even more curious. He already had many guesses in his mind. He couldn't help but wonder if something happened to the He family again. He didn't expect Mao Chi to explain it, but he was not talking about the He family, but the Qiao family.

.

But it was said that Mao Chi had always been very popular in the Hanlin Academy. In recent years, when he was free from errands, he had one or two friends who often got together to have a drink and talk about poetry and painting, which was quite pleasant.

Just yesterday, a well-to-do Hanlin host gathered at the famous Moon Viewing Tower. Most of the poor Hanlin people in Beijing visited famous stores. Naturally, they all responded to the call. Mao Chi also ate a lot these days.

Please, the others pulled you and followed.

When we arrived at the Moon Viewing Building, we met the host's classmate from the academy again, so they shared two tables and merged into a large private room for fun. They even called out the singing diva, and had a great time changing glasses.

Not expecting Mao Chi to relieve himself midway and return, he heard the two of them muttering at the corner of the corridor, as if they were wondering whether they should tell Mao Chi something.

Mao Chi was slightly drunk at first, and he became a little more energetic when he heard his name, but when he listened carefully, it seemed that the two of them had quarreled and stopped talking about him.

He was drunk and couldn't help but go over to see what was going on.

One of the two was Tang Hanlin, who had a good relationship with him, but the other was unfamiliar to him and was probably one of the academy scholars.

Seeing Mao Chi coming over, the two of them were quite embarrassed. Facing Mao Chi's questions, the academy scholar couldn't say a few words and seemed to want to get away with it, but Tang Hanlin glared at each other and said that he must tell Mao Chi.

Finally, Mao Chi heard that Qiao Yongde was responsible for Shen Luo's death. The scholar was at the scene and witnessed with his own eyes the process of Qiao Yongde's efforts to change Shen Luo's horse.

At that time, Mao Chi was so drunk that he didn't have time to think about it. After listening to it, he just felt the resonance in his head, and he didn't care about the unfinished banquet. He went back to accuse him and left home.

Although Sister Yu is now adopted into the eldest house and is recorded in the name of the Xu family, this was made clear during the marriage negotiation. The Mao family also knows that Sister Yu is the concubine of the second master Shen Zhou.

My brother-in-law was killed by his mother’s nephew. He was the only male heir of the three heads of the Shen family at that time!

Although Mao Chi didn't know about the previous grievances between the Qiao family and the Shen family, and Sister Yu didn't mention the Qiao family to him, the Qiao family stabbed Shen Zhou in the back this time, and everyone in the court knew about it. Mao Chi How could the son-in-law of the Shen family not know this?

He didn't want his wife to be embarrassed, so he didn't ask Sister Yu anything, but he also understood that the Shen Qiao family was no longer close to each other.

Mao Chi returned home, changed into clothes that were stained with alcohol, and was about to go to Shen Rui's house to find Shen Rui.

Sister Yu hurriedly stopped her: "How could you forget that my second brother is now living in a village outside the city! And it's almost time for curfew. Let's go to the office early tomorrow."

Only then did Mao Chi remember it, smiled bitterly, took the hangover soup handed to him by his wife and drank it in one gulp.

When he woke up in the morning, Mao Chi thought about what happened at the banquet last night and realized that something was fishy. He was originally a smart man, but he was loyal and not good at calculations.

So he arrived at the Hanlin Academy early in the morning, asked for leave from his superior, and was about to leave the city to go to Zhuangzi to look for Shen Rui, and then he met Shen Rui by chance on the road.

"It seems like you were specially tricked into listening to me. I'm afraid you are also involved. I will definitely tell you if I know." Mao Chi frowned, with an unhappy look on his face. There is no need to have any friendship with Tang Hanlin in the future.

Shen Rui thought for a moment and said, "You don't have to pay too much attention. This matter may not be for us."

Now that Shen Zhou has lost his official position, there is only one sesame official Shen Run left in the Shen family's officialdom, while the eldest master of the Qiao family will never be hired, the second master is a businessman, and only the third master Qiao wants to resurrect, but there is no movement yet.

If something like this is exposed at this time, I'm afraid it's directed at the Qiao family. Is someone trying to prevent Mr. Qiao from resurrecting?

Three years ago, Mr. Qiao San had a good future. Shen Rui heard Shen Cang mention that if he could let go of his duties and come back to the Sixth Department of Beijing to practice for a few years, he could expect to be promoted to the position of Minister.

