70. Payment made in cash.

"I'll listen to my wife."

“Aunt Jiang! Madam is the mistress of the General’s Mansion. If you can’t even show her the most basic respect, then you should move to the country estate,” Xiao Pingchuan said.

Aunt Jiang immediately shut up and dared not say another word.

"I...I'll go see if Madam's room is missing anything?"

"No need. Go find some tonics to replenish your qi and blood. When Madam cooks alone in the future, please cook more carefully."

"Hey hey."

Aunt Jiang tiptoed out of the courtyard with her vegetable basket, and went to find her daughter in a huff as soon as she came out.

Upon entering, they found another person in the room.

"Oh, it's Miss Zhou." She said in a displeased tone, "You've already found a house outside, but you haven't moved out yet."

"I moved here to visit Sister Yuanxiang."

Aunt Jiang's expression softened slightly. "That's good. I didn't mean anything by it; I was just worried that the general would scold you again."

She knew Zhou Yuan's thoughts, and she didn't think much of Zhou Yuan either.

"Speaking of which, the general is currently in the kitchen personally brewing medicine for his wife. In my opinion, the general is completely bewitched by her, and something bad is bound to happen sooner or later."

Zhou Yuan's face immediately fell. "The general is a man who does great things. How can we waste time brewing medicine for her?"

"That's what I advised him, but he wouldn't listen at all."

"Mother, I ordered a box of rouge from Aunt Qian on East Street. Could you go and get it for me?" Yuanxiang suddenly said.

"Why did you buy from her again? That old woman's stuff is expensive and hard to use," Aunt Jiang said.

"Since you've already bought it, and the general praised the smell of her food, why don't you go over there?"

"Okay, okay, I'll go, alright?"

"Thank you for your hard work, Mother."

After Aunt Jiang left, Yuanxiang walked to the window and touched the feathers of the two little birds in the wooden box by the window.

"Look at how much trouble she causes, she just throws her weight around because she's rich, and the general always sides with her," Zhou Yuan continued.

Yuanxiang picked up a worm from a small bowl next to her, intending to feed it to the little bird, which was the one Shen Suqin had asked her to take care of.

She pinched the insect, pried open the bird's beak, and forced it in, saying, "She has helped the general a lot, and she is also quite capable. The general will rely on her a lot in the future, so naturally he should treat her well."

"That's true, but I get angry just looking at her arrogant attitude. She yells at the general every day, and even dares to call him by his name directly. She doesn't understand respect at all. She's really not well-educated."

“Capable people are arrogant,” Yuanxiang said. “I heard that the general stayed in her room all night last night.”

"What!"

"It seems he's ill, quite seriously. The general stayed up all night taking care of him, and even went to brew medicine himself at dawn. The two of them have such a good relationship."

Zhou Yuan couldn't stand to hear this. "She's faking illness? She must be faking it. She was perfectly fine yesterday during the day, talking a good game."

"No one would believe it; she is the mistress of the General's Mansion."

"Hmph! Who will be the mistress of the house in the future is still uncertain. I have to expose her true colors and make the general see her for who she really is."

Yuanxiang withdrew her finger, wiped it on the bird's feathers, and said, "I advise you not to do useless work."

How will you know if you don't try?

After saying that, she left in a hurry.

Yuanxiang watched her departing figure through the window. After a while, she bent down, picked up a worm, and slowly tossed it to the bird.

When Zhou Yuan ran to the main courtyard, Xiao Pingchuan was holding medicine and was about to make Shen Suqin drink it.

"It's for dispelling wind and cold."

"That's what the doctor said."

"Drink it, it's not hot anymore."

"Take a couple of sips, listen to me, taking the medicine will help you recover faster."

She could only hear Xiao Pingchuan's voice through the window. However, she had never heard a general speak to someone so humbly before.

He is the God of War of the Great Liang!

Zhou Yuan angrily pushed the door open and shouted, "I think you're probably faking it. You're not sick at all. General, don't be fooled by her."

Xiao Pingchuan looked over with displeasure: "Didn't anyone teach Miss Zhou to knock before entering?"

"General."

Xiao Pingchuan put down the medicine bowl. "I remember I already asked Zhao Chengchun to find you another place to stay."

“I…you didn’t say I couldn’t come back to visit,” she said, her gaze fixed on the medicine bowl. “General, you really did brew the medicine for her yourself.”

