After the incident with Lady Ji, when Ruan Ren Sui was just about able to lift his head and received applause for this small action, the previously notorious Scholar Wu in the divine capital finally got married.
“It was the royal merchant Che family. Their home is truly filled with gold and jade!”
Xiahou’s younger sister excitedly told her sister when she entered the palace:
“Master Che met with Scholar Wu, was very satisfied with his appearance, and also checked his background and past, which were all true, so he found a matchmaker and settled the marriage!”
“White silver ingots were piled in the box and sent over with fanfare—Master Che was generous. Scholar Wu asked for fifty thousand taels, but Master Che, for good fortune, gave sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-six taels!”
The Empress De Fei was somewhat surprised, yet not entirely, upon hearing that the Che family had married Scholar Wu.
The two families had dealings before, after all.
Xiahou’s family had a daughter as a favored concubine in the palace, and the Che family was a royal merchant, wasn’t it?
Lady Xiahou knew more details: “Master Che has only one daughter. With such a large family business, no amount of careful planning for her would be too much. Marrying a proper Jinshi is not bad. As for the agreement with the authorities, how to balance this son-in-law, he probably has his own calculations.”
Thinking for a moment, she added: “Lady Che has passed away, but Lady Che still has an uncle. If anything happens in the future, he would have a say.”
The Empress De Fei was puzzled: “What do you mean by that?”
Lady Xiahou explained: “The late Lady Che was a royal clan member, though the bloodline was somewhat distant, but that surname is still valuable. Her younger brother from her natal family is also ambitious and has some talent.”
The Empress De Fei understood.
Ruan Ren Sui thought, as expected!
Scholar Wu was none other than the later famous Che Piaoqiu!
Eccentric and extremely fond of money!
He couldn’t help but wonder: When exactly did Che Piaoqiu get the nickname Che Piaoqiu?
In the Ji Xian Hall Academy.
Scholar Che and three other scholars of the same year were assigned to this place to compile books.
Before getting married, Master Che, along with his son-in-law, went to the Jingzhao Prefecture to sign the relevant legal agreement.
The day after the wedding, they changed the surname.
Now it’s not Scholar Wu, but Scholar Che.
In the early spring of February, there was still a chill in the air.
However, Scholar Che, wearing a seventh-rank official robe and wrapped in a pure black sable coat without a speck of another color, made the coldness wisely keep its distance.
A drop of morning rain from the eaves fell onto his sable coat, undivided and unbroken, rolling and falling to the ground.
Noticing his colleagues’ gazes, Scholar Che laughed cheerfully: “Haha, this sable coat my wife bought for me is very expensive, costing hundreds of taels of silver!”
Colleague: “……”
Silently shifted their gaze, resisting Scholar Che, not wanting to engage in conversation with the materialistic man.
Scholar Che didn’t care, casually placing the golden hand warmer on the table, preparing to start the day’s work.
Noticing his colleagues’ gazes again, he laughed cheerfully: “Haha, this pure gold hand warmer my wife prepared for me is very expensive, after all, it’s made of pure gold!”
Colleague: “….”
This time, they truly didn’t want to speak with him anymore.
Scholar Che didn’t mind, enjoying himself.
When it was noon and his colleagues were all eating together, he leisurely gathered his things and left with a light step: “Haha, I’m going home to eat, it’s very expensive, after all, it’s all delicacies from the mountains and the sea!”
Colleague:”…”
The officials of the Ji Xian Hall Academy: “…”
Scholar Che, oblivious to others, waved his hand: “Back to my wife’s second ring mansion, see you all!”
Colleague:”….”
The officials of the Ji Xian Hall Academy: Grimaced and clenched the chopsticks in their hands.
……You Che, you really deserve to die!
Several Jinshi of the same year joined forces to boycott Scholar Che.
The officials at the Ji Xian Hall Academy, wary of the controversy surrounding Scholar Che, did not casually engage him in conversation.
Apart from formal official discourse, no one spoke with him.
Scholar Che didn’t care.
He isolated himself from everyone, clocking in and out on time every day, completely oblivious to the gossip and strange looks from his colleagues.
After a while, one of the Jinshi of the same year actually took the initiative to speak to him.
It was to borrow money.
Living in the divine capital is no easy feat.
With the meager salary of a seventh-rank official, to be honest, after paying the rent and a month’s worth of expenses, there’s hardly anything left.
But people still have social interactions, occasionally dining out, buying books, and so on.
How can one manage without money?
At such times, one would think of the extremely wealthy, materialistic man.
Since no one had really paid him much attention, now that I’m willing to condescend and speak to him, to expand his social circle, and in return, he gives me a favor, isn’t that a fair exchange?
At first, when he was approached, Scholar Che was relatively polite.
However, upon learning that the other party wanted to borrow money from him, he immediately changed his demeanor and said:
“What a disgrace to culture! The sages say that the friendship of a gentleman is as light as water. How can such a light mouth utter such a foul-smelling request?”
“No way!”
Scholar Che was aggressive and righteous: “Not a single coin of my money is spare; it all has a purpose!”
Colleague: “……”
The colleague broke a major taboo, then blushed and began to attack personally: “Hilarious, do you think I genuinely want to borrow money from you? I was just testing you. I never expected you to be this kind of person!”
