CH 66

Lu Mu is aware of his daughter’s problems and loves to compare with Miantang everywhere. He naturally ignored the sour words of such children and let his daughter talk to herself.

The thing that worried Lu Mu most was that Miantang cut off part of the pension fund of the Lu family’s elders some time ago.

In fact, these people are not only concerned with getting money by themselves. While many people have won the favor of the pension fund from the Lu Family, they had also prepared a part of it to pay homage to the second son of the Lu Family.

For example, Cao, who runs a shipping company, won his tacit permission when Cao’s family switched to shipping. Lu Mu always gets a large amount of bonus at the end of the year.

Now the Cao family’s shipping business is run out of shape by Liu Miantang. Lu Mu also lost a large part of his income.

Lu Mu is not greedy. It’s just that his father’s brain is too rotten to allow brothers to separate. Everything depends on his distribution arrangements.

With a large family and a large population, it is natural that there are many burdens. Seeing that the big shipping business of their family is not moving fast, if they can separate and live on their own, wouldn’t it be much easier?

In terms of the brain, he is more than a hundred times stronger than his Elder Brother. However, he can’t compete with his Elder Brother in any way due to the inheritance.

Before, Lu Mu was fine when he didn’t have a family. He was one heart with his family. After he married Quan, his wife instigate him, and he gradually had other ideas.

So the escort agency collapsed so quickly, which had a lot to do with Lu Mu’s stealing and secretly transferring some industries.

However, he is popular among the Elders of the Escort Agency. Those Elders are willing to keep a secret for him in front of the Old Master when they get benefits.

But now Miantang is in charge of the pension accounts of a large number of people and has slashed the expenses of countless people with a stroke of her pen. These people were angry and naturally came to find Lu Mu to do something.

What can Lu Mu do? He can’t pay out of his own pocket, can he?

So Lu Mu can only give them advice and find a chance to make a scene with Miantang.

After all, she is a girl with a different surname, and it’s not easy to offend so many Uncles and Elders. Maybe if they make a big fuss, the Old Master will come out and ask Miantang to take it easy!

However, they had a discussion, but Miantang had been away for a long time.

It took a long time to hear the news that she was coming back with the fleet.

The Elders headed by the Cao family set a date and took advantage of Miantang’s absence to stop her at the arrow field in the State of Xi. After all, Master Cao was scolded by the old man last time. Even if he knew that he was protecting his Granddaughter, he still had to carry the old Master’s pressure and make a fuss with her.

Miantang came to the archery arena today to practice archery, which has been neglected for a long time.

Cui Xingzhou gave her a small bow. Because it was specially made, even children with little strength can use the string.

But Miantang’s hamstring was so weak that she couldn’t even lift it. Now that her hand is better, she comes to have a try.

Fan Hu and the others have been demoted by Cui Xingzhou to be servants of Miantang’s Escort Agency. Now following Miantang’s side, they silently set the target and put the bow and arrow for her.

The reason why The Prince kept them is also related to Liu Miantang’s cunning. Prince Huaiyang saw that Miantang had too many ghosty ways. If a group of secret sentries was unfamiliar with her, they might have to suffer the trick from her.

It’s better for Fan Hu, who has suffered a lot, to continue to follow. He believes they will never eat the food they took from Miantang again in their life.

Of course, Fan Hu and others were demoted to the rank of an assistant. Cui Xingzhou sent another group of secret guards to protect Miantang in the dark.

These people are new and are not afraid of Miantang’s tricks to dump them.

Miantang felt a little guilty for Captain Fan, so she was kind to them. Unfortunately, Fan Hu and the others seemed to have negotiated. Never talk to Lady Liu unless it is necessary, so as to avoid encountering the big girl’s evil ways again.

Miantang wore a black hunting suit today. Her broad cowhide waist tied her thin waist and legs, making her chest straight and hips cocky. Her hair was combed into a neat ponytail and swung into an arc behind her head. The high leather boots of the horse go all the way to the belly of the leg, and her straight long legs make people hard to take their eyes off her.

