good season

Chapter 123 Li Lao Hu's Conditions (Two Chapters in One)

"I didn't sneak out. My elder brother knows it, and my elder sister knows it too. What about my face? You can change your appearance. It's fun, right? Give me ten taels of silver, and I'll change your appearance for you."

Zhao Tingxuan looked at the unfamiliar face in front of him and listened to the familiar voice. He couldn't help but laugh. The smile reached his eyes. He was suddenly stunned. It seemed that this was the first time he laughed so happily since he came to the capital.

"Second brother, what's wrong with you? It's just ten taels of silver, and you can't bear to part with it?" Zhao Shiqing stretched out his finger and shook it in front of him.

Zhao Tingxuan thought of the one thousand taels of silver that his younger sister asked the escort company to send him. His younger sister was the poorest among her siblings. Apart from the not-so-rich Baihe Mountain, she only had a few dozen taels of monthly salary. By the way, his younger sister was driven out of the house by his mother. Could it be that the monthly salary was gone?

"Do you still have monthly silver?" Zhao Tingxuan asked.

"Yes, my sister saved it for me. When I went home for the New Year, my sister gave it to me." Zhao Shiqing said.

Zhao Tingxuan breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly became happy again. Her younger sister was talking about "going home". She still regarded the Prince Liang's Mansion as her home.

"Little sister, you and mother are a family after all. There are no parents who are not right in the world. Mother..."

Zhao Shiqing didn't want to listen to his nonsense, so she changed the subject: "Second brother, your tutor is not very good."

The simple sentence "not very good" touched Zhao Tingxuan's sore spot.

He was a gentle man, but those two study companions made even he, who was usually gentle, almost unable to hold back.

"But they are the ones that my mother carefully selected for me. Besides, my second uncle is no longer around. If I send them back to the Nie family..."

Zhao Tingxuan looked embarrassed. Although the two companions had restrained themselves in the Imperial College, they were still bossy when they returned to the palace. Uncle Nie was still in mourning, so they behaved wildly with the maids. One of them even became pregnant. Zhao Tingxuan had no choice but to pay money to send the maid out of the city.

But how could he have the nerve to tell his younger sister about these things? She was still a child and an unmarried girl. Such things would pollute her ears.

Fortunately, Zhao Shiqing did not continue the topic, but just said lightly: "As long as you also want to replace them."

Zhao Tingxuan said hurriedly: "Of course I want to change, but..."

Zhao Shiqing changed the subject again: "By the way, second brother, how much do you know about Zhu Yu?"

Zhao Tingxuan couldn't keep up and didn't understand why his little sister changed the subject so quickly.

He said hesitantly, "Zhu Yu, he is not a good person. You are in the capital, so if you see him, you must avoid him."

Seeing his expression, Zhao Shiqing guessed that it was useless to ask. Once bitten by a snake, his second brother would probably avoid Zhu Yu whenever he heard his name.

The brother and sister chatted for a while, and Zhao Tingxuan asked with concern: "Where do you live now? Why don't you just disguise yourself and live back in the palace? No one knows who you are except me."

Even if the people from the Prince of Liang's Palace were not in mourning period, they could not enter the capital without an imperial edict.

Zhao Shiqing shook his head: "Second brother, I found my biological parents, but they have been dead for many years. Fortunately, I also found my grandfather, and this time it was my grandfather who came with me."

Zhao Tingxuan didn't expect that so many things had happened in just half a year since he left Liangdi. His younger sister had found her biological parents.

But it’s like not finding her, after all, her biological parents are no longer around. The little sister is so pitiful.

"Where do you live? I'll visit the old man some other day."

Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "No, my grandpa likes quiet time. You should take care of your own business first. Have you finished your homework today?"

The brother and sister chatted and laughed for a while, and finally Zhao Shiqing promised not to run around and to find a chance to meet again, and then the two separated.

Zhao Shiqing took Ling Bo with him, and the master and servant went home relaxed.

When Zhao Tingxuan came out, he found that Nie Dalang had disappeared.

The clerk at Huibaozhai told him that he saw Nie Dalang leave on his own.

Zhao Tingxuan became more and more dissatisfied with Nie Dalang. If you want to leave, just leave. You should at least say hello.

When he returned to Prince Liang's Mansion, Nie Dalang was still not there. Zhao Tingxuan didn't care. God knew where this guy had gone to fool around again.

He remembered what Zhao Shiqing had said, and called the few people he could serve in the palace, asking them to go out and inquire about Zhu Yu's situation.

When Zhao Shiqing returned home, he heard that the person his grandfather had sent out had returned.

The people sent to Wanquan County found Li Lao Hu. Coincidentally, the family that Li Lao Hu married into was in the midst of a lawsuit, which caused a lot of uproar. Therefore, it didn't take much effort to find the real culprit.

