Chapter 521 - 523: Family Matters

Chapter 521: Chapter 523: Family Matters

Sea City

Yang Muxiu watched Housekeeper Fu carefully. Seeing that he was currently troubled, Yang Muxiu hesitated to approach.

"Why the long face? If you have something to say, just say it." Jiang Zhongfu was feeling irritated. Several days had passed, and he still hadn’t completed a single task his master had assigned.

Yang Muxiu said, "Housekeeper Fu, there’s something... I’m not sure if I should bring it up with you."

"Just spit it out. Don’t beat around the bush."

"As you know, Steward, the Master and Madam lived here in Sea City for a time. The Young Master Le even found his wife here.

"Over the past two years, those of us looking after the residence here have had to deal with them quite a bit. Now that they’ve heard someone from the main family has arrived, they’ve started pestering us again these last few days."

Jiang Zhongfu said, "The Master has already separated his household from the other masters. These people aren’t even proper relatives of our master. Just send them away."

"That’s what we tried to do before, but they insisted we’re all family now, and they’re dead set on claiming kinship.

"The journey is so long that we couldn’t explain the details to the Master. You have no idea... we’ve been suffering in silence..."

Yang Muxiu sighed as he spoke. The Master and Madam had already shown him great trust by putting him in charge of their properties here.

He naturally wanted to do this job well, but these people were like dogskin plaster—impossible to shake off.

What’s worse, they’ve even used the Master and Madam’s name to cause trouble outside on several occasions. Luckily, the people I had watching them found out in time, preventing them from ruining the Master and Madam’s reputation.

After failing to gain any advantage several times, they eventually gave up for a while. But who knew that with Steward Jiang’s arrival, their ambitions would be rekindled.

"You’re just too timid and overcautious," Jiang Zhongfu said. "Remember what the Madam told you before? There’s no need to be secretive about the main family’s affairs. The one who married their daughter is, after all, a nephew from a separated branch of the family. He has his own father to answer to; it’s not our master’s place to manage him at all.

"Spread the word about this immediately. When you encounter people like them, it’s best to draw a clear line as quickly as possible to save yourself from their endless pestering."

Yang Muxiu replied, "I’ve already done all that. The locals in Sea City won’t fall for it, but there are always visiting merchants. Over the years, some have been deceived by them. In the end, we let the matter go lightly out of consideration for our family’s reputation."

"Foolish!" Jiang Zhongfu slammed his hand on the table. "How can you be so lenient with them? Aren’t you damaging the Master’s reputation?

"When something like this happens, you should report it directly to the local government. You absolutely must not cover for them.

"Otherwise, it just creates a vicious cycle. They’ll only be emboldened to cause more trouble next time."

’They’re just distant, tangential relatives. How dare they use the Master’s name to cause such trouble?’

Jiang Zhongfu couldn’t sit still any longer. "Tell me everything, right now. What sort of trouble have they caused over the years?"

"The Young Master Le’s brother-in-law, a fellow named Song Gou Dan, is particularly vile. He’s even gone around proposing marriage to several families, using his status as an in-law of our house.

"Fortunately, I was worried and had someone keep an eye on him, so those families weren’t deceived.

"But when his scheme failed, he turned around and blamed our household, spreading rumors that our Family Head looks down on the poor and despises his impoverished relatives...

"Then there’s his father and stepmother. They’ve brought their whole family here to cause a scene several times, accusing the Young Master Le of abducting their daughter and preventing them from enjoying their family life. They demand that our main family give them an explanation..."

"And you didn’t report them to the authorities?"

Yang Muxiu shook his head with a bitter smile. "I did, but it was completely useless. They said it’s a family matter and told us to handle it ourselves.

"Several times I thought about writing to the Master and Madam, but then I’d think about how unworthy these people are and just endure it."

Jiang Zhongfu said, "The next time they show up, you let me know. I’ll meet with them."

A flicker of joy crossed Yang Muxiu’s face, but it was quickly replaced by worry. "These people are incredibly difficult to deal with. I think after a letter arrived from the Young Master Le, they started clamoring for us to arrange an escort team so they could go visit their relatives.

"I’m terrified they’ll cause trouble if they get to Fu County, so I’ve been making excuses to put them off. When the time comes, you must remember not to give in. If you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile."

Jiang Zhongfu had met all sorts of people in his time. He had his own ways of dealing with such shameless characters.

"If reasoning with them doesn’t work, then don’t bother. The next time they come to make trouble, find some men to give them a good beating.

"But be discreet about it. We can’t tarnish the Master and Madam’s names."

"Steward, you mean...?"

"You blockhead. Didn’t the government say it’s a family matter? As long as no one dies, you can resolve it however you see fit."

It dawned on Yang Muxiu. The steward was right; it should be handled internally as a family affair.

Soon enough, the Song family discovered that every time they went to make trouble, someone in their own family would suffer for it.

And each time was more brutal than the last.

Helpless, they could only run to the government to file a complaint.

The government constables just drove them away. If the official family had to manage every family squabble, would they ever have time for anything else?

But that was all a matter for later. Right now, Jiang Zhongfu was still fretting over how to find capable assistants for his master.

&

Meanwhile, Jin Qianqian was also busy with her preparations.

She hadn’t been idle these past few days. Whenever she had free time, she would visit the various fishing villages.

’I wonder how Housekeeper Fu is doing?’ she mused. ’Of course, I can’t pin all my hopes on him.’

Accompanied by Lichun and Li Qiu, she arrived at a small, remote fishing village. The moment they stepped into it, they were hit by the overwhelming smell of fish.

Soon, they saw all sorts of seafood laid out to dry everywhere throughout the village.

"Madam, it seems this little fishing village has a good harvest." Jin Qianqian and her attendants had walked the rest of the way, as their carriage could go no further than the village entrance.

Jin Qianqian walked over to a nearby winnowing basket. "They’re a hardworking bunch. This seafood has been processed quite well."

"But when we came in just now, we only saw a few small fishing boats on the beach. How did they manage all this?" Lichun didn’t think such a large haul was possible with just a few small boats, especially since the seafood looked like it had been caught very recently.

"Let’s go in and ask, then we’ll know," Li Qiu said, also curious. ’But what’s going on with this village? It’s completely empty. Aren’t they worried about leaving all this stuff out to be stolen?’

"Who are you?" A crisp voice suddenly rang out, startling Lichun and Li Qiu, who quickly moved to protect Jin Qianqian.

They were inwardly filled with regret. ’How could we have made such a rookie mistake?

’If this had been someone with ill intentions, we would have had to atone with our lives.’

Jin Qianqian looked in the direction of the voice and saw a little girl with her hair tied up in a skyward-pointing ponytail.