Chapter 389: 143. Pei Thirteenth Lady, Who is Clever and Versatile

143. Pei Thirteenth Lady, Who is Clever and Versatile

"What, the rent for the next two years is waived, not collecting our money?"

The bearded man's chin almost dropped to the ground, and he confirmed again with Landlord Chen, who had a bright smile in front of him.

Landlord Chen nodded immediately:

"That's right, not only the room for you two, but the entire courtyard, the rent for the next two years doesn't need to be paid. You two just live here. As for the other tenants, I'll notify them to move out tomorrow to free up space, so you two can live more spaciously."

He nodded and bowed:

"Previously, I was negligent to Brother Huang, didn't recognize a hero, truly sorry, hope Brother and your daughter will be magnanimous."

The bearded man and the little girl in the red jacket looked at each other.

While Landlord Chen was speaking, Pei Thirteenth Lady stood on the side, watching the Huang family father and daughter with a smile, during which she tidied up the purple-gold scarf trailing to the ground on her arm, not letting it touch the muddy ground of this old small courtyard.

She smiled kindly and reached out to touch the little head of the little girl in the red jacket behind the bearded man.

Huang Xuan subconsciously backed away to avoid it.

Pei Thirteenth Lady was not annoyed and withdrew her hand naturally.

The bearded man asked in surprise: "Mei Sanye Chen, why is this? Waiving two years of rent for no reason, and... and giving the whole courtyard to us..."

Landlord Chen didn't speak and turned to look at Pei Thirteenth Lady beside him.

Pei Thirteenth Lady moved her gaze away from Huang Xuan, looked at the bearded man, and suddenly asked:

"How should I address Brother Huang?"

"Don't dare to be called Brother." The bearded man scratched his head a bit embarrassedly: "My surname is Huang, given name Feihong, ranked first in the family, you can also call me Huang Da. This is my little daughter, given name Xuan, just call her Little Xuan."

"Okay, Brother Huang." Pei Thirteenth Lady smiled and nodded: "Actually, it's not just this room. Landlord Chen is so generous, how can I be stingy."

She spread one palm toward her side, and a burly guard behind her took an object from his bosom, lowered his head and handed it over, placing it in her palm.

Huang Feihong and Huang Xuan looked closely. In the palm with a jade bracelet, lay a string of brass keys on copper rings. They saw her kind expression and gentle tone:

"This is the key to the large residential courtyard facing the street, two hundred zhang west of the alley entrance. I just arrived in Xunyang not long ago, not like in Yangzhou, don't have many things to take out. This residential courtyard is a little bit of my heart. Please, Brother Huang and Little Xuan, must accept it, don't be polite with me."

"This... this gift..."

Huang Feihong widened his eyes, stuttering and unable to speak.

Huang Xuan, hiding behind her father, also poked her head out, looking at the sudden noble lady and the copper key in her hand with her mouth wide open.

A short while later, she suddenly asked: "Isn't that large residential courtyard facing the street at the alley entrance the house of Squire Li?"

Pei Thirteenth Lady said lightly: "Oh, Squire Li just moved out today, now it's yours. Little Xuan, don't worry, this is my private gift, there is no malice... By the way, almost forgot the deed."

She suddenly patted her forehead and smiled helplessly:

"Came too hurriedly, the deed is still left in that large residential courtyard, need you to sign it. Just right, let's go over later, and take a look at what the new house is missing. Can say it on the spot, I will arrange it properly, guarantee you two live comfortably."

A pie falling from the sky, the Huang family father and daughter were a bit confused, looking at each other frequently, they didn't move immediately.

But although they wanted to be vigilant about whether there was a fraud trap, looking left and right at their own dilapidated courtyard, they were immediately pulled back to reality.

With nothing but four bare walls, they and this courtyard combined might not be as valuable as the purple-gold scarf on the noble lady's arm. The furnishings of the carriage at the door and the four precious horses might be able to buy half the street here.

A noble lady dressed like this wealthy merchant, earning money every breath, has leisure time to defraud their poor father and daughter?

Unless there is some amazing profit ratio, otherwise it's a losing business, making them work like cattle and horses for eight lifetimes without being able to repay... and cattle and horses are the least lacking in this world.

