The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128: 101 Bribery (Second Update)

In order to prove his identity, the young man produced a token from his own family residence.

It wasn’t a bronze badge, but a piece of iron with patterns engraved on it.

Gu Jiao had not been here for long, and most of her contacts were fellow villagers. She had little interaction with powerful households, but she knew well that such tokens were strictly regulated in Zhan Country.

Typically, influential families could only use wooden tokens. Above that were fishbone tokens, and only officials could use iron ones.

However, an iron token of an official carried the emblem of the official government of Zhan country, which this token clearly didn’t have.

So there was only one possibility: the other party was not an official, but his status could possibly be even higher than an official’s.

“Jiaojiao?” Little Jingkong looked quizzically at Gu Jiao. He was young and evidently didn’t understand the situation.

Patting his little head, Gu Jiao said to the young man, “Fine, I’ll go with you.” She then turned to Little Jingkong, “Go find granny.”

“No, no, no!” Little Jingkong shook his head like a drum, he’d been at the academy every day without any time to play with Jiaojiao. Having a day off at last, he was determined to stick to Jiaojiao like glue!

Looking at his shining, hopeful eyes, Gu Jiao finally did not refuse: “Okay.”

The young man smiled and made a gesture: “Please!”

Gu Jiao first went next door to inform Xue Ningxiang and asked her to look after the house; then she rode in the carriage prepared by the young man along with Little Jingkong, while the young man himself rode a horse next to them.

The carriage arrived shortly at the only tea house in the town.

The owner of this tea house was from the provincial city and was rumored to be quite influential. Normally, all the customers are high-profile individuals from the town; however, today the teahouse was empty, seemingly having been privately reserved.

The other party really was a big spender.

Gu Jiao and Little Jingkong were led by the young man into an elegantly unique private room.

The young man had the servants serve tea and desserts.

He seemed very attentive to Gu Jiao. A commoner would have been rather dazzled by this, but Gu Jiao remained calm.

As the saying goes, it is not a good sign when someone gives you a warm welcome without any apparent reason. Given her current status, she could not afford to be served so diligently.

The young man said: “Please wait a moment, Mrs. Xiao. I will now bring in Manager Zhou.”

Gu Jiao grunted in acknowledgment.

The young man’s politeness was superficial, and Gu Jiao could feel his condescension. However, she did not insist on being treated otherwise. If some people willingly blind themselves at a young age, it is their loss, not hers.

The young man held no regard for a peasant woman, especially since Gu Jiao was so ugly, he was even more disdainful.

However, the manager had instructed him to accord great respect to the scholar’s wife, with no slighting in any way.

The young man turned around to call his manager.

Manager Zhou came quickly.

Being capable of being a manager, his expression management was much better than the young man’s. At least his smile looked extremely sincere.

Gu Jiao took a plate of snacks from the table, handed them to Little Jingkong and said, “Go play in the courtyard. I have some things to discuss.”

“Alright!” Little Jingkong hopped off the wooden stool, took the plate of snacks, and scampered out.

The window was open, and from where Gu Jiao sat, she could see the whole courtyard.

Little Jingkong found a small stone stool to sit on, eating and swinging his short legs. He seems to have noticed Gu Jiao watching him, so he turned his head to give her a sweet smile!

Gu Jiao also smiled back. Happy as a lark, he continued devouring his snacks.

Manager Zhou patiently waited for the siblings to finish interacting before stepping forward and saluted to Gu Jiao: “Manager Zhou greets Mrs. Xiao.”

Gu Jiao did not stand up to return the courtesy, nor did she seem flattered. She merely nodded, displaying an air of placidity.

Manager Zhou was surprised. He examined Gu Jiao from head to foot; whether it was her clothing or her appearance, she looked nothing more than an average village woman. And since her face was disfigured, she should have felt more self-conscious and awkward than most women.

Yet she did not behave in that way, but rather, gave off an air of aloofness.

Manager Zhou took a moment to gather his thoughts, then addressed Gu Jiao, “Madame Xiao, I am a servant of Lin family from the provincial city. Have you heard of the Lin family?”

“I haven’t.” Gu Jiao replied tersely.

Manager Zhou was surprised. Was this woman a local? How could she not have heard of the Lin family? In Youzhou, the Lin family was as powerful as a local emperor; even the provincial governor had to give them due respect.

The Lin family made their fortune from the salt trade. They initially established a salt gang through illegal salt dealing. When the government sent troops to crush the gang, both sides suffered heavy casualties. Eventually, the government incorporated the salt gang with a policy of amnesty.

Although they were incorporated, the Lin family still controlled the salt business, but now they had to split the earnings from the salt trade with the government.

Gu Jiao did not rush to agree. _{freewebnσvel.cøm}