Chapter 932: The Beggar’s Identity?
Recruitment of talents, the most important aspect is integrity. If a person lacks integrity, the greater their ability, the greater the harm. Qi Jingyu saw that although the young beggar repeatedly claimed he wanted to kill, he never delivered a fatal blow.
This shows that he did not really intend to kill anyone on the street, merely wanting to scare off those blocking his path.
Li Qingmu also smiled and nodded in agreement: "His skills are decent, his character is not bad, and he even passed the Jinshi exam. He is a promising talent."
Upon hearing this, Qi Jingyu thought the Imperial Uncle wanted to bring him into the Yulong Pavilion and immediately said: "Imperial Uncle, your Yulong Pavilion is already full of talents; let me take this person."
"I didn’t say I wanted him in the Yulong Pavilion. He still lacks a bit to join."
Upon hearing the Imperial Uncle’s disdain, Qi Jingyu’s lips twitched, secretly complaining that those who have are oblivious to the plight of those who do not. Recruiting such talents is already quite good, isn’t it?
Downstairs, the young beggar, sword in hand, caught up with the wedding procession, driving Mr. Li out of the bridal sedan chair and instructing the carriers: "Take it back to where it came from!"
Inside the sedan chair, the rescued maiden lifted the curtain and, discovering it was a beggar who saved her, immediately expressed gratitude: "Thank you, kind sir, for your righteous act. I will surely repay you one day."
This maiden was very beautiful. Worried that the four sedan chair carriers might cause trouble on the road, the young beggar said: "Alright, I’ll see this through, taking you personally to prevent you from being bullied by these people!"
Just then, Long Yue and Li Qingmu had also finished their meal. Qi Jingyu, being younger and having a large appetite, had just been watching the excitement, and seeing the two settle their bill to leave, he had the attendant fetch two more meat buns.
They caught up with the young beggar and began a conversation.
"Friend, please wait a moment." Qi Jingyu caught up and blocked his way.
The young beggar looked puzzled at the three people surrounding him, instinctively placing his thumb on the sword sheath, ready to draw his sword in self-defense.
Among the three, the older man seemed to pose the greatest threat, and the other two were not weak either. If they really fought, he would definitely be no match.
"What does this mean? Why do you block my way?" The young beggar saw that the three seemed to have no intention of fighting, thus relaxing his thumb from the sword sheath.
Qi Jingyu began introducing himself: "We are traveling in Yunzhou City and noticed your good skills and sense of justice, so we wish to befriend you."
"There’s no need for friendship; I’m just a fallen beggar."
"I disagree; you passed the Jinshi exam and should be a scholar, skilled in both literature and martial arts. If you truly wish to make something of yourself, your prospects are limitless."
Qi Jingyu’s praise pleased the young beggar, who clasped his fists in a salute: "I am Fang Shijie. May I know your names?"
"Qi Jinggu."
"Li Qingmu, and this is my wife, Yue’er."
The three gave their names, with Li Qingmu not using a pseudonym this time. After so many years, he had faded from the court and, given his Regent King status, outsiders only knew him as Qi Junmu. His former name was hardly known, so using it or not made little difference.
Qi Jingyu smiled and said: "We just want to accompany Brother Fang to escort this young lady home. Is it convenient for you?"
"I appreciate your goodwill, but such a small matter doesn’t warrant the trouble of having you all accompany me. Perhaps another day."
It seems Fang Shijie remains cautious, suspecting an ulterior motive among the three.
Long Yue had no choice but to reveal the truth: "Frankly, Brother Fang, Lord Qi from the palace appreciates your character and skills and wishes to recruit you as a Guest Elder. What do you think?"
Since the other party didn’t trust them, they might as well lay their cards on the table.
This way, they could win some favor, and also reassure him, preventing wild speculation.
"I am honored by Brother Qi’s kindness, but I’m used to being free and don’t wish to enter officialdom. Please, the three of you, return." Fang Shijie was long disillusioned with the officialdom and had no desire to be a Guest Elder.
Qi Jingyu, determined not to let the opportunity slip away, hurriedly persuaded: "Brother Fang, there’s no need for this. We heard your poem upstairs; the Dazhou officialdom urgently needs reform. If you don’t act and I don’t act, how will the people of this world cope? Must they just endure the exploitation of corrupt officials?"
These words struck like lightning at the core of Fang Shijie’s heart.
Indeed, if you do not act and I do not act, must the people just suffer in silence??
Seeing Fang Shijie slightly moved, Qi Jingyu added fuel to the fire: "The fate of the nation lies in the hands of the common people; perhaps you’ve heard this saying, Brother Fang. If those capable do not stand up, are they truly fit to be men?"
Fang Shijie, deeply inspired, exclaimed with great admiration: "I greatly respect Brother Qi’s vision; earlier, I was indeed narrow-minded. Fine, I agree to be your Guest Elder!"
Qi Jingyu was thrilled; he hadn’t expected to win over this talent. Now, he finally had someone to rely on and wouldn’t have to call himself a lone wolf anymore.
Long Yue and Li Qingmu exchanged a glance and smiled, feeling happy for him.
The four traveled together, overseeing the sedan carriers as they returned the sedan to a farmhouse. However, upon seeing their daughter return, the young woman’s parents were very alarmed and frightened, sighing repeatedly and urging her to go back to Mr. Li’s mansion.
Witnessing this odd scene, Qi Jingyu stepped forward to inquire: "Old man, why do you push your own daughter into the fire pit? Isn’t Mr. Li about as old as you?"
Unexpectedly, the old man shouted angrily with an unfriendly expression: "What do you, an outsider, know? We owe Mr. Li over a thousand taels of silver. If Ran’er doesn’t go to the Li Mansion, how will we repay him?!"
The young woman named Liu Ran’er sobbed as she cried: "Father, please don’t force me. I will never marry that old wreck! Boo hoo hoo..."
"You have no choice in the matter of marrying or not marrying. It’s the parents’ command, the matchmaker’s words. If you don’t marry, you’ll drive us old folks to hang ourselves!" The old man spoke as he also began crying.
The wife, too, was hugging her daughter, crying uncontrollably, unable to speak a word.
Long Yue curiously asked them: "Why did you owe so much silver? Did something happen at home?"
"Alas, it started three years ago..." Old Liu sighed long and began recounting the unfortunate events of the Liu Family.
It turns out that Old Liu once had a son who wasted his life, idling around, often gambling at the gambling house. The family originally had a hundred acres of good land and lived a decent life, but it was all squandered by that wastrel son.
The land deed was stolen by him and pawned for 300 taels of silver, which he then lost in just one night at the gambling house. The next day upon returning home, he furiously threatened Old Liu and his wife, demanding they give him silver for another gamble.
But the land deed was stolen and squandered; how would they have any silver?
So their son turned to the Li Mansion, borrowing 500 taels of silver from Mr. Li, claiming that if he couldn’t repay it, his sister Liu Ran’er would be used to settle the debt. From here, the three could easily guess what happened next; naturally, he took the money and went back to the gambling house.