thenovelthief Chapter 386 Picking Up a Bargain
Chapter 386 Picking Up a Bargain
Back then, when Marquis Changning Xu Wanyi fled back from Zhangzhou in Jiangnan East Circuit, Jiang Zuibai saved his life. Now, seeing his savior, Xu Wanyi was overjoyed and hurriedly took Jiang Zuibai's hand and entered the mansion, ordering wine and dishes to be prepared. The two then drank and chatted happily.
After a few rounds of drinks, Jiang Zuibai began to probe for information, "Just now, something happened at the manor, and I watched for a while. It seems that the woman who beat someone has a connection with the Marquis?"
Since he is my savior, what is there that I can't say?
Moreover, Xu Wanyi is truly suffering now. Before the divorce, he had several close friends, such as Fu Chuji and Han Xiao, but now they all ignore him and sever ties with him.
After he was transferred back from Bingzhou, he was assigned to the Imperial Guard in the Northern Army. It seemed that the emperor intended to give him an important position, but now, although the people in the Imperial Guard still treated him the same as before, the feeling was different.
They all kept their distance from him.
He was very distressed and began to complain, repeating the same old things: he hadn't taken any new concubines, and they were still his two old maids, who had always served him, so what was wrong with being closer to them?
In short, what she said revealed was that Shen Shiwan was being unreasonable and nagging. If she didn't want him to sleep in the concubine's room, she should have just said so. She appeared magnanimous on the surface but was jealous inside.
That's it!
Jiang Zuibai immediately understood what was going on. "Could it be that the Marquis and Miss Shen knew each other before?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Wanyi became somewhat wary, while Jiang Zuibai casually replied, "To be honest, I know Young Master Shen."
Xu Wanyi lowered his guard and continued, "We do know each other, otherwise, I wouldn't have thought of marrying a girl from the Shen family."
He recalled a few moments from his acquaintance with Shen San and explained them to Jiang Zuibai. Jiang Zuibai then understood what was going on. It turned out that one of them wanted to take advantage of Shen San's feelings, while the other wanted the benefits of being bound by marriage.
In the end, they both felt they had been deceived by the other. If it were an ordinary woman, she would have just accepted her bad luck after being tricked. But the girl from the Shen family was different. She wanted to seek justice for herself after being tricked, and if she couldn't get justice, she wanted to cut her losses as soon as possible.
Upon returning home, Jiang Zuibai instructed his steward to prepare generous gifts, as he intended to visit the Shen family.
Shen Xianzhang was recently recalled, and Shen Shijin and his wife also returned together. They were summoned by the Emperor, and Shen Shijin was to be transferred to the position of Commander of Bingzhou, while Xie Wensheng was to be appointed as the Prefect of Bingzhou.
Locally, the current system of three-tiered administrative divisions, with checks and balances and mutual supervision among the three departments, has prevented any single entity from becoming too powerful and local separatism from taking hold.
As for Fu Chuji, he was also returning to report on his duties, and he will soon be transferred to the position of Prefect of Luzhou.
Back then, Pei Wubing, the governor of Luzhou, colluded with Dou Qiansheng, and a church called Manichaeism appeared in Luzhou. They practiced "eating vegetables and worshipping demons," abstaining from alcohol and meat. They helped each other within the organization and "mutually helped each other with money." They were very popular among the poor people and their influence in Luzhou surpassed that of charitable halls.
This was also because Pei Wubing had suppressed the charity hall back then.
Wen Zhaojie was appointed as the commander of Luzhou.
He was a scout by trade, and was an expert at gathering information and tracking people. He was sent to Luzhou because Luzhou was Dou Qiansheng's stronghold.
The Shen family is preparing for the full moon celebrations of the eleventh and twelfth princes. As the maternal family, they certainly cannot attend the banquet empty-handed and must prepare generous gifts.
Shen Xianzhang prepared two rare books, but Madam Shen thought they were too shabby. Just then, Jiang Zuibai sent a pair of white jade pieces, which were warm and white, and were obviously of superior quality.
But we can't accept it.
