Chapter 10

◎You can bring him into the house as your concubine in half a month.◎

Inside the Flowing Water Pavilion, the sound of abacuses being manipulated could be clearly heard. Jiang He fidgeted with her fingers, checking the figures on the ledger one by one. These were the general accounts of the various shops under the Jiang family's name. She was only doing a rough calculation to pass the time.

The Jiang family's business has grown bigger and bigger in recent years. It would be difficult for Jiang Shangyi to manage on her own. Jiang He, after all, has merchant blood and is born with unique business talent.

During those years of indulging in sensual pleasures, she was not only a shrewd strategist, but also a first-rate dice-roller.

She appeared to be checking the accounts, but her mind was elsewhere. Ji Xue stood behind her, wishing he could be a hundred and eight thousand miles away from the ledger. He got a headache whenever he saw those densely packed numbers.

Yuan Ge, who arrived later, did not notice Jiang He's wandering thoughts. She cupped her hands to Jiang He and reported, "Miss, everything you asked for has been done."

Jiang He casually hummed in agreement, treating it as a trivial matter. But in Yuan Ge's eyes, what Jiang He was about to do was no small matter; it might even implicate the Jiang family.

"By the way, this matter must be kept a secret. I don't want to hear even a whisper of it from anyone, especially the Xue family," Jiang He gave a firm order.

“Yes.” Yuan Ge felt a deep sense of confusion.

Since you've decided to help the Xue family and have already spent so much money, why hide it and not let the Xue family feel indebted to you?

However, the young lady has her own reasons, and Yuange shouldn't ask too many questions.

There is something else that needs to get the young lady's attention right now.

"Miss, the master left the manor with Ruiming an hour ago and has not returned yet."

Jiang He took a deep breath in exasperation.

Aside from going out and buying jewelry, Mr. Jiang doesn't go out often. The new jewelry for the new season was delivered to the Jiang family a long time ago, and the clothes were also recently replaced. He hasn't heard of any other families he needs to visit recently.

The fact that Mr. Jiang was able to leave the house must mean something related to her.

First, they urged her to marry a legal husband, and then they took concubines. Fortunately, Yang Tao was a problematic person to begin with, otherwise her harem would have had several more "gentle and charming" concubines.

She originally wanted to agree to marry him first to put her parents and brother at ease, and then find an excuse to delay it. But now that her father is so enthusiastic, it seems that he really wants her to settle down and start a family.

If she were to start a family before her career was established, she feared she wouldn't be able to manage both, and might neglect her husband.

Moreover, she still had unresolved issues in her heart.

“Miss, I heard from Ruiming, who serves the master, that the master seems to be very fond of the youngest son of Prince Zuo. He has even received an invitation to the Zuo family banquet and wants to go and see that young master Zuo in person.”

"Let's go along with Father's wishes for now." Jiang He suddenly had a headache. She rubbed her forehead, raised her phoenix eyes to look at Yuan Ge, and absentmindedly asked while tapping the account book, "Has anyone been inside that house on Jinghua Street since then?"

Yuan Ge thought for a moment and shook her head, saying, "Apart from the day Miss went, no one has come or gone since."

Jiang He suddenly felt a little irritated and threw the ledger aside. "I understand."

Seeing her agitation, Yuange wisely withdrew.

Seeing that the account book he so vehemently hated had been thrown away, Xue grinned and went up to talk to Jiang He.

"Miss, you've finally finished looking at the ledgers. Come and play with Ji Xue, okay?" Ji Xue's eyes were clear, and there was still a hint of childishness between her brows. She was clearly a playful child.

Yuange and Ji Xue were both brought back from Wudu City by her, and they knew nothing about her past.

She personally named Xue.

Jiang He remembered that she had an appointment today, and smiled as she patted Ji Xue's head, "You can play by yourself first. You can go outside, but don't go too far, okay?"

Being able to go out and have fun was the happiest thing for Ji Xue. He kept looking back at Jiang He as he ran, afraid that she might suddenly change her mind.

There is no danger in the appointment she is going to today, so it is fine to let Xue go out to play.

The prison of the Jingzhao Prefecture was a place that everyone in the capital feared. The current Jingzhao Prefect, Su Yawan, was the top scholar in the imperial examination three years ago. She rose through the ranks step by step, and many people in the capital wanted to win her over. However, she was tactful and did not try to please or offend anyone.

Jiang He's appointment this time was at the Jingzhao Yamen (the government office in the capital). If anything else happens, or if someone tries to kill her, then it would be the fault of the capital's defenses.

With Su Yawan's token, she entered the inner hall of the Jingzhao government office without any qualms, and waited a while before seeing Su Yawan.

Su Yawan, dressed in official robes, looked travel-worn. Jiang He brewed tea for herself from the yamen and, feigning elegance, lightly waved a folding fan, shaking her head and looking at Su Yawan with the air of a playboy, all to tease her.

Upon seeing her old friend again, Su Yawan thought to herself that Jiang He hadn't changed at all. She sat down opposite her and laughed, "You've become more and more swaggering. Otherwise, I would personally invite you to walk in through the gate of the Jingzhao Yamen?"

Jiang He pretended to beg for mercy: "No, no, Lord Su is very busy, I dare not trouble Lord Su like this."

Jiang He pointed to Su Yawan's official robes, "If I am not mistaken, three years ago Lord Su was still a seventh-rank Hanlin compiler, but today he is a third-rank Prefect of the Capital. His official career has been smooth sailing. I, Jiang He, congratulate him."

"Why bother with these things between us? Besides, I'm not as good as you." Su Yawan dared not accept her teasing.

