Chapter 9: The Family Servant Chen Ping

  Lu Qi listened and secretly admired, this gatekeeper's knowledge is very profound. In the military, he had already known about the darkness of the officialdom through hearsay and observation. This was also the main reason why he didn't want to stay in the military, because no matter how brave he was, he could only be a sacrificial pawn, and it would be difficult for him to rise to become a general or commander.

  He said with a smile: "Thank you, big brother, for your guidance."

  Jia Ding smiled and said: "I dare not say that I am teaching, but I have always respected true heroes. Since you are from a civilian background and can become a military officer, you must have made great achievements in the army."

  Lu Qi listened and felt very pleased, also surprised in his heart. He couldn't help but take a closer look at the servant, seeing that he was 26 or 27 years old with a typical Chinese face, thick eyebrows and fine eyes, not particularly outstanding in appearance. He asked in a gentle voice: "May I ask your esteemed name, big brother?"

  Jia Ding and Sheng said: "My surname was originally Chen, now it is Xiao Ping. I hope that in the future when you are prosperous, you will remember me."

  Lu Qi smiled and said: "I will."

  Jia Ding Xiao Ping looked around and pulled Lu Qi out for about 7-8 meters, saying in a low voice: "General, Fourth Miss is gentle on the outside but firm on the inside, she's an intelligent woman. Little Yan is deeply liked by Fourth Miss, so it's unlikely that you can redeem her. I advise General not to insist on redeeming Little Yan, and instead focus on your own career advancement. However, now is not the time to rely on Fourth Miss's power, this high branch's strength should be allowed to develop naturally without being forced. I'd like to remind General of one thing: General's future career prospects are closely tied to Little Yan's happiness. The higher General's official position and the greater his power, the more noble Little Yan's status will become. If General becomes an important military minister in the imperial court one day, then Little Yan will also become a respected lady of the Rong family."

  Lu Qi glanced at Jia Ding and felt that this person was a bit too enthusiastic, smiling faintly: "Big brother's expectations of me are not too high, are they?"

  Xiao Ping was taken aback, and smiled: "General, I think that having hope in life is the meaning of living in this world. To be honest with you, General, I entered the Xiao household as a slave precisely because I wanted to change my own mundane and ordinary fate. I believe that one's poor and lowly fate can be changed through hard work, and I have always held onto hope while searching for opportunities to turn my fate around. Today, being able to meet you is like having an opportunity present itself before me. If I were to wait woodenly for you to speak, General, you would definitely not have a deep impression of me, which would be equivalent to giving up on the opportunity that has come before me."

  Lu Qi's heart moved slightly, feeling that Xiao Ping's words had some philosophical meaning to life, and he nodded subconsciously: "What you said also makes sense."

  Xiao Ping smiled and said, "Although it's a bit abrupt for me to take the initiative to talk to you, I think this is the right way to seize the opportunity. Now, I'm just paying out some words, everything I say doesn't have any loss to myself, but it might be of some use to General. If I help General and you become successful in the future, I may get a hundred or thousand times more returns, just like a seed planted in the field, if the wind and rain are favorable, it will grow into rich grain."

  Lu Qi smiled and said: "So you're treating me like a seed."

  Xiao Ping said seriously, "Don't blame me for this analogy, I'm telling the truth. Your current identity is that of an official who can interact with me, but those high-ranking officials and nobles who come and go from the Xiao Mansion are not people I have the opportunity to fawn over. My taking the initiative to chat and help you is just planting a seed of hope."

  Xiao Ping's candor gave Lu Qi a good impression, and he nodded his head and said: "If you plant hope, there is a possibility of gain. I will remember the help from Big Brother today."

  Xiao Ping and Sheng Dao said: "Little one will thank General first, in the future, if General needs to know about the movements of Miss Xiao Si and Xiaoyan, you can come to ask little one at any time."

  Lu Qi nodded, after Xiao Ping said that, he had already lost confidence in redeeming his sister. This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, and as a powerless official, he couldn't compete with the Xiao family. Forcing it would only lead to failure in saving his sister, and he'd also put himself in danger. He still had relatives at home who relied on him for support.

  "What rank was your grandfather's scattered official?" Xiao Ping asked again.

  "I'm just a seventh-grade Zhuguo Jiaowei." Lu Qi said calmly.

  "Grandfather is a Seventh Rank Upper Grade Zhongguo Wei." Xiao Ping repeated in surprise.

  Lu Qi smiled and shook his head, saying: "Even if the rank of a scattered official is high, it's still useless."

  Xiao Ping said seriously: "General, your words are actually self-deprecating. The rank of a scattered official is one of the basic conditions for advancing to a real power job. In the future, if General encounters a noble person, he can easily obtain a high position."

  Lu Qi smiled and said: "It's hard to predict what will happen in the future, it's useless to say more. Does big brother know about Cheng Yiyi's situation?"

