When Cheng Chili personally delivered the invitation to Fu Zhen, Fu Zhen could hardly believe it.
"Is the Great General of the Liang Family really going to attend?"
"Yes! Rest assured, I would never lie to my benefactor!" Cheng Chili patted his chest in assurance, "Not only will the Great General attend, but the General’s wife will also be there!
"She also mentioned that she would arrive early tomorrow to ensure that you, Miss Fu, are well received!"
Fu Zhen quickly took the invitation, "Tomorrow morning, right? I guarantee I will be there!"
She was fretting about how to appear openly in front of Liang Chen and his family; the Cheng family had actually arranged such a banquet—wasn’t this a ready-made opportunity?!
With Liang Zhi as her inside ally this time, she definitely had to take full advantage and showcase her skills in front of Liang Chen and his spouse!
Seeing her agree so readily, Cheng Chili was immediately relieved, grinning as he said, "Then tomorrow I shall be waiting at the residence for Mrs. Ning and Miss Fu, as well as Mr. Ning!
"Also, rest assured, that scoundrel Fu Jun won’t disturb you anymore. Just now, I specifically went to the Ministry of Personnel and asked Assistant Minister Tu to demote Fu Jun to be the County Magistrate in Fujian; he’s not going anywhere for at least three to five years! Furthermore, the Ministry has instructed him to take up his post promptly, so even if he’s still in the capital these days, he won’t have time to bother you!"
"He’s going to Fujian again?"
Upon hearing this news, Fu Zhen was quite startled; how rare it was for the Ministry of Personnel to issue three transfer orders in such a short time; Fu Jun might be the first since the founding of the dynasty, right?
And wasn’t Pei Zhan the one handling this?
"Did General Pei ask you to handle it?"
"Yes!" The silly guy chuckled, "My fifth brother gave me this task at noon, and I rushed to complete it! Miss Fu, how do you think I handled this task?"
"Handled well, extremely well!" Fu Zhen said, taking a deep breath, "How did you manage it? Purely through back channels?"
"Of course not! Our Cheng family never takes regulations lightly!" Cheng Chili stood tall and proud, "Previously, the time he was transferred to Lingnan, it just so happened there was a vacancy in Duanzhou because of a case the previous Magistrate couldn’t handle and faced charges.
"If he could manage the situation there, he would either get promoted or be transferred back to the capital—his benefits would be substantial!
"But who would’ve thought he’d rush to Mrs. Ning’s shop to cause trouble without a word, that was his fault!
"I heard Mr. Xie, the newly appointed Right Vice Censor, was also present at that time, so I went to the Imperial Censorate to verify. Not only did Mr. Xie testify, but he also accused Fu Jun of attempting to hit someone, which was intolerable?
"I didn’t even have to say anything; Mr. Tu got angry and immediately consulted the Minister of Personnel, who demoted him to be the County Magistrate in Fujian as a punishment!"
Only then did Fu Zhen feel at ease.
Although she wished she could utterly ruin Fu Jun, she had to act according to the laws of the court. Earlier, she asked the Cheng family to help promote Fu Jun because he had sufficient qualifications. Asking Pei Zhan to transfer him out of the capital was just an attempt to balance within the permissible rules.
If she used personal influence to deal with him, wouldn’t it become wielding power for personal gain? That would be unjust and illegitimate.
Moreover, doing so would tarnish the reputations of Pei Zhan and the Cheng family, which was truly inappropriate.
She thus said to Cheng Chili, "Thank you very much." After speaking, she thought for a while, then looked him over and said, "Don’t foolishly follow your fifth brother everywhere. His mind is as tricky as a wasp’s nest; be careful, lest you don’t even realize when he sells you out!"
Cheng Chili immediately responded, "No way! My fifth brother is a decent person..."
Halfway through his sentence, he widened his eyes, his body trembling, "What did you just say?"
Fu Zhen blinked, "I told you not to follow his every word!"
"No! Could you repeat what you just said? Use the same tone as before!"
Cheng Chili pointed his finger at the tip of her nose, his eyes seemingly glued to her face!
Fu Zhen sighed, patting his shoulder, "You know, you can’t just grow older without getting smarter. Remember, when trouble arises, there’s no one to cover for you anymore!"
Taller than Fu Zhen by a full head, Cheng Chili’s chest heaved upon hearing this, and he grabbed Fu Zhen’s hands, "You, you really resemble someone! So much so..."
Fu Zhen pulled her hands back, "Junior General Cheng, calm down."
The demeanor and smile of Liang Ning were all deeply ingrained in Cheng Chili’s very bones!
That was the leader he had recognized since he could remember!
More than half of his first fourteen years of life were intertwined with Liang Ning!
It was the little aunt from the Liang family who always managed to get him out of trouble when he foolishly made mistakes! Follow current novels on novel-fire.ɴet
The tone and demeanor of this Miss Fu in front of him were exactly the same as that of little auntie!
How could he remain calm?!
That "you know" sounded exactly like "Li Er"!
My heavens, she truly was like his master!
If it weren’t for her appearance and stature being miles apart from Lady Liang, he’d be unable to resist kneeling to call her Aunt!
Fu Zhen, coughing while watching his foolish look, "Junior General Cheng, there’s no need for thanks for a great favor. I accept your kind intentions; tomorrow morning, my entire family will definitely visit, see you then."
This fool would certainly take a while to figure it out; let him go back and ponder slowly.
Cheng Chili struggled to regain his composure, bowing with an inexplicable respect in his eyes: "I will make sure the place is clean and ready to welcome your esteemed visit!"
With that, he stepped back and turned to leave.
He kept looking back every few steps, his eyes filled with shock and questions...
Pei Zhan couldn’t recognize Fu Zhen because they spent little time together as children, but Cheng Chili was different!
He practically followed Liang Ning around daily, just like Liang Zhi!
If he had no reaction after Fu Zhen’s performance, Fu Zhen would have refused the visit tomorrow and stuffed him in a sack to beat some memories back into him!
Fu Jun made such a mess that the shop needed to be tidied up again.
Mrs. Ning thus returned home a bit later.
Fu Zhen personally served dinner, inquiring about Mrs. Ning’s daytime experience and sharing the news brought by Cheng Chili about Fu Jun’s demotion.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Ning sighed deeply, "This truly is karma catching up with a villain."
When she heard about the Cheng family’s earnest invitation, her concern grew, "But it’s just a ginseng root, not worth much, besides they’ve already helped a lot, how can we possibly impose on them with a family visit?"
"What’s there to be embarrassed about?" Fu Zhen peeled a longan shell for her, speaking leisurely, "It’s not like we invited ourselves; it was their initiative. If we don’t go, it would be disrespecting their gesture.
"Moreover, since Brother Jia is a merchant’s son and can’t enter the Imperial College, his prospects are limited. This is an opportunity to expose him to new experiences and broaden his horizons, what’s wrong with that?"