Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Chapter 347 347. Discussion
What decent man would choose to marry into another family unless he has a problem or can't survive there?

Although Gu Baijiang suffered some hardships along the way, he also spent a lot of money to support his large family.

He just threw his perfectly good son out the door without even using his brain to think that the Bai family would really not care about his legitimate daughter. If they had won her over, they wouldn't have to worry about not having money.

Their expenses along the way far exceeded those of his own princely residence. If it weren't for the potential profits, he wouldn't care about the fate of those greedy and ignorant people in his Gu family.

Thinking that he hadn't even received the money yet, and so much had already been spent, Rong Ruiyuan was even more annoyed. He was already in such a difficult situation, and Gu Baijiang didn't even try to be more understanding.

“Gu Kaiyuan was treated unfairly in the Gu family, and the Bai family is extremely wealthy and can provide him with a superior life, which is why he married into the Bai family,” Ming Peifeng said, sharing his speculation. “Your Highness, do you think we should extend an olive branch to the Bai family?”

Without a second thought, Rong Ruiyuan shook his head. “Father dislikes princes competing with the people for profit the most, and he is even less willing to see us colluding with merchants. I thought we could slowly bring the Bai family under our control through the Gu family, but I didn’t expect the Gu family to be so foolish.”

Rong Ruiyuan was also furious when he talked about this. He had this plan in mind when he tried to win over Gu Baijiang, but it was all ruined, and he couldn't say anything about it.

"That's such a pity. I heard that Madam Bai has been sending things over and over again for her daughter."

It wasn't just a gift, it was money, as if they were giving her a new dowry.

Ming Peifeng felt it was a pity to let the Bai family go. "Actually, there is another roundabout way. How about I befriend those merchants?"

Rong Ruiyuan was somewhat tempted; he was really short of money right now.

However, this is also very risky, and it is also the biggest taboo of the Emperor. If he really steps on it, even without the Emperor finding out, his brothers will all come up and step on him.

"Forget it, we'll have money once the Gu family comes back to the capital with me. We can talk about the rest later."

To get to that position, you need a steady stream of financial support. Gu Baijiang's money is far from enough, so he'll have to find another way later.

In fact, he had investigated the relationship between the Gu family and the Bai family before. The Bai family had invested a lot of money in the Gu family. If Gu Baijiang had not been exiled, he could have made contact with him privately. If the other party was sensible and willing to cooperate, he could have given him a good future.

Even if these plans couldn't be realized, with the Bai family's help, he wouldn't have needed to invest so much in the Gu family. But all of this was ruined by the Gu family's foolishness.

Despite having a golden boy by her side, she still managed to maintain such a strained relationship.

Thinking about the thousands of taels of silver that had been spent, I still felt a pang of heartache.

Ming Peifeng was still somewhat unwilling; he also wanted to make a profit from it, but now that Rong Ruiyuan had said so, he could only keep quiet about it.

"How is Xu Zitian now?"

Ming Peifeng, "Since he claimed to be ill and stopped going out, he has been closing his doors to visitors."

I sent someone to scale the wall, but they were beaten back as soon as they showed up.

Ming Peifeng most wanted to get rid of Xu Zitian; only when Xu Zitian was gone could he secure his position as county magistrate.

He just didn't expect his servants to be so unassuming, and Wu Xingshun, who also stayed in the courtyard with him, pretending to be sick and not coming out, just like Xu Zitian.

Rong Ruiyuan thought of Lu Taichuan, who had already retired from officialdom. That old fellow had treated all the princes in the court the same, showing them respect but keeping his distance.

However, this made everyone feel more at ease, since he didn't get involved with either side. His students followed suit, and a few of them, with their own hot tempers, even wrote the exact words in their memorials because of the brothers' influence. The brothers were reprimanded, while the others went home in glory with their rewards.

He originally didn't intend to touch Xu Zitian, after all, Grand Tutor Lu had many protégés in the court, and he didn't want to go against them.

However, Xu Zitian was stubborn and could not be persuaded, so he could not be used by him.

Thinking back to that day at the county government office, he had just sat down, taken a sip of water, and said that he planned to stay at the county government office for a while when Xu Zitian told him that there was no place to entertain him and even advised him to go to other places to eliminate bandits.

He was just a minor county magistrate, yet he didn't respect me at all, especially since he had previously imprisoned his man, Ming Peifeng. In a fit of temper, I directly ordered Xu Zitian to be removed from his position as county magistrate.

I still remember Xu Zitian looking at me with disdain and asking me what my official position was in the court and what power I had to dismiss officials.
To think that a prince like him would be so humiliated in public was infuriating. So he ordered his men to remove his official hat and robe and throw him out of the county office.

Xu Zitian didn't say much at the time and left with a few people.

To save face, he immediately appointed Ming Peifeng as the county magistrate, and then felt a wave of fear.

He immediately ordered his men to guard Xu Zitian's courtyard tightly, wanting to arrest him and throw him into jail on the spot. Unfortunately, the gate was tightly closed, and his men couldn't break in. Even if they did get in, they would be thrown out instantly. This stalemate has been going on for days.

But he now has firm control over that courtyard; they can neither get out nor get in. Once the food inside runs out, he has plenty of ways to deal with them.

"Then leave it for now. Remember to have your men keep a close watch on him. If he gets away, you can forget about your position, and you might even be punished."

Ming Peifeng was well aware of the stakes, so he sent out all the people he could to guard the area, leaving the county government to rely solely on its officials.

However, these officials were somewhat hypocritical, not only dragging their feet on tasks but also being completely ineffective.

He had no choice but to make do for now, and then gradually replace these people once he was firmly in his position.

Xu Zitian wanted to solve the problem once and for all, but these cowards had retreated inside and refused to come out, so they couldn't get in either, and they were stuck in this stalemate.

Although they have now firmly controlled the entire county, this cannot last.

His Highness did not give a clear order, and he dared not act on his own initiative.

“If they manage to escape, Lu Taichuan will definitely not let it go.”

Rong Ruiyuan certainly understood this principle; when he ordered the punishment of Xu Zitian, he had already offended Grand Tutor Lu.

This place is far from the emperor's reach; as long as we handle it well and don't let him know, it'll be fine.

Even if there are some rumors, as long as there is no evidence, given Lu Taifu's personality, he won't do anything to him.

"So have your people keep a close eye on things, and add fuel to the fire when it really matters..."

Ming Peifeng quickly bowed respectfully. His Highness had finally made up his mind, and he would definitely handle things perfectly.

(End of this chapter)