Going to Beijing to save his father, all the powerful officials in the city are vying to be his fath

Zhao Jian glanced at Zhao Gupan coldly: "They hurt you so badly, and you still want to plead for them?"

Zhao Gupan shuddered with fear and said timidly, "It's not father. They deserved whatever fate they received for betraying their master, but I don't want you to be convicted of murder for your sake. It's too unlucky. Father has just been released from house arrest and will be reinstated tomorrow. I can't let these dirty things tarnish your reputation."

Zhao Jian stared at Zhao Gupan, as if he wanted to see through her. Zhao Gupan couldn't help trembling under this cold and intimidating look, but she still forced herself to stand straight.

Zhao Liangchen spoke up at the right time to help her out: "Father, my elder sister is right. It is a very shameful thing for a servant in the mansion to betray his master. You have just been released from house arrest. If you beat too many servants to death with a stick, I am afraid it will attract impeachment from the censor. Our mansion is in the spotlight right now, so it is not appropriate to make it too public."

Zhao Jian looked at Zhao Liangchen and remembered that he still had to compete for the position of deputy commander. If someone died now, he would be easily impeached. King Liang was determined to get this position, so there should be no unnecessary trouble at this time.

But he couldn't get rid of this anger, and he felt suffocated. He had never suffered such humiliation before.

Zhao Liangchen saw that he was unwilling to accept this, so he said, "Father, sometimes living is more painful than dying."

Zhao Jian narrowed his eyes and revealed a strange smile: "You are right."

He asked the housekeeper to hire a slave. The servants were relieved when they heard that a slave had been hired. They knew that if they were sold, they would be able to survive. They were slaves, and their lives were to be sold. They would have to do the same work no matter where they were sold.

But they soon regretted it, because after the man came, Zhao Jian actually asked the man to sell all the female servants to the lowest brothels. Those brothels were full of the lowest class of people, and the people who came and went were all men who did hard labor. These men had to pay a few cents to find a woman, and they wanted to get a few taels of silver back from the woman. Few women could survive, and they often died miserably.

Men were sold to the mines. Once they were sold to such a place, they were no longer human beings. They were worse than animals. They were worked to death every day. It was simply a life worse than death.

Therefore, all the servants were frightened and burst into tears when they heard Zhao Jian's order. They wanted to ask for help, but unfortunately, the young men had money to earn, so how could they let them go? It didn't take long before they were dragged away while crying, including Xing'er and others who had fainted from crying.

The boy brought a lot of servants with him. Madam Zhao was usually in charge of buying servants. Zhao Liangchen was not interested in caring about what kind of people she wanted. He would use whoever was given to him. So he found an excuse to leave. Zhao Gupan saw him leaving and wanted to follow him, but she wanted to stay and choose her own maid herself, so she could only watch Zhao Liangchen leave.

Zhao Liangchen did not return to his yard. He went to find Qi Lusheng. He did not go to Qi's house. He just went to the area with the most restaurants in the city and happened to meet Qi Lusheng, who was dressed in fancy clothes and calling his friends.

Qi Lusheng saw him still waving happily from the upstairs window: "Liangchen, here, here."

Zhao Liangchen stood downstairs, looked up and said to Qi Lusheng with a smile, "I knew I'd meet you here."

Qi Lusheng said with a grin, "I have nothing else to do except drink and brag. Come up, let's have a drink."

Zhao Liangchen shook his head: "No, I have something I want to ask you for help."

Qi Lusheng said readily, "Just wait."

Soon, they heard a thumping sound. Qi Lusheng quickly ran down the stairs and jumped directly in front of Zhao Liangchen: "Hurry up and tell me what's going on. I'm really bored."

Zhao Liangchen asked with a smile, "Are you happy running errands for me?"

Qi Lusheng nodded: "Happy, you are a popular person now. I heard that many officials in the court today recommended you for promotion to deputy commander of the imperial guards. You are going to be promoted, so I have to hold your thigh tightly in advance."