  Xiao Ping nodded and said, "I know that Cheng Yiy is the birth mother of Xiaoyan, she entered the Xiao manor as a slave not long ago and was given to Li Tong, the florist, by Fourth Miss."

  Lu Qi listened in stunned silence, then exclaimed: "You're saying that Cheng Yiy has already gotten married?"

  Xiao Ping nodded and said, "Yes, Cheng Yiyuan sold herself as a concubine, and a concubine is supposed to serve her master. Although Cheng Yiyuan was born with beauty, she's just a bit older now. According to the rules, when a master no longer likes his concubine, most of them are given to the household slaves or even sold to brothels. Luckily for Cheng Yiyuan, she married Li Tong, a 35-year-old flower artisan, who is a decent man."

  Lu Qi furrowed his brow and said: "So you're saying that Cheng Yiyuan's current life is very good?"

  Xiao Ping and Sheng said: "It should be good, the fourth miss's boudoir is in the garden, Cheng Yiyin married flower artisan Li Tong can often meet with her daughter."

  Lu Qi fell silent, he couldn't think of it being like this. He had originally planned to buy back Cheng Yiniang and his sister to return home and live a life of luxury, but now it seemed that this trip was in vain. Cheng Yiniang had remarried and was no longer a woman of the Lu family, and Xiao Yan had the obstruction of the fourth miss of the Xiao family, so it was likely that she couldn't be bought back either.

  "Master is coming, the steward has arrived, let's go." Lu Qi, who was deep in thought, heard Xiao Ping's notification and slowly raised his head to follow him back to the gate.

  Yan Zongguan saw Lu Qi and calmly said: "General, our family's fourth young lady wants to see you, please follow me into the mansion."

  Lu Qi stepped through the gate, as the saying goes, "the noble's door is deep like the sea". Although Xiao Fu was not a noble's residence, it also had many courtyards and gates. After passing through six or seven courtyards, he entered a vast garden filled with all kinds of tall trees and flowers. The lush greenery was dotted with vibrant blossoms, and the gentle breeze carried the sweet fragrance of mudan flowers, which was refreshing and delightful.

  Lu Qi secretly admired this peaceful and serene place. Under the leadership of Yan Zongguan, they arrived at a two-story pavilion with a sky-blue color in the center of the garden. In front of the gate stood one man and two women. The man was tall and sturdy, wearing a short sea-green garment, about thirty years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, having a honest face.

  The two women were of different ages, the older one seemed to be around thirty years old, wearing a light green dress and pants, with an oval face and a beautiful appearance. The younger one was fourteen or fifteen years old, also wearing light green dress and pants, with a pure and beautiful appearance, her skin as white as jade, with a pair of clear and gentle eyes.

  Lu Qi quietly walked to the front of the three people and stopped, his eyes warmly looking at the two beautiful women, this was his Auntie Cheng and little sister Xiao Yan. Five years had passed without seeing each other, Auntie Cheng hadn't changed much, but little sister Xiao Yan had changed a lot, that yellow-haired girl who used to wear flower-patterned clothes and was timid, had grown up, he couldn't forget the tears in his sister's eyes when she saw him off as he left home to join the army.

  Four people stared at each other in silence, the man looking at Lu Qi with an uneasy expression. Cheng Niang and younger sister Xiao Yan's eyes had tears in them as they looked at Lu Qi with a mixture of sadness and joy, their eyes also showing cowardice. Five years without seeing each other, they were now two families, with an awkward gap between them psychologically.

  "Xiao Qi, you've finally come back." Cheng Yiniang broke the silence, her tone filled with relief and joy, tears already welling up in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks.

  "Seventh brother." Little sister Xiaoyan called out in a timid and soft voice, and Lu Qi suddenly felt the word "stranger".

  "Auntie, Xiaoyan, and Qi are here to see you." Lu Qi said, at this moment he completely gave up the idea of redeeming his relatives back home, everything could only be left to nature.

  "Xiao Qi, I've wronged the Lu family, I'm not worthy of being your aunt, don't blame me." Cheng Yiniang said in a flustered and uneasy tone.

  Lu Qiying understood, and Madam Cheng had made her stance clear, indicating that she was no longer a woman of the Lu family. He sighed inwardly, but spoke in a gentle tone: "No, it's the Lu family who owes you an apology, Little Seven knows you've remarried, and as the eldest son of the Lu family, I acknowledge you as my aunt. From now on, the Lu family will be your maternal home, and you're welcome to return anytime to visit."

  Cheng Yiyiyu nodded with tears in her eyes and said gratefully: "Xiao Qi, thank you for not looking down on your aunt."

  Lu Qi's expression turned serious: "The Lu family is not qualified to look down on Auntie."

  Cheng Yiyiyi shook her head bitterly and said in a low voice: "Xiao Qi, how is your brother?"