In the hall of the Ouyang family, Lan Liqun kept walking around with his hands on his back. He did not follow the head of the Ouyang family to Tianyi Inn. He always felt a little uneasy in his heart.
Lan Liqun has been the magistrate of Yizhou for more than ten years. Although he has many interests related to the Ouyang family, he always has the illusion that he cannot see through the head of the Ouyang family.
Although when the two of them were together, the head of the Ouyang family acted in a humble and subordinate manner, and the tone of his speech felt very sincere. But being too sincere made Lan Liqun always have an unbelievable intuition in his heart.
Especially a month ago, the head of the Ouyang family was still full of energy. Why did he feel old and decrepit when we met him today?
Even if he is aging, he does not age so quickly. Could it be that this old guy is pretending? Is he showing weakness?
Thinking of this, Lan Liqun's heart tightened. Who is he showing weakness to? Is there a problem within the Ouyang family, or does he sense some crisis?
...
In the lobby of Tianyi Inn, Xiao Chen had a bright smile on his face, touched his chin and said: "Ouyang's family master is so polite, I'm really a little embarrassed. This is to refund Yi Shuiyan's payment, and to call me again.
You really have the intention to spend all your hard work in the tavern. Come on, let’s have some tea.”
As he said that, Xiao Chen picked up the tea bowl and made a toasting gesture with tea instead of wine.
Seeing Xiao Chen's actions, the head of the Ouyang family felt happy and hurriedly picked up the tea bowl and returned the favor.
"Master Xiao really understands justice, drink." As he said this, the head of the Ouyang family took a sip.
Standing behind Xiao Chen and watching the interaction between the two, Duan Tianming suppressed the contempt in his heart.
What a hypocritical old man. After smashing up your tavern, you actually said that the other party knew the truth and you wanted me to spit out everything I just ate.
Putting down the tea bowl, Xiao Chen straightened his body, looked at the head of the Ouyang family seriously, and pushed the banknote in front of him: "The Ouyang family is one of the three major families in Yizhou City. This small amount of money is like a drop in the bucket, so you can take it casually.
It's okay to come out as a favor, but I can't do it."
"In your tavern, I just ate a few dishes and listened to a little song, but none of it was as good as Mr. Ouyang's song here. As a result, when I paid the bill, I almost couldn't afford it. I have to say that this tavern of yours is
, the charges are not generally high.”
The corners of Xiao Chen's mouth raised, and his words sounded a bit strange.
The head of the Ouyang family is so smart that he has quickly analyzed Xiao Chen's words countless times in his mind.
If you don't listen carefully to these words, you really think they are just chatting. However, if you think about it carefully, you will find that it contains more than one meaning.
First, he was accusing the tavern of ripping off customers, and second, he was lamenting his poverty.
Obviously, the other party did not pay attention to the two thousand taels of silver notes at all. He was not really poor, but he was not worth losing his share for the two thousand taels of silver notes.
However, I have already put the banknote on the table. If I add more now, it will appear that I am not sincere.
With a roll of his eyes, the head of the Ouyang family had already thought of his words.
"Young master has misunderstood. In this matter, it was indeed the tavern that was at fault first. I am here today to apologize to you. These banknotes are not for you, but for drinking money for the brothers. Just to show your kindness.
Sincerely, I have already prepared the meeting gift for you, and I will ask Butler Zhang to deliver it to you later. Please accept the wine money on behalf of your brothers."
With that said, the head of the Ouyang family pushed the banknote back again.
"Well, business is business, and the money that should be paid must be paid. If the head of the Ouyang family insists on returning Yi Shuiyan's money to me, he just doesn't want to do this business with me. Since these are just brothers' drinking money, then
I accepted it for my brothers."
Xiao Chen said calmly, his expression seemed very natural. He reached out to pick up the banknote and handed it behind him.
Duan Tianming took the banknote and put it in his arms, not forgetting to snort to express his dissatisfaction.
Seeing Xiao Chen accept the money, the head of the Ouyang family felt happy.
Although this person is a bit cunning and doesn't want to have the reputation of taking Yi Shuiyan without giving him any money, no matter what the reason is, as long as he is willing to accept the money, it will be much easier to handle.
The Ouyang family does not have much power in the city, but they have a lot of money. As long as you are interested in money, I will use it to satisfy you.
After looking around, the head of the Ouyang family said: "The location of Tianyi's inn is a bit remote today, and the road at the door is full of gravel, which is too easy to hurt your feet. The Ouyang family also has several inns in Yizhou City. Compared with Tianyi,
If the conditions of an inn can be better, if Young Master Xiao doesn’t dislike it, I will take Young Master there right now?”
"No, no, no." Xiao Chen waved his hand, "Maybe it's just preconceptions. I feel like it's a good place here. Shopkeeper Xu is very enthusiastic and prepares three meals a day for the brothers. Wait until next time, next time
When I come to Yizhou again, I will stay directly at your Ouyang family’s inn."
Although Xiao Chen declined, his subsequent words inadvertently revealed his willingness to make friends with the Ouyang family, which made the head of the Ouyang family a little flattered.
"If Mr. Xiao comes again next time, I will definitely be at the city gate to greet him." The head of the Ouyang family raised his hand and said seriously.
However, Xiao Chen pulled his face and looked unhappy.
"I get angry when I talk about the city gate. Don't these guards have any royal skills? Yesterday I entered the city with fifteen horses, and they wanted ten taels of silver for cleaning. I was still thinking, in such a cold weather,
It's really hard to be on duty at the city gate, so just give them some money for drinks."
"Who would have thought that today, the brothers were bored and went out for a walk on horseback. When they came back, he charged for the sanitation fee. Just charge it. Maybe this is the rule of the state and we have to abide by it. But he actually asked for fourteen
Two. That’s too much.”
The head of the Ouyang family blinked and squeezed out a wry smile: "I also have some friendship with Mr. Zhizhou. I will definitely persuade him to restrain his subordinates more. This city gate guard is the face of Yizhou City. Such a move is indeed true.
A little unsatisfactory.”
If Lan Liqun were here, he would definitely not be able to help but kick the head of the Ouyang family.
In front of me, you acted respectfully like a servant, and swore that the apology would be all your responsibility. Are you helping me? You really want to say directly, this is my responsibility, and I misemployed people.
I cheated for personal gain.
"These guards are so bold. I heard from Shopkeeper Xu that they also charge various fees to the inn. Their duty is to guard the city gate. Who gave them the right to charge? Is there really no one in charge of them?" Xiao Chen
He said in an accentuated tone.
"I'm not very familiar with these guards, but Mr. Zhizhou is their direct superior. I will implore Mr. Zhizhou to find out the reason and give you an explanation."
As he spoke, the head of the Ouyang family stabbed Lan Liqun again.
