Chapter 48 Backstage

  County Magistrate Niu frowned and said: "What you say makes sense, but a direct refusal might not be good."

  Wang Zhubu nodded and said, "I understand this. Tomorrow, you take 1,000 taels to run an errand in Pizhou, personally explain it to Lord Yu, if Lord Yu insists on his nephew being the protector of the county, then advise him whether he can be appointed as a clerk in the military department or not. If Lord Yu disagrees, we have also done our best, and let Lord Yu's nephew be the protector of the county."

  Niu County Magistrate frowned and said: "Your Honor wants to move Old He."

  Wang Zhubu said calmly: "Lao He's eyes are blurry and he is no longer suitable for the position of Bingfang."

  County Magistrate Niu hesitated for a moment without speaking, thinking that Secretary He of the Ministry of War had a relationship with him. Wang Zhuzhuo smiled blandly and said: "Your Honor doesn't have to be embarrassed, I know you spoil Secretary He's granddaughter very much. Secretary He is old and his eyes are not suitable for working in the Ministry of War anymore, he can go to be the head of Xidajie Street instead, that job has a lot of prestige and can support him in his old age."

  Niu County Magistrate's spirit was lifted, and he respectfully said: "Thank you very much, sir."

  Wang Zhubu smiled, he was the real backstage of West Avenue, and the appointment of Niu County Wei was not counted.

  Niu Xianwei thanked him and then said seriously: "Sir, I always feel that Chen Hu's death is related to the Lu family. Could it be that the Lu family gathered their men to do it?"

  Wang Zhubu frowned and said coldly, "No, the soldiers under Lu Tianfeng are all good citizens with families and homes, they won't follow evil orders. I've already investigated and questioned them. Lu Tianfeng also has no motive for the crime, he only bought a small shop on West Street to sell medicine and paid his taxes properly. Moreover, the ten soldiers who left with him returned their weapons undamaged. In short, Chen Hu's case can only be handled as a bandit case, don't randomly suspect and disturb Lu Tianfeng in the future."

  County Magistrate Niu raised another doubt: "Sir, I suspect that the Lu family would have so much silver for medicine sales. Chen Hu returned from Dongliu Xiangbaocastle with a lot of silver."

  Wang Zhubu frowned and said, "Lu Tianfeng is a seventh-rank official who returned from the military, it's normal for him to bring back two or three thousand taels of silver. I've also investigated that Lu Tianfeng had exchanged gold for silver before, so having a large amount of silver from selling medicine is also normal."

  Niu County Wei nodded and said: "Perhaps I was overcautious."

  Wang Zhubu said seriously, "Lu Tianfeng is just a temporary small soldier I hired with silver. I can strike him back to his original shape at any time, so you don't have to worry that he will pose a threat to you in Shitou County. What you should pay attention to now is Zhao Xianwei, who may be won over by Sun Wen."

  Niu County Wei was shocked and exclaimed: "Zhao County Wei, how could this be? He is the county magistrate's nephew, and has always been loyal to the county magistrate."

  Wang Zhubu said coldly, "Anything can change, do you think Sun will be willing to be a mere decoration? Remember, from now on, the income of the two streets should not be transported to Dongliu Township again. First leave it in your mansion, after some time I have a big use for it."

  "Yes, I will do so." Niu Xianwei replied respectfully.

  Lu Qi left the county government with a great mood, being able to continue serving as the protector of the county was what he urgently needed. No matter how much longer he could serve, for him, every additional day was an additional opportunity to get rich.

  After talking to Wang Zhubu, he was very clear that Wang Zhubu and Sun County were incompatible, which was not important to him. He only needed to do his job as a protector of the county, ringing the bell for one day and being a monk for one day. The struggles in the city's official circles were not something he should get involved in.

  He didn't return to the pharmacy, but went straight back to his old mansion. At this time, what he was thinking about in his heart was how many human resources there were after the Lu family gathered together, and he wanted to determine the next step to get rich based on these human resources.

  Returned to the old house and saw my mother, I asked for the Lu family's household registration records. After carefully reviewing them, I was somewhat disappointed. The younger generation of the Lu family's side branches had few talents, most of whom could only do manual labor. There were two or three who were tile workers or carpenters, but not a single one with exceptional skills. The women were the same, only able to do rough work, without any talented needlewomen skilled in weaving, sewing, or embroidery. Relying on doing hard labor and rough work won't earn much money.

  Lu's mother saw her son's disappointment and said in a gentle tone, "Xiao Qi, since you can procure medicine, why not expand the pharmacy? You can also hire some young men to help with the business."

  "Mother, the medicine business is not suitable for expansion. Firstly, it will attract envy and resentment from others. Secondly, customers only care about the price and quality of the medicine, the size of the shop has little impact on profits. As for selling medicine, what's needed are experienced warriors, but the men in our family are not suitable for this task. Moreover, if something goes wrong, it would be difficult for us to explain to our relatives."

