The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Only after Vice Minister Luo finished his bowl of lotus seed porridge did Fang Cheng speak.

"That Marquis Guiping is really going too far. He actually said that he would not allow anyone to promote you, or he would beat people up. It's really outrageous. Even His Majesty doesn't do anything about him."

Vice Minister Luo was quite moved; Fang Cheng understood him better than the younger generation of the Luo family.

As the Vice Minister of Works, he was quite capable, but he was unable to be promoted to Minister of Works because of the obstruction of the Marquis of Guiping.

Fang Cheng continued, "So you can't count on either the Ministry of Personnel or Prime Minister Feng. If you want a promotion, you can actually rely on the influence of the five great families. I am unworthy, but I have caught the eye of the eldest daughter of the Xuanyuan family..."

Fang Cheng took out the handkerchief he had found outside the Gu Ji Teahouse. It was embroidered with a golden peony and the character "mirror".

On his way back from reading the imperial edict, he made a detour to Gu's Teahouse, where he overheard a conversation between Xuanyuan Jing and her maid. The master and servant had gone to Gu's Teahouse to see Su Qianqian.

The people of the capital all say that the eldest daughter of the Xuanyuan family never leaves the mansion, so what merits does Su Qianqian possess to make the eldest daughter of the Xuanyuan family so infatuated?

Fang Cheng was lucky enough to find Xuanyuan Mirror's handkerchief.

As a scheming and opportunistic person, he is extremely adept at maneuvering.

She had long ago memorized all the information about the legitimate daughters of the prominent families in the capital.

Although he had no connection with Xuanyuan Jing, he could still be used to fool Minister Luo.

Since it concerns the reputation of a woman from a prominent family, Minister Luo would certainly not let it get out.

But these words hurt Luo Mingfang.

She had been hoping to marry Fang Cheng and become an official's wife, but unexpectedly, Fang Cheng had married the legitimate daughter of a prominent family.

Was Fang Cheng's concern for her all along just a facade?

Luo Mingfang wanted to cry but couldn't, and dared not show it in front of Vice Minister Luo, so she could only swallow her tears.

Minister Luo examined the handkerchief closely. It was made of Floating Life Dream Drunken Silk Brocade, a very precious material that only aristocratic families could afford.

Moreover, the golden peony on it was embroidered with gold thread, and the stamen of the peony was made of small jade stones, which shows that the owner of the handkerchief must have been of high status.

Fang Cheng is indeed talented, has a sweet tongue, and is very fair-skinned. It's possible that he might actually catch the eye of a noble family's eldest daughter.

I heard that the young ladies from the Lu family next door often find excuses to come to the Luo family to see Fang Cheng.

If this boy truly gets involved with the Xuanyuan family, his future will be limitless.

"Fang Cheng, just say it straight, what brings you here today?"

"My lord, I saw the imperial edict today. It says that one can buy an official position for 80,000 taels of silver. I wish to enter the court as soon as possible to share your burdens and become your loyal henchman..."

Fang Cheng was full of confidence, thinking that once he became an official, he would be able to repay the money to Vice Minister Luo very soon.

"A three-year term as prefect yields 100,000 taels of silver. Once I become an official, I will quickly repay the money given to me by the Vice Minister."

Fang Cheng was a smart man. While speaking, he did not forget to observe the study of the Luo family. He found that all the ornaments on the antique shelves in the study were worthless, and felt that the Luo family was not as wealthy as he had imagined.

I wonder if Vice Minister Luo can help raise the money.

Fang Cheng's eloquence is truly remarkable; his words genuinely moved Minister Luo.

Vice Minister Luo felt that if this young man really managed to climb the social ladder and join a prominent family, he would definitely become a great help to him as a vice minister in the future.

However, 80,000 taels of silver is no small sum, and it would be very difficult for the Luo family to raise it at present.

The gatekeeper stood at the study door and announced, "Master, Luo Wen, the patriarch of the Luo family of Sicheng, requests an audience."

Vice Minister Luo was surprised that the clan chief Luo Wen had come to the capital without even sending a letter in advance; it was extremely impolite.

However, it's all good. The Luo family of Sicheng is very wealthy, so we can ask the clan leader for some money to help Fang Cheng buy an official position.

"Please invite them in."

Clan Chief Luo Wen entered the Luo residence, and after about three incense sticks' worth of time, he walked out of the main gate with an extremely unpleasant expression.

Luo Wen was very agitated.

He came to the capital in person to persuade Vice Minister Luo to lower his stance and try to win over Miss Su from Qinghe County.

Unexpectedly, Vice Minister Luo made an exorbitant demand, asking for 50,000 taels of silver, saying he wanted to use the money to get closer to Miss Su.

If the 50,000 taels of silver can really get Miss Su to accept the Luo family of Sicheng, then the money will be well spent.

