bayedsolid Chapter 182 Sir, My Niece is Engaged
Chapter 182 Sir, My Niece is Engaged
After the inquiry was over, Hong Jinhai told Luo Changqi and the others not to spread the news, and then prepared to leave.
Seeing everyone coming out, Zhang Hulan asked, "Are you leaving, gentlemen?"
Hong Jinhai nodded, "It's done. Sorry for bothering me."
Zhang Hulan said hurriedly, "It's almost noon. Everyone, please have lunch before leaving. The sun is so strong outside now. Let's eat and rest before leaving."
"This……"
Hong Jinhai looked at Marquis Jing'an and Wang Changming. Wang Changming said, "How about we eat first?"
They had been having a really hard time these days, and seeing that Zhang Hulan's conditions were good, they wanted to treat her.
Hong Jinhai said, "Okay, that's a problem. We won't eat for free. We'll pay for whatever money we spend."
Zhang Hulan said quickly, "Your Excellency, this is too formal. You all work hard outside, and we ordinary people can't help much. It is our honor to provide you with some food."
Zhang Hulan invited Jing'an Hou and the others into the house to sit down and have tea, and then immediately asked the kitchen to prepare lunch.
Zhang Hulan, Zhang Hujun and Zhang Hubing still basically eat together now, usually at a large table.
There were more than twenty people in the group of Marquis Jing'an, plus his own family members and Luo Changqi and others, so there were four tables of people. There were only three people in the kitchen, and they were a little overwhelmed. Zhang Hulan asked Li and others to help, and also brought some preserved eggs and preserved eggs.
It’s about time, you can try it.
Marquis Jing'an and his companions were drinking tea in the yard. Li, Zhang Dahua and others came in. Marquis Jing'an's eyes paused for a moment when he saw the jade pendant hanging on Zhang Dahua's waist.
He is familiar with this jade pendant...
This was what he wore when he was young, and then passed it on to Wang Xingren.
Marquis Jing'an knew that Wang Xingren was collaborating with Zhang Hulan from Changning County. He had previously guessed that Zhang Hulan was the person collaborating with his son, but he did not ask further questions.
When Marquis Jing'an was in the capital, Ye Hongling also mentioned to him that Wang Xingren wanted to marry a peasant girl, but she didn't know the specific situation, let alone that Wang Xingren was already engaged to Zhang Dahua.
There are too many people here, so it's not a good time to ask anything now. Marquis Jing'an plans to find an opportunity to ask what's going on with the jade pendant.
In the kitchen, Xiang Chunhua looked at the peeled preserved eggs and preserved eggs in amazement.
"Sister, this egg can be cooked without boiling? And it looks really good."
Zhang Hulan didn't give any explanation, and even if she did, she probably wouldn't understand.
The meal was rich, with wine and meat, and Marquis Jing'an and his group had a full meal.
They had never eaten preserved eggs or preserved eggs before. The taste was very unique. It couldn’t be said to be very delicious, but it was pretty good.
Marquis Jing'an had been secretly observing Zhang Dahua and confirmed that the jade pendant hanging around her waist belonged to Wang Xingren.
Looking at Zhang Dahua busying around, he nodded secretly.
People tend to feel sleepy after eating and drinking too much.
Zhang Hulan arranged a room for them to rest.
While Hong Jinhai and the others were resting, Marquis Jing'an walked out of the house, walked around the yard seemingly casually, and then walked out of the yard.
After helping to tidy up the tables and chairs in the yard, Li and the others prepared to go back and rest. The days are long in the summer, so everyone has to take a nap at noon.
As soon as they walked out of the courtyard, Zhang Dahua was stopped by Jing'an Hou, "Miss..."
Zhang Dahua was a little nervous. She knew that these people were high-ranking officials from the capital and she couldn't afford to offend them.
Li and Xiang Chunhua were also a little nervous. They wondered if this gentleman had taken a fancy to Zhang Dahua.