Shen Suqin was somewhat surprised, as Xiao Pingchuan hadn't told her this.

"What's it to you?" Xiao Pingchuan asked Zhou Yuan curtly.

"General!"

He had to suppress his anger towards this Ms. Zhou time and time again.

To put it bluntly, expecting someone who has spent years on the edge of a knife to be gentle is like asking a blind man to give directions or a mute man to speak.

Therefore, he reserved all his limited patience and gentleness for Shen Suqin, and wouldn't give anyone else a single drop more.

"You're here just in time, so apologize," Xiao Pingchuan said.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Shen Suqin and saw that she was also looking at her, looking sickly. She said irritably, "What are you apologizing for? Why should I apologize? She was the one who hurt me first."

Xiao Pingchuan's eyes turned cold and sharp. "Miss Zhou, you should be grateful that you were kind to us first. If it were anyone else who said such hurtful things to her, I would have immediately beheaded them!"

"General."

Xiao Pingchuan gently placed the medicine bowl in Chen Suqin's hand and said softly, "Drink it while it's hot. I'll be watching you after you finish."

After saying that, he stood up and looked down at her, saying, "She is my lawfully wedded wife, the one I have longed for but could never have. Do you think she can't see through your little schemes? She just doesn't bother competing with you. Do you understand?"

After these words were spoken, the person in question did not react, but Shen Suqin raised an eyebrow and felt her ears burning.

"General!" Zhou Yuan came to her senses, tears welling up in her eyes, and said in a sweet voice, "I, I just feel sorry for my brother. She never feels sorry for you, nor for your brothers."

"Feeling sorry for you? No one in the world cares for me more than her. She supports 100,000 Black Flag soldiers and tens of thousands of retired brothers. What do you mean by feeling sorry for me? Making things difficult for me? I'd like to thank you for that." Xiao Pingchuan said without any mercy. "You saved us, and I, Xiao Pingchuan, am deeply grateful. But my family can no longer accommodate you. I will have Zhao Chengchun take care of you. From now on, don't come to my manor unless it's absolutely necessary."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan immediately burst into tears.

She likes Xiao Pingchuan; why can't someone like him even give her a second glance?

She was already very close to him.

Xiao Pingchuan disliked seeing people cry, regardless of gender. "Zhao Chengchun! Zhao Chengchun!" he shouted, "Send Miss Zhou back."

Zhao Chengchun rushed over, his face flushed, and seeing Miss Zhou crying with tears streaming down her face, he felt a headache coming on.

"Miss Zhou, come with me." He persuaded her while dragging her outside.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yuan broke free from him and threw herself into Xiao Pingchuan's arms, sobbing, "General, please accept me. I'm willing to be your concubine, as long as you let me stay by your side."

Xiao Pingchuan froze, turning his head blankly to look at Shen Suqin, only to see her with an expression of watching a good show.

His face immediately fell, and he said sternly, "Miss Zhou, please have some self-respect. Zhao Chengchun, if you can't even control a woman, then I'll strip you of your skin. There are plenty of people who want to take your place."

Zhao Chengchun was stunned. "Grandma, just let go," he said forcefully, pulling the person down and quickly leading her away.

Shen Suqin was watching the commotion while drinking her medicine, and before she knew it, she had finished it all.

Xiao Pingchuan popped a piece of candy into her mouth, then took the medicine bowl and put it away, asking, "Did you enjoy watching this spectacle?"

Shen Suqin smacked her lips on the candy and asked vaguely, "I didn't expect the general to be in such high demand."

Xiao Pingchuan glanced at her resentfully and said sarcastically, "I don't think it's that good."

"What's the meaning?"

"If it were really good, someone would have given in already."

Shen Suqin remained silent.

"Alright, you can rest now. I'm going out for a bit later, so Aunt Jiang will bring you lunch."

"Um."

"Just tell her what you want to eat."

"good."

At noon, as expected, Aunt Jiang brought the lunch. Usually, she would bring light side dishes and porridge, but this time she actually stewed a bowl of oily meat.

Shen Suqin had recently been suffering from a weak spleen and stomach and disliked oily foods, so she said to her, "Auntie, I have no appetite, please bring me some porridge instead."

"It was the general's order to eat meat to nourish the body."

"It's too oily, I really can't eat it."

