Chapter 174 Teaching Lu Yunbo a Lesson
The Earl of Nanping wasn't familiar with the second master of the second branch of the family that Granny Pei mentioned, so he didn't respond. Yu Qingci, on the other hand, started a conversation with Granny Pei:
"My second cousin is actually willing to treat people to a restaurant. Could it be that he really has that intention?"
Granny Pei immediately chimed in, "Nearly right! Bah! With Second Master's character, it would be a miracle if he were to wear official robes again. Back when he lived in our General's Mansion, he caused the Young Mistress no end of trouble."
Upon hearing this, the Earl of Nanping immediately looked at Granny Pei and asked, "Tell me, which son from the second branch of the family bullied my daughter?"
Granny Pei glared at him: "Isn't that right? Doesn't the Lord know how awful the Second Master was back then?"
Yu Qingci seemed reluctant to say more: "Nothing much was done. Anyway, it's already been separated, so there's no need for you to bring up the past, Granny."
Granny Pei lowered her head and remained silent, but the Earl of Nanping was not having it and said to Granny Pei:
"Explain yourself clearly. What terrible thing did that kid do to my daughter? Don't hide anything."
"My lord, you don't know, but that second master, despite his respectable appearance, is actually a complete scoundrel. Instead of managing his business properly, he's always playing tricks in the inner quarters, instigating his mother to cause trouble for the young mistress. Once, he even sent his maid to deliver some worthless trinkets to the young mistress, and he made a scene that everyone in the mansion knew about it..."
Granny Pei spilled the beans, recounting several things in a row, even unceremoniously blaming Lu Yunbo for all the disgusting things that Madam Wei and Madam Ma had done, which made the Marquis of Nanping furious.
Of course, Granny Pei did not reveal that he had plotted against Yu Qingci in the back garden. After all, that matter concerned the young mistress's reputation, and it would be embarrassing to say it even if the other party was the young mistress's own father. Therefore, Granny Pei did her best to smear Lu Yunbo in other matters.
Sure enough, the Earl of Nanping was furious upon hearing Granny Pei's words, and slammed his fist on the table, saying:
"That bastard dares to bully my daughter! Does he think I'm made of clay? Don't worry, daughter, I'll remember this. Humph, daring to bully my daughter, the Earl of Nanping, is truly courting death."
Want to go to the Dali Temple? I'll send him to the Jingzhao Prefecture jail first!
Yu Qingci quickly got up and went to comfort him, saying, "Father, calm down. Fortunately, we have separated from the family and moved out. I don't need to have anything to do with them anymore."
The more she acted this way, the angrier the Earl of Nanping became, vowing to teach Lu Yunbo a lesson.
Finally, Uncle Nanping stormed off, carrying the food box prepared by Granny Pei.
The master and servant exchanged a smile, and it was settled.
Lu Yunbo was unaware that he had offended the Marquis of Nanping to the point of no return, and was still hoping to go back to work at the Dali Temple.
On the bustling streets of the capital, Lu Yunbo bowed as he saw off the officials from the Dali Temple. Only then did he slowly put away his fawning smile, his heart filled with unbearable resentment.
It seems all my hard work today has been in vain.
Today, this boss, who used to address him as "brother" every time he met him, now looked down on him and disregarded his attempts to curry favor.
But what can you do? When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. He still has to put on a smile and say many words of gratitude.
During this period, he sought help from various people and frequently invited former colleagues and influential superiors to restaurants for drinks, hoping to find an opportunity to return to the Dali Temple. Unfortunately, it seems that things have not gone as planned.
He truly regretted speaking so bluntly to his third brother's wife in a fit of anger. Now that he no longer had the backing of the General's Mansion, he truly experienced the coldness of human relationships and the fickleness of the world. Who among the people outside still recognized him as the former Second Master of the Ningyuan General's Mansion?
Now he has to swallow his pride and beg and plead, just to get a job as a lowly servant in the Dali Temple, even if it's just a small steward position, it's better than being a nobody in front of others.
Unfortunately, despite putting on a lot of smiles and spending a considerable amount of money, all his efforts yielded little result. Even his colleagues, who usually treated him like a brother, were just giving him perfunctory replies. He was sick of hearing those empty promises about keeping an eye out for him.
Does this mean I have no choice but to go into business like my older brother?
However, he had never been interested in doing business, especially seeing how merchants would bow and scrape before anyone in official robes, even a street constable. He never wanted to become like that.
Lu Yunbo gazed at the long street, sighed deeply, and turned to walk back blankly.
Instead of returning to his own two-courtyard house, he went to the three-courtyard mansion on Yongsheng Street where the second master and Madam Wei lived.
Madam Wei was scolding and beating a maid in the courtyard when she saw her second son return. She stopped scolding and went to greet him, asking:
"How was your day? Did you see the official in charge of personnel at the Court of Judicial Review? And when are you able to return to your post?"
Wei's series of questions made Lu Yunbo's already bad expression even more gloomy.
"Mother, give me another three hundred taels of silver. I need it."
Wei looked troubled: "Why do you need money again? Didn't I just give you three hundred taels the other day? How come you've spent it all so quickly? Tell me how your job is going, I'm so worried."
Lu Yunbo frowned: "Mother, do you think three hundred taels of silver is a lot? It costs money to pull strings and do favors. A few meals at Tianxiang Restaurant will cost that much."
These past few days I've pulled some strings to invite my former bosses out for drinks, but now that we've lost power, who among them still cares about us?
However, Mother need not worry. This time, I have gotten in touch with Lord Wei, who is in charge of personnel appointments and dismissals at the Dali Temple. As long as I can get in touch with Lord Wei, there is still hope for me to return to my post.
However, Lord Wei is quite fond of grand displays when socializing, and anything stingy or shabby won't meet his approval. These past two days, I've had to cater to his tastes, treating him to meals at the capital's finest restaurants, which naturally takes a toll on my finances.
Hearing this, Madam Wei felt a pang of heartache and hesitated before asking, "But what if the money is spent and the matter isn't resolved? Will they refund the money?"
Lu Yunbo looked at his mother as if she were an idiot, then lowered his eyes.
Madam Wei understood, and clutched her chest, feeling another pang of heartache. It seemed that the money spent might not even yield any results.
Lu Yunbo didn't want to say anything more to his mother, so he turned around, looked around, and asked, "Where is my father?"
When Madam Wei heard him ask about the Second Master, she immediately became furious again.
"Don't mention that old man. He's so old, and even with several maids in his household, he still can't keep his manhood in check. He's always running around outside. Who knows where he's having a good time right now?"
Recently, Madam Wei has been using increasingly vulgar language when cursing the Second Master, which annoyed Lu Yunbo. He interrupted her, saying, "Mother, you'd better give me the money quickly. I've arranged to meet with some former colleagues tonight to gather information, and I can't keep them waiting."
Reluctantly, Madam Wei went into the inner room and took out several silver notes, explaining with some concern:
"You need to be more careful too, we can't let those people fool us, you..."
Lu Yunbo impatiently snatched the silver notes from Wei's hand, and upon discovering that there were only three thin bills, he couldn't help but ask:
"Only one hundred and fifty taels? That's not enough!"
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