Chapter 858: Going to Jail as a Group? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
It's impossible for someone to be obsessed with love.
Xu Jie was preoccupied with how to manage the family business and revitalize the clan. He initially placed a heavy bet on Wu Xian, then, after meeting Shen Tang and receiving her patronage, he placed another bet on her. At that time, he didn't have many chips; he only had Xu Quan.
As a shrewd businessman, Xu Jie naturally possessed a cunning and shrewd side. This was evident in the fact that he didn't invest any capital in Shen Tang, but instead gifted her a cousin. This cousin was highly favored, and his influence within the Xu family's camp as a key figure was sufficient. If Shen Tang won, Xu Jie's investment would be extremely profitable; if she lost, he would only lose Xu Quan.
As Xu Quan's cousin, he would be devastated.
However, as the patriarch of the Xu family, this was the choice that maximized their interests. Xu Jie had discussed the pros and cons with Xu Quan. As a son of the Xu family, Xu Quan had no objections. All his knowledge and skills were given to him by the family, and it was only natural for him to contribute to the family.
"Our lord is blessed with a divine mandate; brother, you can rest assured." When Xu Quan corresponded with his brother, he showered his lord with praise, then added regretfully, "If it weren't for the burdens of our family, brother wouldn't have needed to assist Duke Zhaode. If he had assisted our lord…"
With their two cousins, one serving in the military and the other managing the family business, how could their family not prosper?
Perhaps he could be granted a decent noble title after the founding of the country.
Xu Quan was raised by Xu Jie and was the one in the family who understood him best. He knew that his cousin had forced him to abandon his ideals and resolutely shoulder the family's legacy! In this chaotic world, possessing wealth without power was nothing more than a piece of meat in the eyes of others. His brother had endured countless grievances over the years to ensure the family's survival...
Even after offering money and grain to Tianhai with both hands, they were still met with difficulties.
It's absolutely hateful and infuriating!
Xu Jie's reply was stern, and in a letter home he severely scolded his cousin, telling him not to even entertain such thoughts, let alone say them aloud or write them down: "...Just stay put in the army; I'll take care of everything else."
He doesn't want to climb to a high position, nor can he.
On the contrary, if Shen Tang wins, Xu Jie will have to devote all the family's resources to supporting Xu Quan and elevating his cousin. Xu Jie does not dare to be greedy and does not expect his cousin to become a commander-in-chief in the future—after all, the position of commander-in-chief is basically reserved for the monarch's most trusted confidants, and Xu Quan's background and age are not even up to par—Xu Jie's expectation for him is to be a vanguard general.
It is sufficient to protect the family without arousing the monarch's suspicion.
Simply put—
He had two plans, outlining two paths for the family.
Whichever system they use, whichever path their family takes, let's see who wins!
Putting aside other factors, Xu Jie is very optimistic about Shen Tang's development.
He just hadn't expected the other party to develop so rapidly.
Over the years, Tianhai Wu Xian has become increasingly estranged from him, and the chips he has invested over the years have gradually gone down the drain, but Xu Jie's prestige in the Xu family has not declined but increased! Apart from a few elders with whom he has conflicts, the other clansmen admire him as their clan leader to the skies!
This is also thanks to Shen Tang.
Xu Jie ingratiated himself with Shen Tang, which resulted in a private collaboration opportunity. The Xu family helped Shen Tang manage the refined salt business in the Northwest Continent, making a fortune in the process. Thanks to Shen Tang's promotion, and as Xu Jie secured his position as the Prefect of He Yin, the Xu family's reputation soared. Aside from daily official duties and family matters, Xu Jie had virtually no worries and lived a very comfortable life.
"Parents—Parents—"
Xu Jie was playing with the baby in his wife's arms.
It was a chubby, well-fed baby boy. His wet nurse stood behind the lady, constantly uttering auspicious words. Anyone who didn't know the situation would assume the baby was Xu Jie's, and would be even more puzzled as to why the lady would accept this child. After all, their prefect only had one wife in his household, and her last pregnancy was several years ago. Everyone in the manor speculated about the baby's parentage.
Although Master Xu appears gentle, he actually detests servants who gossip. In recent years, his wife has adopted his methods of managing the inner courtyard. If caught, the servants are punished ranging from being slapped and fined to being sold off. No servant dares to overstep the bounds of propriety.
Just as the "family of three" were chatting and laughing, the attendant closest to the parents rushed over with a worried look on his face.
The lady glanced at the attendants and prepared to pick up the child and get up.
"It's a rare day off to spend with you, why are you leaving so early?" He raised his hand and gently pressed down on his wife's arm. She sat back down on the mat, and then turned to the attendant, "What's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"
The relationship between Xu Jie and his wife was not very good in their early years.
After all, they spent little time together and lacked opportunities to communicate. Coupled with deliberate instigation from outsiders, they endured a long period of cold war. However, since Xu Jie took office as the Prefect of He County, the couple had more opportunities to meet and gradually reconciled. Over the past two years, their relationship has become increasingly harmonious.
