Chapter 73 The Origin of the Heart

Ji Shu suddenly looked up at him, her eyes shining brightly. It was already a pleasant surprise that he agreed, let alone the opportunity to go out several times a month.

"Thank you, my lord." She smiled slightly. "Then it's settled."

Pei Yanzhi thought to himself: Luckily I agreed.

"Alright, I still have official business to attend to in the study. If you feel bored, you can take a walk around the mansion. I'll be leaving now." With that, he turned and left.

Ji Shu watched his figure disappear into the depths of the corridor.

As soon as Lord Junhou left, Chunzhi and Lian'er hurriedly came in. Ji Shu smiled and said, "Zhi'er, Lian'er, you will have three opportunities to go out each month from now on."

The two asked in unison, "Really?"

Ji Shu nodded, then turned and instructed, "Zhi'er, quickly write a letter to Chang Wu and ask him to come over. The business in Chongzhou is already very stable, so you can leave it to the managers of each shop to run."

After she finished speaking, she continued, "Give him a few shares of the profits. The journey is long and arduous; if we don't use some methods, he might develop ulterior motives. Let him settle down before he sets off."

Chunzhi hurriedly agreed. Ji Shu paced around the room for a few steps before saying, "Also, we need to write a letter to Madam Rui. Tell her that we will be opening a shop in Yanzhou soon. We are new here and unfamiliar with the place. Please ask her to inquire about the situation of major shops in Yanzhou so as not to inadvertently violate any taboos."

In this world, if you block someone's path to wealth, even if the shop opens, it's uncertain whether it will last. She also couldn't be sure how much Pei Yanzhi could protect her.

She may have some beauty now, but he holds a high position and there's no guarantee he won't take other women in the future. If she places her hopes on him, it's tantamount to putting her life in someone else's hands.

This has never been her guiding principle.

“Lian’er, you said that Yanzhou is many times larger than Chongzhou, and the powerful families there are deeply entrenched. If we do business here, it will definitely be much more dangerous than in Chongzhou.”

"But once we establish ourselves here, the wealth we earn will certainly far surpass what we can achieve in Chongzhou!"

Lian'er nodded in agreement, and recalling the faint smile on the Lord's face before he left, she asked softly, "Have you ever thought about using the Lord's influence to expand your business? After all, in Yanzhou, the Lord is their god."

Ji Shu refused without hesitation, a cold smile playing on her lips: "He already has a share of the Autumn Moon Festival. If we have to rely on his status in Yanzhou, I believe he will soon devour the entire Autumn Moon Festival."

During their march, she witnessed firsthand how scarce their Yanzhou army was in terms of supplies. It made sense; after so many years of fighting, even a mountain of gold and silver couldn't withstand such depletion.

On the way, I heard them say that after returning to Yanzhou this time, there would be no more fighting for at least two years. The soldiers needed to rest and recuperate, and they also needed to allow Yanzhou to recover and regain its former glory.

In the evening, Lian'er lit the candles, and Ji Shu reclined on the soft couch, flipping through a storybook. Chunzhi approached and asked softly, "Young lady, will the Marquis be coming over tonight? Shall we set the table for dinner now?"

Ji Shu put down the book in her hand, thinking about the unfinished business of the day, and curled her bare feet slightly inward, clearly still feeling lingering fear.

He glanced at the sky outside and waved his hand: "No need to wait for him. After dinner, just bolt the door. Even if he wants to come in, he won't be able to."

Chunzhi was about to speak when she said, "Everyone in and around this mansion is from his household. Not only this mansion, but even the room where the young lady is currently staying was arranged by him. How can you stop him?"

She sighed softly, "My lady, not that I'm being nosy, but how could we possibly stop Your Majesty?"

"Even ten heads wouldn't be enough to chop off!"

Ji Shu leaned back dejectedly, realizing she was being delusional, and put down the book in her hand: "Fine, let him be."

...

It was past midnight when Pei Yanzhi finally finished processing that small stack of memorials in the Wenxin Pavilion. Countless documents were presented to him every day.

At this moment, the entire Pei residence was quiet, the bright moon hung high in the night, and the lanterns shone on the bluestone slabs.

Wu Yang, carrying a lantern, led the way and respectfully asked, "Would you like to rest in the West Garden, or stay in the study?"

Pei Yanzhi's sleeves fluttered as he moved. He twirled the ring on his finger and said in a deep voice, "Go to Shanshui Residence."

Wu Yang bowed slightly to indicate that he understood and led the way.

The servant on night watch rubbed his sleepy eyes and opened the door when he heard the noise. When he saw that it was the lord outside, his drowsiness vanished instantly: "This servant greets the lord!"

"Has my wife gone to sleep?"

"Yes, after dinner, my wife went to the courtyard to digest her food and then went to bed."

"Okay, I understand."

After saying that, he instructed them, "Alright, there's nothing else, go and rest."

"yes!"

Wu Yang guessed that his lord probably didn't want to wake Lady Ji, so he quietly withdrew.

Pei Yanzhi tiptoed into the room, where a cool breeze wafted through the air.

On either side of the room stood enormous ice chests. It wasn't even the hottest part of summer yet, and this was probably the only place in the entire mansion that had started using ice. He shook his head and smiled helplessly.

However, after only one day of moving in, it was already unrecognizable as the place where the Gu family had lived; it could be said to have been completely transformed.

A subtle fragrance wafted through the room, and only one candle was lit outside the screen. On the outermost side of the screen stood a jade coral, about half a person's height.

As you walk further in, even the old daybed has been replaced with a black nanmu wood canopy bed with gold trim that can accommodate four or five people.

Layers of lush green embroidered floral gauze curtains concealed the slender figure reclining within.

He glanced around casually, his expression complex. He didn't know why she had been placed in Shanshui Residence, even the old lady had asked about it.

Just when everyone thought he would never set foot in this place again, he arranged for her to stay there, perhaps because of the humiliation that the Gu family had brought him.

Or perhaps he never considered Gu Shi as his wife from beginning to end; he only ever considered Ji Shu, and only her from beginning to end.

He walked in, stood by the bed, lifted the gauze curtain and gazed at her sleeping face. Her eyes were closed, and because she was sleeping soundly, her cheeks were flushed, as if she had applied the finest rouge, making her incomparably beautiful.

The cool ring gently brushed across her cheek. Although the movement was light, the cool touch still made her feel uncomfortable in her sleep. She frowned slightly and turned over to face the inside of her body.

Seeing her like this, his originally cold and hard face suddenly softened, and he paused slightly in his steps, even though he was about to go straight to bed.

Knowing that she was always very clean, I knew that if I went to bed like this, she would probably be disgusted by me the next morning. So I turned around and used the basin of cold water by the door to wipe myself clean.

He lifted the gauze curtain and pushed her inside, then lay down on her.