Chapter Eighteen: See It Through

  This house is very elegant.

  Chen Gui invited Lu Haoshan to a banquet, but this banquet was a family dinner. The atmosphere was the first impression Lu Haoshan had of Chen's residence - blue bricks, green tiles, and white walls. In front of the gate stood two majestic stone lions, while four fierce-looking slaves stood at the threshold. On the lintel above the gate, the words "Chen Residence" were written in bold calligraphy.

  In ancient times, the hierarchy was clear, not everyone could call themselves "this king" or "that official", nor could any house be called a "mansion" or a "manor". Although Chen Gui's house and Li Xiangcai's house in Zhushan Village were comparable in terms of grandeur, occupying a large area, luxurious decoration, and careful design, due to reasons related to fame and status, the humble county lieutenant could only refer to his residence as a "residence".

  "It's an honor to have you here, I'm afraid I didn't come out to greet you from afar, it's truly too rude." Just as Lu Haoshan was lamenting that Chen Gui's mansion must have taken a lot of money from the people, the large gate suddenly swung open and Chen Gui came out with his two sons to welcome them personally.

  "County Magistrate Chen, no need to be polite, I've just arrived too." With a mask of composure for over a month, Lu Haoshan was no longer as expressionless and nose-upturned as when he first took office, but instead smiled at Chen Gui.

  As expected, when you take someone's money, your hands are short and your mouth is soft. Chen Gui thought to himself: The eighty taels of silver I gave as a bribe were not wasted after all. Thinking back to the first time they met, it was not like this at all.

  "Awen Awu, this is the county magistrate, you still don't hurry up and pay your respects"

  The two young men following Chen Gui hastily paid their respects to Lu Haoshan: "Greetings, elderly parents."

  The county magistrate is the parent official of the people, and many scholars call the county magistrate "old parents", distinguishing it from the ordinary people's appellation. Needless to say, these two are scholars.

  Lu Haoshan narrowed his eyes and said: "County Magistrate Chen, are these two young masters your sons?"

  "What a young master!" Chen Gui hurriedly humbled himself and said: "Your humble servant, Chen Wen, Chen Wu, these two good-for-nothings, Chen Wen has just passed the imperial examination as a xiucai, while Chen Wu still has no official position, he is still an ordinary citizen, it's really worrying for your humble servant. Your Excellency is a jinshi from the Imperial Academy, a great scholar with extensive knowledge, please instruct your humble servant."

  "Alright, alright." Lu Haoshan chuckled and brushed it off.

  Using his spare time to take in two disciples, slowly building up, using the Chen family's influence to slowly control Jiangyou County, was a clever way, unfortunately, now is not waiting for me, Lu Haoshan does not want to spend this effort, and can't bear to instruct these two so-called "latecomers".

  The Chen family is actually their own biggest stumbling block in controlling Jiangyou County, and they naturally don't want to have too much emotional entanglement.

  That Chen Wendi was a clever guy, and he reminded Chen Gui on the side: "Dad, let's hurry up and welcome our elderly parents in, they've been waiting at the door for so long."

  "Right, right, everyone's so excited that they've forgotten. Sir, I, your humble servant, have already prepared a family banquet, please come in." Chen Gui said with a gesture of invitation.

  "Please." Lu Haoshan also didn't bother with pleasantries, nodding his head and leading the way inside. Chen Gui followed closely behind him, gesturing to the side as he walked, looking very attentive.

  As soon as they entered, they saw that the residence had a garden, and in the garden there were trees, beside which was a pond with fish. Artificial hills, pavilions, and winding corridors dotted the area, showcasing clever design and layered scenery. Lu Hao couldn't help but nod his head in approval: "Not bad, County Magistrate Chen, this garden of yours is clearly the work of a master craftsman. It has the style of the Su Garden."

  "Indeed, the master is wise and discerning. The designer of this small garden must be a renowned expert from Suzhou Prefecture. I didn't expect that you, sir, would have such profound knowledge about gardening as well." Chen Gui flattered him from the side.

  "No, I've accompanied my teacher on a tour of Suzhou's gardens and have some understanding."

  Chen Gui's heart tightened, and he hastily asked: "I don't know who your master is?"

  It's either that this bookworm has bribed his way into office with silver, or he has the backing of some big shot. Judging from Lu Haishan's demeanor and attire, it's highly likely that this newly appointed county official is a self-made man who hasn't relied on wealth to get ahead. It's more probable that he has someone backing him up. Now, when Lu Haishan casually mentioned traveling with his mentor through Suzhou's gardens, Chen Gui suddenly became tense.

