PBCW Chapter 16Her hesitating tone caused Zhao Shi Cheng"s heart to miss a beat. He feared that she thought it wasn"t enough and then add another 5 dishes, so he squeezed out a smile and said, "It"s good that you"re full. Let"s pay the bill and leave."
After he said this, he started to hurriedly take out the money. But when his hand touched his sleeves, his expression suddenly changed. He searched the pouch in his sleeves again. Finally, he lifted his head and smiled awkwardly towards her. "Wan er…I forgot, my purse was s.n.a.t.c.hed away."
"I knew we shouldn"t have let those three men go!" Tang Wan also recalled that although she beat those three people up, but she forgot to get the purse back. She regretted it so badly.
This is bad. She ate such a big pile of food, but she didn"t money to pay. She looked at the leftovers on the table. Her heart felt a burst of shame. All of a sudden, a light bulb went off her head. She made a small sound and said joyfully, "I have an idea. "
Not waiting until he responded, she took off the good hairpin from her head and handed it to him carefully. "You can use this to pay the bill. Who knows, maybe you"ll even get some money back!"
When Zhao Shi Cheng looked at the gold hairpin, his expression changed slightly. He was unable to move his eyes, astonished. This Phoenix shaped hairpin has excellent workmanship. It was lifelike and the place where pinion hang from above also had been mounted with pearls. It was extremely valuable, but what he cared about wasn"t the Phoenix hairpin"s value rather its meaning.
In the capital, rumor has it that when Lu You and Tang Wan got engaged, it was the Lu family who specially ordered to give as a gift. Even after Lu You divorced her, he didn"t ask for it back. He supposed that this was exactly that Phoenix hairpin. Therefore, it could be said that it was Lu You and Tang Wan"s token of love. Unexpectedly, she simply gave this to him in a very straightforward manner, paying the debt after saying this?
"Wife, are you really going to give me this Phoenix hairpin…"
He didn"t even finish his words and Tang Wan interrupted carelessly. "I already said I"ll give it to you so I gave it to you. How else will we pay the bill? Are we going to stay here and wash dishes?"
Zhao Shi Cheng never heard of this kind of wording. He didn"t feel like it was strange, and he smiled instead. After all, she has too many alarming words and actions. He gradually became calm at the occurrence of unexpected or strange events, however, he was still honest and reminded her once again. "For you, this Phoenix hairpin should have a special significance."
"You don"t know. It isn"t that the Phoenix wasn"t carved well. It"s just that a real phoenix doesn"t look like that. What"s there to commemorate?" She didn"t detect his meaning and only that if the Phoenix from heaven knew that the humans carved it into a bird that didn"t look like a bird and sparrow that didn"t look like a sparrow, perhaps it will be wish it could spit out the fire of Samadhi and burn the capital three days three night.
He shook his head. "This phoenix hairpin was gifted to you by Lu You. It symbolizes your past relationship. Although in my position, I shouldn"t mention this, but I"m afraid you"ll regret it in the future."
"I won"t regret it! Don"t you know that I can"t wait until I can quickly get rid of this gold hairpin." When she talked about this, Tang Wan seemed really helpless. "I don"t like wearing jewelry at all. This gold hairpin is super heavy. If this wasn"t my only jewelry, then Xiao Chun wouldn"t make me wear it everyday. Now that I use it to pay off the debt, I guess I"m freed from it."
Her reaction made Zhao Shi Cheng slightly not know whether to laugh or cry. When he saw that she seemed to care less about Lu You, it filled his heart with happiness. He stopped focusing on an insignificant problem and take the Phoenix hairpin with an easy conscience.
When she saw him put the Phoenix hairpin away, she asked him puzzledly. "You"re not taking it to pay the bill?"
He couldn"t help but laugh. "Eating at this place, if I have the silver, I will pay the bill. But I don"t have money, I believe no one would dare ask for it."
"Why?" Tang Wan glanced askance at him suspiciously. "Are you relying on the great general"s name to get food and drinks by fraud?
