Chapter 3: Thank You Gifts “These four thank you gifts really made Jiang very happy…
When he mentioned this, the other four people who were originally panicking and wanting to confess their guilt suddenly came to their senses.
Yes, if Yan Siqing had been successfully assassinated, even if the county magistrate was willing to reveal the truth, there might still be room for maneuver - without the head of the Shen family, it would surely be like a pile of loose sand, and there would be little room for them to do anything!
They suddenly perked up and cried out that they were wronged.
This kind of drama caused many people to make up stories. Inside the teahouse, Jiang Hui watched coldly, but his eyes also glanced at the screen wall inside over the gate. He had good hearing and heard some movement, then glanced at the other end of the street.
In just a moment, the people who were watching the excitement on the street made way because the other officers and the captured killers returned.
It's grand and majestic, with a bit of the style of a triumphant return.
It's over.
Chen Tongqing and the others saw darkness before their eyes.
Ruozhao and the other man also arrived at the street outside the mansion. They saw where their own prince was and hurried over.
The officers came forward to report to the county magistrate He Zhihong, and also mentioned the help of two brave men...Ah, where are the two brave men?
Chen Tongqing was already stunned. Seeing the miserable appearance of these killers, he knew that the situation was hopeless. He turned around and looked inside the Shen residence.
He saw the person he wanted to murder slowly walking out.
County Magistrate He Zhihong stepped inside and said politely, "Young Madam, the case has been settled. Please come to the county government office to give your cooperating testimony and to finalize matters such as the previous tenant rent account books. We will then close the case together."
"Mr. Zhang, can we go together?"
Old Zhang agreed with a smile, and Yan Siqing had already walked out, accepting the invitation of the county magistrate. The locals were not surprised, but the outsiders were a little quiet when they first saw this famous young lady.
————
"Prince, we have finished the job. That Yan Siqing is indeed amazing..."
Jiang Hui met two subordinates in the box. The two reported what had happened before and asked him how to deal with it next.
These words of Siqing have made them understand why she was able to support the family business despite the covetousness of both domestic and foreign enemies.
"The prince asked us to show up and rescue people, so that we can take advantage of the situation and get closer to him for future opportunities?"
In fact, with their strength, they can just lie in wait and murder, so why get close?
Now that they are so close, the prince must have some plans.
Jiang Hui: "Yes, she is very powerful. She has an excellent reputation in Yancheng, has frequent contacts with government officials, and has connections at all levels. She cannot be underestimated."
Ruo Zhao had also heard about this, "Managing the family business requires some skill in dealing with people. He's incredibly intelligent and good at business, so it's normal for him to have connections with the government."
Ruoqin was watching the scene in front of the Shen family's gate, where they were about to settle down again. "She is a good steward of the family business, dignified and kind? So she has a good reputation and is respected by the government? I think the county magistrate is helping her."
Although the county magistrate of a small town is just a small ant to the royal palace, he is indeed enough for the Shen family.
Jiang Hui's expression was calm. "Do you think such a good reputation that everyone praises is earned just because it benefits the Shen family and the government?"
The two were stunned.
Jiang Hui suddenly asked, "How about Mr. Li's tea?"
"generally."
"With the local customs and tea-growing skills, they can also produce a good first-grade tea. However, these common people can't find conscientious buyers with their connections. All of the tea is purchased by the Shen family at a considerable price for export. The local tea owners themselves don't have such channels, and others who have such channels don't have such consciences. Naturally, they offer tribute to the Shen family and are grateful to Yan Siqing for making such a benevolent arrangement and are willing to speak for her."
"To see the big picture from the small, to run a business, to extend favors to others, to act as an intermediary, and to share the profits with others, is beneficial to every household in the local area, and is conducive to the performance evaluation of the county magistrate."
"This is her shrewdness, her heart, and her skill."
"Reputation accumulated through philanthropy and huge profits may seem useless, but in the face of great disaster, people's words can actually be feared and make people cautious."
In fact, the issue of tenants was probably just a small matter in front of Yan Siqing. The foundation she had laid over the years was enough to solve it. It was even more insignificant in front of Jiang Hui, but he also saw the big picture from the small.
Compared with the past experience of the royal palace, a thousand-mile dike was destroyed by ants.
If this matter of hers is not handled properly, it will make the impeachment by the censors even worse. In fact, for other powerful people, such private matters cannot be made public at all. The censors will not take the risk, and other officials will not listen.