In the past three years of Ding You's life, the situation in the court has been changing. The late emperor's reign has been great, the new emperor has ascended the throne, and the three ministers have been fighting openly and secretly with the inner court. If Mr. Qiao San wants to find a good job, he must have the help of a capable person. I think this is the reason why Mr. Qiao San turned to the He family and betrayed the Shen family.

But I wonder if He Dongsheng has the kindness to find a position for Qiao San? Shen Rui sneered in his heart, is the person named He a Bodhisattva? I'm afraid he is a Rakshasa.

After it came out that the impeachment papers against Shen Zhou were vouched for by the Qiao family, Mr. Qiao went to the Shen Mansion in person. But the Shen family closed their doors tightly, just like they did to He Dongsheng.

Even Mrs. Xu, who is extremely well-educated, couldn't help but said to Shen Rui: "Qiao San and He Da are becoming more and more similar. They are acting coy and trying to have both sides. They act like everyone else is stupid."

Later, a few days after Shen Zhou returned home, the Qiao family also received news. Qiao Da and Qiao San came to "visit the patient", but they were also turned away.

Qiao Da, on the other hand, turned around and went back with the gift of "visiting a patient". I'm afraid he still felt saved, so he never showed up again.

On the other hand, Qiao San left the gift at the concierge. According to the Shen family's rules, they could not throw things directly on the street, so they had to send someone back to Qiao San's residence, leave them outside the door and leave.

Being so humiliated, Qiao San actually came to "visit the patient" the next day. Not only did she visit her brother-in-law, she also asked to visit her sister.

Of course, I was rejected again.

Shen Rui doesn't quite understand Master Qiao San's mentality, because now the Shen family has nothing for him to plot, so why do they keep coming here and pretending to be close to each other?

As soon as the impeachment memorial came out, who in the world didn't know what the Shen Qiao family was like, and no one believed him for doing this.

Just deceive yourself and others.

Although Mao Chi had always believed in Shen Rui's plan, he still couldn't help but said: "But Brother Ruoluo is really what that person said, he was killed by the Qiao family..."

Shen Rui's eyes were as cold as a pool of water and his tone was serious: "The Qiao family owes the Shen family more than this. When the Tongwa case is understood, I will let the Qiao family pay them back one by one."

Mao Chi had never seen such a vicious Shen Rui. He was startled and called out to his second brother, adding: "Revenge must be avenged. Second brother does not need to be angry for such villains."

Shen Rui waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, Chang Qing, these people are not worthy of being angry..."

While they were talking, the boy outside reported that the third master was here.

Shen Ruimao hurriedly stood up and went out to greet him.

Yesterday, the third master's in-laws' Tian family sent someone to ask Mr. Tian to go back to his parents' home. Today was the day when the third master died, and the New Year was approaching. The third master, along with his wife and children, went to his in-law's house to deliver New Year's gifts in person.

Shen Rui thought they would stay for a day and come back in the evening, but he didn't expect them to come back so quickly.

Seeing that the third master looked gloomy, Shen Rui said that he had caused displeasure at the Tian family, so he came back early.

It's just that the third master came to Jiuruju this time. I don't know if he wants to talk to him about the Tian family's problems. He is a nephew, so it doesn't hurt to listen. It's embarrassing to have Mao Chi, my niece-in-law.

Mao Chi could also tell that the third uncle was unhappy. When he met with Mrs. Xu, he knew that the third uncle had returned to his in-laws. Now he was afraid of embarrassment, and it was not good for the third uncle to leave immediately as soon as he came back, so he had to stand with his hands down. aside.

The third master sat down and drank two sips of tea, looked at Mao Chi, and said in surprise: "What are you doing there, Chang Qing? You are not an outsider, and you are still so reserved. Come sit down and talk. I heard some news today, and I am here to talk to you." You say."

Shen Rui and Mao breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that it was not the Tian family.

It is indeed not the Tian family, but the Qiao family.

He also told the third master through other people's words that it was Qiao Yongde who had caused Shen Luo to die prematurely.

This person's identity is more credible than that of Tang Hanlin, a scholar from the academy. He is Mrs. Qiao San's nephew Su Guisheng.

Because of his talent, this man had begged the Qiao family to transfer to the Shen family a few years ago before he could enter the Tianjia Nancheng Academy. He passed the exam in the same year as Shen Luo and was among those who visited that day.

It's just that although Su Guisheng passed the examination as a teenager, he had bad luck in the examinations and failed in two subjects in succession. Because he was still young, he refused to donate his official status as a scholar. He also wanted to seriously take the imperial examination and become a Jinshi, so he stayed in the academy.
To be continued...