Chapter 278: The Wealthy Qin Residence

In Yuedu, in sharp contrast to the south district, was the west district.

Unlike the high-walled courtyards of the west district, the west district was full of uneven flat houses, where all the poor people engaged in the lowest-level work, such as servants and small vendors, lived. Of course, there were also some loafers who did nothing, and some fallen families who had moved from other districts.

And opposite the west district was the east district, where wealthy merchants and big families lived.

Although these families couldn't move into the south district because they didn't have official positions, their luxurious courtyards were one more magnificent than the other. They all spared no expense to make their own courtyards stand out in the neighborhood, so that they could suppress other wealthy families.

Of course, there were also a few famous families whose courtyards made people in the neighborhood unable to even think of comparing. Not only was their area and wealth far beyond others, but the people living inside were also wealthy merchants with vast fortunes.

The super mansion in a corner of the east district—the Qin Residence—was one such wealthy family.

It occupied an area of several dozen acres, making those who knew the land prices in the capital speechless for a long time.

The Qin family was not only wealthy enough to rival a nation, monopolizing a quarter of Yue Kingdom's copper mine business, but it was also said that their family head was extremely capable, with high-ranking officials in the court specifically speaking up for them.

The servants of such a wealthy family were naturally full of confidence, and when they spoke, they were much louder than the servants of other mansions.

Qin Gui, the gatekeeper of the Qin Residence, was one such person.

Every time someone came to the Qin Residence to seek an audience with the family head, regardless of their status or background, or whether they had an official position, they were all extremely polite to him, a small servant of the Qin family, and didn't dare to offend him in the slightest.

Over time, this made Qin Gui almost feel like he was a big shot himself.

Therefore, every time someone sent a visiting card to seek an audience with someone in the Qin family, naturally, some tribute was indispensable. Otherwise, Qin Gui naturally wouldn't give them a good look, and it wouldn't be surprising if he shelved it for three or four days before reporting it.

Of course, for those who truly had status, Qin Gui was still well-behaved, completely showing the appearance of a loyal servant who was willing to work hard.

For the young masters and young ladies who came and went frequently, he was even more diligent, serving them hand and foot.

Don't say it, this way he truly made several masters extremely satisfied. There were even rumors that he would soon be promoted to an external affairs manager and could be sent out to manage some business. After Qin Gui learned of this, he felt even more beautiful in his heart, and he felt light-footed when walking these past few days.

Today, Qin Gui had moved a long bench and was lying on it in the shade of the main gate to avoid the heat. Early this morning, the family head had gone out to discuss business, and several young masters and young ladies had gone to play at the nearby Chongshan Temple with other young masters, so now, apart from a few mistresses, only the widowed cousin was left in the mansion.

This also allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief and safely steal some leisure.

Just when Qin Gui was feeling a bit dazed by the cool breeze, a timid voice of a young man suddenly came from in front of him.

"Excuse me, is this the Qin Residence?"

Qin Gui's drowsiness was completely stirred away by this sound, and he felt extremely uncomfortable. He didn't even open his eyes and cursed angrily:

"What are you shouting for! Are you mourning? Didn't you see that your Gui Ye just lay down!"

After saying this, Qin Gui opened his eyes and looked over, his face full of angry expression.

This was also because he had preemptively assumed that the other party was a small character based on the timid voice, which was why he dared to treat them so presumptuously.

Qin Gui finally saw the person speaking clearly. It was a man in his twenties, dressed in coarse cloth, with an ordinary appearance and nothing eye-catching, and he exuded a rustic air from inside out, clearly a country bumpkin who had just entered the city!

Seeing this, Qin Gui felt even more confident in his heart.

He sat up and, without a word, gave a good scolding, as if disturbing his rest was an unforgivable crime!

This scolding lasted for a full cup of tea's time before it stopped, and the rustic youth seemed to have been stunned by his scolding, revealing a dumbfounded and helpless expression, only knowing how to listen foolishly to Qin Gui's blame!

After a long while, Qin Gui finally vented his evil fire completely and stopped the painful scolding.

Then he glanced at the youth and asked casually, as if remembering the other party's question at the beginning:

"What are you doing at our Qin Residence? We don't need any servants or laborers here, so hurry up and leave! The servants of this mansion are not so easy to be! We don't accept just anyone with an unknown background, so go find a guarantor before coming back!"

Relying on his past experience, Qin Gui immediately concluded that this young man with unwashed rustic air must be daydreaming about getting a job in the Qin Residence. He had seen too many such people!

"I am not looking for work... Qin Yan is my uncle, this is a letter my family asked me to bring to Uncle Qin!" The youth seemed to have finally woken up from that storm of scolding, and after hearing Qin Gui's words, he hurriedly took out a wrinkled letter from his bosom and explained stammeringly to Qin Gui.

"What? The master is your uncle!"

Qin Gui was feeling thirsty and wanted to take a few sips from a nearby teapot, but he was so frightened by these words from the youth that he sprayed the tea out of his mouth and asked in shock.

"This... I don't know, but my family asked me to call him Uncle Qin!" The youth scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

However, this time, Qin Gui dared not easily mock the other party again. In case this person really had some connection with his own master, he wouldn't have any good fruit to eat.

So he hesitated, then asked carefully:

"Can you let me take a look at this letter? Please rest assured, I will only look at the envelope, I wouldn't dare to open it!"