When the group of Elders arrived at the arrow range, they saw that Miantang was shooting at a target a hundred meters away with a small bow.

The little bow is like a toy. It is just a toy for women and children to amuse themselves.

This group of men who travel from place to place cannot help but pick a quarrel with contempt.

Master Cao took the lead in saying, “You are really busy, Lady Liu! We old people can’t even find you on normal days!”

Miantang didn’t even look at them but focused on the distant urn.

Master Cao was dissatisfied with her indifference. He said in a vicious voice, “I don’t come today for myself, but for other brothers. Why did the pension fund that the Lu family give us reduced by you, a little girl? If you don’t give me a saying today, you can’t go anywhere!”

Miantang didn’t answer, but a dark-faced woman rushed out, looked him up and down with a straight face, and said, “I dare to ask, who are you calling my Lady a little girl? Which elder are you”

Master Cao was startled by the sudden appearance of the woman. He stared and said, “I was her Grandfather’s escort in those years. If it wasn’t for me, the old escort would have been in danger…”

Hearing this, Servant Li’s eyebrows were hanging upside down, “Since you are the escort under the Old Master Lu, you are the worker! You guys are so pompous. How dare you call your Old Master’s Granddaughter a little girl! Is she the servant girl in your yard? You guys have no sense of superiority and inferiority. Stand aside! Don’t let the rotten coffin smell toxic on our Young Lady!”

To be honest, these Old Escorts rely on their hard work and high achievements and take advantage of their seniority, not to mention in front of Miantang, but also in front of the Elder Master Lu and Second Master Lu.

But now, they were scolded by an old woman. They were furious!

Master Cao then fixed his eyes on the woman in front of him.

He saw that the woman was really dignified, her flat hair was neatly combed, her waist was straight, and her standing posture was arrogant. When she looked at Master Cao, her eyes seems to look like seeing shit.

Although the Old Lady is old, she dresses carefully. The earrings on her ears and the bracelets on her wrists are a whole pair. They are made of high-quality water-seed jade. Clothes and shoes look simple, but the materials are valuable.

Even his own mother-in-law is not as decent and tidy as this one.

For a moment, a group of old guys were scolded by an Old Lady and were so shocked that they couldn’t speak for a moment.

But Master Cao soon came to his senses and glared, “You are a servant, how dare you talk to me like this?”

Servant Li is a noble slave in the Royal Residence. With the accumulation of several generations, her son runs a shop. In detail, her family property is thicker than Master Cao’s family.

So when looking at such a rude escort, Servant Li looked contemptuous and said coldly, “What are you? Even Li Guangcai, the County Magistrate of the State of Xi, is here, I still speak like that.”

Servant Li’s words made Master Cao tremble. This month, the County Magistrate of the State of Xi changed, but the appointment certificate has not been delivered to the State of Xi. Master Cao also heard that the outgoing County Magistrate privately confided that the new County Magistrate was called Li Guangcai.

However, the woman around Liu Miantang can open her mouth and tell such a secret thing. It shows Liu Miantang’s ability, she must have someone in the officialdom!

But the other elders did not know the inside stories. When listening to the Old Lady casually saying someone who is not the County Magistrate of the State of Xi, they burst into laughter! They just think she is pulling the tiger skin to make a big flag to scare people!

The Elders are all martial arts Masters, and they don’t pay much attention to etiquette. They were cut off from their financial benefit. They were also very angry. In addition, they looked down upon Miantang and just wanted to make a scene to frighten her.

As the saying goes, children who grind others eat more milk. When the Elder Master Lu wanted to reduce their money, they also make a fuss like this!

Now it has changed to a young brat girl. After scaring her and making a fuss in front of the Lu Mansion. The discipline was also broken up this time.

But before they got closer, Miantang suddenly shot an arrow and they heard a clang. The big urn hundreds of meters away was smashed.

Just when everyone was stunned, Miantang turned the arrow and released another arrow. The arrow was going into the cap of the old man who was leading the trouble. The strength of the small bow was amazing. She took him backward and nailed him to the trunk of the big tree beside.

