The playboy county magistrate

The butler rushed in with a smile to announce the good news. Li Dehai and the Zhang couple quickly stood up, straightened their clothes, and looked eagerly towards the door.

Li Dehai, however, quickly noticed something was amiss, thinking:

Why am I, as a father, being so cautious! That little brat Li Xuanzhi, he doesn't deserve such treatment from his own father!

Thinking of this, Li Dehai plopped down again.

After a long time, Li Dehai still hadn't seen Li Xuanzhi, and he became confused again.

"What's going on? Butler, go see where the Second Young Master is?"

Although the Marquis's residence was not small, it had been so long that even within the imperial palace, Li Xuanzhi would have been able to circle the imperial court three times over.

The butler hurriedly agreed, ran out, and then ran back with an embarrassed look on his face.

"The second young master went back to his room to rest. He probably felt that he had returned too late and was afraid of disturbing your and your wife's rest, so he did not come to pay his respects tonight."

Li Dehai was so angry that he almost threw the teacup in his hand.

That's enough.

After Li Xuanzhi's son arrived in Fuyu County, Li Xuanzhi never offered him any help, nor did he even send him a single letter.

However, he, as the father, was not entirely unaware of the things his eldest son, Li Xuanjing, on whom he had placed so much hope, had done behind the scenes.

But Li Dehai chose to turn a blind eye, after all, the Earl's Mansion was meant to continue under his rule. Even if the next head of the family's title was downgraded by one rank, it would still be a title, wouldn't it?

The struggle for the heir apparent has always been like this. Now that Li Dehai has not designated which of his two legitimate sons will become the heir apparent of the Earl's Mansion, he naturally has his own considerations.

Previously, he believed that Li Xuanjing was promising and could establish himself in the court through his own efforts. Li Xuanzhi, on the other hand, was a useless fellow with little ability. Passing the title to him would at least allow both of his legitimate sons to establish themselves in the capital.

Now, however, he feels that Li Xuanjing is the most useless one, while his second son is the most promising.

But Li Xuanjing, the elder brother, couldn't distinguish between his own and others' interests. Not only did he choose to help outsiders against his own younger brother, but he also repeatedly tried to kill him.

Especially after discovering that Li Xuanzhi's playboy lifestyle was all an act, a facade.

Li Dehai even put the two children side by side for comparison.

Li Xuanzhi was a lively and cheerful child who willingly gave everyone the impression that he was a good-for-nothing, and that his older brother was the only capable person in the family. His willingness to tarnish his own image to preserve his brother's positive reputation was, in a way, a way of showing that he had no intention of vying for the position of heir apparent.

Even something as trivial as "buying an official position" was probably because the second son realized that Li Xuanjing couldn't tolerate him. He would rather be criticized and condemned by the world than let his elder brother be scorned because of him.

The person who always puts the family first has always been this cynical second son.

The reason he shone so brightly and quickly became the emperor's favorite minister was probably because of the repeated persecution he suffered at the hands of Li Xuanjing.

He had tried his best to stay away from the circles of power and the infighting within his family. Yet, Li Xuanjing effortlessly obtained everything he desired, but still couldn't tolerate his own brother.

Let alone Li Xuanzhi wanting to resist, if it were me, I'd probably want to take a knife and give that bastard Li Xuanjing a good thrashing.

Thinking of this, Li Dehai couldn't bear to scold Li Xuanzhi for not visiting his parents after returning home.

Zhang, however, was quite open-minded and gave instructions to the steward with a smile.

"This child must know that his mother goes to bed early every day, and he's been in the palace all day. Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger; his mind is probably not working properly. Go and tell the kitchen to make more of his favorite dishes first thing tomorrow morning."

Zhang looked at Li Dehai again, "He will definitely come to find us first thing tomorrow morning. The child is so considerate, afraid of disturbing our sleep."

What else could Li Dehai think? He could only nod slightly.

Just then, one of Li Dehai's right-hand men, the steward in charge of gathering information from the outside world, hurriedly walked in.

"Master and Madam, the Imperial City Guard has been mobilized overnight. Lord Fan Wuwei has been imprisoned and will be executed in three days. Lord Fan's family members are also on their way to exile in Lingnan. Lord Fan's eldest daughter, who is also our eldest son's fiancée, is on the list of those to be exiled."

Li Dehai rubbed his temples helplessly.

My eldest son's marriage has really been full of twists and turns.

The girl he once favored most, whom he had already engaged to and set an auspicious date for because of Li Xuanzhi's donation of an official position, was abruptly broken off with the engagement.

Now that girl is married, there is absolutely no possibility left.

This eldest daughter of the Fan family is just so-so, and she also has a father who is trying every means to kill his second son, so she is really not well-liked.

But this eldest daughter of the Fan family was chosen by their eldest son himself as his future wife. What if their eldest son really likes her?

As the saying goes, misfortune should not befall a married woman. If the eldest son wants to marry her, then she can be protected.

However, since the Li family is a noble family, even if they were to propose marriage, they would still need to be of equal social standing.

Moreover, Li Xuanjing is the eldest son born of the legitimate wife. If he marries the daughter of a disgraced official, how will the second son choose between marriages with other children?

Who would want to be the sister-in-law of the daughter of a disgraced official?

But if the Fan family falls into trouble and the agreed marriage is called off, it will likely damage the Li family's reputation as well.

But if he doesn't back out, wouldn't that be expressing his attitude?

He was constantly targeting and suppressing the daughter of his own second son's family, yet he was happily arranging her marriage. It was clear he disliked his second son!

Thinking about this, Li Dehai felt extremely overwhelmed.

"Go and ask the eldest son whether this marriage should continue."

Li Dehai didn't say what came next—

If he truly loves her to the core and can't live without her, then he can simply bring her in a small sedan chair and make her a concubine.

If he doesn't like it, he doesn't need to worry about saving face.

Ultimately, it wasn't that the Li family was kicking someone when they were down; it was simply because that old bastard Fan Wuwei was inhuman and constantly targeted and suppressed his own second son.

A father can't just swallow his anger. Someone else is going to kill his second son, and he's still grinning and waiting for his new daughter-in-law to come in, right?

The butler immediately agreed, bowed, and withdrew.

Meanwhile, in Li Xuanjing's study, Li Xuanjing sat at his desk in a daze, looking so dejected that he didn't even light the oil lamp. He just covered his face, sat in his chair, and shook his head with a bitter smile.

Fan Wuwei, who once held sway over the court and wielded immense power, and his associates and powerful families were all arrested and investigated overnight.

The mansion was sealed off, the accounts were sealed, and the clansmen were awaiting trial.

Having been rooted in Beijing for decades, the deeply entrenched old faction was uprooted.

The court officials who had previously seconded the impeachment and formed a united front in the imperial court were now filled with apprehension.

No sooner had Fan Wuwei fallen than someone proactively wrote a letter of apology, offering to hand over their private property in exchange for forgiveness. They even severed all ties with him and, without a word, began trying to curry favor with Li Xuanzhi.

How did things turn out this way?