Tianliangyuan

Chapter 187 The Eloquent Xu

Liu Qi's plan failed, which meant he lost a lot of money.

Not only that, but they also failed to deal a serious blow to the Marquis of Anxin's mansion, which greatly displeased Liu Huaien.

But no matter how dissatisfied he was, he could only suppress it at this point.

Although Liu Huaien was the heir of a duke's family, he only held a sinecure with a low rank, while Liu Qi was the magistrate of Chang'an County, a fifth-rank official position, and most importantly, a position with real power.

Therefore, Liu Huaien was angry, but he didn't dare to vent his anger on Liu Qi.

Liu Huaien only saw the glamour. Ordinary people didn't understand these things and just assumed that as soon as they heard "Duke's son," they were people of great wealth and status.

In reality, Liu Huaien's only redeeming quality was his identity; he held no real power and was far less capable than Liu Qi.

However, the Duke of Su himself still enjoys considerable prestige in the court, and currently holds a position in the military. Although he is not a particularly prominent official, he still enjoys some imperial favor.

Liu Qi and the Duke of Su were both members of the Liu clan, but Liu Qi always looked down on the纨绔人 (spoiled brats) like Liu Huaien.

Moreover, in his view, even if a fool like Liu Huaien were to inherit the title in the future, he might not be able to keep it.

Liu Qi sighed, and after finishing dealing with some case files, he went to a nearby teahouse to sit for a while.

A short while later, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant came over. The two chatted for a few minutes before leaving separately.

No one noticed that Liu Qi had an extra money bag, and the merchant had an extra sachet in his hand.

The middle-aged man dressed as a merchant was actually a servant of the Prince Zhong's mansion. He found a corner, changed his clothes, and returned to the mansion through the side gate.

King Zhong looked at the things handed to him by his servants, raised his hand, and everyone withdrew. Only then did King Zhong open the letter inside.

What appears to be a sachet is actually a secret letter hidden inside.

The characters were written in very small characters. After quickly reading them, the Prince of Zhong ordered someone to invite the chief secretary of the Prince's Palace.

The two had a private discussion in the study, and when the Prince of Zhong came out again, he was beaming with pride.

Back at the county office, Liu Qi opened his money bag and found two small silver ingots inside, along with a note.

After reading it, Liu Qi smiled slightly and raised his hand to destroy the evidence.

"Now that we've started, let's continue. Let's see who comes out on top in the end!"

Speaking of which, Liu Qi and the Xu family are somewhat related, though they are quite distant relatives.

Liu Qi's wife, Xu, was from the same clan as Xu Han. However, Xu's father had already crossed the fifth degree of kinship by Xu Han's generation. Therefore, even when there were weddings or funerals, they would simply send a small gift and the Marquis's mansion would not even need to show its face.

Liu Qi and his wife Xu had a good relationship. They were a loving couple and had two sons. Liu Qi also had two concubines. One was brought up by Xu Di's maid, and the other was bought by Liu Qi's mother as a gift.

In short, both of these concubines were originally maids and would never become proper mistresses in their lifetime.

When Liu Qi returned home that evening, he and his wife had a late-night conversation, during which Liu Qi inadvertently mentioned the Marquis of Anxin's residence.

"When I first took office as the magistrate of Chang'an County, I was unaware that the vacant land belonged to the Marquis's residence. It was only after some elders reminded me that I learned it was an old matter from more than ten years ago. I originally thought that with Sun Huaizhi intervening, this matter would surely be accomplished."

I thought I'd have achieved something great and benefited the local community, but instead, not only did things fail, I might even end up with a stain on my reputation. It's all Sun Huaizhi's fault; he's really done me a disservice!

Listen carefully to what she's saying. Xu has always been considerate of her husband and is respected by him. So, she naturally wants to do her part now.

"I have some old ties with the Marquis's family, but we've become estranged since my father's generation. I'll take some apologies and visit them another day. What do you think, my husband?"

"Logically, I should be the one to apologize in person. However, the yamen is very busy, and the Marquis is a military officer while I am a civil official. If we go around too much, it will cause gossip. So I can only trouble you, Madam, to make the trip."

Madam Xu was overjoyed; being able to do something for her husband was something she could be very proud of.

When Madam Xu came to visit, she was received by Madam Zhang, the wife of the heir apparent.

In terms of nobility, Lady Zhang naturally held a higher status, being a viscountess.

In terms of official rank, Xu Jun'an and Liu Qi held similar positions, except that one was in charge of Chang'an County and the other was in charge of a certain area outside the city.

What they had in common was that both of them held real power.

Zhang's presence to receive her was certainly not inappropriate in terms of her status.

Madam Xu was actually a little apprehensive; she always felt ashamed of herself when facing the Marquis's mansion.

She was born to a collateral branch of the Xu family. The reason she felt inferior in front of Zhang was not because of her poor background, but because she clearly remembered that when her brothers had no money to study when they were young, it was the Marquis who sent someone to deliver a few strings of cash.

Every year thereafter, the Marquis's mansion would provide assistance to these somewhat impoverished relatives through festival gifts and other means.

Despite Xu's assertive demeanor in front of her husband last night, she lost all her confidence the moment she arrived at the Marquis's residence.

If the Marquis's mansion had sent people to humiliate their poor relatives, that would have been one thing, but they hadn't, and had even helped them more than once or twice. So now, sitting here, Madam Xu felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.

"According to the Xu family's rules, you and I are of the same generation, so I should call you 'elder sister'."

"I dare not accept such praise. Although I am older, I am inferior to the Lady of the Heir Apparent in every way, and I am not worthy of being called 'elder sister' by you. Besides, when I was young, it was thanks to the Marquis's mansion that my family was taken care of. How could I dare to be presumptuous in front of you?"

Madam Zhang smiled and said, "Madam, have you encountered any difficulties on this trip? There are no outsiders here, so please tell me. If I can help, I will. If I am not capable, then I will inform the elders and ask them to make a decision."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Xu felt even more ashamed.

"I dare not. There was nothing difficult at all. It was all because my husband was an official in the capital and didn't know much about the power dynamics there. He had hoped to make a name for himself and achieve something great, but he ended up doing more harm than good."

It's all my husband's fault for trusting people too much; he never expected that things would go wrong with his own family. The magistrate of the East Market recommended the assistant clerk of the East Market Office to help with the work. At the time, I even said that Sun Huaizhi's cousin wasn't an outsider, but it turned out to be a case of trying too hard and making things worse.

It was only later, after being reminded by an official, that my husband learned of the land's true origins. He was filled with remorse and has not slept for two nights. As his wife, and a daughter of the Xu family, I have come to apologize with gifts. I hope the elders of the Marquis's residence will not be angry. It is only because my husband has only been in the capital for a short time that he has been deceived and misled; he has been tricked!