Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 21 Rejection Again
Cai Qiaozhu was in a better mood today, so she ate half a bowl more for lunch.
In the morning, the news came that there was a commotion in the Cai residence not far away. It was Cai Shiqun who rushed from Daxing Street to Xiguan with his son, holding a kitchen knife, to call for justice. They were cousins, and they could not write two Cai characters with one stroke. However, Cai Shiqun listed all the evil deeds of Cai Shiwen in front of the clan and neighbors, and almost chopped Cai Shiwen on the head with a kitchen knife. Although he was stopped and did not really hurt Cai Shiwen, he still made Cai Shiwen look humiliated.
In the end, everyone persuaded the two families to disperse, but this drama had already made Cai Shiwen lose face, and it was enough for people in Xiguan to talk about it for ten days or half a month.
"I thought you were a good person before, so I went to you for help when the Wu family got into trouble. I didn't expect that you were the one who did all the bad things behind the scenes. You made my son-in-law suffer, and you also hurt my poor daughter. My good daughter, my Qiaozhu, you are really a sinner..."
Wu Dacheng took advantage of the chaos to run over to the crowd and heard these words, and then acted them out vividly at home. Cai Qiaozhu heard them through the window and didn't say anything at the time, but she was actually very happy in her heart.
Although with her intelligence, she knew that her father's behavior was partly scheming and not really revenge for his son-in-law out of anger, but he killed his cousin in public with a knife, which meant that he had publicly drawn a line between himself and Cai Shiwen. From then on, she had the position to speak for her mother's family in the Wu family.
She waited and waited in the right courtyard, but Wu Chengjian never came back. Hao Guan was different now. His words were always binding, whether at home or in the industry. Even if he stayed in Huachahao and didn't come back, no one at home dared to say anything. Wu Liu wanted to go to Baietan to look for someone, but Cai Qiaozhu stopped him and said, "No, Hao Guan is well-informed and probably knows about this. He knows the importance of things. He hasn't come back yet, so there must be something more important over there."
Before dinner, someone from the backyard came to invite her, and Cai Qiaozhu hurried over to pay her respects to her father-in-law.
Wu Guoying smiled and said, "My father-in-law is very thoughtful. Although the knife he stabbed this morning didn't hit the black cabbage, it helped our Wu family get rid of the bad feeling."
Cai Qiaozhu also had a smile on her face, but she said, "My father is not a bad person, but he is sometimes indecisive. He should have chopped it off a long time ago."
"It's not too late now, not too late." Wu Guoying smiled: "But if this happens, I'm afraid the business of my in-laws will be hindered."
In fact, it was more than just an obstacle. Cai Shiqun's business was all dependent on Cai Shiwen. Although Yihehang also helped a lot after Cai Qiaozhu married the Wu family, the root was still Wanbaohang. Although Cai Shiqun's knife did not hit Cai Shiwen, it was destined to cut off his business connections. However, in a sense, this knife was also a token of surrender.
Cai Qiaozhu said: "The two families are one family. Friendship is the most important thing. Business is nothing."
"Yes, yes, that's right." Wu Guoying said, "But as long as we can, we can't let my in-laws suffer. I'm completely letting go of business matters now, but Haoguan has talked to me about my in-laws' affairs, so I know what he thinks. He has other things to deal with right now, so I'm afraid that my in-laws' affairs will be delayed, but Haoguan will definitely make proper arrangements. You can tell your family about this idea later, so that your in-laws can rest assured."
Cai Qiaozhu said: "Master, why do you have to worry about this matter? As long as our two families are of one mind and live in harmony, everything will be fine. When marrying someone of a different surname, friendship is the most important thing, and these business interests can be put aside."
Wu Guoying smiled and said, "You are half right and half wrong. Since we are in-laws, we should be of the same mind and have the same interests. How about this? Before the curfew, you take Guang'er to Daxing Street to visit your grandmother. Your mother-in-law hasn't seen her grandson for a long time. You can stay at Daxing Street tonight and don't have to rush back."
Cai Qiaozhu said: "Since Guang'er came back, he hasn't seen his uncle yet."
Wu Guoying said, "Officer Hao just sent someone back with a message that there is something important going on and he will not be back tonight."
Cai Qiaozhu pondered and said, "Chengjun is ill. Uncle Haoguan is like a biological father. No matter how close the grandmother is, she has to take a back seat. Let's wait until Haoguan comes back and Guang'er meets his uncle. There's no rush to go to Daxing Street in the middle of the night. I'll ask Bitao to take a message."
Wu Guoying felt relieved when she heard this. She thought that Chengjun, her daughter-in-law, had a righteous heart and followed rules in her conduct. She was truly virtuous. She said, "That's good. Let's do this."
"Officer Hao, how did you get this news?"
