A Clash of Gods - Chapter 70
Chapter 70 A Family Heirloom
The family of the Marquis of Honor was in trouble continuously. Gu Qinghan managed the big mansion and was mentally and physically exhausted though she still kept calm in front of others. She was extremely tired tonight. After they went back to the mansion, Yang Ning comforted her and she finally went to have a rest.
Yang Ning was clear that if Qi Jing were alive, these successive things must not have happened, but after Qi Jing passed away, many people with evil intentions tried to add insult to injury.
Although Dou Lianzhong showed up and Yang Ning found that he must have something to do with them, he didn’t think that the Dou Family was the manipulator behind the scenes.
The minister of the Ministry of Revenue was a high official of the empire, but only the Dou Family didn’t have the strength to cope with the family of the Marquis of Honor.
The family of the Marquis of Honor seemed to be declining, but the marquises of two generations had outstandingly meritorious deeds down for the empire and were generals leading the army. At least they had a deep foundation in the army. Judging from the commander of the Tiger God Camp, Xue Lingfeng’s protection, it could be seen that the connections of the Marquis of Honor didn’t disappear as Qi Jing passed away. No matter who wanted to do something to the family of the Marquis of Honor, they should think twice.
The tax from Jiangling delaying for a long time, the assassination in the villa of the Loyalty Cemetery, and the big fire of the pawnshop, these things appeared to be irrelevant, but Yang Ning sensitively thought there must be a link among one another behind.
He even felt that the family of the Marquis of Honor was on the verge of falling apart right now, and the other party wouldn’t stop at this point. If he guessed right, they would do more. As long as the marquis’s family were careless, they might be destroyed.
He was always sensitive to approaching danger, and his feeling was strong at the moment.
It was more annoying that the Qi Family was disunited currently. The third elder lord obviously hooked up with Qi Yu and his mother. They were banded together as traitors and alienated from the marquis’s mansion. The pillars who were able to undertake the task alone in the family had passed away, while the ones left could do nothing but eat and drink, unworthy to the marquis’s mansion as the excrescences.
Yang Ning naturally had no feelings for the marquis’s mansion, but he was clear that although Gu Qinghan was capable, she was a woman. If somebody really had a plot against the marquis’s mansion behind the scenes, they must have powerful strength. Perhaps Gu Qinghan could handle the disturbances in the mansion, but it was difficult for her to cope with the storms from outside.
The situation in the imperial palace changed unpredictably, and the capital city appeared to be peaceful, but Yang Ning always felt it was the peace when the tempest was approaching. He couldn’t foresee what a big change would happen, yet he knew that the marquis’s family might be destroyed if they were careless, and Gu Qinghan and the others would end up with a tragedy.
If he left now, under the situation of the marquis’s mansion, they might have no extra energy to look for him, but he would feel restless after ignoring them.
He decided to try his best to protect the family and would have other plans if the situation was extremely out of control.
Dou Lianzhong was faithful in word. Soon after the sunrise, a servant reported to Yang Ning that the son of the Minister of Revenue came for a visit.
Yang Ning didn’t hesitate and told the servant to invite Dou Lianzhong into the mansion.
Zhao Xin entered the mansion with Dou Lianzhong. Led by the servant, they came to the main hall, but Yang Ning was not here. The servant just said that His Excellency was washing and dressing and would come out to see them soon.
After the tea was served, Dou Lianzhong took a sip and found it was nice tea. Although he was a son of the Minister of Revenue, he had never been seated in the main hall of the marquis’s mansion as a guest. Now that he came as a debt collector, he felt happy.
“I heard that the third lady manages the mansion. I came for business today. It doesn’t matter if I can’t see His Excellency. I want to see the third lady.” Dou Lianzhong picked up the teacup and rolled his eyes, speaking to the servant next to him. “In fact His Excellency can’t handle such a big deal.”
He certainly knew that the mistress of the marquis’s mansion was a beautiful widow, but he had never seen her until last night and thought she was like a fairy. He liked to play in the brothels and had seen countless pretty women and even a lot of noble ladies, but it was rare to see such a woman like Gu Qinghan.
The servant just lowered his head and didn’t say anything.
Seeing nobody around, Zhao Xin moved closer to Dou Lianzhong and whispered, “Young Master, Qi Ning looked confident last night. Can he really take out more than ten thousand taels of silver? The family of Marquis of Honor appears wealthy and powerful. More than ten thousand taels of silver seems no big deal to them.”
“Fair skin covers the poverty.” Dou Lianzhong chuckled and added in a low voice, “I am quite clear about their condition. Last night I sent somebody to keep an eye in the neighborhood. After Qi Ning came back to the mansion, he didn’t go out, so he can’t take out more than ten thousand taels of silver.” He looked confident. “Just wait and see how I would cope with them today.”
They waited a long time but didn’t see Gu Qinghan or Qi Ning. Dou Lianzhong got impatient and stood up, asking, “Where is the third lady? She has to pay the debt. Can she always hide and avoid seeing me?”