The Luo family couldn't refuse to give Vice Minister Luo face, after all, he was still a high-ranking official of the third rank.

He hoped that Minister Luo wouldn't lie to him, because if he failed to win Miss Su back, he would come back to ask Minister Luo for the money back.

Luo Wen was unaware that Vice Minister Luo had no intention of repairing his relationship with Su Qianqian. The moment Luo Wen stepped out of the Luo residence, Vice Minister Luo handed over the 50,000 taels of silver notes to a poor scholar without even writing an IOU.

Vice Minister Luo only accepts those who flatter and fawn over him, not those who are uncontrollable like Miss Su.

If Luo Wen knew that the 50,000 taels had been given to a stranger, he would be furious.

Fang Cheng, carrying 50,000 taels of silver notes, and accompanied by the two servants assigned to him by Vice Minister Luo, followed Luo Wen out of the gate.

Fang Cheng was very anxious and urged the servants of the Luo family to quickly prepare the carriage. He then got into the carriage and went to the Prime Minister's residence.

He had already made up his mind; he would borrow the remaining 30,000 taels from Prime Minister Feng.

Upon arriving at the gate of the Prime Minister's residence, Fang Cheng heard that Prime Minister Feng had not yet returned home, so he remained seated in the carriage, constantly lifting the curtain to look around.

As darkness fell, he finally welcomed Prime Minister Feng home.

Prime Minister Feng had been shouting outside all day, and his voice had turned into that of a duck.

Fang Cheng jumped off the carriage and went to the Prime Minister's carriage. He comforted him with a pained expression, saying, "Prime Minister, you've had a hard time. It's all Su Qianqian's fault for being so spoiled and causing you distress..."

Prime Minister Feng was deeply moved, because Fang Cheng was the only one who spoke up for him.

They're such kindred spirits!

Prime Minister Feng had his leg broken by a falling tree, yet he still endured the pain and toil all day, constantly shouting, "Miss Su is mighty! Miss Su is so powerful—"

I've been shouting so much my voice is almost gone.

None of the other officials dared to come and see him, for they were all afraid of being beaten by Marquis Guiping.

Even his family can't understand him.

His wife said he brought it on himself, and his son and daughter all disliked him.

The only one who could understand him was Fang Cheng.

For the first time, Prime Minister Feng felt that Fang Cheng was his closest relative in the world.

He stopped the servants from carrying him back to the mansion and said to them, "Wait a moment, I need to have a heart-to-heart talk with Scholar Fang."

Fang Cheng boarded Prime Minister Feng's carriage, knelt beside the bamboo couch, and looked at Prime Minister Feng's legs wrapped up like rice dumplings, his face full of sorrow.

"Your Excellency, your leg—it must be so painful! If only I could take this pain for you."

Prime Minister Feng had a lot of grievances to vent, and Fang Cheng was the only person who could truly understand him at the moment.

"Scholar Fang, you've come at the right time. I have something to say to you. My leg injury is all the fault of that little girl from Qinghe County..."

Even though Prime Minister Feng's voice was hoarse, it didn't stop him from pouring out his grievances to Fang Cheng.

Because he has been having such a miserable and unlucky time lately, all because of Su Qianqian.

Fang Cheng was indeed very understanding and vowed, "Your Excellency, rest assured, I have an irreconcilable hatred for Su Qianqian. When I gain power in the future, I will definitely avenge you."

Prime Minister Feng was so moved that he wept bitterly. He really liked Fang Cheng, because the two of them had a common enemy.

Seeing that it was getting dark, the servants of the Prime Minister's residence placed a lantern inside the carriage.

Fang Cheng's stomach was growling with hunger. Seeing that it was getting late, he quickly got to the point: "Your Excellency, I am not very talented, but I want to use 80,000 taels to buy an official position. I have already raised 50,000 taels, and I only need 30,000 taels."

To prove that what Fang said was true, he took out the 50,000 taels given to him by Vice Minister Luo and showed them to Prime Minister Feng.

Thirty thousand taels was nothing to Prime Minister Feng.

However, Prime Minister Feng was not as easily fooled as Vice Minister Luo; he always required written IOUs when borrowing money.

There was paper and pen in the carriage. Prime Minister Feng watched as Fang Cheng wrote the IOU, and then had his trusted steward Chen fetch three silver notes worth ten thousand taels from the mansion.

"Fang Cheng, you must remember your words. Once you become an official, you will be 100% obedient to me."

Fang Cheng swore to the heavens, "If I, Fang Cheng, ever dare to disobey Prime Minister Feng in the future, may I be struck by lightning."

Prime Minister Feng was carried back to his residence by his servants. After being soaked by a few drops of cold rain, he suddenly regained consciousness.

Holy crap, I impulsively lent 30,000 taels to a poor scholar.

That was a huge miscalculation.

It's all that poor scholar's fault for being so persuasive and good at deceiving people.