Cai Qinghua stared at Wu Chengjian. When ordinary people heard that Zhu Gui was going to be the emperor's teacher, they would have been considered quite intelligent to think that the fifteenth son of the emperor was going to ascend the throne. Most of the time, their first thought would be that the old emperor was going to die. But Wu Chengjian pointed out the word "internal abdication". There was no other explanation except that he had known the news a long time ago. But Cai Qinghua really couldn't imagine that there was someone in Guangzhou who got the news faster than himself.
Wu Chengjian raised his eyebrows and said in a concealing tone, "I don't have any information... I just heard a rumor before."
Cai Qinghua asked: "What rumors?"
Wu Chengjian said, "I don't know when there was a rumor that Emperor Qianlong once said that since ancient times, there has been no emperor who is more virtuous than Emperor Kangxi. Even though Emperor Qianlong is perfect in both civil and military affairs and lives forever, he dare not surpass Emperor Kangxi. Emperor Kangxi has been in power for a total of 60 years. This year is already the 59th year of Emperor Qianlong. Since there is this rumor, then if we count the days, it's about the same. The emperor is in good health. If he wants not to surpass Emperor Kangxi, he can only abdicate."
Cai Qinghua said: "There is such a rumor? How come I have never heard of it!"
Wu Chengjian said, "Ah? There is no such rumor in Beijing? That must be a false rumor. Guangdong is too far away from Beijing, so there are all kinds of rumors. But I accidentally hit the nail on the head."
Cai Qinghua looked at Wu Chengjian with scrutiny. He was extremely unconvinced, but he also knew that he would not get any more answers if he asked any more questions. So he did not delve into the issue any further. He just said, "Officer Hao, your intelligence network is so deep and wide that it is beyond my expectation. But it is also good that since you also know about this situation, do you have anything to correct for the mistake you made two months ago?"
Two months ago, it was the night of the autumn reversal. At that time, Wu Chengjian chose to reject Zhu Gui and help Heshen. Cai Qinghua's words have made it very clear. He was telling Wu Chengjian: Two months ago, you saw that Heshen would not fall, so you refused to surrender to Governor Zhu, but what about now?
Zhou Yijin also looked at Wu Chengjian to see how he would answer. Although he and Wu Chengjian trusted each other as if they were one, he still had to see what Wu Chengjian said when making such an important decision.
Wu Chengjian pondered and said, "Master Cai, Yi Jin and I are like brothers. His master is also my master, so I have always regarded you as my elder, not just the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. There is no fourth person here. Today, I will tell you the truth from the bottom of my heart: I have no good feelings towards He Shen, and I even hate what he did."
A hint of satisfaction appeared on Cai Qinghua's face, thinking that Wu Chengjian would scold Heshen next and then switch sides.
Unexpectedly, Wu Chengjian said, "But I still say that we are businessmen. We don't want to get involved in Beijing's political situation, and we dare not get involved because we can't afford it."
Cai Qinghua was surprised and a little angry - Wu Chengjian said that he refused to get involved, but he was still using Heshen's power. If he did nothing , it meant that he was still unwilling to switch sides.
This was the second time Wu Chengjian had rejected him, and he still rejected him after knowing the explosive information about "Inner Zen". He stared at him closely and shouted, "Wu Chengjian! Do you know what you are saying?"
The barbecue party on the deck of the Hua Cha started off well, but ended unpleasantly.
When Wu Qi was about to clean up the mess, Zhou Yijin waved him away. There were still only two of them left on the deck. Facing the already cooled copper furnace, Zhou Yijin said, "How dare you!"
If the situation remained the same, it would be fine. Zhu Gui could refuse, because he was only a governor with incomplete power. As long as Heshen did not fall, Zhu Gui could not do anything to the Wu family.
But since Beijing had already revealed the news of the internal abdication, Wu Chengjian still dared to politely reject Zhu Gui's solicitation under such circumstances. He was so bold that he almost didn't know the current situation.
Wu Chengjian said, "No one in Guangzhou or outside has heard of such a big thing as the internal abdication. Perhaps the Guangzhou generals and other Manchurian high-ranking officials know something, but they will not easily reveal it. Whoever can know the news earlier in Guangzhou can make arrangements earlier, and the benefits brought by it are so great that they are difficult to calculate. Your master actually sent such a big gift to me without asking for any conditions. He really thinks highly of me! But the more he does this , the more afraid I am."
Zhou Yijin drooped his eyelids, as if to replace a nod, and said, "Yes, when you give a gift to someone, you must ask for something."
"Hehe!" Wu Chengjian said, "Your eight words are really appropriate for the situation, but the "gift" in 'give courtesy to others' is not a polite gift, but a great gift. The "request" in 'must have something to ask for' is not a pleading request, but a request. Your master came to give me this great gift, although he didn't tell us beforehand, but as long as we accept it, we can't accept it for nothing. The Governor's Office must take back an equal value of compensation. And this compensation is that I have to be the vanguard of peace."
Zhou Yijin finally nodded this time: "Yes, if you showed a hint of surprise at that time, it would be considered as accepting this great gift in disguise. If Master Zhu has any more requests in the future, you will have to agree to it."
