Qi Zhenheng roared, "I feel sorry for all the people!"
Cheng Zhiwen sneered: "You'd better be like that!"
"Take your men and leave Jiangzhou! If you continue like this, you will not only get Shen Qing killed, but you will also be exposed!"
Qi Zhenheng no longer referred to himself as "Shen Shi" but directly as "Shen Qing".
This means that, subconsciously, he has come to accept that Shen Qing is his equal.
Only when men and women are equal can they talk about love, friendship, or romance.
Cheng Zhiwen noticed this detail.
He gritted his teeth and said, suppressing his anger, "If it were you, how would you have handled that situation? That guy surnamed Zhao was on top of her, ready to take her right there and then! She was no match for his strength! If Jiang Shen hadn't appeared in time, she would have already been humiliated by that guy surnamed Zhao! How do you expect her to live in Jiangzhou after that?"
Qi Zhenheng was speechless.
He cares about Shen Qing and supports and helps her when she needs it.
But he couldn't do what Cheng Zhiwen did, arranging for several people to secretly protect her day and night, and to rescue her immediately when she was in trouble.
If it weren't for Cheng Zhiwen's actions, she would have already been... taken advantage of by that Zhao guy.
How dare he emphasize to Cheng Zhiwen that he cares about all the people?
Qi Zhenheng turned around, placed his hands on the square table, and punched it hard.
Behind her, Cheng Zhiwen asked in a cool voice, "You like Shen Qing?"
Qi Zhenheng was stunned, his eyes wide open, unable to believe that he would fall in love with Shen Qing.
How could he possibly like a widow?!
He should deny it immediately!
But why can't he speak...?
"Will you marry her?"
He still couldn't speak.
After a moment of silence, Cheng Zhiwen gritted his teeth and said, "Since I can't marry her, I'll keep these feelings to myself until I die!"
...
After Cheng Zhiwen left, Qi Zhenheng sent someone to the county government office.
Upon learning that Master Zhao had not reported the incident to the police, but only said that he had accidentally fallen, they understood that Master Zhao would not dare to offend any powerful forces rashly, and were somewhat relieved.
However, to prevent Zhao from having any malicious intentions that night, he allowed Shen Qing and his family to stay overnight at the prefectural government office.
Chunju and Sulan were fast asleep, but Shen Qing couldn't sleep, so he went for a walk in the yard.
The spring night was chilly, and she paced back and forth in the courtyard, hugging her arms.
Right now, forget about getting a loan from a money lender; that avenue is completely blocked.
She either has to swallow her pride and borrow money from Gao's relatives again, or she has to give up the down jacket business altogether.
If she gives up, what kind of business will she start next?
These days, what can you do without capital?
The rayon business won't last long either. In a few months, European rayon will be imported and will sweep the market just like foreign cloth did back then.
Their materials will definitely be upgraded, either with more beautiful patterns and more vibrant colors, or at a lower price.
In short, in order to bring her down, they will definitely come up with all sorts of ways to get the people to buy their fabrics.
Shen Qing felt that she couldn't compete with him.
She was all alone with ten spinning machines. How could she possibly compete with those foreign cloth merchants who had thousands of machines behind them?
She originally planned to secretly develop down material, and once successful, export it directly to prevent locals from having the opportunity to collude with outsiders and steal her ideas.
However, this also means that a huge amount of capital must be invested first.
The five thousand taels were only for buying duck feathers; the remaining amount was for making down-proof inner lining fabric.
That day, she used rayon as the lining, but all the down fibers came out. Cheng Zhiwen wore it all day and it wasn't warm enough, so they had to develop a denser down-proof material.
She was in a hurry to buy duck feathers because it was the spring feather harvesting season, and if she missed the spring feathers, she would have to wait for the winter feathers in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar.
Summer wool and autumn wool are unusable.
The principal of 100,000 taels of silver was due to be repaid in the ninth month of the lunar calendar. If she couldn't sell the down vest to Europe before the ninth month, she would never have the chance to repay the debt.
