Chapter Thirty-Two: The Scene at the Chen Residence

  The originally quiet Nancheng Liuhewei has not been quiet since the liberation of Fuzhou, and in these tens of days, many people have come and gone, most of whom are officials and nobles riding sedan chairs, and their direction is naturally Chen Jingyun's mansion.

  Since Chen Jingyun led the uprising and became the Governor of Fujian, people in Fuzhou City have been eager to learn everything about Chen Jingyun. Many officials and dignitaries wanted to visit Chen Jingyun, on the one hand to understand the attitude of the military government, and on the other hand, seeing that Fujian was about to change its sky, many wanted to take this opportunity to gain wealth and glory. However, these days Chen Jingyun has been busy and had no time to see anyone, even when he had some free time, he spent it all in the military camp, making it difficult for outsiders to meet him. As a result, attention shifted to the Chen Mansion.

  Although Chen Jingyun did not warn Chen Yushi and the rest of the family to keep a low profile and avoid trouble, Chen Yushi, as a woman, was not ignorant. Upon learning that Chen Jingyun had become the governor, she immediately instructed her family members not to take advantage of the governor's title to swindle people outside or accept gifts from guests who came to their home. Although some people openly said they did not dare to do so, they secretly accepted money and goods in Chen Jingyun's name. When Chen Yushi found out, she immediately handed over those individuals to the guards who had been sent by Chen Jingyun to protect the family's safety. After reporting to the authorities, Chen Cai dealt with them directly according to the law for official corruption, executing each of them with a bullet.

  After this intimidation, these inferior people in the mansion were frightened and did not dare to make trouble again.

  Although the people in Chen's house had stopped accepting money and gifts, there were still many visitors coming to the house. Since there was no male master in the house, most of the visitors were wives and daughters of wealthy and powerful families, who came under the pretext of chatting with Old Lady Chen but actually wanted to gather information, ask for favors, or seek official positions. Apart from these women, many people also sent their trusted stewards, accountants, and other senior staff members, carrying local specialties or hiding bank drafts in their pockets, seeking an audience with Chen Huiyang, the chief steward of the Chen household.

  Chen Huiyang had been personally warned by Chen Yu and promised to send his second son to serve under Chen Jingyun. His son's future and Chen Yu's warning also made Chen Huiyang not have the slightest intention of taking bribes, and he accepted gifts such as local specialties according to Chen Yu's instructions, but politely declined anything valuable like banknotes or securities.

  Madam Chen, although an old woman, was well aware that her son Chen Jingyun's current position was not simple. These people who came to offer money might have some requests or ulterior motives, and if things didn't go well, it could lead to big trouble. Besides, the Chen family wasn't short of money, with a net worth of tens of millions, so it wasn't worth ruining her son's reputation for that little bit of money.

  On this day, Chen Liu Zi, the gatekeeper of the Chen family, was leaning against the door with his legs crossed, a melon seed in his mouth and a cup of tea in his hand. These days, Chen Liu Zi had been very proud, since his young master became the governor, every day there were people coming to visit, some who didn't know the rules directly asked to see the young master, when encountering such people, Liu Zi was too lazy to bother with them, couldn't even tell where their own young master was and still came to ask for an audience, at a glance they weren't anything special. But when encountering those who knew the rules and asked to see the old lady or Chen Da, the general manager, Liu Zi would also politely report it, of course, the process wouldn't lack the red envelope from the gatekeeper.

  The red envelope money for the doorman, it's a must-have for this year, whether it's at the prime minister's mansion or in a rural wealthy family, the doorman is always the most lucrative position and one of the best places to arrange for a house slave. To prevent any unexpected situation, Chen Liu had personally asked the old woman, who scolded him saying that he shouldn't cause trouble for the young master, but didn't say not to accept it. So Chen Liu didn't take the initiative to speak up, those who gave red envelopes were quickly reported, while those who didn't give any would inevitably be delayed and hesitant, and over these days, he had received quite a few benefits.

  As Chen Liu Zi was drinking tea, he suddenly heard a loud shout outside and immediately became somewhat annoyed. Before he even went out, he muttered to himself: "Whose people are making a ruckus outside? Don't they know what kind of place this is?"

  He muttered to himself as he took two steps forward, then looked out and saw a large number of soldiers. At least twenty or thirty of them were standing there, with long guns on their shoulders and pistols at their waists, wearing leather military boots and round hats with visors. Chen Liu had spent some time with the five or six guards who came to protect the Chen family in recent days, and he had gained a lot of experience. He knew that ordinary soldiers had long guns but no short guns, while officers and artillerymen had short guns but no long guns. Now, only one kind of person in Fuzhou City had both long and short guns: the young master's guards!

  As soon as he saw the group of people approaching quickly, Chen Liu Zi immediately shrunk his body and loudly shouted: "The young master has returned to the mansion!" Then he rushed out to open the gate.

  Chen Liu's voice was still young and changing, so the sentence "Young Master has returned to the mansion!" was a bit hoarse, but it was enough for the people in the mansion to hear. Chen Yu Shi, who was receiving guests in the inner room, heard some commotion from the outer room and hadn't even asked what was happening when a little maid stepped forward two steps and said softly: "Madam, Young Master has returned to the mansion!"

  "Jingyun is back?" Chen Yushi was also slightly surprised at first, but then a joyful expression appeared on her face.

