I come to see Bai Yujing today

Chapter 4: The Common People Who Have Studied for Two Years
The faint fragrance seemed to be transmitted directly from the Jade Capital Map in the sky into Chen Zhian's mind. No one else could smell it, but it made Chen Zhian gradually become more conscious.

He raised his head and looked at Zhou Xiujing.

Zhou Xiujing was holding a cup and drinking tea slowly. The indifference in his eyes made Chen Zhian a little annoyed.

"I died once, and I thought I could live a carefree life in this life, but I still get bullied by this rich young man?"

He thought so in his heart, but as his thoughts became clearer, he gradually calmed down.

"The ginger wrapped in the mist in the Heavenly Jade Capital Map must be very precious... Maybe... I can also embark on the legendary path of cultivation?"

"It's not worth dying over something like this... As for the silver, how much does this rich young master want to give?"

Chen Zhian was full of thoughts in his mind, but when he saw Zhou Xiujing's contempt and arrogance revealed in his every move again.

The stubborn character he inherited from his previous life made him hate this Mr. Zhou even more.

"Since he likes to pretend, why not let him spit out more?"

So Chen Zhian took a deep breath, lowered his head and finally spoke: "Mr. Zhou, you worry too much."

"Hmm?" Zhou Xiujing raised his head.

"Everyone has their own aspirations and demands. There is no need for Mr. Zhou to promise me huge benefits. I have already rejected the Xu family in Lianzhou yesterday. I don't want to be a son-in-law of the Xu family." Chen Zhian had a smile on his face, but his tone was a little panicked.

Before Zhou Xiujing could speak, the expressions of Zheng Liu and Wu Peilin beside him changed.

Zheng Liu's expression became a little serious: "You are quite interesting, boy. Don't you know the reputation of the Lianzhou Xu family? Don't you know the beauty of Miss Xu Xiyue of the Xu family?"

However, Wu Peilin just thought that the young worker in the painting academy was afraid and was greedy for the promise made by the young master of the Zhou family, so he paved a way for himself to step down more easily. It was just the nature of a young man.

He laughed and nodded, saying, "That's perfect. It's important for people to know themselves. The Zhou family's young master promised you a lot of money, so that you won't have to worry about food, clothing, and other necessities in the future. If you don't know what's good for you, you'll suffer the consequences!"

"Master Wu has misunderstood."

Chen Zhian suddenly spoke, interrupting Wu Peilin.

Wu Peilin was interrupted by such a small worker and suddenly became angry. He was about to scold him.

Chen Zhian said, "Although I am just a small worker in the painting academy, I have no fame and have never practiced martial arts, but I have something in my heart... I have also heard of the name of the Lianzhou Xu family. They are very rich and their medicine business is all over the whole Suwuzhou. But the rich have their worries and troubles. For an ordinary person like me, entering a rich mansion is nothing more than eating better, not much better than my life on Qihuang Street."

“That’s why I rejected the Xu family.

This is not a lie. Young Master Zhou promised me money and a position as a master in the painting academy... Of course it's good, but I have already refused the Xu family. It's fine if Young Master Zhou doesn't come to find me, so I naturally can't accept this money."

Zheng Liu was more and more surprised. He felt that the young man in front of him had actually developed some backbone among the mercenaries in Qihuang Street.

He wanted to say a few words of praise, but when he glanced at the expression of the young master of the Zhou family beside him, he fell silent again and just watched with interest.

Zhou Xiujing finally put down the cup in his hand.

"You don't want the money I gave you?" Zhou Xiujing leaned forward and asked.

Chen Zhian shook his head and said, "My father is a scholar. He taught me since I was young that I should not accept gifts without merit... It was my original intention to reject the Xu family. How could I accept money from Mr. Zhou for this reason?"

"What's more... Miss Xu came to see me yesterday. Maybe she wanted to give me a lot of money to marry into the Xu family, but I didn't accept her money... I don't like money..."