The thought of 100,000 taels of silver brought back the feeling of an executioner's blade pressing on Shen Qing's neck.
She raised her hand and rubbed the back of her neck.
At that moment, a cloak was draped over her shoulders.
She paused for a moment, then turned around and saw Qi Zhenheng smiling at her.
Why aren't you resting so late?
She bowed slightly to him: "Thank you for your cloak."
He straightened up and gave a weak smile: "Thinking about business is a real headache."
"Tell me about it?"
Shen Qing didn't know how to begin, and felt that it would be pointless to say anything.
He's a man of integrity, living in poverty himself; how could he possibly have the money to help her?
If he could come up with such a large sum of money to help her, then he would be in trouble.
She wouldn't accept his money either.
Thinking of this, she smiled and said, "It's a long story."
Qi Zhenheng nodded, considerately refraining from asking any further questions.
Shen Qing looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, "I wonder if people in other worlds have the same worries as me? I don't have any particularly big wishes, I just hope to live a good life, but that seems so difficult."
She raised her hand to touch the rough marks left on her face from the rash: "I used to love beauty so much. In order to do business, I let ducks poop on my face. I had an allergic reaction and was disfigured while picking up duck feathers. I was almost killed by Master Zhao... I have tried so hard, but God still won't let me live... It's too hard."
After saying these words, she was already in tears, feeling wronged.
Feeling wronged for oneself.
The man placed his thick, warm hand on her shoulder and turned her body towards him.
She turned her face to the side so that Qi Zhenheng wouldn't see the wetness on her face.
“You’re not disfigured.” Under the cool moonlight, his bright eyes were veiled with tears. “You’re still beautiful, just like when I first saw you.”
First time?
Shen Qing remembered and chuckled: "That time I was thrown into a pig cage, you came to save me and pulled me out of the river like a drowning dog. In that situation, how could I be beautiful?"
"Like a lotus emerging from the water, pure and spotless."
Thank you for your comfort.
Given her current situation, she would be very grateful to anyone who supports or comforts her.
The night was cool and still, and a gust of wind swept by. Shen Qing coughed lightly.
Qi Zhenheng pulled her cloak tighter and said softly, "It's getting chilly, go back and rest."
"Okay." Shen Qing bowed slightly to him. "Thank you."
She turned and went back to the side room.
Su Lan was fast asleep. Chun Ju had left a small lamp on for her. When she saw Su Lan return, she quickly got out of bed and took the cloak that Su Lan had taken off.
Seeing that the cloak was a men's style, Chunju asked in a low voice, "Is this Lord Qi's cloak?"
Shen Qing nodded: "Return it to Lord Qi tomorrow."
Chunju smiled and hung the cloak on the clothes rack: "Lord Qi is so good to you."
"He was an upright and honest official who treated every citizen very well."
"No, that's not true! Lord Qi is very serious with everyone, but I see that he's very kind to you... sigh... if only Lord Qi could always protect you... you wouldn't have to work so hard in business..."
Chunju was only twenty years old, just one year older than the original owner of the body. She had never been married and still loved to dream like a young girl.
Seeing how good Cheng Zhiwen was to Shen Qing, she hoped that Shen Qing could be with Cheng Zhiwen.
Seeing Qi Zhenheng borrow Shen Qing's cloak, I couldn't help but think that Shen Qing would always be under Qi Zhenheng's protection throughout her life.
In short, she suffered a lot and read very little, so she dreamed that a prince charming would come to save Shen Qing, and she would rise to heaven along with him.
Shen Qing knew all this and couldn't bear to scold her, after all, she had indeed suffered too much with him.
“Young Madam, I won’t deliver this cloak for you. Why don’t you deliver it to Lord Qi yourself tomorrow? I’ll make some pastries later, and you can give them to Lord Qi along with them… Lord Qi will appreciate your virtuousness…”
Before she could finish speaking, Gao Liushi, who was lying on the bed, let out a cold laugh.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com