Imperial Husband Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Li Jin chuckled softly, "Lord Lan, it has been a long time. I trust you have been well?"

"I... I've been alright," Lan Mingzhou replied somewhat awkwardly. "But how is it that you, Heir Li, have come here?"

"Naturally, we came to handle some business," Ying Yuan squinted slightly as he walked over, positioning himself in front of Li Jin, and met Lan Mingzhou's gaze. "Lord Lan wouldn't be unwelcoming towards us, would you?"

Lan Mingzhou drew a sharp breath.

"You are the Sev—"

Li Jin calmly interrupted Lan Mingzhou's words, "Lord Lan, this is not the place for conversation. How about we go inside to discuss matters in detail?"

Lan Mingzhou understood the implication in Li Jin's words and only then noticed the personal advisor and the constable who had come out with him. They were standing there dumbfounded, having heard Lan Mingzhou address Li Jin as 'Heir (of a prince)'.

Lan Mingzhou immediately made amends, gesturing with a 'please' to Li Jin and Ying Yuan. "This way, gentlemen."

"I'm afraid we are imposing on Lord Lan."

With that said, Li Jin walked in together with Ying Yuan.

Once inside the inner hall, Lan Mingzhou promptly invited Li Jin and Ying Yuan to sit, then went to brew a pot of tea.

"It's only coarse tea. I hope you won't mind."

As he spoke, Lan Mingzhou picked up the teacups beside him and poured a cup of tea for each of Li Jin and Ying Yuan.

"It's of no consequence," Li Jin gave a light laugh, then picked up his teacup and took a sip before saying, "It's just that aside from those two individuals earlier, Lord Lan's yamen seems to have no other staff?"

"There is no helping it."

Lan Mingzhou gave a bitter smile and simply informed Li Jin and Ying Yuan about the situation at the yamen. At this point, he had nothing left that could be schemed against by others.

It turned out that when the former county magistrate Chen Manzhou fled back then, it wasn't because of Ying Ziqi's invitation, but because the wicked deeds he himself had committed were so numerous that writing them down would exhaust all bamboo slips, inciting an uncontrollable public fury, which forced him to choose to run away.

[罄竹难书 (qìng zhú nán shū): lit. so numerous that writing them down would exhaust all bamboo slips (ancient writing material); fig. describing crimes or misdeeds so numerous and heinous they are beyond full recounting].

However, it was precisely Chen Manzhou's irresponsible act of fleeing that completely ignited the people's rage, leading them to lose their senses and attack the yamen. That was why the yamen had become the dilapidated state it was in now.

At the same time, Chen Manzhou's previous actions also affected Lan Mingzhou, who came here to assume the post of county magistrate. Several times he found himself trapped inside the ruined yamen, unable to get out. Wanting help from the constables was even more wishful thinking.

After all, the common people had already suffered so greatly under the previous magistrate. Who would dare to become a constable now? If anything went wrong, they could easily become the target of the people's fury.

Lan Mingzhou was not one to sit idly by and wait for death. After numerous rounds of dealing with the people of Zhuzhou, and by using thunderous methods to discipline several local gentry who abused their power and bullied others, as well as the merchants associated with them, he finally managed to secure his position as the county magistrate of Zhuzhou.

The current personal advisor and constable at the yamen were both volunteers who came forward after Lan Mingzhou had built up a good reputation among the people. At the very least, this spared him from being a leader with no one to command.

However, every advantage has its drawback. While Lan Mingzhou had earned the people’s trust, he had also made enemies of the local gentry and wealthy merchants. So when later situations arose that required their support, they all offered excuses and refused to help. In the end, Lan Mingzhou had no choice but to set aside his pride and seek help from the common people—only then was he able to resolve matters.

The Lan family seemed to be aware of Lan Mingzhou's actions. To make life even more difficult for him, the Lan family even sent people to tell those local gentry and wealthy merchants that although Lan Mingzhou was ostensibly the legitimate son, he was actually not favored by the head of the Lan family, and the Lan family matriarch also detested him immensely. They were encouraged to act boldly against Lan Mingzhou, with the assurance that the Lan family would not hold them accountable.