Matters of reputation also lie in the heart of the king.
While Jiang Hui was lost in thought, he heard some tea drinkers outside praising the young lady for her decency, her good housekeeping, her kindness and her commitment to justice.
Jiang Hui neither despised the realism of these people nor thought that Yan Siqing's tactics were vulgar.
Success or failure determines everything.
"If we really want to deal with her, we can't use force. It's no secret that she has such a strong foundation in Yancheng. Chen Tongqing and other bastards are so bold. I guess there are other people behind them pushing them or there are other hidden dangers. We'll just have to wait and see..."
"She's extremely intelligent and suspicious, and seems to be good at investigation. The best strategy is to stop contacting her..."
Then assassinate him? Ruo Zhao thought secretly.
Suddenly, I felt that the voice of my own prince suddenly disappeared, as if it had been strangled.
It turned out that at the gate of the Shen family mansion, the young woman who had just come out and talked with County Magistrate He turned sideways and asked whether the coachman and the guard were injured or not, with a gentle and humble look in her eyes.
Jiang Hui had good hearing and when he heard the voice, he turned around while talking to Ruo Zhao under the window.
See it at a glance.
This time, there was no distance and no obstruction.
His fingers tightened around the teacup, and he suddenly thought of the figure he had seen across the river in the wild forest. Every scene and moment was now clear to him. His heart was like the morning sun rising from the top of the mountain after a long winter night had passed, and he had a burning thought in his mind: clear mountains and fresh water, and a magnificent palace of red jade.
He became more serious and slowly put down the teacup.
"However, I believe she must have other extraordinary qualities, perhaps even deeper secrets. I cannot make a hasty judgment, so I must get closer and make more careful plans."
"Two strong men, get out."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said with a hint of sarcasm.
Ruozhao and the other man took orders and went out.
The two men disappeared and reappeared, leaving the officers and guards greatly puzzled. However, they guessed that this was the way martial artists behaved, so they quickly introduced them over.
County Magistrate He Zhihong and Yan Siqing both looked over and, as they sized him up, they felt a little suspicious, thinking that he didn't look like a martial artist.
"You are too polite, everyone. I just encountered injustice and couldn't help myself. It's also because our young master taught us well. He often said that people should be honest, kind, and righteous. When seeing injustice, we should help others. When doing good deeds, we don't need to leave a reputation or seek rewards... Young Madam, look, that is our young master."
Ruozhao bowed and responded with a few words, then politely declined and pointed towards the teahouse.
There were many people in the teahouse, but everyone was looking at only one person.
involuntarily.
The windows were wide open, tea was leisurely served, and the rockery beside the water basin outside the window was covered with climbing vines and flowers in spring. The colors were gorgeous and delicate, but it looked like a young and strong beautiful snow wolf trapped in a flower cage.
If a person is experienced in business, he can tell from such a distance that the precious silk brocade clothes have dark textures and fine threads, and are not made by ordinary wealthy people.
But these wealthy young businessmen are mostly introverted and gentle, and believe that harmony brings wealth. They will not flaunt their arrogant and cunning temperament like him, and their eyes are full of aggression when they look at people.
He is young but extremely authoritative.
Because these two chivalrous "heroes" specifically asked the "young lady" to go and see it, Yan Siqing did take a look and was quite shocked.
Eye contact.
She knew that the other person was looking at her, but it was not a case of rejection. After all, he did not have any hostility. She could see that he did not have the obscene and filthy intentions that some men had.
The other party is very arrogant.
Yan Siqing nodded politely and thanked him warmly, "Thank you very much for your family's bravery and courage in coming to our rescue. Your skills were so great that you were able to capture these villains so easily and save our family from any harm. I will definitely return the favor when I have the chance..."
Jiang Hui stood behind the window and saw that Yan Siqing was wary of him, perhaps suspicious. So he said casually, "Young Madam, you're too polite. I'm not from the martial arts world, but from a merchant family. I happened to come to Yancheng and other places to trade spices and tea. I'm not very strong, but my two guards are quite skilled in martial arts, so being able to help them is not in vain. Besides, Madam has already made careful arrangements and calculated the villain's intentions. Even without the intervention of my two guards, they can still capture the man. I'm glad I didn't cause any trouble for you."
Yan Siqing had the same confusion as Li Chazhu: this man had a sharp aura, the spirit of youth, but also a restrained arrogance, but his words and actions when interacting with others seemed flawless.