They have heard many stories like this: some high-ranking officials would take young and beautiful girls home as concubines.
But they were not too worried. Wang Xingren's family was not someone to be trifled with. If this person caused trouble, they would just report Wang Xingren's name.
Zhang Dahua knelt and saluted, "Sir, what can I do for you?"
Marquis Jing'an waved to Li and Xiang Chunhua and asked them to stay away.
Li and Xiang Chunhua didn't dare to leave Zhang Dahua alone, but they didn't dare not stay either. Just when they were in trouble, Zhang Hulan came out.
Zhang Hulan said, "Sir, you..."
Marquis Jing'an saw the worry in Li and the others' eyes, so he smiled and shook his head, "Forget it, it's fine for you to stay."
Marquis Jing'an then pointed at the jade pendant on Zhang Dahua's waist and asked, "Miss, where did you get this jade pendant?"
Zhang Hulan answered for Zhang Dahua: "Your Excellency, this is a token of love given by my niece's husband to my niece."
Marquis Jing'an nodded, looked at Zhang Dahua carefully again, then took off the jade pendant from his body and handed it to Zhang Dahua.
Zhang Dahua and Zhang Hulan were both stunned. Zhang Hulan asked, "Sir, what do you mean? My niece is already engaged."
Marquis Jing'an's face darkened slightly, and he whispered, "I am Xingren's father."
"what?"
Zhang Hulan and Zhang Dahua were both stunned again. Zhang Hulan immediately reacted and hurriedly pulled Zhang Dahua, "Silly girl, hurry up and continue."
Zhang Dahua blushed as she took the jade pendant from Marquis Jing'an and whispered, "Thank you, thank you, father-in-law!"
Marquis Jing'an smiled and nodded, then waved, "You guys go ahead. I'm on official business, so I can't talk to you much. Please give my regards to your parents."
After saying this, Marquis Jing'an turned around and went back to the yard.
As soon as Marquis Jing'an left, Li and Xiang Chunhua immediately surrounded him. They were not very close to him, and they spoke in low voices, so they did not hear what Taiqing said.
Xiang Chunhua hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"
Zhang Hulan smiled and said, "That's a gift from Xingren's father to Dahua."
Xiang Chunhua patted her chest and said, "Oh, I was so scared just now. I thought that the gentleman had taken a fancy to Dahua."
Then Zhang Dahua said in surprise: "That's Xingren's father, isn't that the Marquis?"
"Yes."
Xiang Chunhua tutted her words, "Tut, tut, tut. My dear, Dahua, your father-in-law has already recognized you. You are definitely the future Marquis's wife."
"Enough of you, all you do is tease my Dahua all day long." Li patted Xiang Chunhua, then pulled Zhang Dahua away.
Jing'an Hou and his men rested for half an hour before leaving. Hong Jinhai offered Zhang Hulan lunch money, but Zhang Hulan refused. Hong Jinhai didn't insist on paying, and after thanking him, he left with his men.
After leaving Daping Village, the group stopped again.
They found a shady spot and got off the carriage. Hong Jinhai said to Marquis Jing'an and Wang Changming, "My Lord, Mr. Wang, are we still going to continue this investigation?
Things are almost done. The emperor will definitely not care about the small fish and shrimp below, but mainly those people at the top."
Wang Changming asked, "Then what about the rest that we won't investigate?"
"We definitely have to investigate, but there's no need for the three of us to waste time like this.
We already know the general situation. Let's report it to the emperor first. After the emperor makes a decision, the rest can be verified by the local government offices.
The main reason is that it has been delayed for too long, and there is no guarantee that some people will not get wind of it."
Hong Jinhai looked at Marquis Jing'an and asked, "My Lord, what do you mean?"
Marquis Jing'an said, "Master Hong, please make the decision. Master Hong is the main person in charge. I am only here to ensure the safety of the two masters."
Hong Jinhai complained inwardly, "This general's mind is just as dirty..."