"The scenery is nice."
The man's voice was deep and tinged with a hint of mockery.
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze and saw that Cheng Zhiwen had already sat down opposite her.
Unexpectedly, he came, making her a little uncomfortable. She coughed lightly and sat up straight: "Why are you here?"
Cheng Zhiwen looked around, then looked at her.
Shen Qing boldly met his gaze.
He looked at her for a while before finally speaking, "I advise you not to get involved in this mess."
Shen Qing raised her voice: "What? Why get involved in this mess?"
She genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.
"Now the whole of Shanghai knows that you have provided a place for socialite wives to exchange information with each other."
Shen Qing explained, "Those are my customers! It's perfectly normal for me to provide a place for them to choose their silk at their leisure when they buy it from me."
"Whether you're just picking out goods or not, you know best," Cheng Zhiwen sneered. "In the future, if any one of your customers is arrested by the Qing government and labeled a rebel, then as the person who provided the venue, you will inevitably be arrested along with them!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qing recalled the conversations he had overheard among the ladies.
Indeed, many of them criticized the Qing Dynasty.
For example, the misappropriation of military funds to build the Qingyi Garden drew widespread criticism for the Qing government's corruption.
When she first heard it, she vaguely felt something was wrong, but then she thought that this was a foreign concession and the Qing government shouldn't have any jurisdiction over this area, so she felt relieved.
Only now, with Cheng Zhiwen bringing it up seriously, did she realize that things might be more serious than she had imagined.
Shen Qing was a little flustered inside, but she didn't show it on her face. However, her ten fingers were already twisting white under the table.
She countered Cheng Zhiwen's question: "This is a foreign concession; the Qing government shouldn't have jurisdiction over this area, right?"
"Just because the Qing court can't openly interfere doesn't mean they can't secretly do anything about it! Besides, you're not always in the concessions; you frequently return to Jiangzhou, travel to Zhejiang, and Guangzhou. It would be incredibly easy for the Qing court to send people to arrest you!"
Shen Qing raised his hand and slammed his fist on the table.
I'm so angry and I don't know what to do!
"But I spent tens of thousands of taels of silver to buy this villa and renovate it. Now, I am slowly recovering my cash flow with the spending of these rich ladies. If I close this place down, I will lose everything!"
Moreover, less than one-tenth of the silk in the Gao family's inventory has been sold. If this place is closed, what will happen to the remaining silk?
Shen Qing found it difficult to make up her mind.
But Cheng Zhiwen's words made perfect sense, and she couldn't disregard the lives of other innocent people.
Shen Qing couldn't think of a good solution for the time being, so he stood up and said to Cheng Zhiwen, "Thank you for reminding me. Let me think about it."
She was ready to see the guest off, but Cheng Zhiwen had no intention of getting up.
“In a few days, a Frenchman will come to discuss taking over this place with you. You agree to his request, sign a contract with him, proving that this place has nothing to do with you from now on, and then take the money back to Jiangzhou.”
Shen Qing stopped, looking at him in astonishment: "Why should I listen to you? I won't sell it! Why should I sell this place? Especially to a Frenchman?"
Cheng Zhiwen growled, "Aren't you afraid of being labeled a revolutionary? Aren't you afraid of dragging the Gao family down with you?"
Shen Qing sneered and retorted, "If you're so afraid of being beaten by the Qing court, why did you become a traitor? In the Qing court's eyes, aren't revolutionaries and traitors the same? Aren't you afraid the Qing court will investigate you and kill you?"
She just wanted to tell Cheng Zhiwen that he had his principles, and so did she!
She advised him not to be a traitor, but he wouldn't listen, so she wouldn't listen to him either!
But in reality, she was just putting on a brave face; she would still carefully consider what Cheng Zhiwen said.
She cherished her own life and didn't want to burden other innocent people.
But she couldn't help but rebel against Cheng Zhiwen, because she was angry that he didn't listen to her and even interfered in her affairs.
Shen Qing turned to leave.
Cheng Zhiwen caught up with her, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her to the other side of the terrace.
His back slammed against the wall, and he was once again locked between the wall and his chest.
He looked at her and lowered his voice: "You're right. In the eyes of the Qing government, revolutionaries and traitors were both guilty of the crime of exterminating nine generations of their families!"
His voice remained low: "You ask me if I'm afraid the Qing court will investigate and kill me? Of course I am! But what I fear is not losing my life, but that my loved ones will also die tragically with me!"
somebody to Love……
Shen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she stared at him blankly: "Who is the person you love?"
He simply looked at her without saying a word.
Shen Qing murmured in return, "Since you're afraid too, why did you become a traitor?"
“For the new world,” he looked into her clear eyes, “someone must sacrifice.”
After speaking, he looked up at the top of her head.
The ruby hairpin remained stuck in her hair as always.
She didn't truly hate him, otherwise she wouldn't still wear the gift he gave her.
He smiled with satisfaction, keeping a meter's distance from her: "Remember, give this to the Frenchman I mentioned."
After saying that, he turned and left the terrace.
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze and shouted at his retreating figure, "You're wrong! That new world isn't worth your sacrifice!"
As she shouted, her eyes reddened: "It's not worth it! You've been scammed!"
But Cheng Zhiwen seemed not to hear, and her figure disappeared behind the door.
Shen Qing returned to the first floor dejectedly, told Jiang Shen to close the doors and windows, and quickly got into the carriage.
That night, she had another nightmare.
She dreamt that more than a dozen members of the Gao family were all beheaded because she was labeled a revolutionary, and even Lao Xu, Jiang Shen, and He Fei were not spared.
More than a dozen heads rolled on the ground, and blood flowed all the way.
Shen Qing was so frightened that he rushed back to Jiangzhou before dawn.
Seeing that the Gao family was safe and sound, she finally felt relieved.
Su-lan went to the study to report on the shop's business performance last month.
Two years have passed, and Su Lan is now twelve years old, graceful and elegant, beginning to take on the appearance of a young woman.
Now, she assists Shen Qing in managing the factories and shops in Jiangzhou, and has become the second-in-command of the Gao family.
“Sulan,” Shen Qing looked at her with relief, “a few days ago, a matchmaker came to propose marriage, and your master wanted to ask for your opinion. If you don’t want to find a partner right now, your master will refuse.”
Su Lan closed the ledger, lowered her head and pursed her lips: "Su Lan doesn't want to get married. Su Lan wants to stay by Master's side for the rest of her life, help Master manage the business and take care of Master."
Shen Qing asked with a smile, "If you follow your master your whole life, you won't have any children of your own. What will you do when you get old?"
Su Lan innocently said, "Su Lan can find a disciple just like you, Master!"
Shen Qing laughed out loud, feeling that he was a bad example.
Thinking about the dream she had last night, she still felt uneasy and had to seriously consider Su Lan's marriage.
If Su Lan gets married, she will no longer be a member of the Gao family. If something happens to her in the future, it will not implicate Su Lan.
But this is only a last resort.
Most importantly, she needs to extricate herself from that mess.
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