Chapter Nine: The Deadly Pitfall of Cunning Schemes
“This is absolutely impossible!”
Li Hu frowned deeply, shaking his head as he imagined the disgraceful scene of himself, the esteemed General of the Western Garrison, being stripped and spanked on the backside by his unfilial son, Li Wenxuan.
He had come dangerously close several times to making a decision that would dishonor his ancestors.
“Oh? Impossible, is it?” Li Wenxuan teased. “Then, General Li, are you saying you want me to spank you, or to slaughter those bastards who ambushed me?”
Li Hu’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot. He fought the urge to slap Li Wenxuan senseless, steadied his mind, and managed not to collapse under the weight of his frustration:
“My son, I had no knowledge of your elder brother’s actions. As the saying goes, ignorance is no sin, but you cannot be so reckless.”
Li Wenxuan narrowed his eyes, staring at Li Hu. “You really don’t know about this?”
Li Hu snapped, “I can summon the ancestral tablets to prove it!”
“Summon the ancestors to heaven? That won’t be necessary.” Li Wenxuan sensed that Li Hu was certainly not behind this.
Otherwise, Li Hu would have dealt with him yesterday.
“Then will you release them?” Li Hu forced out an awkward and somewhat rude smile.
Li Wenxuan kicked the man beside him and sneered, “Simple. Bring money to ransom them!”
“What? Ransom them with money?” Li Hu nearly spat blood. Before coming here, he had already heard from his eldest son, Li Siming, about who was involved.
Among them were his superiors, his equals, and even the sons of his trusted military officers...
Damn it!
“What, General Li, do you plan to seize them by force and fail?”
Li Wenxuan fingered the hilt of his black iron sword.
Li Hu was startled. This unfilial son was like a mad dog; when cornered, he was capable of anything.
“Make an offer,” Li Hu said helplessly, turning his head to glare fiercely at Li Siming, who was shrinking back like a turtle.
Li Siming’s head practically disappeared into his crotch under his father’s glare...
“Simple. Five hundred taels of silver per person, payment only in silver certificates, no credit!”
“What? One thousand taels each?” Li Hu nearly jumped in place.
Five people meant five thousand taels of silver.
Even for the grand Western Garrison General’s household, Li Hu felt as if he were cutting flesh from his own heart.
Li Wenxuan rolled his eyes at Li Hu’s reaction. “You can bargain!”
Li Hu: …
“Well? Fifty taels per person?” Li Hu really was a skilled bargainer.
This time, Li Wenxuan jumped on the spot, glaring furiously at Li Hu. “Old thief! You’re pushing me too far!”
Li Hu almost lost control and slapped Li Wenxuan, but looking up at the sky, he felt the Li family ancestors were watching him from above...
“You can bargain too!” Li Hu said with a hint of grievance.
Li Wenxuan sneered, “Two hundred taels!”
He knew well that if he insisted on a high price, collecting too much silver, he might not be able to hold onto it.
Li Hu agonizingly bargained, “One hundred taels!”
---
“Deal!” Li Wenxuan clapped his hands.
“Ah?” Li Hu was stunned, secretly thinking he should have offered eighty or seventy taels.
But, as the Western Garrison General, he had pride. A deal was a deal!
One hundred it was!
Besides, there was no chance of finding a government position this month. In any case... he would have this unfilial son to deal with!
“These are silver certificates, each worth five hundred taels, guaranteed exchangeable!”
Li Hu spoke plainly, pulling out a stack of silver certificates from his sleeve and handing five of them to his steward Li Hui, his brows furrowed in anger. “Send these to the third son!”
Li Wenxuan watched this without any hint of regret or anger.
No matter how much money, he could secure it!
If he insisted on one thousand taels per person, Li Hu would fork it over, but would he really be able to hold onto it?
Li Hu was somewhat surprised that his overt move was intended to provoke Li Wenxuan’s fury.
Yet this unfilial son... was even steadier in temperament than himself?
“Yes, sir!” Li Hui lowered his head respectfully, afraid that any misstep might unleash his master’s wrath.
As he neared the door, he noticed the second young master unconscious, his hair soaked and even frozen in places.
