Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

Zhang Sanlang felt a pang of fear for a long time before his gaze fell on the deed to Feng's 500 mu of dowry land.

He suddenly remembered something else and quickly dug out the Zhang family's documents.

Head of household: Zhang Shiqing, age 45

Ben Guan: Fang Guo Hu, Juancheng County, Ye Shang

First wife: Madam Feng, age 43

Concubine Song (deceased)

Concubine Liu (deceased)

Concubine Pan (who escaped)

Eldest son: Zhang Shouren, age 25 (born to Feng).

Eldest daughter-in-law: Wang Meizhen, age 22

Eldest grandson: Zhang Chengbao, three years old (born to Wang).

Second son: Zhang Shouyi, age 22 (born to Song).

Second daughter-in-law: Sun Ruomei, age nineteen (deceased)

Third son: Zhang Shouli, age sixteen (born to Song).

Second daughter-in-law: Li Lanniang, age seventeen

Fourth son: Zhang Shouzhi, age six (born to Liu).

Fifth son: Zhang Shouxin, aged five (born to Pan).

Note: Zhang Shouxin, the fifth son, was adopted into the Zhang clan of Chengwu County in the second year of the Qiande era. The original household registration record is kept for future reference.

Note: In the first year of the Taiping Xingguo era, Li Lanniang passed away.

On the 9th day of the 7th month of the 3rd year of the Kaibao era, Feng Jian, the head of the household registration office, registered the household register.

Zhang Sanlang then pulled out an even earlier booklet.

Many old files were lost due to the war, but some fragments are still found in the files.

He found the Zhang family's migration records and went through them one by one.

Fifty years ago, a Zhang family migrated from Chengwu County in Caozhou to Juancheng County in Puzhou, making a living by selling needles, thread and other odds and ends. They eventually settled in Lao Zhangzhuang.

Forty years ago, the Zhang family moved from Lao Zhangzhuang to Zhangjiazhuang in the east of the city and acquired thirty mu of land.

Thirty years ago, the Zhang family bought a house in the east of the city and rented a shop on the main street to open a general store.

Eleven years ago, the Zhang family bought the courtyard, now a shop in the front and a residence in the back, on the main street for 120 strings of cash...

Upon checking the property register again, one account made Zhang Sanlang stop.

In the first year of the Kaiyun era, the Zhang family and the Feng family formed a marriage alliance.

When Zhang Shiqing was eighteen, he married Feng Pu's daughter, née Feng.

The dowry farmland, totaling 500 mu, was entered into the data in three separate transactions, spanning two months.

The property register records the origin of these 500 mu of land, stating that it was "from the dowry of Wang, wife of Feng Pu".

Zhang Sanlang thought for a moment, then quickly flipped through the Wang family's property register again, and breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that of the more than 1,000 mu of land owned by the Feng family, 1,000 mu were his wife Wang's dowry land.

If we consider it this way, perhaps there's another reason behind Feng Jian's actions: he was originally a son of the Wang family, and he was simply trying to reclaim his aunt's dowry land...

Two hours later, all the documents had been read.

Zhang Sanlang had a slight headache. He pressed his fingers on the back of his chair for a while, then leaned back in his chair, lost in thought.

The details of the Feng, Wang, and Zhang families were completely imprinted in my mind.

He originally thought Zhang Shiqing was just a shrewd businessman, but now he realized that there was a bigger shadow behind that scheming: the Feng family.

Behind the Feng family, there is also the shadow of the Wang family.

Behind the Wang family, there is also the shadow of Han Tong, the former military governor of the Tianping Army.

Behind Han Tong lies the founding father of this dynasty...

Zhang Sanlang shook his head, no longer thinking about it deeply, and began to re-examine the Feng family.

Feng Pu, a mere clerk, married his daughter off to a small merchant, providing her with 500 mu of land as a dowry. His aim was simply to cover up his shameful affair and, at the same time, to disperse his family's land and evade taxes and corvée labor.

By marrying Feng, Zhang Shiqing not only received financial support from her, but also acquired a house and shops with the Feng family's assistance. Through careful planning, he enjoyed nearly forty years of peace and wealth.

For Zhang Shiqing, who came from an ordinary merchant background, even if he had known that Feng was pregnant at the time, he would have happily married her.

