Chapter 254: The Road to High Office 54 (Bug Fix)

Chapter 254: The Road to High Office 54 (Bug Fix)

Xu Zeping held an oil-paper umbrella in one hand and Cheng Ge Er's hand in the other as the two strolled leisurely along Jiling Street.

On this cold winter day, even with the rare appearance of a warm sun, there were not many people wandering the streets.

The usually lively Jiling Street was now relatively quiet, with passersby hurrying along, huddled against the cold.

"Tanghulu! Selling tanghulu (candied fruit skewers)!"

Among the hurried crowd, Xu Zeping and Cheng Ge Er stood out conspicuously, partly because they were draped in thick fox fur cloaks and partly because of their leisurely pace.

Upon closer observation, one could faintly see a hand warmer tucked inside Cheng Ge Er's robe.

Just as the passersby were avoiding them, a little boy in an old padded jacket, holding two sticks of tanghulu, ignored the dissuasion of an elderly man beside him and ran straight up to Xu Zeping and his husband, grinning widely: "Honored guests, would you like some tanghulu? We made it ourselves—it's very sweet!"

Xu Zeping looked down and saw the fear and nervousness in the boy's eyes, as well as the concern on the elderly man's face behind him.

"How much for the tanghulu?" Cheng Ge Er asked softly, noticing the boy's red, frostbitten cheeks.

"Five copper coins per stick, honored guest. If you buy two, I can give you a discount of one copper coin."

"Then give me two sticks."

"Alright!"

The boy took the ten copper coins handed over by Cheng Ge Er, paused for a moment, and stared somewhat dumbfounded at the gentle husband before him.

Cheng Ge Er reached out and ruffled the boy's watermelon-shaped hat, his eyes crinkling into a smile: "The extra coin is a reward for your effort. I like children who strive for themselves."

"Thank you, honored guest!" The boy grinned widely, bowed, and then ran back to the elderly man.

"Grandpa, I sold the tanghulu!"

Encouraged by the boy's success, the vendors selling roasted sweet potatoes and potatoes around them began to eye Xu Zeping and his husband, boldly calling out to them as they passed by.

Cheng Ge Er didn't refuse any of them, buying a bit of everything, and in no time, Xu Zeping's hands were filled with various packages.

Cheng Ge Er wanted Xu Zeping to hold his hand, so he said, "Pingping, the sun isn't too strong. Why don't you put the umbrella away?"

"Aren't you afraid of getting tanned?" Xu Zeping teased, looking at him.

"The winter sun won't darken your skin," Cheng Ge Er retorted, his eyes darting around as he tried to justify himself.

Xu Zeping chuckled softly and, with good humor, folded up the oil-paper umbrella.

He hung the packages on the umbrella's handle, holding it in his left hand and Cheng Ge Er's hand in his right, as Cheng Ge Er walked with a light step.

Cheng Ge Er took a bite of the tanghulu, and the sweet and sour taste burst in his mouth, immediately making him squint from the sourness. He then stood on tiptoe and offered the remaining four tanghulu to Xu Zeping: "Pingping, it's really good. Try it."

"I don't want to eat tanghulu," Xu Zeping replied, knowing that Cheng Ge Er couldn't handle sourness well. As a child, whenever he ate slightly sour oranges, he would secretly try to feed them to Xu Zeping, let alone tanghulu.

So Xu Zeping deliberately turned his head away, pretending to be indifferent.

"Just one bite, please," Cheng Ge Er pleaded, his eyes filled with obvious pleading and charm.

Unable to resist, Xu Zeping took a bite, and after swallowing, found the sweet and sour taste somewhat acceptable.

And so, one bite led to another, and eventually, Xu Zeping finished the entire stick.

Looking at the remaining skewer, Xu Zeping felt his teeth tingle.

"Shall we take this one back for Xia Tian and the others to share?" Cheng Ge Er, showing a bit of consideration, offered a suggestion as he noticed Xu Zeping's worried brow.

"Good idea."

Xu Zeping immediately agreed and wrapped the candied fruit skewers in oiled paper.

Although Cheng Ge Er wasn't a glutton, with someone to back him up, he couldn't help but nibble here and there, which made Xu Zeping, who was following him, feel his stomach was overly full.

Having just eaten and then snacking on candied fruit skewers, sweet potatoes, and sugar figurines, he really couldn't eat anymore.

When they arrived at the entrance of Baoyue Tower, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was great that he didn't have to eat anymore.

"Sir, what would you like to buy?"

As Cheng Ge Er and Xu Zeping stepped into the door of Baoyue Tower one after the other, a servant boy immediately greeted them warmly, smiling and asking Cheng Ge Er.

Seeing their proper attire, it was clear they were not short of money.

Look at the exquisite fox fur, even more luxurious than the Cao family's lady!

"I want to have a gold-inlaid lucky charm made. Is your master craftsman here?"

Baoyue Tower was a business of the imperial merchant Kou family, with branches all over the country. When Cheng Ge Er went to Heluo County with his sister to attend a banquet, he had also visited it.

So upon entering, he confidently made his request.

"Yes, yes, yes, sir, this way please."

Upon hearing the request for a gold-inlaid lucky charm, the servant boy knew they were big customers and quickly invited Xu Zeping and his husband to the reception room.

In no time, an elderly man with graying hair came in and politely asked, "Honored guests, do you have your own design for the lucky charm you wish to have made, or shall we design it for you?"

"I have already drawn the design myself." Cheng Ge Er took out the drawing from his pocket and handed it to the old man: "Can it be made?"

The lucky charm on the drawing was formed by a chubby little snake biting its own tail.

The lifelike drawing even showed the scales outlined on the little snake.

