Chapter 25 Li Suining is not a star of misfortune but a star of fortune
Bai Ruian looked at the scene in front of him and could hardly believe that there was such a place in the imperial city.
There is a group of houses not far away, which are low and dilapidated. Many of them have even collapsed, and the walls are leaning down in all directions. It looks like they are completely uninhabitable.
Bai Shian sighed and said, "This is a corner of the imperial city. No one knows about it. Zhou Zaiwen jokingly called it a rat hole."
Bai Ruian's expression changed. He could hardly imagine how important the one thousand taels of silver were to the Zhou family.
"Let's go inside. They live in the front and the carriage can't get in." Bai Shi'an took Li Suining's hand and walked in front to lead the way.
Bai Ruian followed behind in silence.
The coachman walked at the end, holding the gifts.
Along the way, the three little guys were surprisingly quiet, especially the usually noisy Bai Ruian, who could hardly say a word.
Even at this moment, he felt that his breathing had become particularly heavy.
The group walked for about a quarter of an hour before Bai Shian finally stopped and said, "This is it."
He signaled the driver to put down his things and wait for them in the car.
Bai Ruian looked at the small courtyard in front of him. The courtyard wall and the house seemed to have been simply repaired, but they were in such bad shape that they still looked shaky.
However, the yard was very clean, with washed, faded clothes hanging on the flying clotheslines.
At this time, a little boy ran out of the house. He looked about the same age as Bai Ruian and had a happy look on his face.
He quickly spotted the people outside the courtyard, "It's Brother Shi'an, Dad, Mom, Brother Shi'an and Sister Suining are here."
He ran out immediately and enthusiastically took Li Suining's hand, "Sister Suining, why are you here?"
Soon, two more people came out of the room. They were Zhou Zaiwen and his wife Yang.
"Benefactors, it's you!" Zhou Zaiwen strode out to greet them. "My family and I were just about to go to the General's Mansion to express our gratitude, but we didn't expect you to come."
As he spoke, he turned to look at his wife and children, and the whole family was about to kneel down.
"Uncle Zaiwen, no need to be so polite." Bai Shian hurried to help him, "Uncle Zaiwen, is everything going well?"
Zhou Zaiwen looked excited and nodded, "Thanks to you and my dear, I have become a disciple of the Prime Minister..."
Li Suining clapped his hands happily upon hearing this, "As expected, Uncle Zaiwen will become a high-ranking official in the future, and a good official who will benefit the country and the people."
It turned out that Zhou Zaiwen was the top scholar in the imperial examination a few years ago. After graduating from high school, he immediately returned to his hometown to pick up his wife and children. However, he did not expect that his wife fell seriously ill. This delay not only used up all the family savings, but it took him a year to return to the imperial city.
In the following years, Zhou Zaiwen ran into obstacles everywhere. He continued to treat his wife's illness while looking for a way out. However, because he didn't even have a decent piece of clothing, he almost never saw the prime minister.
A few days ago, he was ready to make a last attempt and went to Jujinlou with the only one or two taels of silver left in his family. Unexpectedly, he got nothing. In the end, he was too ashamed to face his wife and children, and in a moment of confusion, he chose to commit suicide by jumping into the river.
"Please rest assured, young master and young lady," Zhou Zaiwen was slightly moved after hearing Li Suining's words. "I will never forget your kindness, nor will I forget the original intention of becoming an official. As long as I serve the court, I will definitely serve the country and the people. I will never lose my conscience. It's just..."
He pretended to kneel again, "Please accept our respect, young master and young lady. I will definitely return this thousand taels."
"No need to return it!" Bai Ruian, who had been silent the whole time, choked up and said, "Uncle Zaiwen, this money... should have been yours."
Zhou Zaiwen looked at Bai Ruian, feeling a little unfamiliar, "Who is this..."
"Uncle Zaiwen, you don't remember," Bai Ruian said with an awkward smile, "That day in the Jujin Building, I stole your number. Otherwise, you would have won the 1,000 taels of silver."
Zhou Zaiwen smiled, "So it's the Fifth Young Master. You're joking, Young Master. This is your blessing. I was just momentarily possessed by a demon and actually thought of... gambling. This is a lesson from heaven. Even if I had that number, I wouldn't have won."
Bai Ruian didn't say anything else, because he knew that this was actually a warning from God. For the sake of one thousand taels of silver, he almost caused the Jin Dynasty to lose a good official.
After a long moment, he just said, "I'm sorry."
Zhou Zaiwen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Fifth Young Master, there's really no need to do this."
"Uncle Zaiwen, get up quickly." Bai Shian helped Zhou Zaiwen up.
The three siblings talked with Zhou Zaiwen's family for a long time before getting up and leaving.
——
After lunch, Zhou Zaiwen changed into his official uniform and prepared to go for a walk in the market. His current official position was in the Ministry of Households, and he was mainly responsible for the management of the market. But he didn't expect that after he arrived at the market, he would meet Qian who was spreading rumors and causing trouble again.
Qian was in the crowd, spitting everywhere. "Think about it, everyone. The General's Mansion, that's a dignified General's Mansion. How unlucky would it be to have to rely on borrowing money to survive? Is it because they adopted Li Suining?"
Many onlookers nodded frequently.
Qian was becoming more and more proud. "Li Suining killed his own father, but he used his father's death to enter the General's Mansion...Alas, now he is going to bring disaster to the General's Mansion again!"
"This is absolute nonsense!" Zhou Zaiwen couldn't stand it anymore.
When everyone heard someone talking, they immediately turned around and saw that the other person was wearing official uniform. They automatically made way and exchanged glances with each other, but did not dare to make any more loud noises.
Zhou Zaiwen walked into the crowd and stared at Qian coldly, "Who are you? Why are you talking nonsense in the street and ruining my benefactor's reputation?"
"You... benefactor?" Qian smiled apologetically. "Sir, you must be mistaken. I was just talking about Li Suining, a three-year-old child. How could she be your benefactor?"
Zhou Zaiwen snorted, "You also know that you are talking about a three-year-old child. If you bully her, won't she come to argue with you?"
He glanced at the crowd, "I'm Zhou Zaiwen, a newly appointed minor official in the Ministry of Revenue. But I swear on this official uniform that Li Suining is not a curse, but rather a rare lucky star. To be honest, if she hadn't lent me the thousand taels of silver, I'd probably be dead by now."
Everyone was in an uproar. Li Suining, a three-and-a-half-year-old child, could lend out one thousand taels of silver. Who would dare to say that the general's mansion was poor?
"This Qian is so despicable. She slandered a three-and-a-half-year-old child. It seems she bullied this child all the time."
"Little Suining, having lost her biological mother and now having a stepmother like this, is truly pitiful."
"Qian is such a piece of shit! It's obvious she wants the General's Mansion to abandon little Suining and adopt her son instead. How shameless!"
…
Almost instantly, everyone pointed their fingers at Qian.
Qian wanted to escape.
Zhou Zaiwen arrested the man and said, "Qian, right? Listen carefully! If I see you spreading rumors on the street again, I will definitely send you to jail."
"Yes, yes, I won't dare anymore." Qian Shihui ran away quickly.
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