Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 29 Force You to Choose
Although the Wu family is a merchant family, the Thirteen Hongs are not ordinary merchants. They welcome and see off many dignitaries, so they have their own way of dealing with such official documents.
Guang'er was also born into a wealthy family in Guangzhou. He was a child at ordinary times, but he was serious and polite at this time. He was led by Wu Chengjian to open the incense table and receive the official hat, official robe, and imperial edict. Although the official robe was given, it was in the size of an adult, and it was obviously taken out of the warehouse. Guang'er couldn't wear it, so he had to order another one later. Guang'er held the official hat and imperial edict together, and was led by Wu Chengjian to thank the bookkeeper.
The clerk studied hard for ten years but only managed to get an eighth rank in Beijing, so he was very disgusted with the merchant family who bought him a fifth rank hat. But for the sake of the money, his temper finally improved a little. Besides, Wu Chengjian was a fifth rank doctor and Guang'er was a fifth rank assistant minister. If he were not a person from the capital, he would have to bow to Wu Chengjian.
Following the usual practice of being an imperial envoy, he gave Guang'er a few words of encouragement and was about to leave. Lord Chuan Longci secretly stuffed another red envelope in his pocket.
Before leaving, the clerk said, "Be a good person in the future. Don't think that you can have a smooth life just because you are married to He Zhongtang. The ways of the officialdom are not so easy to navigate! Humph!"
When Wu Chengjian heard this, his expression changed slightly.
He had long suspected that the matter was related to Heshen, and now that it was confirmed with the leak from the clerk, he was afraid that it was indeed the case!
After sending off the official account and the ritual book, Cai Qiaozhu was overjoyed and said to Wu Chengjian, "Third uncle, Guang'er has been granted an imperial decree and has become a fifth-rank official. This is also a matter of honor for our family. Let's quickly open the ancestral hall and announce the good news to our ancestors."
Wu Chengjian was upset, but seeing Cai Qiaozhu's happy face, he didn't want to go against her for the moment. He hadn't figured out the matter yet, so he said perfunctorily: "Let someone choose a date."
Cai Qiaozhu was so happy at this time that she didn't notice Wu Chengjian's tone at all: "I'll go right away."
Wu Chengjian watched his sister-in-law leave excitedly, but murmured, "If this official is really from Heshen, I can't do this job."
He was anxious to gradually distance himself from Heshen, or even sever their relationship - this should have been done last year, but was delayed due to Zhou Yijin's disappearance - and now if Guang'er could get another layer of protection from the He family, the Wu family and Heshen would become even more entangled.
He called a few confidants and asked them to immediately conduct investigations separately from the Governor's Office, Guangdong Customs, Guangzhou Prefecture, and the Jianghu Road. He also sent someone to invite an old scholar who was familiar with the rituals and court books to authenticate the imperial edict.
The intelligence network of the Wu family was still very developed. Especially after Wu Chengjian came to power, he had some knowledge of the lower-level information channels such as Shenxianzhou, but paid more attention to the various upper-level information channels. Therefore, in less than half a day, he had the news. He knew that there was no problem in all aspects of the official appointment. The imperial edict was carefully identified and it was authentic. However, this made Wu Chengjian even more uneasy. What was the purpose of Heshen's sudden action? Could it be that his plot was seen through by Heshen, so that the other party took the initiative?
Although Wu Chengjian wanted to keep his distance from Heshen and even intended to break up with him, there were two difficulties: he had to keep his distance without showing any signs, and if he wanted to break up with Heshen, he had to choose the right time - if he exposed his intentions and offended Heshen when he was still in the limelight, the Wu family would be dead without a burial place, but if he did it too late, if Heshen fell and he had not yet cleared his relationship, then it would be too late. Therefore, this matter was extremely difficult, just like walking on a tightrope on a cliff.
Therefore, Zhou Yijin had already made arrangements in Beijing. Although things were delayed after Zhou Yijin disappeared, these informants continued to work. Even so, he was caught off guard. Obviously, there were Wu's shops in Beijing asking for information, but the Wu family did not get any information about Guang'er's official appointment in advance. Wu Chengjian could imagine that the other party must have kept this extremely confidential. And Heshen would keep things so confidential, so his intentions were certainly not simple!
Thinking of this, Wu Chengjian felt even more annoyed, and couldn't help but think: "It would be great if Yi Jin was here."
He is a man of foresight and quick thinking, but he inherited some of Wu Guoying's temperament and is easily angered and irritable. Whenever he had mood swings in the past, it was usually Zhou Yijin who calmed him down. Unfortunately, Zhou Yijin is no longer with us.
During this period, he was focused on the overseas crisis and could not help but be distracted by other things. The connections between Cai Qiaozhu, Cai's father and mother, Wei Laoshi, Pan Youjie and Heshen were all single-line, not to mention involving other people. To guess what happened and the inner feelings based on a few clues, except for Zhou Yijin, no one else in the Wu family had this ability, so Wu Chengjian was kept in the dark the whole time.
