Chapter 835 - 838: Choice
Chapter 835: Chapter 838: Choice
Bai Jinglie was mentally prepared, but he hadn’t expected the other party to be even more shameless than he had imagined.
To say they would list the losses—did they really think this was just a petty squabble? Could he even afford to bear such losses?
"Mr. Xu, let’s not joke around." Bai Jinglie’s expression darkened. Even if his Marquis title was merely an empty honorific, did this mere third-rank official really take himself so seriously just because Bai Jinglie had shown him a modicum of respect?
"I am not joking," Xu Yangguang replied, equally irritated. "The fact that things have escalated to this point is entirely due to the inaccurate information provided by Marquis Bai.
"Not only has the Xu family become a massive laughingstock, but we have also needlessly provoked a formidable enemy in Gu Wenheng. These losses are immeasurable.
"If you feel that I lack the standing to negotiate with you here, our family’s patriarch happens to be at home. Shall I invite him out to speak with you?"
Bai Jinglie clenched his fists. "Mr. Xu, do you think my words carry no weight and that I am easily bullied?"
"Marquis Bai misunderstands. This rebellious son of mine has been spoiled since childhood. I apologize to you on his behalf." Xu Zhiwen entered at that moment, supported by the butler, and immediately apologized to Bai Jinglie the moment he opened his mouth.
Xu Yangguang felt defiant but lowered his head under Xu Zhiwen’s stern gaze.
"Mr. Xu," Bai Jinglie hastily greeted him upon seeing Xu Zhiwen enter. Even though Xu Zhiwen had retired from officialdom, his prestige in the imperial court was not something Bai Jinglie could afford to challenge.
"Marquis Bai, I am well aware of the purpose of your visit.
"It is all the fault of this unfilial son of mine for committing such a blunder behind my back. Fortunately, it did not result in a catastrophic disaster, which is a blessing in disguise."
Xu Zhiwen’s words carried a double meaning, neatly reducing the entire situation to Xu Yangguang’s personal actions.
Bai Jinglie remained silent. If the Xu family cleanly extricated themselves, he would undoubtedly become the laughingstock of everyone.
After Bai Jinglie departed, Xu Yangguang immediately asked, "Father, we’ve gone along with his schemes for so long and suffered such heavy losses. Are we really just going to let this go?"
"Shut up," Xu Zhiwen shouted harshly before lowering his voice. "News just arrived from the palace. The Crown Prince intervened in this matter. Otherwise, do you think you would have come up completely empty-handed?
"Now hurry up and have someone wipe away all the traces. Never speak of this matter again."
"But..."
"You want to ask if it’s unfair to make you shoulder the blame for this entirely on your own?"
"Father, I know handling it this way is for the best, but we were still set up by Bai Jinglie."
Xu Zhiwen looked somewhat disappointed. "Now is not the time to bicker over such things. Shouldn’t you be considering the deeper implications revealed by this incident?"
"...What do you mean, Father?"
"The Crown Prince received the news so quickly and dealt with it so swiftly. Is that not enough to put us on high alert?
"Go back and carefully screen the people around you. See if the Crown Prince has planted any spies among them.
"It seems we have underestimated the Crown Prince all these years. From now on, you need to act with more composure and stop being so reckless."
"Then... then are we just going to admit defeat this time?
"Besides, we didn’t do anything treasonous. We merely bought up a few shops. Even if he is the Crown Prince, what can he do to us?" Xu Yangguang still felt a bit dissatisfied. Every noble household bought and sold shops throughout the year; there was no reason for the Crown Prince to interfere.
"Buying a few shops isn’t a big deal, but you caused quite a commotion this time.
"And coincidentally, Mrs. Gu’s shops were being suppressed and bought out in various regions. If you had acted a bit faster and sealed the deal, it could have simply been explained away as legitimate business competition.
"But laying everything bare now, do you think those old foxes in the imperial court will still stand on our side?"
If it had been a done deal, Gu Wenheng would have had to accept it, even with his high rank. But now that the operation had been abruptly halted halfway by the Crown Prince, it was an entirely different story. This was also sending a signal to the old foxes in the imperial court that the Princes were beginning to make their moves.
If the Xu family avoided sticking their necks out, it wouldn’t affect the Fifth Prince. Thus, they needed to lay low for now in order to secure their future.
Xu Zhiwen stroked his beard, already silently plotting how to divert everyone’s attention. It seemed he would have to make use of the other families.
Jin Qianqian compiled a tally of the personnel brought back this time. Excluding the locally hired staff, the number of people bound by indentures had unwittingly reached several hundred.
"In the past, I always felt we were short on manpower, but having them all sitting idle suddenly is a bit of a headache." Currently, apart from retaining the escort agency and the restaurant, Jin Qianqian had offloaded all her other businesses.
"Hasn’t our second son always wanted to take over your businesses?" Gu Wenheng asked. "This is the perfect opportunity to let him practice. These are all veteran staff you’ve trained yourself; let’s see if he has the ability to win their respect."
Jin Qianqian frowned slightly. "We are still in the mourning period. It’ll be another year before they finish their mourning. What worries me now is this one-year gap. We can’t just leave them idle; I’m afraid trouble will brew if they have nothing to do."
"You worry too much," Gu Wenheng said, shaking his head with a light chuckle. "That boy doesn’t need to handle everything personally. He can pick a few reliable subordinates to cultivate mutual understanding.
"He might not be able to travel to distant places, but he can certainly run some operations nearby."
Back in the day, hadn’t they stepped out from Fu County one step at a time? Their son’s current situation was much better than theirs had been.
"Won’t that attract too much attention?" Jin Qianqian asked.
Guessing her concerns, Gu Wenheng replied, "As long as that boy has made up his mind not to pursue an official career, whether his reputation is good or bad won’t matter."
Jin Qianqian remained silent.
"Actually, deep down, you still don’t approve of it, do you?" Gu Wenheng turned his head to look at her. "Even though you talk as if you’ve let it go, you’re still hoping the child will change his mind."
Being seen through by Gu Wenheng didn’t upset Jin Qianqian. "Maybe I’m just getting old and a bit indecisive.
"Our two boys have chosen different paths, but how could I not know that the path our second son has chosen is the more arduous one?
"His intelligence and the knowledge he has acquired are no less than his elder brother’s. In this dynasty where the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants is so clearly demarcated, I really don’t want him to be looked down upon in the future."
Gu Wenheng patted her head. "Do you feel like you are looked down upon?"
"...I know well enough in my heart. If you hadn’t pursued an official career, given our family’s wealth, we would have been carved up who knows how many times by now," Jin Qianqian admitted. "Cancan hasn’t completely settled on his path yet, and I’m afraid he will regret it in the future."
"So you still want him to maintain a good reputation, so that if worse comes to worst, he will still have a way out."
Jin Qianqian nodded. "Parents always want to give their children the best, but I also know that many of these things cannot be forced.
"I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this for a while, but it kept getting delayed by one thing or another. Tell me, what should we do?"
Gu Wenheng replied, "...Let’s sit down and talk with both brothers later. You should also try to be more open-minded. He chose this path himself. The fact that we have laid such a solid foundation for them is already their good fortune."
Thinking back to those years when they had first arrived in this dynasty, they had been practically reduced to dust, yet hadn’t they still struggled to climb up? "When it’s time to let go, you must let go," he added.