Chapter 576 - 327: First Grade Official!
Chapter 576: Chapter 327: First Grade Official!
Just then, footsteps sounded from outside the hall.
Xiao Xuanshuo sat upright and attentive, while Xiao Jinghong turned her head to look.
It was Li Fu, the Governor of Shu State. His appearance was ordinary, not particularly outstanding, and his posture was not considered tall or straight. But wearing his crimson Official Robe, complete with an Official Hat and Jade Belt, he carried a certain imposing aura as he strode in.
Li Fu entered the hall and took the seat of honor. Xiao Xuanshuo cupped his hands in greeting, but Xiao Jinghong remained seated, unmoving.
Li Fu waved his hand, signaling Xiao Xuanshuo to dispense with the formalities. His gaze fell on Xiao Jinghong, and he shook his head with a smile. "General Xiao, you have truly put Mr. Li in a difficult position this time."
Xiao Jinghong remained unmoved. "What difficulties does the Commander face?" she asked calmly.
"Zhu Hao defied the imperial decree and attempted to assassinate the envoy to flee Shu State. If I hadn’t intervened, your troubles would be even greater."
Li Fu’s smile remained unchanged. "Troublesome as it may be, there was still a chance to have Zhu Hao confess the truth and give up his accomplices. Now that he’s dead, neither Eunuch Feng nor I can easily report back to the Holy Emperor."
"That is between you and Eunuch Feng. It has nothing to do with me."
"...General Xiao is as straightforward as ever."
Xiao Jinghong cast him a glance, her tone dropping a couple of degrees. "Commander, there is no need to pin the blame on me and strike first. The man may be dead, but the matter remains. The delays in provisions and military equipment for the Dingyuan Army, as well as the grain tax issue—does the Capital Commandery not plan to give me an explanation?"
Li Fu’s smile froze. "General Xiao, you exaggerate. This matter..."
"Does the Commander want to claim ignorance?"
"...No."
Faced with Xiao Jinghong’s aggressiveness, Li Fu shook his head somewhat helplessly. "Once we thoroughly investigate the actions of Zhu Hao and his accomplices, Mr. Li will certainly report to the Minister of War, Luo... Lord Chen," he said sternly. "He will then report it to the Holy Emperor for a final decision."
Xiao Jinghong still felt dissatisfied. She spat out a few more words, "Salt and iron operations."
Li Fu frowned slightly. "What does General Xiao mean by this?"
"The Commander asks when he already knows the answer. Zhu Hao was in charge of the salt and iron revenues; how could he not have lined his own pockets?"
"So General Xiao intends to investigate this to the bitter end?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinghong looked straight at him. "Does the Commander not intend to investigate it thoroughly?" she asked, her eyes sharp.
Meeting her gaze, Li Fu’s expression flickered uncertainly, seemingly putting him in a difficult spot.
Xiao Xuanshuo sat perfectly still with his eyes downcast, but his ears caught every single word of their conversation. He couldn’t help but marvel at Xiao Jinghong’s words. Over the past five years, the Xiao Family and the Dingyuan Army had suffered countless overt and covert suppressions from the Capital Commandery. Now that Zhu Hao was dead, it was indeed time to settle some scores.
After a long time, Li Fu withdrew his gaze, picked up the teacup from the table, and took a sip. "General Xiao has been in Shu State for many years and should be clear about the situation here, just like in Guangyuan..." he said, carefully weighing his words.
Before he could finish, Xiao Jinghong interrupted, "Forgive me, Commander, but I have spent most of my time in the army and know little about matters outside."
"..."
Hearing this, Li Fu set down his teacup and shook his head with a bitter smile. "I promise you, not a single one of the silver coins embezzled by Zhu Hao and his accomplices will be missing." Seeing that Xiao Jinghong remained silent, he gritted his teeth slightly and continued, "A portion of it will be allocated to the soldiers of the Three Towns. Is General Xiao satisfied?"
Xiao Jinghong stared at him for a few breaths before looking away. "Then we shall do as the Commander suggests," she said calmly.
She was not a stubborn person; achieving her goal was enough. Moreover, she was well aware of the complex and deeply rooted factions within Guangyuan County, where the Capital Commandery was located. Especially those Salt Merchants—who knew how many interests and people were tied up behind them. Unless absolutely necessary, Xiao Jinghong did not want to push things to the absolute extreme for now, lest it worsen the Xiao Family’s already dire situation.
Li Fu, however, grumbled inwardly, "What do you mean, ’as the Commander suggests’? It was clearly your idea."
Though he thought this, he didn’t show a hint of it on his face. "Then regarding the matter of Zhu Hao’s death..."
"Handle it according to the laws and regulations. I will bear the full responsibility."
Upon hearing this, Li Fu finally managed a smile. "That is good. Then General Xiao, why not wait a moment today? Mr. Li has arranged a banquet in the city..."
Unexpectedly, Xiao Jinghong stood up directly. "There is no need. It’s rare for me to visit Guangyuan, and I need to pay a visit to the Fu Family. If Eunuch Feng is ready to depart, I trouble the Commander to send someone to the Fu Family to notify us."
"Alright..."
As Li Fu watched Xiao Jinghong and Xiao Xuanshuo walk away, the smile on his face slowly dissipated. After sitting quietly for a moment, he sighed, muttered something to himself about women being narrow-minded, then stood up and walked toward the outer wing room.
