Chapter 190: Chapter 172, Dumb Luck_1
“Big sister, are we going directly to the Governor’s Office like this?”
Seeing Daohua leading Xiaoliu towards the Governor’s Office, Yan Wenkai hurriedly asked.
Daohua stopped in her tracks, puzzled, she asked, “Otherwise?”
Yan Wenkai said, “Shouldn’t we inform Brother Dong first? With his help, things will definitely be much easier.”
Daohua shook her head, “For problems that can be solved with money, try not to use favors. Owing too many favors is not good. The matter with Brother Xiaoliu isn’t serious, just pay the redemption silver and they’ll release him. Why bother others?”
Upon hearing this, Li Xingnian, following beside them, glanced at Daohua again, with a hint of regret in his eyes.
If Daohua were a boy, given her clarity of mind, she would certainly have a bright future ahead.
After thinking it over, Li Xingnian smiled and asked, “Then what if the Governor’s Office bullies us because we are unfamiliar faces, and gives us a hard time?”
Daohua was taken aback, “That won’t happen, will it? Aren’t we going to pay the silver?”
Li Xingnian shook his head, speaking with heartfelt sincerity, “You, you’ve experienced too little. Let me tell you, the people in the Governor’s Office are very difficult to deal with. Even if we offer the silver, if they choose to hassle us deliberately, it’ll be very easy for them.”
He said this while pointing at Xiaoliu.
“You didn’t see the arrogance of the person beating him just now. I dare say that person must be familiar with the officials in the Governor’s Office. What if he insists on not releasing him?”
Daohua frowned, “That… we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let’s see if we can solve the problem ourselves. If we really can’t manage, then we’ll go find Xiao Yeyang.”
Yan Wenkai was stunned for a moment, “Why look for the Little Prince instead of Brother Dong? Isn’t Brother Dong easier to talk to than the Little Prince?”
Without a second thought, Daohua replied, “Because Xiao Yeyang is closer to our family, as for Brother Dong… he is merely acquainted with us because of Xiao Yeyang’s face, at most he’s just a slightly familiar stranger.”
Yan Wenkai scratched his head, “Is that so?”
Daohua nodded, “Yes, Fourth Brother, think about it carefully. If it weren’t for Xiao Yeyang, would Brother Dong pay us any heed?”
Yan Wenkai shook his head.
Daohua spread her hands, “There you have it. Xiao Yeyang may seem a bit arrogant at times and not easy to approach, but when it comes to how closely he’s related to our family, of course, he’s closer…”
The two of them talked as they followed Xiaoliu towards the Governor’s Office.
Nobody noticed that right beside the spot where they had just stood was a tea house.
At this moment, on the second floor of the tea house by the window, three richly dressed young masters were craning their necks to watch the receding figures of the Yan family.
“A familiar stranger…”
Dong Yuanxuan chewed on these words with a bitter smile, “So in Miss Yan’s heart, I’m just a stranger!”
Beside him, Su Hongxin even curled his lips, “You should be content, at least you were brought up by her siblings. As for me, they never even thought of me.”
“Hehe~”
A light and pleasant laugh rang out from nearby, prompting Dong Yuanxuan and Su Hongxin to look simultaneously at the smiling Xiao Yeyang and then exchange silent glances.
Xiao Yeyang did nothing to hide his good mood, raising an eyebrow and giving the other two a smug look that outshone them.
That Daohua didn’t hide her closeness to him in front of her family members pleased him greatly.
Seeing Xiao Yeyang so happy, Dong Yuanxuan didn’t mind flattering him further, so he said sourly, “The last time I asked Yan Wenxiu for the recipe for the medicinal bath, the guy beat around the bush. But then I found out that Miss Yan had personally given it to the Little Prince. The difference in closeness really is evident.” Sighing, he shook his head.
Su Hongxin chimed in, “Not just that, but also with food. Every time they come back from the Academy for vacations, whatever Yan Wenkai and the others have, the Little Prince always gets a share. As for us, we can only compete with Wentao and Wenkai for a taste. Miss Yan’s favoritism is so blatant, unabashed, not even fearing our resentment.”
“Heh~”
Dong Yuanxuan scoffed, “Didn’t you hear them say we are just familiar strangers? Why would they care if we resent anything or not!”
Observing their envious expressions, Xiao Yeyang’s mood became even better.
Daohua was indeed generous to him, always preparing a share of good things, be they tasty or useful, along with Yan Wenkai’s — as for Dong Yuanxuan and the others, they didn’t receive such treatment.
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Some things you don’t know until you compare, and once you do, a sense of superiority immediately emerges.
