Chapter 29 Family

  Ten messengers, most of whom were skilled archers, easily admired those stronger than themselves. Lu Qi's divine archery skills had won them over, and the majority of the soldiers dispersed. The ten men came forward, calling out to pay their respects to Lu Qi, who smiled and politely exchanged a few words with them.

  Then he found the military camp and led ten horses to give to the ten messengers. The Tang Dynasty had very strict control over military use, and only military officers could use official horses in peacetime. When there were military affairs, cavalrymen could lead horses out according to their quota, but when there were no military affairs, they had to return the horses to the camp. Lu Qi had already asked Wang Zhongshu for instructions and led ten military horses for regular use, with the reason that he needed to notify the gathering of soldiers and brave men as soon as possible to avoid mistakes. Now Wang Zhongshu needs Lu Qi's help very much, so he agreed to the ten military horses without hesitation.

  Lu Qi got on his horse, accompanied by ten messengers, and left the military training camp. As soon as he left the camp, he immediately took off his official uniform and put it in the military bag on the back of the horse, revealing a light blue hunting suit underneath.

  The orderlies were all surprised to see him take off his official uniform. Lu Qi smiled and said, "I only wear official clothes when I'm on duty. Wearing official clothes is too restrictive in daily life. Today, I have the opportunity to meet you brothers, no matter how long we will cooperate in the future, today this official will first invite you brothers to drink, let's go."

  Lu Qi took ten messengers to the center of Shitan Township, Shitanbao Castle. In Shitanbao, he found a good hotel for a banquet. He chose to have a banquet in Shitan Township for two reasons: firstly, it was far from the military training camp, so they could avoid publicity; secondly, the local hotels were cheap. A sumptuous feast only cost three taels of silver, while a similar feast in the county would be at least three times more expensive.

  On the wine table, Lu Qi first generously drank three bowls of wine with everyone, using the power of wine to dissolve the estrangement between him and others. Wine is a good medicine for bonding emotions when drunk smoothly. At first, the messengers were very cautious and had reservations, but after drinking and adding Lu Qi's generosity and air, they became enthusiastic one by one.

  Taking advantage of the wine, Lu Qi tactfully told everyone that he became the county lieutenant relying on his own abilities. As a low-ranking military officer with no backing or connections, he was afraid to show off and make a big deal out of things, fearing that if he invited people for drinks, his superiors would misunderstand him as forming cliques and building a private army, which is a taboo for low-ranking military officers. Therefore, he could only quietly invite people to dinner in the countryside.

  It's said that when you eat at someone else's house, your words are short. Once the wine and meat enter their stomachs, they immediately show understanding by toasting each other. As former soldiers from poor families, once the wine enters their intestines, they speak their minds freely. Most of them have had fathers, uncles, or brothers conscripted into the army, with most having died on the battlefield. Once they learned that Lu Qi was from a similar family background, they immediately connected with him wholeheartedly due to shared resonance.

  A banquet earned Lu Qi the support of ten people. With these ten supporters, he would be able to carry out his plans smoothly and confidently tackle future tasks such as suppressing bandits and collecting grain taxes. He promised the ten men that from now on, apart from their regular military and official salaries, any extra rewards or benefits they received would be shared equally among them. The crowd was moved by his words, being poor people themselves, and the banquet ended in high spirits.

  As the sun approached dusk, Lu Qi returned home on horseback with a hint of intoxication. The first thing he did was to go see his mother. In his mother's room, his sister-in-law Zhou Yue'er and Ning'er were both present. Ning'er held the position of concubine, while Yu Li stood by Lu's mother's left side.

  Lu Qi returned home and was met with a warm smile from his mother. She asked with concern, "Little Seven, how did your official business go today?"

  Lu Qi's mood was good, and he laughed with a hint of drunkenness: "Very well, after the kids finished their military training, I invited a few leaders to drink wine and laid down some basic human relationships."

  Lu Mu smiled and nodded, she was born into a military family and married to a military general, so she knew that drinking among soldiers was a common occurrence and also the most effective way to win hearts, therefore she did not oppose her son's drinking.

  "Xiao Qi, today Xin Niang from the Zhou household came, bringing gifts to apologize to us." said Lu Mu with a gentle voice.

  Lu Qi was taken aback and asked in surprise: "Apologize to us? What's going on?"

  Lu's mother shook her head and said, "Actually, it's nothing. Xin Niang from the Zhou household wanted to propose a marriage between you and Miss Zhou, but Miss Zhou disagreed. That's why Xin Niang came over yesterday to apologize for the impertinence."

  Lu Qi felt a lump in his heart, as everyone has self-respect. He is now also a seventh-grade official of the imperial court, and unconsciously, he has developed a sense of superiority. If not for yesterday's display of talent, whether or not the marriage with the Zhou family would succeed was not something he cared about. Now, however, things are different. The failure of the marriage is a denial of his talent, which has hurt his self-respect to some extent.