Huang Feihong shook his head like a rattle:

"Too valuable, it's too valuable, Little Xuan and I can't accept it, this favor is too big, even if you sell me, I can't repay it..."

"Brother Huang, let me correct you, this is not a favor. Landlord Chen and I are both gifting privately, not selling. Tomorrow you can invite a notary from the government to notarize the transfer of property rights and deeds. It's open and aboveboard, with complete procedures, absolutely no tricks."

"Moreover, I am not talented, I am a Yangzhou merchant. Brother Huang can go out and inquire. We Yangzhou merchants do business with sincerity and promise, and never break our word."

Speaking of credibility, the smile at the corners of Pei Thirteenth Lady's mouth faded, and she became serious, not like she was joking.

Huang Feihong became more and more uneasy, asking with suspicion:

"But for no reason, Madam Pei, Mei Sanye Chen, why give us these things? This, this makes no sense, what are you plotting."

Huang Xuan also suddenly spoke: "What do you want... my family has nothing, nothing you would fancy... no blessing to exchange houses with Madam, please go back."

Landlord Chen glanced at Pei Thirteenth Lady.

Huang Feihong also stared at her.

Pei Thirteenth Lady didn't look at these two, but watched Huang Xuan with a smile. Although she was a bit strange about her refusal reaction and words, she continued:

"I don't want anything, doing good and accumulating virtue, where is the need for so many whys?"

"Hey, merchants earning money should give back some to the poor people. This is merchant virtue, and it also conforms to the heavenly way of yin and yang. No reason is needed, but... I can realize this sense of responsibility, actually, it is because I was inspired and enlightened by a noble sage today, which can be considered as seeing virtue and thinking of equaling it."

Her expression was filled with emotion.

Landlord Chen nodded immediately: "Me too, me too."

Huang Feihong was confused: "Noble sage, what does that mean?"

Huang Xuan realized: "You know that noble person from this evening?"

Pei Thirteenth Lady nodded with a smile.

Huang Feihong looked around suspiciously and asked: "That noble person from this evening? What are you talking about, Little Xuan, what happened this evening?"

Pei Thirteenth Lady didn't answer.

Huang Xuan lowered her eyelashes, her eyes looking at the wound on her palm.

Huang Feihong's gaze also followed and fell on her wound...

A short while later, after asking about the dangerous situation that turned around this evening from his daughter's mouth, the bearded man's face flushed, gnashing his teeth:

"Those bastards at the Han Lei Mozhai, beasts! Truly infuriating, Little Xuan, I told you long ago not to go again, it's not worth it for those scraps of ink. If you really want to make leaves with calligraphy, you might as well buy some cheap ink sticks... You just wouldn't listen, going every day. I knew those few ink workshop managers weren't good things the first time I saw them, truly infuriating, don't let me catch them next time!"

Huang Xuan turned a deaf ear and continued to ask Pei Thirteenth Lady: "So it was the noble person who asked you to come, and also to help my family?"

Pei Thirteenth Lady's eyes flowed slightly, noncommittal:

"More or less, I do know the noble person who helped you. This time coming... it is also with the intention of learning from him."

Huang Xuan was silent and touched a certain money bag.

"Actually, this time it's not completely free to give the house, hmm... there is also a small matter to ask for, just a lift of a finger, and it is beneficial to that noble person... You understand the meaning, right?"

"What matter?" Huang Feihong was curious.

"The matter of praising the noble person's good name, which is to eat a meal and thank the noble person in person, and by the way, help him spread his name. This way, you can repay his kindness, and you don't have to feel too guilty."

Pei Thirteenth Lady spoke kindly, bent down, handed the key to Huang Xuan, and touched her head at the same time.

This time, Huang Xuan didn't dodge, but raised her head when she touched her head, and confirmed again:

"You say first, how to help? Can it really help the noble person?" A bit worried and vigilant.

"Of course, think about it, helping a poor little girl out of a siege, this is originally a good deed. Spreading it out has a hundred benefits and no harm. Anyway, when the time comes, you will definitely speak well of him in public, it can't be bad words, right?"

"And it's not ugly material, it's a good deed. Doing good deeds shouldn't be unknown, don't you think?"