More shockingly, there was an extremely pungent smell of urine...
This brat... no, the third young master must have been fiery lately? That urine was yellow...
Or perhaps the second young master had some unusual preference for being soaked?
Li Wenxuan took the five silver certificates, each worth one hundred taels from the Great Martial Dragon Bank, and tucked them into his sleeve with a smile.
He turned and slapped the face of a nearby spoiled son of a noble family, beaming with delight:
“Little brother, come ambush me more often. You’re practically my money god!”
Hearing this, not only did the slapped noble’s face turn green, but the other two’s faces turned so green they seemed to glow.
Li Wenxuan was surprised—after being angered, these spoiled sons actually turned green? Wonder if their hair would?
Hmm, not yet.
Li Wenxuan waved his hand with a cheerful grin. “Alright, I won’t see you off!”
The three staggered to their feet, dejectedly leaving the room.
One who had threatened with a cowardly expression was called in by Li Hui, who had him carried out.
Watching the crowd disperse, Li Wenxuan tidied up the bedding in the corner, dusted it off, threw it back on the bed, retrieved the jade pendant Zhao Hao had entrusted to him from the wardrobe, and leisurely left the mansion to attend the noon appointment.
---
“Unfilial son, do you know your mistake?”
In the main hall, Li Hu’s fury was so fierce that his wide-open eyes and furious face resembled nothing less than an old black bear.
Li Siming trembled in fear and suddenly knelt, astonishingly breaking into tears and remorse:
“Father, I truly didn’t know you had made such an agreement with that little bastard. I only heard that my second brother was bullied, so I gathered men from the barracks...”
“Hmph? You think I’m talking about this?” Li Hu roared, dragging off his shoe and fiercely beating Li Siming.
This unfilial son knew nothing of military discipline; if anyone investigated, the consequences would be severe!
---
“Ah! Father! Don’t hit my face! Don’t hit my face...”
“Smack! Smack!”
“Still not hitting your face? You care about your face? I’m going to beat it!”
...
Fifteen minutes later, Li Hu sat panting in a chair, while below him was Li Siming, battered and bruised.
His face was pitiful; his nose was broken and bleeding.
“Oh, my son!”
Cui’s voice suddenly cried out.
Li Siming quickly wiped his nosebleed and smeared it across his face!
In an instant, he wore a blood-smeared, terrifying old man’s mask.
Li Hu was dumbfounded.
Grandson, you have tricks?
No, wait, son, you have tricks?
“Ah! Li family! Siming is your own son! How can you be so cruel? If you have the guts, why don’t you take it out on that little bastard?”
Cui’s wails were heart-wrenching upon seeing her eldest son covered in blood.
“Mother, it hurts so much...”
Li Siming played the victim perfectly, swaying weakly as if about to depart this life peacefully.
Li Hu’s lips twitched.
Grandson, you really know how to play this!
“Unfilial son, with your cleverness, why not use it where it counts?”
Li Hu shouted angrily, grabbing his shoe to deliver another “fatherly” blow.
“Li Hu! Are you going to kill my eldest son?”
Cui spread her arms wide, protecting Li Siming like a hen with her chicks, hysterical.
Li Hu stopped in his tracks, annoyed. “I won’t waste words with a woman!”
He strode out decisively.
“Where are you going?” Cui shouted angrily. “I’ve heard rumors that you keep...”
Li Hu glared fiercely. “Shut up! Do you think I’m keeping her? I’m keeping her under the name of my superior’s concubine. If you say another word and the news leaks, we’ll all be finished!”
Cui paused, recalling something.
Among the capital’s high officials, some could not openly keep mistresses, so they kept women under the guise of their subordinates’ concubines.
Thus, even if the lawful wife found out, lacking direct evidence, she could only endure.
Her expression turned uneasy. “Then where are you going?”
Li Hu angrily patted his thick sleeve filled with silver certificates. “Of course to smooth relations with my father-in-law. The emperor is currently auditing military expenses!”
His earlier fierce fatherly resolve was gone, replaced by worry. “One misstep, and the whole family is finished!”