Chapter 183 The Transaction
Wang Liuniang finally met Li Xiaoxiao.
This was their first formal meeting, and her gaze was involuntarily fixed on her.
She was wearing a smart uniform, which was clearly tailored to her size, making her stand straight and full of energy, with a strong sense of confidence in her eyes.
She sat there motionless, her mere presence already far surpassing that of others, making it impossible to tell that she had once been a slave.
Wang Liuniang recalled how she crippled Lu Ke with a single kick. At that time, she was filled with murderous intent, exuding an arrogant and domineering aura. Of course, she also had the confidence to back up her arrogance.
She once couldn't understand why Meng Guanqi was willing to risk being ridiculed by the entire gentry to insist on marrying her, but now, judging from the results, she had misjudged him, and probably everyone else had misjudged him too. She was ahead of the entire Meng family; she was now a third-rank military officer, and the first female general in the history of the Great Wu to reach such a high position.
Wang Liuniang couldn't help but feel ashamed. She used to think that no matter how good Li Xiaoxiao was, her background was what it was, and she was destined to be inferior. But after she herself became the daughter of a traitor, she even felt that she was not as good as Li Xiaoxiao.
At worst, Li Xiaoxiao had been a slave. But once Minister Wang was convicted, she would be the daughter of a disgraced official. If she hadn't already been married, she might have been implicated and ended up in the brothel, becoming an unredeemable prostitute.
A hint of envy, and then a touch of awe, appeared in her eyes.
Her unusual emotions made her restrain herself, and she respectfully bowed to Li Xiaoxiao: "General Li."
In terms of rank, Wang Liuniang's rank was much higher than hers. She probably needed something from her, which was why she was giving such a grand gesture. Li Xiaoxiao quickly helped her up, saying, "Your Highness is too kind. You mustn't do that."
Wang Liuniang felt her body being lifted up by a tremendous force, and she was secretly surprised by the strength.
Li Xiaoxiao had no connection with Wang Liuniang, so there was nothing to say in the small talk. She went straight to the point: "The Princess Consort sent someone to my residence with an invitation. May I ask what brings you here?"
Wang Liuniang was surprised that she asked about her purpose right away, and was a little unaccustomed to her way of speaking. However, she quickly realized that she had no relationship with Li Xiaoxiao, so she might as well speak directly: "General Li is deeply favored by the Emperor, and I would like to ask General Li to do my family a favor."
Li Xiaoxiao asked knowingly, "Please speak."
Wang Liuniang took a deep breath: "I want to get my brothers out of here. I wonder if General Li has any way to help them plead for mercy before the Emperor?"
Li Xiaoxiao deliberately frowned: "Your Highness wants to save your brothers? But shouldn't your family most want to save your father?"
Wang Liuniang looked up, about to ask if it was alright, but met Li Xiaoxiao's ambiguous smile. She immediately realized that Li Xiaoxiao was just testing her, and she said sadly, "If there is a chance to save my father, how could I not do my best? But my father has been imprisoned in a death row cell and cannot be visited..."
She looked intently at Li Xiaoxiao and said, "According to my mother, my brothers were not involved in Father's affairs and still have a chance of survival. So I beg General Li to put in a good word for my brothers before the Emperor. We dare not ask for them to be completely innocent, but we would be extremely grateful if they could be spared the death penalty."
Lady Wang could no longer contain herself behind the screen. She rushed out and knelt before Li Xiaoxiao, weeping, "General Li, I beg you, please put in a good word for my sons before the Emperor! They really know nothing... We will agree to any condition as long as you can save their lives..."
Wang Liuniang's expression changed, and she immediately went to pull Madam Wang up: "Mother, get up quickly!"
"Get up? Kneel down with me!" Madam Wang roared. Instead of getting up, she pulled Wang Liu Niang down, causing her to stumble and fall in front of Li Xiaoxiao. She looked at Madam Wang in disbelief: "Mother!"
Madam Wang retorted angrily, "Why are you putting on airs when you're begging for help? How will General Li know your sincerity if you don't kneel down? Do you still think you're some high and mighty Princess Consort Xin? If Prince Xin hadn't escaped but had been arrested along with Prince Chun, you would have suffered the same fate as my family!"
The one who truly conspired with Prince Chun to murder the former Crown Prince's family was Prince Xin. At most, Vice Minister Wang could only be considered an accomplice. Moreover, he sensed the danger in advance and destroyed a lot of evidence. Logically speaking, his crime should not be so serious.
But Prince Xin fled, and apart from Prince Chun, Vice Minister Wang became the one with the most serious crimes, which is why his son was also imprisoned. It is unknown whether they can be saved.
Wang Liuniang looked at Madam Wang in disbelief. Li Xiaoxiao thought to herself that this was bad. Madam Wang's words were too harsh. If Wang Liuniang turned against her and refused to hand over Prince Xin's property, her and Emperor Hongxing's plans would fall through.