Defying fate!

Given Zhang Shiqing's personality, this deal is definitely worthwhile!

Besides, it was probably the older generation who made the decision back then.

From what happened after that, it is easy to see in the documents that Zhang Shiqing desperately took concubines, and four out of his five sons were born to concubines.

Although it was illegal for merchants to take concubines, the officials would not investigate unless the people complained. Moreover, with Feng Pu's connections, who would dare to interfere?

If Zhang Shiqing already knew that Feng was pregnant with another man's child before marrying into the family, then his attitude towards Zhang Dalang would be quite intriguing.

Zhang Dalang was Feng's son, and nominally the eldest son of the Zhang family, but he was not necessarily a member of the Zhang family by blood.

Zhang Shiqing doted on Zhang Dalang, indulging him in drinking, gambling, and whoring, and the wife he married to Zhang Dalang was Wang Meizhu, a niece of Feng Pu's wife... It seemed more like a deliberate act.

An incompetent eldest son and a foolish, greedy eldest daughter-in-law, unable to win people's hearts, only added to Feng's troubles.

If we extrapolate in this way, Zhang Shiqing's estrangement from Zhang Sanlang and his second brother also has another layer of meaning.

Lady Feng was jealous, ruthless, and came from a family of officials.

Zhang Shiqing's three concubines must have been killed or fled because of her schemes.

If Zhang Shiqing gets too close to his illegitimate son, it might incite Feng Shi to kill him.

My second brother had just gotten married, and his wife, who was four months pregnant, fell and miscarried. As her father-in-law, Zhang Shiqing had no reason to scold her to her face.

Even if he was heartbroken at losing his grandson and acted rashly in a fit of anger, was his second sister-in-law really so fragile that she took her own life?

There might be Feng's involvement in this as well.

After returning home, my second brother caused a huge scene at home and then left home to study abroad.

Given his shrewdness, he was probably not only extremely angry and grief-stricken, but also perhaps trying to avoid disaster!

Zhang Sanlang himself initially served in the military in place of Zhang Dalang, but was later forced by Zhang Shiqing to register as an official.

He originally thought that Zhang Shiqing was angry that he insisted on marrying Lanniang, but now he thinks that it might also be that Feng Shi forced him.

The purpose was very simple: the Feng family would not allow him and his second brother to gain power in the imperial examinations!

Zhang Silang's birth mother died early, and Zhang Shiqing was handed over to Feng Shi to be raised by her. Raising him under her watchful eye was safer, and it also pleased Feng Shi, who then allowed him to study and make progress.

Zhang Wulang's birth mother seized the opportunity to escape, and Zhang Shiqing directly adopted her out, completely severing ties with her.

The four illegitimate sons each survived by virtue of their own abilities!

Zhang Shiqing was not close to any of them, yet he did not give up on any of them.

In a daze, Zhang Sanlang recalled last year when he was hit on the head with a club by Feng Bazi.

Who exactly instructed Feng the Scarface to harm him?

I initially thought it was Kong Youan, but now it seems it could also be Feng Jian, or someone from the Feng family!

However, with Madam Feng and Scarface Feng dead, and Kong You'an soon to be executed, the truth is unlikely to be known any longer.

At the time, Zhang Shiqing may not have been unwilling to get involved, but with the Feng family involved, he dared not interfere!

He who eats another's food is bound to him; he who takes another's money is bound to him.

Having witnessed Feng's methods, Zhang Shiqing had long since given in!

Human hearts are a den of demons; even sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams is no more than this.

A thought vaguely formed in Zhang Sanlang's mind: perhaps Zhang Dalang's biological father...

Feng lived with the Zhang family for over thirty years, tending to her 500 mu of dowry land, before finally dying in a cesspool.

It's hard to say whether this is a form of retribution.

But is all of this the fault of the Feng family?

Zhang Sanlang sighed and carefully collected the documents on the table, stacking them neatly one by one.

His legs felt a little numb when he got up, so he held onto the edge of the table for a while before stepping out of the room.

Zhang Sanlang stood in the corridor for a moment. The lamps in the torture chamber across the way had already been lit. Fang Zhong'an's figure swayed on the window paper, as if he was talking about something interesting with the Xu brothers.