Song Xuanzhi walked into the room with a light and cheerful step full of anticipation. Wherever he looked, he saw his brother-in-law Yang Anmin, who was concentrating on reading documents.

Looking closely, I saw that my brother-in-law was wearing a shiny black gauze hat and an emerald green waistcoat official robe embroidered with lifelike oriole patterns. He exuded an indescribable majesty.

Song Xuanzhi stared at his brother-in-law, with an irrepressible feeling of envy in his heart. He longed to be like his brother-in-law, wearing a black gauze hat, a gorgeous official uniform, and followed by a group of flattering followers, enjoying wealth and honor.

Song Xuanzhi stepped forward, spoke softly, and respectfully called out, "Brother-in-law." However, this call did not receive the expected enthusiastic response. On the contrary, County Magistrate Yang showed obvious displeasure on his face.

It turned out that he always hated others who used their family connections to get close to the government office, so he just said expressionlessly and calmly: "Well, what is the purpose of your visit today?" His words revealed a hint of indifference and alienation.

Seeing his brother-in-law's attitude, Song Xuanzhi knew that he must have already forgotten about Su Yu.

He quickly suppressed his inner disappointment, put on his signature Maitreya Buddha smile, and patiently and thoroughly explained, "I came here this time because of the matter my brother-in-law entrusted me with last time. It was about that student named Su Yu. Back then, my brother-in-law asked me to make him notorious."

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Yang finally woke up from his dream, and his previous vigilance disappeared in an instant. After all, he had been extremely busy with many things recently and he really had no time to be distracted by such trivial matters.

So he smiled slightly: "How is it going?"

When Song Xuanzhi saw the smile on his brother-in-law's face, it was as if a flame was ignited in his heart, and he instantly became extremely excited.

His eyes narrowed slightly due to excessive joy.

He continued excitedly, "Last time, I specially invited him to go to that romantic place - the brothel, and took the opportunity to give him a strong dose of medicine.

Then, I spread the news everywhere, saying that he stayed in the brothel all night and did not come back. In this way, his reputation was completely ruined!" At this point, Song Xuanzhi couldn't help but raise his chin triumphantly.

Then, he added proudly, "Not only that, I even spent a full 100 taels of silver to successfully bribe the highly respected Master Yuan.

With my careful planning, the teacher finally kicked him out of the academy. Now, he has lost the guidance and instruction of a good teacher, and also carries the ignominious reputation of being dull-witted.

In my opinion, I'm afraid no college will be willing to accept him anymore? Hehe, it seems that this time, Su Yu is destined to be isolated from the path of imperial examinations! "

After saying this, Song Xuanzhi felt even more that he was very clever and resourceful, so he held his head high and chest out, his face full of anticipation for praise.

County Magistrate Yang had a sharp gaze and instantly saw through his brother-in-law's complacency that was difficult to conceal, but he did not expose it. He thought to himself: In this matter, my brother-in-law has done his best and handled it quite properly.

After a moment's thought, County Magistrate Yang said slowly, "I'm really sorry to have troubled you with this matter. Consider this silver as a reward. Use it to enjoy the wine." After that, he reached into his arms, took out a bulging blue purse, and gently placed it on the table.

Seeing this, Song Xuanzhi hurried forward, bent down respectfully, and carefully picked up the purse. He held the purse tightly, his joy overflowing with words. Then he bowed solemnly to his brother-in-law with a fist, smiling broadly, and said, "Thank you for your generous gift, brother-in-law. I will no longer bother you with your official business, and I will take my leave."

County Magistrate Yang nodded slightly and responded with "hmm", then he no longer paid attention to his brother-in-law and quickly shifted his attention to the letter below the document.

He picked up the pen and wrote a few short lines in one stroke. After a brief pause, he waited for the ink to dry, then took the sealing wax and carefully dripped it on the seal of the envelope. Then he stamped it with a small and exquisite seal and sealed it tightly.

County Magistrate Yang looked out the door and shouted, "Someone come!"

Not long after, a yamen runner in uniform arrived. This man, Liu Jue, was a close confidant of Yang Anmin. He quickly approached, knelt on his knees, and asked, "What orders does your Excellency have?"

County Magistrate Yang casually handed over the wax-sealed envelope in his hand and said, "Send this letter to General Bai's residence. Make sure to deliver it to the hands of the Fourth Young Master Bai, or his servant Bai Shu. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I'll go right away." Liu Jue stepped forward and carefully took the envelope. He respectfully took a few steps back before turning around and leaving.

Song Xuanzhi was overjoyed, his face filled with joy that was hard to conceal. He walked out of the room as quickly as if he was walking on light clouds.

Along the way, he couldn't help humming cheerful tunes softly, and he was in a particularly happy mood.

After leaving the county government gate, Song Xuanzhi couldn't wait to find a quiet and secluded corner.

He carefully took out the blue purse and gently untied the knot, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. When he saw the three large silver ingots neatly arranged in the purse, he couldn't help but feel excited.

Each silver ingot was heavy, weighing a full ten taels! However, as he continued to explore deeper, he discovered that there was also a silver note with a face value of one hundred taels hidden inside. However, after searching deeper, he could no longer find any other valuables.

Song Xuanzhi's expression instantly became a little lost and dissatisfied. After deducting the one hundred taels of silver he had given to Master Yuan as a token of respect, he actually only got a mere thirty taels.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but secretly complain about his brother-in-law: "He is so stingy!" In fact, Song Xuanzhi knew clearly in his heart that although his brother-in-law only received a pitiful six taels of salary every month, in fact, the gifts from the subordinate yamen runners and constables during festivals and the endless bribes from the wealthy businessmen who sought help made his brother-in-law's actual income far more than that.

This feeling of being looked down upon filled Song Xuanzhi's heart with resentment and unwillingness. However, at this moment, he seemed to have completely forgotten the expenses of his daily pens, ink, paper, and inkstone, as well as the various expenses required for studying. All of these expenses were maintained with the generous support of his brother-in-law and sister. Perhaps, this is the truest portrayal of the so-called "a peck of rice is a favor, a peck of rice is a grudge."

However, he changed his mind and felt that something was better than nothing. Even if he used up all the money, it would not matter. He could just ask his sister for more. Thinking of this, he could not help but feel secretly happy and felt very lucky to have a sister who loved her brother so much.

With money in hand, he could invite several classmates of slightly higher status in the academy to drink tea and discuss philosophy together, thereby enhancing friendship between them and paving the way for his future official career.

As for why he didn't call on Han Qin and Lin Lantian? The reason was simple: these two were of humble origins and only fit to serve as his lackeys, thereby highlighting his nobility and superiority. Only by having such people around could he demonstrate his extraordinary temperament as a noble young man.

It is said that a three-story teahouse has recently opened in the east of the city. Its interior furnishings are elegant and exquisite, and there are many precious calligraphy works by literati hanging on the walls. It has a very elegant style and is therefore deeply favored and appreciated by the literati community.

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