Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 493 - 0467: Never Underestimate the Li Family (2)
Lou Chengye’s intention to marry a rural girl quickly spread throughout the Lou Mansion.
The servants looked down upon it, and naturally, so did the several ladies of the Lou family.
The new house was set up in the He Feng Courtyard, where no one lived, which made the ladies mock even more.
They all thought the mother-in-law had arranged things well, flocking to her in flattery, hoping to make her even more contemptuous of the sister-in-law from the countryside.
Seeing these daughters-in-law, each well-educated and as beautiful as flowers, Lady Lou’s mood turned even more sullen.
Marrying a rural girl was one thing, just don’t marry an ugly one.
Otherwise, she would go mad.
With the New Year approaching, she didn’t want to be in a bad mood on New Year’s Day.
.
Mr. Lou and his wife, riding in a carriage following Qin Hu’s hurried journey day and night, arrived in Qingyang County on the morning of the fourth day.
They did not go directly to the countryside but went to Li Lixing’s home.
Lady Lou went to pay respects to the County Magistrate’s Wife, while Lou Dalang went to the County Magistrate’s study.
County Magistrate Li was surprised to see Lou Dalang and said with a smile, "Dalang, what brings you here? Are your parents well? How is the old lady?"
Lou Dalang replied with a smile, "They are well. I came here firstly to visit Uncle Li and Aunt Li, and secondly, there is something I want to ask Uncle Li."
The Li family and Lou family have been family friends for generations, and although there is an age gap between them, they grew up together as scholars and later held official positions in the same court and locality, making their relationship even closer.
County Magistrate Li smiled and said, "What is it? Just ask."
Lou Dalang said, "My fifth brother, recently met a girl from the Li family, who is a distant relative of Uncle Li’s family. I haven’t met the girl and wanted to hear Uncle Li’s opinion. Is the Li family a suitable one for marriage? By the way, this is also my father’s thought."
His father had no particular thoughts, only that as long as the girl was young, not foolishly ugly, she could be married.
But as an elder brother, he privately did not want his younger brother to marry a too inferior girl.
If he asked directly, the County Magistrate would protect his relatives and wouldn’t tell the truth.
So he used his father’s name.
His father is County Magistrate Li’s peer brother and is also his superior.
Hearing Lou Dalang ask this way, County Magistrate Li laughed, patting Lou Dalang’s shoulder, "Dalang, your fifth brother is truly fortunate! A Li family’s girl is definitely worth marrying!"
County Magistrate Li praised the Li family without any hesitation.
Citing his father’s name, he still spoke like this; is the Li family girl really outstanding?
Lou Dalang asked again, "From what Uncle Li said, does that mean the Li family girl is quite good?"
"You’ll know when you see her. Furthermore—" The County Magistrate dismissed the attendant in the room and whispered to Lou Dalang, "Dalang, I’ve known your father for many years, I’ll be honest with you, the Li family is untouchable for you and me. Your fifth brother has attracted the attention of the Li family’s girl, whether he wants to or not, he must marry her, and treat her well."
County Magistrate Li’s expression was serious, making Lou Dalang’s heart race, "Uncle Li, just what kind of family is the Li family?"
What family could make both County Magistrate Li and his Prefect father so wary? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"They are the Loulian King Li family," County Magistrate whispered, "the girl your fifth brother is interested in is the second daughter of Prince Luling, Commandery Princess Li Yu En."
"..." Lou Dalang’s eyes widened in shock.
He took a deep breath; good heavens, was his fifth brother involved with the Loulian family’s affairs? Wait, could County Magistrate Li have made a mistake? "Uncle Li? Could you have been wrong?"
To his knowledge, County Magistrate Li rarely went to the Capital, and with such a small rank, it would be impossible to meet Prince Luling.
Prince Luling, a direct descendant of the Grand Ancestor Emperor, had the highest status of all the princes.
Of course, this is regarding status before Prince Luling’s demotion.
As for himself, when he had accompanied his father to Beijing for reporting duties, he had the opportunity to see Prince Luling once, but only from a distance, without speaking to him.