Aunt Jiang smiled apologetically but didn't move: "The kitchen fire has been turned off. I think Madam is alright, so please make do with this. Why make things difficult for us servants?"

“I never treated my aunt as a servant.”

"It's the same for me. I'm just like those military officers. My wife can order me around whenever she wants."

This alludes to Shen Suqin's desire for the scouts to go south to rescue people.

Shen Suqin's eyes darkened slightly. "I'd like to trouble Aunt Jiang to take the food away. I'm not eating."

"That's fine. Letting it go hungry and cleanse the stomach will help me eat it at the next meal."

After saying that, she took the food and left.

Shen Suqin closed her eyes in annoyance, her previously relieved breath rising again. She really couldn't understand what those people who were so keen on engaging in palace intrigue were thinking; didn't they think it was a waste of time?

As night fell, Ju Tao returned home, and Shen Suqin immediately asked her, "How's the search for a new house going?"

"We've found a place, and they're just getting people ready. We can move in tomorrow or the day after. How about it?"

"Nothing much, I'm just tired of staying in this general's mansion, it's really annoying."

Ju Tao chuckled, "Who angered you this time?"

Shen Suqin shook her head. "It's nothing to mention. Did you bring back the account books from the western suburbs?"

“I brought it back. Let me read it to you. Don’t read it yourself; it’ll hurt your eyes.”

"good."

"...The copper stove brought in a total of 213,720 taels, and the harvested vegetables covered 31 mu, bringing in 89,400,000 taels..."

Shen Suqin quickly calculated in her mind that the income from one mu of green vegetables was nearly three hundred taels. This was only the internal price sold to Xingyuan. If it were sold to those aristocratic families, it might double.

Unfortunately, leafy greens can only be sold in winter. What will we sell in summer and autumn? We can't just leave the shed empty.

Selling ice in the summer might be a good idea.

In the summer, the tarpaulin covering the greenhouse can be removed, and ice can be made inside and sold to various places.

However, this ice cannot be sold through Xingyuan; a new shop needs to be opened for Chenji to specialize in selling rare items such as vegetables and ice.

Shen Suqin carefully considered the matter and found it increasingly feasible. "Ju Tao, has Master Su woken up? Let's go see him."

“He’s awake. I just went to see him. Liu Zimu took good care of him,” Ju Tao said. “Let me help you get dressed.”

Wrapped in a plain white fox fur coat, Shen Suqin walked into Su Yubai's room under the cover of night. Seeing that he was awake, she smiled brightly and said, "You're finally awake."

Su Yubai coughed twice. "I didn't expect you to travel all this way to save me. The Su family had already prepared for the possibility that I wouldn't be able to return."

Shen Suqin shook her head, "Don't talk about that. If it weren't for me..."

"We don't talk about this between us."

"Then stop with the thanks. I'll just ask you directly: how much of the Su family's wealth is left?"

"Two-thirds, but the foundation is gone."

Shen Suqin nodded. If the Su family couldn't stay in Jiaozhou, their foundation would be gone.

“The Su family lost Jiaozhou, so I’ll compensate you with Liangzhou,” she said.

Su Yubai: "Are you joking?"

He didn't believe that Shen Suqin didn't know that Jiaozhou was a silk-weaving town, while Liangzhou was not.

Shen Suqin looked at him seriously: "You know I never joke."

"So how do you plan to compensate us? By making the people of Liangzhou switch to mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing, and silk weaving?"

Shen Suqin shook her head: "The time is not right yet. I will tell you when the time is right."

When will the time be right?

"Let's wait a little longer, until the Su family is forgotten by certain people, until we've saved up enough money."

"what do you want to do?"

"I have a vegetable business I'd like to learn more about?"

"make money?"

"The internal price in Xingyuan is 300 taels per mu; if you sell it to a prestigious family, with your skills, doubling the profit is no problem."

Su Yubai remained silent for a moment, weighing his options.

Shen Suqin continued, "Even if the Su family falls, they can't fall so quietly. I know you still have connections, but everyone in the world is driven by self-interest. If you don't give the Su family any hope of rising again, will those connections still be connections in a few years?"

Su Yubai: "You don't need to provoke me with your words. Do you think I don't know these principles? I just want to know, what are your plans for this off-season vegetable business in the future?"

"Number one in the Great Liang."

"Can."