"How about this, if you find that what I said is false, you can leave at any time. Don't worry, the house I gave won't be taken back..."

Pei Thirteenth Lady smiled and said this, and the conversation suddenly changed:

"It's too late, it's cold standing in this courtyard. How about this, let's go to that new house at the alley entrance to chat, and by the way, you can take a look at the house."

The Huang family father and daughter hesitated for a moment and agreed.

Arriving at the new residence, the Huang family father and daughter were like entering the Grand View Garden, touching everywhere, their eyes hopeful, their joy hard to hide.

This feeling was like a poor person suddenly owning a large villa, a bit dreamy.

Pei Thirteenth Lady suddenly asked: "Little Xuan, do you know who that young man in the felt hat buying red leaves is?"

Huang Xuan was stunned: "Isn't he the servant of that noble lady? Isn't the noble person that little lady Xie, and that Wang Fu?"

"You, you, truly cute."

Pei Thirteenth Lady shook her head and smiled lightly: "Whether the noble lady Xie likes your red leaves, I don't know, but the one who came forward to buy the red leaves is Ouyang Lianghan, the Jiangzhou Changshi. He is your true noble person."

The little girl in the red jacket was dumbfounded.

"Changshi... Ouyang Lianghan... that upright gentleman famous throughout the world?" She couldn't help but blurt out: "Zhou Bangxian is happy, Rong has a good talent?"

"That's right, it's him."

Pei Thirteenth Lady was very satisfied with Huang Xuan's reaction, but the little girl suddenly raised her head and asked another question, which almost stumped her.

"Then why did he say something about the eldest young lady, why so low-key... could it be that he didn't want to be publicized? Is it bad for my father and me to publicize it?"

Pei Thirteenth Lady couldn't help but look twice at the little girl whose brain turned extremely fast, and smiled suddenly:

"This... this is what shows he is a true sage. Think about it, isn't this to avoid you and Brother Huang feeling guilty? You are so poor, what can you repay him? He doesn't covet these at all, so why give you a burden? Directly saying the noble lady of the Wang Fu likes red leaves, not mentioning himself at all, covering up the cause of seeing injustice and drawing a sword to help..."

The noble lady sighed: "Now there is a chance, I can let you go to toast and thank him, you won't find it troublesome, right? Could it be that you are ungrateful people who know kindness but don't repay it?"

Huang Xuan and Huang Feihong were silent, it seemed to make sense, and they hesitated in their hearts... At this time, a deed was pushed in front of their father and daughter.

Pei Thirteenth Lady pressed her hand on the deed, watched them, and smiled without speaking.

Huang Feihong touched the red-lacquered table and chairs around him left and right, a bit reluctant to part.

He quietly turned his head to look at his daughter.

"What does Brother Huang say." Pei Thirteenth Lady asked.

Huang Feihong scratched his head embarrassedly: "Listen to Little Xuan, in my family, she makes the decisions, she is the master."

Pei Thirteenth Lady was stunned, smiled beautifully, looked at the little girl in the red jacket who was silent, and felt more and more that the interaction mode of this father and daughter was interesting, especially this daughter.

The father and daughter's style, one reckless and casual, one careful and self-disciplined, the daughter was instead like the head of the family.

Huang Xuan looked at her father and saw the hesitation in his eyes.

She suddenly looked left and right.

This luxurious new residence of Squire Li, located at the street corner, was brightly lit day and night, candles seemed to be free, Huang Xuan had passed by here countless times, every time dragging her sore legs and feet, suffering grievances, returning to the dim, narrow, and crowded small courtyard.

She remembered that Squire Li's family also had a little daughter of her age, dressed in silk and satin, bright and beautiful, with servants wherever she went. Huang Xuan often followed the crowd of neighbors to watch, shrinking in an inconspicuous corner of the crowd, silently watching.

Now, the deed to this residence she had looked up to countless times was quietly placed in front of her.

Huang Xuan raised her head:

"Landlord Chen's courtyard with two years of rent waived, don't drive away other tenants, everything as before, let those aunts and uncles continue to live, okay? Madam, the aunts and uncles are all very good people, this is also a good deed."

