Delicate Flower

Chapter 140 – At one’s darkest hour

For several days, Jiang Chao couldn’t sleep at night and was mentally exhausted, so naturally he didn’t have the same insight and observational skills he had before. Furthermore, he had just discovered a solution that might save his life and thus got a little carried away, so he didn’t notice the caution and hesitation that Master Wu vaguely expressed in reply.

“No, no, no.” He said excitedly, “Isn’t it only because the officials were protecting each other that something happened to Mr.Wang? That’s how business is conducted sometimes, without the protection of an official, it can lead to a lot of trouble. I knew about the Pei family in Little Plum Lane of Lin’an City, but I only knew that they were a family with four successful scholar officials, but not much else. It was only last year, the Song family had their ship detained in Huai’an. You should know about the Song family in Suzhou, right? They too have officials in their family for several generations and are among one of the most distinguished and powerful families in Suzhou. Think about it, if such a family has their ship detained in Huai’an, it must be because they have committed a serious offense, possibly a significant one involving the imperial family. Their family begged for help from the Pei family of Lin’an City. I was so surprised when I heard! I knew that three of the four major surnames in Jiangnan were in your city, but there were no Pei family among the four major surnames, so I didn’t take it seriously. Later, after the Song family matter was settled, I inquired about the Pei family carefully. I was shocked to find out that the Pei family had officials in almost all their generations, yet this was not widely known. That’s impressive.”

Generations of people having served in the imperial court?

Neither Yu Wen nor Master Wu noticed this.

On closer examination, it seems that every generation of the Pei family really did have someone who was an official, but whether the Pei family became officials or were successful as scholars, they rarely celebrated with much fanfare, instead, they would hold a banquet no matter which family branch had a new-born.

Four official scholars in one family?!

In their memory, the three Pei brothers were all successful in the imperial examinations, and the grand elder was also a provincial scholar, so the Pei family should only have three scholars in one family generation. …… A lesser known fact was that the Pei family had another scholar in this generation, the son of the Pei family’s cousin, Pei Yi, called Pei Wang. However, Pei Yi was not in charge of handling any family affairs, and he seemed to be living on the silver from the Pei family’s official household accounts. Pei Wang quickly went to work as an official in Henan Province after obtaining the scholar title, and did not return when Grand Elder Pei died. Pei Yi did not say a word at the funeral ceremony of Grand Elder Pei from beginning to end, and when Pei Yan took over the Pei family, he seemed to be non-existent, so much so that the people of Lin’an City had no impression of this family branch of theirs.

Master Wu and Yu Wen could not help but both sweat a little.

They were people of Lin’an, and it took a man from Suzhou to remind them of this.

However, they still had local information.

Yu Wen couldn’t help but remark, “Pei Wang is a few years older than eldest master Pei, and he also was a successful scholar a few years earlier than him. He works as an official outside of Lin’an since then. I don’t know what rank he has now, or where he is serving. But he has a son, this I remember very distinctly. His son was just half a year older than my daughter. When his son was born, he scattered money at the entrance of Little Plum Lane, and that day it so happened that I was accompanying my wife to the shop by Plum Creek to buy sewing materials, and my wife exclaimed that the child would be reincarnated, and as she arrived near the Pei family’s entrance, she even rubbed her belly and wondered whether the baby would be a girl or a boy.”

Jiang Chao’s eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “This Master Pei of the Pei family is now working as a governor in Baoding Prefecture.”

Master Wu and Yu Wen were astonished.

Although the governor of Baoding was only a fourth-ranking governor, Baoding was in a special geographical location and was an essential transit place for people travelling from the north and the south into the capital. Among the officials posted outside the capital, the Governor of Baoding was the closest to the capital and thus the one most likely to be promoted to a position within the capital.

Although there was a saying in the imperial court that no one born of a concubine would enter the imperial court, if there was anyone who could break this rule, it would be the governor of Baoding.

Not only was there no news of this Master Pei in Lin’an, but instead, the news of the Li family’s Li Yi, who was formerly the governor in Rizhao, was being disseminated everywhere.

Yu Wen solemnly stated, “According to my memory, it seems that Master Pei Yi was also a governor in the past, but as he was not accustomed to the climate of the area under his jurisdiction, he fell seriously ill and nearly died, so he returned to his hometown to recover. Since then, he has not travelled much. He even refused Qian Tang Academy’s invitation to become the principal. At that time, I was still young, having just passed the preliminary examinations and not yet having earned the scholarly title. I also discussed with my fellow students, saying that if Master Pei Yi could go to Qiantang Academy to be principal, it would be easier for all of us, the students of Lin’an City, to enter the academy than others. After he refused the post, people had even guessed whether he was bedridden and dying soon.”

Little did he know that he would outlive Grand Elder Pei!

Well, that’s not quite right. They really didn’t know whether this Master Pei Yi was dead or alive.

Yu Wen glanced at Master Wu.

Master Wu had evidently thought of the same thing as Yu Wen. He hurriedly replied, ”He’s still here! I saw Master Pei Yi with my own eyes at the funeral ceremony. His hair had completely turned white, but he was still in good spirits, and he was walking without the need for a walking stick. “

Jiang Chao commented, “Their family is so low-key that it took me awhile to recall them.”

As Master Wu and Yu Wen thought about it, they were suddenly awe-struck by the Pei family.

The Pei family was a real noble family, not only did they contribute to the well-being of the community, but they were also modest and understated, truly beyond the level of an ordinary family.

