Chapter 349 The Power of Five Hundred Taels
Lu Mansion
Although the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was a fifth-rank official, it was a sinecure. Moreover, promotion to such a position was extremely difficult, especially since the Lu family, which had long since fallen into decline, had virtually no connections.
Lu Peichen originally planned to use Huang Shaojie's matter to make contact with the Duke of Chu, then show his loyalty and offer some benefits to get the Duke of Chu to help him with his promotion. Promotion was as difficult as climbing to the sky for him, but for the Duke of Chu, who was currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, it was a piece of cake.
However, to his surprise, many days had passed, and he hadn't even seen a servant of the Duke of Chu, let alone the Duke himself. Just then, someone suggested that he put some pressure on Huang Shaojie.
So far, the Duke of Chu's mansion has remained completely silent, most likely because Jiang Chengye is under strict control and dares not interfere in outside affairs. However, Huang Shaojie's sister is Jiang Chengye's favored concubine, and with Huang Shaojie on the verge of death, it's impossible for his favored concubine's sister to ignore it.
So last night, Lu Peichen sent someone to take Huang Shaojie to the government office. Huang Shaojie was so scared that he wet his pants. He should be able to see the person today.
"Master," the steward trotted over with a smile, "I saw the carriage of the Duke of Chu's mansion heading towards our residence."
"Okay." Lu Peichen smiled and asked, "Who is it?"
"This servant noticed that the person following the carriage is Master Jiang's personal attendant, so it seems that Master Jiang has come in person," the steward said.
Lu Peichen's smile widened; it was even better that Jiang Chengye had arrived. He would first lower his stance and express his desire to see the Duke of Chu. If it worked out, all the better; if not, he would stir up some trouble. If Jiang Chengye had something on him, would the Duke of Chu ignore it?
As for forcing the Duke of Chu to do things for him, would it offend her, and would he face retaliation afterward? In the past, he would have been afraid, but now that he has connected with a powerful figure, a figure powerful enough to rival the Duke of Chu, he is naturally not afraid.
"Should we invite the Second Master over?" the butler whispered a reminder. After all, the woman who married Huang Shaojie wasn't Lu Peichen's biological daughter, but only his niece. Moreover, the Lu family had already divided their assets.
Lu Peichen listened to the steward's words and said without hesitation that it wasn't necessary. His younger brother relied on him for a living, and even if the family separated, he could still manage the affairs of the second branch of the household. He believed that the second branch wouldn't have any complaints. Of course, even if they did have complaints, the second branch would have to keep them to themselves.
This is undeniably the power of authority.
Just then, a servant came running over, bowed, and reported, "Master Jiang has arrived."
Lu Peichen stood up with a joyful expression and took a step to greet him. However, he remembered that although Jiang Chengye was the father of the Duke of Chu, he was still a commoner, while he himself was a fifth-rank official, so it was inappropriate for him to personally greet him.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Quickly send the eldest son to greet him."
"Yes." The steward and servants trotted away, while Lu Peichen paced back and forth in the hall. In truth, he was somewhat nervous. Although the powerful patron he had climbed up to could rival the Duke of Chu, it was clear that they were in a contest, and he, a nobody, was very likely to become a victim of their struggle.
But if he continues down this predictable path, he'll never get promoted in his next life. It's said that intelligent people shouldn't get involved in the power struggles of influential figures, but why are so many still willing to be used by them?
Because if you don't take advantage of others, you'll never have a chance to turn things around.
Besides, he knew what kind of person Jiang Chengye was; all he did was eat, drink, and have fun, and cause trouble. He hadn't caused any trouble lately, but that was because the old Duke had passed away, and the current Duke of Chu, having been separated from him for many years, had no feelings for him and wouldn't hold back when dealing with him.
But that doesn't change the fact that he's a fool, so he feels no pressure at all about scheming against Jiang Chengye.
As he plotted his scheme against Jiang Chengye, he saw his eldest son leading three people over. He frowned upon seeing the two men besides Jiang Chengye. He hadn't expected Jiang Chengye to bring men, but it didn't matter; the two men he brought were both fools.
