Chapter 437: Success
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When Ji Xiang returned to the capital, he went to the Tongzhou Guild Hall and found a shop assistant he was familiar with, Little Jiu, to ask about Laidi and her husband.
Little Jiu smiled and said to Ji Xiang, “Brother Xiang, that High Scholar Li that your cousin married isn’t good. A few days ago, for some reason, he drank here to drown his sorrows. I heard that he was drunk and the shopkeeper ordered the waiter to send him back. From then on, he found an errand. I think he is now a teacher for the two grandsons of Manager Qi from the Ministry of Rites.” “Is High Scholar Li still here to get drunk?” Lucky asked with a frown.
The shop assistant pursed his lips. ” He has been here before, but two days ago,
I heard his old woman gossiping with the old woman from High Scholar Zheng’s family next door talking about your cousin. Apparently, your cousin was so angry with him that she hid in her room and cried. They even said that High Scholar Li ignored her. The two of them often quarreled. Oh! I heard that your cousin is pregnant.”
Ji Xiang frowned when he heard this. After a moment, he took out a piece of silver from his pocket and placed it in Little Jiu’s hand. “Little Jiu, help me keep an eye on High Scholar Li ‘s family. You don’t have to pay attention to him when they quarrel. If there’s anything bad, go to East Street to look for me or Brother Cai.”
Little Jiu held the silver in his hand and nodded with a smile. “Brother Xie
Xiang, I’ll help you keep an eye out.”
Ji Xiang patted Little Jiu’s shoulder and smiled. “Alright, Brother Xiang won’t treat you badly.”
Ji Xiang came out of the guild hall and drove the carriage to the alley behind to look for Han San. He thought to himself that Miss Cousin-in-law was purely asking for trouble. If she liked scholars, she could have told Madam and Young Master! It was better to get them to help find a reliable scholar to marry than to marry someone like Li Fengqi!
The carriage arrived at a large teahouse diagonally opposite the Han family in
Copper Coin Lane. The waiter eagerly led the carriage into the wooden stake. Ji Xiang asked for a bowl of jasmine tea and sat under the pergola to drink it slowly, smelling the faint jasmine fragrance emitted from the tea bowl.
After drinking the tea, Ji Xiang did not see Han San. He did not plan to wait any longer and was about to leave when he saw Han San pulling his shoes and coming out of the small courtyard with sleepy eyes.
Han San’s eyes lit up when he saw Ji Xiang sitting in the teahouse opposite him. He walked slowly to the pergola and pulled a bamboo chair to sit down beside Ji Xiang. He glanced at Ji Xiang and smiled proudly.
Ji Xiang glanced at him. “Look at how smug you are. Is it done?”
“It’s done.” Han San leaned close to Ji Xiang. “I guarded that kid in the Carefree Pavilion for four to six hours today. I saw with my own eyes that the boy was coaxed by the courtesan to borrow money from the shopkeeper and was coaxed by the courtesan to the private room upstairs.
“You don’t know, but the lady in the private room is very seductive. Her method of rolling the dice is also superb. She can throw any number she wants. It’s already difficult for this kid to escape from her. Sure enough, in less than four hours, that kid was coaxed to borrow money again. I saw that he was already hooked, so I turned around and went home to sleep for a while. I planned to see if that kid had left.”
When Ji Xiang heard this, a relaxed expression appeared on his face. “Alright, pay attention. When Carefree Pavilion collects the debt, spread the news. I’ll come and find you then.”
“Yes, Brother Xiang, don’t worry. I promise to let the people in the Censorate and Scholar’s Alley know.” Han San whispered.
Ji Xiang nodded and took out a banknote worth ten taels of silver and handed it to Han San. “Take it to supplement the family’s expenses. Don’t let your old mother and your wife do the work of washing and mending.”
Han San took the banknote and lowered his head. His nose turned sour and his eyes turned red. “Brother Xiang, I’m not capable. When my father was still alive, my family was still alright. They also provided me with a few days of education. I wasn’t cut out for studying. When I saw the black words on the books, I dozed off. I didn’t manage to learn any craftsmanship. After my father fell ill and the family declined, I started working. Fortunately, my wife didn’t despise me and still married me despite my father-in-law’s obstruction.
Otherwise, I would definitely be single.”
Ji Xiang patted Han San. “You have to treat her well. Go back and discuss it with your mother and wife. If they agree, write the document and I’ll bring you to see Master. You have to be careful about the Feng family. Don’t be targeted.”
“Yes!” Han San agreed and put the banknotes into his pocket. After Ji Xiang walked far away, he walked happily towards the small courtyard opposite.
When they entered the courtyard, there was a white-haired old woman and a pale, thin woman. The two of them were washing their clothes by the well. Beside them, a little girl with braids was helping them.
When the old woman saw Han San enter, she scolded angrily, “You went out to wander after waking up. You wander around all day. Don’t you know how to find something to do? Let’s see how far you can go.”
Han San looked at his mother in embarrassment. He took out the banknote from his pocket and handed it to Old Madam Han with a smile. “Mother, Haitang, look, this is from the boss. He asked me to subsidize the family’s expenses and stop washing people’s clothes.”
Old Madam Han looked at the banknote in Han San’s hand and wiped her hands dry with her waist. She took the banknote and looked at it in surprise. “Tell me, did you do something bad? Why did he give you the banknote?”
Han San was not good-looking, but his wife was pretty. She glared at him with her almond-shaped eyes in dissatisfaction. “Master, you can’t do something that goes against your conscience. If you do too many immoral things, you’ll suffer retribution.”
Han San stood up straight and said seriously, “Mother, Haitang, I didn’t do anything immoral. I hooked up with a family… That’s what happened. Master said that I had to sign a personal document before he dares to use me. He asked me to come back and discuss it with you. What do you think?”
Old Madam Han glanced at Han San and Han San’s wife. “I’m already someone who’s buried in the ground. The two of you still have a long life ahead of you. The two of you can think it over. After writing the contracts, you’ll be their servants. If you meet a good master, your lives will be fine. If you meet a vicious master, you’ll even have to pay with your lives.”
Han San hurriedly said, “Mother, Haitang, I’ve asked around. That master is kind. There aren’t many people in the family and he treats the servants well.
Believe me.”
Haitang looked at Han San and sighed. “Have you already agreed to it?”
Han San said honestly, “I’ve agreed. Brother Xiang asked me to go home and discuss it with you. He said that you have to agree.”
Haitang looked at her daughter, who was washing clothes, and then at her son, who was playing with mud in the corner. She looked at Han San and said, “Do you really think that family is good?”
Han San looked at the two of them. “Mother, Haitang, this family is really not bad. You know that there were people who were willing to use me in the past. I never agreed.”
Haitang tugged at Old Madam Han’s sleeve. “Mother, what he said is true. It seems that this family is really not bad. Why don’t we agree?”
“Alright, let’s write it then!” Old Madam Han nodded..
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