"Lawsuit, what lawsuit?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

The visitor said: "Li Lao Hu's real name is Li Qiu. It is said that this name was changed later. It was given by his father-in-law, but his family still calls him Lao Hu.

He is a son-in-law, his wife's surname is Yang, but he is a night sex worker.

Don't underestimate the night incense dealers. The Yang family has been in this business for three generations. Not only in Wanquan County, but also in the other two neighboring counties, the night incense business is monopolized by the Yang family.

Li Laohu's father-in-law had only one daughter, and he wanted a son-in-law to inherit the family line. However, Li Laohu had been married for many years and had only three daughters.

Now that his wife is dead, according to the rule of leaving the house after a wife's death, Li Lao Hu must leave the Yang family, marry and have children, and have no connection with the Yang family anymore.

But Li Lao Hu refused. He sued his wife's cousin, saying that his wife died during childbirth due to being pushed by his cousin's wife. Although the Yang family was of low status, they were wealthy and prosperous with many people. As soon as Li Lao Hu left the court, he was beaten black and blue by the Yang family.

I happened to meet Li Lao Hu and rescued him. Now he has arrived in the capital, but I didn't dare to bring him back directly, so I settled him in an inn outside the city.

By the way, it was Li Lao Hu himself who requested not to go into the city. He said that he would never return to the capital in his lifetime, and even if he went to the capital, he would not go into the city. "

Zhao Shiqing and Zhen Wuduo exchanged glances. The grandparents and grandchildren did not waste a moment and rushed out of the city before the city gates closed and stayed at the inn outside the city.

After dinner, Zhao Shiqing met Li Lao Hu.

Because of the name "Lao Hu", Zhao Shiqing had a preconceived notion that Li Lao Hu must be a strong and sturdy man.

But when Zhao Shiqing saw Li Lao Hu in person, he was shocked.

Li Lao Hu was actually a fair, delicate and weak scholar. Even if he was beaten into a pig's head, it was still a delicate pig's head.

His eyes just glanced at Zhao Shiqing's face without stopping, and then looked at Zhen Wuduo who was sitting next to him.

This fat white old man seems to be the one in charge. As for the little girl sitting in the main seat, she was pushed out by her parents to act pretentiously.

"Old sir, you brought me back to the capital from Wanquan County, but was it because of the fire that year?" Zhen Wuduo was stunned.

Zhao Shiqing was also stunned.

They haven't even started talking yet, but Li Lao Hu has already gotten straight to the point?
This is so refreshing, so refreshing that it makes people have to engage in conspiracy theories.

Zhen Wuduo nodded: "Yes, it's because of that matter."

Li Lao Hu: "Since you are asking about what happened back then, you must be an official, right? I have a condition. As long as you agree to my condition, I will tell you everything I know."

Zhao Shiqing and Zhen Wuduo had guessed what he was going to say, but the grandfather and grandson remained calm and just nodded again. Zhen Wuduo said, "Okay, tell me what your conditions are."

Li Lao Hu's eyes were filled with rage, as if they were about to burst into flames at any moment, just like the fire in a slum alley more than 30 years ago that destroyed his family.

"You avenged my wife. My wife is pregnant and has consulted several midwives. They all said that she will definitely have a boy. We are very careful, fearing that something might go wrong.

But my wife's cousin deliberately pushed my wife to the ground. I heard the news and went to ask for a doctor, but the cousin's two sons stopped me and wouldn't let me go out. I knelt on the ground and begged them to let me go, but they were unmoved and humiliated me instead. I felt sorry for my beloved wife and my unborn son.

Li Lao Hu cried bitterly. Zhao Shiqing asked, "After your wife died, did your father-in-law's branch have anyone else besides your three daughters?"

Li Lao Hu shook his head and said angrily, "If there are others, how dare they blatantly eat up the family property? My wife has passed away, and my three daughters are still young, thirteen, ten, and five years old respectively. If I am kicked out of the Yang family, they will have to be raised by relatives, and the family property left by my father-in-law will have to fall into the hands of my cousin."

Zhao Shiqing understood and said to Li Lao Hu, "I will have someone investigate this matter. As long as what you said is true, I will give your wife justice."

Li Lao Hu didn't expect that the person who made the promise to him was actually this little girl. He asked, "Who are you?"

Zhao Shiqing smiled slightly: "You have been hiding for more than 30 years. Don't you know that the less you know about some things, the better?"

Being taught by someone who could be his daughter, Li Lao Hu blushed and said, "If you don't want to ask, then don't ask. But you have to give me a deadline. If I don't see the result, don't expect me to say another word."

Zhao Shiqing thought for a moment and said, "Five days, I will give you justice after five days."

The next day, Zhao Shiqing called Meng Hu over.

That’s right, Zhao Yunnuan asked Zhao Shiqing to bring a team of people, namely Meng Hu and a dozen of his men.