Just then, Wu Qi came in and said, "Officer Hao, Old Madam Cai is here from Daxing Street."
Wu Chengjian was stunned for a moment: "It's only been half a day, how come she came so quickly..." Suddenly he frowned and murmured: "This mess, couldn't it be caused by this old woman..."
Wu Chengjian was feeling anxious and nervous, but Li Rongyuan was overjoyed.
At this time, the news that Guang Shao had been promoted to an official position had spread throughout the entire Wujiayuan. The entire Wujiayuan was shocked when they heard the news.
Because of Wu Chengjun's contributions, Guang Shao was awarded an official title by the court, and he was given a high-ranking title, Yuanwailang. Although the servants did not know what Yuanwailang was at first, after word of mouth spread, they learned that it was a fifth-rank official, three levels higher than the county magistrate. All of a sudden, everyone looked at Guang Shao differently.
Although it was only a short distance from Yang'en Hall to Lirongyuan, Cai Qiaozhu still felt the change. After returning to Lirongyuan and entering the house, Cai Qiaozhu wanted to hug Guang'er, but suddenly remembered that her son was now a fifth-rank official, so she had to respect him. She stopped some of the intimate actions and said to Guang'er: "From now on, you will also be an official appointed by the court, so you have to be more natural. Don't act like a child anymore and ruin the court's dignity."
Guang'er was just getting excited about the title he had received. Thinking of himself as a high-ranking official, he nodded in a serious manner and said, "Okay," and went to his side room to study.
Cai Qiaozhu was delighted to see that Guang'er's walking posture had become more upright, "Okay, okay, it really has come true."
At this time, only Wu Liu, Lian Qiao and Bitao were left in the room, and the three of them congratulated Cai Qiaozhu at the same time.
Cai Qiaozhu was so full of herself about this that even the two maids didn't know about it, but Lianqiao and Bitao were naturally very happy that the young master they had served since childhood had made a name for himself. Lianqiao said that they would hang some festive objects in the yard to add to the festive atmosphere, and Bitao said that they would quickly find the best tailor in Xiguan to make a suitable official robe for Master Guang.
Cai Qiaozhu said: "I thought there was no hope for this matter, but I was unexpectedly overjoyed. I must tell my father and mother the good news as soon as possible."
Bi Tao said, "I'll go."
Wu Liu said: "I'll go."
Cai Qiaozhu thought about it and felt that Wu Liu understood the cause and effect of this matter better, so she let Wu Liu go.
Wu Liu left quickly and came back even faster. In less than half a day, the boat carrying Cai's mother entered the private port of Wujiayuan and followed Cai's mother into Lirong Courtyard. After entering the house, Cai Qiaozhu sent away all the irrelevant people and saw Cai's mother with a happy face and said, "Is this true? Guang'er really got an official position? And he is an official three levels higher than the county magistrate?"
Cai Qiaozhu smiled and said, "Really, even pearls are not that real.. "
Cai's mother laughed out loud, "My dear daughter, you don't know that when I walked in just now , Wu Dacheng trotted after me and flattered me all the way. When have I ever been here before, he has never been so servile? Look, look! I'm right, isn't it? This is how people are!"
Cai Qiaozhu said, "This is all thanks to my father and mother, and I have to thank the middleman. As for the 50,000 taels of silver as a gift, I will collect it later - I haven't told Hao Guan about the cause and effect of this matter yet, so it's not good to use the money in the family bank. I'll see if I can collect this gift privately."
"Let's not talk about this!" Cai's mother said, "The money our family has saved for buying a house hasn't been used yet, so it's a good opportunity to use some of it to fill this gap. As long as my grandson is successful, these are just small matters." Unconsciously, Cai's mother's tone had become much louder.
Cai Qiaozhu nodded and said, "I have already told Haoguan to choose an auspicious day to open the ancestral hall to announce the good news to our ancestors. Or, when you return to Daxing Street, ask Fengshui Huang to help me choose a date. He has the best dates."
Cai's mother said again: "Yes, yes." The mother and daughter chatted for a while, and then Cai's mother went back.
Wu Liu sent Cai's mother aboard, and when he came back he saw Wu Qi and said with a smile, "Brother, Mrs. Cai is here, why didn't you invite Li Rongyuan to have dinner?"
Wu Liu said: "The old lady came here to be happy when she heard that Guang'er was given an official title. Now she wants to bring the joy back to Daxing Street to make her in-laws happy too."
The two brothers walked back while talking. Wu Qi said casually, "Master Cai must have helped Guang Shao get the job."
Wu Liu was almost about to blurt out what he said when he was suddenly hit by this, but he managed to hold it back, but this made his expression a little stiff.