Hearing the unexpected condition, Pei Thirteenth Lady's eyelashes lifted, but immediately, her smile became even wider:

"All okay, the house is yours, father and daughter's, you two arrange it. Come, let's discuss the matters of toasting tomorrow..."

During the default listening period, Huang Xuan touched the money bag in her bosom again.

The handsome face of a certain young man in a felt hat flashed before her eyes... So he was the noble person.

"Tomorrow noon... Xunyang Tower... you two go on time... don't worry, the noble person will also come... Later when people come, will chat about some things, when the time comes someone will call you, you go out to toast, thank Changshi Ouyang for his help, just say whatever you have to say..."

"Oh..."

"Why is Little Xuan holding an ink stick?"

"Newly bought."

"Oh, thought it was to give to Changshi Ouyang. Actually, you don't need to give anything, Changshi Ouyang lacks nothing. You might as well not give, just let your heart be reached. For noble people, sincerity and honesty are the correct way to get along, understand?"

"Understand, not giving to the noble person."

"That's good, a child who can be taught."

Pei Thirteenth Lady chatted with Huang Xuan in the private room.

Just what she didn't know was that on the first floor of the building, there was a paralyzed-faced Daoist youth. From the moment the Huang family father and daughter arrived at this building, he had been sitting at a table in the corner of the lobby drinking tea and listening to music, tea drunk for almost two hours.

It could be said to be one cup of tea, one morning, stepping on the threshold of the minimum consumption, and he wouldn't pay an extra copper coin even if he died.

If it weren't for the landlord often emphasizing quality and politeness, and not driving away any paying guests, the waiter responsible for this table area on the first floor would have really wanted to drive this poor, eyesore, paralyzed bull-nose out.

Just as it was approaching noon, and the Xunyang Tower luncheon was about to begin, the waiter finally got an excuse to clear the lobby. He grabbed a menu and ran over excitedly, preparing to drive people away, but when he returned and looked, his expression froze instantly.

The figure of that paralyzed Daoist youth had disappeared.

The waiter looked at the empty seat and couldn't help but mutter:

"Count you as having vision... Hey, why didn't you swallow the tea leaves too, phew, truly shameless."

Only to see the teacup on the table, drunk without a drop left, only a few chewed tea leaves remained. The waiter cleaned them up with a look of disgust.

The action was swift, because today, a group of the wealthiest Yangzhou merchants in Xunyang City were going to host a luncheon for that famous Jiangzhou Changshi. It seemed to be a charity banquet, saying that the Yangzhou merchants felt the personality charm and earnest teachings of Changshi Ouyang, and decided to donate money to the poor people of Xingzi Fang, specifically to solve their very worrying living conditions.

Although the waiter didn't understand why these stingy merchants suddenly had such a great realization and donated money for charity, it didn't prevent him from earning a tip today. Even if a drop of oil flowed from the fingers of these wealthy merchants, it would be enough for an ordinary family to eat their fill for half a year.

The news of the charity luncheon seemed to have spread throughout the West City, and noble guests came to the banquet like clouds. Today, the lobby had to be cleared to set up tables, full of guests.

The waiter soon threw the white-pimping bull-nose to the back of his mind, his speed of cleaning up accelerated, not daring to be negligent to the big figures who were about to arrive...

Ouyang Rong finished his morning official business and went straight to the back door of the Jiangzhou Hall.

A carriage from the Xunyang Wang Fu was parked quietly at the door, looking like it had been waiting for a long time.

Just this morning, he made an appointment with Pei Thirteenth Lady for the noon banquet, and Ouyang Rong immediately sent someone to the Xunyang Wang Fu to notify his junior sister, calling her over to gather and go together.

Ouyang Rong boarded the carriage and saw his junior sister sitting by the window, with a familiar bamboo basket on her knees, containing poetry red leaves and a folding fan.

Before he got on the carriage, she seemed to be lowering her eyes and flipping through the poems on the red leaves. The autumn sunlight shone on a perfect, flawless side face, with a bit of the taste of quiet years.

"Senior Brother."

"Waited long? Didn't I tell the messenger to call you later?"

"It's okay, I wanted to come early myself, just happened to have nothing to do this morning."

"Oh."

The two chatted for a while, and the carriage slowly started, driving toward the Xunyang Tower by the river.

They were both traveling light, going to the banquet.