Duke Chen Residence.
"Li Minghan has passed away. The grudge between the Chen and Li family ends here. In the future, do not act against the Li family or target Li Mingze, and do not use the Chen family's resources in court." The eldest son of the current Duke Chen and the true leader of the Chen family, Chen Qing, spoke to his gloomy-faced younger brother, Chen Chong.
"The County Magistrate of Chang 'an, Li Minghan's son?" Hearing the news, Chen Chong's gloomy face was still filled with disbelief. Then, a trace of anger appeared. "It's just a county magistrate. Why should our Chen family be afraid of him?"
"If only things were so simple," Chen Qing said gravely. "But this is the first instance of His Majesty conferring a noble title in recent years, leaping from a commoner to a noble in the capital. I heard that on the day of the Li family's matriarch's birthday banquet, Prince Ning and Princess Yongle both sent congratulatory gifts. Do you really think that there is no connection between these matters?"
The Chen family's decades of glory had relied on the Emperor's grace. In reality, whether it was the marquis or the dukes, which noble family in the capital was not like this?
Whether it was glory or poverty, it all depended on the decision of the imperial family.
For the Chen family, a county magistrate or even a marquis was nothing, but they could not ignore the thoughts of the Emperor.
A county magistrate conferred a title was not just a small viscount. For His Majesty to ignore the objections of the court officials, how important must he be in His Majesty's heart?
It was not worth the Emperor's displeasure for a little personal grudge.
"I understand." Chen Chong clenched his fists and could only sigh helplessly.
The grudge with the Li family was a personal grudge. If it negatively affected the entire Chen family because of a personal grudge, he would become a sinner of the family.
Walking out of the room, Chen Chong let out a long sigh. A deep sense of helplessness surged from the bottom of his heart.
When he saw the woman sitting in the garden, the helplessness on his face immediately disappeared and turned into a smile. He slowly walked over and said, "In a few days, when the weather is good, let's go out for a walk. If you stay in the residence for too long, you will probably feel suffocated."
The woman had a head of white hair and looked to be in her early thirties. She was originally staring ahead in a daze, but when she heard this, she returned to her senses. A faint smile appeared on her face as she said, "It's been more than ten years. It's indeed a bit depressing. It's good to listen to second brother."
Hearing this, a hint of joy appeared on Chen Chong's face. "I will arrange it immediately."
The woman nodded with a smile, but the light in her eyes was still a little lacking.
…
The sudden appearance of a noble was something that all the influential families in the capital had to pay attention to.
It was especially so when they found out that they knew nothing about the county magistrate of Chang 'an. It was as if he had appeared out of thin air and suddenly gained the favor of the emperor. Everyone was shocked and surprised.
The officials in the court were naturally opposed to this. Almost all the nobles in the capital had obtained their titles during the founding of the country. From then on, it was harder than ascending to the heavens to be conferred a title.
Many old officials had worked hard their whole lives and still could not obtain such a special honor. Prestige was only for one generation and could not be passed on to the children and grandchildren. How could a young man with no contributions be conferred a title? The Emperor's action would chill the hearts of many officials in the court.
However, everyone's opposition was suppressed by the Emperor. A few of the big shots in the court also chose to remain silent. Even the censors did not submit a memorial, which made everyone feel that something was wrong.
The Emperor would not confer a title for no reason. The only possibility was that the county magistrate of Chang 'an had made enough contributions to be conferred a title. At such a young age, he had accomplished something that many old officials could not do in their entire lives.
There was no way to verify this, and the Emperor would not explain it in detail to them. It seemed that they could not get any useful information from the county magistrate of Chang 'an.
This was because the county magistrate was not like the other nobles. After being conferred a title, he did not invite other nobles, nor did he hold any banquets. He was so low-key that it made people's hair stand on end.
The only thing they knew was that he was the eldest grandson of the Li family and the family of Assistant Minister Li of the Ministry of Personnel. That was all.
Li Xianzi, who was in the eye of the storm, had no time to care about this. He had just moved into his new home today.
The county magistrate's mansion was actually not far from the capital city. Although one could not see the city wall from the doorstep, it could be considered as within the Second Ring Road of the capital city.
According to the eunuch who led the way, the mansion had just been built by the Emperor's order by the Ministry of Works. It could not be more new.
The conferment of a title was not just a title. The viscount's mansion, fief, tenants, maids, servants, and even guards were all included in the conferment package.
Not long after they left the capital city, they entered the territory of Chang 'an County. After walking along the official road for less than an hour, a magnificent mansion could be seen from afar. A group of maids and servants stood in two rows. When the crowd approached, they immediately bowed and said respectfully, "Welcome back, Sir!"
Xiao Huan was startled. She grabbed Li Yi's sleeve and looked at these people curiously. Even when Li Yi was the county magistrate, she had never seen such a grand scene.
Fang stood there in a daze and looked at the scene in front of him with envy.
Hordes of maids, beautiful wives and concubines, and a large mansion. Wasn't this the life he dreamed of?
The little girl Duan Wu also held her mother's hand tightly and looked at the gate of the viscount's mansion with timid eyes. This was the place where they would live in the future. They would no longer have to squeeze on a small bed with their grandmother and mother. Would she have a room of her own?
The woman named He Xiu, whose hand was held by the little girl, also had a look of realization on her face. A few days ago, they were bullied on the street. The whole family was squeezed into a small room. In the blink of an eye, they lived in a big mansion with maids and servants. All of this made her feel like she was in a dream.
Beside her, a man in his forties was rubbing his hands nervously, but his face was full of excitement.
There were no houses within 500 feet of the Viscount's Mansion. However, there were people looking around carefully from a distance. They had long heard that the manor had welcomed a new owner, who was a Viscount personally conferred by His Majesty. All the villagers craned their necks to see what the Viscount looked like.
"Let's go in first." Li Yi waved his hand and led the way into the new house.
The servants also swarmed in and stood neatly in the yard.
Looking at the group of servants standing respectfully in the yard, Li Yi was still a little unaccustomed to it. From now on, everything, including their life and death, was in his hands.
It turned out that this was the life of a noble. No wonder so many people wanted to be conferred the title of king or minister. The word "power" could indeed bring people different experiences.
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