Chapter 190: [Charity Sale] (Part 1)

Murong Feiyan's beautiful eyes widened; she almost poured the whole bowl of soup onto this guy's head. Even after sharing a meal, she still gets taken advantage of—this guy really isn't a good person. But after so much contact, having grown used to this scoundrel's shameless, limitless nonsense, Murong Feiyan has gradually become immune, letting him say what he wants while pretending not to hear. Thus she no longer bothers with him, using silence to protest his shamelessness.

Hu Xiaotian, ignored by everyone, naturally lost his teasing mood. After they finished eating, Hu Xiaotian finally recalled Murong Feiyan's all-day outing: 'Feiyan, where did you go all day?'

Murong Feiyan said: 'I took some time to visit your lovely female confidante.'

Upon hearing she had gone to see Le Yao, Hu Xiaotian immediately became concerned: 'How is she? Is her illness cured?'

Murong Feiyan nodded: 'She's recovered, and she also asked about you—she seems quite concerned.'

Hu Xiaotian chuckled; just thinking of the young widow Le Yao made his heart burn hot—this young widow truly is a peerless beauty.

While speaking, Murong Feiyan had already been observing Hu Xiaotian's expression. Seeing his lustful look, she inwardly spat three times and coldly said: 'Do you know where else I went?'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head.

Murong Feiyan said: 'I left last night and went to the grave of Wan Family's third young master, Wan Tingguang.'

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed in shock: 'What are you doing there?' As soon as he asked, he immediately understood Murong Feiyan's true purpose for going there—she must have suspected the cause of Wan Tingguang's death and went to examine the corpse. Hu Xiaotian vaguely sensed something, and his heart grew heavy.

Murong Feiyan said: 'His corpse is well preserved, lifelike. I examined it carefully and found coin-sized lividity on his skin. Based on the color and form of the lividity, it is likely poisoning. I took his hair and nails, preparing to have someone test what poison he ingested.'

Hu Xiaotian pressed his lips, his face showing an unprecedented gravity. In fact, he had already suspected something even before Le Yao's feverish delirium. He recalled that in the Wan mansion, Le Yao had feigned fainting to get him to take her away. Looking back now, Le Yao actually had many suspicious points. But Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan are different; Murong Feiyan is strongly principled—once she spots a doubt, she wants to get to the bottom of it. This could be considered a kind of occupational habit. Hu Xiaotian, however, would rather turn a blind eye in this matter; no matter what Le Yao has done to the Wan family, he thinks it doesn't matter, since the Wan family are rich and unkind, with not a single good person among them. He said quietly: 'Feiyan, we still have plenty of proper business to attend to. Let's drop this matter for now.'

Murong Feiyan naturally knew Hu Xiaotian was acting out of self-interest, and with his intelligence he couldn't fail to notice the abnormality. She didn't immediately state her position, but smiled and said: 'How do you plan to settle her?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'After this period passes, I'll ask if she has any relatives left, then send her back.'

'She has no relatives left; her parents are both dead. Her father was Le Qingchi, a fairly famous literati in the Xichuan region. Later, after writing a subversive poem he was reported, imprisoned, and soon died of illness.'

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed in shock: 'Did he die of illness in the Qingyun County office?'

Murong Feiyan shook her head: 'Xiezhou Prefecture. It was Yang Daoquan who arrested him.'

Hu Xiaotian gazed into Murong Feiyan's eyes, lowering his voice: 'Are you investigating this matter?' Obviously Murong Feiyan has already looked into Le Yao's background quite thoroughly; he understands her temperament well enough to know that once she decides on something, she hardly gives up midway. It seems Le Yao is in for trouble this time.

Murong Feiyan said: 'I have looked into Le Qingchi's case. The Le family used to be fairly well-off, but in their effort to rescue Le Qingchi they ended up losing all their fortune, and their property and fields eventually fell into Wan Boping's hands. They likely hoped to use Wan Boping's connections to get Yang Daoquan to spare Le Qingchi.'

Hu Xiaotian slowly nodded. Based on what Murong Feiyan said, it could be preliminarily concluded that the Le family's loss of both people and wealth was due to Wan Boping, which explains why Le Yao hates the Wan family so intensely; her marrying into the Wan family while enduring humiliation might very well be for revenge. Hu Xiaotian said: 'Some things are best left in the past; there's no need to get to the bottom of it.'

Murong Feiyan gently placed a wooden box on the table, said nothing, and rose to leave.

After Murong Feiyan left, Hu Xiaotian finally picked up the wooden box and opened it, only to find some hair and nails inside—needless to say, they were taken from the corpse of Wan Boping's foolish son, Wan Tingguang. He hastily closed it; having just finished his meal, he thought the little girl was trying to disgust him. Then it occurred to him that Murong Feiyan wasn't aiming for that; by giving him these items, she signified her agreement with his idea, deciding not to further investigate Le Yao's affair. For Murong Feiyan, this is already quite a concession, given that she used to tolerate no speck of dust in her eye. Her retreat in the Le Yao matter—could it be due to his influence?

