Chapter 6 Chapter 6

Chapter 6

There are rules for noble families to marry, and there are also assessments for merchants to marry.

The content of the assessment is not easy for outsiders.

With this answer sheet in hand, Mr. Song will surely break through the siege tomorrow, take the top spot, and become the son-in-law of the Qian family. The prerequisite is, "Mr. Song, can you read?"

This was the first time in his life that someone had asked him such a question. The young man's cold eyes subconsciously revealed a warning and arrogance after being offended.

Qian Tong understood.

Although he was a warrior, he had a handsome and elegant appearance. One could tell at a glance that he was intelligent and should be able to read. "Mr. Song, memorize these tonight and answer them according to the answers tomorrow."

"It's getting late, so I won't delay you from memorizing." Qian Tong spread out the rice paper, gently placed it on his arm, and bent down to pick up the lantern at his feet.

When he stood up, there was a cold bronze sword on his neck.

Qian Tong raised her head in the light of the lamp. Against the backdrop of the night, there was no fear in her light-colored pupils, only confusion.

Song Yunzhi reminded her: "Medicine."

The sword remained unsheathed. Qian Tong continued to stand up, his thin shoulders lifting the sword aside. He gave him a relaxed smile and whispered to him, "I lied to you, young master. You don't need medicine for the time being."

In just one day, the young lady had left an extremely cunning impression on him.

Song Yunzhi raised the sword in his hand again and pressed it against her neck, blocking her way.

Qian Tong was puzzled: "What happened again?"

Song Yunzhi: "Who are you and where are you?"

This woman drugged a young child and leaked the news to Chaitou at the alley entrance, putting them in a dilemma and forcing them to surrender. She then lured them with money and promised them a big prize, and when they let their guard down, she planted a poisonous insect in them and held them hostage.

A perfect plan.

It can be seen that he is meticulous and cunning. If he wants to use a trick to sneak into the Qian family, he cannot let her see the flaw. He has to take the initiative to ask for the name.

He thought the young lady across from him would play tricks again and conceal her identity, but she smiled and replied, "My last name is Qian, my given name is Tong, I'm nineteen years old, and I was born in the Year of the Tiger."

After saying that, I looked at his reaction with anticipation.

She didn't need to answer in such detail.

The young man's eyes, as dark as ink, pondered for a moment, as if he had caught something. A trace of surprise and disbelief flashed across his face. He looked up at her and asked, "The Qian family, one of the four great families in Yangzhou?"

Qian Tong nodded, "Well, are you happy, my dear?"

Young Master Song was a man with self-respect. When he learned that she was a wealthy man, he had no intention of flattering her. After a brief silence, he said stubbornly, "I don't think being held hostage is something to be happy about."

Qian Tong had no way to refute this, "You will be happy later." His good days were still ahead.

He had endured too much stimulation in one day. Qian Tong was afraid of scaring him, so he decided to save the best news for him tomorrow after he had won the battle.

Mr. Song said nothing more and silently took back the bronze sword.

That's right.

What he was after was wealth, and she happened to have it, and could give him a bright future, so he had no reason to refuse.

Qian Tong liked to associate with smart people, but she remembered that there was another not-so-smart person. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind. She turned to look at her husband standing behind her, watching her leave, and said, "How about I find a job for Mr. Song?"

Without waiting for his answer, she said, "I'll leave tonight."

Then he said, "It's decided."

From the moment she had the idea to the moment she executed it, she didn't give anyone a chance to consider it, as if she didn't want to waste even a moment of time on them, demonstrating the word "threat" to the fullest.

Before Song Yunzhi could react, she had already walked to the door with a lantern in hand and instructed the maid beside her, "The freight department is in need of an accountant. Young Master Song is a good fit."

With her life in her hands, she was completely unscrupulous.

Song Yunzhi was waiting inside the house, and soon heard Chen Che's roar coming closer and closer, "Why should I go?"

"Female thief, don't be so presumptuous!"

"It's dark now. I can't see the road clearly..."

"Young master, don't worry about these things. Someone will lead the way for you." Fu Yin escorted the people to the door and gave them half a minute to say goodbye.

Chen Che slammed the door shut, gritted his teeth, and complained to Song Yunzhi in a low voice, "That female thief wants to assign me an errand. Who does she think she is..."

After saying this, he was so angry that he walked around the room.

