Chapter 27: Each One is a Handful (Seeking Recommendation Tickets!)

  Xia Fu secretly called out in surprise, he hadn't expected Yang Xu's debt to be here. He was even more surprised that this Mrs. Sun was so bold, daring to invite him to romance in the living room.

  However, it's normal to think that Geng Lin is the man who married into the Sun family. As he married in, the right to control the Sun family's property still lies in Madame Sun's hands. The servants and slaves of the Sun Mansion are actually living under Madame's rule, if she wants to have an affair, they will turn a blind eye, those who are clever will even inform her when Geng Lin is not around and provide cover for her, that's what it means to be a good servant with a future.

  Of course, this matter cannot be put on the table to discuss, really encounter that situation just cough and say a few words loudly, or find an excuse to hold back the staff, Madam will understand and grant you favor, if very directly in front of Madam show a face like I know all about your business, then it's tragic.

  At this moment, Xia Yu suddenly understood why Geng Yun's expression was so strange, why the eyes of the master of the hall were so sinister, why Geng Fu was so sarcastic, and why the lame servant looked at him with such deep meaning... Everything had only one answer: Yang Xu and Sun Furen had an affair.

  This matter can be hidden from outsiders, but it cannot be hidden from the people of Sun's mansion. It is just that due to Madame Sun's absolute power, not only do the people above and below Sun's mansion have to rely on her for their livelihood, even the Geng family father and son are no exception, so they can only swallow their anger and humiliation. No wonder Zhang Thirteen didn't know the details, he is Yang Xu's personal attendant, with Yang Xu's label stuck on his forehead, who would be so blind as to go in front of him and talk about his master's shameful affairs?

  Affected by this charming beauty, Xia Chong's heart was also filled with desires and impulses. He was a robust man who didn't have extremely strict self-control in terms of sex. He didn't mind having a fleeting romance with beautiful women. In fact, when he was working undercover, he had pretended to be intimate with those female drug dealers in the entertainment venues under the tacit consent of the police. However, he was not a man who would lose his head over beauty.

  For the sake of a small head, he lost his big head. This deal is not worth it. Moreover, although the game is harmless, Mrs. Sun is already married, and if he gets involved with her, it would go against his conscience. But now he's playing the role of Yang Wenxuan, who has had an affair with Mrs. Sun before, how can he get rid of her entanglement?

  Just as he was hesitating, Madame Sun had already pulled him into the small study with a flirtatious tone, saying: "You scoundrel, aren't you coming to have some fun? Do I need to help you undress?"

  Xia Liu bit her teeth, just about to push her away and find some righteous and severe reasons to end this absurd romance with her. Suddenly, a voice came from outside the hall: "Young Master Yang, someone from your mansion has come to our mansion to report that something urgent has happened in your mansion, please return immediately."

  Xia Fu was overjoyed and hastily slid away from Sun's wife, loudly responding: "Understood, I'll go back right now."

  He said with a sigh of relief to Madame Sun: "I had an appointment at home to discuss some business, but... I must take my leave."

  Although Mrs. Sun was greatly disappointed, her demeanor and movements quickly recovered their elegance and poise. She let go of Xia Yu, calmly smoothed out the disheveled hair at her temples, and followed him as he walked towards the outer hall. As soon as they reached the entrance, she stopped and bowed slightly, saying: "Young master, please take your leave, I won't see you off any further. Xiao Lan, see Yang Gongzi off."

  Looking at her demeanor and expression at this moment, who would believe that she was just being coquettish a while ago?

  The maid standing under the veranda was none other than Xiangling, Madame Sun's personal maid. She had been standing properly in the corner of the wall and, upon hearing the summons, responded with a busy "yes" before leading Xiaojie out. As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard, Madame Sun's face turned gloomy. Suddenly, Li Daichun appeared from who-knows-where, dragging his lame leg to her side, and asked in a low voice, "Miss, have you figured it out?"

  Mrs. Sun's face was overcast, and she didn't speak for a long time. Li Dahein dared not urge her, standing aside with his hands hanging down, occasionally casting a glance towards the direction where Xia Liu had left, with a hint of murderous intent in his eyes...