The old man was so scared that his face was as white as paper. Only he knew that the arrow was just a shot away from rubbing his scalp. If he took a dime from the top, his skull would be smashed like a big urn.

Miantang shook her hand and seemed dissatisfied with her shooting, She then scanned the Elders who came to the scene and said, “As the saying goes, “Fight for the rice to pay for kindness and bear the rice to pay for revenge. It’s indeed true. The money of the Lu family has raised you who don’t know how to stop being greedy. Why have I reduced your monthly expenses? My letter to you has made it clear, but you still have the face to make trouble! Since you are shameless, don’t blame me for writing down the details of your loss to the Lu family one by one. Let’s go to the Yamen to pass the official, and let the people of the State of Xi comment on the truth to see if the Lu family is really shameless and has to continue paying! ”

Several Elders came forward and pulled down the one who was nailed to the tree with all their hands and feet. They then saw that the arrow was actually an arrow with a special barb. If it was shot at a person, it could bring down a piece of flesh when it was pulled out.

They were frightened and angrily accused Miantang, “How dare you hurt people?”

Miantang frowned on purpose and said shyly, “I am a weak girl surrounded by you rough people. How can I not be afraid? You are so noisy, and I trembled with fear, and the arrow flew out. If you make more noise, I may shoot more arrows. If my shots are more accurate, I don’t know who will come to Lu’s Mansion to collect money for you later!”

After saying this, she aimed at them again with an arrow, but her pair of thin wrists kept shaking. A few arrows flew out of nowhere, and several of them were able to fly past their faces.

These people heard about Miantang’s injured hands and feet, but they didn’t know that she was much better. Seeing her trembling aim, they just kept avoiding.

But Miantang kept saying, “Grandpa Li, your fourth concubine doesn’t have enough money to spend, right? If you get an arrow, my fourth Grandma will get rich, and maybe she will have all the dowry for remarriage in the future… Hey, Uncle Zhao, don’t hide! Isn’t your brother-in-law in debt? If you were shot, I will definitely pay the gambling debt for your brother-in-law…”

In this way, the wage-seeking allies who had shared a common hatred for the enemy unexpectedly broke up. The old men swore and ran away.

And when Master Cao left, he didn’t forget to shout, “Bring it on going to the government! I’m afraid your Second Uncle’s scandal can’t be covered up. Let’s see if your Second Uncle’s family can spare you off, you this disobedient girl!”

When those people dispersed, Servant Li hurriedly ordered Fang Xie to bring an ice bag to Miantang’s arm and said, “The doctor has told you that you can’t use your wrist too often. Although the bow is light, it’s tiring. Let’s have a rest today.”

Miantang sat on the mat and look at the servants being busy, and she could not help smiling. She can’t remember how long she hasn’t experienced such ease.

The feeling that both hands can slowly accumulate strength is more exciting than earning ten thousand gold.

Seeing that she was smiling like a child, Servant Li couldn’t help smiling and asked, “Lady, do you have something special you want to eat tonight?”

Miantang said briskly, “I want to eat eggplant mutton pot made by you and shrimp balls with lotus seed.”

Servant Li’s old issue has come out. She wanted to tell Miantang about the matching of dishes. Like this kind of mutton with seafood, it is delicious. But there is no uniqueness in the taste. It is a way for the nouveau riche to order.

However, on second thought, it is rare for the Lady to be happy. Of course, she can eat whatever she likes! So she smiled and responded, thinking of dishes that could match her taste.

However, Miantang asked Servant Li how she knew about the new County Magistrate in the State of Xi. Servant Li hurriedly said, “The County Magistrate was arranged by the Government of the State of Xi Prefecture under the care of The Prince. You are residing in the State of Xi now. The Prince naturally wants to arrange for a close parent official to come here, and he will take care of you in everything…”

Miantang’s smile diminished.

She used to see good traits in her husband. Now thinking about it, she was also blinded by dog shit.

After some separation, she found that the beautiful man who looked like a banished immortal is also full of stink. He likes to control everything. Why hasn’t she realized it before?

