Chapter 574 – Beijiang Horse Plague (Part 1)
The Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward truly deserves commendation. Not only did he complete his tasks impeccably, but he also maintained his integrity when faced with a staggering fortune of millions, not greedily taking a single copper coin. If Jiang Pengji doesn’t reward him handsomely as he deserves, who would willingly serve her in the future?
Even though she knew that the Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai Steward could achieve this only because Gu Xin had left a backup plan, the reward must be clear and generous.
Thus, in addition to the two hundred thousand that was awarded to the shipping caravan, she additionally took out twenty thousand from her private treasury for the steward.
Xu Ke had always assisted Jiang Pengji in managing the treasury, recording every expenditure and income meticulously. Seeing these two expenditures, even he, who was accustomed to his lord’s lavishness, couldn’t help but gasp… a whopping two hundred twenty thousand! This isn’t just twenty!
Do you even know what two hundred twenty thousand means?
With just ten thousand taken out from that, one could buy a position of county magistrate in Dongqing, and with a donation of a hundred thousand, one could become a well-known and influential governor.
If this isn’t called a lavish expenditure, then what is?
Xu Ke sighed at these two expenditures and was even more shocked when he saw another incoming revenue record, nearly dropping his brush in astonishment.
The national treasury’s yearly income is only around ninety million to one hundred fifty million, yet here was his lord, just a county magistrate, illicitly holding the entire Fengyi County’s territory, raking in nearly twenty million in just a few months… Xu Ke held back the impulse to scream for quite a while.
Consequently, he wandered in a daze to the Xiangyang Administrative Hall.
Feng Jin looked up, seeing Xu Ke, who had lost several pounds since they last met months ago. He expressed concern, “Looking at Xiaoyu like this, it seems that matters in Maolin County are extremely burdensome. If you’re too tired, why not discuss taking a couple of days off at home with the lord?”
Xu Ke was momentarily stunned and snapped back to reality. “Ke is fine…”
Indeed, the administration of Maolin County had been quite hectic, especially in the beginning, where it was so busy it felt like the sky had turned dark and he forgot what sleep was… Luckily, he survived that period, everything got back on track, and now, he merely needed to handle some trivial matters and strengthen monitoring and inspections.
Feng Jin looked at Xu Ke with surprise, taking in his appearance.
Xu Ke was still wearing old clothes that his aunt and Xun Mei made for him years ago. What once fit him well now looked baggy.
“You should eat more. You’ve lost so much weight.”
Feng Jin himself had also been busy for the past six months, and logically, he should’ve slimmed down a bit too, but the food at the administrative hall was too good, and with his capable and attentive wife taking care of him, he ended up looking rosy, like a flower being carefully watered.
Xu Ke nodded, still appearing absent-minded.
Before the two could say much else, unfamiliar footsteps came from outside the administrative hall, accompanied by a tune that was completely off-key. Xu Ke furrowed his brow.
Feng Jin said, “That should be Feng Zhen arriving.”
Feng Zhen?
Xu Ke had been so busy in Maolin County that he scarcely had time to concern himself with matters in Xiangyang County, which notably included Feng Zhen’s affairs.
It was said that he was addicted to Cold Food Powder, and his behavior was quite unruly. Just based on this, Xu Ke’s first impression of Feng Zhen was below the passing mark.
Xu Ke asked, “Feng Zhen?”
Feng Jin nodded.
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure wearing a light green scholar’s robe floated in, surrounded by a faint smell of alcohol, with his eyes half-closed, humming an unknown tune. He mechanically greeted Feng Jin and then turned to handle his own affairs.
Xu Ke, a living person, was completely ignored by Feng Zhen.
“Drunk?” Xu Ke asked, surprised.
The lord actually permits Feng Zhen to drink during work hours at the administrative hall?
Feng Jin let out a long sigh. “The lord has instructed Dian Yin to keep an eye on him, preventing him from using Cold Food Powder or drinking excessively, yet who knows where he hides his alcohol? He must be getting drunk every day during his lunch break, yet his work is done excellently, without a single mistake.”
For Jiang Pengji, as long as her subordinates didn’t cross her bottom line, she was more than happy to indulge them, allowing them personal interests. To say that Feng Zhen manages to keep half a jar of wine daily under Dian Yin’s watchful eye without Jiang Pengji’s tacit permission would be impossible.
Both Feng Jin and Xu Ke were models of self-discipline and orderliness, so they certainly disapproved of Feng Zhen’s reckless behavior, but since Jiang Pengji rarely pursued the matter, they couldn’t impose restrictions on Feng Zhen either, opting instead to ignore his antics.
Not that they made an effort to keep their voices down; Feng Zhen was sharing in the conversation quite openly.
He scoffed, mocking the two of them.
Dian Yin’s supervision was strict, but with policies above, there are countermeasures below—hiding a few jars of wine for a sneaky drink was easy-peasy.
What’s more, he had the lord Jiang Pengji as his drinking buddy. If Dian Yin found out, now that would be a surprise.
Feeling satisfied, he looked down and saw two sealed letters on the table, the wax hadn’t been broken.
Letters for him?
Feng Zhen opened one, and the effects of alcohol faded significantly.
“Oh no——trouble!”
Feng Jin hearing the commotion asked, “What happened?”
Feng Zhen rubbed his chin, “I had no idea I was such a hot commodity, everyone wants a piece of me.”
Feng Jin and Xu Ke shared a look of astonishment; someone wrote a letter to Feng Zhen, trying to recruit him?
“The name on the signature is interesting—Feng Huaiyi. Huh—why does this sound so similar to Huaiyu?”
Taking a look at the date on the letter, it was even earlier than Wei Ci’s by half a month, but due to geographical distance, he had received Wei Ci’s letter first.
Feng Huaiyi?
Isn’t that Feng Jin’s brother, Feng Jue?
Xu Ke turned his head, and sure enough, the look on Feng Jin’s face was as dark as if he had been drenched in thick black paint.
“That’s my younger brother,” Feng Jin responded.
Feng Zhen stared at the letter, then at Feng Jin.
Feng Jue and Feng Jin are actually brothers?
Are they even from the same mother?
They seem completely different in personality.
Compared to the reckless and nonconformist Feng Jue, Feng Jin was the very model of a noble youth, every gesture measured, neither too aloof nor too familiar, his actions always precise… It’s no wonder Feng Zhen hadn’t connected the two.
After a pause, he chuckled, “Huaiyi’s ally possesses considerable ambition. The lord will never stoop to be below anyone, and if these two come to blows, a clash is inevitable. In the future… the scene of you two brothers facing off will be hard to avoid.”
Feng Jin’s expression darkened another shade.
He despised Huang Song!
Who knows what kind of nonsense Huang Song filled Feng Jue’s head with? How could a mere eunuch’s descendant be worth Feng Jue’s dedicated support?
“Hmph, everyone has their own masters; when that day truly comes, Jin will undoubtedly clean house.”
With a huff, Feng Jin’s opinion of Feng Zhen dipped further.
Feng Zhen, on the other hand, didn’t care much; his personality isn’t suited for dealing with such upright gentlemen.
Opening the other letter, Feng Zhen exclaimed, “Looks like Huang Song does have some tricks up his sleeve.”
Feng Jin raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”
Feng Zhen replied, “I have a friend you might know. His surname is Cheng, name Jing, courtesy name Youmo, one of Mr. Yuanjing’s disciples. He’s now in Zhai County under Huang Song’s patronage and speaks highly of him, even writing me a letter… This Huang Song, if he truly lacks ambition, I’d challenge anyone to believe it! I say, should we strike first to avoid future troubles?”
