When Li You opened his eyes again, the sky was bright and it was obvious that he had passed out all night. There was no beautiful lady or pretty maid in his eyes, only a teenage boy with a runny nose.
"Mr. Li is awake!" the boy rushed out to report.
Li You sat up with a splitting headache and looked at the place he was in. It was just a bedroom with simple furnishings.
Three people came in, a middle-aged man and woman in the front, the man was tall and majestic in appearance, and the woman looked ordinary. They seemed to be a couple, and a maid behind them was carrying a basin of soup.
"How is Li Dianshi?" the middle-aged man asked.
The face looked familiar, and Li You thought for a moment before remembering it. He was one of the three inspectors he met yesterday, and his surname should be Liu.
After all, he was a ninth-rank official, so Li You struggled to get out of bed to pay homage, and because he was the lowest military attache, there was no need to kowtow. "Did the little official be saved by Mr. Liu last night?"
"Exactly." Inspector Liu Fuxu said.
It turns out that the area that Inspector Liu is responsible for is the coast of Taihu Lake and the water surface of Taihu Lake in the west of the county. His name is Xishui Inspection Department, and his headquarters is in Xishui Town. Therefore, most of the soldiers under his command are familiar with water. Last night
He immediately rescued Li You, and then Inspector Liu took the unconscious Li You back to his home in the county.
"Thank you, little official. I will remember your great kindness and kindness in my heart." Li You thanked him politely.
Inspector Liu said: "It's just trivial matters that don't matter. Is your father, Captain Li? I know you too. I should regard you as a junior. I don't need to say thank you for such a small effort."
So cordial? It feels like reminiscing about old times. Li You is very surprised. He is a ninth-grade official with hundreds of soldiers under his command. He is also a truly powerful figure in Xujiang County. He has nothing to ask for from a small official like himself.
Why is this place so approachable? It’s very strange.
As he spoke, the maid next to him put the soup on the table. As he got closer, he realized that this maid was extremely tall, almost as tall as Li You. You know, Li You was considered tall among men.
She is so tall and her appearance is just average, but she looks a bit like a model of later generations. Li You muttered in his heart. He couldn't help but look at her a few more times, but he saw the maid's face turned red and she hid away. He didn't know why she was so embarrassed.
Enduring his headache, Li You hurriedly drank a bowl of soup, said goodbye to Inspector Liu, thanked him repeatedly and went to the county government office alone.
After walking around the yamen, neither the eldest master nor Mr. Huang came out to serve as directors, so Li You took leave and returned to Xishui Town.
Why did you go home? Needless to say! Li You greatly humiliated both Yan Xiucai and Mr. Yan and his son. Although he was not afraid, he still asked his father for advice. After all, the old father had been catching heads for many years and was familiar with the world. Besides,
After humiliating Mr. Yan, the problem has been brought to the family level. It would be better to go back and inform him.
In fact, Li You felt that he had always been very passive. Yan Xiucai gave him eye drops twice before and after the magistrate's visit. At the banquet, Master Yan provoked him in front of Lu Shangshu and all the celebrities in the city. He was really relying on his fame as a gentry and looked down upon him.
This is what this subordinate did.
Li You entered the house and bumped into his brother Li Zuo in the front yard. Li Zuo grabbed Li You and said, "You're good to come, little two! My brother is looking for you for something!"
"Brother, if you have something to say, just say it."
Li Zuodao: "Don't you know how to write poetry? How about writing one for our hotel to hang on the wall? Brother, I have a long face to attract business."
Since the brothers have a good relationship, Li You said politely: "In your wild shop, you can build a few Datong shops that cost ten cents a night, raise a few low-quality flour heads that cost twenty cents a night, and make some rough meals. They come and go."
They are either coolies or servants. My elder brother thinks it will make him look good by showing off his younger brother’s poems? My younger brother still finds it embarrassing!”
Li Zuoxu complained nonchalantly: "Xiao Er, you have gained such a good reputation in the city. Brother, I am very happy, so I want to borrow it. But it seems that it is of no use to the family business. You are not a scholar, so
I don’t know if I can make a living out of this reputation.”
"What do you know, you idiot? Why don't you go and see the store!" Li's father suddenly appeared at the door of the main hall, scolding Li Zuo and running away. However, Li's father was very kind to Li You: "What happened when the waiter came back?
