After shivering and feeling cold, Magistrate Xu looked at Jing Zhe.
"President Jing won't ask me for another 15,000 taels, will he?"
After speaking, Prefect Xu began to ponder in his heart. Because Jiangling had a superior geographical location, and the prefect was one rank higher than the governor, there were too many people who coveted his position.
When he took office as governor, his mentor Bai Qingyuan told him that compared with this official position, other things were insignificant, and that he should not lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains.
He still remembers those words to this day. Bai Qingyuan was subtly warning him not to be greedy, and he did indeed keep his word. He never openly extorted anything from the people, which is why some officials in other places have fallen from grace because of this, but he was the only one who did not.
However, as he served as an official for a long time, he gradually became bolder and felt that it was not that money could not be embezzled, as long as one was careful and did not get caught. That's why he joined forces with Master Kongjing to collect incense money.
Over the years, he has collected a total of about 10,000 taels of silver from Peach Blossom Temple, at most 15,000 taels, far less than 20,000 taels. But he must have spent the money he collected. Now, he only has about 10,000 taels left.
He had already given Jing Zhe five thousand taels of silver, so he only had five thousand taels left. If Jing Zhe asked for another fifteen thousand taels, he would never be able to get it, no matter what. Judging from Jing Zhe's condition, if he couldn't get it, he might really be beaten to death.
After weighing the options, if he really wanted it, he would grit his teeth and agree, then go out and borrow 10,000 taels from him—he had been an official for many years and knew all the owners of the major shops in the city, so borrowing a thousand or eight hundred taels from each of them wouldn't be a problem.
However, when he finally managed to scrape together 15,000 taels and gave it to Jing Zhe, he had to be careful. He would present the money with a written promise written in blood, and if Jing Zhe refused to give it to him, he would not give him any more money.
To everyone's surprise, Jing Zhe shook his head directly: "I don't want this money."
"..."
Prefect Xu was a little worried, because for him, it was more difficult to deal with Jing Zhe not wanting money than to wanting money.
At this moment, Jing Zhe reached into his robes and took out the guarantee written by Madam Feng earlier. He waved it in front of Magistrate Xu and said, "Magistrate Xu, didn't we write on this that the purchase price of Feng Family Restaurant is 15,000 taels? You don't need to give me that 15,000 taels; just give it to the Feng family directly. Just hand over the deed to Feng Family Restaurant to me before noon tomorrow."
After saying that, he stood up, put away the blood-written letter and the guarantee, and said, "Prefect Xu, you must remember this well: I need to see the house deed before noon tomorrow. If I don't see it, I believe Prefect Xu does not want to see the consequences!"
Leaving those words behind, Jing Zhe turned and left.
Watching Jing Zhe's retreating figure, Magistrate Xu clenched his fists.
However, this result was not too bad for him, because when Jing Zhe said he would buy the Feng Family Restaurant for 15,000 taels, he discussed with Madam Feng and told Feng Huanyou that Jing Zhe would forcibly buy the Feng Family Restaurant for 5,000 taels, and then he and Madam Feng would make 10,000 taels!
Now that he can't earn 10,000 taels, he has to spend 5,000 taels of his own money to buy the Feng Family Restaurant for Jing Zhe. Even so, Magistrate Xu still doesn't think it's too bad, which shows how low his expectations have been.
However, this was the only option left for him. He had no choice but to agree. What he was thinking now was that he couldn't anger Jing Zhe during this period. He needed to keep him calm and save his own life first. As for money and other material possessions, he could have them later.
Moreover, he firmly believed what Bai Qingyuan had told him: Jing Zhe wouldn't be able to cause trouble for long, and he would take back double what Jing Zhe had taken from him!
Despite thinking this way, he still felt uneasy, so Magistrate Xu called over a constable from outside and asked, "How's the notice coming along?"
"Prefect, some of it has already been written."
"Finish writing quickly, then post a copy at every intersection. Oh, and have someone spread it on the street, saying that Jing Zhe is a relative of the Lin family and is currently living at the Lin family's house. He's just an ordinary official."
"Yes, Prefect!"
Just as the constable was about to leave, Magistrate Xu immediately called him back down.
"Wait! Remember, this matter must not be handled by anyone from our government office... Just find some children! And it must be done discreetly!"
"Yes, Prefect!"
The constable agreed, closed the door, and left.
Magistrate Xu then narrowed his eyes, a long-absent sinister smile appearing on his face: Although I can't do anything to you, someone can…
...
Jing Zhe emerged from the government office feeling refreshed and invigorated.
Everyone says you can get something for nothing, and he not only acquired the Feng Family Restaurant for free, but also made a profit of five thousand taels of silver—of course, he's aiming for much more than that; once he gets the deed, he'll make even more…
Jing Zhe took out his silver notes again and looked at them. Suddenly, he felt that the money he earned from running the restaurant business was far less than what he could make money from now on, and he felt a little sad.
On the way back to the Lin family, the servants at the gate of the Lin residence already recognized Jing Zhe and let him pass without any problems.
As Jing Zhe walked towards the backyard, he saw Qing Qiu's figure in the distance. He crouched down and passed behind her, then gave her not-so-perky buttocks a hard pat.
"Smack!"
Although it wasn't perky enough, the sound was loud enough.
Then, Qingqiu turned around, clutching her buttocks, and glared at Jing Zhe with a resentful expression.
Actually, Qingqiu's behavior seems a bit abnormal. After all, any woman who is suddenly patted like that would jump up excitedly—or at least shout, right?
But Qingqiu remained calm enough, which was her most normal reaction. With Qingqiu's current level of cultivation, even if Jing Zhe was crouching down, she could still hear the noise. In addition, who else in the entire Lin family would dare to get so close to her besides Jing Zhe?
She knew Jing Zhe was there, but pretended not to.
What are you doing?
Qingqiu said with some dissatisfaction, glancing to both sides as she spoke, her expression wary and her eyes showing a hint of guilt.
"Say hello to Third Sister!"
These words further fueled Qingqiu's dissatisfaction.
With her arms crossed, Qingqiu said coldly, "Is this how you greet women? Do you greet other women like this?"
Jing Zhe didn't care at all and laughed, "Of course not. There are different ways to greet different people, and this method was tailor-made for Third Sister!"
Jing Zhe finished speaking with a grin, then took a step forward, wanting to pull Qingqiu into his arms. Knowing Qingqiu as he did, he was sure she would obediently snuggle into his embrace.
However, things were not as simple as he thought.
Just as his hand was about to touch Qingqiu, Qingqiu suddenly dodged it.
"Show some respect!"
"..."
————
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