Chapter 277 Farce
After Li Hu was promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Taihe Tower’s business became booming.

As the old saying goes, good things should be kept within the family. The Ministry of War’s social gatherings and receptions were all held in Taihe Tower, and many officials also chose to have a drink and discuss matters here.

It was dinner time and a long line of carriages and sedans were parked in front of the door.

Li Hu and Jia Lian walked into Taihe Tower.

The place was filled with drinkers and was noisy.

The waiter immediately came over with a big smile on his face and saluted Li Hu: “Second Master, you are here. Good luck to you. The private room upstairs is ready!”

Li Hu: “Okay, go and get busy.”

The waiter said, “Yes.” and stepped back.

At this time, a familiar voice came: “Second Master Lian, General Li”

Li Hu looked and found that it was Jia Baoyu’s servant Mingyan.

Mingyan trotted over and bowed to the two of them.

Jia Lian frowned: “Is Baoyu upstairs?”

Mingyan replied, “To answer Master Lian’s question, today is the birthday of Madam Wang. It’s only been half a month, so it’s not appropriate to have a banquet or sing opera. After paying respects to Madam Wang, Master Wang Li invited Master Bao, Master Xue, and Wang Ren to Taihe Tower for a drink. Madam knows about this.”

Just then, the sound of bowls and plates breaking and screams were heard from upstairs.

Li Hu raised his eyebrows. Is someone causing trouble?

Then, there were more shouting and cursing.

Xue Pan?

Li Hu and Jia Lian looked at each other and walked to the second floor together.

“.Get out of the way! I’m going to tear his stinky mouth apart today!”

“Why are you pretending! I’ve heard about the Mei family. If it weren’t for your sister’s beauty, I would have given her to me as a concubine. Fuck, you fool Xue, you’re looking for death!”

“You two, get out of the way! I’m going to kill that beast Wang Ren today.”

The corridor on the second floor was filled with people watching the fun, many of whom were wearing official uniforms.

Li Hu came up and shouted at the officials, “What are you looking at? If you don’t want to eat, go back to the government office!”

Those officials disappeared in an instant.

Seeing that the officials had all run away, the drinkers dared not join in the fun and followed them downstairs.

Li Hu walked to the door of the private room and stopped. After listening to the quarrel between Xue Pan and Wang Ren, he pushed open the door.

The wooden table was turned upside down, and the floor was littered with smashed cups, plates, and bowls, as well as trampled wine and meat.

Jia Baoyu and Wang Li, one on each side, tightly protected Wang Ren, whose face and body were covered in stains of wine and food.

On the opposite side, Xue Pan’s eyes were as loud as bells with anxiety. In his hand, he was holding a wooden stick that might have been removed from a chair. He wanted to step forward, but was worried about hurting Jia Baoyu and Wang Li.

Jia Baoyu’s eyes were sharp: “Second Brother Li! Second Brother Lian!”

Xue Pan, Wang Li and Wang Ren then saw Li Hu and Jia Lian standing at the door of the private room.

Li Hu did not go in, but glanced at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian understood and walked in, saying to Xue Pan, “Put down the stick.”

Xue Pan looked at him somewhat unconvinced.

Jia Lian’s face sank: “Put it down!”

With a humph, Xue Pan threw the stick away and said to Wang Ren, “This matter is not over yet!”

Wang Ren sneered, rolled his eyes, and said to Jia Lian, “Brother-in-law, Xue the fool scolded me.”

Xue Pan: “Bullshit, when did I ever scold Lian’s second sister-in-law?!”

Wang Ren: “When you scold me, you are scolding my sister.”

Xue Pan was stunned for a moment, then became furious: “I’m going to beat you to death, you son of a bitch!” As he said that, he grabbed the stick and was about to fight him.

Wang Ren’s face turned pale and he hurriedly hid behind Jia Baoyu.

Jia Lian shouted angrily: “Xue Pan!”

Xue Pan stopped.

Jia Lian: “Put down the stick!”

Xue Pan stood stubbornly, staring fiercely at Wang Ren who was hiding behind Jia Baoyu.

Wang Renze looked provocative.

Xue Pan was so angry that his eyes turned red.

Li Hu spoke up: “Baoyu, come here, be careful not to hurt you.”

After hearing this, Jia Baoyu immediately ran to Li Hu.

Without waiting for Xue Pan to react, Wang Ren hurriedly hid behind Jia Lian, shouting, “Brother-in-law, Xue the fool is crazy. He wants to kill me. He must be locked up in jail.”

