Thief Emperor

Chapter 240: Great gifts come frequently!

In May, the weather in Xuanzhou began to get hot.

In the Qingyang County Government Office, the Xue brothers, who had arrived early, the eldest Xue Shou and the second Xue Fang, were helping to decorate the government office with a few children aged seven or eight. The entire government office was hung with red lanterns, making it look lively and bustling.

Because the weather was too hot, Xue Shou worked for a while and then went to the main hall to drink tea. After a few sips of herbal tea, he felt much better. Looking at his old father who was drinking tea leisurely, Xue Shou sat down and said, "Dad, it's already May. When will Li Zhao come back? He is an official now. Even if there are no elders in the family, they should send someone back to prepare for the wedding, right?"

Master Xue glanced at his son and said calmly, "There are still four or five days left, why rush?"

"Li... Li Zhao will not make any mistakes."

Master Xue lowered his head to drink tea and said slowly, "I heard that he led people to Wuzhou to suppress the rebellion not long ago. I guess he was delayed for a while because of this matter. Besides, you know that he has no elders in his family."

"Our family needs to take more care of this marriage."

Xue Shou nodded, stood up and poured tea for his old father, and said with a smile: "Speaking of which, this Li Zhao is really capable. It was around this time two years ago when he sent my younger sister back to Qingyang. He was still a nobody with no money. In just two years, hey..."

"He actually became a state military commander. How bizarre!"

Master Xue glanced at his son, lowered his head to drink tea, and said calmly: "With his bare hands, he can fight ten people at once. With armor on, he will be even more powerful. As long as such a person joins the army, he will definitely be successful. Besides, he met a noble man like General Su, so it is not surprising that he climbed the ranks faster."

While the father and son were chatting, Chen Da, who had just returned to Qingyang, walked into the county government office and quickly arrived at the back court to pay his respects to County Magistrate Xue.

"Mr. Chen pays his respects to the county lord."

Master Xue stood up, helped him up, and said with a smile: "I received a letter from Li Zhao. He said that you are already a lieutenant in the army, and your rank is almost the same as mine. There is no need to perform such a grand ceremony. Hurry and stand up."

Chen Da then stood up, took out a wooden box from his arms, and said with a smile: "It's just that the position in the army is not recognized by the court, so it is useless. Besides, if it weren't for the county lord's support, I would still be a yamen runner."

Mr. Xue was very happy. He patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Good, good, you are getting better at talking."

After talking to Chen Da for a few words, he finally remembered and asked, "Where is your Sima Li? When will he return to Qingyang?"

Chen Da chuckled and said, "Our boss has some things to do and can't come back for the time being, so he asked us brothers from the former anti-theft team to come and help him decorate the wedding room."

Li Yun only had a temporarily rented yard in Qingyang and did not have his own residence. However, he was now wealthy and buying a house was just a small matter. So he asked Chen Da and other local people from Qingyang to come back early to help buy a house and decorate the wedding room in advance.

Master Xue frowned: "What is more important than his marriage?"

"Don't be angry, County Master. The boss will definitely come back on time. By the way..."

Chen Da looked up at Xue Song and said with a smile, "The boss has met some people in Jiangdong. Most of these people will come to attend the wedding and send gifts. However, the boss does not have a house in Qingyang yet, so these gifts will probably be sent to the county government office and kept here."

Mr. Xue didn't care and said, "Just leave it here. When they get married, we can move them back home together."

As he spoke, he looked at Chen Da and urged him, "Try to tell Li Zhao to come back to Qingyang as soon as possible. There are many things to discuss with him. He can't come back on the day of the wedding."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Chen Dalian lowered his head quickly: "Don't worry, County Master, I will never make any mistakes."

As he spoke, he bowed and said, "Your Excellency, we have just bought Qingyang's mansion, and there are still many places to be decorated. Let's get busy first."

"I'll come visit you again when I'm done with my work."

"Just go and do it."

Master Xue smiled and said, "Arrange it in detail. If you guys don't know how to arrange it, ask some women for details."

Chen Da responded, turned around and ran away.

Master Xue looked at Chen Da's departing back and couldn't help shaking his head and said, "This Chen Da, when my father arrived in Qingyang, he was a little timid when he met people. It's only been a short time, but he seems to be able to stand on his own."

Xue Shou stroked his chin and nodded, "My brother-in-law is really capable."

At this point, he looked at Xue Song and said, "Dad, my younger sister is married and has someone to take care of. You can rest assured. When you finish your term as the magistrate of Qingyang this year, you can go back to your hometown with the children."

"You have so many grandchildren back home, you and your mother can enjoy a few years of family happiness."

Upon hearing this, Master Xue nodded silently and said, "This, your father will have to discuss it with your mother. We can talk about it after your younger sister's marriage is over."

Xue Shou could only nod silently. Just as he was about to speak, a yamen runner came running over from outside the door and reported from afar, "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, the magistrate of Shanyin County has arrived with a gift."

