Chapter 1: Greed Born of Wealth

  During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, in the town of Chisong, Zhejiang Province's Jinhua County, there lived a man named Su Qi. He was a single child from a family that had only one son for three generations.

  Relying on the foundation laid by ancestors, the family has a hundred hectares of good land and is as rich as a local tyrant.

  Su Zicheng was fond of reading books and was well-versed in history. He made friends with many scholars and traveled extensively, but he was not good at managing family finances. All the household chores were taken care of by his steward Liu Xi.

  Su married his wife Zhao, whose maiden name was Xintao, from Nanjing Jiangning Fu. She was gentle and elegant, and it wasn't until she was over thirty that they had a son. The couple loved each other dearly, like treasure, and named him Manshu.

  He has grown up with a clear and handsome appearance, and there is no one in his family who does not like him.

  Zhao also had an older sister, whose courtesy name was Xinmei, who married Lin Yi, the militia commander of Jiangning Prefecture in Nanjing, and gave birth to a son named Lin Yuqing, two years older than Manchu.

  After Lin Yuqing was born, Zhao's father passed away. Su Qi once took his wife to Nanjing Jiangning Prefecture to mourn the death of his father-in-law and stayed in the Lin family for a period of time. The couple liked Yuqing, who had thick eyebrows and big eyes and laughed loudly, very much.

  Soon after returning home to Jinhua, Zhao became pregnant and gave birth to Manxiu. She then sent a message to her sister and brother-in-law in Jiangning Prefecture.

  After receiving the letter, Zhao's sister was overjoyed. Her mother had passed away early, and now her father was gone too. With many things to attend to in Lin's village, she missed her younger sister even more, and also wanted to see this nephew, so she often asked someone to deliver a message to Jinhua, asking her younger sister and brother-in-law to bring their son to live in Nanjing Jiangning Prefecture.

  Zhao's family, due to her young age and her husband having no intention of selling their property and moving to Jiangning Prefecture, kept delaying.

  Now, let's talk about the steward Liu Xi. This man is very clever and has a good attitude towards everyone. He is respectful to his superiors and polite to his subordinates. He manages the family property of over a million yuan in an orderly manner. Not only do Mr. and Mrs. Su trust him more and more, but also the whole town respects him.

  Liu Xi was thirty-two years old and had been married once before, but it didn't last a year.

  Liu Xi had long been interested in Lan'er, the maid of Su Yuanwai's household. He made several attempts to sound her out, and Lan'er seemed to have a mind for him too, but due to the rules of the mansion, she did not dare to make any rash moves.

  One day, Liu Xi returned home after a banquet and ran into Lan'er, who had been sent to fetch books, outside the study.

  Liu Xi couldn't hold back his long-suppressed desires, and after teasing a few words, he pushed Lan Er into the study room, intending to do something improper. Unexpectedly, Su Qi came to the study room just in time, catching them red-handed. Lan Er's face turned red with shame as she quickly ran out of the door. Liu Xi's intoxication was completely gone because he knew that Su Qi was a straightforward person who looked down on such improper behavior.

  Liu Xi woke up from his drunkenness, and he was so ashamed that he knelt down and begged for forgiveness, slapping himself multiple times. He repeatedly called himself a scoundrel who had lost his dignity after drinking, and said that he deserved to die a thousand deaths.

  Su Zi's heart softened, so she scolded him a few times and let him off.

  Lan'er was later transferred to the inner house by Madam Zhao, because Manxiu had been having stomach problems recently, and Madam Zhao also sent Ling'er, her most trusted maid, to take care of him. From then on, Liu Xi rarely got to see Lan'er, and felt very depressed in his heart.

  More than half a year has passed and in our hometown, a new parent official, Lord Lu Biao, has taken office.

  This person is extremely greedy and has a very small mind.

  The newly appointed official heard that Su Qi was the richest man in the area and summoned him to his office, demanding a meeting gift of money.

  Su Zicheng usually only indulges in romantic sentiments, and has never been skilled at social interactions. Moreover, he is straightforward by nature and cannot bear to see people being so despicable, let alone the fact that they are government officials. It's truly a shame for scholars. Not only did he not give them any money, but he also scolded them indirectly, causing the newly appointed county magistrate to be rebuffed as soon as he took office.