When Shen Shilang received Jiang Zuibai, the latter brought a matchmaker with him and bluntly asked to marry Shen Shiwan.
Shen Shilang stammered, "Why, why?"
His third sister had just gotten into a fight, and her fame spread throughout the entire capital. Yet, someone actually came to propose marriage to her. What's the point?
You deserve a beating, don't you?
Since they were all acquaintances, Shen Shilang couldn't hide it from them, so he said, "I wonder if Master Jiang has heard that my third sister did something earth-shattering yesterday!"
He got into a group fight in the street.
Jiang Zuibai laughed and said, "I was just watching from the sidelines at the time."
Even the Imperial Guards of the Southern Palace were summoned by him.
"Huh?" Shen Shilang said, "Then why did you come to propose?"
Jiang Zuibai said, "It is precisely because I have witnessed your sister's heroic fighting skills that I have made up my mind to ask for your hand in marriage! Brother Shen, rest assured, if in the future... I can retire from this profession, and changing families will not be a problem."
Merchants are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations. His meaning is that if Shen Shiwan wants her children to study in the future, the Jiang family can stop doing business and become farmers without any problem.
"I will convey Brother Jiang's message. As for whether the elders agree or not, that is not something I can decide."
"That's natural!"
Shen Sanxiong returned all the gifts, and Jiang Zuibai didn't mind. It would be strange if the Shen family accepted them.
But he can't come empty-handed, unless he doesn't want to get married.
Madam Shen was furious upon hearing this. "What do you mean? Does he have some connection with the Marquis of Changning's mansion? Who gives him the right to make sarcastic remarks?"
Shen Shiwan also felt that Jiang Zuibai had gone too far; he was clearly mocking her.
"Lord Xu is a worthless man. I never expected him to have such a righteous friend. It's laughable. Who is he? I'm divorced from Marquis Changning. Who does he think he is to stand up for me?"
So when Jiang Zuibai sent the matchmaker to visit again, he was scolded and driven away by Madam Shen.
The matchmaker knew this was a big misunderstanding. "Master Jiang, this matchmaking is not easy for you. My face was sprayed with spittle by Madam Shen today. She's furious, saying you're humiliating the birth of our third daughter."
Please tell me the truth, are you truly proposing marriage?
Jiang Zuibai couldn't understand why no one believed him when every word he said was the truth.
The Shen family didn't believe a word of it, but Xu Wanyi did. He said that Jiang Zuibai had come to their door that day because he was waiting here.
He actually dared to take advantage of his own mistakes.
He encountered Jiang Zuibai on the road, stopped the other's car, dragged Jiang Zuibai out, and beat him up.
Jiang Zuibai was a businessman, pampered and comfortable, while Xu Wanyi was a military general. They were not even in the same league. Xu Wanyi was also a drunkard who had come from brothels and didn't know his own strength when he attacked.
Shen Shilang encountered this situation and initially didn't want to get involved, but then he realized something was wrong.
Someone shouted, "Someone's going to die!"
Shen Shilang quickly stepped forward to pull him away, but Xu Wanyi, enraged, tried to attack Shen Shilang. Shen Shilang immediately covered his head, but Han Xiao arrived and grabbed Xu Wanyi's wrist.
"Lord Xu, this is a matter of life and death. In front of everyone, are you trying to cause a death?"
Shen Shilang was furious. "Get Young Master Jiang to the clinic immediately!"
What's wrong with Lord Xu? He's so drunk. If he hadn't stopped him, he would have beaten Jiang Zuibai to death.
Jiang Zuibai was seriously injured, and Shen Shilang couldn't ignore it. After the treatment at the clinic was completed, he took him back to the Jiang family. By the time they returned to the Shen family, it was already dark.
When the whole family heard about this, they were all very glad that Shen Shiwan and Xu Wanyi had divorced. This man would hit people when he was drunk, who knows if he would commit domestic violence?
Madam Shen slapped her thigh suddenly. "So, Young Master Jiang wasn't standing up for Marquis Changning? He really came to ask for Wanwan's hand in marriage?"