“Do you think I’m really short of money? Haha, you’re really amusing!”
Scholar Che chuckled, casually lifted his chin, covered his mouth with his hand adorned with a gemstone ring, and glanced at him sideways: “Getting anxious!”
Colleague:”…”
Onlookers:”…”
After that, Scholar Che acquired a nickname, Che Piaoqiu.
Only taking in and never giving out, not a single hair’s worth.
When Lady Che heard about this, some relatives also tried to persuade her: “Your brother-in-law is too sharp in his dealings, which is not a good thing. Since you’re not short of money anyway, why not let a little slip through your fingers? It could earn him some favor among his colleagues, right?”
Lady Che ignored them: “Who goes out of their way to offer unsolicited kindness? If he has a bad relationship with his colleagues and I secretly give him money, isn’t that foolish? It would benefit outsiders while damaging his dignity.”
This remark upset her sister-in-law: “We’re in business; harmony brings prosperity. Now he’s alienating everyone. How are we supposed to do business in the future?”
She also tried to persuade Lady Che: “You can’t trust people completely. A husband who changes his surname is not as reliable as your own family.”
“Both your brother and I are worried about you. He always wants to help our family business, but our uncle won’t allow it. Sigh, sister, you should also try to persuade our uncle……………”
“Sister-in-law, what are you thinking?!”
Lady Che replied without hesitation: “A husband is an outsider, you are an outsider, only my father is my own person! My father has only me as his daughter. Would he harm me?”
Sister-in-law:”….”
Her sister-in-law’s face turned red with anger.
She abruptly stood up and said indignantly: “You’re really biting the hand that feeds you! I was treating you like my own sister, but now you’re acting like a villain!”
She continued: “You naive girls don’t understand anything. When a man deceives you into losing everything, where will you go to cry?”
Lady Che nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders: “Sister-in-law, don’t worry. I’ve kept a sum of money for emergencies. I haven’t told anyone…”
Her sister-in-law thought this money was reserved for a comeback, but Lady Che caught her off guard with a retort:
“If that day comes, I’ll buy a dozen sets of armor and hide them at home. I’ll go to the streets and shout ‘The Yellow Heaven is dead, the Che family shall rise!’ Let’s see if our whole family can be united and go to the execution ground together!”
Her sister-in-law was left speechless, and after a while, she gasped in disbelief: “Are you crazy?!”
Lady Che calmly said: “Everyone dies eventually. Why not go out with a bang and be remembered in history? Not bad at all.”
After thinking for a moment, she added: “It will also be a good opportunity to see all the relatives. In the past, some would be absent during the ancestral worship. This time, probably everyone will be there…………”
Her sister-in-law: “!!!!”
Che Piaoqiu returned at this moment.
She felt her niece was insane and wanted the materialistic man to back off.
She immediately said: “Do you know what she just said?”
Che Piaoqiu listened calmly to what her sister-in-law said, and then seriously told Lady Che:
“If that day comes, remember to leave through the east gate. It’s closer to Zhuque Street. Shouting there will cause a bigger commotion……………”
Lady Che took note: “Okay!”
Her sister-in-law looked at the couple as if she had seen a ghost.
There’s a reason you two can live together………………
She left in a very awkward manner.
Every morning, Che Piaoqiu wakes up in the second ring mansion, has breakfast, goes to work, isolates all his colleagues, goes home for lunch with his wife after work at noon.
On days off, he spends money freely, buys things, goes on picnics in the suburbs with his wife, or stays for a few days at the Che family’s country estate.
Che Piaoqiu’s life is just that monotonous, affluent, and boring.
A thousand-gold steed named Dada passes by the front door.
The young man on the horse has half-closed eyes.
Wherever he goes, the sound of jingling bells can be heard continuously.
Those who know quietly say: That’s Che Piaoqiu who married into the wealthy merchant Che family!”
The boss of the cloth store next door can’t help but take another look.
Seeing the sleek and agile horse, she clicks her scissors and exclaims: “So rich!”
The boss’s wife next door eagerly shares gossip with her:
“Mrs. Mi, you might not know, but the Che family gave Che Piaoqiu a dowry of sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-six taels of silver! It filled several boxes!”
Mrs. Mi’s scissors drop to the ground.
“What?!”
She is both shocked and angry, exclaiming: “Is Che Piaoqiu’s mouth made of gold? Why give him so much money!”
The boss’s wife next door savors her shock, feeling very satisfied: “Ah, after all, he is a Jinshi. A Jinshi willing to marry is worth that much!”
Mrs. Mi’s face shows a thoughtful expression.
The next day, she called her son, who was still in school, and let him see Che Piaoqiu’s opulent lifestyle.
Then she said earnestly: “My child, if you can become a Jinshi, you can marry as well as he did!”
Mrs. Mi’s son is a bit bewildered: “……Ah? If I marry, do I have to change my surname, Mom?”
Mrs. Mi looks at him affectionately: “If you feel burdened, I can change it with you! I’ll be the one to forsake our ancestors, not you!”
Seeing that her son still doesn’t fully understand the power of money, she specifically closes the shop for a day and takes him to see the Che family’s money shop, rice shop, and second ring mansion.
The third relocation of Mrs. Mi (not really).
“!!!” Mrs. Mi’s son’s face is invigorated and extremely inspired: “A true man should be like this!”