"The three of you are rare guests!" Lu Peichen said with a smile as he stood up and exchanged pleasantries.
As Jiang Chengye approached the door, he leaned close to Ren Guanfei and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "If you behave well, I'll give you five hundred taels."
The words "five hundred taels" shocked Ren Guanfei, who turned to look at him with an incredulous expression. Seeing this, Jiang Chengye stuffed two silver notes into his hand.
Ren Guanfei looked down and saw that it was a genuine silver note. He was so happy that his mind went blank for a moment, and then he gave Jiang Chengye a look that said, "You just wait and see."
Jiang Chengye received his expression and silently breathed a sigh of relief. Just now, he had seen Lu Peichen sitting in the hall from afar and suddenly felt uneasy. Remembering Jiang Yu's words to the butler, he instantly made a decision to send Ren Guanfei to the front.
So he promised Ren Guanfei five hundred taels of silver and even gave him two hundred taels on the spot. Although his heart was bleeding, he felt it was worth it. Fortunately, he had stayed at home during this time and had saved up several months' worth of monthly allowance, which came to exactly two hundred taels.
As for what to do with the remaining three hundred taels?
We'll see when the time comes. He figured that given his quick thinking this time, Jiang Yu would probably be able to give him the money if he asked her for it later.
“Indeed, you are a rare guest. This is my first time visiting the Lu family.” Ren Guanfei was really going all out for five hundred taels of silver, and he immediately shut down Lu Peichen’s smile.
Lu Peichen: "........."
Xiang Xinping looked at Jiang Chengye with a questioning gaze: What medicine did he take?
Jiang Chengye: Silver.
Xiang Xinping understood. He wondered how much money Jiang Chengye had promised Ren Guanfei, and he was itching to do the same. But his feet involuntarily took a step back, moving further away from Ren Guanfei.
Of the three—himself, Jiang Chengye, and Ren Guanfei—he was naturally closer to Jiang Chengye. Moreover, the Chu State Duke's Mansion and the Chengen Marquis's Mansion had recently enjoyed a good relationship; if it were truly a good thing, Jiang Chengye should choose him over Ren Guanfei.
Ren Guanfei, blinded by the prospect of five hundred taels of silver, retorted to Lu Peichen before swaggering over to a chair and sitting down. He raised his chin, glared at Lu Peichen, and said, "Speaking of which, you're a high-ranking official, yet you're even better at extorting people than I am."
Lu Peichen: "..." What's it to you? Do you even know that the Qingshan Marquis's Mansion and the Chu State Duke's Mansion are sworn enemies?
He looked at Jiang Chengye and saw that he had also sat down by himself, then turned to talk to Xiang Xinping sitting next to him, without giving him a glance.
At this moment, Ren Guanfei's voice rang out again, "Hey, Lao Lu, what are you looking at him for? I'm talking to you. One of your maids died, and you changed the indenture to say that Huang Shaojie killed her instead of beating her to death. That doesn't make sense, does it?"
Lu Peichen frowned and glanced at Jiang Chengye. Seeing that Jiang Chengye still didn't intend to pay attention to him, he turned to Ren Guanfei and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you, right?"
Ren Guanfei snorted, "Can't I help those in need? Everyone says I'm a spoiled brat, but I think you're no less so. When I see my cousin, the Crown Prince, I'll definitely tell him about you, you despicable and corrupt official."
"you....."
"What's wrong with me? I'd like to ask you, taking the government's salary and not doing your job properly, trying to turn black into white and fake the dead back to life, is this the kind of shady business you can pull as an official?"
“You…” Lu Peichen’s face flushed with anger, his finger trembling as he pointed at Ren Guanfei, but he couldn’t utter a single word.
Seeing this, Ren Guanfei became even more enthusiastic and continued:
"Don't think that others can't see through your filthy thoughts. You just want to extort the Duke of Chu by taking advantage of a servant's death. Don't you even look at your own face? For some dirty interests, you don't even care about the dignity of an official. How are you any different from those street thugs who stage accidents for money?"
"You...you..."
Lu Peichen, his finger trembling, pointed at Ren Guanfei and uttered two "you"s before collapsing to the ground with a thud...
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