When he saw that she only lacked not revealing a disdainful expression, Zhao Shi Cheng was simply both angry and wanted to laugh. "Wife, you really don"t know me. Don"t you know that the owner of this YingFeng pavilion is me?"
She found it difficult to mask her astonishment. "You"re the owner of YingFeng pavilion. Why are you opening a restaurant instead of not working hard as a government official?"
Speaking of this, he couldn"t help but fish out a bunch of grievous tears. He said both resignedly and wretchedly. "Ai, this is a long story. You also know that my father is a military man. When he receives his salary, it"s either to take it and replenish armaments, or reward it to subordinates. My mother is also a lady who came from a rich family and lived a pampered life. She completely doesn"t know how to manage family affairs and keep accounts. In addition to my ten older brothers, with the exception of a few who are self-sufficient, the rest is simply spending money like streaming water. If I didn"t start a new source of income, this Great General residence won"t be enough to spend even if I tear it apart to sell."
Tang Wan was dumbfounded hearing this. Although what he said was simple, but she knew how difficult this was. As it turned out, he wasn"t the incompetent child of officials who simply depended on the privilege gained from his father"s services like people said he was. In fact, it was basically his whole family who depended on him for food and clothing!
"This YingFeng pavilion… seems to have a lot of locations. Is it spread throughout each county?"
"Yes, that"s why I didn"t bring you outside to roam around everywhere. It"s also so that I can inspect the property in the pa.s.sing." Zhao Shi Cheng smiled and said.
Tang Wan used modern language to interpret it. In other words, the YingFeng pavilion he opened was equal to the well know chain restaurants. In addition, it was the sort that was five stars. Huh! it seems that, seems like she married a man who can really make money?
Tang Wan"s expression slowly shifted from astonishment to joy. In the end, the gaze she gave him was so bright that he nearly didn"t dare to look at her closely.
"Then, in the future, wherever I go, I can always eat until I"m full and leave without paying?" When she thought of never worrying about having no meat to eat in the future, she was so happy that she can ascend to heaven.
When he saw that glutton"s joyful appearance, Zhao Shi Cheng naturally could only respond with a smile, however, he couldn"t stop his stingy nature from a.s.saulting his heart with a stab of pain, making his face start to twitch.
Alas, supporting a woman was really, really money consuming…oh no, supporting Tang Wan was far more than squandering. It"s simply melting metal, ah!
The matter in which Zhao Shi Cheng was ambushed in the middle of the capital, was inexplicably released out. However, they didn"t know why, but this information became distorted as it was pa.s.sed on again and again. No one was clear that those three men was beaten up extremely miserably, on the contrary, it was Zhao Shi Cheng who nearly failed to protect Tang Wan and even got his silvers s.n.a.t.c.hed away. Everyone told this course of events like they had personally experienced the situation.
As the son of a general, and also the son of the most powerful General in the capital, he actually got his purse s.n.a.t.c.hed away in the middle of the street. It was simply disgraceful to the utmost point. Originally, Zhao Zhong Shi didn"t even regard this as a matter of importance, but when the rumor was exaggerated to the point where the honor of the family was involved, this short tempered Great General flipped out as expected.
But he also wasn"t a fool. He couldn"t always beat up the rumormonger one by one. He also couldn"t direct his anger on his son. His youngest son didn"t like to practice martial arts, but his ability to manage a business was worth being called as genius. The family"s finances were completely dependent on him. He also tacitly consented to his son being a official without any fixed duties, but of course, he couldn"t swallow this stuffiness. Therefore, he decided to take the spearhead and direct it towards the magistrate, Qian Yi.
He fiercely presented a big memorial, impeaching the magistrate of the capital. At the morning a.s.sembly, he even reported indignantly towards the emperor. "…Right now, my son was robbed in the capital. It may be said as defying the imperial clan and provoking the government. The magistrate in the capital, Qian Yi, who is responsible for the public security of the capital shouldn"t shirk his duties. If even the son of a great general will meet with such calamity, then wouldn"t the common people in the capital all find themselves in danger and the country won"t have a single peaceful day. Request His majesty to make a judgement!"