Wu Qi often said that Wu Liu was the worm in his stomach, and he couldn't hide his thoughts from Wu Liu. In fact, the "worm effect" of the two brothers was mutual. Wu Qi couldn't hide it from Wu Liu, and Wu Liu couldn't hide it from Wu Qi. So when he saw Wu Liu's expression, Wu Qi knew that he had cheated correctly. Before Wu Liu could say anything, he laughed and said, "Ha, I knew it!"
Wu Liu also knew that the secret would be leaked sooner or later. Since it had already been done, he did not try to hide it, but he did not say much either.
Wu Qi got the information he wanted, and went straight back to Ritianju, saying to Wu Chengjian, "Yes, it was Master Cai who took the route."
Wu Chengjian was furious and asked, "What is Cai Shiqun trying to do!" Because of Cai Qiaozhu, he had not called Cai Shiqun by his name for a long time. He was obviously very angry at this moment: "Go, dig out this clue for me! I want to know what channel he used! Let Lao Gu go!"
Now that the matter had a targeted direction, he could piece together all the vague clues by asking around. That night, Lao Gu summarized the information.
Wu Qi said, "Uncle Gu found out that Master Cai has met Wei Laoshi again recently, and he has met him more than once. The first time he met him was probably when the eldest young lady fell ill and Old Lady Cai came to visit her."
Wu Chengjian was so angry that he smashed a cup on the spot: "So... this was caused by my sister-in-law! My sister-in-law..." Thinking of the expressions of Cai Qiaozhu and Wu Liu during the day, Wu Chengjian understood everything at once: "They know! They know everything!"
He lost his composure for a moment and his voice became louder.
Ye Youyu was standing guard outside. When he heard the noise, he hurried in and said, "Dad, keep your voice down."
Wu Chengjian said angrily: "Why are you whispering so quietly? I'm going to Lirongyuan now!"
Ye Youyu stopped him and said, "You are so angry, are you going to have a fight with my sister-in-law?"
"I, I--" Wu Chengjian said "I" several times, and suddenly sat down on the chair, feeling angry, helpless and sad.
He and Cai Qiaozhui, one grew from a teenager to a young man, and the other grew from a young girl to a young woman. They grew up together during that very important period of growth. They were uncle and sister-in-law in name, but brother and sister in reality. Therefore, whenever Wu Chengjian made mistakes when he was a playboy, Cai Qiaozhui was never polite, and Wu Chengjian was also never shy with Cai Qiaozhui. Their feelings were so deep, but this intimacy seemed to have changed recently.
When Wu Chengjian thought about the fact that Cai Qiaozhu had concealed the truth from him and sought an official position for Guanger, he just didn't want to think about it before, but now he couldn't deceive himself anymore, so he immediately understood. Thinking about the rift between him and Cai Qiaozhu, Wu Chengjian couldn't help but feel bitter in his heart, and the bitterness flowed from his stomach to his mouth.
Seeing her husband so sad, Ye Youyu felt sad too and said, "How about I go to Lirongyuan?"
"It's too late now..." Wu Chengjian said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow."
Ye Youyu asked, "But, what should we say tomorrow?" This meant he was asking Wu Chengjian how he was going to handle the matter.
Wu Chengjian thought to himself, "Since this matter involves Wei Laoshi, it also involves Pan Youjie. I can figure out what Qi Guan wants to do with my toes! There must be a back-up plan!"
Thinking of this, Wu Chengjian became even more annoyed - this was the most troublesome point of the matter: if he did not stop it and allowed the situation to ferment, Heshen would definitely go with the flow, and the Wu family would be even more trapped in the vortex of the impending crisis. If he tried to stop it, and if Cai Qiaozhu could not understand, the third house and the first house would become enemies - not only would Cai Qiaozhu be angry with him, but Guang'er would also hate him deeply when he grew up. Is this what Wu Chengjian wanted?
And once everything is revealed, if the matter is not kept secret, the relationship with Heshen will be broken in advance!
Heshen is now in the limelight, so much so that everyone in the world thinks that Heshen's power will last forever. If you break with Heshen at this time, you will be courting death!
Suddenly, he felt a chill in his heart: "Could this be He Shen's real purpose? He is forcing me to make a choice!"
At this time, Ye Youyu said: "How about this matter, let's just follow the eldest sister-in-law's wishes..."
Wu Chengjian was shocked and blurted out, "No! Everything else is fine, but this is absolutely not possible! The court has given us an imperial edict, and we have no choice but to accept it. But after accepting it, we can still resign. I will ask Teacher Zheng to find a reason and draft a letter for Guang'er to resign from the court."
Teacher Zheng was Guang'er's enlightenment teacher. After Zhou Yijin disappeared, he was in charge of handling some clerical matters of the Wu family.
"You must have your own reasons for making this decision." Ye Youyu said, "I'm just afraid that my sister-in-law... won't understand."
"Whether she understands or not." Wu Chengjian said, "This is a matter of life and death. If she wants to hate, then let her hate. When the time comes, my sister-in-law will understand my painstaking efforts. It's better to compromise for a while and let the whole family be doomed. It will be too late to regret it then!"