Emboldened by this, those people became even more unrestrained in causing trouble.

Lan Mingzhou harbored no regrets about this. If the situation were to happen again, he would still choose to stand on the side of the common people.

"You've had it quite rough as well."

After hearing about Lan Mingzhou's experiences since arriving in Zhuzhou, Li Jin couldn't help but shake his head.

"I'm fine, really," Lan Mingzhou shook his head with a bitter smile. "What troubles me now is the grain you and the Seventh Prince have brought. I fear it will be very difficult to ensure it reaches the people."

The last time disaster relief grain arrived in Zhuzhou was right when Lan Mingzhou had just taken up his post here. He had no foundation at all, was being heavily suppressed by the Lan family, and could only watch in anger as the grain was divided up by those local gentry and merchants with backing and influence.

Therefore, upon learning that those transporting the grain this time were Li Jin and Ying Yuan, Lan Mingzhou resolutely chose to inform them of the situation.

Li Jin asked, as if he didn't already know, "You are a member of the Lan family. Even if they are dissatisfied with you, they shouldn't have acted so ruthlessly."

Lan Mingzhou shook his head, a flash of coldness quickly passing through his eyes.

"You are unaware, Heir Li. My status... is no longer what it once was. Those people dare to pressure me relentlessly precisely because it is sanctioned by the Lan family. To be honest, I don't care how they deal with me. But they should never have disregarded the life and death of the common people, colluded with those people, nor... dug up my mother's grave."

Mentioning the Lan family filled Lan Mingzhou's heart with fury and hatred.

The Lan family matriarch not only targeted Lan Mingzhou but also took action against the grave of his birth mother, whom she had long since harmed to death. She made Lan Mingzhou watch as his birth mother's grave was dug open, and then her corpse was whipped.

It completely severed Lan Mingzhou's last remaining shred of affection for the Lan family matriarch.

However, that was only the beginning.

Before Lan Mingzhou left to take up his post, he also suffered a vicious beating from the Lan family matriarch. Apart from visible areas, his body at that time was covered in wounds. And that wasn't all; the Lan family matriarch even ordered servants to sprinkle salt water on Lan Mingzhou's wounds, nearly taking his life.

"Your mother's grave?"

Ying Yuan's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.

He seemed not to have expected Lan Mingzhou to voluntarily reveal the dark secrets of the Lan family to them.

"I am not born of the Lan family matriarch..."

Lan Mingzhou did not conceal anything, telling Li Jin and Ying Yuan one by one the matters the Lan family had tried so hard to keep hidden.

Li Jin looked at Lan Mingzhou with deep meaning. "Lord Lan, why are you willing to tell us this?"

"I wish to pledge my allegiance to you, Heir Li."

Lan Mingzhou did not beat around the bush, directly stating his purpose.

This had been an idea Lan Mingzhou had harbored since the incident.

However, Lan Mingzhou and Li Jin were not familiar after all, and they had once been on opposing sides, which truly left Lan Mingzhou unsure how to proceed. Therefore, upon suddenly seeing Li Jin come to him this time, Lan Mingzhou naturally would not let go of this rare opportunity.

For the current Lan Mingzhou, the only person capable of giving him the strength to stand against the Lan family’s influence was Li Jin, the heir to the Prince of Dingbei.

As for why Lan Mingzhou did not go to pledge allegiance to the heirs of the Prince of Jingnan or the Prince of Pingxi, who also possessed military power, the reason was simple: they had long since secretly joined the factions of other princes. They were eagerly rubbing their hands together, waiting to claim the merit of supporting the future emperor. They would not possibly risk offending the Lan family for the sake of a disgraced Lan family son like him, creating obstacles for the prince they had aligned themselves with.

