Chapter 1663: Granting Favor
Furthermore...
"The fellow soldiers are still defending the city, to prevent the Rong bandits from coming back, how dare I continue to rest?"
After driving away the Rong people, one cannot rest easy; the city still needs guarding, walls and gates need repairing, the battlefield needs cleaning, and there are plenty of tasks to handle.
General Cheng nodded as he heard this: "Indeed, it’s commendable that you remember your comrades. But we’ve arranged everything for tonight. You should take a good rest and report back tomorrow."
He added: "Don’t worry about others talking about you. You’re the one who beheaded the Rong bandit general and your family contributed the Insect Attractant, bringing credit to Great Chu—no one dares to speak ill of you. If anyone does, I’ll be the first to take them down!"
Kid Qin coming to report at the government office late at night must be because he fears being thought arrogant due to his achievements.
Qin San Lang was grateful upon hearing this and clasped his fist in thanks to General Cheng, saying: "I deeply appreciate the general’s regard."
Having said that, he also bowed to the other generals and officials present in the room.
General Zhou felt more at ease seeing this.
However, Vice Magistrate Qi asked him: "Company Commander Qin, what do you think about the Insect Attractant?"
Qin San Lang felt a pang of concern hearing this. What did this Qi mean? Hadn’t they given up on coveting the Insect Attractant?
He quickly shook his head and replied respectfully, "The Insect Attractant now belongs to the Emperor; I have no thoughts on it."
Vice Magistrate Qi was choked by this response.
Vice Magistrate Qi was indeed vexed, frustrated that Gu Jinli and Ms. Gao Lei, two women, showed no respect to the government office but insisted on going through the route of Duchess Yuan to present the Insect Attractant formula.
If they handed over the formula to the government office, and he and Magistrate Hao presented it to the Emperor together, they could claim great merit.
"You are the husband of Mrs. Qin Gu. This presentation of the Insect Attractant formula to the Emperor is a major matter. Don’t you, as the head of the household, have anything to say? Are you just letting Mrs. Qin Gu, a woman, make the decisions?" Vice Magistrate Qi spoke with sarcasm and disdain, almost suggesting: Are you even a man if you can’t make the decisions in your household?
Upon hearing this, Qin San Lang frowned, looking at Vice Magistrate Qi with confusion and genuinely asking, "Sir, this matter has already been entrusted to Granny Lei to handle, so there will surely be no misstep. Besides, the Insect Attractant formula belongs to the Gu Family, essentially part of her dowry. How can a man like me have the nerve to decide on my wife’s dowry?"
These words were sharp enough to almost point at Vice Magistrate Qi’s nose and accuse him of not being a man, snooping around women’s dowries.
Vice Magistrate Qi’s face turned a bit green, and he slammed the table, shouting angrily, "What do you mean by that, Qin?"
Are you mocking me?
With a thud, General Zhou, who had been silent, kicked over the tea table beside him, staring coldly at Vice Magistrate Qi, sneering, "Vice Magistrate Qi, I know you want to leave the Northwest, but haven’t you earned enough merit from this battle in Xing’an Prefecture? I advise you to behave yourself; otherwise, with the Northwest being so turbulent, offending the soldiers might leave you unprotected once the Rong people attack again."
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
General Zhou, having been forced to hide in the mountains after being defeated by the Rong people outside the city, was filled with resentment and had been in low spirits. Harboring no fondness for civil servants, he immediately lashed out when he heard Vice Magistrate Qi’s ambiguous remarks about Qin San Lang.
It could be considered as giving Qin San Lang a hand, making it easier to win him over later.
No doubt, General Zhou also had his eyes on Qin San Lang; such a promising talent, if brought under his command, could surely help him achieve merits.
As for General Cheng, who was friendly first to Qin San Lang; he’s the garrison commander of Daliang Prefecture and would soon return there to garrison, not aligned with these Kangrong Soldiers like Qin San Lang.
Magistrate Hao, seeing the situation, hurried to pull Vice Magistrate Qi aside and said, "Brother Qi, this matter was settled long ago; there’s no need to say more."