  A beautiful woman as lovely as a spring flower, mature like a ripe peach, approaches you - isn't that the most delightful thing for men? Xia Yu thought so, but never expected that one day such an encounter would make him tremble with fear. With a lingering sense of unease, he followed the maid Xiao Lan as they hastily walked out, and just as they were passing by the garden, he heard a girl's voice calling out from afar: "Young Master Yang."

  Xia Xian heard the sound and stopped in his tracks, turning his head to look, only to see a slender and elegant young girl, dressed in a green dress, standing under the moon gate of the side courtyard, holding a book in her hand, waving at him with a bright smile, her dimples as lovely as flowers.

  Xia Liu's soul was still unsettled as she thought: "Which one is this again?"

  While hesitating, Xiaolan had already bowed and said: "Miss."

  It suddenly dawned on Xia Xian: "So she is Sun Miaoyi, the young mistress of Shengchun Hall."

  The girl skipped over, waving at Xiaolan, who retreated to one side. The girl walked up to Xiachun and stretched out her pale, jade-like palm, smiling sweetly: "Young Master Yang, it's been a long time since you've come to my house. Today I finally caught you! Will you lend me the book as promised?"

  "What did you say?" Xia Yu suddenly asked.

  Miao Yi scolded, "Young Master Yang promised to lend me the script of 'Du Ruiniang's Clever Award of Golden Thread Pond' by Guan Hanqing for a read, how could he himself forget completely? What is speech if not trustworthy? Speech without trust, what is it worth? It's a pity that Young Master Yang, as a scholar with honors, isn't a trustworthy person."

  Xia Fu let out a subtle sigh, chuckled and said: "Oh, sorry about that. Today I was originally going to go somewhere else, but on the way, I coincidentally met your respected father, so I came over for a chat. How would I have brought the book with me? Haha, how about this, next time I visit, I'll definitely bring that book and lend it to you, Miss."

  "Alright then, I'll believe you this time. If you break your promise again, be careful of getting punished for being unfaithful to your words. Here, take it."

  "What's this again?"

  Sun Miaoyi said: "The 'Story of the Western Wing' that you borrowed from my family, people are not like you. As soon as they heard you arrived at my house, they immediately took it out and sent it to you in a hurry. This is a handwritten copy made by myself, treasured very much, don't get it dirty."

  "My goodness, this Yang Wenxuan is still a romantic playboy with a petty bourgeoisie sentiment!"

  Xia Liu touched his nose, smiled bitterly and went to answer the phone. Who would have thought that as soon as he touched the receiver, he felt a slender finger lightly hooking onto his palm. Xia Liu was taken aback and looked up to see a sly glint in Sun's eyes, who whispered in a voice only audible to the two of them: "Meet me at the Yu Huang Temple's Silkworm Goddess Hall tomorrow at 2 o'clock."

  "What?!?" Xia Feng's mind went blank, and he was stunned on the spot.

  Sun Miaoyi gave him a shy glance, withdrew her hand and said loudly: "Young master, don't forget what you promised to do!"

  "Yang Xu, what have you done now!" Xia Yu looked at the girl's back as she left, wanting to cry but having no tears.

  Xia Liu escaped from the Sun Mansion in a hurry, and didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she reached the main street. She calmed down and asked Peng Ziqi, "What happened in the mansion?"

  Peng Ziqi's nose isn't a nose and his eyes aren't eyes as he says, "How the hell would I know what kind of crap happened at your place!"

  Xia Yu was stunned: "Didn't you say..."

  Miss Peng coldly snorted: "I just heard that Geng Yun was drunk and I thought you'd do something else to ruin your reputation, so I made up an excuse to call you out! Yang Xu, as someone who has read the classics, can't you do less despicable things?"

  "What's wrong with me?" Xia Yu said hesitantly.

  "What's wrong? You know what's going on in your own heart! There is a clear sky above, people can be deceived, but heaven cannot be deceived! You have wealth and power, fame and looks, what do you want that you can't get? Why must you keep doing things that go against the principles of nature and humanity?"