"You should go." Song Yunzhi said after he calmed down for a while.

Walls have ears, so the two couldn't speak openly. Song Yunzhi said cryptically, "Madam Qian is willing to give you the opportunity to hone your skills. It's your good fortune. Being an accountant has always been your lifelong wish. Now that your wish has been fulfilled, isn't it a good thing?"

Chen Che naturally understood the hidden meaning.

He did not forget the purpose of his visit to Yangzhou.

The four big families have been running rampant for so many years, and it is not so easy to overthrow them. Today, he accidentally entered the Qian family, which is a rare opportunity, but... he did not stay in such a nice courtyard for a night.

"What kind of work did she assign to Brother Song?" She had to get herself out of the way. Shen Che thought about it and asked curiously.

Song Yunzhi glanced at the rice paper he had placed on the table. He still hadn't guessed her purpose, so he just said, "Answer the question."

As a fellow wanderer, Prince Song was poisoned by a Gu, and was even worse off than himself. However, Shen Che noticed the difference in their treatment. After silently glancing at Prince Song's face, he reminded him again: "Brother Song, you have to be careful of this girl."

Who wouldn't love a young prince who is as bright as the moon? Don't let him be taken advantage of by a merchant girl.

Song Yunzhi nodded, "I know what's going on. Be careful."

She was just a merchant girl, no matter how bad she was. As someone who had come out of the war, he was afraid that she could really take his life. Business was more important. Chen Che bowed to Prince Song and said, "I'm leaving." Then he opened the door and followed Fu Yin out of the yard.

The night returned to silence.

The servant brought in a basin of water and went out to close the door.

Song Yunzhi didn't look at the rice paper. He lay down on the soft couch in the room with his clothes on. In his early years, he was a little picky about his bed, but he got much better after joining the army. Many things happened today, and he found it difficult to fall asleep.

It was not until the second half of the night that I forced myself to close my eyes and recharge my energy.

The next day, sunlight shone through the window, and there was a sound outside. Hearing footsteps, Song Yunzhi stood up alertly.

The servant knocked on the door: "Is Mr. Song awake yet?"

Song Yunzhi opened the door and the servant handed him a tray containing a brocade robe. "Please change your clothes, Mr. Song. After breakfast, I will take you to the front yard."

——

Qian Tong sometimes admired the abilities of the women in the rear house.

On weekdays, they would feel tired if they were asked to run two miles to look after the salt wells, but they were able to find nine young masters for her overnight.

Everyone is related to me and everyone can call me cousin.

Mrs. Qian "lost" the marriage opportunity with the prefect yesterday and did not sleep well all night. There was a noticeable bruise on her eyes. At this time, she was escorted to the front hall by the third and fourth wives and several concubines from the third and fourth rooms. After some flattery, Mrs. Qian's painful heart gradually healed and she began to enjoy the flattery.

Mrs. Qian: "First and foremost, anyone who joins our Qian family must have an active mind."

"That's right..." There was a chorus of agreement from all around.

"You can't be careless about your appearance either."

"Don't worry, our sister-in-law, Tongjie is so pretty, how could she find a bad match..."

A platform was built in the garden in the front yard, which was ventilated on three sides. It was used to cool off in the summer and to enjoy the snow in the winter. Today, Mrs. Qian and the other ladies were sitting inside, looking at the painted mural corridor opposite.

The edges of the soft bamboo strips were painted red and rolled up to the eaves. The morning light poured into the corridor, illuminating the colorful paintings on the inner wall like a palace in the sky.

A row of seats were placed under the corridor, separated by a mountain and water barrier. In front of each seat was a wooden table, with pen, ink, paper and inkstone, everything needed.

Nine people were already seated at this time.

The women in the audience looked back and forth between the faces of the young masters and Qian Tong, secretly trying to see who her gaze was on.

Qian Tong didn't look at anyone, nor did he crowd with the others. He stood under a pillar on one side, half of his body exposed to the spring sun, his eyes fixed on the moon-shaped door at the entrance.

The clothes that the servant delivered this morning were made of Shu brocade. Since there was no young man of the same age in the family, Qian Tong ordered someone to make them overnight, but Mr. Song did not change and was still wearing the green robe he wore yesterday.