Before Wang Liuniang could react, she quickly helped her up, then helped up Madam Wang as well, and called out to the door, "Someone, Madam Wang is not feeling well, take her away to rest."
The servants waiting outside immediately came in, glanced at Wang Liuniang, and seeing that she was pale and did not object, quickly helped the somewhat delirious Madam Wang away.
Li Xiaoxiao said to Wang Liuniang, "Madam Wang was just anxious and misspoke. That was definitely not her intention..."
Wang Liuniang was heartbroken: "Now, besides her son, she has no place for me, her daughter. General Li, there's no need to comfort me. I've always known that I'm nothing more than a tool for them to curry favor. They only remember me when they need me..."
She glanced at Li Xiaoxiao meaningfully: "I originally had the opportunity to marry the person I loved, but they pretended to agree, and secretly had the late emperor bestow a marriage upon me, leaving me with no way to resist..."
As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and a single tear fell from her eye.
Li Xiaoxiao's face stiffened for a moment. Could she be talking about wanting to marry Meng Guanqi? Hey, you don't have a chance. We were already engaged back in Biyang County. You hadn't even met him back then.
And you're being so superficial! You're going to marry Meng Guanqi after only meeting him once? Do you even know what kind of person he is? Do you even understand him? You're just marrying him because he's good-looking? How can you be so casual about relationships?
It's not a pleasant feeling to have your own little cabbage coveted, so Li Xiaoxiao decided to withdraw her sympathy for Wang Liuniang and focus on the important matter at hand.
She said casually, "Your Highness, let's get back to the main topic. Whether your brothers can get out of prison alive depends entirely on your decision."
Although she had been deeply hurt by her mother, Wang Liuniang's brothers had always doted on her. Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes: "You have a way to rescue them?"
But she immediately realized that Li Xiaoxiao had come to her door in person after she had only sent an invitation, so she probably had something she wanted: "What do you want? As long as I can give you, I can give you anything."
Li Xiaoxiao smiled slightly: "It's easy, not difficult at all."
She took a booklet from her bosom and handed it to Wang Liuniang: "As long as you return these things to the Emperor, your brothers will not have to die."
Wang Liuniang took the booklet in surprise, flipped through it carefully, and immediately understood: "The Emperor wants to take back the property that the late Emperor gave us?"
Li smiled and said, "Don't worry, I only took 80%, and I left 20% for you."
Holding the booklet, Wang Liuniang trembled all over: "This was bestowed upon the Prince by the late Emperor!"
Li Xiaoxiao looked at her: "Do you think Prince Xin will come back? Does he dare to come back?"
Wang Liuniang's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
Li Xiaoxiao said, "Her Majesty the Empress's only wish was for the Crown Prince to spare Prince Xin's life and enfeoff him as a vassal king in Jiaodong. However, he failed Her Majesty's good intentions and fled on his own. Therefore, the Emperor has no need to keep his promise. The fact that he did not confiscate all of his property is already out of consideration for the fact that you are still guarding Prince Xin's residence. If he confiscated it all, it would not look good in front of the imperial relatives... Now it depends on your choice. Do you leave these properties for him, or do you use these properties to save the lives of your brothers? It is all up to you."
With so many properties to be handed over, it was impossible for Wang Liuniang to give her an answer on the spot. Li Xiaoxiao stood up and said, "If you've thought it through, just send someone to my residence with an invitation. I'll take my leave now."
That evening, the couple lay in bed chatting. Li Xiaoxiao mentioned her meeting with Wang Liuniang that day: "Before I met Wang Liuniang, I felt it was a sure thing. Anyway, these properties all belong to Prince Xin, so she wouldn't feel bad about handing them over. But I didn't expect Madam Wang to pull this stunt, and now it's hard to say."
Madam Wang had practically instilled maximum hatred in Wang Liuniang. If she knew that the Prince of Xin's property could be used to save her sons' lives, she would probably stop at nothing to force Wang Liuniang to hand over the property. This would only fuel Wang Liuniang's rebellious spirit, and she might actually refuse to give it up in a fit of anger.
Meng Guanqi held her hand: "Even if she doesn't give it this time, the Emperor will find other ways to make her hand it over. In any case, these properties can't be saved... By the way, speaking of our banquet this time, do you think it would be good to ask Fifth Uncle to come and help?"
Li Xiaoxiao was taken aback: "Zhao Jian said they wanted to try to do it themselves. I think we should support him. Although our own family members have never done these things before, we should learn how to do them. We can't always trouble the people at the old house, can we?"
Meng Guanqi said, "I don't plan to have anyone from the Meng family take over. I mean, I'll have my fifth uncle come and help. He'll be in charge of overall coordination, and Zhao Jian and the others can learn from him. Practice makes perfect, and next time we have a banquet, our family members should know what to do."
