Matters of the court were known only to the Emperor and officials, not outsiders.
Especially the seventh-rank official family living next door to Chen Liejiu's property, who had no access to court proceedings, remained unaware.
One day, Pang Guanyu, the son of the Pang household next door, returned home from the Imperial College and noticed activity in the long-abandoned residence next door. Entering his home, he asked his mother and sisters curiously: "Did some buy the house next door?"
His sister pursed her lips discontentedly. "Indeed."
Pang Guanyu raised an eyebrow. "What kind of family?"
"A man. Didn't say what family," his sister Pang Guanyu bit her lip. "Probably just a merchant. I saw bosses from several trading firms in the city quite eager to please him."
"A man." Pang Guanyu felt a bit disappointed hearing it was just a man. But then, hearing merchants were currying favor with him, his eyes lit up. "So he must be very wealthy!"
"Of course, a merchant must be rich!" Pang Guanyu looked curiously at her brother. "That house next door is in ruins, yet he spent three thousand taels to buy it. He must be truly wealthy."
"Three thousand taels?!" Pang Guanyu was shocked. Their own house had cost only fifteen hundred taels. Although smaller than the neighboring property, it was fully equipped and move-in ready.
The neighboring house was spacious, but spending an extra fifteen hundred taels essentially just for the land? The structures were surely unusable. Last winter during heavy snow, he'd heard walls and tiles collapsing under the weight inside. For a man to spend three thousand taels on such a ruin, he must be an easily duped fool.
Pang Guanyu thought of his Imperial College classmates who often invited him to the Drunken Sage Pavilion. He always declined due to empty pockets. If he could befriend the merchant man next door, borrowing eighty or a hundred taels shouldn't be a problem, right?
Considering his own reasonably good looks and decent family background, it would be perfect if the merchant man took a liking to him. Borrowed my wouldn't need repayment; he could just take him as a concubine later.
Pang Guanyu plotted beautifully. He specifically instructed the gatekeeper to notify him when the merchant man appeared. He needed to properly "meet" him.
However, when he groomed himself and went to see the merchant man, he was first captivated by Chen Liejiu's sun-like, fiery handsomeness. Then, he was startled to see his own father speaking with the merchant man.
Pang Guanyu exclaimed in surprise, "Father?"
"Hmm, back from college?" Pang Taihe acknowledged his son, then introduced him to Chen Liejiu. "This is my unworthy son."
Chen Liejiu nodded slightly, offering no greeting.
"And this is...?" Pang Guanyu looked at Chen Liejiu. Seeing his face like bright moon, delicate brows, large eyes, red lips, and white teeth, his heart raced uncontrollably. What a beautiful man!
In that moment, he decided: even without my, he would take him!
But remembering his father's presence, he suppressed his agitation and asked, "Who is this?"
"Don't ask about what doesn't concern you. Go tell your mother to prepare tea for us," Pang Taihe said, unsure how to introduce Chen Liejiu to his son, brushing him off. "I need to oversee repairs on this gentleman's residence next door."
"Gentleman?!" Upon hearing the merchant man was married, Pang Guanyu felt a pang of disappointment.
But hearing his father was to repair the house for him, he exploded: "Repair the residence?!"
What ability did this merchant man possess to make his father, an official, repair his house?!
His father was a seventh-rank official in the Ministry of Works! Besides the court or the imperial family, who could possibly commission his father for construction?
But why would the court or imperial family repair a house in their neighborhood? And such a dilapidated at that?
"Mm." Pang Taihe shook his head at his son's exaggerated reaction and casually brushed him off. "Go home. We're busy trying to meet the deadline."
Pang Guanyu watched dumbfounded as his father actually led his team into the neighboring property and started working. Was this merchant man actually some important?
Both Pang Guanyu and his sister Pang Guanyu were completely bewildered by their father suddenly rushing off to repair the neighbor's house!
They thought he was just a merchant man with some my, but it seemed this man also had influence?
The siblings were intensely curious about their neighbor. After subtly questioning their father for days, they finally learned that the man had rendered service to the court, and that's why the court was helping repair his house.
He also had a husband who married into his family. He was fixing up this house to welcome his husband, who was coming to the capital for the imperial exams.
Hearing this, Pang Guanyu felt unsettled.
He was a Juren too! Why hadn't he ever encountered such a devoted and capable man?
Pang Guanyu recalled the stunning glimpse of Chen Liejiu's face and his father's mention that he used his own merit to request the house repairs for his husband.
He couldn't sleep at night!
One day, returning from the Imperial College, he encountered Chen Liejiu coming back from outside. For some reason, almost involuntarily, he walked up to Chen Liejiu.