The charity auction dinner was the first of its kind in Qingyun's history and rarely seen in Dakang's history. Organized by Song Shaofu, proprietor of the Wild Goose Pavilion, who invited the wealthy and prominent of Qingyun County, leaders from all trades and industries. Naturally, the most prominent figure in Qingyun's business world, Wan Boping, did not attend—not because he refused to give Hu Xiaotian face, but because the Wan family had been troubled lately; his eldest son's disappearance remained unresolved, so Wan Boping naturally had no mood to join the festivities, pleading poor health and resting at home. Still, he sent his steward Wan Changchun over, who brought a jade Guanyin statue as an auction item, which also counts as support for Hu Xiaotian, his benefactor.

All the officials were invited by Hu Xiaotian, but Hu Xiaotian evidently had little influence in Qingyun County. Originally these colleagues had agreed to come, but in the end Xu Qinglian made an excuse and didn't show up. Xu Qinglian is currently the wind vane of Qingyun's officialdom; since he didn't give Hu Xiaotian face, others naturally dared not come to flatter him. What was meant to be a good charity auction thus turned into a matter of factional alignment among officials, with Hu Xiaotian's side clearly isolated.

Nevertheless, someone from the county office did come: Chief Clerk Guo Shouguang. Although he and Hu Xiaotian had long held a grudge—last time at Hu Xiaotian's welcome banquet he had even been beaten up by Hu Xiaotian under the pretense of drunkenness—he was the last person one would expect to appear. Yet Guo Shouguang's visit wasn't to repay kindness with resentment; he came on Xu Qinglian's orders to watch the spectacle, eager to see how Hu Xiaotian would wrap things up today.

According to the prior plan made by Song Shaofu and Hu Xiaotian, today they were to set up twelve tables at the Wild Goose Pavilion, opening the feast precisely at the you hour. But plans rarely survive reality—not only did those officials refuse to give face, even the merchants Song Shaofu had previously contacted seemed to have all made other arrangements, almost simultaneously releasing their doves.

The you hour had arrived, yet the Wild Goose Pavilion's gate remained deserted, with only three or five carriages. Hu Xiaotian and Song Shaofu, the two organizers, stood at the door to greet guests, but their faces could no longer hide their embarrassment. Song Shaofu had previously patted his chest and promised Hu Xiaotian he would pull off the event splendidly and gloriously; this turn of events was something he hadn't anticipated. Fortunately, Hu Xiaotian's side also saw few guests, leaving them evenly matched—none looked better than the other. Although twelve banquet tables were set for the evening, as things stood not even one table could be filled; it seemed the charity auction would become a laughingstock in Qingyun if it couldn't even finish tonight.

At that moment, seeing Chief Clerk Guo Shouguang arrive by carriage, Guo Shouguang stepped down and looked around. Seeing the desolate scene before the gate—sparse horses and carriages—he laughed inwardly: 'Hu Xiaotian, Hu Xiaotian, you don't even weigh your own worth, thinking that knowing a few merchants in Qingyun lets you call the wind and summon the rain? You're still far off. What charity auction dinner? It's just adding to the joke.'

Guo Shouguang walked over with a gloating grin, clasped his hands from afar, and said: 'Congratulations, Sir! Congratulations, Sir!'

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed, 'Congratulations your mother's head!' Coming to watch my joke, you really deserve a beating. Yet he kept a bright, sunny smile on his face: 'Old Guo's here, haha, please have a seat, please have a seat!' He enthusiastically grabbed Guo Shouguang's arm in an inviting gesture.

Guo Shouguang hypocritically said: 'Sorry, I'm late due to something; have the other officials already arrived?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'You're the first one!'

'Oh?' Guo Shouguang gazed at the empty hall, thinking to himself, 'How great, Hu Xiaotian, Hu Xiaotian—you too have your day; evil deeds inevitably bring their own retribution, and you actually dared to hit me. Hehe, today your face is surely going to get slapped swollen.' Having harbored resentment for so long, Guo Shouguang had finally waited for an opportunity to kick someone when they're down, and he certainly wasn't going to let it pass: 'Sir Hu, did I get the time wrong? Why haven't Sir Xu and the others all…'

Hu Xiaotian knew he would definitely bring up the sore point, and with good composure he smiled and said: 'I didn't invite him!'

Guo Shouguang silently cursed, 'Can you show a bit of face? Everyone in the Qingyun county office has been notified—it's not that you didn't invite them, it's that they refuse to give you face.'

Hu Xiaotian couldn't be bothered to argue with this guy; he had the waiter seat him, then returned to the doorway. Wan Family's steward Wan Changchun had also arrived; Hu Xiaotian merely nodded, not feeling like speaking anymore. Today's charity auction dinner would likely end in a sorry mess, with people failing to gather, making it utterly pointless. Although Hu Xiaotian had braced himself somewhat beforehand, he hadn't expected his influence in Qingyun to be so feeble, and he inevitably felt a bit depressed.

Seeing the sky gradually darken, Song Shaofu approached Hu Xiaotian and whispered: 'Sir Hu, do you think we should wait a bit longer?'

Hu Xiaotian thought, 'Isn't that just nonsense?' In total, fewer than one table's worth of people had come—Su Guangju and Liu Danggui, both old acquaintances of his, were on decent terms with him but lacked money and influence. The wealthy and powerful of Qingyun had hardly shown up, so today's charity auction seemed destined for a dismal outcome. Hu Xiaotian reflected that no matter what, they must proceed as planned; worst case, they could ask some ordinary folks off the street to fill the seats for free. After all, even a thousand considerations must have one oversight—he had simply overlooked this himself. (To be continued. If you like this work, please cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)