  Chen Jingyun had been busy with various things since the uprising began, and he only returned twice during this period, each time staying for no more than an hour. Chen Yu's mother wanted to see her son more, but knowing that he was busy and not wanting to hold him back, she let a smile spread across her face as soon as Chen Jingyun returned home.

  Chen Jingyun led his guards into the courtyard and saw a group of people standing there. When they saw him enter, they shouted in unison: "Young Master!"

  Chen Jingyun waved his hand and said directly: "All of you, go ahead and do what you need to do!"

  When Chen Jingyun said this, the group of young servants and maids also didn't dare to linger and dispersed. Only Chen Liu Zi turned around and arrived at Chen Jingyun's side: "Young Master, Madam is waiting for you!"

  Chen Jingyun nodded and immediately turned his head to Chen Cai: "You go find Fourth Uncle, let him arrange a good meal for the brothers! Hmm, but no drinking is allowed!"

  "Thank you, Commander!" Chen Cai said after turning around to face the guards: "The commander has spoken, later we will arrange a good meal for all of you brothers, but no drinking is allowed!"

  When performing tasks, it's not allowed to drink alcohol, that's reasonable. But when hearing about a pair of good eaters among the rear guard soldiers, they were all beaming with joy. In this era, being a soldier had simple requirements: having enough pay, having a good meal, and occasionally being able to have a few drinks was already very satisfying. However, Chen Jingyun intentionally tried to win them over by often chatting and joking with them, and frequently arranging big feasts for them, which included all sorts of meat dishes that they could eat freely. Chen Jingyun's idea was simple: in an era without faith, maintaining the loyalty of his subordinates relied on favors, so that when the time came, there would be someone in the guard who could take a bullet for him. Sometimes Chen Jingyun felt that his own ideas were quite despicable, but upon further reflection, he realized that almost all superiors were shameless.

  As soon as he entered the backyard, Chen Jingyun quickly stood in front of Madame Chen and took two steps forward, saying "The child greets his mother!" while preparing to kneel down and pay respects.

  It's impossible for Chen Yu to make him kneel down, so he took a few steps forward and supported Chen Jingyun. With a smile on his face and tears in his eyes: "So many ceremonies, what's the point, you're not even an outsider!"

  After helping Chen Jingyun up, he took two steps back and looked at Chen Jingyun carefully before saying: "You're not eating well, you've lost weight!"

  When Chen Jingyun heard this, he felt a very strange feeling surge up in his heart!

  "The child is unfilial, and has frightened his mother!" Chen Jingyun felt that the woman in front of him was a bit like his own mother, really similar, both were so old, with wrinkles on her face piled up one by one, and the tone of her speech was full of concern, for a moment, it actually made Chen Jingyun feel a little dazed.

  At this time, Madame Chen had already recovered and smiled on her face: "It's good to be back, it's good to be back! Come in quickly, don't sit outside!"

  After Chen Jingyun entered the house, he found that there were still many people in this side hall. In addition to the maids serving around, there were several female guests, including a woman in her thirties, a woman about forty years old, and Sun's wife, whom Chen Jingyun knew. There were also maids following behind these three women.

  After Chen Jingyun came in, these few also stood up and paid their respects one by one. In terms of seniority, Chen Jingyun was naturally the commander-in-chief, but at home, it was natural to be humble, so Chen Jingyun did not put on airs as he usually did in the military camp, but instead asked warmly.

  Because she was a female guest, Chen Jingyun didn't say much and sat down on one side. However, with Chen Jingyun sitting there, including Madame Sun, the other female guests seemed reluctant to speak. Chen Jingyun knew why and got up after sitting for a moment. As soon as he came out, there were whispers inside, and Chen Jingyun vaguely heard the words "Lin's house" and guessed that it might be about his own marriage with Lin's family.

  However, this matter concerns the agreement between himself and Sun Dao-ren. At that time, he agreed not to regret the marriage because of his dozens of letters persuading him to surrender. The effect of these dozens of letters was also great. Except for Yuan Fang being persuaded to surrender, today he received a telegram saying that the 2nd battalion of the 39th brigade in Funing Prefecture had also defected. Ma Cheng replied by telegram that they were preparing to launch a strong attack on the remaining one battalion of the 39th brigade and it would not take long for the entire northeastern coastal area of Fujian to fall under the control of the military government.

  In the north, the first battalion of the 38th Division, led by Zhuang Xianhe, also chose to defect. Currently, they are holding out against the 40th Division's First Battalion in Yanping Prefecture. It is said that Xu Jingqing's patrol battalion from Jianning has also sent people to appear near Yanping. Chen Jingyun has already ordered Zhuang Xianhe to hold his ground in Yanping and wait for the arrival of the Second Brigade's reinforcements before doing anything else, as it is crucial to defend this important city in northern Fujian. There have been reports from Funing and Yanping, but there has been no news from Shaowu Prefecture where Xu Chongzhi is located, and telegrams are not getting through either. Chen Jingyun suspects that something may have happened, but it's unclear what exactly, and since Shaowu Prefecture is far away, he can only make plans after the Second Brigade arrives in Yanping. Among these many new armies, several battalions have already chosen to defect, and Sun Daoren's letters of persuasion have had a significant effect.

  If I insist on canceling the engagement, it won't be easy. Forget it, I'll go see that woman another day and if she's really not good enough, even if it damages my reputation, I'll have to call off the wedding.

  Chen Jingyun was thinking as he also returned to his own courtyard. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard a surprised and delighted cry: "Young Master!"

  Chen Jingyun looked up and saw Luo Qi standing in front of the door, with a face full of surprise looking at him!