129 Hitting a Snake’s Weak Spots
Zhang Zhan knew that before the current Tian family ascended the throne, the country had been harmed by many evil people.
He especially hated people who complied on the surface but did not submit in reality. If these people went overboard with their power, the Tian family would not show mercy.
Zhang Zhan vaguely remembered that a similar thing had happened in Wanning City many years ago.
At that time, it was an officially registered matchmaker who colluded with the followers of the Imperial Preceptor at that time and spread rumors about others’ birth characters, causing many families to be torn apart.
In addition, the upper-cla.s.s people at that time especially believed in the concept of the birth characters. Even though it was later verified that the Daoist priest was full of nonsense and the matchmaker had interfered, the thorns buried in their hearts could not be removed.
At that time, the Tian Family was furious and immediately investigated thoroughly, pulling out a deep underground force. Many aristocratic families were implicated.
After that, there was an additional law. Anyone who maliciously tampered with information of the birth characters would be severely punished!
Speaking of which, the Imperial Family was also affected back then. It was said that a Princess Consort gave birth to twins back then, but one of the children died not long after he was born.
At that time, the matter of the matchmaker and the others had yet to be uncovered. They spread the news that the Princess Consort’s birth characters were too ominous and jinxed the child to death, causing the Princess Consort to suffer a lot of criticism. After lingering on the bed for a year, she pa.s.sed away.
Because the Princess Consort only died a year later, many people at that time blamed this matter on the fact that the Princess Consort’s body was too weak. They did not expect that it was the rumors from a year ago that killed her.
The impact of that incident was very bad. Later on, there were even rumors that the Empress had also given birth to twins, but there were also rumors in the palace that it was actually just a princess.
Many people secretly said that the Empress had probably secretly dealt with the stillborn. The Empress’s birth characters were too ominous and she was not worthy of being the head of the Central Palace.
Of course, this rumor did not spread far. It was smothered by the Empress and the Emperor a long time ago.
However, there were many people who spoke about it in private.
Therefore, when Zhang Zhan heard Old Madam w.a.n.g mention this, he immediately became serious.
Could it be that a similar incident as back then had returned?
No, perhaps it could not be completely destroyed in the first place.
“Auntie w.a.n.g, is what you said true?” This was a serious matter, so Zhang Zhan had to be careful.
Old Madam w.a.n.g said firmly, “I didn’t come so far to lie to you.”
Zhang Zhan still did not believe it. Back then, he did not think that Auntie w.a.n.g was such a pa.s.sionate person. How could she suddenly come so far for such a matter?
“Auntie w.a.n.g, tell me honestly, has this matter already affected your village?”
Old Madam w.a.n.g said, “We don’t dare to hide it from you. It has indeed affected us. I wonder if you still remember that when we were here previously to collect rations, we had a conflict with a person who called herself a matchmaker. It should be that matchmaker who played tricks behind our backs, causing our villagers to encounter difficulty in finding marriage arrangements. Our village doesn’t have a matchmaker, and we cannot avoid the involvement of the matchmakers for the children’s marriage.”
At this point, Old Madam w.a.n.g paused and told him about the rumors of Little Ah Yu.
When Zhang Zhan heard this, he was shocked. They did not even let a little child off!
She was still so young. Wouldn’t it be harming the child if they said that the child was a jinx?
He still remembered that cute little girl. At that time, the little ancestor looked cold, but his att.i.tude towards that little girl was a little different.
Later on, the little ancestor insisted on going out to see the peach blossoms. He really thought that he had gone to Feng’an Village. Later on, after they arrived at Hu Family Village, they got someone to send a letter saying that they had gone to Hu Family Village.
At that time, Zhang Zhan was extremely busy, so he naturally could not bring the little ancestor back.
He thought that the Hu Family Village was so poor and backward. The little ancestor was a particular person and would probably be back in a few days. He did not expect him to stay for so long.
Perhaps it was all thanks to that little girl.
Zhang Zhan was even guessing that the reason why the little ancestor wanted to go to Hu Family Village might be because he had asked the little ancestor to help hide the little girl’s background. He had also investigated the little girl and was interested in her and wanted to be her playmate.
Children were simple-minded to begin with. They did whatever they wanted. Even if the little ancestor had extraordinary intelligence, he was still a six-year-old child.
Oh, he should be past his seven-year-old birthday now. The congratulatory gift he had sent had also been returned. He probably did not want to celebrate it.
“Lord, we really have to raise the child well, but this child has experienced many disasters. Now, there are people who want to harm her. Our w.a.n.g Family has no power or merits. Even if we want to protect the child, as elders, we’re helpless. We really have no choice but to come and beg for help!”
When Old Madam w.a.n.g said these words, there was not much expression on her face, as if she was reading some script.
However, Old Madam w.a.n.g’s tone was sincere. No one would doubt her intentions.
This was just a grandmother who wanted to protect her little granddaughter.
“It’s already late. You can stay in the guest rooms in the county office. I’ll send someone to handle the other matters. You can return to the village tomorrow.” Zhang Zhan comforted them. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it impartially.”
Old Madam w.a.n.g: “We’re naturally at ease with Lord Zhang doing things. We’ll have to trouble Lord Zhang then. By the way, my second son is still on the donkey cart. His legs are not convenient. Please ask someone to bring us over so that we can move him over too.”
Zhang Zhan casually called someone over and asked him to bring Old Madam w.a.n.g and the others to the guest room. They also brought w.a.n.g Chuangui over.
Now that the county office was relatively empty, they arranged three connected rooms for them. Among the three rooms, Old Madam w.a.n.g occupied one alone.
In the other two rooms, w.a.n.g Chuanman and the others felt that it was not appropriate to use too many rooms, so they took the initiative to say that they only needed one room. The three brothers squeezed on the bed and chatted about Old Madam w.a.n.g’s actions today.
w.a.n.g Chuanfu and w.a.n.g Chuangui could not figure it out, but when w.a.n.g Chuangui heard this, his eyes were filled with admiration. “I told you long ago that Mother is the smartest person in our family. You won’t be wrong to listen to her.”
If they went straight to look for Old Madam Zhou or the matchmaker who spread the rumors, they might just be ignored in the end.
However, it was different if the government took action.
Moreover, Old Madam w.a.n.g had even accused them of a huge crime. If they could not prove their innocence with this crime, they would really be imprisoned!
When hitting a snake, one had to aim for its weak spot. They had to either kill it in one strike or not be rash.
w.a.n.g Chuangui said, “You have to remember that we’re a family. If we’re timid when we do things, it’s very easy for others to ride on our heads. But if we’re bullied and only think about how to get back at them, perhaps the matter won’t be resolved and they’ll hate us even more.”
w.a.n.g Chuanfu was even more confused. “Then what should we do?”
w.a.n.g Chuangui: “Study.”
w.a.n.g Chuanfu and w.a.n.g Chuanman: “???”
“If our family really doesn’t want to be bullied, we can either lower ourselves to the ground and become a pile of mud. No one has the mood to bully a pile of mud, just like we were before. If not, we can only become superior to the bullies. After our status is raised, those little flies naturally won’t dare to come.”
w.a.n.g Chuanfu shook his head repeatedly. “I can’t, I can’t. I still remember that when we were young, Mother taught us to memorize poems. I couldn’t learn it in three to four days. Second Brother, you learned quickly. Fourth Brother didn’t do badly later on. There’s also Little Ah Yu…”
At this point, w.a.n.g Chuanfu suddenly stopped talking, and everyone tacitly stopped talking.
Before sleeping, w.a.n.g Chuanman pondered.
Did he really have to become an official to protect his daughter?