Xiao Yeyang didn’t want to overly stimulate the two, and he said earnestly, “Can you compare with the relationship between Daohua and me? Our friendship is life-tested.”
Just think about it, they had together fought human traffickers, begged for food, and even played the role of beggars. This bond… Yes, as Daohua said, theirs was a revolutionary friendship, indestructible.
After a while of joking around, Dong Yuanxuan saw that the Yan Family had walked away and looked at Xiao Yeyang, “Little Prince, should I send someone to give them a heads-up?”
Xiao Yeyang was silent for a moment, “If Daohua wants to handle it herself, let her do it. However, still send someone to keep an eye on things.” He paused, then added, “If the officials from the Governor’s Office make things difficult, quietly inform them, just don’t let Daohua and the others find out.”
Upon hearing this, Dong Yuanxuan looked up at Xiao Yeyang, a flicker of surprise swiftly crossing his eyes.
The Little Prince was becoming more and more solicitous towards the Yan Family, no, it should be said he was more solicitous towards Miss Yan.
In the past, although the Little Prince was quite kind to Miss Yan, it was only slightly better than to others, but now, he even considered her feelings and mood.
For someone who was used to being pampered, taking into account the feelings of others is not an easy thing to do.
Actually, on the day of the Lantern Festival, he faintly felt that the Little Prince was getting closer to Miss Yan. After they got separated from everyone else that day, had something happened?
Dong Yuanxuan’s mind was racing, but his face showed nothing. He naturally summoned a servant and quietly gave a few instructions.
“Alright, we should go too. My uncle should be about to enter the territory of Zhongzhou Province!”
Xiao Yeyang looked back in the direction where Daohua and the others had left, quickly descended from the teahouse, and headed straight for the city gate.
….
In front of the Governor’s Office’s main entrance.
The door-watching government official was eager to seize the opportunity to collect some gratuity silver, but seeing the extraordinary attire of Daohua’s group, he felt uneasy and didn’t dare to speak up, directly letting them nearby the Governor’s Office.
The Magistrate didn’t bother with these trivial matters; it was the Deputy who received the group.
The Deputy recognized Li Xingnian, having bought watermelons from the Li Family last year.
Knowing that the Li Family was a wealthy merchant, he was tempted to extort more ransom silver.
“The people you want to ransom, like Qin Wu, have lost someone else’s goods, and according to the law, they have to repay the employer tenfold in penalty silver. Since you want to ransom them, I will call the employer over and discuss this matter.”
The employer happened to be an acquaintance of his, and collecting more ransom silver was just a matter of signaling him.
Hearing this, Xiaoliu’s face changed, and he said anxiously, “My lord, didn’t we agree earlier that only a thousand taels of ransom silver would suffice?”
The Deputy remained impassive, “Is that so? I don’t seem to remember that. You must have remembered it wrong.”
Xiaoliu panicked immediately. Tenfold in penalty silver, how much would that be?
Seeing the Deputy act like this, Daohua furrowed her brows, then her eyes flicked, and she turned to Yan Wenxiu, “Big brother, does our father’s lordship judge such cases in this way?”
Yan Wenxiu glanced at the Deputy, “Of course not, if one loses someone else’s goods unintentionally, one only needs to compensate for the lost goods. If the employer is dissatisfied, at most they can ask for a bit more to cover the loss, but I have never heard of paying tenfold.”
Daohua smiled, “Could it be that the laws here in Zhongzhou Province are different from those in Xingzhou?”
The Deputy, hearing their conversation, had a flash in his eyes and asked with a smile, “Oh? Hearing what you two youthful friends are saying, does your family have elders who are officials?”
Yan Wenxiu thought for a moment. Since there was nothing in their actions that could not be disclosed to others, he politely smiled and said, “We dare not presume, our father is the Prefectural Governor of Xingzhou.”
Upon hearing this, the Deputy immediately stood up, his demeanor making a one hundred and eighty-degree turn, becoming exceedingly friendly, “Oh my, my eyesight really isn’t what it used to be in my old age. I couldn’t even recognize my own people.”
With that, he waved to summon a government official, “Quick, go release the people for me.”
Seeing this, Xiaoliu at the side was stunned, his emotions riding a roller coaster from the lowest point rocketing to the highest.
He never imagined that Daohua and the others were the children of the Prefectural Governor’s family. He truly thought that at most, they were just from a rich family with some assets.
“Did I really just curry favor with an official lord for everyone?”
Before leaving the house, he stepped in dog feces, and his mother said he was going to have dog-shit luck. Who knew it would actually come true?!
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