The reason why Zhao Shiqing called Meng Hu over was because when he sent people to Wanquan County a few days ago, Meng Hu was also there. He said, "Wanquan County belongs to Heyang Prefecture. My senior brother is the judge in Heyang Prefecture. If you can't find the person in Wanquan County, I will ask my senior brother to help me find this person through the government."

Zhao Shiqing asked Meng Hu to bring Li Lao Hu as a witness and go to Heyangzhou in person.

Regardless of whether the task is accomplished or not, Li Lao Hu must be brought back safe and sound.

After dealing with things here, Zhao Shiqing and Zhen Wuduo returned to the capital. Before they sat down, they heard that A Ye came to see Zhao Shiqing.

A Ye is Xiao Yue's junior fellow apprentice, and also the little boy who answered the door when Zhao Shiqing went to Mr. Bai's house for the first time.

That day, Zhao Shiqing left her home address to Mr. Bai and asked them to come and find her if they had any problems.

Loach said, "I asked him to come back tomorrow. If he really has something to do, he will definitely come tomorrow."

The next day, A Ye came as expected.

Zhao Shiqing asked, "Does Mr. Bai want to see me for something?"

Ah Ye said, "My master asked me to come. He asked me to bring a message to the fourth girl. He met an old friend the other day and learned that Sun Hongbin was Sun Lingzhi's father. Sun Hongbin loved gambling before, and now that he has more money, his gambling addiction has become worse. He went to Jinbao Casino to gamble, and after losing all his money, he used Sun Lingzhi's name to get money from the casino. The Jinbao Casino was opened by the Baoqing Marquis's Mansion. Of course, they knew that Sun Lingzhi was just a concubine in the mansion, so they not only did not lend him money, but also drove him out.

He felt ashamed and told everyone he regretted marrying his daughter to the Baoqing Marquis's mansion.

Zhao Shiqing asked Ling Bo to pack some candies for A Ye and gave him a handful of silver coins. A Ye left happily.

Zhao Shiqing was also very happy. He brought Lingbo and Niuqiu with him, and all three of them changed their appearances.

In fact, few people in the capital city knew them, but Zhao Shiqing had just learned a little bit about disguise and was itching to try his hand at it.

Sun Hongbin and his wife opened a grocery store.

Most grocery stores in the capital city have good and stable business, and if you are not careful, one of them can become a time-honored brand that is passed down from generation to generation.

This is not the case with Sun’s grocery store, and the reason is Sun Hongbin’s gambling addiction.

Not only did he gamble himself, he also dragged a few neighbors to the gambling house.

The grocery store was a neighborhood business. Those neighbors lost all their money, and their family members went to the grocery store to make trouble several times. The Sun family's reputation was ruined, and the grocery store's business plummeted.

When Zhao Shiqing arrived, Sun Hongbin was not there, only his wife, Mrs. Cai, was in the shop.

Sun Hongbin used to be a zither player, but he drank too much and developed hand tremors. He could no longer be a zither player, so he worked as a handyman in the opera troupe with Mrs. Cai.

Mrs. Cai also learned opera when she was young, but she never met a kind-hearted famous actor like Xiao Huangying. Therefore, she never had the opportunity to go on stage. However, she sang in many private performances and often went in and out of the backyards of wealthy families, where she witnessed wealth and luxury. Unfortunately, her voice later deteriorated and she could no longer sing in private performances. She could only do odd jobs in the opera troupe.

She has always regretted why she didn't take advantage of her youth and beauty to marry a rich man. Even as a concubine, it was better than marrying Sun Hongbin, a loser.

Therefore, Sun Lingzhi gave up the opportunity to become famous that she had finally obtained and was willing to devote herself to Zhu Yu and his son. Cai Pozi played an important role in this.

At this time, Mrs. Cai was sitting at the counter eating melon seeds, with a large gold bracelet on her wrist, two fingers wide, shining brightly.

Loach walked in and said, "Where's Sun Hongbin? Let him come out!"

Before going out today, Niu Qiu specifically asked Zhao Shiqing to draw him to look fiercer. Zhao Shiqing not only gave him thick eyebrows, but also glued a beard on his face.

Unfortunately, Loach suffered too much when he was young, and it is difficult to raise him back even when he grows up. He has a thin and small body, which is very inconsistent with his big beard.

Mrs. Cai just took a look and continued to concentrate on eating melon seeds.

Loach snorted coldly: "Why, you want to play dumb? If you don't let him out today, believe it or not, I will destroy this place."

Mrs. Cai spat, and the melon seed shells landed on Loach's face. Loach was startled, and heard Zhao Shiqing coughing behind him.

Loach understood what he meant and grabbed Mrs. Cai and said, "You stinky woman, you dare to spit at me? I think you don't want to live anymore."

Before she could finish her words, Mrs. Cai was hit on the face.

Mrs. Cai didn't expect that the man in front of her would hit her so hard that she was scared and said hurriedly, "He is at the home of Widow Liu in Baihui Hutong. That's his home."