Su Yubai readily agreed.

Shen Suqin pressed her advantage: "Later, I'll have Ju Tao hand over all of Zhou Baihu's account books and silver to you. Don't worry, I'll help you build an even bigger Su family."

With the Su family's downfall, many in the family must resent Su Yubai for choosing the wrong side, and she cannot let him bear this burden alone.

Su Yubai blinked, half-jokingly and half-seriously saying, "I'm taking it seriously."

"Of course. Take good care of yourself. Once you're fully recovered, you'll have more things to do and won't have as much time to rest."

"And you too, look at your own face, it's whiter than a wall."

Shen Suqin smiled and said, "I'm going back now. You can go to sleep."

She pushed open the door and went out. In the courtyard, Xiao Pingchuan had been standing there for who knows how long, holding a bowl of medicine.

She walked over, picked up the glass and drank it without saying a word, then said to Ju Tao, "Show the guest out."

Xiao Pingchuan: "..."

After not seeing him for half a day, why does she seem to dislike him again?

Xiao Pingchuan was completely bewildered.

Xiao Pingchuan prepared lunch for the next day himself. He waited for Shen Suqin to wake up and then instructed Yuanxiang to bring over the porridge that was warming on the stove.

"The doctor said you need to rest and recuperate properly," Xiao Pingchuan said.

"I can't rest. The New Year is coming soon. After the New Year, when spring comes and the ground thaws, I have so many things to do. There's no time to rest."

"Your health is the most important thing."

Shen Suqin shook her head and ignored him.

Soon, Yuanxiang brought the porridge back.

"Give it to me." Xiao Pingchuan reached out his hand.

Yuanxiang took a step back: "General, you've never served anyone before, let Yuanxiang do it."

"No need."

Shen Suqin suddenly opened her eyes, grabbed Xiao Pingchuan's arm and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Yuanxiang."

Xiao Pingchuan had no choice but to step aside.

Yuanxiang sat down, scooped up half a spoonful of porridge, blew on it gently, and brought it to Shen Suqin's lips.

Shen Suqin opened her mouth and swallowed the porridge, then asked her, "A few days ago I entrusted a pair of little birds to Miss Yuanxiang. I wonder if the little birds are growing well?"

Yuanxiang's hand trembled slightly as she scooped up the porridge, and she replied softly, "I'm sorry, I've never raised birds before, and I couldn't keep them alive."

Xiao Pingchuan has been so focused on Shen Suqin lately that he's forgotten all about this.

Hearing that his bird son had died, he was completely horrified.

"What? Dead? How did he die?" he asked repeatedly.

Yuanxiang lowered her head and whispered, "I don't know, I just suddenly died one day."

Xiao Pingchuan's face was grim, but he also knew that it was inappropriate to blame someone for a bird.

"Where is it buried?" Shen Suqin asked.

“In the countryside, dead birds are usually thrown to cats to eat,” Yuanxiang said.

Shen Suqin chuckled, "General, your bird son has been eaten by the cat."

Xiao Pingchuan's expression turned even uglier.

Yuanxiang, however, lowered her head and apologized to Xiao Pingchuan, saying, "Please punish me, General."

Xiao Pingchuan couldn't very well punish the person, especially since this person had grown up with him since childhood.

So, he held back for a moment and said in a low voice, "You can go down now."

“Wait, that’s my bird son too. How can you let him go so easily for me, General?” Shen Suqin said.

Yuanxiang hurriedly put down the porridge bowl, knelt down by the bedside, and said in a pitiful manner, "Please, Madam, have mercy."

Shen Suqin: "General, what do you suggest we do to punish him?"

Xiao Pingchuan: "Punishment? No need."

Shen Suqin raised an eyebrow: "Then the general and Miss Yuanxiang will be punished together." She thought for a moment, "and I would trouble you two to sweep the snow out of my yard."

Yuanxiang looked at Xiao Pingchuan with red eyes.

Xiao Pingchuan: "I'll listen to my wife."

[Author's Note]

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-04-20 02:57:32 and 2023-04-26 02:36:14!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: Shy Grandma Bodhisattva Fish 1;

Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Shy Grandma Bodhisattva Fish 1;

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Shy Grandma Bodhisattva Fish 20 bottles; Yan Nian 5 bottles; Midnight 2 bottles; Jianbing Guozi 1 bottle;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!