Chapter 195: True Idle Chat
Li Xiaonan entered the camp gate and saw Huang Xianzhou.
Huang Xianzhou was standing by the entrance of the three small houses closest to the camp gate.
Li Xiaonan, carrying two bags of pastries, hurried over, paid her respects, and smiled, “Teacher, why have you moved here?”
Huang Xianzhou withdrew his gaze from Yang Qifan outside the camp gate and looked at Li Xiaonan, smiling, “Miss Li, did you come specifically to see me?”
“I came to talk to my second uncle about something, and I thought it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Teacher, so I came to visit. I brought you two bags of pastries, I wonder if they suit your taste.” Li Xiaonan smiled.
“Thank you, Miss. Let’s sit outside.” Huang Xianzhou reached out and took the two bags of pastries from her.
Mr. Yao had already brought out a small wooden table. Huang Xianzhou put down the pastries and brought out two bamboo chairs. Mr. Yao brought the tea leaves, teapot, and hot water.
Li Xiaonan sat down, looked at Huang Xianzhou, and asked with concern, “Is everything alright, Teacher?”
Huang Xianzhou paused for a moment, then smiled, “Why do you ask, Miss?”
“Your complexion is not good,” Li Xiaonan said, frowning as she looked at Huang Xianzhou.
“My complexion is not good?” Huang Xianzhou was surprised and looked back into the house.
Old Yao had never told him his complexion was bad.
“Teacher, you can see it if you look in the mirror. Oh!” Li Xiaonan suddenly realized, “Your complexion probably didn’t suddenly turn bad, but rather it’s gotten a little worse each day. You wouldn’t notice it if you looked in the mirror every day, but since I haven’t seen you in a long time, I could tell at a glance.”
Huang Xianzhou breathed a sigh of relief. No wonder Old Yao never mentioned it. Well, then Old Yao’s complexion must also be bad. They looked at each other every day and couldn’t see how their complexions had worsened over time.
“I’ve been too busy and stressed lately. It’s nothing, I’ll be fine once this busy period is over and I can rest,” Huang Xianzhou said with a smile.
“The silk trade association case? I heard from the Young Lord that you are in charge of the silk trade association and the Maritime Tax Bureau cases,” Li Xiaonan lowered her voice. “I came here today because of this case, to inform my second uncle.”
“On the evening the Crown Prince held the imperial banquet and made arrests, President Shi of the Pingjiang Silk Trade Association came to our house and said he wanted to pay his respects. How could I dare to see him! But even though I didn’t see him, he blocked the entrance of our alley for an entire night, terrifying my eldest sister and second sister. The next day, we secretly moved.”
“President Shi is being held inside,” Huang Xianzhou gestured towards the barracks.
“Ah!” Li Xiaonan covered her mouth with her hand, then lowered her voice, “That’s terrifying. Is his case serious?”
“He’s not involved in any murder cases, but the amount of silver involved is not small. Confiscation of property is unavoidable,” Huang Xianzhou also lowered his voice.
“So, he loses his money but his life is safe?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“It’s hard to say! The amount of silver is too much. Even if he’s not beheaded, being exiled three thousand li, he wouldn’t be able to endure it. Alas,” Huang Xianzhou shook his head and sighed.
Li Xiaonan sighed along with him.
“Was that Young General Yang who accompanied you here earlier? Do you know each other? From what I saw from afar, he didn’t seem very happy?” Huang Xianzhou changed the subject.
“He’s in the process of arranging a marriage with the Wei family, so he’s probably a bit worried,” Li Xiaonan chuckled a few times.
“The Wei family is a bit reluctant?” Huang Xianzhou raised his eyebrows.
“Wei Educational Commissioner’s family is so refined, and Young General Yang is from the military, right?” Li Xiaonan spread her hands and chuckled.
“There were a few times when Young General Yang, in his military uniform, rode through Linhai Town. They say everyone on the street stared. When Young General Yang patrolled every five days, there were young ladies all along the way,” Huang Xianzhou lowered his voice even further.
“Young General Yang is quite handsome,” Li Xiaonan said, laughing.
“How is your third sister doing?” Huang Xianzhou asked.
“She’s doing well. My third sister is living in Pingjiang City with my third brother-in-law, studying. My third brother-in-law treats my third sister very well. When my third sister first married into the Hong Family, my third brother-in-law’s mother thought my third sister was uneducated and too rough, and planned to teach her well. But then~”
Li Xiaonan trailed off.
“She’s not planning to anymore.
“My third brother-in-law said that his mother said if they have a granddaughter in the future, she’ll take her to raise and teach her to be a talented scholar. My third brother-in-law said that if his mother dares to take her away, he’ll cause a huge scene with her,” Li Xiaonan said, laughing.
“How old are you this year? Has your eldest sister thought about your marriage?” Huang Xianzhou asked abruptly.
“No, I’m still young. My second sister isn’t even engaged yet,” Li Xiaonan looked at Huang Xianzhou.
Huang Xianzhou wanted to say something, opened his mouth, but couldn’t.
“Thank you for your concern, Teacher. I haven’t thought about marriage yet. I’m doing business now, and I want to earn some silver first.
“If I can earn enough silver, I’ll pick a handsome Xiucai scholar, at least someone who can pass the Recommended Scholar exam. I’ll support him in his studies, and if he can pass the Jinshi exam, I’ll support him in being a clean official,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
Huang Xianzhou’s eyebrows rose as high as they could go. After a moment, he chuckled, “Your plan, Miss… cough! That’s also good. It would be wonderful to pick a talented scholar. I mean, for that scholar to be chosen by you would be a greater fortune than passing the Jinshi exam.”
“How have you been lately, Teacher? After this case is resolved, you should get a promotion, right?” Li Xiaonan leaned forward slightly and asked with a smile.
“I’m fortunate to be valued by the Young Lord.” Huang Xianzhou paused, then sighed, “I’ve talked about this with Old Yao several times. My subordinates and colleagues are fine, but with superiors, alas!”
Huang Xianzhou was extremely troubled.
“You’re different now, Teacher. You have the Young Lord’s support, so you don’t need to curry favor with your superiors.”
Huang Xianzhou gave a wry smile and said nothing, only sighing.
“Think about it, Teacher. For example, with the task you’re currently in charge of, anyone with an official position in Linhai Town would be considered your superior, right? But soon, you’ll definitely be their superior, and they’ll be your subordinates or colleagues. So, you can just treat them as subordinates and colleagues now,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
“What you said…” Huang Xianzhou pondered for a moment, then nodded, “Indeed!”
“You are a great talent, Teacher, to be handling such a major case and still have the mind to think about these things,” Li Xiaonan praised.
“Hmm?” Huang Xianzhou was stunned for a moment before he reacted and smiled, “Are you praising me, Miss? I’ll take it as you praising me.
“Didn’t you say my complexion is very bad? It’s all from exhaustion. It’s not that easy!
“Alas, my bad complexion isn’t entirely due to exhaustion. Although Old Yao and I aren’t great talents, we can handle cases like this with full effort and still find it relatively easy, not to the point of exhaustion.
“This bad complexion, alas, it’s easy to do things but hard to be a person, easy to try cases but hard to clean up the aftermath. Alas, you’re too young, you wouldn’t understand if I told you. Just remember, in this world, there are no good people, no bad people, no good deeds, no bad deeds. Good and bad are always a chaotic mix.
“Alas, let’s not talk about this anymore. Are you rushing back to Pingjiang City today, Miss?”
“Yes, I should take my leave.” Li Xiaonan stood up.
