Chapter 1509: Appointment Letter

"Ahem."

A cough came from inside the room, signaling for Li Hongfei to enter.

Li Hongfei straightened his collar and composed his expression, looking every bit the fearless, admonishing official.

Li Hongfei pushed open the door, his naturally imposing face radiating authority as he stared at Liu Zheng and the Teresa beside him, expressionless.

Seeing him, Liu Zheng knew well how sharp this great Confucian scholar's tongue was, even though he had never seen this Minister of Revenue berating people in the imperial court.

But Prince Yong had once warned him.

Don't let the Minister of Revenue's refined and easygoing appearance fool you; you must never provoke him.

That mouth of his—even the gods would fear it.

He opened his mouth, just wanting to ease the atmosphere, but was stopped by a single look from Li Hongfei.

"Lord Liu, I have a matter to report!"

"We are in a special period right now, how can Lord Liu be so indiscreet!"

"Getting tangled up with a foreign woman, although..."

Li Hongfei scolded with gusto, and the guilty Liu Zheng wanted to interject a sentence, but could not find a suitable moment.

Teresa, this innocent bystander, was also caught in the crossfire and criticized mercilessly.

"Indulging in beauty—this is the precursor to a fallen state!"

Liu Zheng immediately blocked Li Hongfei, stopping him from continuing his scolding; his identity could not be exposed to Teresa.

"Second Master, Second Master, this matter is being blown way out of proportion."

"Second Master?" Li Hongfei was stunned, then flew into a rage: "This old man has no such descendant as you, and I cannot bear the title!"

Liu Zheng was shocked and hurriedly tried to comfort the old man, Li Hongfei: "You cannot disown me."

Liu Zheng winked and gestured, supporting Li Hongfei's arm while secretly writing on his back.

Li Hongfei was still a man of the big picture; upon feeling the characters Liu Zheng wrote on his back, he was first stunned, then startled.

Finally, he flicked his sleeves and left, dropping one sentence: "Unfilial descendant..."

Watching Li Hongfei leave, Liu Zheng finally let out a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Teresa, standing to the side, was full of confusion; she looked at him and asked, "Why did he call you Lord Liu? Isn't your official rank not high?"

"Oh, that is just our Longyan term of respect; anyone with an official position is called 'Lord'." Liu Zheng spouted nonsense with a straight face.

Teresa said "Oh," then asked, "Who was that person? You are just a Junior Official, how could you cause the fall of a state?"

Liu Zheng only felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

Looking at Teresa, Liu Zheng put on a meaningful expression and let out a long sigh.

"Teresa, you in Austria do not understand our Longyan."

"In the history of our Longyan, many of the dynasties that achieved great accomplishments saw crises erupt precisely because officials caused chaos."

"The Nobles of your Austria are different from our officials."

Teresa was left bewildered by Liu Zheng's words, but based on the knowledge of Longyan she had acquired, Liu Zheng was not lying.

Their Austrian officials indeed had a great difference from Longyan officials.

Their Austria was a split from the Holy Roman Empire.

But it already emphasized the divine right of kings; the king was granted by God.

And those Nobles enfeoffed by the king had all risen above the commoners.

And it was very difficult for commoners to overthrow Nobles; it had been like this for generations.

Nobles could be poor, could lose everything, but they were always Nobles; as long as they were Nobles, one day they would return to their own lands and inherit the legacy of their ancestors.

Therefore, the division of a country and the end of an era were mostly caused by Noble rebellions.

Even if commoners wanted to succeed in an uprising, they first had to find a Method to obtain Noble status.

From this point, Longyan and their Eastern Europe were fundamentally different.

Longyan history had many emperors who rose from the grass roots to establish great achievements.

"Oh, alright."

Teresa replied as if she understood, but having just heard those words from the white-haired old man,

she felt quite unsettled.

She did not know why, but after stepping down from the position of Grand Duke, Teresa wore linen clothes, transforming from the noble Grand Duke Theresa into an ordinary Austrian girl in the countryside.

Her state of mind gradually became bolder and more lively.

Even when she saw Liu Sheng again, her thoughts became increasingly uncontrollable.

Liu Sheng already had a wife, Miss Yue Chan.

She herself was a proponent of the Austrian monogamy system; how could she fall so low as to hurt a family?

Thinking of this, Teresa's smile gradually disappeared and became cold.

She looked at Liu Sheng and said indifferently, "I have something to do, I am leaving first."

After saying this, she did not give Liu Sheng a chance to ask her to stay and left directly.

Hearing the door slam shut with a bang.

Liu Zheng was filled with annoyance; that detestable Li Hongfei ruined my good deed!

"Call Li Hongfei here for me," Liu Zheng said coldly.

Before long, Li Hongfei was summoned; he lowered his eyes and bowed, saying, "Your subordinate pays respects to Lord Liu."

Liu Zheng glanced at him and said flatly, "How is the matter I tasked you with going?"

"One million shi of grain are now anchored at the port, just waiting for your inspection, Lord."

Liu Zheng nodded: "Very good."

He knew Li Hongfei was very experienced and reliable in his work, leaving no room for error.

Li Hongfei looked up at Liu Zheng, then lowered his eyes and said, "Lord Liu, there is one more matter I must report."

"Speak."

Li Hongfei took an envelope from his bosom, looked calmly at Liu Zheng, and then said, "Lord Liu, I saw you were entangled with that foreign woman just now, so I did not have the chance to hand this to you."

Hearing this, the corner of Liu Zheng's eye twitched.

He thought to himself, this old fellow really isn't afraid of death; you certainly remembered this little affair of mine, didn't you?

Liu Zheng looked at the letter he handed over; written on the envelope was "Longyang Princess, Xie Chan."

His face twitched violently, trembling intensely: "A letter from Xie Chan."

Liu Zheng thought of the scene with Teresa earlier; if Xie Chan found out, there was no telling what the outcome would be.

Liu Zheng calmed his mind and said indifferently, "When you came, what else did Xie Chan tell you?"

"The Princess told me to keep an eye on you."

"And to report everything that happens to you here back to her."

Liu Zheng's expression froze, and he asked, "Then what do you intend to do?"

Li Hongfei raised his head and said righteously, "Naturally, for the sake of the Princess, I will do as she says!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zheng's face immediately turned as dark as Pig Iron.

Looking at Li Hongfei's stubborn appearance, he wanted to beat him, but there was no charge; he wanted to kill him, but he could not.

Hateful official of Admonishment!

Finally, he squeezed a sentence out of his mouth: "Lord Li, you have done well in this matter."

The corners of Li Hongfei's mouth lifted inadvertently; as an official of Admonishment, one should be outspoken.

Liu Zheng said calmly, "Since Lord Li is so loyal, then you shall stay at Longyan Port; I am afraid I will have to trouble you for some time."

"I am about to lead troops north, so you will be responsible for managing this place while I am away."

After hearing this, Li Hongfei was stunned; the current Longyan City was in a state of waiting to be rebuilt, and there were many problems.

Liu Zheng was trying to be an absentee manager again.