When it came to the time for eating in the evening, Quan and her daughter Lu Qingying came right before dinner time.

Miantang naturally invited her Second Aunt and Cousin to have dinner together.

Lu Qingying was shocked to see the food at this small table. She could not believe that Liu Miantang ate it alone. According to her, when the Lu family had dinner, the food was not as exquisite as Miantang’s!

And the plate, a plate of shrimp balls is decorated with shrimp tails, and lotus carved with radish. A pot of fragrant clay pot is burning superior bamboo charcoal. The dishes are not much. But just looking at that dish, it looks like exquisite embroidery. The color is elegant, and the quality is clear. Even the best restaurant in the State of Xi can’t put such dishes out!

Quan also looked a little dumbfounded, and said sourly, “You have been entrusted by the Old Master. After taking charge of the Lu family’s external accounts, your appearance is really different… At first sight, I thought you were in a big restaurant!”

The implication is that Miantang has made a fortune for the Lu family.

Miantang sighed in her heart. In fact, she didn’t expect Servant Li to do it so exquisitely.

It’s the same as Liu Miantang who can’t shoot arrows for a long time because of her injured hand. Servant Li, a talented person, has been forced to pretend to be an Old Woman from a Merchant’s house, and she is also very reluctant to accept.

In those days, she followed the Imperial Concubine into the palace to see the palace banquet. In addition, she is exquisite. She thought carefully about all the new things. She can judge 70 to 80 percent by herself. The dishes she makes can be said to be regarded superciliously by all the Royal Residence.

Now, without the burden of pretending to hide her identity, Servant Li who is full of talent with just ordinary vegetables, carrots, meat, fish, and shrimp can turn into dishes like a native girl in her prime and suddenly becomes an exquisite dishes after skillfully craved.

In fact, Miantang also knew that Servant Li did not spend a lot of money on these dishes, but the appearance was too exquisite, which would inevitably cause people’s be envious.

Listening to Quan’s sour words, Miantang smiled and said, “That’s not true? It’s just that I pay more attention to the dishes. The dishes on the table are all received openly. Because I have divided the small kitchen myself. The stove and firewood built are also money from my own. If Second Aunt doesn’t think I can save enough money for ingredients, then I will pay for my dishes.”

Hearing this, Quan’s face relaxed, and smiled, “I also know that you don’t like the food of the cook in the big kitchen. I saw you getting thinner a few days ago… If you have your own kitchen, you can also choose what you want to eat. It’s more convenient…”

Miantang wants to buy ingredients with her own money. It’s of course better. Quan is happy to save a share.

Miantang smiled slightly and then said, “Since this is the case, I will ask Fang Xie to go to your house tomorrow to collect the account and see how much money I have left for the ingredients and coal I gave you previously. You can pass it to her altogether when she arrives.”

Quan’s face changed. Unexpectedly, this Liu Miantang was so stingy that she could even ask for food money when she gave it out.

Liu Miantang looked back at her gracefully. She didn’t want to be so fussy, but first, she has to be an understanding person.

But her Second Aunt’s vision was too shallow, and she was not a kind-hearted person.

She gave her Second Aunt a hundred taels of silver. Not to mention she only eat a few grams of mutton today, it’s more than enough even if she eats mutton every day.

But she wanted to come and talk to herself, insinuating that she had swallowed Lu’s account to enjoy a rich life herself. Then Miantang will have to calculate carefully with her.

Quan’s face was tense with anger. Lu Qingying hurriedly intervened for her mother and said, “Look at what you said, how can one family eat separate meals? It’s fine for you to hire a cook. How can the dishes be sold in other ways? It’s better to buy them together. If you want to eat anything, tell Nanny Feng who is in charge of buying the groceries.”

She then elbowed her mother again, making her not forget the purpose of coming today.

Today, Quan is so upset that she lost her composure. Luckily she was reminded by her daughter of their purpose here.