Li Xiaoxiao said, "I remember Fifth Uncle is a playboy who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun. I hope he won't come here and make things worse."
Meng Guanqi said, “You’re wrong about that. We’ve been getting along with Fifth Uncle for a while now. Although he doesn’t like studying, he’s very clever and insightful. I’ve asked him for help a few times before, and he always did a great job. It’s a pity that Grandfather only has eyes for his children who can study, so he can’t tolerate him. Actually, if they handed over the family business to Fifth Uncle to manage, he might be able to make something of himself and wouldn’t have to keep asking Third Uncle for money.”
When Minister Meng and his generation were still alive, it was understandable that the third branch of the family received their favors and accepted money from them. However, Minister Meng has been retired for many years now, and once these elders pass away and a new head of the family takes over, there will be a gap between them, and the family will no longer have the obligation to provide financial support to their branch.
The Meng family's second branch has five sons. Meng Rong is the Vice Minister of Works and the eldest son, so he can inherit 70% of the family property. His family naturally doesn't need to worry about making a living. However, the second branch is weak, the third branch is incompetent, and the fourth branch has long since separated and has nothing to do with them. The fifth branch, Meng Mao, doesn't even have an official title. As soon as Minister Meng passes away, the family will definitely be divided. The second, third, and fifth branches can only inherit less than 30% of the Meng family's property. If they move out of the Meng family, they will immediately become just ordinary people and won't even be considered a moderately wealthy household. But they don't seem to be in a hurry.
Meng Mao probably had his own ulterior motives, but he wasn't valued and nobody listened to him, so he became somewhat self-destructive and decided to just be a playboy.
But when Meng Guanqi asked him to do something, he took it very seriously and did it very well, which showed that he was ambitious. Meng Guanqi liked to deal with such smart people, so he would think about mentoring Meng Mao whenever he had the chance.
Asking him to help organize the banquet would be a good opportunity for those who wanted to build a good relationship with the couple. Since they couldn't directly approach them, they would go through Meng Mao to explore the possibilities. This was a new path and a new opportunity for Meng Mao. It all depended on whether he could seize the opportunity.
"Oh, right!" Li Xiaoxiao suddenly sat up: "Did you tell Mom and Dad about our promotion? Did they write to us?"
Meng Guanqi smiled slightly: "Let me keep you in suspense for now, you'll find out in a few days."
What's all this secrecy about? But he wouldn't tell her, and even started touching her inappropriately, which successfully made her give up asking.
The next day, after leaving the yamen, Meng Guanqi indeed summoned Meng Mao, wanting to ask him to help organize a banquet.
Meng Mao was stunned: "You, you want me to help organize the banquet?" This is a huge joyous occasion, he has never handled anything so big before, can he really manage it?
Meng Guanqi said, "Of course, it's not up to you to do it alone. We have many servants in our mansion, and you know Zhao Jian and Asheng. They will all cooperate with you. Whether you need money, manpower, or any other items, you only need to say a few words, and they will get it done."
Meng Mao was so anxious that he paced back and forth, muttering to himself, "What should I do? What should I do?"
His mind was filled with ideas on how to make the banquet a success, but he never considered refusing it. Haha, how could he possibly refuse such a good thing? Who were Li Xiaoxiao and Meng Guanqi? They were the two most favored people in the new emperor's court. The people attending the banquet would definitely be important figures from all walks of life. As the person in charge, he could also get to know many people. This was a very important opportunity, how could he possibly miss it?
He asked Meng Guanqi with a serious expression, "Have you set a date? How much preparation time do you have?"
Meng Guanqi said, "It's set for the 17th of this month, so there are still twelve days to prepare. Fifth Uncle, there's no need to rush. If you really don't understand, you can go back to the manor and ask your chief steward about the procedures. Just follow along and prepare everything one by one."
Meng Mao murmured, "I know, I know, twelve days should be enough. I'll call your fifth aunt over to help too; she's got nothing better to do at home..."
He grasped Meng Guanqi's hand with a look of deep emotion: "Good nephew, don't worry. Since you trust me, I will definitely handle this matter properly for you and make sure you don't lose face, I promise!"
When news of Meng Guanqi asking Meng Mao to help with the banquet reached the Meng residence, Madam Nie was so angry that she smashed a cup in the room: "I was the one who went to ask first, how come they asked Meng Mao to handle it? He's just a playboy who only knows how to eat, drink and have fun, how can we entrust such an important matter to him?"
She remembered that she had never offended Meng Guanqi and his wife, so why should this matter be entrusted to Meng Mao? As the wife of a high-ranking official, was she really inferior to a young master who only knew how to eat, drink, and idle all day? Did Meng Mao even know the etiquette of welcoming guests? Did he understand the proper manners of social interactions?
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