The youth agreed unexpectedly, and while handing the letter to him, he muttered:

"I originally wanted to hand this letter to you, so you could help pass it to Uncle Qin!"

Qin Gui took this letter that was wrinkled enough, and hurriedly looked at it several times.

Although ordinary servants couldn't read, Qin Gui had attended a private school for half a year when he was young and could read and write. Because of this, the job of gatekeeper, which countless servants envied, fell to him.

"To be opened by nephew Qin Yan!"

These pitch-black characters on the envelope made Qin Gui's heart jump. Judging by the tone, it seemed he was an elder of his master.

Thinking of this, Qin Gui's face changed immediately, and he squeezed out a few smiles and said to the youth:

"This young master, my master is not here, but several mistresses are in the house. Do you want to pass this letter to the mistress?" Qin Gui's attitude changed immediately, and even his form of address was upgraded immediately.

"This won't do! This letter must be opened by Uncle Qin himself!" The youth hesitated and finally shook his head firmly.

"In that case, should I report to the mistress first and see what the mistress wants to reply to you?"

Qin Gui didn't dare to let the youth leave just like that. In case there was something urgent, and he delayed it, he would be in big trouble when he turned back. But handing it to the mistress to handle, it wouldn't be his business anymore. Qin Gui had been a servant for so long, he still had this bit of scheming.

This time, the youth agreed immediately.

Qin Gui breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly greeted a passing servant to help him watch the youth, and ran into the mansion to wait for a reply.

Other servants he met, seeing him in such a hurry, were somewhat surprised!

Qin Gui ran straight to the backyard, said a few words to a big-footed maid guarding the yard, and then returned to the main gate to wait for a reply with peace of mind.

A small maid with a good appearance ran over to the gate.

After walking up to the two, she looked at the rustic youth with great interest and relayed the message from a certain mistress. She asked the youth to rest in a side room first and wait for the master to return before determining the authenticity of his identity. After all, there were indeed many people in the Qin family, and it was possible that an elder of a branch family really had something to find them.

Since there was already an order from above to handle this matter, Qin Gui felt at ease and continued to guard his gate well.

And the small maid led the youth toward the side room for guests.

On the way, many people saw the rustic appearance of the youth and looked at him with surprise, which seemed to make the youth feel very uneasy. He simply lowered his head, only looking at the ground and walking silently behind the small maid.

This made the small maid, who looked back, burst into laughter. She looked at this man a few more times with a smile, feeling that this person was very interesting.

After settling the youth in a side room in the front yard, the small maid exhorted the youth a few words not to run around, and then returned to report with a smile.

As soon as the small maid left the room, the youth, who had been clumsy just a moment ago, suddenly straightened his body, and the stupidity in his eyes disappeared "whoosh", and his whole body exuded a faint, free and easy aura, without any rustic air at all.

"Truly unexpected, this Qin family is so famous! It seems the demonic path people cannot let go of such an obvious target." The youth looked toward the outside of the house, frowned slightly, and muttered to himself.

He was Han Li, who had steered the magic tool at full speed and worked hard for more than ten days to finally arrive at Yuedu, and the Qin Residence was the object he was required by Li Li Huayuan to protect.

However, when Han Li thought of the identity Li Li Huayuan had arranged for him, he felt extremely depressed.

In the letter, he actually asked the head of the Qin family to arrange for him the identity of a descendant of a branch family of the Qin family, letting Han Li pretend to be a poor relative from the countryside, so that he could stay in the Qin Residence under cover.

Although the identity of a poor country boy made Han Li somewhat unhappy, he didn't have to put in any effort to pretend. After all, when Han Li was young, he was a genuine farm boy who walked out of a remote village. How to behave in terms of tone and dealing with people to be convincing was something Han Li didn't need to worry too much about.

After Han Li closed the door, he sat on the bed and practiced Qi, hoping that his cultivation could also make some progress during the period of guarding the Qin Residence.

Unknowingly, after Han Li finished a big cycle, it was already evening, and at this time, someone finally knocked on the door.

Han Li's spirit was lifted, and then the radiance on his face faded away, immediately restoring the image of the rustic, silly boy.

And after opening the door, a servant stood outside.

"My master has returned to the mansion, and now the mistress is calling you over, follow me now!" This servant said to Han Li without ceremony, then turned and left, not taking Han Li seriously at all.

This was also understandable. This person was different from Qin Gui who guarded the gate.

As a confidant beside a certain mistress, he had seen many poor relatives of the Qin family coming to seek favors every year, so naturally, he didn't take it to heart.

According to this person's idea, most likely the master would receive this bumpkin for a while, and then send him back with some silver, and wouldn't let him stay in the mansion for a moment!

And Han Li responded honestly and followed this person out of the side room, straight to the living room of the Qin Residence.

At this time, in the living room, a forty-year-old, graceful and luxurious woman was mentioning Han Li's matter to Qin Yan, who was sitting in the main seat.

"Since he dared to come with a letter, it's most likely not fake. It seems it really is an elder of the family who entrusted someone to find us."

"See what the request is? If it's not too much, try to satisfy it! Don't let our branch of the family get a bad reputation for being snobbish in the family, we can't lose face."

Qin Yan was about fifty years old, but because he was well-maintained, he looked like he was in his forties and didn't look old at all. Now he took a sip of bird's nest tea, moistened his throat, and said slowly.

Net ===== CHAPTER 279 =====