  At the end of the Ming dynasty, land annexation became a trend. The famous gardens in Suzhou were either occupied by high-ranking officials or wealthy merchants, none of whom were ordinary people. However, Lu Haoshan's mentor was able to visit each and every one of them, which means he must have had some impressive connections. Investigating this would certainly not be a bad idea.

  "Let's just say that County Magistrate Chen is not to be laughed at. My mentor said that Lu Mou is foolish and ignorant, and if word gets out, it will tarnish his reputation. We're not allowed to mention his name, let alone use his banner to do things. It's hard to put into words." Lu Haoshan said this while shaking his head, as if he was talking about something very shameful.

  "The adults are really joking, this is the master's love and hatred for the adults, perhaps it is intentional to encourage the adults to learn and progress." Chen Gui said with some disapproval in his heart, but still very aware of the situation.

  "I hope so." Lu Haoshan didn't want to discuss this matter anymore, and had already achieved his own mysterious goal, so as not to say too much and make mistakes. He intentionally changed the subject: "County Magistrate Chen, this mansion of yours is truly impressive, I reckon that even in the whole of Jiangyou, it's one of the most exquisite."

  If someone else were to praise his own house, Chen Gui would definitely introduce it with a smile if he was in a good mood. However, the person asking the question was the new county magistrate, so he immediately explained: "Your Excellency, this is the foundation left behind by my ancestors, our predecessors worked hard to accumulate a little bit of wealth."

  However, Chen failed to make the grade and ended up as a county magistrate, a position with meager pay. Not only did he not bring home any silver, but also had to rely on his family for support, which was a far cry from being able to provide for his parents and raise the next generation. On the surface, it seemed like he was doing well, but in reality, he was struggling to make ends meet. Alas, the Chen family's fortunes had actually declined under his care, a fact that was too painful to recall or speak of.

  If the newly appointed county magistrate feels that his own food, clothing and living conditions are better than those of his superiors, he may become the target of public criticism. What he fears most is that his superiors will think that all these are obtained through corruption and bribery, and then he will not be able to live in peace.

  "Hmm, that's right." Lu Haoshan echoed: "County Magistrate Chen is dedicated to public service, diligent in governance and loves the people. I think the people of Jiangyou will also be grateful in their hearts."

  If it wasn't for arriving in Jiangyou ahead of time to investigate, Lu Haoshan would have really been deceived by this old fox. This Chen Gui is a tyrant in Jiangyou County, taking advantage of his position in the government office to indulge his clan's sons and allow them to bully and cheat the market, exploiting the local people. In Jiangyou County, as long as there was something beneficial, he would go to great lengths to take the largest share. Many ordinary people secretly called him Chen San Chi, meaning that he wanted to scrape off three inches of the land in Jiangyou County.

  It's just pretending to be harmonious with him now.

  Chen Gui was overjoyed when he heard this, thinking that indeed money could make a ghost push a mill. The eighty taels of silver were well spent. A month ago, this stubborn and unreasonable man would not have dared to send someone to investigate his own affairs. But now, not only had his attitude improved significantly, but there was also a hint of bias in his words, which made Chen Gui secretly delighted.

  "It's too kind of you" Chen Gui said with a flattering smile: "Sir, this way please, I have prepared a banquet for you, this way please."

  Lu Haoshan didn't decline, and walked forward with Chen Gui following behind him. Taking advantage of Lu Haoshan's distraction, he turned his head to whisper to the steward Chen Fu: "Let Ziyu get dressed up, proceed according to the original plan."

  "Yes, sir." Chen Fu responded with a single word and quietly withdrew.

  Although things took an unexpected turn, Lu Haoshan inadvertently mentioned that he had a mentor, which left Chen Gui somewhat unprepared and even a little hesitant. However, he decided to still implement the "beautiful woman plan" on Lu Haoshan: if Lu Haoshan's mentor didn't care about him or was just bragging, then he would unhesitatingly make him a scapegoat; but if Lu Haoshan's backer was very powerful and their relationship was very close, that wouldn't be a problem either. With Ziyue as the link, it's easy to take advantage of a big tree's shade, and who knows, maybe he could even cling to a sturdy leg and rise to prominence from then on~~~~

  Weighing the pros and cons, this deal was really a bargain: can't afford to lose the child but can't keep the wolf at bay either. Chen Gui decided to see the Beauty Trap through to the end.