Chapter 210 2/3

“The provincial examination is coming up next February, and already, several successful candidates are arriving! The rent for houses around here is increasing again.”

“If you, Mr. Li, were to rent a house in midyear, you definitely wouldn’t need to spend so much money!”

“Some inns take advantage of the influx of scholars to make a significant profit.”

“In the coming months, many talented young men will certainly emerge.”

“Mr. Li, in Jiang’an Province, there’s always a few people who make a big impression every year.”

“As the top scorer in Jiang’an, you’ll definitely be one of those making an impression this time.”

…

As they talked, someone mentioned, “Speaking of which, a certain scholar has already gained some notoriety. Do you know who it is?”

“Who?” everyone asked.

“It’s Li Zhao’s son-in-law! He’s quite famous for his bad luck. They say he’s plagued with misfortune!”

“I’ve heard about him too…”

These people started discussing Fan Weiyan. Li Qingzhi only learned from their conversation that Fan Weiyan had recently encountered more bad luck.

After being beaten and pelted with rotten eggs, he was accidentally drenched in urine and fell into a river.

The rivers in the capital are quite dirty. After falling in, he emerged covered in mud and reeking.

Fortunately, it’s winter, and the water was shallow. Otherwise, he might have gotten seriously ill.

In any case, the people of the capital are all talking about his streak of bad luck.

Normally, a scholar’s misfortune wouldn’t attract so much attention, but Fan Weiyan has been going around telling everyone he’s Li Zhao’s son-in-law…

Thanks to those plays, the citizens of the capital all know about Li Zhao, so naturally, they pay attention to his son-in-law.

Li Qingzhi is more convinced that someone is deliberately making trouble for Fan Weiyan.

However, if Prince Jin’s methods are this mild, Li Qingzhi hadn’t expected it.

Li Qingzhi believes Prince Jin is behind this, and others think so too. Even some of Prince Jin’s subordinates approached him, advising that these actions are futile and urging him to stop.

Prince Jin: “…” He hadn’t done anything! He didn’t even know Li Zhao’s son-in-law was in the capital!

As a prince, how could he bother with a minor scholar?

Now that he knows, he actually does want to cause trouble for Fan Weiyan.

Although it was Duke Yan who embezzled the disaster relief funds, Prince Jin despises Li Zhao because the lone wanderer who harmed him twice in *The Chronicles of Flight* greatly admired Li Zhao.

Prince Jin thinks this way, but his subordinates managed to persuade him.

Prince Jin said, “The one targeting Li Zhao’s son-in-law must be Duke Yan, trying to frame me!” He couldn’t remember Fan Weiyan’s name and had to refer to him as “Li Zhao’s son-in-law.”

Duke Yan wants to harm him again, so Prince Jin decides to make trouble for Duke Yan instead!

At Duke Yan’s mansion, Duke Yan has not been faring well.

He intended to quietly build up his power in the shadows, but since the beginning of the year, Lu Qingxi has been persistently targeting him.

Later, even Prince Jin started targeting him.

The actions of these two forced him into the open, and he lost his money-laundering enterprise, Yulong Commerce!

Without significant businesses, Duke Yan felt financially strained after losing Yulong Commerce.

Fortunately, Qian Fugui is on his way to the capital.

“Qian Fugui… his sickly nephew wasn’t going to live long anyway. It’s a shame he was bedridden for so long! If he had been around, Yulong Commerce wouldn’t have suffered such losses!” Duke Yan grumbled.

Yan’s advisor felt somewhat embarrassed since it was his son who took over Yulong Commerce and led it to ruin.

They had planned to kill Qian Fugui once his son took over the business completely, but now…

Still, Qian Fugui’s recovery meant he could resume his business and help them counter Lu Qingxi.

Qian Fugui’s family was killed by Lu Qingxi!

After discussing this, Yan’s advisor advised Duke Yan to build connections with some capable new scholars arriving in the capital.

But they decided to avoid Li Zhao’s unlucky son-in-law.

Not only does he lack true talent, but he’s also a braggart using Li Zhao’s name. Moreover, Duke Yan feared being tainted by Fan Weiyan’s bad luck.

Many people in the capital had heard of Fan Weiyan, but Fan Weiyan himself had retreated to his inn, reluctant to venture outside.

“Someone is definitely targeting me!” Fan Weiyan confided to his friends.

Fan Weiyan’s two friends awkwardly agreed but were already contemplating distancing themselves from him.

Whether his misfortune was self-inflicted or orchestrated, they feared getting entangled in his bad luck.

They were even planning to visit a temple to ward off bad luck.

As they spoke, the waiter brought their food.

One dish was Fan Weiyan’s favorite, but when he picked it up with his chopsticks, a few spiders scurried out.

Fan Weiyan was furious and he immediately complained to the innkeeper.

Meanwhile, Lu Mingshan, who was swindling with his apprentice, was thrown into a sack and delivered to He Yi.

Upon being released, Lu Mingshan immediately knelt before He Yi, crying, “Master, I’m just trying to make a living. I have elderly parents and young children to care for…”

Lu Mingshan’s apprentice also knelt and begged, looking remarkably similar to Lu Mingshan.

He Yi produced a fifty-tael silver ingot and said to Lu Mingshan, “Do something for me, and this silver is yours. If you do it well, I’ll give you another fifty taels.”

Lu Mingshan’s eyes lit up.

At this time, Li Qingzhi received news of Qian Fugui’s arrival in the capital.

Qian Fugui had informed Duke Yan of his visit but hadn’t specified the exact date, leading Duke Yan to think he would arrive later.

Upon reaching the capital, Qian Fugui immediately sought to contact Li Qingzhi.

Early the next morning, Li Qingzhi went out to meet Qian Fugui.

“Mr. Li, up early!” Some elderly men playing chess in the alley greeted him with a smile.

Li Qingzhi smiled and greeted them back.

One of the old men then said, “Mr. Li, did you hear? Yesterday, Li Zhao’s son-in-law had more bad luck. He found spiders in his meal and got bitten by poisonous insects while sleeping!”

“Indeed, it’s strange to have bugs in winter.”

“We’re not in the wilderness, and even in summer, we rarely see poisonous insects.”

…

After chatting with them for a bit, Li Qingzhi continued on and entered a wine shop’s back courtyard nearby.

Qian Fugui was waiting there.

Upon seeing Li Qingzhi, Qian Fugui said, “Ah Qing, you’re finally here.”

“Uncle,” Li Qingzhi greeted him, confirming they were alone.

They caught up briefly and discussed recent events.

Qian Fugui was pleased to hear that Mrs. Qian was doing well but soon grew worried and said to Li Qingzhi, “Ah Zhi, I’m scheduled to meet Duke Yan in a few days, but with my health… I’m afraid he’ll notice something.”

With joy rejuvenating him lately, Qian Fugui looked even younger.

He was considering staying up for days to appear haggard before meeting Duke Yan.

Li Qingzhi reassured him, “Uncle, I already have a plan for this. I’ll administer a few acupuncture treatments to make you look more aged.”