Chapter 851

Leaving Water Well Alley, Hu Xiaotian's joy from his promotion had completely faded; his hazy mind cleared, and this frank talk with his father made him realize that Dakang's situation hadn't changed at all due to the palace coup, their father-son predicament hadn't fundamentally improved, and the old emperor's return to power didn't necessarily mean anything good for the Hu family.

Hu Xiaotian had the coachman take him to East Gate Outer Street, where Treasure Abundance Hall is located; he now stays at Fortune and Prosperity Inn, which is very close to the Hall. Although the Hall could provide lodging, Hu Xiaotian made this choice to keep a low profile and prevent others from noticing his connection to the Hall.

Arriving at the door, the door opened from inside, and Huo Shengnan came out with a concerned face, exclaiming happily, "You're back!"

Hu Xiaotian nodded, walked into the room, and turned to close the door behind him.

Seeing his attire, Huo Shengnan already knew he had smoothly resolved everything in the palace this time. She said softly, "Your bearing suggests you've been rewarded by the court."

Hu Xiaotian nodded happily and said, "Not only was I rewarded, but I was also appointed as Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard."

Huo Shengnan blinked and said, "That's hardly different from Shi Kuan's post." Shi Kuan is the commander of the Da Yong Golden Scale Guard.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Just half a rank lower, so not much difference."

Huo Shengnan said, "I never expected Dakang to be so special, actually letting a eunuch become Commander of the Guard."

Hu Xiaotian was angered by her words into a state of mixed feelings: "Who are you calling a eunuch?"

Huo Shengnan glanced at him; silence spoke louder than words.

Hu Xiaotian pointed the Five-Colored Coiling Dragon Gold Medal at his waist to her, then smoothly flipped his robe and sat down in the Grand Tutor's Chair, crossing his legs, and smiled triumphantly: "I never told you before. I was ordered to pose as a eunuch and enter the palace to gather evidence of Ji Feihua's treasonous usurpation. Now that the mission is accomplished and I have withdrawn, the emperor has formally issued an edict restoring my freedom—I am a man! From today on I will return to being an upright man."

Huo Shengnan spat, "What's so great about that? Anyway, you can't deny you used to be a eunuch."

Hu Xiaotian choked on her words, nodded, and forced out a spiteful remark: "You've seen and touched me yourself; if you won't admit it, there's nothing I can do."

Huo Shengnan's face flushed red; she was about to burst into anger.

Hu Xiaotian hurriedly sought peace: "Well, let's not talk about my private matters; we have important things to attend to."

Although Huo Shengnan lost the verbal exchange, she realized that even if they kept arguing she would still be outmatched; there was no way to beat his shamelessness. She glared at Hu Xiaotian fiercely and said, "You go attend to your business. I'm not interested."

"We definitely need an assistant..."

"What the hell does it have to do with me!" Huo Shengnan, flushed with anger, couldn't help but curse.

Hu Xiaotian's gaze flicked to her shapely buttocks.

Huo Shengnan quickly twisted her body: "What are you looking at?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Come with me to the Ministry of Punishments; we need to reclaim our family's property."

That afternoon, Hu Xiaotian first sent Princess Anping's ashes to the Imperial Palace, then went with Huo Shengnan to the Ministry of Punishments to complete the procedures for reclaiming the confiscated property. Hu Xiaotian took the earlier inventory of confiscated assets and gave it a rough look—actually just for show. Unclear how much property the family actually had, he asked the official, "Is everything here?"

The official smiled and said, "Reporting to Commander Sir, everything is here."

Hu Xiaotian waved the confiscated roster in front of the official: "This thin volume makes me feel our Hu family has more than just this."

The official said, "Commander Sir, I am responsible for tallying the confiscated roster into storage; checking and registering the assets is not within my jurisdiction. When your manor was confiscated, the roster was registered by personnel from the Ministry of Revenue."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Who was responsible?"

The official replied, "I believe it is the current Minister of Revenue, Xu Zhengying, Sir Xu!"

Hearing Xu Zhengying's name, Hu Xiaotian felt anger rise from within. Xu Zhengying used to be merely a subordinate of his father, fawning over him, but after his father fell from grace, Xu Zhengying not only seized the opportunity to rise but also betrayed him—this debt has never been settled. Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Good!"

The official said, "Sir Hu, if you find no problem with the roster after reviewing it, please sign and affix your seal; I will immediately have someone organize the items and send them back to your manor."

Hu Xiaotian took up a brush, soaked it in thick ink, wrote his name on the receipt and stamped his handprint, seized the key to the Hu Manor gate, turned and strode away.