"Is there anyone in the world who doesn't love money?" Zhou Xiujing laughed and asked, "You are a small worker in the painting academy, but you have little experience. You don't know how luxurious the mansion is, and you don't know how much silver is too much. How much silver did Miss Xu give you?"

"Fifty ounces of gold."

Chen Zhian answered directly, and then his eyes became more blurred, no longer so sonorous, and his tone was a little emotional: "Fifty taels of gold... This is the private money that Miss Xu promised me. This much money, let alone I have seen it, I have never even heard of it."

"Fifty taels of gold?" Zheng Liu and Wu Peilin in the hall looked at each other with more and more surprise in their eyes.

Fifty taels of gold could be exchanged for four hundred taels of silver even at the official bank. If one secretly went to private banks, one could exchange it for five hundred taels.

Fifty taels of gold and five hundred taels of silver are roughly equivalent to the salary of Chen Zhian, a minor worker in the painting academy, for several decades!

"Is Chen Zhian stupid or does he really have something in mind? He is indifferent to fifty taels of gold?" Wu Peilin swallowed.

Then I heard Chen Zhian continue to say: "I rejected the fifty taels of gold, and also rejected Miss Xu's offer. Miss Xu just said she would come to see me tomorrow. But she didn't know that although I have never seen the world, I would never go to the Xu Mansion to become a son-in-law for a mere fifty taels of gold. After all, my Chen family only has me as a son-in-law. If I become a son-in-law, wouldn't my Chen family be extinct?"

At this moment, Chen Zhian seemed to be talking to the three people in the hall, or he seemed to be resisting the temptation of the fifty taels of gold, and his words were like a whisper.

"I'll give you one hundred taels of gold." Zhou Xiujing, the son of the Zhou family, suddenly spoke, with a smile still on his lips and the arrogance in his eyes clearly visible.

"One hundred taels?" Chen Zhian's eyes became more and more confused, but he was a little surprised in his heart: "You took the bait so easily?"

Just at this moment, Chen Zhian heard the sound of wind blowing and the rustling of clothes.

Zheng Liu and Wu Peilin also looked outside the workshop lobby, wondering who was coming outside.

Chen Zhian was still muttering to himself: "One hundred taels of gold? If I accept this money, wouldn't it be against my father's teachings... Not to mention Miss Xu's..."

"Two hundred taels." Mr. Zhou seemed a little annoyed, and his tone became a little impatient.

"Chen Zhi'an!" The chief official of the Imperial Household Wu Peilin finally couldn't help but spoke: "Do you know how much money two hundred taels of gold is? It is enough for you to buy a house, happily marry a wife and two concubines, and enjoy the rest of your life. Why don't you thank Mr. Zhou?" "Two hundred taels of gold? Such a large amount of silver..." Chen Zhi'an really didn't know why the young master of the Zhou family was so easy to deceive. He had just started his speech, and he hadn't even said half of it, but the young master of the Zhou family had already surrendered?
But he still pretended to be shocked, the confusion in his eyes turned into shock, and he even swallowed his saliva: "Mr. Zhou, are you lying to me?"

Zhou Xiujing laughed loudly, stood up, took out a silver note from his sleeve, raised his hand and threw it. The silver note flew to the front of the hall and was about to land at Chen Zhian's feet.

When Chen Zhian saw the banknote, a golden light suddenly flashed in his eyes. He stepped forward and grabbed the banknote in the air.

He looked carefully and saw that the banknote was as big as the palm of an adult man.

"Dayu Suzhou Money House!"

"Use the ticket to take two hundred taels of gold cake from the official gold of Southern Jiangsu!"

"Two hundred taels of gold in silver notes? Or government money!"

Chen Zhian was laughing in his heart, but his expression became more and more obsessed, until Zheng Liu burst into laughter and said to Zhou Xiujing beside him: "It seems that gold and silver are indeed effective. The father of this young man taught him a lot of principles, but when he saw two hundred taels of gold, these principles are not worth mentioning."