He held the gift list in both hands and handed it to Xue Song, saying respectfully, "Here is the gift list."

Xue Song took the gift list, glanced at it, and then sighed, "You are so generous."

Xue Shou also took a look, then smiled and said, "Shanyin is under the jurisdiction of Yuezhou. My brother-in-law is the Sima of Yuezhou, which means he is half the superior of Shanyin County. In addition, they are officials in the same city, so it is not surprising that the gift is a bit more generous."

Xue Song nodded silently, put the gift list into his sleeve, and ordered: "If the things are delivered, they will be put into the warehouse, and no one is allowed to move them."

At this point, Master Xue said in a deep voice: "This is my daughter and son-in-law's stuff. If anyone is dishonest, don't blame me for being ruthless."

The bailiff nodded quickly and turned away.

After he left, Master Xue put his hands behind his back and smiled: "It seems that your brother-in-law is popular in Yuezhou. The county magistrate of the attached city doesn't need to flatter him too much." Xue Shou stretched lazily: "Maybe he was too greedy, so he was generous."

"County Master, County Master."

Another yamen runner came running over and handed over a gift list: "Your Excellency, this is a gift list sent by Zhu Shijun, the governor of Mingzhou."

Xue Song was a little surprised. He took it and looked at it. Then he handed it to Xue Shou and said with a smile, "This is normal etiquette. It's not a big gift. But it's not easy for Li Zhao to make friends with the governor of a neighboring state."

Xue Shou took it and looked at it. The gifts on the gift list were very ordinary, basically the regular gifts given by colleagues to each other. He put the gift list away and said to his old father, "It is a great honor for a governor of a state to be able to give gifts."

"Ah."

Mr. Xue agreed with this and was about to speak when another runner came hurriedly trotting over with a gift list in his hand.

"County...County Master, the Governor of Yuezhou, Du Qian, sent someone to deliver the gift list."

At this moment, Xue's father and son finally felt something was wrong. They took the gift list, passed it to each other and looked at it, then sat in their seats and looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Xue Shou lowered his head to drink tea, glanced at the gift list again, and couldn't help shaking his head and said, "Weird, weird."

"Taizhou Governor..."

"Wu County Magistrate..."

"Huzhou Governor, Huzhou Sima..."

"Your Excellency, the Prefect Pei of Qiantang County has sent someone to deliver a list of gifts..."

In one afternoon, the father and son received more than a dozen gift lists. It was not until they received Pei Huang's gift list that the father and son, who had already become numb, finally changed their expressions again.

Xue Shou picked up the gift list, his hands trembling slightly.

"Dad, this... this is a descendant of the Pei family, the son of Minister Pei..."

He looked at Xue Song and murmured, "The Crown Prince's brother-in-law..."

Master Xue unfolded the gift list and after reading it, he felt a little short of breath. After a long while, he murmured, "What did that kid do after leaving Qingyang..."

"How can a Yuezhou Sima know so many people?"

Xue Shou also smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid that the marriages of young people from the aristocratic families in the capital are no more than this."

While the father and son were still mumbling, Miss Xue in the backyard was finally startled. She went all the way to the main hall and saw the gift list that had already filled the table. Miss Xue was also stunned and asked, "Dad, this..."

"do not ask me."

Master Xue smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know what's going on. Your elder brother and I are both wondering if that guy is using someone else's name to save face for himself..."

Xue Yun'er blushed and shook her head, "Dad, don't talk nonsense, he is not that kind of person..."

"I know."

Magistrate Xue looked around at the gift lists with a strange look on his face: "So, these are even more strange. These are people that I want to meet but cannot meet..."

While the father and daughter were still talking, two more gift lists were brought in.

"County Master..."

"Mr. Zheng Fu, the governor of the Jiangnan East Circuit, sent someone to deliver the gift list..."

Xue Song took the gift list and was completely stunned.

He looked up at Xue Yun'er and said with a wry smile, "My dear girl, take a look for yourself."

Xue Yun'er took it and unfolded it to take a look. She couldn't help but blink and said, "Dad, this Duke Zheng is really generous."

"It turns out that the chief officer of Jiangdong is so kind to his subordinates."

Mr. Xue glanced at his daughter, shook his head helplessly, and asked, "Who sent the other gift list?"

The yamen runner answered truthfully: "Your Excellency, it was sent by Zhuo Guangrui, the magistrate of Shan County, Yuezhou."

Hearing that it was the county magistrate of Yuezhou, Xue Song finally breathed a sigh of relief and said with emotion: "It's finally back to normal."

He took the gift list, unfolded it and glanced at it casually, then stood up suddenly, his breathing becoming heavier.

"This this…"

Mr. Xue was stunned. After he turned to the signature on the gift list and confirmed that it was the magistrate of Yuezhou, he was almost speechless.

"Is this... the county magistrate?"

(End of this chapter)