The attendant handed over a bamboo tube stamped with the Xu family's seal: "Master, this is a message that has just come back from the front."
The Xu family were businessmen and had their own channels and connections.
It's not fast, but it's reliable.
Xu Jie opened the box and slammed his fist on the table. The loud noise startled the baby boy in his wife's arms, who cried out in pain. She quickly held the child and gently rocked him, scolding him in a low voice, "Why did you suddenly scare me? If you frighten the child out of his wits, how will I explain it to General Zhao?"
This baby boy was handed to her by Xu Jie himself.
At first, she thought her husband had taken a mistress, and her face darkened. But when she learned the baby boy's true parentage, she couldn't help but feel pity and heartache. Perhaps it was fate, but the child didn't like the wet nurses and always cried at night, only managing to fall asleep when she held and soothed him. She had to take care of the child tirelessly until he was a month old, and he gradually accepted her after getting used to her.
The lady was finally able to get a good night's sleep.
After spending some time together, she also began to treat the child as her own.
Xu Jie showed no displeasure at being scolded. Instead, he held the baby boy's hand and lowered his voice, "Madam, Lord Shen and Lord Wu have won. Huang Lie has been defeated, and the outcome is decided—"
His voice was filled with suppressed excitement.
The lady of the house paid little attention to the external war situation. The peaceful environment of He Yin gave her the illusion that the chaotic world was far removed from her own life. However, she occasionally gleaned from snippets of conversation between her husband and the servants that the fighting outside was fierce. When she heard that Shen Tang and Wu Xian had ultimately won, even with her lack of understanding of the situation, she knew the importance of this to the Xu family. To put it bluntly, they won like crazy!
"This is a wonderful event!"
After the wife finished speaking, she noticed that her husband's expression was not quite right.
He asked in a low voice, "Is there more bad news?"
Xu Jie shook his head: "There's no bad news, it's just... I'm worried about the future of the Xu family, I'm afraid it won't be easy..."
The death of the clan elder's grandson and the inexplicable fire at the Xu family's granary brought the relationship between the Xu family and Tianhai to the brink of a complete breakdown. At that moment, Xu Jie's heart completely swayed towards Shen Tang, and that's when the trouble began…
Xu Jie secretly transferred the Xu family business to He Yin.
And the terrain of Heyin...
He worried that if Wu Xian and Shen Tang divided the territory, they would take Shangnan and Yiru, leaving He Yin trapped. Xu Jie could no longer harbor any disloyalty and could only obediently help Wu Xian! Otherwise, if Wu Xian became angry, he could easily eliminate He Yin. As Wu Xian's ally, Shen Jun could not proactively expose his cooperation with the Xu family, and naturally had no right to interfere in Wu Xian's internal affairs.
At that time, we will be at the mercy of others.
How to quell Wu Xian's anger?
Even massive bleeding wouldn't be enough!
The lady asked in bewilderment, "How could it be difficult to travel? You serve under Lord Wu, and Wen Shi is with Lord Shen..."
Xu Jie could only sigh: "If we hadn't broken ties before, we could have profited from both sides without any problem. At worst, we could have reduced our contact with Wen Shi's side to avoid suspicion. But Tianhai's side has become dissatisfied with us, so how could Lord Wu tolerate us anymore? He didn't mind before because he still needed our services. Now that he and Lord Shen have divided the Northwest... As long as we can establish a foothold, why should we be disloyal to merchants?"
Now we can only hope that Shen Jun will be more shrewd in his calculations.
If either Shangnan or Yiru is no longer in Wu Xian's hands, the situation could be reversed in an instant, but how easy is that?
Xu Jie was troubled by this for several days.
The message from Sibao County gave him a jolt.
"Hahaha, Heaven is determined to bring prosperity to the Xu family!"
A member of the clan doing business in Sibao County unexpectedly discovered traces of Gu Ren's father-in-law. Although it was only a fleeting glimpse, it revealed crucial information—Gu Ren's important relatives had been relocated! This was definitely not something they did themselves; it's highly likely they colluded with Sibao County to seek protection. Therefore—
"At most, Lord Wu will get Yiru; the River Governor has been revitalized!"
Heaven knows what kind of internal struggle he's been going through these past few days. He even considered abandoning some of his ancestral property and half of his fortune, secretly relocating important members of his clan. Until the very last moment, Xu Jie doesn't want to give up He Yin; he promised Shen Jun he would guard this place!
The lady held the baby boy and hummed softly, a smile appearing on her face.
Good news kept coming. Soon after, news arrived that Qin Li's faction had successfully switched sides. Xu Jie's gaze towards the baby boy burned with fervor, as if he were looking at a little golden statue!
The woman, holding the child, turned aside to avoid the situation.
He said unhappily, "Don't bring that mercenary attitude home."
"Does Madam know what this child represents?"
The lady sighed and said, "This child lost his parents at birth, he's just an orphan, what could he possibly have backing?"