The servant finally raised his head and replied, “Third Lady is not feeling well. His Excellency will deal with the domestic affairs temporarily.”
Dou Lianzhong was disappointed but still asked, “Since His Excellency will deal with it, where is he?”
“Well…” The servant hesitated and then answered, “His Excellency is busy in the side room…”
“What’s more important than paying the debt?” Dou Lianzhong rolled his eyes and strode outside. “Lead the way.”
The servant was still hesitant, but Dou Lianzhong rebuked, “What are you doing? Why don’t you lead the way for us? I don’t have time to wait here.”
The servant could do nothing but lead the way. Dou Lianzhong and Zhao Xin followed him and passed through a long corridor, coming to the back door of the side room. The door was partly open, and Dou Lianzhong looked in at the door, too see Yang Ning sitting at a table with his chin on both hands. He stared at something on the table and remained unmoved, in a daze seemingly.
Dou Lianzhong was in doubt and raised his hand to stop the servant from reporting. He stepped into the room gently. The sun was bright outside the room, while this side room was dim. He finally saw clearly that it was an antique on the table. Dou Lianzhong had seen a lot and found it was a nice horse made of colored glaze at a glance.
He put his hands behind his back and walked to Yang Ning’s back, who didn’t notice his approaching. Dou Lianzhong glanced at the colored glaze horse and thought, “I guessed it is a valuable antique. This stuff is worth at most dozens of taels of silver.” The colored gaze was not rare, but this horse was lifelike and vivid, as if it were running fast.
He laughed in secret and thought the family of the Marquis of Honor was really declining, and the heir even looked blankly at such a colored gaze horse, seeming to be obsessive about it, as if he had never seen any good stuff.
“Your Excellency, what are you looking at?” Dou Lianzhong intended to frighten Yang Ning and patted him on the shoulder. As expected, Yang Ning screamed and almost jumped up. Seeing that he was terrified, Dou Lianzhong laughed loud. “Your Excellency, you are from an ancient martial family. Why are you so timid?”
Yang Ning appeared awkward and forced a smile. “It’s you… Brother Dou!”
Dou Lianzhong’s face fell. “Your Excellency, even brothers shouldn’t owe each other. We are not brothers today. You should know why I am here.” He winked at Zhao Xin who stood at the door alone. Zhao Xin immediately came in and saluted with a smile. “Your Excellency, I came here as we agreed.”
Yang Ning scratched his head. “I am thinking about it. Since I promised, I will keep my word.”
Dou Lianzhong sat in the chair next to him. “Your Excellency, we are not strangers. I am straightforward and would come to the point. Can you really pay fifteen thousand taels of silver?” He added, “We want cash.”
“Cash?” Yang Ning frowned. “To be frank, I don’t have so much silver in cash.”
Dou Lianzhong pulled a long face instantly. “You don’t have silver? Why did you promise to pay the debt last night? Your Excellency, the reputation of the Marquis of Honor was developed by two generations of your family. If you break your promise and the news spreads, the fame of the Marquis of Honor would be affected. The reputation which was hard to win would be ruined by you in an instant.”
Yang Ning responded, “No hurry. I didn’t say that I won’t pay the debt.” He pointed at the colored gaze horse on the table and smiled bitterly. “I am wondering if I will pay the debt with this treasure.”
“Treasure?” Dou Lianzhong glimpsed at the colored gaze horse and burst into laughter. “Your Excellency, do you think this stuff can be worth fifteen thousand taels of silver?” He added with disdain, “I tell you the truth. Such a thing can’t even enter our mansion. It is worth at most fifty taels of silver. You actually dream to pay the debt with it? Can you tell good from bad?”
“Is it worthless?” Yang Ning also laughed. “Dou, do you think it’s just a colored gaze horse? If so, how can it be an heirloom of my family?”
Dou Lianzhong heard that and looked surprised, asking, “Do you mean that this is an heirloom of the marquis’s mansion?”
Yang Ning sighed. “This was passed down by my grandfather, but my grandmother keeps it all the time. Now we don’t have so much silver, so my grandmother took it out with great regret. If it isn’t a difficult time, ordinary people can hardly see it.” He pretended to be astonished. “Dou, you must be an expert on priceless treasures. Why did you misjudge it this time?”
Looking at Yang Ning’s serious expression, Dou Lianzhong wondered if he misjudged it. After all, the family of the Marquis of Honor was once at its peak. He didn’t doubt that they had several priceless treasures. Since Yang Ning said this colored gaze horse was an heirloom of the Qi Family, probably there was something mysterious.
“Your Excellency, can I check it carefully?” Dou Lianzhong claimed to be an expert on treasures and didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Yang Ning.
After a hesitation, Yang Ning nodded at last. “I’m afraid I will give it to you later, so it’s fine if you look at it, but please be careful.”
Dou Lianzhong finally reached out his hand to pick up the heirloom of the marquis’s family with caution.