  Xia Yu was taken aback: "Could it be that she actually knew about Yang Xu's matter?"

  He hesitated and asked: "Are you saying..."

  Peng Ziqi made a cute face and said: "I don't want to say it, it's dirtying my mouth!"

  Xia Fu suddenly smiled and bowed deeply to her, saying with tears of gratitude: "I understand the mistakes of yesterday, I realize the truth of today, and I have already deeply regretted my past wrongdoings."

  "Ha! Can a dog change its habit of eating shit?"

  Xia Liu spread out his hands and said helplessly: "A prodigal son's return is worth more than gold, isn't that right?"

  "Pah!" Peng Nang turned her head and walked away.

  Xia Liu wiped her face and followed him with a stuffy expression.

  Sun Fu and his party, Xia Xun did not investigate the details of Geng Yuanwai, but instead discovered the complex relationship between Yang Xu and Sun Fu. This made Geng Yuanwai's suspicion even heavier, was there a greater hatred than killing one's father and stealing one's wife? This was undoubtedly a powerful reason to force good people to commit heinous crimes. Although he was unwilling to have any more dealings with the people of Sun Fu, in order to investigate the truth, he had to continue to pretend to be friendly and humble.

  It's just that this coming and going seems to be more of a headache than meeting with Zhang Thirteen and Feng Zongqi, thinking about the appointment with Miao Yiguniang at the Jade Emperor Temple, Xia Jiu felt uneasy all over. But he didn't have time to think about these things now, because the Qi Wang's birthday had arrived, and he had to go deal with this troublesome person first.

  King Qi's birthday, Xia Yu prepared a thick gift. Those who do big business must have a strong background, let alone the Yang family has been taking care of King Qi's business and has made a lot of profits from it. Even if it is only for maintaining this relationship with King Qi, it is worth his offering a thick gift.

  Four servants carried the screen, which was purchased from "Fu An Ju", behind his car. The screen had a base made of golden nanmu wood and was adorned with inlaid teeth. It was painted with the finest silk to depict the auspicious "Cat Chasing Butterfly" longevity screen. The word for "cat" is homophonous with the word for "seventy-year-old", while the word for "butterfly" is homophonous with the word for "eighty-year-old". This was a clever play on words, conveying good wishes without being too extravagant or showy. The materials used were expensive and the painting conveyed auspicious meanings, making it suitable as a gift to wish longevity to elderly relatives.

  There was also a servant holding the green jade longevity peach that had been bought from "Shengshi Qingbao". The peach had red on top, white in the middle and green at the bottom, with bright green leaves below, looking lifelike. If this peach were carved out of one piece of jade with its three parts of red, white and green, it would be a treasure for the ages. Not to mention that even if such a treasure existed, spending all his wealth wouldn't be enough to buy it.

  The three-colored part of this jade longevity peach is made from a piece of beautiful jade, which was carved by skilled craftsmen and then bonded with high-quality fish glue. Because the craftsmanship is extremely exquisite, the faint marks are not easily noticeable. Presenting such an ingenious jade peach to King Qi can be considered as presenting something impressive.

  In addition, it's all gold and silver. Roughly calculated, the total value of this gift is approximately 1,500 guan, which is a very substantial gift. Even if other scholars and merchants were to give gifts to celebrate the birthday of someone as noble as Qi Wangye, they wouldn't be generous enough to offer a gift worth 1,500 guan.

  Today is the birthday of King Qi, and envoys have been sent from the capital to offer congratulations. Envoys have also been sent by various vassal kings. All the prominent figures in Qingzhou City have arrived, and the Governor and the Commander-in-Chief arrived yesterday with their officials and clerks from Jinan Prefecture, temporarily staying at the prefectural yamen. They all came for today's birthday banquet of King Qi. At this time, guests from various places are rushing to get on the road, and it is getting more and more crowded as they approach the West City.

