FID – Chapter 552

  Chapter 552: The Prefectural Magistrate Position

  ”Their family has more than just friendship with the King of Nanling. News from the capital has it that their daughter and the Regent have been betrothed, and she is going to be his consort in the future. That family has leaped and become a royal relative!”

  ”Even the Emperor takes good care of their family. Didn’t the Emperor and the Regent come to inspect their winery before? They even lived in their house!”

  Speaking of the Liu family in Xinghua Village, everyone in the house from his wife to his concubines has something to say, their tone reeking with sourness and jealousy.

  How did such an insignificant peasant have great luck and leaped into the imperial household?

  Hou Deye sat in his seat without saying a word. He remained sullen, but his eyes flickered.

  He had crossed paths with the Liu’s family in the fraud case in the imperial examination room. Elder Yang’s warning at that time came back to his mind.

  Back then, how could he have imagined that the Liu family would rise to their current state?

  Even if he regretted it, it was too late!

  On the same day, Hou Deye drove to Xiangshan County, and had a private conversation with Kang Shiming in the study for two hours.

  After their visitors left, Kang Ziyu immediately broke into the study. “Father, why did he find you? Did he ask you to intercede?”

  ”How many times have I told you? Ladies should not always be bluffing and barging in everywhere!” Kang Shiming reprimanded her solemnly. 

  ”Just tell me why he came to find you. Did he ask you for a favor using your connections?” Kang Ziyu snorted, ignoring her father’s scolding. “I’m afraid he came here because he knew that you had a good relationship with the Liu family. When Wang Chengbin suppressed you in the past, I didn’t see him stretch out his hand to help. Sure enough, the saying every dog has its day is true.”

  ”You still have the nerve to speak sarcastically here? If you hadn’t asked his wife for help and owed favors, would he come to me now?” Kang Shiming was so furious that his head throbbed. During the conversation just now, Hou Deye threw down such a remark, making him unable to raise his old face.

  Whatever absurd things his daughter did, he would end up cleaning up the mess!

  Kang Ziyu didn’t take it seriously at all. Instead, she sneered, “What favor do I owe? It’s just a favor from Madam Hou. What’s the big deal? If she was against it, she could have refused to help. I didn’t force her to help. Now they are taking this matter to exchange for favors? They wish! The Hou family has fallen, and they have nothing else to kick up a fuss for. Father, just ignore them.” 

  ”Mind your own business!”

  ”That won’t work! Dad, don’t be silly! How many years have you been in a remote place like Xiangshan County? Wang Chengbin oppressed you before, but he crumbled. You single-handedly supported the winery in Xiangshan County, and how many people have become rich? This is a political achievement. With these, you can climb up. Now that Hou Deye is gone, the position of the prefectural magistrate of Yunzhou has become vacant. Who in the whole of Yunzhou is qualified to sit on it except you? As for Hou Deye’s request, you don’t need to bother. If he offends the Liu family, he will offend the King of Nanling, and he will bear the consequences! Do you still want to risk your own future just to help him?! If you are confused, I will complain to Mother!”

  The moment when Mrs. Kang entered, Kang Shiming pointed at Kang Ziyu and scolded her, “Look at the good daughter you have taught. She dares to yell like this in front of her elders. Does she still look like the daughter of an official?!”

  Kang Ziyu retorted and wanted to refute, but Mrs. Kang winked at her. Finally, she suppressed her dissatisfaction, turned around and sat on the chair, looking elsewhere and sulking.

  Such an attitude made Kang Shiming’s fingers tremble with anger. “Look at her, huh? Look at her, what kind of teaching has she had?! Had I known that she was of this virtue, she might as well have died outside!”

  ”What do I look like? What kind of virtue do I have?” Kang Ziyu stood up abruptly, her eyes flushing red. Distorted hatred filled her eyes as she shrieked hysterically, “If it weren’t for your incompetence and your inability to fight back even as a county official, could I have suffered that kind of pain? Do you know what they did to me? They put me in a pig cage and treated me like an animal! You’re the reason I’m like this. You’re the one to blame! Who are you to scold me?!”

  After speaking, she rushed out of the study.

  Kang Shiming’s eyes darkened, and he almost fainted, but he managed to persist by holding on to the table.

  ”My Lord, don’t be mad.” Mrs. Kang hurriedly stepped forward to support him. She looked at the man’s stormy face and carefully comforted him, “Ziyu is still young, and she always speaks without thinking. You also know that has always been outspoken since childhood. Having suffered those series of mishaps, I’m thinking that she only said those words earlier out of anger. I will teach her a lesson later.”

  With eyes closed, it took a while for Kang Shiming to calm himself down. Weighed down by fatigue, he smiled bitterly. “No, you are wrong. I am also to blame. She is neither ignorant nor forthright. This is her nature. She is arrogant, domineering and selfish. She only knows how to take but is never grateful. We have been spoiling and indulging her all these years, and it’s all a mistake!”

  Mrs. Kang forced a smile, and wanted to say something nice, but Kang Shiming waved his hand to stop her. “When you look back on that incident, what was the big deal? She stayed in the pigsty for a few days and was scared witless, but there were many people who were worse off than her yet they got over it. So, why couldn’t she? To put it bluntly, she is using this matter to control us, to guilt trip us and make us obedient to her. However, have you seen any good results out of it? For the sake of some selfish motives, she played tricks to force people to a dead end. Whenever she doesn’t get her way, however, she can even point her finger at me and criticize me! Has she ever felt she was in the wrong? When did she ever reflect on it? I’ve had enough. From now, let her have it her own way. I don’t care and won’t care anymore.”

  ”My Lord, look at you, how can you argue with a child?” Mrs. Kang comforted him. “A girl can only be petty and throw a tantrum at home when her parents pamper and spoil her. When she gets married and has in-laws, she will naturally know what to do.”

  ”With her temperament, who would dare to ask for her hand in marriage? She doesn’t like someone ordinary either.”

  ”My Lord, don’t worry, leave this matter to  me. I have my own discretion. Don’t worry about it.”

  Mrs. Kang softly comforted the man and mentioned nothing about the official position. After exiting the study, she turned and went to another courtyard.

  As soon as she walked to the gate of the other courtyard, she heard crying and cursing from the wing room inside. She sighed softly and walked in.

  The wing room was in a mess, and there were broken pieces of porcelain everywhere. The serving maid knelt by the side, trembling with her head lowered, not daring to make a sound.

  ”Clean up the debris on the ground and then leave,” Mrs. Kang said.

  ”Yes, Madam.” The maid only dared to stand then. She quickly cleaned up the mess on the ground, and then closed the door right after exiting.

  Kang Ziyu was still crying on the table, indifferent to the woman’s arrival.