The next morning, Xu Kaicheng did not get up early and run off as usual. Instead, he took a book and pretended to read in his room. Given Wei Cai'e's and previously Wei Daya's manner, it was impossible for Xu Kaicheng and Xu Kaixuan to put on any appearance of brotherly affection.
It was just that everyone in the capital knew Xu Kaicheng was inferior to Xu Kaixuan — insecure and degenerate, yet stubborn to a fault, with no sense of his own limitations, always wanting to compete with him.
And the way he competed was to study hard for a few days every time Xu Kaixuan returned to the household.
His achievements could not compare to Xu Kaixuan's. The path of a military official was blocked. So he wanted to try his luck on the path of a civil official through the imperial examinations. From a planning perspective, there was nothing wrong with it.
Only from the perspective of actual action, it was somewhat overestimating himself.
Xu Kaixuan naturally wouldn't spare a second glance for a clown like Xu Kaicheng. Yet every time this happened, it was precisely this sort of posturing from Xu Kaicheng that deeply pleased Wei Cai'e.
In the past, when Wei Daya managed the household, Xu Kaicheng could still fool people. Now that Wei Cai'e managed the household, Xu Kaicheng naturally would not act carelessly in this step.
Sure enough, starting from the first faint light of dawn, outside the courtyard gate where usually not even a ghost could be seen, servants and maids passed by from time to time. Xu Kaicheng had a copy of the Doctrine of the Mean wrapped in a cover, with a storybook tucked inside, and he read with a deeply aggrieved expression.
[Doctrine of the Mean: a philosophical text attributed to Zisi (Confucius's grandson), which teaches that the highest virtue lies in moderation, balance, and harmony — avoiding extremes in thought and action, and always seeking the middle way in accordance with nature and moral principles.]
Very quickly, news that the Second Young Master had once again taken to his studies with diligence spread throughout the entire marquis's household.
In Juxian Courtyard, the news naturally reached them as well. Xu Gandang was no longer confined to his bed. As a military man, after lying down for so long, even his bones had begun to itch.
Previously, when the poison had not yet been fully purged, he hadn't minded lying a few more days just in case, to mislead the enemy. But now, the entire marquis household's guards were already under his control, so naturally he could relax a bit.
As for Wei Cai'e, that foolish woman had never been someone he needed to fear.
But precisely because of this, the near-disaster of almost capsizing in a ditch made Xu Gandang detest Wei Cai'e all the more. Even if it wasn't said outright, Zhao Guangming knew that after Xu Kaixuan married, Xu Gandang would eventually settle accounts when the time came.
On the table was another unfinished chess position. Xu Gandang, following the chess manual, made a move after a quarter of an hour and spoke as if casually, "Guangming, what do you think of Kaicheng's studies?"
Zhao Guangming's face twisted for a moment, and it did not escape Xu Gandang's peripheral vision. His mouth moved several times before he cautiously spoke. "The Second Young Master is, mm, learned, mm… his handwriting is still passable."
"…" Xu Gandang was stunned for a moment, not expecting Zhao Guangming to find such a point of praise. "Ah, that child—I don't know who he takes after."
There was no one else in the room, so Xu Gandang did not hide anything from Zhao Guangming. Both of them knew full well what Xu Gandang meant by that. His biological father was a figure like Xu Linran, and his birth mother had also been a young lady from an official family. Yet the child born to such parents was accomplished in neither the literary nor martial arts.
Zhao Guangming also sighed, full of regret. "After the Second Young Master returns to Longzhong to his ancestral home in the future, being a wealthy man there would actually be quite good."
A flash of sharpness passed through Xu Gandang's eyes as he narrowed them at Zhao Guangming. Zhao Guangming slightly lowered his gaze, not daring to meet them. Another chess piece in his hand fell, landing on the board with a soft tap.
If Zhao Guangming hadn't spoken a single word for Xu Kaicheng, Xu Gandang would probably have been more wary. Now, hearing these words from Zhao Guangming, it undoubtedly put Xu Gandang in an even better mood.
"After all, he is my, Xu Gandang's, grandson. I won't let him suffer." He tossed the chess piece in his hand back into the chess box and walked to the small writing desk in the room. Opening a hidden compartment in the wall, he took out a stack of silver notes from a dark wooden box and handed them to Zhao Guangming.
"I've kept in mind what that child did before. Take these to him first. When the time comes for what should be allocated to him later, I absolutely won't shortchange him."