Huo Shengnan followed Hu Xiaotian all the way to the Minister of Revenue's residence; at the gate she dismounted, only to see the gate still sealed with a strip. Hu Xiaotian came to the gate, tore off the seal, took out the key, and opened the iron lock on the gate. The long-sealed Hu Manor gate slowly opened; looking inside, weeds overran the courtyard, no longer the former neat and elegant appearance. Cobwebs filled the eaves and corridors, and vines and moss climbed the walls and corners.

Huo Shengnan gazed at the vast manor and couldn't help sighing, "Cleaning such a huge estate will surely take quite some time."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Thank you for your hard work!"

Huo Shengnan blinked and protested, "Why me?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Letting you stay here for free, you ought to contribute at least a little."

"Who said I want to stay here?" Huo Shengnan followed Hu Xiaotian to Kangdu not because she worried about danger on the road; after safely reaching Kangdu she had already completed her mission and could have left, but she stayed on, fearing Hu Xiaotian might be punished by the Dakang Court over the Princess Anping affair. Now she could confirm Hu Xiaotian had not been penalized but rather rewarded and promoted. Deep down she told herself it was time to leave, to wander unattached, yet thinking of this made her feel reluctant to let go.

Hu Xiaotian said, "You really intend to wander the world?"

Huo Shengnan nodded and said, "Of course!"

Hu Xiaotian looked into her eyes, genuine feeling showing: "Shengnan, don't go; what would I do if you left?"

Huo Shengnan's cheeks flushed, she bit her lip and said, "Shameless, what relation do we have?"

Hu Xiaotian was about to tease her when a cheerful voice came from outside: "Young master! Young master! We're here!" He looked up to see a crowd rushing toward the gate, entering, and kneeling one by one. He clearly recognized them as former servants of the Hu Manor, foremost among them Li Jin Hao and Hu Fo, who had once escorted him to Xichuan Azure Cloud and all the way to Pengyin Mountain before returning. The loudest caller, yet last to arrive, was the big fatty Liang Da Zhuang, who hadn't been seen in a while and seemed even more portly; life away from the Hu Manor's care had apparently been quite comfortable for him.

Liang Da Zhuang, panting, pushed through the crowd and knelt with a thud before Hu Xiaotian: "Da Zhuang kowtows to the young master! Not seeing you for a day feels like three autumns; I long for you morning and night, washing my face with tears all day— as the saying goes, 'For you I grow thin, my belt loosens, yet I have no regrets.' This poem is truly Da Zhuang's portrayal."

Hearing his flattery, Hu Xiaotian flared up, still spouting his flowery words, and laughed: "Da Zhuang, you kid have improved, but I don't see you getting thin— instead you're getting fat-headed and big-eared; obviously you're just lax and plump."

Liang Da Zhuang bitterly replied, "Young master, this body of mine is entirely my parents' doing; even drinking cold water makes me gain weight—I really can't help it."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Everyone, rise!"

Then the former Hu Manor household rose; Hu Fo was steady and mature. Hu Xiaotian called him forward and asked how they learned of his return.

Hu Fo laughed, "The news came from above, saying Prince Yongyang himself ordered us old servants of the Hu Manor to return to help tidy the manor and serve the young master. Having received the order, I gathered some of the former manor elders, sent people ahead to wait here for you, and when we saw you arrive, we rushed over."

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, 'Though Qiqi is young, she means well, knowing that returning the Hu Manor to me with no one to manage it would be useless, and she specially notified the former servants.' He smiled, 'It's rare that you care, Hu Fo—each take your post and clean the manor top to bottom; once everything is neat and orderly, I can bring my parents back to live here.'

Hu Fo assented; the Hu Manor servants were all overjoyed. Before the manor's misfortune, Hu Buwei had foresight, sending these servants home early, so few were truly implicated. Hu Buwei had always been tolerant and generous toward his servants, so these Hu Manor workers mostly remember the Hu family's kindness; hearing that the Hu family has regained court appointment, they naturally come forward, and over the next days more will keep returning.

Hu Xiaotian summoned Hu Fo and Liang Da Zhuang, asking if the Hu family had any old inventory of property, then gave Liang Da Zhuang the copy from the Ministry of Punishments to compare with the former accounts office list, to see if officials had skimmed off the Hu family's assets during the confiscation. It wasn't that Hu Xiaotian was overly suspicious—such things happen all too often. In fact, the truth proved his suspicion was not unfounded: the property returned by the Ministry of Punishments to the Hu family amounted to less than a third of what they once had, and most of the items, including the manor's collected antiquities and paintings, were missing from the list provided by the Ministry.

Hu Xiaotian realized that his family property had been embezzled during the confiscation process, and he couldn't help but flare up in anger; for this gang of officials who fish in troubled waters and abuse their power for private gain, this time he would surely recover both principal and interest.

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