Chapter 389

While speaking in a fawning manner, Luo Yanlin reached into his wide sleeve and pulled out a note, handing it to Ma Kui.

Ma Kui took it and passed it to Su Qiao.

Oh, you know the ropes!

No wonder Luo Yanlin holds such a high position; his mind is so agile.

He had prepared this long in advance!

Su Qiao took the note and glanced down at it.

Whoa!

Quite a lot of good stuff here.

Top-grade coral, pearls, jade, plus antiques and paintings, along with silver notes worth twenty thousand taels.

Hmm, a wealthy man!

Su Qiao accepted it willingly and with great joy, his smile on his face becoming even more brilliant and warm.

"Lord Luo is truly too polite. Since Lord Luo is so generous, I shall not stand on ceremony; in a couple of days, I will host a banquet for Lord Luo."

Hearing this, Luo Yanlin's eyes lit up.

Since Su Qiao accepted it so readily, the worry he had raised in his heart was completely put to rest.

Hosting a banquet later signifies that Su Qiao is willing to maintain close contact; the connection is thus established.

Additionally, it carries another meaning: to let him leave first.

Luo Yanlin was habitually fawning toward superiors and bullying inferiors, so his ability to read expressions was naturally extremely high.

How could he fail to gauge Su Qiao's meaning?

So he immediately rose, clasped his hands, and took his leave: "Lord Su, you have other matters, so this humble official will return first and come to disturb you again in a few days."

"Polite, polite..."

Only after Luo Yanlin rose and left did Lin Fu and the others take a long time to react.

Is the situation changing this fast now?

One second they were preparing to pressure the other, and the next, with Su Qiao's imperial decree out, they immediately defected and cowered, even shamelessly trying to build a relationship.

Even officials have thick skin, but no one changes their face this fast, does it?

While Su Qiao had not yet turned back, Lin Fu and the others quickly exchanged glances.

With that exchange of glances, Lin Fu's heart gave a "thump."

The old camaraderie was simply gone.

In fact, several of them seemed to have other thoughts, their eyes darting away evasively.

As expected!

When Su Qiao returned and sat again in the head position.

The other family heads, just like Luo Yanlin, immediately spoke up to flatter and offer compensation.

Su Qiao's attitude toward them was far worse than his attitude toward Luo Yanlin.

After all, Luo Yanlin was Su Qiao's deliberate example, intentionally shown to them.

The others were different; they could not serve as an example, so they could only be considered icing on the cake.

"Lord Su, this is our small token of goodwill; you must accept it."

"Yes, yes, yes, please forgive us, Lord Su."

Good heavens, the gifts these people brought were not small; one could say they were all quite heavy.

Just like Luo Yanlin, they had prepared long in advance.

Seeing them casually hand over silver notes worth tens of thousands of taels, one could imagine how much wealth they had embezzled during their tenure over these many years.

However, for the time being, Su Qiao had no intention of dealing with them.

Whatever they gave, Su Qiao accepted.

"You are truly too polite; how could I possibly accept..."

Though he spoke thus, Su Qiao accepted them without the slightest delay.

Seeing Su Qiao accept the gifts, these family heads, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from their hearts, happily departed.

Lin Fu spoke several times but could not cut in ahead of the others.

In the end, only Lin Fu himself remained.

He became anxious!

His earlier little schemes had long since vanished into thin air.

In his heart, he regretted it to death; if he had known, why bother with so many schemes? Why not simply beg for Su Qiao's forgiveness early on?

Now only he remained; his scoundrel son, Lin Heng, seemed to have been the one who cursed the most viciously at that time.

They say the pillow wind is terrifying; Su Qiao, this Imperial Envoy, surely has no intention of killing the chicken to scare the monkey, but intends to slaughter him as the chicken!

"What is Lord Lin thinking about?"

Just as Lin Fu was lost in wild thoughts with his head bowed, Su Qiao spoke, startling him awake.

Lin Fu raised his head and met Su Qiao's calm eyes; whether his body trembled or not, at least his emotions were quite panicked.

"Lord Su, this humble official thought of nothing; this humble official is also willing to make compensation. Please, Lord Su, show mercy. As for that rascal Lin Heng, this humble official will definitely give him a severe beating when I return..."

Earlier, when Luo Yanlin first defected to Su Qiao, he had felt some contempt for Luo Yanlin.

Now that it was his turn, he was not the kind of bone that would resist stubbornly.

Immediately, he softened and spoke directly to beg for forgiveness.

Su Qiao actually had no intention of dealing with them at this moment.

Of course, this was his thought after they came tonight.

If they really don't come tonight, Su Qiao was certain he would act anyway.

After all, he was now in Nanjingcheng, and moreover, an imperial envoy.

He would still have to deal with the garrison issues; if he didn't act, it would damage his authority.

How would he ever carry out his work afterward?

Whether to establish authority or for any other reason, she would act when the time came.

This was also why Lin Fu and the others had originally not feared Su Qiao—but still came to the guesthouse at night.

Otherwise, it would be pure provocation, deliberately angering Su Qiao the imperial envoy, deliberately seeking war.

In officialdom, harmony was valued, with exchanges of interest and mutual compromise.

Everyone had their own calculations; none were fools.

"Oh, I still believe what Master Lin says, but as for this sincerity—"

Su Qiao deliberately stretched out his words.

Lin Fu instantly understood Su Qiao's meaning.

Money? Good! I only feared you wouldn't offer it!

He quickly spoke, tripling the compensation he had originally prepared in his sleeve.

"Your humble servant is willing to donate one hundred fifty thousand taels of Bai Yin to support Your Excellency's reform of the garrisons."

Upon hearing this, Su Qiao's eyebrows instantly curved upward, and his tone shifted immediately: "Master Lin is truly a fine official of the Great Ming—knowing when to advance and when to retreat, understanding the bigger picture!"

"Your Excellency is far too kind. Tomorrow, I shall send someone to deliver it."

"Good! I shall welcome such talent as Master Lin!"

Lin Fu: "..."

Lin Fu did not stay long; soon after receiving Su Qiao's promise, he hastily took his leave.

After Lin Fu departed, Su Qiao took out the earlier notes and added the one hundred fifty thousand taels Lin Fu had just mentioned.

Altogether, these men had donated at least four hundred thousand taels of silver.

At this rate of "earning," who could possibly surpass it?!

When Liu Rushi learned how much these men had paid in "bribes and compensation," she was startled again.

"Master, so much money—should we really accept it?"

Su Qiao nodded with a smile: "Of course. If we didn't accept, they'd be uneasy; only by accepting will they feel at peace."

244, Qin Huai's Eight Beauties!

The news that Su Qiao and Liu Rushi had offended several court ministers' Young Masters spread throughout Nanjingcheng after one night's fermentation.

Even the news that Lin Fu and the other senior officials had personally come to the guesthouse to "demand accountability" could not be concealed.