In memory, he was a short, fat middle-aged man, who seemed jolly on the surface but actually harbored deep scheming.
The Loulian family was sent to this place for hard labor by the Emperor’s people directly; the Prefecture Government Office and county government had only met the messenger eunuch and seen official documents, never meeting the family.
He worried that County Magistrate Li had the wrong people.
But County Magistrate Li said, "I haven’t seen Prince Luling himself, but I have seen his children, especially his third son Li Xing’an. I was fortunate to have seen him once in the Capital, his age, temperament, tone of speech, voice, looks, and name are exactly like Prince Luling’s third son, I wouldn’t mistake them. Furthermore, the number of the family members matches with Prince Luling’s family. The numbers and names all line up, how could there be a mistake?"
Lou Dalang frowned slightly, "Thank you, Uncle Li, for the warning, it allows me to be mentally prepared. If I went directly to the countryside unaware and rashly visited, offending Prince Luling, it would be troublesome."
There was no need for anyone to remind, as anyone working in the court knew, even though the Royal Family was demoted to the countryside for hard labor, as long as they hadn’t had their surnames erased, it meant they hadn’t been disowned.
So, in the future if something happened in the palace, the demoted imperial family members could return.
The new Emperor could recall them or even make them the new Emperor directly.
Who would be foolish enough to offend such a demoted imperial family?
Wouldn’t they be afraid that someday when the family returned to the palace, they would settle old scores?
Today you offend them happily, tomorrow you might face execution of your whole family!
Lou Dalang fully understood County Magistrate Li’s caution.
County Magistrate Li said, "However, they have not revealed their identity to the outside, and after I knew their identity, I have not told anyone, not even Aunt Li and younger brother Li Lixing. Since you know this matter, don’t spread it around."
This point Lou Dalang understood; without the permission of Prince Luling’s family, spreading this news around would be offensive to them.
County Magistrate added, "Prince Luling’s identity in the village is as a teacher, his eldest son still farms some land, and his other children either run shops or practice medicine, doing some work to make a living, and they get along well with the villagers. You’ll see when you get to the village."
Then, County Magistrate Li mentioned the location of the shop that Li Xing’an and Li Yuzhu opened in the county town, telling Lou Dalang to go check quietly, as Li Xing’an resembles Prince Luling.
Lou Dalang immediately said, "Uncle Li, I will go have a look now."
The County Magistrate sent someone to guide Lou Dalang, and the two rode their horses to the street.
The two stopped near Li Xing’an’s shop, with Lou Dalang pretending to be casually shopping, looking around here and there, and eventually walking into Li Xing’an’s shop.
Li Xing’an was examining the account book kept by Liu Yanbai when he saw him enter.
He immediately went up to him, "Please feel free to look around, brother. Everything in my shop is here for you to see."
He picked up a few books and showed them.
This shop doesn’t make him a fortune, but every day it brings in some income.
During this time, he had earned more than a hundred taels of silver in less than two months.
Lou Dalang slightly furrowed his brow, "Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Li. It prepared me. If I had gone directly to the countryside unaware and visited without knowing, it would have caused trouble to offend Prince Luling."
No reminder is needed; anyone serving in the court understands that even if a member of the Royal Family is demoted to the countryside for punitive labor, as long as their surnames are still Li, it means they are not completely ostracized from the clan.
Therefore, if something were to happen in the palace in the future, demoted royalty would still have the opportunity to return to the palace.
The new Emperor might recall them, or they might become the new Emperor directly.
Who would be foolish enough to offend such demoted members of the Imperial Family?
Not to fear anyone’s reminders, anyone employed in the court is well aware of this fact.
Lou Dalang was thoroughly polite and understanding towards County Magistrate Li’s caution.
County Magistrate Li said, "However, despite their demotion, as long as they still carry the surname Li, it means they haven’t been stripped of their royal lineage."
Lou Dalang nodded slightly, "Thank you, Uncle Li, for the information."
The County Magistrate dismissed his attendant from the room and spoke to Lou Dalang in a serious tone, "However, remember even if the Royal Family is demoted, insulting them could still lead to trouble. It’s always best to be cautious when dealing with a demoted Imperial Family."