So she relented and said, “Your cousin is right. Since we are a family, how can you talk about separating two things… It’s just that those old people outside have followed the Lu family all their lives, but they don’t have the surname Lu. You disrespect them in words. They are complaining that Dad didn’t bring his Granddaughter up well. I heard your Second Uncle say today that you frightened them with a bow and arrow… It’s time for others to say that our family is unfilial.”

Miantang asked Bi Cao to fill her with a bowl of steaming eggplant and mutton. She first drank a mouthful of fresh soup and then ate a shrimp ball. Then she drank a mouthful of soup again, making her stomach feels warm. She said, “I thought they would find my Elder Uncle to complain, or go to my Grandfather’s side to make a fuss. Unexpectedly, they complained to my Second Uncle… They were close with Second Uncle!”

Quan-Shi knows that Miantang is a smart girl. Isn’t that a platitude? So she immediately stared and said, “Don’t you know that the entire Lu Family, your second uncle is meddlesome, so these people went to find him. What is there anything about being close? But what your Second Uncle means is that it’s better to forgive than be on bad terms. They were originally grateful to the Lu Family. If you make such a fuss, you’ll only hurt the Lu Family’s reputation.”

Miantang understood the meaning of her Second Aunt.

It must be what she said today about reporting to the government that the group of people passed it on to her Second Uncle. Her Second Uncle then immediately sent his wife and daughter to lead the verbal battle and tried to find out what Miantang means.

Miantang knew that all the words the Elders said today before they left had allusions. His actions were not very clean when the Escort Agency broke up.

So now the entire Lu family is in a cash tight situation, and the only ones living decently rich are the people in the second son’s family. However, the benefits in their home were just said to be the dowry of Quan’s, so they didn’t have to subsidize to the public expenses…

If her grandfather knew it, he might be in a rage… In fact, her Elder Uncle should have known it long ago, but he just held it for him in consideration of their brotherhood.

No wonder some people say that it is difficult for honest and upright officials to cut off household matters The only reason is that the word “relationship” is too heavy. Even if the person is a determined person, they will have to consider many things when returned home. They are unable to cut the mess quickly.

But now her Second Uncle is too brave and doesn’t know that he made a mistake. If she were to appease him like her Elder Uncle, sooner or later the Lu family will have a big issue.

Thinking of this, Miantang didn’t hurry to loosen her mouth, but said to Quan, “Tell my Second Uncle that he don’t have to intercede for the ungrateful. The Escort Agency is my Grandfather’s lifelong effort, and it can’t be eaten by a bunch of heartless rats. What you ate before, no matter who they are, they will have to spit it out for me, and I may be able to open one eye and close one eye. But if they are determined to be greedy… Then don’t come to me and exert pressure using the names of Uncles and Masters… I recognize logic, I don’t recognize people!”

Miantang also had an insinuation in that remark. She stared at Quan with a sneer on her face when speaking.

Quan felt like she was being stared at by a snake, and was so shocked by her momentum that she couldn’t move for a moment.

At last, without taking a bite of food, she hurriedly dragged her daughter Lu Qingying back.

Miantang did not know whether her Second Uncle could understand her mind. However, if she gives him a warning, it should make him stop.

The next day, Miantang got up very late, lay in bed for a while, and then thought about going to the dock for a look.

She recently bought two new boats, and today it’s time to test them. She has to cut the big red silk tied to the anchor in person to have a ceremony of entering the water.

So after getting up, Miantang first practiced a set of fists in her small yard. This set of martial art is what Miantang used to watch Cui Xingzhou practice in the small courtyard on North Street.

She watched a lot and silently remembered the boxing routines. The set of martial art looks simple, but she found that it required a lot of strength when she really practiced it. If the practice was in place, her hands and feet would ache and sweat.

So after she rinses, finished eating, and when she get on the sedan chair, Miantang was paralyzed in the sedan chair, and when she got off the sedan chair, she was too weak she required assistance in walking.

This kind of delicacy which has the feeling of being unable to take the eyes off her was seen by the people who just got off the passenger ship.

Prince Sui smiled deeply and felt that he is fated with this Lu Wen. Otherwise, how could he have seen her when he arrived in the State of Xi?