Therefore, Li Jin, with his powerful influence and opposition to Ying Zijun, was the most suitable candidate.

Although Li Jin had long harbored the thought of bringing Lan Mingzhou under his wing, it didn't mean he would immediately accept Lan Mingzhou's pledge of allegiance. "You just said yourself you are not born of the Lan family matriarch. With what do you pledge your allegiance to me?"

"My life," Lan Mingzhou said word by word. "If you are not at ease, Heir Li, I can give you my deed of sale."

Having said that, Lan Mingzhou took out a deed of sale he had prepared long ago from within his robes and handed it to Li Jin, demonstrating his resolve.

"Good."

Li Jin only said one word of agreement before accepting Lan Mingzhou's deed of sale.

"Thank you, Heir Li."

Seeing Li Jin accept the deed of sale, Lan Mingzhou's heart, which had been suspended all this time, finally settled.

This move by Lan Mingzhou was also a desperate gamble. If Li Jin had not agreed, Lan Mingzhou’s fate could only have been to break the cauldrons and sink the boats under the Lan family’s relentless pressure.

[破釜沉舟 (pò fǔ chén zhōu): lit. break the cauldrons and sink the boats (after crossing a river); fig. to commit to a course of action with no possibility of retreat]

Li Jin got straight to the point and inquired, "Lord Lan, how do you intend for me to help you?"

Lan Mingzhou suddenly stood up, cupping his hands respectfully. "The Lan family matter is not urgent. What I most desire now is for Heir Li to help me distribute all the disaster relief grain into the hands of the victims."

Lan Mingzhou could distinguish between primary and secondary matters.

He was now the parental official of Zhuzhou. The situation in Zhuzhou had only just stabilized a bit under his management. How could he possibly focus solely on private revenge and abandon the people?

"How do you want me to help?"

"Your subordinate wishes to..."

Lan Mingzhou immediately told Li Jin the plan he had devised.

"You truly wish to do it this way? They might not comply, and it's also not a long-term solution."

"Your subordinate cannot concern himself with that anymore. I implore you, Heir Li, to agree."

Thump.

Lan Mingzhou immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Li Jin, hoping he would agree.

Li Jin remained silent for a long moment before responding, "Very well. Since you are determined, I will not say anything more."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Heir Li. Mingzhou will certainly remember it in my heart."

Hearing Li Jin agree, Lan Mingzhou was overjoyed and repeatedly kowtowed several times to Li Jin.

"Enough," Li Jin quickly stopped Lan Mingzhou. "Don't you still need to go take inventory of the grain? You should go quickly. It wouldn't be good to delay."

"Right, right, your subordinate will go immediately."

Having said that, Lan Mingzhou hurriedly ran out.

Ying Yuan watched Lan Mingzhou's retreating figure with a grave expression. "A-Jin, I don't trust him."

"It's fine," Li Jin shook his head, smiling meaningfully. "As long as his allegiance is genuine, I won't mind those little schemes of his."

Ying Yuan looked up and met Li Jin's gaze. "A-Jin, aren't you afraid he might betray you?"

For some reason, Ying Yuan's heart strongly resisted Li Jin's attitude towards Lan Mingzhou. He had a feeling that something important was about to be taken away.

What's wrong with me? Why do I have this strange thought?

A complicated emotion, which even he himself couldn't understand, flashed through Ying Yuan's eyes as he looked at Li Jin.

Li Jin smiled slightly. "I have never trusted him in the first place, so how can there be talk of betrayal?"

With the experience of two lifetimes, Li Jin had learned to wear a gentle, refined smile, making it impossible for others to see through or guess his true inner thoughts. His heart was no longer as simple as it once was, and he could no longer let others see his true feelings.

And me? Do you trust me?

This sentence involuntarily surfaced in Ying Yuan's mind, but he was afraid the answer he might receive would be too difficult to bear, and simply lacked the courage to ask it aloud.

He could only suppress the real question and said, "That puts my mind at ease."