Chapter 77
After sending Prince Ci Yan Heluo away, things finally became peaceful for the next two weeks, with nothing unusual or messy ever happening again.
With the advice of Yan Fu and Yan Bugui, Lu Chengfeng began to pay visits to all the important people in Ji City. From the Clan Leaders of Great Yan Dynasty's Imperial Family, the current Clan Leaders of a few influential clans, to the Three Prime Counselors [1] of the dynasty, along with the Nine Ministers [2], several other senior ministers, ordinary counselors, and ministers.
The time of two weeks was barely enough for Lu Chengfeng to basically straighten out the relationship and have these top men of Ji City know of his existence. If he wanted to enter the core of Great Yan Dynasty's nobility and truly possess the relationship, connection, and power of a Duke, holding the true authority of Great Yan Dynasty's West Supervisor, it would take Lu Chengfeng a long time to manage.
Fortunately, all the influential noblemen of the Ninth Clan of Great Yan Dynasty, where Lu Chengfeng was their Clan Leader, had come forth and pledged their loyalty to him. Under the lead of Yan Jiuhui, there were high-ranking military officers, ministers of the Imperial Court, and some important officials in Scouting Office among these members of the Ninth Clan. Bounded by their bloodline, these couple dozens of influential people took their initiative and gathered around Lu Chengfeng and finally brought him a group of men who could be of use to him.
During this two weeks, Wu Qi was also very busy and barely had his feet touching the ground. He brought a group of capable men supplied by Yan Jiuhui and others, and plunged themselves into the accounts and coffers of Duke Yan Le. He gave them a thorough check, and finally was able to sort out all the details of the clan affairs for the Ninth Clan.
Through the thorough checking and assessment, Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng learned that the two provinces of fief under the name of Duke Yan Le were not merely the hereditary property of Lu Chengfeng, but were also the common asset for many branches of the Ninth Clan. Every year, sixty percent of the yield that came from the fief would be distributed to all the influential members of the Ninth Clan, including those clan members who didn't have any posts in the Imperial Court, as they lived their life solely on this income.
Meanwhile, the remaining forty percent of the income was not enjoyed by Lu Chengfeng alone. If some troubles happened to the Ninth clan’s members, or when someone was sick and required a huge sum of money but was unable to come out with it, Lu Chengfeng would have to draw the money from his own pocket and provide aid to his own clan members as the new Clan Leader.
The Great Yan Dynasty had been established for more than two thousand years. Yet, for the Ninth Clan, Lu Chengfeng was the last direct descendant of the bloodline. However, the clan members of concubine clans under him had reached to the number of over eight thousand, while the personal guards, servants, and serving ladies that took care of these people had reached to the number of over four hundred thousand. Among these eight thousand clan members, elite members like Yan Jiuhui and Yan Bugui were less than a few hundred, and most of them were mediocre and unambitious people, fellows who only knew how to waste money.
After spending two whole weeks in sorting out all the muddled affairs and relationships, Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng couldn't help but exchange glances at each other. In the end, both of them breathed out a long sigh into the sky. Originally, they thought they had found themselves a lucrative legacy. But now, they finally knew that they had actually found a huge problem for themselves.
Holding a cup of fresh tea, Lu Chengfeng sat cross-legged on the stairs in the main hall of the mansion. While sipping the tea, he sighed and said, "I thought after inheriting this position, I could enjoy the rest of my life in a luxurious and leisurely manner. Sigh, why are there so many troubles?"
Wu Qi was sitting right beside him, cross-legged as well, as he sighed and said, "That's right. The prince hostage of the Xian Kingdom, the son of a Monarch was killed by us. Prince Ci, Yan Heluo, bled all over his body because of us. The Chief Supervisor of Central Wind Guards, Qin Qingshui, seems to have a great hostility towards us. More than eight thousand people of the Ninth Clan, countless major and minor affairs of the clan, their livelihood has to be taken care by us. Sigh, why are we bringing these problems to us?"
Lu Chengfeng shook his head, then said with a deep voice, "Well, we'll have to take things as they come. We have to send some capable men to manage Little Meng City. That place will provide us a great yield annually. My mother had sent me a letter that the Three Mountains Province, where Little Meng City is located at, will be my private territory in the future."
Wu Qi's brows frowned as he lightly said, "We've to put it aside for now. For the time being, nothing bad will happen in Little Meng City. Once young master has more people you can use, only then we will send a few loyal men over there. The priority now is to bring the soldiers from Little Meng City, or else, with the number of guarding soldiers young master owns right now, it is insufficient to protect our safety. Young master's father was assassinated, and we still don't know what the reason behind the assassination was. Thus, we cannot neglect young master's safety."
Both men continued their discussion. They gradually gathered up the threads from those incidents that happened recently, and came out with a rough plan for their future development. At present, everything looked smooth, and so long as those good friends of Lu Chengfeng who came from the influential clans of Lu Kingdom arrived at Ji City, he would have a group of capable men who he could use. They would then be able to solve some of the problems they were facing right now.
Before they arrived, Lu Chengfeng barely had any man that could aid him. For example, when Lu Chengfeng was paying a visit to those influential noblemen of Imperial Court, he even had to write the visiting card himself. This was not making any sense.
While their discussion became heated, Yan Fu was seen bowing his head and rushing over to them. A visible mark of a palm was visible on his face. He bowed and greeted respectfully at Lu Chengfeng, then said with a bitter voice, "Master, there is a visitor at the outside of the mansion. But they come menacingly, and don't seem to be easy to deal with. Please be careful, master."
Lu Chengfeng threw the tea cup over to Lao Hei, who was standing by his side. He rose to his feet and shouted furiously, "Who is this rude visitor? If they were here to pay me a visit, why were they slapping you in the face?"
Yan Fu came from a family who served in Duke Yan Le's Mansion for generations, and had been the chief steward for nearly one hundred years. He was an old man who attended his task earnestly, and his loyalty was beyond any doubts. When Lu Chengfeng just arrived at Ji City, he still had some worries about these old stewards, including Yan Fu. But after some time of observation, especially after Yan Jiuhui used the power of Scouting Office to screen through all the backgrounds of these people, only then he discovered that the loyalty of these old stewards was flawless.
Since then, Lu Chengfeng had relied heavily on these loyal old men of the mansion. But now, Yan Fu was slapped in his face by someone. That was not only a slap on Yan Fu, but also a slap on Lu Chengfeng's face.
Yan Fu let out a wry smile, lowered his voice and said, "Master, you really have to be careful. The visitor came with an aggressive air. It is as if they are here for trouble. In addition to that, she is followed by the people from Palace Guard of Scouting Office."
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login