As a woman, she felt great sympathy for the mother of the baby boy. If she were in that situation, she might not have had the same courage.
Xu Jie shook his head: "This child has Zhao Dayi and Qin Gongsu behind him. We helped their family escape their predicament and took him in. This favor will ensure the Xu family's safety and our children's future careers will be smooth. If they want to pursue a literary career, Qin Gongsu will guide them; if they want to pursue a military career, Zhao Dayi will support them. Even their own offspring might not enjoy such treatment..."
The lady exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Xu Jie smiled, but quickly his expression turned serious. "However, the more this is the case, the more cautious we need to be. Our family's foundation isn't deep, and being too flamboyant will only arouse suspicion. To outsiders, the Xu family had close ties with Lord Shen when they were under Lord Wu's command, and now that we're loyal to Lord Shen, how can we not have connections with other forces? No matter how magnanimous Lord Shen is, he won't tolerate it."
The lady also became anxious upon hearing this: "What should we do?"
Xu Jie's eyes were cold: "I can only manage the clan members well and make them careful with their words and actions. If anyone hinders the prosperity of the Xu clan, then they can't blame me, the clan leader, for being ruthless..."
No one can destroy it!
The lady nodded: "I'll keep an eye on things too."
As she spoke, an idea popped into her mind.
"I've heard that Mr. Shen is a young and talented man, yet he remains single?"
Arranged marriages have always been the most effective way to stabilize relationships. In recent years, Xu's status and reputation have risen significantly, leading to a substantial increase in the quality of families seeking marriage partners. She herself has been carefully considering potential marriage partners for her daughter, hoping to find a respectable and distinguished family…
Thinking about it now—
What family could be more suitable than Shen Jun?
Even if it doesn't work out in their own family, they'd rather keep the good stuff within the family. Whether it's Xu's family or her own, there are plenty of suitable candidates, but their backgrounds might not be good enough for them. Even if Shen Jun were to take them in, they could only be concubines. Of course, if they could fight for the position of wife, that would be even better.
Xu Jie: "...Don't overthink it."
The lady persisted: "Even a recommendation would be helpful..."
The future mistress will remember Xu's kindness.
Xu Jie counted on his fingers to figure out Shen Tang's age.
After hesitating for a long time, I finally managed to utter a sentence—
"...we could look for suitable young men."
lady:"……???"
Although the couple knew that immense wealth was about to befall them, they became increasingly discreet, declining all invitations to banquets and staying home to raise their child peacefully. Little did they know, Tianhai was in complete chaos, with a commotion erupting outside Zhao Feng's residence, where Madam Zhao Feng sat at the gate with a knife in hand.
The truth will eventually come out.
With the news of Qin Li's faction's defection spreading, everyone finally noticed the numerous relatives who had been replaced. Only a few families remained within Tianhai territory; the rest had vanished without a trace. Among those who remained were Zhao Feng's family.
The three sons lined up behind their mother.
Lady Zhao Feng sat on a small stool, her hands clasped on the hilt of her sword. Facing Lady Wu Xian, who had come to question her, she sneered, "Your Majesty is certainly well-informed these days. When the funeral was being held at your residence, you were nowhere to be seen presiding over the justice. Now that my husband and Princess Wu's fate has run its course, it's none of your business where the servants and their families go, is it? After all, they have the right to live!"
The white banners in the mansion have not yet been taken down.
"You have long harbored rebellious intentions!"
Otherwise, why would they have planned to send him away so early?
"This charge cannot be framed!" Madam Zhao Feng sneered repeatedly, raising her eyebrows. "We don't know anything about the affairs of men outside. But we do know one thing: if you get along, you stay together; if you don't, you separate. The front line didn't say he betrayed the cause, so I suppose his seeking another way out was permitted by Lord Wu. Madam, you've brought people to question us; do you intend to arrest our entire family and imprison us?"
Even if Madam Wu Xian had this intention, she wouldn't dare to do it, because she only brought servants and guards, not Wu Xian's confidants.
On the contrary, Lady Zhao Feng was fearless and emboldened.
She raised her hand, and her eldest son bent down to help her up.
Then, in full view of everyone, she took off her outer garment, revealing a white dress. Her three sons followed suit, taking off their outer garments until they were only wearing their own clothes. "If you really want to arrest us and imprison us, it doesn't matter. Now there are only the four of us left in the manor. All the other servants and maids have been released. If you want to punish us, we don't have to worry about implicating others. We have prepared food and clothing. When shall we leave, mistress?"
The sons each carried a bundle, arranged in order from largest to smallest.
This is a plan to stay in jail for ten days to half a month.
As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the crowd on the other side of the street.
A group of women and children dressed in white also came over, bringing their families, young and old, and carrying their luggage: "We're here too!"
|ω`)
Tang Mei is in the prime of her youth and wields power; sigh, how many people will be drawn to her because of her...
PS: Tangmei: Go to infrastructure construction, the more the better, the more the better!
(End of this chapter)
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