He only said half of what was said, but Shen Qing understood and quietly withdrew.
She stood outside the door waiting for Qi Zhenheng, during which she faintly heard the imperial envoy advising Qi Zhenheng to choose the daughter of the Grand Tutor for marriage, and to never choose a widowed merchant's wife.
Qi Zhenheng didn't say anything and came out quickly.
Shen Qing leaned against the wall waiting for him. When she saw him come out, she smiled at him. He reached out his hand to her, but she didn't take it. Instead, she playfully put her arm around his shoulder, acting like a brother.
The two walked back to the Gao family home.
Shen Qing asked, "Your family has arranged a marriage for you, is that right?"
“These so-called weddings happen every year, but they are really just my father exchanging connections with the ministers in the court.”
Shen Qing nodded: "It's the same where we're from."
From the exchange of means of production in agrarian societies to the exchange of various social networks in civilized societies, it's all the same thing.
"Qing'er..." Qi Zhenheng said quietly, "I will not marry any other girl."
Shen Qing knew he was trying to show his loyalty in a different way, so she said nothing and silently walked towards the Gao family's house.
Behind them, Old Xu and He Fei drove the carriage, following a few meters away.
Ten days later, Shen Qing went to the Imperial Envoy's residence again with Qi Zhenheng.
Today, the imperial envoy is going to personally question those servants who have eaten ten days' worth of dry rations, and he has even brought the imperial physician with him.
Shen Qing and Qi Zhenheng sat to the side, anxiously waiting for the imperial physician to diagnose the health of each constable.
After the imperial physician finished taking the pulse of each constable, he bowed to the imperial envoy and said, "Your Excellency, their pulses are steady and strong, and they are in good health. Their complexions are also quite good."
The imperial envoy nodded, walked down with his hands behind his back, and personally inquired.
Imperial Envoy: "Have you experienced any dizziness, weakness in your limbs, or lack of strength during these past few days of eating dry rations?"
The constable reported: "Sir, I feel fine and am doing as usual. My daily life and rest are not affected."
The constable said, "I've lost weight, all the fat on my belly has disappeared, and I feel even more like I have a mental illness!"
Constable: "I feel like I've been sleeping better at night too."
"..."
Overall, the officers' evaluations were quite positive.
The imperial envoy nodded in satisfaction and told Shen Qing on the spot that he could begin preparing to donate supplies, and that supplies should be delivered once a month, as much as possible, until the war was over.
Shen Qing accepted the order and left to begin production of donated supplies.
She rented the factory again, hired some chefs with experience in making dry rations, and produced compressed dry rations according to her own methods.
Chefs who tried her samples all complained that they didn't taste good and wondered where she would sell them.
Shen Qing didn't tell them that it was a donation of supplies, for fear that it would cause trouble if word got out.
This is the dry rations that soldiers need to eat on the battlefield. If something goes wrong, the entire army could be wiped out.
A month later, Shen Qing delivered the goods as scheduled.
Three months later, the imperial envoy concluded the case concerning the donations made by the court to the Gao family and returned to the capital to report back.
Shen Qing's heart, which had been hanging in suspense for more than half a year, finally settled down.
Spring goes and autumn comes, and before we know it, the cool autumn season has arrived.
This is Shen Qing's favorite season, but this autumn, she just can't muster any enthusiasm for it.
Her weight dropped from just over 100 pounds when she first arrived to just over 80 pounds, a loss of 20 pounds.
Along with her gradually thinning body, her appetite and sleep also deteriorated.
I have a long-term inability to eat or sleep, and I am often awakened by nightmares before dawn.
Qi Zhenheng always advised her to give up the Gao family business and hand it over to Su Lan, while she focused on recovering her health.
But now, after the donation incident, the Gao family has been back to square one, and she has no choice but to continue to struggle despite her illness.
It's not that the donations have bankrupted the Gao family, but rather that the profits earned by the Gao family's three major industries are all being used to support the factories that produce the donated materials.
Every month, large quantities of clothing and dry rations were sent to the Qing court. Even so, the Qing court was initially slightly dissatisfied. It was only through the mediation of the imperial envoy and the Qi and Cheng families that the Qing court was able to give the Gao family another chance to continue donating goods instead of cash.
In such a precarious and strained environment, Shen Qing naturally fell ill from exhaustion.
My physical condition was just average to begin with.
That night, she had another nightmare.
She even dreamt that Su Lan looked like she did when she was first adopted.
She and Chunju chased butterflies in the garden, their laughter innocent and romantic.
Shen Qing sat in a rocking chair, basking in the sun, and watched them with a smile.
Suddenly, the screen went dark.
Chunju and Sulan were gone, as were the laughter and sunshine. All around was pitch black, eerie and cold.
Shen Qing shouted: Su Lan... Chun Ju...
But no sound came out.
There was a pain in my chest after a roar, but no sound came out.
Shen Qing struggled to get up from the rocking chair, but couldn't.
A large group of officers and soldiers burst out of the darkness and handcuffed her neck with wooden shackles.
"Gao Shenshi! The Emperor has decreed the extermination of the Gao family, including nine generations of their clan! Come with us now!"
Shen Qing asked loudly why, but no sound came out of her throat.
She clutched her throat tightly, only able to utter hoarse, incoherent sounds.
"Young mistress...Young mistress..."
Someone gently shook their body.
Shen Qing woke up with a start, staring at Chunju in astonishment. She sat up abruptly and then clutched her throat, asking, "Chunju?"
Relieved to find she could make a sound, she looked at the morning light outside and asked, "What time is it now?"
"It's Chen Shi (7-9 AM), young mistress."
Shen Qing laughed: "It's a miracle that I slept until dawn."
She threw off the covers, got out of bed, and dragged her ailing body to the dressing table to sit down.
After dressing up, she went to the dining hall with Chunju.
Madam Gao Liu was drinking porridge when she saw her come in. She said with disdain, "Why is the food getting worse and worse? Where has all the money you earn gone?"
Shen Qing was speechless, and said with emotion, "If they've all been donated, how can we go back?"
Gao Liu sighed and didn't say anything more.
After all, this donation concerns the nation, and if it gets overheard and spread by those with ulterior motives, it would be a capital offense punishable by beheading.
Shen Qing picked up a spoon to drink the porridge.
Several screams suddenly rang out.
Shen Qing turned to look at Chunju: "Go out and see what's going on?"
Chunju exclaimed "Hey!" and ran out with a pale face.
Shen Qing continued drinking her porridge.
Madam Gao Liu scolded from the side, "These maids and servants, all they know how to do is startle people all day long!"
Just then, Chunju rushed into the dining hall, crying, "Young mistress! Something terrible has happened! Soldiers! A lot of soldiers have rushed in!"
The spoon in Shen Qing's hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
She leaned on the table and stood up: "What did you say?"
Before Chunju could explain, dozens of soldiers rushed into the dining hall and surrounded Shen Qing and Gao Liushi.
Gao Liu exclaimed in surprise, "Who are you? How dare you barge into our house?"
The soldiers stepped aside, and an official dressed in a robe with a crane motif and a vermilion mark on his hat stepped forward, opened the imperial edict in his hand, and read it aloud.
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