Zhao Liangchen: "You think something that you don't even have a clue about is worthy of your attention? Besides, with your status, why do you need to cling to me? I should be clinging to you."

Qi Lusheng waved his hand and said, "I have a hunch that the position of deputy commander is definitely yours. Who among us older young masters is as capable as you? Let's not talk about who is clinging to whom. Let's talk about what's going on."

Zhao Liangchen pulled Qi Lusheng along as they walked, saying, "During my confinement, in order to leave the mansion to look for you, I caused some trouble, causing many of the servants to run away. These people were later captured by your uncle, and today I am going to bring them out. They are all runaway slaves, and my father, in his rage, wants to sell them to the lowest brothels and mines.

These people were implicated by me, and I don't want them to end up in a miserable situation. However, I can't intervene right now, so I'd like to ask you to find someone to redeem them after they're sold. I have some property and can place them there."

Qi Lusheng: "I know about this. I heard from my uncle that these people fled overnight when they learned that something might happen to your house. It was their own ruthlessness and lack of loyalty. I don't blame you. If they hadn't run away and were willing to share the hardship with you, this wouldn't have happened.

I can help you redeem them, but these deserters who betray their masters will betray them twice if they betray them once. It's best if you don't use them. At worst, I can find a good man to sell them to a better family."

Zhao Liangchen shook his head: "If a person does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. They are also trying to survive, so I can't blame them. Since they have ended up like this because of me, I should be responsible."

Qi Lusheng sighed and patted Zhao Liangchen on the shoulder, saying, "Hey, that's just how you are. You're so kind and take everything on yourself. Okay, I'll do it."

Zhao Liangchen took out a banknote and handed it to him: "Thank you very much. When I'm done with this busy period, I'll have a drink with you."

Qi Lusheng took the banknote, looked at it, and sighed, "You've almost spent all the money you've saved over the years. Sometimes I really don't know what you're after."

Zhao Liangchen: "I have spent almost all of it, but money is just material possessions. Once it's gone, you can just earn more. People are more important than money."

Qi Lusheng put away the banknote and said, "Alright, Mr. Zhao, I'm going to do something. When I come back, you must treat me to a nice drink."

Zhao Liangchen smiled and said, "Okay."

After watching Qi Lusheng's back walk away, Zhao Liangchen slowly walked towards Zeng Lao's home.

Arriving at Zeng Lao's house, Zhao Liangchen told Zeng Lao what had happened today in detail: "Master Su is staying at the Fuchun Inn in the west of the city now. When you meet Su Qin, tell her if she wants to meet her parents."

Zeng Lao nodded and said, "Then I will go see Su Qin tomorrow. It just so happens that the disaster victims' affairs have been almost dealt with, and Su Qin's father has been rescued. It's time to bring that girl back."

Zhao Liangchen nodded, and suddenly said with some melancholy: "Although I don't know what kind of official position Lord Su will assign, but I guess based on King Liang's character, it is unlikely that he will stay here. He should find a way to send him far away. If he is sent abroad, should Su Qin go with them?"

Zeng Lao also sighed: "It's right for her to follow her parents. No matter how good we are to her, it's not as good as having her parents by her side. This child has never lived with her parents since she was a child. This time, she should be with her parents for a few days to enjoy their love."

Zhao Liangchen didn't know why he felt a little lost. He said worriedly, "But she hasn't been with her father since she was a child, and her mother is her stepmother. What if her stepmother treats him badly?"

He had experienced this kind of hardship himself, so he felt that it was impossible for a stepmother to treat her stepchildren well. His mother couldn't even tolerate him, a illegitimate son, so how could Su Qin's stepmother tolerate her, the eldest legitimate daughter?

Mr. Zeng was also a little worried, but he was not so pessimistic. "I see Su Qin is trying so hard to rescue her parents, so her parents should treat her well. Even if they do, it doesn't matter. If she is willing, she can stay. This time, she has rescued them and it can be regarded as repaying her kindness. She will live with me in the future, and I will not treat her badly."