"No problem." The old man stroked his beard, "I just wonder what materials you would like to use?"

"The body of the little snake will be made of pure silver, and the chubby head and the biting tail will be made of pure gold."

"The crafting fee is five taels, and the material cost is ten taels, totaling fifteen taels."

The old man quoted the price, and Cheng Ge Er had no objections, so they made a contract.

This was a gift from Cheng Ge Er and his husband for their baby's third-day ceremony, so they were not in a hurry to get the finished product, just instructing that it must be made meticulously.

As they were leaving Baoyue Tower, Xu Zeping inadvertently glanced at the golden pheasant waist pendant on the counter. He pulled Cheng Ge Er to the counter and asked the servant boy to take out the pendant.

He examined the Hetian jade pendant in his hand; it had a good color and no impurities.

Then he dangled the waist pendant in front of Cheng Ge Er and asked happily, "Cheng Ge Er, what do you think?"

Xu Zeping's zodiac sign was the dog, and Cheng Ge Er, being half a year older, was born in the previous October, with the zodiac sign of the rooster.

The golden pheasant was chubby and round, with a round belly as if it were carrying a nest of chicks.

Cheng Ge Er looked pleased too. "I like it," he said.

Xu Zeping crouched down and fastened the waist pendant to Cheng Ge Er's waist.

The milky white waist pendant complemented Cheng Ge Er's goose-yellow round robe perfectly today.

"How much is it?"

"Twenty taels of silver!" The servant boy, confident the deal would go through, announced the price loudly.

Xu Zeping was about to take out his private savings to pay when Cheng Ge Er stopped him, smilingly saying, "This white Hetian jade is the least valuable. Young man, you're asking for twenty taels, aren't you just trying to trick us because we don't know the market? At most ten taels, if the price is right, we'll buy it."

As Cheng Ge Er started to take off the pendant, the servant boy panicked, "Oh, sir, you say the price doesn't even cover our costs. Eighteen taels, and I can see you're serious about buying."

"Twelve taels!"

"Seventeen taels."

"Thirteen taels!"

"Sixteen taels."

After two rounds of bargaining, they finally agreed on fifteen taels for the pendant.

"Lord Xu?"

Just as Xu Zeping and his husband were leaving Baoyue Tower, they ran into Mrs. Cao Zhou stepping down from her carriage.

Mrs. Cao Zhou hesitated for a moment, then quickly greeted Cheng Ge Er.

"Madam Cao, what a pleasant surprise."

Seeing the tall and handsome man standing beside Cheng Ge Er, Mrs. Cao Zhou guessed Xu Zeping's identity and bowed slightly with a rough curtsy: "Magistrate Xu."

Cao Kang secured the carriage's reins and walked over, just in time to see his wife chatting with an outstanding couple. Cao Kang was proud to see his wife's graceful and generous demeanor.

The man exuded a scholarly aura, unmistakably a learned man.

His father-in-law was a scholar of status, so Cao Kang didn't think much of it, assuming they were relatives from his wife's side.

Walking up to Mrs. Cao Zhou, he affectionately asked, "Madam, who are these two?"

Mrs. Cao Zhou turned around and saw Cao Kang approaching, her eyes filled with joy, "Kang Lang, let me introduce you, this is County Magistrate Xu, and this is his husband!"

Hearing Mrs. Cao Zhou's introduction, Cao Kang also hurriedly saluted: "Commoner Cao Kang, greetings to Magistrate Xu, greetings to Lord Xu."

It's no wonder Cao Kang didn't recognize Xu Zeping, as Xu Zeping was indeed too busy.

In the first few days after Xu Zeping arrived in Lingbei County, he declined all banquets on the grounds of needing to organize government affairs.

After that, he went to Xiaoman Town and stayed there for more than two months.

This made the wealthy families in Lingbei County only know Xu Zeping by name, not by person.

As for Cheng Ge Er being a family member, although two banquets were held, how could these outsiders join in the fun?

"At ease," Xu Zeping said amiably, "There's no need to be so formal outside, it's just a casual chat."

Although he said so, Xu Zeping was also subtly observing Cao Kang, his eyes clear, although with a bit of a merchant's worldliness, he could still be considered a righteous young man.

Cao Kang slightly lowered his gaze, not daring to look directly at Xu Zeping.

Since Minister Xu arrived in Lingbei County these days, he naturally heard about the deeds of Minister Xu and knew he was a good official.

"Wan Ting, did you get the invitation my servant boy delivered?"

Mrs. Cao Zhou smiled and replied, "Yes, I received it. Thank you for your kindness, Lord."

"Then tomorrow, I look forward to your presence."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries with Mrs. Cao Zhou, Cheng Ge Er made his excuses to leave.

As the county magistrate and his husband walked away hand in hand, Cao Kang couldn't help but sigh, "Minister Xu truly cherishes his husband."

"Minister Xu and Lord Xu have been close since childhood, and Minister Xu has only this one official husband."

Hearing Mrs. Cao Zhou's soft voice, Cao Kang immediately assured, "Wife, rest assured, I, Cao Kang, will have no other wife but you in this lifetime!"

The Cao family had a history of favoring concubines over the main wife. If it weren't for the fact that Cao Kang's mother was a close friend of Mrs. Cao Zhou's mother, the Zhou family would not have agreed to this marriage.

Mrs. Cao Zhou's mother had been frail since her youth and was often cared for by her close friend, so their bond was very strong.

Therefore, it was hard to turn down the marriage proposal from the son of a dear friend.

Mrs. Cao Zhou snorted lightly, "If you dare to follow in your father's footsteps, I'll cut off your lineage!"

At this, Cao Kang felt a chill run through him and quickly assured her he wouldn't.

"Pingping, how do you find Cao Kang?"