  The residence of the King of Qi was built on the site of the old Longxing Temple in the west city of Qingzhou, and its scale was not much larger than that of the original Longxing Temple. Compared with the mansion of Yan Wang Zhu Di, which was built on the basis of the Yuan Dynasty imperial palace, it is really different from heaven to earth. No wonder he couldn't appreciate his own mansion after seeing the grandeur of the Yanwang Mansion and wanted to rebuild one with all his heart.

  When Xia Yu arrived at the residence of King Qi with gifts, he saw a bustling scene in front of the gate, with people coming and going, congratulating the king on his birthday. Those who entered were naturally there to congratulate him, including high-ranking officials, local celebrities, wealthy merchants, envoys from various vassal states, and imperial emissaries. As for those who left, they were only qualified to present gifts but not qualified to stay and have a cup of wine with the king.

  Xia Liu arrived at the Wang Mansion, where a ceremonial officer was waiting to greet him. As soon as Xia Liu handed over his gift list, the officer's eyes widened in surprise. He looked up at the red silk-covered lacquer tray and the brightly colored screen behind it, and then at the small box filled with precious notes. The officer put down his brush and whispered a few words into the ear of a young servant boy, who immediately took off running.

  In an instant, a middle-aged man with a brand new eunuch uniform and a white face without a mustache came over with a smile. This person was Shu Tong, the right attendant of the Wangfu Palace's Conveyance Department, a seventh-grade eunuch who was qualified to receive some officials from the prefectural government office. However, he had come to welcome Peng Ziqi, a scholar with only a shengyuan degree, which made Peng Ziqi glance at Xia Liu in surprise, not expecting that this good-for-nothing young man would have such prestige in the Wangfu Palace.

  At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, eunuchs had ranks and salaries, but no status. These eunuchs were all very humble and did not dare to be arrogant or look down on others. As soon as they saw Xia Yu, Shu Gonggong was the first to greet him, smiling warmly: "Young Master Yang has arrived. The front hall is quite messy, sir is an honored guest, please follow me to the side hall to sit."

  Peng Ziqi was about to follow, just wanting to take a look at the Wang Fu's appearance, but unexpectedly, Shu Gonggong stretched out his hand to block him, smiling and saying: "Sorry, young master's servant, you can't come in."

  Peng Ziqi's eyebrows furrowed, and she glared fiercely at Xia Xun. Xia Xun had been followed by her all day, and it was rare for him to have some personal space. As soon as Shu Gonggong spoke up, Xia Xun eagerly agreed and said to Peng Ziqi, "Little Qi, you take the servants from the manor and find a cool place to wait. I'll come find you after I've had my drink." After finishing speaking, he didn't even look at her expression before following Shu Gonggong inside.

  The system of many kings, demoting the Son of Heaven by one degree.

  That is to say, the grandeur of the king's ceremony was only slightly inferior to that of the emperor. The grandeur and majesty of the birthday banquet of King Qi can be imagined. The imperial kitchen was responsible for the food and drink at the birthday banquet, the ritual department was responsible for the etiquette program of the entire birthday banquet, the Gongzheng department was responsible for the decoration and dressing up of the entire royal palace, and the Yiwai department was responsible for the safety and security work inside and outside the royal palace.

  In addition, there were also officials in charge of hats, clothes, decorations, shoes, and ushers, as well as young eunuchs and palace maids hurrying about. The entire birthday banquet was a grand affair. Yang Wenguang was led into a side hall in the second courtyard, where more than ten tables had been set up for a feast, but only those with close ties to the Wang estate were qualified to be invited here.

  Among these people, there were naturally many who knew Yang Wenyuan, so Xia Jiu was very cautious. Under his careful response, a banquet came and went without any trouble. Xia Jiu casually responded to acquaintances, eating more dishes and drinking less wine, only filling his stomach. As he ate, he suddenly found that the number of people attending the birthday banquet in the hall was decreasing. Putting down his chopsticks and taking a look, he saw that the remaining few people were also whispering to each other, with suspicious expressions, and then they all stood up and bid farewell one after another.

  "What's wrong with him again?"