Chapter 273 - 248: Homecoming (3)

The steward understood and said, "Rest assured, Miss. This is the first task you’ve entrusted to me, and I certainly won’t disappoint you."

Su Rende was discussing with Zhang Zhaodi about arranging accommodations for his sister-in-law and her family.

"I asked them, and they are unwilling to come to the National Guardian General Mansion. Instead, they want to stay at Taoyao Square to watch over the shop," Zhang Zhaodi said. "My brother-in-law is also an Advanced Scholar and did quite well in the exams, so presumably, there will be an official position arranged for him. By then, they’ll have their own little home. Jing’er is my goddaughter, so we’ll prepare a room for her. She can stay with us if she wishes or remain at Taoyao Square as she pleases. A home is a place for peace and relaxation, so no need to force it. Not to mention them, Yaoguang and I will frequently stay at Taoyao Square due to busy business sometimes."

"I’m planning to host a banquet for you, to introduce you to all the colleagues and the official ladies."

"You handle it as you see fit," Zhang Zhaodi said.

Zhou Wangshu was taken directly to the National Guardian General Mansion after coming out of the Ministry of Personnel.

He was probably the quickest newly-titled Champion Scholar to receive an official appointment in history.

"What position did the Ministry of Personnel assign you?" Su Yaoguang asked, meeting him with curiosity when he returned.

"Guess,"

"I heard from my father that in previous years, newly titled Champion Scholars usually went directly to the Hanlin Academy,"

"But I’m different," Zhou Wangshu said, "I entered... the Ministry of Personnel."

Generally speaking, new officials wouldn’t be assigned such important positions. It was already special that Zhou Wangshu got a position so quickly, and now he had been given such an important post, almost as if he had ’We have a backer’ written on his face. The most frustrating part was that the appointment was arranged by the Emperor, making the Emperor his biggest backer.

"It’s a double celebration for our family then," Su Yaoguang said, "Come, let’s go see our new room."

Though the General Mansion was large, it had few owners, so the courtyards of the two owners were quite far apart.

Xiao Yanci was exhausted, barely able to keep his eyes open. He initially intended to take a nap, wake up, and continue planning what to renovate next.

In a daze, a strange smell wafted to his nose. He sat up, looking ahead in confusion, only to see thick smoke.

He hurriedly ran out but saw the entire estate was on fire.

At that moment, someone was moving around with a basin, knocking and shouting, "Come, there’s a fire, there’s a fire."

Xiao Yanci wanted to find water to extinguish the fire, but being an abandoned estate that hadn’t officially been moved into, the courtyard’s well was derelict, without a drop of water.

He ran out, shouting to the people around, "My house is on fire, help me put it out. Anyone who helps will get ten taels each."

The onlookers, upon hearing this, rushed back to their homes to fetch water to extinguish the fire.

However, this was an official district, and the nearby estates were all official residences. The homes of those civilians weren’t here, and by the time they returned with buckets of water, the blaze had become uncontrollable, engulfing the entire estate.

Fortunately, the two neighboring households had taken precautions; when the fire erupted, they quickly created barriers, preventing the fire from spreading.

Xiao Yanci’s face alternated between shades of blue and white, his eyes filled with rage.

Is heaven playing a trick on him?

Why is nothing going right for him in this life?

Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu watched the commotion from the crowd.

Zhou Wangshu’s voice reached Xiao Yanci’s ears: "Yaoguang, do you think this family has done something wrong? Otherwise, how could disaster fall upon them?"

"Some people constantly do bad things, thinking there’s no evidence and nothing can be done to them, but heaven is always watching," Su Yaoguang said. "You must never follow those who betray their conscience. Heaven will eventually reclaim those who’ve done too much wrongdoing."

Xiao Yanci clenched his fists.

Let them laugh! Let them laugh for now. Once he climbs to a high position, he’ll crush them into the mud with a hard grind.

Wang Ruyan stepped down from the carriage, looking at the raging fire with a displeased expression.

"How did it come to this?"

Xiao Yanci said, "The weather is too hot. I’m sorry for what’s happened, I will find a way to make amends."

"Make amends? My father said this was to be our wedding house. Now the estate’s gone, turned into ruins, are you planning to rebuild the house over these ruins?" Wang Ruyan looked at Xiao Yanci, "Do you have enough silver for that?"

It had already surprised her that he could come up with the silver to renovate the old estate; rebuilding such a large estate wasn’t a small cost, does he have that ability?