After straightening his clothes, he pushed open the door. "Eunuch Feng."
Feng Erbao stood in the room, looking at a Painting on the wall. Beside him were several older eunuchs and two Guards in Armor. Hearing the sound, Feng Erbao turned around with a gentle smile. "Commander Li, have you handled the matter with General Xiao?"
Li Fu nodded. "Just as you expected. General Xiao believes she is not at fault and refuses to bow her head."
Feng Erbao’s eyelids twitched, his smile stiffening slightly. After a moment, he waved his hand and laughed. "No matter, no matter. General Xiao also meant well. If it weren’t for her stepping in to help, and that thief Zhu Hao had actually escaped, neither you nor I could bear the responsibility."
"With you saying so, Mr. Li can rest easy."
"You are too kind..."
They chatted idly for a few sentences. Li Fu looked around. Seeing that Feng Erbao signaled for him to speak frankly, he asked, "Could you speak plainly? How did the Holy Emperor... how did His Majesty trace this to Zhu Hao? Was it a memorial written by Xiao Xuanshuo... or the Xiao Family?"
Feng Erbao cast him a sideways glance. "What is Commander Li worried about?"
"I dare not hide it from you. As Commander, Mr. Li has been lax in disciplining his subordinates. To have alarmed the Holy Emperor makes me truly ashamed."
"If that is all, Commander Li can put his mind at ease," Feng Erbao said. "The Imperial Family is not showing favor to the Xiao Family. Someone else submitted a memorial to him."
"Oh? May I ask who in Shu State it was?"
"The Inspector General, Tang Zixing, and... Chen Yunfan."
Li Fu suddenly realized. "So it was Lord Tang. That explains it." He paused, then added, "Chen Yunfan... The name sounds familiar..."
Feng Erbao wore a half-smile. "The eldest son of the Jiangnan Prefecture Chen Family."
Li Fu’s brows furrowed imperceptibly. "The son of Minister of War, Lord Chen... Thank you for the guidance, Eunuch."
"It’s hardly guidance. Even if I didn’t tell you, you would find out about this matter in a few days."
"You are too polite..."
***
As night approached, Xiao Jinghong and Xiao Xuanshuo left the Fu Family and headed toward the Capital Commandery. Along the way, Xiao Jinghong was somewhat silent. Xiao Xuanshuo’s mood was similar to hers; both found the current situation of the Fu Family difficult to accept.
Originally, due to Fu Wanqing, the Fu Family had an extremely close relationship with the Xiao Family and enjoyed boundless glory in Guangyuan County. However, after the news of Xiao Fengchun and Fu Wanqing dying in battle arrived, the Fu Family’s situation mirrored that of the Xiao Family, steadily declining. By now, the Fu Family was almost unable to sustain itself.
"Jinghong, once we return, Second Uncle will go discuss this with Father. We will definitely figure out a way to look after the Fu Family."
Xiao Jinghong murmured an agreement and was about to speak when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a storefront at a nearby street intersection. Outside the newly opened shop, quite a few scholars were gathered, pointing and talking about the signboard above the door.
"The three characters for Hundred Herbs Hall are written with vigorous and flowing strokes, elegant and unbridled. They are indeed more pleasing to the eye than Wei Qing’s Style."
"This must be the ’Cursive Script’ spreading from the Prefecture City?"
"Seeing it in person is better than hearing about its fame. It truly has unique qualities."
"Of course! Mr. Qingzhou’s Cursive Script has already reached the Perfection Realm. Even if this signboard is just a rubbing and doesn’t fully display his Calligraphy Dao realm, it’s still beyond what anyone else can compare to."
"Rather than marveling at it here, we’d be better off finding some paper and brushes to trace it. Perhaps we could learn a fraction of Mr. Qingzhou’s mastery in Cursive Script."
"You’re right..."
Listening to their discussion, Xiao Jinghong’s gaze fell on the three characters for Hundred Herbs Hall. She naturally recognized Chen Yi’s handwriting, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curve into a slight smile. Her husband was not in Guangyuan, yet there was news of him even here. This feeling... was quite fascinating.
After watching for a moment, Xiao Jinghong snapped back to her senses and thoughtfully studied the bustling Hundred Herbs Hall. "Second Uncle, I remember Grandfather saying that the expansion of the Hundred Herbs Hall was a collaboration with our Xiao Family?"
Xiao Xuanshuo nodded. "Yes..." He quickly realized her implication and asked in slight surprise, "You mean..."
Xiao Jinghong nodded slightly and pointed at the Hundred Herbs Hall. "Let the Fu Family take charge of the Hundred Herbs Hall’s matters here in Guangyuan County."
The Xiao Family wasn’t short on the silver coins earned from one county like Guangyuan, but the Fu Family was. Rather than letting the other Noble Families here profit from it, choosing the Fu Family was much more suitable.
Catching on, Xiao Xuanshuo agreed. "When we get back, I will go discuss it with your grandfather and Wan’er."
"Yes. Eldest Sister is currently managing the estate’s account books, so we definitely should let her know."
Of course, Xiao Jinghong didn’t think Xiao Wan’er would refuse. Having said this, she looked at the characters for "Hundred Herbs Hall" once more, yearning to return home. "Let’s go. It’s time to return to the Prefecture City..."