  Although displeased in her heart, she smiled and said: "What's the big deal? When a family has a daughter, a hundred families ask for her hand in marriage. It's very normal if it doesn't work out, why make a fuss about it?"

  Just as he finished speaking, Zhou Yue'er responded with a displeased tone: "This cousin of mine is really unreasonable, relying on her talent and beauty to insist on marrying a scholarly husband. This time, she even angered Lady Xin; let's see who she'll rely on in the future."

  Also mentioning Xin Niang, Lu Qi curiously asked: "Sister, does this Xin Niang have a high status in the Zhou Mansion?"

  Zhou Yue'er said in a soft voice, "Xin Niangniang is just a concubine, but my paternal grandmother trusts her very much. Xin Niangniang has been entrusted by my paternal grandmother to fully manage the financial power of the Zhou Mansion, and no one in the mansion dares to offend her. Xin Niangniang also loves Yan'er's younger sister very much, and specially lets her own niece serve as a maid to take care of Yan'er, with the intention of letting her niece and Yan'er marry into good families together. However, this time Xin Niangniang is really angry with Yan'er's younger sister. She said that she will redeem her niece's contract and let her leave the Zhou Mansion today. Xin Niangniang is very disappointed in Yan'er's younger sister now, and from now on, she won't care about her future anymore."

  Lu Qi suddenly realized that it was because he had grasped the financial power that he was so arrogant, and as for the words afterwards, those who were not related to him didn't take them to heart.

  "Seventh, Xin Niang came for two reasons. One is to apologize and the other is to introduce a widow who might be suitable as your brother's concubine. According to Xin Niang, she's a good person. What do you think?"

  Lu Qi was taken aback and thought to herself that Xin Niang was quite fond of matchmaking. She replied with a smile, "This matter should be decided by Mother."

  "Mother and Sheng said: 'You can make decisions, but you are the master of the Lu family. Major financial expenditures must be approved by the head of the household, this is a rule that must be followed for a family to be stable and prosperous.'"

  Lu Qi is the legitimate son of his father's first wife, and according to the rules of the clan, he should be the head of the family. His mother has let him take charge of this matter, implicitly declaring that he is the highest-ranking male in the Lu family. As the eldest son, Lu Tianhua can receive respect from Lu Qi, but when it comes to managing the family's finances and making important decisions, he must obey Lu Qi's instructions.

  "This is a family responsibility, and Lu Qi should take it on. He immediately nodded and said: 'As for buying concubines for Brother, Ning'er has also asked me about it. Since Xin Shiniang has someone in mind, I agree to this matter.'"

  Lu Qi said that, Zhou Yue'er immediately looked at Ning'er with a strange expression, Ning'er still stood quietly with her head down and didn't react to Lu Qi's words.

  "The little one nodded in agreement, tomorrow you go take a look, if it's suitable then bring her back." said Lu Mu He.

  "Thanks for Moon Sister's kindness." Zhou Yue'er said softly, Lu Qi was her younger brother-in-law, and as the elder sister-in-law, she didn't need to be thanked.

  Lu Mu nodded and said to Lu Qi, "Little Seven, today the elders of our Lu family's other branches have all come. They unanimously requested that the Lu clan gather together and jointly elected you as the head of the household."

  Lu Qi was stunned, the Lu family had been separated for more than a decade, and now they wanted to reunite and elect him as the head of the household, it was clear that they were after his wealth, the current collateral branches of the Lu family were all poor.

  "Xiao Qi, the elder of the Lu family's branch said that the purpose of gathering is to unite and support each other, not to accumulate wealth. The Lu family has been fragmented for many years, and they have been bullied by others in everything they do. They need a leader to uphold justice and gather everyone's strength to face the outside world together. If your father were alive, he would definitely take on this responsibility." Madam Lu added emotionally.

  Lu Qi's heart was filled with passion, and since he was young, the person he respected the most was his father. This matter of uniting the family seemed to be a loss for his household, but it actually contained the significance of the Lu family rising up and becoming stronger.

  "Mother, it's good that you've agreed. My son and brother are in need of a helping hand with their business." Lu Qi nodded in agreement.

  Lu's mother nodded with relief: "Since you've agreed, I'll inform your wife tomorrow."

  Lu Qi thought for a moment, then said seriously: "Mother, in order for the Lu family to unite and be of one mind, we must have an iron-clad family rule to constrain us. Therefore, our family will set the rules. These days, I've been too busy to take care of family matters, so Mother, please draft the rules and record the detailed information of all members of the clan, including their specialties, age, physical condition, etc. In the future, I'll allocate tasks based on this information. Please inform all members of the Lu clan that from now on, when it comes to assigning tasks, I won't consider seniority. Those who want to rely on their qualifications can stay at home and enjoy their retirement. I won't use them."

  His words were like those of a general commanding the battle, full of an air that brooked no argument.