Top Scholar

Chapter 309 The Great Ming Dynasty's Eloquent Tongue

"How dare you!" the other Roro people roared. "Mu Shi is the heir of our Naiye family, how dare you marry her?!"

“You even dared to arrest my uncle, what do we have to worry about?” Su Lu retorted without fear, “Others may fear you chieftains, but my Su family is not.”

"..." She Saihua was speechless, cursing inwardly, "You are naturally fearless - the Xulu Military Commissioner is in charge of her Xuanfu Division. If it is detrimental to Huang Bingxian's son-in-law, how is it any different from rebellion?"
Seeing that his sister had calmed down, Arno quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, forcing a smile and saying, "Young Master Su, you've misunderstood! We didn't arrest anyone. We just invited your uncle to our residence and wanted to ask him to help persuade Mu Shi."

He paused for a moment, then said apologetically, "It's also my fault. The people I sent couldn't speak Chinese. Because of the language barrier, we misunderstood each other, which led to this mess."

Upon hearing this, Su Youcai chuckled and said, "I've lived in Yongningwei for half my life and I've never really seen many Romanians who don't speak Chinese. It's truly remarkable that Mu Kui was able to gather a whole team of them."

"Well, there are all kinds of birds in a big forest..." Arno said awkwardly.

She Saihua had recovered her composure by then and said in a deep voice, "Even if the military commissioner were here, I would still say the same thing—you must help me break them up!"

“I want to appease them, but I’ve been trying to demolish it for a year now, and it just gets stronger the more I try to demolish it. What can I do?” Su Youcai said dejectedly.

"Don't give me that!" Arno scoffed. "Don't you Han Chinese value 'arranged marriages by parents and matchmakers' the most? If you, as their father, really wanted to break them up, wouldn't you have done it? The reason they've gotten to this point is all because of your family's indulgence!"

"That's right, they definitely want to use our Mu Shichun to climb the social ladder!" The Luo Luo people echoed.

"What are you talking about? Can't you understand me? I've said I don't want them to be together, and I've been trying to break them up!" Su Youcai was furious upon hearing this: "Our Su family has no desire to get involved with troublesome people like you!"

“That’s right, my second brother has a bright future ahead of him. What’s the point of him getting involved with the chieftain?” Su Lu retorted without any politeness, “Don’t think anyone cares about you! We wish we had nothing to do with you for eight lifetimes!”

"You!" She Saihua's eyebrows shot up, and she slammed her hand on the armrest of the throne.

"How dare you!" The group of Roro people in the council hall were so angry that their faces turned red.

Arno angrily pointed at Su Lu and his son and said, "If it weren't for Huang Bingxian, you two would be dead, you know that?"

"If it weren't for..." Su Lu sneered, "If you weren't the Pacification Commissioner's brother, you wouldn't even have the right to stand here and speak to my father and me!"

"Outrageous!" Arno was so angry his nose was crooked.

"Stop trying to shift the blame! Who arrested whose family?!" Su Lu sneered. "Do you think your disregard for the law isn't considered outrageous, but our speaking the truth is?"

"..." When all he could do was talk, even ten Arnos wouldn't be a match for Su Lu. He could only turn his head away angrily and stop talking.

Su Lu couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "It feels so good to be a fox borrowing the tiger's power!" If it weren't for his father-in-law as a backer, he wouldn't dare to say whatever he wanted just because of his status as a junior scholar.

If you really anger the She family, you'll really get what's coming to them...

"Huang Bingxian's son-in-law should at least be a humble gentleman, right?" She Saihua realized that she couldn't scare the father and son at all, nor could she argue with them. Helplessly, she softened her tone and said, "Why do you speak like you've swallowed gunpowder as soon as you open your mouth?"

"You arrested my uncle, and you expect me to be polite to you?" Su Lu said coldly, "Even if my father agreed, Confucius wouldn't."

"Was Confucius really that short-tempered?" She Saihua asked, puzzled.

"Confucius said, 'If you repay evil with good, what will you repay good with?' Therefore, we must repay evil with evil and eye with eye!" Su Lu said in a deep voice.

“That’s right, if you’re so capable, arrest my son and me too! The Su family has plenty of people, enough to keep us company to the end!” Su Youcai said defiantly.

Upon hearing this, Su Lu glanced at Su Youcai, as if to say, "Father, is this really necessary?"

"..." Su Youcai realized he had gone too far and quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "My son is not only Huang Bingxian's son-in-law, but also the first person in Luzhou's history to achieve the 'Little Triple Crown,' and the prefect's most prized disciple!"

The father and son were deliberately trying to provoke someone, which is why they didn't invite Su Youjin and the other two to come along. If the whole family started arguing, and the other party got angry, they might actually be wiped out...

Of course, Su Lu and his father weren't just venting their emotions. As the saying goes, "Only those who complain about goods are willing to buy them." You can't make a deal if you're too eager. You have to thoroughly shatter the sense of superiority that the She family has before everyone can sit down and have a proper discussion about the matter at hand.

This was a plan the father and son had discussed on their way to Lincheng...

Barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue. When dealing with them, if you are soft, they will be hard; if you retreat, they will advance. Therefore, you must be even tougher than them, not retreating an inch, until they get used to yielding and backing down!
~~
Sure enough, the more assertive they were, the more uneasy She Saihua became.