A good-looking person doesn't care about his clothes. He walks along the cobblestone path covered with flowers. Even the sun favors him, and the warm yellow halo spreads over him all the way. In comparison, the colorful paintings in the corridor are not so dazzling.

"Whose family is that?" Mrs. Qian was the first to notice and asked. The women behind her exchanged glances and looked at each other suspiciously.

The young man followed the servant to the corridor. Halfway there, he suddenly turned around and looked at the young lady standing next to the pillar on the stage. He did not hide or dodging, but gave her an extremely presumptuous look.

And he didn't look away for a long time.

Everyone's eyes shifted to the two of them again, and they all looked unhappy in surprise.

Not your own people.

Mrs. Qian stared at the shy smile on her daughter's face with curiosity. After a pause, she called out to her, "Tongjie'er, don't you mind standing in the sun?"

The servant also reminded the young man in front of him, "Mr. Song, please take a seat."

The young man struggled for a while, but finally followed the servant to his seat.

Mrs. Qian on the stage asked which cousin of the third or fourth house he was, and showed a slight dissatisfaction, "Even if he has a good appearance, he can't be rude." Fearing that others would be disappointed and lose their fighting spirit, she comforted them, "To enter my Qian family, the most important thing is to show your ability."

The color of food on the women's faces faded, and hope rekindled.

Song Yunzhi arrived the latest and sat at the innermost side. He saw a set of pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the wooden table and guessed that the Qian family was selecting talents today. He didn't know what they were selecting.

The woman on the stage surrounded by the crowd should be Mrs. Qian.

The head of the Qian family was away, and the position being selected wasn't important. Just as he was thinking this, he heard the voice of the tea-filling maid at the next table faintly coming over, "The Third Madam has instructed the young master to answer well. If he answers well, he'll enjoy a lifetime of prosperity. If he doesn't, this connection will be completely severed."

"Don't worry, aunt. Your nephew will not let her down."

Song Yunzhi was a little surprised.

Before he could think any more, a man dressed as a steward came to the corridor with a servant and distributed rice paper exam questions to the young masters present one by one. He said in a loud voice: "The time is one stick of incense. Please start writing."

A piece of fine rice paper was handed to Song Yunzhi, and Song Yunzhi reached out to take it.

As salt merchants, the Qian family was assessed on their accounts and the management and characteristics of salt. With the knowledge he had now, he didn't need to look at the answer sheet in advance.

However, when I took the rice paper and took a look, the test questions were not these.

The incense in the incense burner began to burn slowly. The young men at each seat were writing furiously, but Song Yunzhi's pen was moving slower and slower, and finally stopped there without moving.

"Didn't you look at the answer sheet last night?" A voice suddenly came from my ear.

Song Yun paused with his pen in hand and turned to look at the young lady who had come behind him at some point.

She arrived just in time.

He wanted to ask her what on earth she had kidnapped him for.

Qian Tong didn't look at him. His eyes fell on the answer sheet in front of him and he frowned and said, "Wrong."

The question on the questionnaire was: "Today there is a tree with ripe fruits. Six birds fly over and meet a hunter. One bird dies under the slingshot. How many birds are left?"

Song Yunzhi chose A: not a single one left.

"Choose this one." Qian Tong stretched out his hand, and his finger, painted with peach pink nail polish, landed on the option for 'five'.

Although this is not the point, Song Yunzhi cannot agree with her idea.

"Trust me," Qian Tong explained, "People die for wealth, birds die for food. This question tests your courage. Fortune and wealth are achieved through risk. If a bird dies, wouldn't the remaining fruit be shared more? If it really flies away, what a pity..."

Song Yunzhi looked at her with increasingly distant and contemptuous eyes, holding the pen in his hand, with no intention of making any changes.

"Eh~" Qian Tong noticed something and tugged at his sleeve, moving his arm away from the scroll. Seeing a blank space underneath, he asked in confusion, "The incense is almost halfway burned, how come you only finished one question?"

Song Yunzhi looked at her. He wanted to ask, how should she answer? She looked carefully at what questions were being asked...

——"If there is a disagreement between my wife and my father-in-law and mother-in-law, who will you choose?"

——"Are you against marrying into the family?"

——"How do you view the identity of the Qian family's son-in-law?"

"You really didn't look at the answers." The young lady was not as surprised as he expected. She glanced at the test questions calmly and pointed out the correct answers one by one. "This."