He added: "You also need to take people outside the city tomorrow to distribute medicine to the common folk to treat the poisonous insect disease. It’s getting late; you should get some rest."
Magistrate Hao was delighted, not expecting Qi to be so foolish as to try to use his authority to press Qin San Lang to force Mrs. Qin Gu to submit the Insect Attractant formula to them, allowing them to present it to the Emperor.
Not to mention that Mrs. Qin Gu has the backing of Ms. Gao Lei and the Lei Family’s Trading Team, just Qin San Lang himself, who could chop off Leimuqin’s head, is not someone to be trifled with. General Cheng, General Zhou, and General Liang all wanted to win him over; how could you lead him by the nose?
Well, now, with his scheme failing and being used by General Zhou as a means to vent his anger, truly, he’s lost both the chicken and the grain.
Vice Magistrate Qi, having lost face, could only leave with a black face.
Qin San Lang seemed somewhat afraid, chasing a few steps after Vice Magistrate Qi, then stopping helplessly, looking towards General Cheng, General Zhou, and the others.
Seeing this, General Cheng laughed, thinking that Kid Qin truly is a simple and unsophisticated farm boy who hasn’t seen big officials before. He said, "Don’t worry about Qi, he can’t touch you and your wife now."
One for killing the Rong bandit general, the other for creating the Insect Attractant, both have contributed greatly to Great Chu. Not even Vice Magistrate Qi can trip them up right now.
He added, "It’s late; you should go back. Just report to the government office before the hour of the dragon tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Qin San Lang’s face lit up with a smile, he clasped his fist respectfully, saying, "I thank the general, farewell."
He then respectfully saluted General Zhou and Magistrate Hao before leaving the house.
Once he exited the courtyard gate, he walked with brisk steps towards the main gate of the front courtyard.
Halfway there, he made a diversion, came before a few blossoming plum trees, paused, broke off six of the finest blooming plum flower branches, and rode back to Lei Family’s Courtyard.
His act of picking flowers in the government office’s courtyard was noticed by patrolling soldiers, who reported it to General Cheng and the others.
General Cheng, hearing this, laughed, "It must be for his wife..."
He turned to Magistrate Hao, asking, "Is it true that Mrs. Gu’s face has developed sores?"
Magistrate Hao nodded, "Yes. But I hear it can be cured."
Magistrate Hao didn’t want to talk much about the sores on Gu Jinli’s face, so he just gave a superficial response.
General Cheng nodded, looked at General Zhou, and said, "This kid hasn’t abandoned Mrs. Gu and can still treat her with such care; it’s clear he is truly sincere and holds a heavy heart for old favors. General Xu and Brother Zhou have indeed found a treasure."
Hearing this, General Zhou raised his eyebrows. General Cheng’s words suggested that he intended to let Qin San Lang be taken under their wing.
Indeed, Qin San Lang was a Kangrong Soldier and couldn’t possibly follow General Cheng to Daliang Prefecture.
General Zhou said, "Brother Cheng, your words show true appreciation for this kid."
General Cheng said, "The Rong people are fierce; with such capable youngsters, we ought to protect more of them."
General Zhou strongly agreed. Now the Northwest indeed lacked such capable General Stars. If Qin San Lang truly wasn’t a treacherous, ungrateful person, then nurturing him could be advantageous when facing the Rong in the future.
General Zhou gave General Cheng a promise, "Rest assured, Brother Cheng, General Xu is a talent lover. Once that kid is in Long’an Prefecture, as long as he earns his merits, his future will be promising."
...
Qin San Lang had already guessed that after he left, General Cheng and General Zhou would talk about him, but at this moment, he didn’t want to pay attention to these things. Instead, he headed with the plum blossoms to see Gu Jinli.
By the time he returned, it was already the hour of the dog, and Gu Jinli was asleep, dozing against the bedpost.
Qin San Lang’s heart ached when he saw this. She never used to fall asleep even if she waited until midnight, but now she was so tired that she had fallen asleep. It was clear that these days had truly worn her down.
"Xiao Yu~" he walked over, holding her in his arms, whispering to her.