Some of them are hard to understand.
She didn't think about it anymore. There was nothing else involved at the moment. Since she had already thanked him, she would just return the gift later.
He casually replied, "You are very polite, young man. You are very promising." County Magistrate He next to him asked if they wanted to go back to the county government office together. Yan Siqing turned around and responded to him sideways.
Thank you for your help, sir.
You are welcome, ma’am.
They are leaving, and those who need to be escorted should be escorted.
Jiang Hui had excellent eyesight, as was evident before. Now he naturally noticed that Yan Siqing was dignified and distant when he was talking to him just now, but when he was talking to the county magistrate surnamed He, his brows were much more relaxed, and there seemed to be a smile on the corners of his mouth.
It wasn't obvious, but it was a subtle detail. He read it and his eyes dimmed a little. His fingers moved slightly, breaking away from the window frame and grasping the teacup on the table.
It was still drizzling, and the steps at the gate were damp. A maid approached with an umbrella. Yan Siqing lifted her skirt slightly and was about to go down the stairs. Chen Tongqing, knowing that he was doomed and fearing that he would never have a chance to seek justice, suddenly pulled out a sharp blade from his sleeve and slashed the officer, then raised his hand and pointed the blade at...
"careful!!"
County Magistrate He rushed forward, but was a beat too late. The guards around him hurried forward...
Ruo Zhao had already drawn his sword and was about to swing it when he heard the sound of a broken bottle...
Bang!
The teacup thrown casually by someone turned in the air and flew into the rain, hitting Chen Tongqing's left knee with great force. The man screamed in pain as if he was hit by a hammer, and fell to his knees, thudding to the ground. Then Ruo Zhao kicked him hard in the chin, knocking him over a dozen feet away and landing in front of the teahouse.
He hadn't even gotten up yet, howling and spitting blood.
Jiang Hui walked out of the teahouse and calmly went down the stairs, and casually drew the sword from Ruoqin's waist who was standing beside him.
The sword blade is sharp and of extraordinary quality.
Half-turned falling flowers, the tip of the sword pointing downwards.
Like cutting melons or vegetables, he stabbed into Chen Tongqing's ankle and nailed the man to death in front of the door while he screamed.
Also nailed to his feet.
Everyone was silent, still confused by what this person had just said: powerless?
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, this young merchant boy, with his waist high up, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, which was inscribed with a bronze green, and the other hand lazily resting on the golden tiger-head buckle of his high-waisted belt, looked unruly and rude.
"I've long heard that the young lady is a virtuous woman who never wants to owe favors to anyone. When you mentioned a return gift, even if you didn't mention hosting a banquet, I wanted to decline. But if you insist, then I can't refuse."
"But I want two."
This guy is so young, why does he speak in such a pretentious and sarcastic tone?
With so many people present, everyone knew it, as if she had treated her benefactor harshly and her words were an exaggeration of her character.
A moment of silence.
Yan Siqing stood on the steps, with the gentle spring rain flowing on the umbrella. But everyone could see that the person under the umbrella was wearing simple clothes and had a dignified face. When she went down the steps, she was taller than the maid, so in order to prevent the latter from feeling tired, she also helped to hold the umbrella ribs.
The smooth yellow-brown and oily-polished umbrella ribs are held and hooked by slender porcelain-glazed fingers, which evokes the graceful artistic conception of a cup flowing through a winding stream.
She looked silent as she looked at the strange young nobleman opposite her.
Across the street, the thread is as thin as silk, disconnected but not interrupted.
Jiang Hui, who had been nagging for a while, felt baffled. He bent his thumb slightly under his sleeve and twirled the jade ring back and forth. He was a little confused as to what this young woman was up to. Would she be enraged or would she refute him awkwardly?
Seeing that the young county magistrate seemed to want to talk to him, his eyes became fierce. He was about to add a few more words to pressure the other party and ask him to host a banquet for him.
"You are joking, my lord."
"My Shen family will never act like this."
She seemed more tolerant and polite than he had expected.
However, the young lady used her husband's family name in everything she did, and from then on few people called her by her real name. She got used to it, and everyone else got used to it too.
But Jiang Hui still felt that the constant mention of "my Shen family" was irritating.
——————
The drizzle stopped and the afternoon passed, before nightfall.
Jiang Hui had finished his meal and was sitting on the balcony of his loft, looking at the cool night scenery by the lake, feeling quite relaxed and at ease.