  Lu Mu nodded and Lu Qi smiled: "Mother, don't worry, I already have a rough idea of how to use people, I'll tell you when it's mature."

  Lu Qi returned to the house, leaving his mother's place. In the bedroom, Ning'er was sitting on the bed doing embroidery, while Wei Shuang'er was lying on her side, also embroidering. When they saw Lu Qi return, both women got up to help him change clothes.

  "Ning Er, why weren't you with my mother?" Lu Qi asked in a gentle voice, as he enjoyed the service of the beautiful woman, because Ning Er was often accompanying his mother when she was doing her needlework.

  "The mistress wants to rest for a while, and ordered me to go back to my room to do some needlework." Ning'er replied softly.

  Lu Qi looked at Wei Shuang'er again and said in a gentle voice: "Shuang'er, tomorrow I'll take you to see Mistress Xin."

  Wei Shuang'er's body shook slightly, and she said in a low voice: "Yes, I will obey."

  Ning'er hesitated for a moment, then said softly: "Young Master, why don't you let Shuang'er stay at the old house?"

  Lu Qi looked at Ning Er with a gentle gaze, he knew that Wei Shuang Er must have begged Ning Er, and Ning Er's face turned red as she lowered her head in unease.

  Lu Qi smiled and said in a gentle voice: "Ning Er, I'll leave Shuang Er at the old mansion. Can you keep an eye on her?"

  Ning Er was taken aback, looking up at Lu Qi with a puzzled expression. Lu Qi playfully blinked his eyes and said in a gentle tone, "Ning Er, what I mean is that I'm a man, and sometimes I also like women who are a bit charming."

  Ning's face was slightly flushed as she lowered her eyes and spoke in a soft voice: "Don't worry, I'll teach her well."

  Lu Qi turned his head to look at Wei Shuang'er and said in a gentle tone, "Shuang'er, I'll give you a choice. If you follow Ning'er and stay in the old mansion, from the day my children are born, within five years, you won't be able to obtain the title of concubine. However, if you go with Xin Zhu Mu now, from the day my children are born, after just one year, you'll be able to obtain the title of concubine. You decide for yourself."

  Lu Qi's words left Ning Er and Wei Shuang Er stunned. Lu Qi added, "Ning Er will be a concubine for 100 days, after which I'll give her the title of wife. As for Shuang Er, she can choose which household to enter in the future and report back to me tomorrow morning."

  Ning'er was shocked and said: "Young master, this can't be done. According to custom, a concubine without children cannot become a wife, the madam will not be pleased."

  Lu Qiuyi gazed at Ning'er, smiling: "Ning'er, from the day I accepted you, I never treated you as a servant. I've watched you grow up since childhood, and in my heart, you're just like a sister. As your younger brother, how could I not respect and love you? Now that I'm the head of the household, I have the authority to make special arrangements for this matter. I'll persuade Mother about it, so don't worry anymore."

  Ning Er's eyes reddened as she listened, her heart warming up as she lowered her head to hold back tears of joy. Wei Shuang Er stood beside her, looking worried and troubled by Lu Qi's decision, which had put her in a difficult dilemma.

  Lu Qi glanced at her and smiled faintly, "Miss Xin's heart is actually very kind, similar to Ning Er's temperament. You don't have to worry, it's still early until tomorrow morning."

  Wei Shuang'er was startled and looked at Lu Qi with a bewildered expression, then suddenly said respectfully: "Young Master, from now on I am willing to stay by Ning sister's side."

  Lu Qi Chen Rong looked at her and said softly after a few seconds: "Since you've made up your mind, call Ning Er Zhu Mu from now on when you're in the house."

  Wei Shuang'er softly responded, turned around to face Ning'er and knelt down, respectfully saying: "Your servant pays respects to Master Ning's mother." After finishing, she lightly knocked her head three times. Ning'er hurriedly bent over to help Wei Shuang'er up, a pair of beautiful eyes hiding tears.

  Lu Qi smiled and walked towards the bed, thinking of resting for a while. His intention was to force Wei Shuang'er to go to Xin Yun'er's place. The reason was that he liked the warm and gentle feeling when he was alone with Ning'er. However, Wei Shuang'er seemed to be very gentle and obedient, and following Ning'er shouldn't affect his time alone with Ning'er. Besides, he would eventually have to buy maids for his mother, sister-in-law, and Ning'er to serve them in the house anyway.

  Lu Qi lay on the bed, Ning Er followed and sat on the edge of the bed, Wei Shuang Er also followed and stood by, her different status no longer allowed her to sit with Ning Er.

  "Xiao Qi, has Madam mentioned Miss Tian Yue's matter to you?" Ning'er asked softly.