Song Yunzhi's eyes, which were as cold as ice, suddenly sparkled with fire and he stared at her intently.

Seeing that he was standing there motionless, Qian Tong could only reach out and grab the pen in his hand.

The lower part of his finger was held in her palm, as if it was wrapped in a layer of warm jade. Song Yunzhi felt a slight burn in his ears and subconsciously pulled his hand away, "Let go!"

Qian Tong did not give in and was very firm in his attitude. "Answer me if I tell you to."

In a contest of strength, he couldn't possibly lose to her. Song Yunzhi held his elbow steady, letting her bend it, unmoved as a mountain. "Madam Qian, please tell me the truth. If I were chosen today, what position would it be?"

Position? No position.

I don’t know if a live-in son-in-law counts as one.

Seeing that he didn't seem happy, Qian Tong also felt unhappy. Wasn't she good enough? She was the daughter of a wealthy businessman and not bad looking. Why was she so embarrassed when she didn't see that he was happy?

"Mr. Song, you think I went to so much trouble to kidnap you, not letting you do hard labor, not sending you to the mountains to transport goods, and even making clothes for you overnight? Why, you guessed it, and yet you're asking me?"

Don't be ungrateful.

She stared at him outside for a long time. If he hadn't been motionless, she wouldn't have run here to give him personal guidance in front of everyone's astonishment.

When Qian Tong looked at him again, he had a look that said, "You don't know what's good for you."

Song Yunzhi didn't know what he was feeling at the moment. He just felt that this woman's appearance was probably the biggest liar in the world. She looked pure and flawless, but her heart was complicated and unpredictable.

Cunning, absurd, and shameless.

Thinking of the look in Chen Che's eyes that seemed to want to say something but hesitated before he left last night, the redness at the roots of his ears quietly spread to the collar under his neck. His expression and voice were calm, "I can't promise you."

"Why?" Qian Tong didn't understand.

Song Yunzhi thought that only unruly merchants could ask the word "why".

Getting married is a major event in life, requiring the permission of parents, the words of a matchmaker, three letters and six engagements, but these conditions are obviously not applicable to a homeless boy like him who comes from a poor family.

Dayu was still recovering, and countless people were starving. Those who made a living outside were lucky enough to have a meal and earn enough money to support their families. But who would be willing to marry a girl from a wealthy family?

What's more, gaining the favor of the daughter of the wealthy head of the Qian family is probably the dream of countless young men. Otherwise, so many people would not have crowded in today.

He had no reason to refuse, and Song Yunzhi was unable to answer for a moment.

Faced with his silence, Qian Tong couldn't help but suspect that he was making fun of Qiao, "Do you know that Gu worm?"

She didn't try to snatch the pen from him, loosened her hand, leaned over to see the resistance in his eyes, and said seriously, "It's a one-of-a-kind piece, and it's very expensive." Noticing her husband's increasingly unpleasant expression, she continued, "It's in your body now, and I can never take it out again."

She didn't lie. She spent a lot of money to buy the poisonous insect from the Hu merchant, and today she spent a lot of manpower to kidnap him.

These are all costs.

She never does business at a loss, nor does she do things that are a waste of effort. He is no longer the same person he used to be. She must let him know his current value. "My dear, you have this priceless poisonous insect in your body. Are you still afraid that I will treat you unfairly?"

What is she talking about?

Song Yunzhi was stunned because he found that he could not understand what she said at all.

Out of the corner of my eye, Mrs. Qian was already walking towards me angrily.

Qian Tong stopped talking and took out a piece of rice paper from his sleeve that was exactly the same as the one on the wooden table. "If I had known that you had so many ideas, I would have prepared a ready-made one in advance."

Without waiting for his response, Qian Tong turned around and waved to Butler Cao in the hall, "Uncle Cao, the son-in-law wants to hand in his paper."

He tried to snatch it, but Qian Tong raised her hand, lifted her skirt and jumped into the hall from the steps under the corridor, with half of her body resting on the wooden table, her lips pursed and her eyes glaring.

The objections and sighs in my ears suddenly became a chaos.

"Why should he?"

"Isn't this blatant cheating?"

"Where did this shameless pretty boy come from..."

Insulting words that he had never heard in his life kept ringing in his ears. Song Yunzhi's head was buzzing and he once again had the idea of ​​killing this woman.