"We just finished handling a major case. The Dali Temple has become increasingly unreliable lately, dumping all sorts of cases back to the Jingzhao Prefecture while they just sit around eating the government's food for nothing." Su Yawan straightened his official robes and couldn't help but complain. Then he remembered and added, "If I remember correctly, Censor Feng's arrogant and domineering daughter is still being held here with me. How about it, have you vented your anger enough? Time to release her?"

On the surface, it was Feng Meiyu who was caught gossiping about Jiang He and angered Jiang He. However, Su Yawan knew that Jiang He was not a petty person and that Feng Meiyu's words must have implicated others as well.

The eldest son of the Jiang family is favored in the palace, and His Majesty is willing to indulge the Jiang family, so Jiang He can do whatever he wants with his "mischief".

Having received Jiang He's instructions, Su Yawan naturally took special care of Feng Meiyu. Since Imperial Censor Feng's influence did not extend into the Jingzhao government, and he dared not provoke her, he could only complain to His Majesty.

"No rush, there are still some things I haven't asked clearly yet," Jiang He said slowly.

Feng Meiyu was not missing any limbs in the Jingzhao government office, and Censor Feng had no connections to help her. Unless the Emperor got annoyed and personally ordered her release, Jiang He was no saint.

Su Yawan understood this as well. She took a sip of the tea that Jiang He had brewed and then changed the subject, "Speaking of which, I saw your actions clearly when the Xue family was convicted. Why did you help Xue Lingyi for no reason, spending so much money to ensure her safety on her way to exile? You should know that the salt smuggling case she was involved in had quite a lot of connections behind it."

“Ahe, you are a businesswoman, and besides, we grew up together. I know your personality. You’ve only ever done a losing business once in your life, but this second time you’ve gotten involved with the Xue family again.”

Su Yawan knew about Jiang He's humiliation when she asked Xue Lingyu for marriage three years ago. After that, Jiang He fell seriously ill and was sent to Wudu City, where she suffered a lot in secret.

Jiang He replied nonchalantly, "I'm happy to."

She met Su Yawan's questioning eyes and chuckled, "The Xue family collapsed so quickly, I'm not having any fun anymore. I guess I'll just consider it money spent to have some fun."

Su Ya knew she was just being stubborn, so she went along with her and teased, "If the Jiang family has too much money, why not use some of it to repair my dilapidated Jingzhao government office?"

Jiang He asked seriously, "Is five hundred taels enough?"

Father Jiang sent people to settle all the male members of the Xue family, leaving his trusted confidant Ruiming by Xue Lingyu's side before setting off back to the Jiang residence.

With Ruiming watching over Xue Lingyu, he could feel a little more at ease. Although Xue Lingyu had agreed, Jiang's father was still somewhat unsure.

Jiang's father happened to meet Jiang He, who was returning from the Jingzhao government office, at the gate of the mansion. Jiang He bowed to Jiang's father and noticed that Ruiming was not by his side.

Yuan Ge said that Rui Ming went out with Jiang's father, and now that he's not here, he must have been sent to do something.

Upon seeing his daughter, Mr. Jiang felt a sense of relief, remembering the matter he had just arranged for her.

Father Jiang urged Jiang He, "Go inside quickly, I have something to tell you."

Despite her doubts, Jiang He followed her father into his courtyard.

Before he could even settle into his seat, Jiang's father said anxiously, "I went out today for your marriage. Your brother is already married, and now you're all alone. Your mother and I both want to hold our granddaughter as soon as possible."

"Is Father out looking for concubines for me again?" Jiang He knew without a doubt that she really wanted to persuade her father not to waste his energy, because no matter how beautiful those concubines were, they wouldn't win her heart.

Jiang's father thought that it was Yang Tao's matter that made Jiang He dissatisfied. "Yang Tao's matter was just an accident. I have already dealt with him. It was my oversight. Although most of the servants in the manor are honest and dutiful, they do not meet your expectations. Taking a concubine is also a matter of your preference."

Father Jiang smiled at Jiang He, "So I picked one that you like."

Jiang He remained silent.

“I know you still have feelings for that child from the Xue family. I’ve already taken care of everything. In another half month, we can bring him into the family as your concubine.”

"Are you talking about Xue Lingyu?" Jiang He couldn't help but ask in return.

Jiang's father thought she was so shocked because she was worried that Xue Lingyu would disagree, so he said, "Yes, he has already agreed, you don't need to worry about the rest."

Jiang He had no other thoughts in her mind right now. She just wanted to grab Xue Lingyu by the collar and question him directly. Even though she had agreed to save his mother, he would rather die than become her concubine. But now he had suddenly gone back on his word and agreed.

Did he go to ask others for help and get rejected, so he thought of her again? He couldn't bring himself to ask her again, so he went to her father's connections.

They really do still maintain the outward appearance of a noble and proud family.

◎Latest Comments:

[Help... I'm running away! This female lead is getting more and more adorable! SOS!]

[Hey, the mother's name is Xue Lingyi, and the son's name is Xue Lingyu. Shouldn't these be avoided in ancient times? Why is there an overlap in the pronunciation?]

[Keep it up, wife! Your writing is so good, it really touches my heart!]

[Oh no, we've misunderstood each other, sob sob, this is so difficult.]

[Hooray! Hooray! Keep up the good work, author!]

[Running with the ball, hahaha]

[Go go go go go go!]

Ah, they've both misunderstood each other.

【like】

I don't know why, but I'm already incredibly excited to see their baby, hahaha!

[Go, Mrs.!]

[It's only been a few chapters, and there are already maggots giving me a -2 rating. Speechless.]

【q press claw】

【whee】

-over-