Chen Nan believed he had weathered many storms.
He had also encountered cunning and treacherous individuals.
But at this moment,
He couldn't fathom what Song Linhui was planning.
The old man had already poisoned the wine.
He intended to kill himself.
But why had he fought so hard to secure such great benefits for him?
To say nothing of other things,
Just the 1.3 million mu of fertile land
Could allow him to firmly establish himself in Guangling Prefecture.
Three hundred thousand mu of fertile land would be used to build cultivation rooms.
And one million mu of fertile land would be used to cultivate potatoes, cabbage, and other vegetables for penicillin production.
This was truly helping him!
To be fair,
If Song Linhui hadn't poisoned the wine,
He might have even considered Song Linhui a trustworthy person.
As they finished signing the contract,
Song Linhui smiled contentedly and then looked at Xu Binglong, "Old Xu, if I recall correctly, your in-law is the largest medicinal merchant in Guangling Prefecture, isn't he?"
Xu Binglong quickly replied, "My in-law owes his current success to Lord Song's favor."
Song Linhui said, "Tomorrow, go and see him. Tell him Chen Nan is my junior. Once penicillin enters Guangling Prefecture, have him promote it extensively."
Everything he did was to pave the way for Chen Nan.
Xu Binglong respectfully said, "Tomorrow, I will convey Lord Song's words to my in-law."
Song Linhui seemed to have a thought, then shook his head, "Not appropriate, not appropriate."
"Forget it, Butler."
"Go to the Fu family now and invite Patriarch Fu over."
"Some words are best spoken face-to-face to show sincerity."
"We cannot presume upon our status as court officials to bully others."
The butler respectfully said, "Yes, this servant will send someone to the Fu family to invite Patriarch Fu immediately." With that, he bowed and retreated.
"Come, come, let's continue drinking." Song Linhui smiled, raised his wine cup, and invited everyone to drink. He also asked Chen Nan if he had any dietary restrictions.
He was meticulously attentive, treating Chen Nan as his own junior.
To foster closer ties, he even spoke of his acquaintance with Song Ziwei's mother, a hint of sadness on his face, "To be honest,"
"We are actually from the same region, in a way."
"I come from a humble background, and my maternal grandmother's family was in Pingyang Town."
"Yes, the place where you were born and raised."
"In my childhood, we experienced a drought unseen in a thousand years, which led to my parents starving to death."
"Then I went to live with my maternal grandmother's family."
"And there I met Ziwei's mother, Yanru."
"She accompanied me in my studies and encouraged me to learn."
"This enabled me to pass the imperial examination and become the top scholar when I went to the capital."
"Thus, I achieved my current success."
"When I achieved fame and returned home to marry her, I unexpectedly learned that."
"She had passed away."
He spoke with deep sorrow,
Even tears welled up in his eyes.
"After that, I left Pingyang Town, that place of sadness."
"And step by step, I reached my current position."
"But some time ago, I unexpectedly discovered that Yanru had given birth to a daughter for me."
"It was because of giving birth to this daughter that she suffered severe bleeding and passed away unexpectedly."
"Afterwards, I sent Ji Taimi to investigate this matter."
"Finally, we located Ziwei."
"The rest, as you know."
"I sent Ji Taimi to Tongcheng to bring her back to Guangling Prefecture."
"The reason for doing so,"
"Is to make up for the grievances she has suffered all these years."
Song Ziwei's eyes were red, "Father, I never suffered any grievances in the Chen family. Both young master and madam treated me as their own."
She was not lying about this.
Even though she considered herself a maid in the Chen family,
Neither Chen Nan nor Wang Mengqing treated her as such.
Song Linhui, having emerged from his sorrow, chuckled and chided, "Fortunately, this fellow didn't make you suffer grievances, otherwise, your father would have severely disciplined him."
Speaking of this,
Song Linhui changed the subject, "Chen Nan, are you married?"
Chen Nan looked embarrassed, "I have had a marriage in the past, and I am currently single."
Song Linhui nodded slightly, then glanced at his daughter, a meaningful smile appearing on his face, "What do you think of my daughter? You two grew up together, it's not an exaggeration to call you childhood sweethearts, right?"
Upon hearing this,
A blush inexplicably appeared on Song Ziwei's face.
She seemed to understand her father's intention.
He wanted to betroth her to young master.
Regarding this proposal,
Song Ziwei wholeheartedly supported it.
After all, she had always had a good impression of Chen Nan.
It was just that in the past, she felt her humble background made her unworthy of young master.
But now, it was different.
She was now Magistrate Song's daughter.
She and young master were a suitable match, weren't they?
Chen Nan frowned.
A strong sense of revulsion rose within him.
Not to mention that Song Ziwei was merely like a sister to him.
Even if he truly had feelings for Song Ziwei,
Song Linhui absolutely shouldn't have brought this up.
Because he had poisoned the wine.
He wanted to harm him!
And by saying this now, he was merely trying to gain his favor.
Giving the impression that he treated him as his own.
In plain terms, he was using Song Ziwei.
A father, resorting to any means to achieve his goals, using his own daughter.
This method was too despicable.
Song Ziwei did not know what Chen Nan was thinking. Seeing his hesitation, she immediately said, "Father, daughter has just returned to the Song family and has not considered personal matters of affection yet."
Although she wanted to marry Chen Nan,
She didn't want Chen Nan to appear so passive at this moment.
Song Linhui saw his daughter's thoughts and sighed with a smile, "Truly, a daughter grows up and her heart flies away!"
"Very well, very well!"
"I won't force the matter of affection."
"It depends on the fate between you two."
After this, the group engaged in some casual conversation.
About half an hour later,
A middle-aged man in black formal attire hurried over excitedly to the Song residence.
He arrived at the dining table and knelt down with a thud, saying devoutly, "This humble subject, Fu Yanjie, pays his respects to Magistrate Song."
Song Linhui said, "Today is a family dinner, Patriarch Fu need not be so formal. Come, let me introduce you. Beside me is the new Director of the Demon Suppression Division for our Guangling Prefecture."
"And also an honored junior of this old man!"
Fu Yanjie, who had just stood up, immediately knelt before Chen Nan, "This humble subject, Fu Yanjie, pays his respects to Lord Chen!"
Chen Nan frowned.
Fu Yanjie?
Why did this name sound so familiar?
"There's no other reason for inviting Patriarch Fu here today," Song Linhui said. "Have you heard of penicillin? That miracle drug was developed by Chen Nan."
"That miracle drug will soon enter Guangling Prefecture, and I hope that by then, Patriarch Fu will help promote it."
Fu Yanjie was flattered, "It is my honor to help Lord Chen promote the miracle drug."
Song Linhui nodded slightly.
A glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.
He had already found so many witnesses.
All of them proved his friendly and supportive attitude towards Chen Nan.
If someone were to assassinate him now, and he accidentally killed the attacker,
The imperial court should not suspect him, right?
With this thought,
He nonchalantly nudged the wine cup off the edge of the table with his elbow.
This was the signal agreed upon with Mu Yifeng to drop the cup.
But as the cup fell,
He waited in vain for the sound of shattering.
Instead, he heard Chen Nan's voice, "Uncle Song, how could you be so careless! You almost dropped the wine cup on the floor!"