Ruo Zhao: "Sir, do you think the young lady will send someone to host a banquet?"
Ruoqin: "Of course she will, otherwise it would be a lack of etiquette. The prince has said so. Although this lady is young, she is very considerate and will be polite because of her reputation."
Ruo Zhao: "That's right, we can't just give up on the two thank-you gifts that the prince proposed."
Ruo Qin: "I always feel that this lady is extremely wary of others. Logically, she calls the Crown Prince "Your Excellency" and has guessed that he has an extraordinary background. Since he is helping her, she should regard him as a kind person. But she doesn't want to associate with him. She has been in charge for many years, why is she like this?"
Others thought their young master was weird and contradictory, but they never expected that these two experienced guards also thought his wife was weird.
Jiang Hui remained silent on the idle chatter of the two subordinates he had known since childhood, before adding, "Life is not easy for women. We shouldn't take things for granted."
Although he had guessed about the person a thousand times in his mind, he never mentioned it to others.
That's actually true.
Thinking of the accusations and bullying from Chen Tongqing and others, Ruo Zhao and the others secretly agreed.
Ruo Zhao missed this meal very much.
"But she won't really not hold a banquet, right?"
They knew that since the prince had come forward, he wanted to personally intervene and contact the young lady. Since he had his own agenda, with the prince's great talent and strategy, he would definitely gain something.
Wouldn't the young lady be so unreasonable?
Jiang Hui: "No rush."
Ruoqin: "But Prince, it's getting dark, and you've been waiting for an hour."
Jiang Hui: "Why, are you busy?"
Ruoqin: "I dare not."
Ruo Zhao: "Mainly because there are too many mosquitoes."
Jiang Hui: “…”
"It's not bad, where is the extra?"
The prince was calm and composed, then he slapped the back of his hand and killed a bloody mosquito.
Ruoqin and the others: "..."
At this time, the inn servant came to report: The housekeeper of the Shen Mansion is here to visit.
Here we come!
Ruoqin and the others were overjoyed. Finally, someone came and they didn't have to feed the mosquitoes anymore.
Ruo Zhao went out to greet them.
Jiang Hui remained as indifferent as ever. He stood up, lifted the hem of his shirt, and flicked the mosquito's body away with a flick of his finger. "Actually, it doesn't matter if Yan Siqing doesn't host a banquet. I actually hope that she will be wary of us because of our suspicion, and will be wary of us, and will also be on guard against the people sent by my uncle. It would be better for her to be kidnapped so easily."
Ruoqin deeply agrees with this.
Prince Qi's faction is now in high spirits and has always been aggressive in its actions, but no matter what, they dare not take people away openly. After all, the emperor has not set up a case to investigate the prince, and those who go out now are officials he has bribed, so it is not easy for him to jump out and openly engage in party disputes.
He was afraid of inducement and coercion. If Yan Siqing was mediocre and weak, and easy to control, and Prince Qi asked him to identify Prince Yan, it would be a big trouble for the palace. Jiang Hui had no choice but to deal with him and eliminate the trouble forever.
"No wonder the prince changed his mind and decided to contact this young lady in person. It turns out he has such long-term plans. Amazing!"
Jiang Hui was silent for a moment, neither admitting nor denying.
Ruo Zhao brought in the servant and the steward of the Shen Mansion.
The housekeeper came and handed over the invitation.
Jiang Hui lazily opened it and took a look. His eyes suddenly turned cold as a knife, but he quickly changed his expression and looked at the butler with a smile, "What do you mean?"
The housekeeper had been warned by his wife that the other party was not easy to deal with, so he lowered his head to avoid his cold and sharp gaze, expressed his gratitude in a serious manner, and brought a generous thank-you gift. This was the etiquette of the Shen family.
The servants placed the boxes and parcels with bright red seals on the table one by one.
Four boxes.
Ruo Zhao and the other person looked at each other.
With a snap, Jiang Hui closed the thank-you letter with a sound, his slender fingers pressing on the red envelope, which was red and white, and his smile was extremely reserved and noble.
"So what the young lady said was more than just a double thank you gift. It was true. She really keeps her word."
"I gave four."
"These four thank-you gifts really made Mr. Jiang ecstatic."
How ecstatic he must be to repeatedly emphasize "four portions"!
As soon as the housekeeper left, Jiang Hui's smiling face changed, and he scratched the red and swollen mosquito bite with his fingers.
Ruozhao and the other man were silent.
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