"I hate these ordinary people who have only studied for two years the most." Zhou Xiujing's face was full of sarcasm. He did not look at the two adults in the hall, but looked straight outside the workshop: "For example, this small worker in the painting academy, he looks like he regards money as dirt, always saying that he will not accept rewards without merit, and always saying that being ordinary is the truth, but when he sees some silver and gold, his eyes light up. It's really ridiculous.

How can such a commoner be worthy of Miss Xu?"

"Are you right, Miss Xiyue?"

"Miss Xiyue?" Chen Zhian, who carefully put the banknote into his sleeve, was a little surprised. He turned his head and saw three people standing under the candlelight outside the gate of the public housing.

The one on the far right is wearing a blue clerk's uniform, just like Zheng Liu, the head clerk in the workshop in the hall.

The one on the far left is a girl with long braids, several gold hairpins and pearl bracelets, wearing a peach-red silk jacket with silver mice carved on it, a light green brocade skirt with colorful embroidery, and holding a handkerchief.

The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with extraordinary appearance. If she were somewhere else, she would look like a young lady in the boudoir. But tonight, here, Chen Zhian could tell at a glance that this girl with extraordinary appearance and expensive clothes... was a maid.

Because there was another woman before this girl.

The woman walked gracefully, wearing a green dress embroidered with golden peonies. The hem of her skirt swayed gently in the night breeze, just like the spring breeze blowing across her face, creating ripples.

At this time, her hair was tied up high, revealing her temples. An exquisite jade hairpin was inserted in her hair, and a few strands of black hair hung over her shoulders. With her smooth skin, her delicate beauty, and her skin as white as snow, only one word could describe her: "ice-like skin and jade-like bones".

When two women walked together, others could tell at a glance who was the real rich girl.

"Is this the young lady from the Xu family?"

Chen Zhian finally reacted. He had just wanted to say a few more words, carefully creating an image of himself as "all very righteous words, but if Miss Xu raises the price again tomorrow, I will marry into the Xu family as a son-in-law", so as to induce Zhou Xiujing to raise the price.

But he didn't expect that just after he lied a few words, the young master of the Zhou family had already thrown out two hundred taels of gold.

"I think Miss Xu was listening here just now. Zhou Xiujing probably wanted to expose my mask of 'having something in mind' urgently, so he did it so straightforwardly."

Chen Zhian thought to himself: "Maybe he wants to show off in front of Miss Xu."

Miss Xu no longer looked at the workshop and walked straight towards the door.

Zhou Xiujing, Zheng Liu and Wu Peilin watched her leave.

"The one accompanying Miss Xu is the chief clerk of the treasury. It seems that the Xu family has persuaded the magistrate to supply medicinal materials to the government treasury." Zheng Liu stroked his beard and smiled, "Mr. Zhou, you have to hurry. Even in our Sunan Prefecture, there are very few women like Miss Xu."

"Chen Zhian, you can go back now, but don't forget what you promised Master Zhou. If you promise others and then go back on your word, it will inevitably lead to trouble."

Wu Peilin spoke at the right time.

Zhou Xiujing didn't even look at Chen Zhian.

Chen Zhian got the silver note as he wished and left the government office.

He walked out of the government office and onto Zhongmen Street.

It was already midnight. Even though Southern Jiangsu was a bustling city, most of the streets were deserted except for a dozen willow-lined alleys.

Chen Zhian was holding two hundred taels of gold in his arms, and he felt a little uneasy.

He naturally understood the principle of being guilty of possessing a treasure.

"If Zheng Liu and Wu Peilin had evil intentions... Zhou Xiujing should have kept me for Miss Xu to see, so that they wouldn't do anything to me."

"I'd better take a detour, from the government office to Wuzhimen, then to Luoshang Street, Yanhua Lane, Luozhong Street, Drum Tower, and finally to Qihuang Street. Although it's much farther, I don't believe that the criminals dare to kill people in the street."

"Mr. Chen."

Just when Chen Zhian was feeling suspicious, a person slowly walked out from the shadows not far away.

It was the maid who was dressed in gorgeous clothes.

"My lady invites you."

(End of this chapter)