Chapter 264: Flower Admiration

Chapter 264: Flower Admiration
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When the man saw Zhou Jia, he hurriedly bowed. “Greetings from Xingfu Town
Mayor Wu Yueze, Prefect.”
Zhou Jia looked at him and said, “Oh! You’re Wu Yueze?”
Wu Yueze was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to reply, Wu Tingxian opened the door and walked out. He cupped his hands at Zhou Jia and said, “Sir.”
Zhou Jia smiled at him and said, “I have something to tell you.” Wu Tingxian turned around and smiled. “Lord, please.”
Wu Yueze watched the two of them enter the room and thought to himself that from the looks of it, the magistrate knew that he was the mayor of Xingfu Town. Could it be that the person who took Zhong Bao away was the magistrate’s wife? He thought for a moment and shook his head. Impossible. Why would the dignified magistrate’s wife go to Xingfu to buy vegetables at the market?
Zhou Jia told Wu Tingxian about Li Yu seeing Zhong Bao’s subordinates in
Xingfu Town bullying the commoners and wanting to kidnap Li Yu. He said to Wu Tingxian, “It’s really a coincidence. I was afraid that it would cause an unnecessary misunderstanding, so I specially came to inform you. Oh! I even sent Mr. Qian and Zhao Cai to Xingfu Town to secretly investigate and see if Wu Yueze has any other illegal dealings.”
Wu Tingxian had seen Zhou Jia bring his child to the government office for work these past two days. He had even laughed at Zhou Jia behind his back and said that he was weak. He was clear that Zhou Jia was telling the truth. He bowed gratefully and said, “Thank you for telling me, sir. I wonder if Wu Yueze actually dares to indulge his family and cause trouble in the countryside. I won’t let him off easily after I investigate.”
Zhou Jia smiled and said, “Lord Wu, there’s no need to be so polite. Go ahead. I’ll go back.”
The more Wu Yueze thought about it, the more afraid he became. For a moment, he felt a little flustered. Suddenly, the door opened. Seeing Lord Wu respectfully send the magistrate out, he hurriedly bowed and waited at the side.
Wu Tingxian sent Zhou Jia to his room before turning around and returning. He returned to the door of the room and said to Wu Yueze, ‘You’re here for your brother-in-law, right?”
Wu Yueze bowed and replied, “Yes, sir.”
Wu Ting glanced at him coldly. “He and those hooligans were indeed brought back to the government office. Go back first and wait for the government office to investigate.”
Wu Yueze pretended not to understand. “Sir, what did he do?”
Wu Ting stared at him and looked at his flickering eyes. “What did he do? Don’t you know?” With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.
Wu Yueze looked at Wu Tingxian’s back and thought to himself that it was all over and blamed it on his wife and brother-in-law. Wu Yueze was filled with regret. He left the government office in a daze and got into the carriage. The coachman asked, “Master, are we going back to Xingfu?”
“Go back!” Wu Yueze gritted his teeth and said, “I have to go back and see what they did behind my back.”
Wu Tingxian came out of the booking room first. After thinking about it, he sent two constables to Xingfu Town to gather evidence regarding Wu Yueze and Zhong Bao before returning home with a dark expression.
The Wu family residence was a house with three entrances. Mrs. Wu, or Madam Gao, was younger than him. She was a beautiful woman in a red dress with long eyebrows and almond eyes. When Madam Gao saw Wu Tingxian return with a dark expression, she walked over and looked at him with concern. “Did Master encounter anything unhappy in the government office today?”
“Yes,” Wu Tingxian replied solemnly and walked towards the study. Madam
Gao followed him into the study and asked worriedly, “What’s wrong? Did the
magistrate trip you up?”
Wu Tingxian shook his head and told Madam Gao what Zhou Jia had told him and how Wu Yueze had come to look for him. The more Wu Tingxian spoke, the angrier he became. He slammed the table in anger. “That dog allowed Zhong Bao to bully the commoners in Xingfu Town. After being stopped by Madam Li, he even wanted to stop and take revenge on Madam Li. He was captured and brought back to the government office. Fortunately, Lord Zhou came to inform me. Otherwise, I would still be in the dark.”
Madam Gao heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this. She looked at Wu Ting and smiled. “It seems that Lord Zhou has never thought of becoming enemies with you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to inform you. Instead, he would have secretly gathered evidence of Wu Yueze’s crimes to have a hold against you.”
Wu Ting leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. “That’s right! The two of them are His Majesty’s favorites. If they caught hold of my weakness and handed it over, my career is over. Let’s befriend the Zhou family in the future. Didn’t you say that you wanted to invite Madam Li to admire the flowers? Have you sent out the invitation?”
Madam Gao looked at him with a smile. “I did. You told me to make friends with this Madam Protector. I remember it in my heart. I’ve carefully cultivated those eighteen scholars for a few days and they’ll bloom tomorrow. Today, I got Zhu Qing to hand over the invitation and invite Madam Li to come tomorrow to admire the flowers.”
Wu Ting’s gloomy face finally revealed a smile. “Yes! I’m at ease, Madam.”
The next day, Li Yu took care of the family matters. After coaxing Yangyang, she went to the storeroom to pick up two casual gifts and brought Gu Yu to Comrade Wu’s house, which was not far away.
Madam Gao stood at the door and waited for Madam Li to arrive. Seeing that everyone was here and Madam Li was still nowhere to be seen, Madam Gao couldn’t help but worry.
At this moment, a tall and beautiful woman came over from the government office. She was wearing a purple-red dress, her black hair was combed into a bun, and she only wore a simple jade hairpin. Her actions revealed a sense of freedom, and her every frown and smile revealed an indescribable charm. She walked over with a round-faced maidservant. Madam Gao sighed in her heart. She didn’t expect Madam Li to be a peerless beauty.
Madam Gao went forward and bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Madam Li. Thank you for coming.” Li Yu went forward and returned the greeting with a
smile. “I came late. Please forgive me, Madam Gao.”
Seeing that Li Yu was humble, Madam Gao smiled even more. “No, no. It’s my pleasure to have you here! Please!”
Madam Gao politely welcomed Li Yu to the backyard with a smile. “I’ve long wanted to invite Madam over to play, but I didn’t have a suitable opportunity. Yesterday, I saw those eighteen scholar trees blooming, so I found a reason to invite you over to admire the flowers. My master said that Lord Zhou is young and promising and incomparably handsome. I was still wondering what Lord Zhou’s wife looked like. Today, I see that you are indeed a match made in heaven.”
Li Yu smiled politely and said, “Madam, you flatter me. I should have treated everyone, but I really don’t know how to hold banquets. Coupled with the fact that I just arrived in Yunzhou, there are many things to do, so I put it aside.”
The two of them passed through a moon gate and entered the garden. Li Yu saw that a pavilion had been built in the garden. The pavilion was surrounded by blooming immortal flowers. A few women stood in front of a few pots in the garden and pointed at the flowers as they praised them. Beside them stood Madam Lin and a young woman.
When a few women from the military families saw Li Yu and Madam Gao enter, they gathered together and whispered, “I heard that this Madam Li taught the Wang family’s girl a lesson. It’s really satisfying! She looks down on us and says that we’re vulgar. It turns out that she was only so-so.”
A woman smiled brightly and said, “That’s right.. After I heard about it that day, I was so happy that I ate an extra bowl!”