Chen Liejiu recognized him—the son of the Ministry of Works official next door. He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Why don't you... take me as your husband instead?"
Initially, Pang Guanyu thought if Chen Liejiu were just a merchant man, taking him as a concubine would suffice. But if he had merit with the court, he couldn't be treated so casually.
He observed that Chen Liejiu had an air of bold independence; he probably wasn't the type to be confined to the inner chambers. No wonder a fine man like him chose to have a man marry into his family.
If he were an ordinary man, that would be thing. But he wasn't ordinary! This was a man who could actually help him in his official career!
Considering the benefits—marrying into his family, having him use his connections to secure an official post from the Emperor—wouldn't that be much easier than toiling away at the exams he kept failing?
Thinking this, marrying into the family didn't seem so bad after all. So he boldly blocked Chen Liejiu's path.
Chen Liejiu was shocked by his audacity. "Huh?"
"My father is a seventh-rank official, so I'm from an official's family. I'm not bad-looking," Pang Guanyu boasted without pause. "I also keep myself clean; I don't visit brothels. Wouldn't marrying me be better than that country bumpkin you married?"
In the Jin Dynasty, men could easily divorce. Especially since Chen Liejiu was the who had a husband marry in, divorcing and remarrying would be simple!
Pang Guanyu felt his chances were pretty good.
Other men might find marrying in humiliating, but when he thought about this man's looks, wealth, and ability to advance his career, he didn't mind at all.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
He had it all figured out, but after hearing him out, Chen Liejiu laughed until his stomach hurt.
"What are you laughing at?" Pang Guanyu was confused.
"At you!" Chen Liejiu held his stomach, laughing hard. "HAHAHAHA, some like you isn't worth half a finger of my husband!"
"How do you have the courage to say such things to me?"
"I'm not worth half a finger of his?" Pang Guanyu couldn't believe his ears. "How is that possible?"
His looks might not be the best in the capital, but he was somewhat famous at the Imperial College. How could he be inferior to some country bumpkin?
"How is it impossible?" After laughing, Chen Liejiu rubbed his sore stomach and pointed at himself. "A man like me—if my husband weren't absolutely peerless in this world, how could I possibly fancy him!"
Chen Liejiu knew this guy's interest wasn't genuine; he'd probably heard something from his father!
He retorted without mercy: "Only a man as exceptionally brilliant as my husband is worthy of my lifelong devotion. Some like you isn't even fit to shine my shoes. Give up this idea now. If you want to attach yourself to some useful, you need to make something of yourself first. If you're just a third-rate character, how would an outstanding person ever fancy you?"
With that, Chen Liejiu walked past him without a second glance. He was a busy man.
After handing over the imitation silver charcoal method to the court, to appease the Changnan Chamber members, he had to share his brick kiln method as well.
Now the entire Changnan region was developing positively. People in many areas could afford to build houses. Expanding brick kilns might not bring huge profits, but they could still make decent my.
Lately, he'd also discovered that the soil in Changnan produced better quality bricks than other places. He was considering collaborating with the Chamber to promote these bricks to other Provincial Administration Commissions. Maybe there would be unexpected gains?
However, these weren't what troubled Chen Liejiu. What troubled him was: Why hadn't his little husband arrived in the capital yet?
The house was ready. The agreed-upon arrival date had passed days ago. The Metropolitan Exams were approaching soon. Even with delays on the road, he should have arrived by now!
Why wasn't he here?
Could something have happened on the journey?
Just as Chen Liejiu was growing extremely worried, Xu Huaiqian's boat finally arrived.
There had indeed been some trouble on the journey.
Even Xu Huaiqian himself hadn't expected that this body would get seasick!
He thought that with his modern constitution—which had no problem with sea voyages—traveling by boat here would be fine. But as soon as he boarded, he felt terribly dizzy!
They had to disembark and rest after each day of travel. Otherwise, with his sickly physique, he'd never make it to the capital alive. That's why they were several days late.
After disembarking, Xu Huaiqian was so dizzy he couldn't even manage the luggage. He asked Wang Wanwan to find the person Chen Liejiu had surely sent to wait at the dock, to get the address of their new home.
Once they had the address, the group headed straight for the new residence Chen Liejiu had bought for Xu Huaiqian. Every was curious about what kind of house Chen Liejiu, who doted on Xu Huaiqian so much, would have chosen. They all went along to see.
When their carriage arrived,
Pang Guanyu from next door, still deeply offended by Chen Liejiu's words, walked out with a dark expression. He was determined to see what this supposedly "peerlessly brilliant" husband of Chen Liejiu's actually looked like!