Zheng Zhongguang came to Wuzhou alone to take up his post.
At first, I felt a little uneasy.
However, as soon as they arrived at the inn in Wuzhou, they were warmly entertained.
The magistrates, county captains, meritorious officers, officials, scribes, and officials held a grand inauguration banquet for him. Even his mansion was thoughtfully equipped with servants and maids.
The beauties sent from various mansions are also slim and charming.
He had never been treated like this before. For a moment, he felt like he was in a dream, his dream came true, and he was overjoyed.
At first, he felt that his annual salary of 1,050 taels of silver was quite a lot, and he was quite satisfied.
Later, someone gave me a calligraphy and painting.
It was said to be worth thousands of gold, so he changed hands and sold it.
Only then did I discover…
Silver is really very profitable.
Immediately afterwards, there were all kinds of people giving gifts in various ways.
Until he married Xue Leying, the legitimate daughter of Xue Xiuguo, the former Yin of Guwan Prefecture.
On the wedding day, he brought his parents over from Beijing.
Because she was married to Xue Xiuguo's legitimate daughter, and some people knew that he was the cousin of His Highness Seventh Prince.
Ministers from other provinces also rushed over.
People in the Zheng family also learned that he was now enjoying a smooth life, so they climbed up the pole and came to congratulate him one by one.
He finally showed his pride in front of the Zheng family.
After the wedding, he counted the gift money, and after careful calculation, he discovered that it amounted to more than three million taels.
More than three million taels...
If it were based on his salary, he would not have this amount until his death.
Later, Xue Fuyin left office and promoted him as the Fuyin of Guwan.
And he conveniently promoted Pu Youren to be the prefect of Wuzhou.
After he became a governor, he had many concubines. He married three wives and took in fourteen concubines within seven years.
It's not that he is addicted to women and can't help himself, but that he takes wives and concubines.
Those are all high-sounding gifts...
Now he doesn't need to sell off those rare antiques.
I started to be arty and collected them enthusiastically.
Now, every year, it is just the birthdays of his three wives and fourteen concubines, his mother and father's birthdays, and his children's birthdays, as well as New Years and holidays, the officials below take care of them properly and deliver them without leakage.
Gradually, he no longer hated Concubine Lian, nor was he jealous of Xiao Zimu.
Occasionally, I still feel that his current life is no worse than that of their mother and son.
And their mother and son may not be as comfortable as he was.
You may even think that now that you are a local emperor in ancient Anhui, you have an aunt who is a queen and a cousin who is a prince, and you are very prosperous.
But he never dreamed of it.
The first time he and his cousin met was at his son's full moon party.
In this way, the situation is tense...
"Cousin? When we first met, you really surprised me."
In Zheng Zhongguang's ears, Xiao Zimu's cold voice came, mixed with some indescribable emotions.
He couldn't help but raise his head, wanting to see the expression on his face.
Zheng Zhongguang then took a closer look at Xiao Zimu and saw that his hair was tied up with a bamboo hairpin and he had a faint special fragrance.
The evening clouds gradually recede in the sky, and the sky becomes pale glass.
Under the flower tree, the young man's face is like a peach and apricot, and his posture is leisurely and elegant.
Wearing short brown clothes, he still looks lonely and thin.
At this time, the pair of dark and deep eyes stared at him coldly.
"Cousin, you have to let your people let go first." Zheng Zhongguang smiled bitterly.
Now that he was in such a situation, he didn't feel embarrassed anymore, so he responded along with his name.
Xiao Zimu glanced at Xin Ya, and Xin Ya let go of his hand.
Zheng Zhongguang moved his sore and numb limbs. He was used to a life of fine clothing and fine food. It had been a long time since he had lived in such embarrassment...
He straightened his clothes and straightened his collar.
He ordered the trembling family members to go back to the backyard first, and then asked the servants to hold the lamps, make two cups of tea and go to the study.
After explaining the trivial matters, he made an invitation gesture to Xiao Zimu, then turned around and led the way.
Xiao Zimu signaled him to go alone, and Yin Guangbo and Xin Ya were forced to stay in the courtyard.
"Why don't you two nobles follow me to the side hall to rest for a while? It seems that our lords and His Highness will have to talk for a while." Lu Zhongfu, the housekeeper of the mansion, walked towards them and asked.
This Lu Zhongfu was an old man left behind by the former governor Xue Xiuguo. After all, he was more stable and experienced than others. As soon as the incident happened, he had already sent a letter to Xue Xiuguo.
The other servants were already frightened out of their wits, their faces looked like pig liver, and they felt uneasy in their hearts.
The two looked at each other, and after one look at each other, Yin Guangbo agreed. Upon seeing this, Xin Ya followed them to the side hall.
"The servant at the door has been dragged down and beaten with a stick. He bumped into the two nobles, but don't take it seriously." Lu Zhongfu smiled at the two of them.
"Don't beat people to death, just give them a little punishment." Yin Guangbo saw that the people in the city were having such a difficult time, and he must have thought that the people in this house were also ruthless masters.
Although that servant looked down upon others, he was not guilty enough to die.
"The noble man is joking, how could he care so little about human life? I'm afraid you two may have some misunderstanding about our adults." Lu Zhongfu smiled apologetically.
"We have seen it with our own eyes that the common people are greedy and bribery. How can this be a misunderstanding?" Yin Guangbo curled his lips, looking disgusted.
"Yes, our adults did receive gifts. But other than that, they have never done anything else." Lu Zhongfu stopped smiling and looked serious.
"Then he didn't set the price of rice?" Yin Guangbo saw that he looked serious, but his tone was still completely unbelieving.
"No, our adults have not even raised taxes at all. In this matter alone, many officials cannot compare." Lu Zhongfu looked quite proud.
"Who set the price of rice?" Yin Guangbo was slightly surprised and couldn't help but ask.
"Now, I don't have much to say. Your Highness will definitely find out. Although my adults are greedy for pleasure, they will not do anything to the common people." Lu Zhongfu's reply was a little vague, but for Zheng Zhongguang, he tried his best to maintain.
"In that case, why do you have to put in a good word for him in front of us? Anyway, things will eventually come to light." Yin Guangbo was dissatisfied with his prevarication, and his tone was sarcastic.
"Master Zheng, he is very kind to the servants in the mansion. Therefore, even the servants at the door are spoiled by him." Lu Zhongfu said with emotion.
Yin Guangbo did not want to say any more.
The atmosphere instantly became awkward, but fortunately, within a few steps, we arrived at the side hall.
Lu Zhongfu ordered his servants to serve two cups of tea. Seeing that they did not want to talk, he resigned in a sensible manner.
Yin Guangbo took a sip of tea, and after thinking about it, he couldn't help but ask Xin Ya.
"Xin Ya, what do you think?"
(End of chapter)