Magistrate Ho drummed his fingers on the table and closed his eyes.

He had to figure out something soon.

Asking him to give up the lucrative commission from the rice trade would be too painful for him.

He could ask the rice merchants to reduce the price of the rice but keep his commission from it at the same amount, but it would incur the wrath of them, and they might seek help from the Governor.

Which might have been what the Governor wanted. Getting rid of him.

And if he did nothing, the Governor would have an excuse to punish him for making the citizens in Hong Feng City suffer.

What a dilemma he was in.

Magistrate Ho's fingers clenched into a fist when he thought about this.

Governor Tan had been all over him when it was dealing with Lee Zhen Ren's birthday celebration and now this...

When he thought about how he had worked hard for the birthday celebration, it reminded him that Lee Zhen Ren, who was now gone, was now replaced by Ruo Zhi.

Maybe he could work something out with Ruo Zhi.

It's time to not give the Governor any face and try to get him down from his position.

Magistrate Ho thought and started to scheme his plans against the Governor.

...

In the dining hall, Lin Xuan Qi entered and sat with the others.

He was starving and tired from the practice of the Daoist Five-Element Cultivation Techniques.

Even Zhi Yong was feeling worn out from the exhaustion.

Which was a rare sight to behold.

He was usually so much more energetic than others with his strength and power.

The seating arrangement changed for the first time ever since the marriage was announced.

Usually, Liu Shi Shi and Lee He Song would sit beside Lin Xuan Qi, but now, it was Xue Cong and Yue Jie seated beside him instead.

As the lady owner of the mansion and clan, Xue Cong's position was only second to Lin Xuan Qi.

And after her was Yue Jie as the first concubine of his.

Yue Xin sat beside Yue Jie, who was still pestering her for more detail, but Yue Jie didn't want to bother with her.

Liu Shi Shi chose to sit opposite Lin Xuan Qi, and she stole glances at him on and off.

Now that Xue Cong and Yue Jie were officially his future wife and concubine, it might bring attention to her if she behaved like what she did before.

She wasn't someone to bother much with formalities, but she wasn't so blunt not to understand that Xue Cong, Yue Jie and Lin Xuan Qi might not like it.

So, it was the best she could do to help them...until she gets to be his concubine too, at least.

Old Shao, Mei Jiao and Ah Di were also seated nearer to Lin Xuan Qi now.

"Master Lin, I err... We err... we had like to keep working after Xue Cong gets married to you." Old Shao glanced at Lin Xuan Qi and said.

"Work?" Lin Xuan Qi didn't expect them to make such a request.

"Yes, work. We don't know anything else to do with our time..." Old Shao replied and explained his rationale.

Mei Jiao, who was seated beside her husband, nodded her head vigorously.

They had discussed among themselves and thought that it was the only way they could repay his kindness and for all that he had done for their family.

"Then, it's not much of a problem but on one condition..." Lin Xuan Qi thought for a moment and agreed.

He wasn't against the idea.

Old Shao was doing a good job handling the other carpenters, and Mei Jiao had been doing great in the kitchen.

He had asked them not to work because he thought that they might want to enjoy their life now that their daughter was married to a young master.

And gladly he was wrong about it.

These folks were very loyal and knew how to reciprocate more than those educated folks.

"On what condition..." Old Shao asked, worried that it was something drastic.

Lin Xuan Qi gave him a smile and said, "That you would still receive your allowance for all the work you will be doing.

"My core tenet has always been that you work hard, you get rewarded."

"Thanks, Master Lin." Both Old Shao and Mei Jiao said and wanted to give him a bow.

Lin Xuan Qi quickly stood up from his seat, gestured at them to stop and said, "Stop. You are my future father and mother-in-law now. Just call me Xuan Qi from now on."

Old Shao scratched his head while Mei Jiao lowered her head when they heard what he had said.

They weren't used to the huge change for now.

"Yes, Master... Err... Xuan Qi." They finally said it, and Lin Xuan Qi sat back down onto his seat.

When he did so, Xue Cong quickly poured him a cup of tea, brought it up to him and said, "Thanks..."

She stopped and hesitated on how to address him.

Lin Xuan Qi glanced at her with a sheepish smile and whispered, "So, do you want me to be your Master Lin or Xuan Qi?

"It'll be a different experience for you, I assure you of that."

After he said that, he gave her a wink.

"I..." Xue Cong blushed and she wanted to bury her head into the sand.

There were so many people around the dining table.

She stole a glance at the others and fortunately for her, everyone was busy with the food by now.

"Master Lin, here, have some of the meat."

While she had her head lowered, Yue Jie had helped pick up a piece of meat for Lin Xuan Qi with her chopsticks.

To which, Xue Cong hurriedly did the same thing for him.

"Have some of the vegetables too."

Yue Jie, who had done so without thinking much, followed up with more pieces of meat.

Lin Xuan Qi frowned when he saw that the plate in front of him was now stacking up with a pile of meat and vegetables.

Even though it made him feel like a young master for the first time, he was worried about the others.

"Maybe...you want to leave some of the food for the others?"

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