  Su Zi returned in a huff, and Lu Zhixian also made a note of this grudge. From time to time, he would send someone to the Su family to cause trouble.

  Liu Xi was well aware of the cause of the matter, so he concealed it from Su Yuanwai and privately bribed the people in the yamen, giving Landlord Lu a lot of benefits, which finally settled the matter.

  It turned out that someone had leaked the news, and Su Qi heard about it. At that moment, he was furious and immediately called Liu Xi over to scold him severely, telling him to pack his bags and leave at once, not wanting to bring shame to the Su family.

  Liu Xi had been managing the Su family's affairs for many years and was deeply respected by everyone. In fact, he had also been bribing officials in the past, but Su Qi was unaware of it and had never asked about it. Now, however, because of this matter, he was going to be thrown out of the mansion in front of everyone, and his face would be lost! Under everyone's plea, Liu Xi continued to stay in the mansion and vowed that from now on, he would never make another mistake again.

  But Liu Xi felt wronged and indignant in his heart, yet he didn't dare say more, so he could only drown his sorrows in wine every day, feeling depressed and unhappy.

  One day, while drinking in a tavern, he happened to run into Zhang Dahu, an officer from the yamen of Lord Lu.

  Zhang Da saw Liu Xi and hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting, saying "Hey, isn't this Manager Liu? I've always seen you busy to the point of no rest, how do you have time to relax here?" Zhang Da had a good relationship with Liu Xi from before, and usually hadn't received few benefits from him, so he spoke extremely politely.

  "Alas, let's not mention it..." Liu Xi sighed deeply with a worried look on his face, wanting to say something but stopping himself, and continued drinking from his wine cup.

  "What's going on here? This is Red Pine Village, who dares to provoke us Liu family's steward again? Speak up, I'll get Big Brother Zhang to take him to the yamen and let him taste a few sticks to teach him a lesson!"

  "Haha, Brother Zhang is joking"

  Big Brother Zhang is busy with official duties every day, how dare I bother you with little brother's affairs.

  Besides, this person hasn't broken any laws, how can you just arrest him at will? Where is justice?

  "Haha, King's Law! The government office is the King's Law! Since ancient times, there has been a king before there was reason. What is the king? It's the officials!"

  I'm not saying, with your talent, being a small housekeeper is really underestimating you.

  "Hey, it's just this, almost didn't make it"

  "What? What's going on?" Liu Xi told Zhang Da how Su Qi had found out that he was taking care of the old master's servant, how he had insulted him, and how he had dared to tell him not to go out again, and made him swear never to do so again.

  Zhang Da said, "If you don't listen, then so be it. But if you do, that's like a raging fire in the sky! Isn't this looking down on the people in the yamen? How dare they cut off our financial path?! He put on an indignant expression, as if he was speaking up for Liu Xi, "Liu brother has worked tirelessly for the Su family, pouring out his heart and blood. Who doesn't know that?! Now the Su family is rich and prosperous, with abundant grain and land, all thanks to Liu brother's efforts! But now they're completely disregarding their relationship and saying goodbye just like that? This is like killing a rabbit and boiling a dog, or burning a bridge after crossing it! And what about interacting with people from the yamen? Are you going to lose face for the Su family?" Zhang Da said indignantly, "If I were in charge, I wouldn't care about any of this. I'd just get rid of him and take over myself. That would be a happy life!" "Ahh, Zhang Da-ge, don't speak so recklessly. If someone hears you, it'll cause trouble."

  "What's the point of waiting? As the saying goes, 'those who are capable will take it', he doesn't have the ability but still pretends to be a big shot, what kind of logic is this?" Zhang scolded and grumbled for a long time before storming off.

  But Liu Xi had already sprouted an idea in his heart, and this idea had gone through his mind countless times. Not being a housekeeper, but the master, what a wonderful taste it would be! People can't leave behind greed, anger, and lust, yet precisely because of these three words, how many storms have been stirred up.