Then, it wasn’t right for them to disturb them like this, would it?

Master Wu and Yu Wen exchanged a look again.

This time it was Yu Wen who spoke first, “The masters of the Pei family are all still in mourning, if we were to ask the Pei family for help in these matters ……”

Jiang Chao felt as though he was being doused with cold water in the middle of winter, and instantly his expression sank, saying, “I understand that their family is related to the Song family by marriage as well. When I was looking for investors in Suzhou City, the Song family wasn’t too keen about it, feeling that I’m threatening their business. Why would the Pei family possibly help us?”

Were the Pei family and the Song family in-laws?

As far as Master Wu knew, the two families didn’t seem to have a close relationship.

He asked curiously, “What kind of in-laws are the Pei family and the Song family?”

Yu Wen replied, “The Pei family and the Song family’s grand madams are cousins on the maternal side.”

Master Wu and Jiang Chao stared at him.

Only then did Yu Wen realise that not many people in Lin’an City knew that the Pei family and the Song family were related by marriage.

He unwittingly stirred up trouble, hadn’t he?

Yu Wen smiled bitterly inwardly and hurriedly added, “I heard this from someone, I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

Jiang Chao said, “It’s true! I have a good relationship with one of the Song family’s stewards, and he told me about it.”

He even knew that although the two grand madams were maternal cousins, the age difference between them was nearly twenty years. At the time when Grand Madam Song was being married off, Grand Madam Pei was not even born, so the two families did not share a deep relationship. It seems that something else happened later which caused a rift between the two families. Later on, all three sons of the Pei family were successful in the Imperial examinations, but only one son of the Song family was working as an official outside of the capital. As the Song family lowered their heads and flattered them, the two families gradually began to rebuild their relationship again.

Even so, when something happened to the Song family, the Pei family stepped in and saved both their lives and the ship.

“Indeed, it’s great to have somebody in the imperial court,” he said wistfully and let out a long sigh.

Neither Master Wu nor Yu Wen replied his comment.

Only then did Jiang Chao sense that the two were a little apprehensive.

He smiled wryly.

Having owed the two men so much silver, they didn’t push him for payment, and even saved his mother, and now they took him in when he had nowhere else to go. He already owed them a tremendous debt of gratitude, and it would be wrong of him to force them to introduce him to the Pei family.

He would have to think of another way.

Jiang Chao pondered on this and changed the subject, asking about the origins of Zhaoming Temple.

Master Wu and Yu Wen smiled in unison.

Regardless of what they thought, the three of them joked and laughed all the way to Zhaoming Temple, and by the time they got down from the mountain, they had already started to address each other as brothers.

When they returned to the Yu family’s home, Jiang Chao wearily retired to the guest room to rest, but Master Wu took this opportunity to pull Yu Wen to talk with him at the door as he accompanied him out. “Elder brother Yu, tell me the truth, how exactly did you know that the Pei and Song families were related by marriage? I’m considered to be a fairly well-connected person in Lin’an City, but I’ve never heard of it.”

Yu Wen’s face showed some hesitation.

Master Wu added, “Don’t think of using the same trick you used on Brother Jiang on me either, I’m not an unseasoned young chap like him.”

Yu Wen rubbed his head, not knowing what to say.

Master Wu thus said bluntly, “I won’t push you for an answer, but just tell me, how is your relationship with the third master of the Pei family? If we were to request help from him for the Wang family’s affairs, would he see us?”

Yu Wen felt a sense of relief and said candidly, “I really don’t know! Third Master, although he may seem young, is actually quite temperamental. I’ve never had to trouble him like this before.”

In the case of the auction of the nautical chart, the Pei family stood to benefit from it, which was why he dared to approach him.

However, for this matter, for the Pei family to intervene, it would be purely a favour for him to do so.

He didn’t even know if he was thick-skinned enough to ask for it.

“Could it be that you want to help Brother Jiang pull some strings?” Yu Wen said, “Businessmen indeed value profits over relationships……”

Master Wu shook his head as he lowered his voice, saying “It’s a win-win situation! In all likelihood, I don’t think we’ll get our money back, but you know Master Jiang’s personality. He’s a good talker and can easily impress people. If we introduce him to Third Master Pei, perhaps things will change for the better and he can stand up again with the help of the Pei family’s strength!”

After all was said and done, he still wanted to have Jiang Chao earn back the money he invested previously.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

If this matter only involved himself, Yu Wen would definitely refuse, but he had caused Master Wu to incur a loss, and with Master Wu begging him like this, he was forced to consider if this matter was feasible.

“How about I give it a try?” Yu Wen said belatedly, “I’m not sure if Third Master Pei will agree.”

If it is possible to try, there could be a chance.

Master Wu was overjoyed and said, “If Third Master can take over the Pei family and still keep everyone in check, then he isn’t a man with only empty talk. Even if he is, he’s still a man hiding a sword behind a smile. Don’t think I’m only doing this for the sake of a few pieces of silver, my primary goal is to get closer with Third Master Pei.”

Even if there was nothing, he had to find something, not to mention that there was really something serious going on right now.

Yu Wen could understand his feelings and nodded.

Master Wu admonished him, “Don’t tell Master Jiang first, only tell him when Third Master is willing to see us.” After saying this, he even winked towards Yu Wen.

Yu Wen thought he was afraid of embarrassing himself, but in fact, Master Wu wanted to mislead Jiang Chao into thinking that they had a good relationship with Pei Yan, so that Jiang Chao would be most willing to find a way to earn back the silver they had invested.