"Yes, Marquis." Zhao Guangming bowed and stepped forward, receiving the silver notes with both hands. Under Xu Gandang's wave of dismissal, he retreated several steps and left the room.
Once outside, Zhao Guangming looked down. The silver notes in his hand seemed considerable in number. Unfortunately, when he clearly saw the denomination of the first one — fifty taels — all that remained in Zhao Guangming's heart was cold laughter.
He scanned through them. There were roughly twenty of the same kind. Such a thick stack, and altogether it was only one thousand taels.
One thousand taels was absolutely enormous wealth for a farming family. Even for a minor official's household, it was no small fortune.
If he hadn't heard yesterday what Xu Gandang was giving Xu Kaixuan.
Half of the entire private treasury directly moved over to him. Two-thirds of the marquis household's fertile fields and shops would all be transferred to Xu Kaixuan's name after he married. Not counting Liexi Pass, there was also the position of heir apparent of the marquis household.
Heh.
---
Xu Kaicheng looked at the unexpected windfall in his hands, filled with emotion.
Zhao Guangming had said this was part of the reward he received for saving the Marquis earlier. But Xu Kaicheng didn't believe that. This money had to have come from the three Luck points he'd just added.
Otherwise, he had saved the man so long ago—why was it that the money arrived right after he had just added points to Luck?
Since the silver had gone through proper channels, Xu Kaicheng naturally did not need to be overly polite about it.
"Uncle Zhao, I know these things didn't come easily." Xu Kaicheng smiled with pursed lips and directly split it in two, stuffing half into Zhao Guangming's hands.
Zhao Guangming's expression turned cold, and his face darkened. "What, do you take your Uncle Zhao for a greedy man?"
"Uncle Zhao, what are you saying!" Neither of them dwelled on whether the silver had come easily. Xu Kaicheng scratched his cheek, smiling shyly. "It's not really for you, Uncle Zhao. I want you to donate it on my behalf to the soldiers at Liexi Pass."
"But Uncle Zhao, you also know my position in the marquis household is a bit awkward, so this matter will have to trouble Uncle Zhao to keep it a secret for me."
Zhao Guangming's originally angry expression stiffened for a moment. He gazed at Xu Kaicheng, a flicker of light flashing through his eyes. After thinking it over carefully, Zhao Guangming tightened his grip on the silver notes in his hand. "If it were for me, I would definitely give you a beating, you brat. But since it's for the brothers at Liexi Pass, I have no right to refuse on their behalf."
Zhao Guangming clasped his hands together and gave Xu Kaicheng a firm salute. "I thank you on behalf of the brothers at Liexi Pass."
[Affection Points +500]
Xu Kaicheng's eyelid twitched, and he hurriedly controlled his expression, smiling shyly. When the silver had been given to Zhao Guangming, no Affection Points had popped up. But after he explained it was for the soldiers at Liexi Pass, Affection Points actually appeared.
The most crucial thing was that five hundred taels had generated five hundred points.
The Marquis of Jing'an household was not a safe place, especially for people with awkward identities like Zhao Guangming and Xu Kaicheng.
Zhao Guangming did not say much. His expression was almost solemn as he took the silver and left.
After the Zhao Guangming left, Xu Kaicheng did not let a single clue slip by as he began to review the situation.
It seemed the situation at Liexi Pass was even more severe than he had imagined. People, once they have something they care about, will have weaknesses. In the original novel, the reason someone as outstanding as Zhao Guangming could submit to a love-brained person like Xu Kaixuan—the most important surface reason—was that Zhao Guangming believed Xu Kaixuan was the son of his savior, Xu Linran.
From the perspective of reading enjoyment, giving the male lead a money-printing machine was reasonable enough. But for a strategist-type talent whose idol was Zhuge Liang, it was still a bit odd that Zhao Guangming later committed himself so firmly to the path of commerce and even ruthlessly seized a gold mine.
[Zhuge Liang: the legendary strategist and Chancellor of Shu Han — a symbol of wisdom, loyalty, and tireless dedication.]
It was as if Zhao Guangming, as a person, loved money even more than the male lead Xu Kaixuan?
Zhao Guangming could remember Xu Linran's life-saving grace for twenty years. No matter what others said, the point that he valued loyalty and righteousness could not be refuted.
And how could a soldier who valued loyalty and righteousness be indifferent to his comrades-in-arms?
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