HLnovel Chapter 367: The Mother of the Bomen Raises Her Stepson 34
Chapter 367: The Mother of the Bomen Raises Her Stepson 34
Mrs. Xie placed the teacup heavily on the table and stared at her plump son. "Have you thought it through?"
Xiaopang rubbed his fingers together, a sly look flashing in his eyes: "Mom, I've followed you all over the country for so many years. Do you really think I'm a fool?"
Mrs. Xie raised her eyebrows: "Then tell me, why do you want to play the prodigal son?"
"First," Xiaopang counted his chubby fingers, "there must be a reason for the sudden decline of our Xie family. Second," he held up another finger, "the more absurd I am, the less likely others will suspect we have other plans."
Mrs. Xie Xie's eyes flashed with relief, but she still kept a straight face: "Do you know that once this reputation is ruined..."
"I understand." Xiaopang suddenly said seriously, "My father passed away early, and my mother has supported the Xie family for many years. I have seen it all." He paused, "Now that I want to escape, I am willing to be the prodigal son."
"Besides, we are all leaving here, so what's the point of that empty reputation?"
Three days later, in the busiest teahouse in the capital.
"Have you heard? The young master of the Xie family insisted on doing some fur business, but ended up getting cheated and lost more than 8,000 taels!"
"More than that! He spent a fortune at the gambling house yesterday. I heard he even bet his ancestral jade pendant!"
In the private room on the second floor, Xiaopang deliberately smashed the teacup to pieces and drunkenly shouted, "Another pot of wine! This young master has plenty of money!"
As he walked out of the door with unsteady steps, he secretly winked at the servant hiding in the corner - his "drunk" look was three parts real and seven parts fake.
A month later, the Xie family's assets were almost gone.
"Thank you, young master. Look at this silk shop..." The manager of the silk shop rubbed his hands, with a gleam in his eyes.
The fat boy waved his hand and dropped a few banknotes from his sleeves: "Sell! Sell them all! This young master is going to do big business!"
As he turned around, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. The fine materials in this shop had long been quietly shipped south.
In order to avoid trouble, they did pay some of the compensation for their property in the capital, but it was not as much as publicized.
Things that should be sold at a discount were actually sold at a discount, giving the impression that Xie Xiaopang really lost a lot of money in his business.
They were afraid that if someone had already set their sights on the Xie family, a thorough investigation would implicate other people.
Of course, people like Sirong, who were originally on good terms with their family, would be given priority in selling the property to them.
The Xie family's house in the capital was sold to Sirong.
Before leaving, Mrs. Xie and Sirong spent a long time at the gate of Xie's house acting out a scene about how their son was not a good person and had squandered the family fortune.
After seeing off the mother and daughter of the Xie family, Sirong began to have a headache.
The boy from the Pei family is now serving as a deputy general in the camp outside the capital. Although he does not yet have 100,000 elite soldiers under his command, he is already an important military figure with real power.
Can't we let him leave the capital just to avoid any interaction between him and the heroine?
And even if Sirong wanted him to leave, it was not something she could control.
The camp outside the capital is the last line of defense for the capital, and it shoulders the important task of protecting the imperial city. It has always been entrusted only to the emperor's most trusted generals.
How can such an important position be transferred just like that?
Even if Sirong wanted him to go to the frontier, he couldn't influence such a major military and national event. Not to mention that she was just a merchant's daughter, even if she was a senior official in the court, without the emperor's approval, she couldn't even think of moving a single soldier to defend the capital.
Pei Yu's ability to hold onto this position clearly signified the Emperor's reliance on him. If they rashly attempted to transfer him out of the capital, not only would their efforts fail, they might also alert the enemy and cause unnecessary trouble.
However, thinking of Pei Yu's final outcome, Sirong couldn't bear to ignore it.
In the end, it was Shen Junyao who helped Sirong to settle this matter.
He originally had an idle job in the Hanlin Academy, and his relationship with his father Shen Shigen had eased a bit recently, so he simply asked his father to ask the emperor, saying that he wanted to go to the military camp for training.
The old emperor saw that he was young and thought that he was just tired of studying and wanted to learn martial arts on a whim, so he didn't think much about it.
In addition, Shen Shigen cried and said, "I left home a few years ago and became estranged from my son. I don't want him to be too far away from me, so it's okay for him to go to the camp outside Beijing." The emperor softened his heart and agreed.
In this way, Shen Junyao was smoothly transferred to the camp outside Beijing, helping Sirong to keep an eye on Pei Yu without letting anyone see any flaws.
With Shen Junyao by Pei Yu's side, Sirong felt quite relieved.
Just take the tea tasting skills he and Professor Shen Tang have learned over the years; they are definitely enough to guard against the heroine.
Leaving Shen Tang in the capital to take care of him and Shen Junyao.
Sirong took her personal nanny and maid to the Valley of Divine Doctors.
You know what, thanks to my encounter with the old valley master a few years ago, otherwise the Valley of Divine Doctors would be really hard to find.
The mountain road is winding and without a guide, it would take three days to find the way.
After meeting the old valley master, there was no choice but to exchange pleasantries and reminisce about the past.
Sirong was not in a hurry to talk about business, and first took the nanny and maid to settle down in the valley.
The Miracle Doctor Valley is located in a secluded area, surrounded by green mountains. The valley is shrouded in mist all year round, making it look like a paradise on earth.
Sirong lives in a small bamboo house by the river. She can see the gurgling water by opening the window and fall asleep to the sound of water at night. It is much more comfortable than the hustle and bustle of the capital.
After settling down, Sirong often went to the old valley master to learn medical skills.
It's strange to say, this old man is more energetic than young people despite his age, and has recently been obsessed with studying Western medicine surgery.
When Sirong went to his yard for the first time, she was almost shocked by the scene before her.
The yard is full of white rabbits!
Some were kept in cages, some were just jumping around on the ground, and some had gauze wrapped around their legs, obviously having just had surgery.
"Girl, you've come just in time!" The old valley master waved excitedly upon seeing her, "Come and see the new suturing technique I've figured out!"
Sirong took a closer look and saw that he was holding a silver needle as thin as a hair in his hand and was carefully stitching up the wound of a rabbit.
Her technique was quick and steady, and the stitches were fine and neat, even more delicate than those of the embroiderers in the capital.
"Are you...treating rabbits like humans?" Sirong couldn't help but joke.
"Hehe, only living things can test out one's true abilities!" The old valley master stroked his beard proudly.
"The Western art of surgery and suturing is much more stimulating than our acupuncture and herbal medicine!"
Sirong looked at the "patients" all over the yard, feeling both amused and impressed.
It was her own fault. In order to dissuade the old man from becoming her disciple, Sirong simply stuffed a large stack of medical books into his hands, thinking that it would be enough for him to study for ten or eight years and then stop.
Who knew this old man was such a simple-minded person, treating those books like treasures, reading through them one by one. It's likely that the knowledge on Western medicine and surgery was found among them.