"
Li You hurried forward to pay homage to his father, and helped his father into the hall to sit down. Then he recounted his grudges with the Yan family and his son: "My son has offended the Yan family, what should I do next?"
Father Li frowned and tapped the armrests of the chair rhythmically with his fingers, obviously thinking hard. After a long time, he said: "These things... although you are reckless, you don't blame my son. The Yan family also
You went too far to deceive others, and even demoted you in front of Lu Shangshu. Now your reputation is the foundation of your life. Although you cannot exchange your fame, you can still socialize with officials and gentry, which has many benefits. If you lose your reputation, you will be better in the future.
It’s hard to make up for it. My family has been a slave for generations, but you are the only one who has a clear reputation. You should cherish it and benefit your descendants."
Hearing words such as "Serving as an apprentice for generations and benefiting future generations", Li You felt the high hopes his father had placed on him.
Father Li added: "As for the Yan family, although they have been famous for two generations, no one in the family is an official. You are valued by the magistrate, so you don't have to be too afraid. The village where your mother-in-law lives is next to the Yan family's Zhuangzi. These wealthy gentry
, The masters can’t do anything easily, but the slave must be doing something illegal, just see if he has the heart to find it. I’ll send someone to visit and find some good articles to write.”
Li You said with some caution: "Although no one in the Yan family is an official, the father and son also have many classmates in the same year. It is difficult to deal with groups of scholars."
"Let's give it a try. Scholars are powerful, but they also have many shortcomings that can easily be exploited." After Li's father made up his mind, he told his young man, "Go to the shop and invite the Wang brothers."
Li You also had a vague understanding of these Wang brothers. When his father was working as a fast-track policeman, he had two thugs under his command who specialized in doing some shady and cruel things, and some of them even killed people.
After their father returned home to recuperate in old age, the brothers had no one to protect them and they withdrew from the county town. They usually had nothing to do and sat in their brother's shop watching the show. Their father gave the brothers 40% of the shares in the inn and gave them a small sum of money.
They each bought five acres of grain land, and both of them were completely devoted to their father.
Not long after, the Wang brothers came into the room. They were both big-faced and broad-mouthed, of medium stature, strong and strong. They had seen Li's father and Li You, and they were determined to obey their orders.
Li's father explained the matter, and the Wang brothers agreed to leave without saying much.
The Li family didn't mention it for now, but they talked about Yan Xiucai. When he heard that his father was slapped in the face by Li You again, he felt more and more resentful. He secretly thought that Li You had the support of the county magistrate, so it was really difficult to manipulate him.
They failed both times, which caused their father and son to lose face. Overt methods were difficult to achieve, so we had to find another way.
It took three years for the scholars to rebel. Yan Xiucai was just someone who could read and take exams. He could not come up with any harmful ideas. His two gossips were already the limit of his IQ. He had no clue at the moment and looked at the lady in the room.
Thinking of Li You, I felt very upset, so I sat down in the hall and sighed.
The Yan family also has some business shops outside, and they are looked after by several stewards. One of them, steward Fang, happened to come to the house today to check the accounts. He saw the eldest young master sitting in the hall with a frown on his face, and he wanted to flatter him, so he asked about the matter. Yan Xiucai 15
Said it ten times.
"The little thief is extremely hateful!" Manager Fang had been walking in the market for a long time, and naturally he was more thoughtful than Yan Xiucai. He thought for a while and said: "Now that he is protected by the magistrate and the master, he is also cunning, and he can easily be defeated by some words.
There is no alternative, we must find real shortcomings before we can deal with them."
Yan Xiucai wondered: "How can he take advantage of his shortcomings when he is in the county government all day long?"
"So we need to lure him out and create some handle." Manager Fang nodded and said, "I have a fellow villager who is doing official work in the yamen. After I win over him, we will discuss it and come up with an idea."
Yan Xiucai said with some suspicion: "Then Li You was also a yamen servant for generations. The Li family is familiar with those yamen servants and junior officials. I'm afraid this matter cannot be done."
"I am a fellow countryman who is generous and righteous on the outside, but loves money very much in his heart. He can disown his relatives even if he can spend twenty or thirty taels." Manager Fang affirmed with confidence.
In this way, the subordinate Li family and the squire Yan family started their actions almost at the same time, not knowing what kind of collision would occur.