When the emperor looked at Zhao Zhong Shi"s angry look, he couldn"t help but slightly frown. This matter could be big or small, but clearly Zhao Zhong Shi didn"t want to let it go. He thought for a moment and looked towards Yang Wen Chang reluctantly. "Right prime minister, how do you look at this matter."
Civil officials, this group, was considered to be under the lead of Yang Wen Chang. When the emperor started to talk in this way, to some extent , the responsibility was thrown to Yang Wen Chang.
Yang Wen Chang didn"t seem alarmed and walked out slowly. After he held the tablet and finished bowing, he spoke with a bitter expression. "The magistrate of the capital, Qian Yi, held office for three years, yet he ruined the public security of the capital. Even the great general Zhao"s son was attacked, it served to show that his ability is insufficient. Your servant believes his majesty can dismiss Qian Yi from office and appoint a new official and also investigate Zhao Shi Cheng being attacked, this case, to bring peace to the country"s people.
These light words just put an end to Qian Yi, this person"s official career. Yang Wen Chang wasn"t a deep schemer for nothing. He chopped off his own right and left arms, but his complexion didn"t even change the slightest bit.
"What right prime minister said is reasonable." The emperor nodded his head hastily. If he could sacrifice Qian Yi, one person, to satisfy Zhao Zhong Shi"s anger, then he could only be too glad to do it. "What does Zhao Zhong Shi think about this?"
"Whether it"s dismissing or punishing, this servant is fine with anything. It"s just that the successor must have ability. This servant hopes the case can be solved quickly." Zhao Zhong Shi didn"t expect this kind of result, but now the emperor and Yang Wen Chang directly took Qian Yi"s position, although he knew Qian Yi inexplicably became a scapegoat , he also couldn"t press forward steadily or else it will be too much. He really had a powerless feeling like he was punching on cotton.
When the emperor heard this, he looked towards Yang Wen Chang again. "Right prime minister, the magistrate of the capital manages the capital"s public affairs. Declare the government decree; leading the people to do good deeds, correcting the wickedness of people, is the importance of the country. The candidate must be taken into account carefully. Do you have anything in mind?"
"This servant does indeed have a candidate in mind." Yang Wen Chang answered steadily and surely to the extent that he even had the surplus of energy to smile knowingly at Zhao Zhong Shi. "Plus, Zhao Zhong Shi should also probably accept this person with pleasure."
Not waiting until the emperor opened his mouth, the impulsive Zhao Zhong Shi inwardly rolled his eyes. "Right prime minister, it"s not whether this general will be happy or not, rather this person must have the qualifications of an official."
"This person"s qualifications was bound to be qualified." Yang Wen Chang said with profound significance.
"In addition have the manner and integrity of an official."
"Naturally."
"He can"t have past misdeeds and also can"t have connections that is against the benefits of the present post."
"Hehe, Great General Zhao is thinking too much. Since this minister proposed this candidate, naturally he will fit all the conditions of being an official."
The more Zhao Zhong Shi listened the more strange he felt, but he couldn"t mention anything to call it in question. He could only say awkwardly, " Then, tell me who that person is."
The emperor also nodded his head. "Since the great general doesn"t have any disagreements, please tell us Right prime minister."
The bottom of Yang Wen Chang"s eyes shined, but on the surface, he said extremely sincerely, "This servant believes, Great General Zhao"s youngest son, Zhao Shi Cheng, is qualified for the position of magistrate of the capital."
T/note: Sorry for the late update. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Also, since I"m post chapters late often, I"m changing the schedule to Sunday or Monday, so if I don"t post on Sunday, then I will post on Monday. If I made any mistakes, both grammar or translating ones, please point them out for me and I"ll fix it. I corrected some words in chapter 15. Apparently, it wasn"t c.r.a.ppie soup, but mandarin fish soup. I had some trouble translating the government decree thing, so I"m sorry if the translation is off.