Yan Xiao didn't waste time dwelling on why Shen Muzhi had that expression just now.
After seeing Shen Muzhi off, she called Zhao Qian and asked him to inform Ma Youcai to temporarily stop buying crayfish. If anyone asked why, she should say that she felt the cost was too high and wanted to lower the purchase price.
Zhao Qian was very familiar with the situation in Jiangbei City, and he naturally knew about the displaced people's desire to raise prices.
He was somewhat surprised to hear Yan Xiao's instructions. He couldn't understand what Yan Xiao was trying to do. It was one thing not to raise prices, but why did she go against the grain and say that she wanted to lower prices?
Will we still be able to buy crayfish like this? Does his general's wife not want to continue such a lucrative business?
Even though he had many questions in his mind, he wisely refrained from asking further and simply followed instructions to carry out his duties.
As soon as he stepped out of the general's mansion, he ran into his own general.
He noticed that Shen Muzhi's expression seemed a bit off, so he tried to pretend he didn't see anything and turn to run away. But before he could even take a step, he was stopped by the sharp-eyed Shen Muzhi.
Zhao Qianguang's biggest fear now is that Shen Muzhi will come looking for him, because it's never good news when he does. But he has no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.
"General, what are your orders?"
Shen Mu looked him up and down, then glanced at his empty hands, and asked with a slight pursing of her lips:
"Where are you going? Did Madam send you out?"
"Yes, Madam asked me to inform Manager Ma of some things."
Zhao Qian spoke the truth, but upon finishing, he noticed the aura around his general suddenly drop. Alarm bells immediately rang, and he hesitated before asking:
"General, may I leave now?"
Shen Muzhi kept a cold face, neither saying whether Zhao Qian could leave nor that he couldn't, and just stared at Zhao Qian with his icy gaze.
Zhao Qian was on the verge of tears, his back was soaked with sweat from nervousness, and he really couldn't understand what this man meant.
Just as his legs were about to give way, he heard Shen Muzhi's feignedly calm voice:
"When you came out, did Madam ask me anything, or did she seem nervous or worried about me?"
"ah?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qian seriously doubted whether he had misheard.
He secretly looked up to see Shen Muzhi's expression, and saw that he was pursing his lips and stiffening his back, looking like he was waiting to hear some important battle report.
Shen Muzhi met Zhao Qian's gaze, frowned in displeasure, and said coldly:
"I'm asking you a question, why are you staring at me?"
Zhao Qian was so frightened by what he heard that he quickly lowered his head. But how was he supposed to answer that question? The general's wife didn't seem to care about his general at all.
But how could he dare to tell the truth?
Given the general's current state, if he were to speak, would he be able to see the sun rise again unscathed?
He hesitated for a while, and just when Shen Muzhi was about to lose patience, he wisely chose to say what Shen Muzhi wanted to hear.
"General, there's no need to ask. Your wife is definitely worried about you. It's just that her strong personality makes her unable to express her vulnerable side."
"Yeah?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Muzhi's aura visibly softened, even his expression became gentler, though he still asked with some confusion:
"But when I said goodbye to her just now, why didn't I sense any worry from her at all?"
Zhao Qian wanted to cry. What the hell did this have to do with him? Why was he being asked? He was just a guard, okay?
But he couldn't cry; not only could he not cry, he had to force a smile and make the man happy.
So I had no choice but to continue lying through my teeth:
"General, this is naturally because the lady was afraid that you would be distracted, so that you could go to war without any worries."
This only shows that our general's wife is sensible and understanding, unlike other women who only cry and whine when sending their husbands off to war.
Shen Muzhi was very satisfied with the answer, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was indeed the case.
If Yanxiao really shed tears like those women, he really wouldn't know how to deal with it. Looking at it this way, his wife is indeed different from others; she is an excellent woman.
Actually, he should have thought of this long ago. His wife was a woman who was able to find him safely in this chaotic world with a half-grown child. How could she be compared to those women who cry and whine at the drop of a hat?
It was a momentary lapse of judgment on his part, but fortunately Zhao Qian enlightened and reminded him.
He couldn't help but feel once again that leaving Zhao Qian with Yan Xiao was a very correct choice.
He nodded in satisfaction.
"Well, in that case, you should serve Madam well. While I'm away, you mustn't let Madam suffer any injustice."
And keep a close eye on that multi-treasure pavilion. If the other party is just making a simple transaction with the lady, let it be. But if they dare to have other intentions, this general wouldn't mind playing along.
"Yes, I understand."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qian quickly nodded, knowing that he had passed the test, and at the same time became even more certain that his general valued his wife very much.
Although he didn't know why the general had such unique tastes, he was certain of one thing: as long as he took good care of his wife, he would have nothing to worry about.
Thinking this, he remembered something else and felt that his general would be very happy to know about it, so he took it upon himself to speak:
"There's something I'd like to discuss with the general."
Shen Muzhi, who was about to leave, immediately stopped upon hearing this:
"What is it?"
Hehe~
Zhao Qian gave a quirky, almost demonic laugh, then leaned closer to Shen Muzhi and said mysteriously:
"Today, Madam went to the Treasure Pavilion mainly to replace the jade ruyi that Manager Ma had given her. The item she replaced was a jade Guanyin sculpture."
Shen Muzhi nodded indifferently upon hearing this.
“Those are Madam’s things. She can exchange them for whatever she wants. She doesn’t need to tell me.”
Shen Muzhi was about to leave after he finished speaking when Zhao Qian continued:
“If it were any other Guanyin, I naturally wouldn’t say anything, but the lady has chosen the Guanyin who grants children, which has a great deal to do with the general. I think I should talk to the general about it.”
"A gift, a Guanyin statue that grants children?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Muzhi's expression went blank for a moment, and then his ears slowly turned red without his noticing.
He awkwardly touched his nose, coughed lightly, and said:
"I see."
After saying that, he strode away, leaving Zhao Qian still in a daze.
Zhao Qian watched Shen Muzhi's retreating figure as he quickly mounted his horse, his mind filled with questions.
Is his general happy or unhappy? Why is he leaving so quickly? Is there still something to arrange in the military camp?
But none of that mattered to him; he still had to go and do errands for his wife, which had already taken up some of his time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com