Favoring the concubine and killing the wife? She divorced the concubine and lived with her concubine

Xiao Lan followed behind Xiao Zongshan and looked at Su Ze acting like a county magistrate. She felt that this person was very suitable to be watched.

His always serious expression and polite manners that always maintain a proper manner and keep people at a distance really make him suitable to be a leader.

The two men sat down, and Su Ze sat with them, exchanging a few pleasantries without getting to the point.

"Sir, the affairs of South City are the affairs of us ordinary people. You are the father and mother of the people. You work hard for us. We see it with our own eyes and are grateful in our hearts."

Xiao Zongshan first expressed that he knew what Su Ze meant, and he also actively cooperated, creating a good, relaxed and harmonious communication atmosphere here.

Xiao Lan was just hanging around today, knowing that his father had brought him here just to show him how he negotiated with officials. After all, in business, many documents had to go through the government, and without the government's support, many things would be much more difficult.

Needless to say, the previous Magistrate, Old Sun, provided Xiao Zongshan with many conveniences. Although the subsequent Magistrate was no longer a relative, Xiao Zongshan would naturally not neglect him. He should give due respect and even more benefits, but that Magistrate only stayed for two years before being transferred to the capital for a promotion. He didn't have much contact with Su Ze now, but it was easy to get in touch with him if he wanted to.

For example, this city wall is an opportunity for the two to quickly close the distance.

Originally, the city wall was not damaged so badly, but Xiao Zongshan had something to do, which aggravated the damage.

"Mr. Xiao, I invited you here this time because I hope you can take the lead among the merchants and bring up the date for repairing the city wall, just like before." Su Ze went straight to the point. He didn't like to play along with others in a hypocritical way.

"Oh, it was once every five years before, but this time it's earlier." Xiao Zongshan pretended to be surprised, turned his head to look at Xiao Lan, with an embarrassed look on his face.

Xiao Lan nodded in agreement, but she didn't know what expression to make, looking embarrassed. Su Ze looked at her, but thought she was also cooperating with Xiao Zongshan in making an embarrassed expression.

"Boss Xiao, Madam Sun. Tea please..."

Pan Yingqiu walked in with tea, and Su Ze's face was filled with displeasure. However, he couldn't get angry in front of Xiao Zongshan and Xiao Lan, so he just nodded to signal her to put down the tea and leave.

He looked outside the door and saw the servant's figure milling around outside. He knew that Pan Yingqiu was acting on his own again.

When Xiao Lan first met Pan Yingqiu, she had never remembered that a man like Su Ze had a maid. However, this person did not look like a maid. Although the pearls and jade on her hair were not fancy, they were not ordinary things, and her clothes were made of exquisite materials.

Xiao Zongshan also took a closer look at Pan Yingqiu in front of him. He was an old hand and knew that this person was not an ordinary person the moment he appeared.

"Who is this..." Xiao Zongshan just wanted to get closer. If she was his wife or something, he could prepare gifts for her in the future. However, he also knew that Su Ze was unmarried. He thought that since he had heard that Su Ze's parents were coming, maybe she was his sister or something like that.

"My cousin came here to play with my parents." Su Ze said it casually. He pretended not to see Xiao Lan's face that said "you are lying".

Xiao Zongshan just nodded and smiled, pretending not to hear the displeasure in Su Ze's voice.

"This is the scented tea my cousin specially prepared for Madam Sun. It's sweet and refreshing." Pan Yingqiu looked at Xiao Lan softly and said, turning to Xiao Zongshan, "This tea is now in its prime. My cousin specially asked my uncle to bring it from the capital to entertain our distinguished guests."

Su Ze was very displeased with her hypocritical look, and he didn't have the ability to pretend, so Xiao Lan saw through all his inner thoughts.

At this time, Master Cui walked in and bowed to everyone. Pan Yingqiu was very tactful now.

"I won't disturb you all." After saying that, he left.

Su Ze clenched his fists in anger but had no place to vent his anger.

"Master Xiao, that's why I specifically asked you to come here in advance to discuss this. The merchants in South City all look up to you as their leader. If you can say a few good words and persuade them, the other merchants will naturally have no complaints."

Master Cui directly brought everyone back to the topic, and Su Ze's clenched fists slowly relaxed.

Su Ze had only ever suffered this kind of humiliation from Xiao Lan, and now Pan Yingqiu was also causing trouble everywhere. She always went against his wishes and did things that made him unhappy. He couldn't push her away or throw her away, so he had to bear the disgust all by himself.

Pan Yingqiu's attitude of "I don't mind how you treat me" made Su Ze feel like he was punching into cotton.

"Oh, Master Cui, you're really embarrassing me. I rely on the wealth earned by my ancestors to support such a large family. How can I be the boss of those merchants? Besides, it's almost the New Year, and every family needs money. I'm afraid it's difficult to ask for stockpiling and paying bills." Xiao Zongshan picked up the tea, took a sip, and pointed at the tea with a look of surprise on his face, "Hmm... this tea is wonderful!"

Su Ze knew that this was just Xiao Zongshan's excuse. He had always been ahead before, so how could his words no longer work a year in advance?

So he guessed that Xiao Zongshan must have some ulterior motive and was deliberately making things difficult for him. After all, businessmen would not do anything without profit, and they would not easily give anything without some benefit.

Xiao Lan didn't care what they said. She had seen too much of this kind of pretense in her previous career. Xiao Zongshan thought he was bringing Xiao Lan out to see the world, but in fact, Xiao Lan had seen too much of this kind of thing and was too lazy to read it.

To avoid appearing awkward, Xiao Lan also took a sip of the scented tea, and her eyes lit up. She wasn't really fond of scented tea, as she always felt the floral scent was different from the tea leaves, and it felt strange to soak it in water. Her ex-husband used to like to make her scented tea, with roses and the like, but what he didn't know was that Xiao Lan hated roses soaked in water the most. The tea in the cup now contained jasmine, which was thankfully fresh and elegant. The green tea masked the floral scent, and the honey added a touch of sweetness.

Xiao Lan felt like she was drinking a drink that she had occasionally drunk before, and it felt very familiar.

While Su Ze was busy responding to Xiao Zongshan's implicit words, Master Cui took note of Xiao Lan's satisfaction with the flower tea.

"Yes, I understand that the merchants are having difficulties. But the city wall is the foundation of the city, and our southern city borders neighboring countries on both sides. Although we are living in a peaceful and prosperous era now, we still need to take necessary precautions. Ultimately, this is about protecting the safety of the people." Su Ze's words sounded high-sounding, but they were just to get Xiao Zongshan to reveal his cards as soon as possible.

"Lord Su is right! In these peaceful and prosperous times, we have done business with neighboring countries before. I have a good business deal with a medicine merchant in Xiangquan Town, a neighboring country. However, in order to reduce costs and use water transportation, I need official approval. If this deal can be completed before the New Year, I will definitely be able to raise the largest donation among merchants, and then other merchants will definitely not give me a hard time. What do you think?"