A slap in the face made Wang Ren step back several steps before he could stand firm. Jia Lian: “You bastard! You have brought shame to your sister and me. Tell me, where did you hear those nonsense just now?”

Wang Ren covered his face and said, “I heard it from my brother.”

Jia Lian looked at Wang Li again.

Wang Li turned his gaze to Jia Baoyu.

Jia Lian and Xue Pan looked at Jia Baoyu in surprise and suspicion.

Jia Baoyu’s face suddenly turned red.

Li Hu’s mouth twitched, and he almost couldn’t help laughing out loud. He knew Jia Baoyu was unreliable, but he didn’t expect him to be so unreliable! He didn’t know what Xue Baochai’s reaction would be when she knew it!
A cousin and a brother-in-law, Jia Lian was in a dilemma. After thinking for a while, he looked at Li Hu.

Li Hu coughed and said, “Who will pay for the broken things?”

Wang Li: “I invited you to be the host, so I will accompany you.”

Li Hu: “Double.”

Wang Li hesitated for a moment and said, “Okay.”

Li Hu nodded, looked at Xue Pan, then looked at Wang Ren, and then said, “Now it’s time to settle the accounts between the two of you.”

Wang Ren was shocked: “We? Brother has agreed to double your losses, what else do you want?”

Li Hu sneered, “You smashed my restaurant and you want to just walk away? Do you think this is your home? You can come and go as you please?”

Wang Ren hesitated for a moment, then suddenly saw Jia Lian, and then he became hard again: “What can you do to me?”

Li Hu shouted, “Daniu!”

There was the sound of footsteps, and Wang Daniu led a team of personal soldiers running up from downstairs.

Li Hu: “Take Xue Pan and Wang Ren out and give them thirty lashes.”

Wang Daniu: “Yes! Take it away!”

Wang Ren: “You dare!”

Just as Jia Lian was about to speak, Li Hu spoke up: “Forty.”

Wang Ren: “Brother-in-law~”

Li Hu: “Fifty.”

Wang Li spoke up: “Please, Master, spare them this time for the sake of our friendship with my father.”

Xue Pan interrupted him and said, “No need.” Then he strode out.

Wang Ren was furious: “You are fucking sick!”

Li Hu: “Sixty.”

Wang Ren was furious: “You”

Li Hu: “Seventy.”

Wang Ren’s teeth were chattering, but he didn’t dare to say anything.

Wang Daniu waved his hand.

Two personal soldiers carried Wang Ren and dragged him out.

Jia Lian came over and said, “Seventy is too many.”

Li Hu looked at him: “You’re taking his place?”

Jia Lian immediately shook his head.

Li Hu turned and walked out.

Jia Lian smiled bitterly and followed him out quickly.

Jia Baoyu and Wang Li also hurriedly followed him out.

The corridor facing the restaurant was crowded with patrons who came to watch the fun, and the street was also full of people.

Two wide stools were placed on the open space in front of the door, one on the left and one on the right. Xue Pan was lying on the stool on the left, and Wang Ren was lying on the stool on the right. Both of them had a stick in their mouths. Although it was not a military stick, it was still very painful when it hit their buttocks. Sweat beads appeared on their foreheads.

Xue Pan’s thirty blows of the stick were soon over, and the two servants of the Xue family hurried forward to help him up and take the stick out of his mouth.

Xue Pan spat at Wang Ren, then suddenly remembered something. He turned to Wang Li and said, “We, the Xue family, are just a merchant family. We can’t afford such a big thing. You can ask someone else to take care of the new policy. The Xue family will not take the lead in paying taxes.”

After saying this, he looked at Li Hu and Jia Lian and said, “General Li, Second Brother Lian, I’m leaving first.” After saying this, he left with the help of a servant.

Wang Li’s face changed drastically, and he shouted, “Bring my horse here!” He then said to the servant beside him, “Wait here.”

At this time, a servant from the Wang family came over leading a horse.

Wang Li jumped on the horse, squeezed his legs together, and rode straight towards the west city.

Li Hu understood that Wang Ziteng was planning to let the relatives of the Wang family take the lead in paying taxes. This method was too weird. Among the relatives of the Wang family, only the Rongguo Mansion was okay. As for the other families, it would be a joke if the news got out.

Thinking of this, Li Hu looked at Wang Ren again. This bad guy is in big trouble!

(End of this chapter)