This was completely different from the script she had envisioned. She had thought the Su family would be meek and plead with her to release them.

The father and son seemed so fearless, which made her worry about Huang Bingxian's attitude...

Although Huang Bingxian was quite strict in the past, he still maintained the dignity and high posture of a Ming Dynasty official. He never spoke definitively and always left room for maneuver in his actions. He would never be so aggressive...

Could it be that Huang Bingxian no longer wanted to be polite to him... so he sent two vicious dogs to warn him?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but ask, "Has the Military Governor given any instructions?" "Of course," Su Lu replied solemnly, "My father-in-law has appointed me as his plenipotentiary representative to meet with the Pacification Commissioner."

"Please pass on the message." She Saihua pretended to listen attentively.

Su Lu remained silent.

"Release them." She Saihua understood what he meant.

"Release them! Release them!" Arno waved his hand impatiently. He had originally wanted to take a hostage to negotiate, but it had become a hot potato, and he couldn't wait to throw it away.

A short while later, Su Youma was brought out by two Roro samurai. This time he walked out on his own, neatly dressed, and without any injuries, so he shouldn't have suffered any harm...

"Arima!" Su Youcai's eyes reddened, and he stepped forward with a heart full of shame.

"Second Brother!" Su Youma said with shame, "I've caused trouble for the family again."

"No, no, this time it's my fault, you're innocent," Su Youcai quickly shook his head.

"Father, why don't you send Uncle back first?" Su Lu said softly.

"Alright. Be careful." Su Youcai nodded, clasped his hands in a fist salute to She Saihua, and said loudly, "Commander, I shall take my leave now."

She Saihua looked deeply at the mature and charming Youcai, nodded and said, "Master Su, go back and help persuade Yunluo not to be willful anymore."

"I can't even control my own son, how can I possibly persuade your daughter?" Seeing her soften, Su Youcai also softened his tone and said in a magnetic voice:
"Let's try to persuade them ourselves."

"If I could persuade you, why would I bother you?" She Saihua sighed, full of helplessness. "Never mind, let's think of a solution together another day..."

~~
After his father and uncle left, Su Lu said again:
"Please dismiss those around you."

"You may all leave." She Saihua then dismissed the other Luo Luo people, leaving only Arno by her side.

Su Lu glanced at Arno, and She Saihua said, "This is my brother, there's nothing you can't tell him."

Su Lu nodded reluctantly and said in a steady tone, "My father-in-law's attitude is that if Xuanfu insists on marrying into the Yang family, he will not stop him, but don't ask him for help in the future. As long as you nod and say 'okay,' I will take my leave now."

"How did it become that I forced myself into marriage?" She Saihua asked anxiously. "The military commissioner knows my difficulties; I was forced into this situation."

He sighed and said, "The Yang family is far more powerful than our She family. I had already refused their offer to marry my daughter to Yunming before, but I really can't refuse again this time, otherwise they will have an excuse to start a war."

“Yes, the military police should also understand our difficulties,” Arno chimed in. “Is there a better way? Tell us and we’ll definitely listen.”

"Of course there is." Su Lu nodded slowly and said, "Stop hindering my father-in-law from building the Chishui River. Go all out to support him and make the Chishui River navigable as soon as possible—that is the best solution!"

She Saihua looked troubled upon hearing this. "These past two years, we've been able to weather the internal and external difficulties entirely thanks to the support of the Military Commissioner. How could I possibly forget such kindness?"

"Yes, we Naiye have never opposed the river repair. It is the Mu Kui below... that is, the leaders of the various streams, who mostly oppose the river repair. They say that once the river is open, Yongning will completely become the domain of the Han people, and their people will not even have the livelihood of carrying salt to make a living. That's why they say some harsh words such as not allowing the river repair, but it does not represent the official attitude of our Xuanfu Division."

“As the pacification commissioner, if Naiye does not express his opinion, it is tantamount to acquiescence; if he does not stop it, it is tantamount to condoning!” Su Lu, being a scholar, was naturally adept at labeling people.

“Young Master Su, you have to think about us too,” Arno said in a muffled voice. “Every time we meet, the Yang family repeatedly says that the two families must unite and resolutely resist the construction of the Chishui River! It’s already difficult for us not to express our opinion, but if we openly support it, wouldn’t we offend the Yang family to death?”

Su Lu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Since we've already offended them by not forming a marriage alliance, what's one more step to escalate the situation?"

“This…” Arno hesitated for a moment, then whispered, “We can’t afford to offend them to the death.”

"The Yang family has made it clear they're going to kill you. Are you still afraid of offending them?" Su Lu retorted sneer, his tone exasperated.

"If the Yang family hadn't brazenly interfered in the internal affairs of the Pacification Commissioner's Office, where would you be in this predicament today? A dignified Pacification Commissioner has been forced to sell his daughter to make peace, and you still haven't woken up?"

"The Yang family did interfere in the affairs of our She family, but to say they would kill us is an exaggeration, isn't it?" Arno retorted.

"Their purpose is obvious to everyone—they want to turn you into their vassals!" Su Lu changed the subject, his eyes shooting straight at She Saihua like arrows, and said, word by word, "As long as they extend their reach into the Pacification Commission, you will be the first to die!"

"..." She Saihua's face turned pale, her lips trembled, and she couldn't speak for a long time.

(End of this chapter)