"I'll talk! But you have to give me a quick death!"
The man could not endure the torment. Despite his brutal training, he felt that all the hardships he had endured were nothing in the hands of Zhu Yuan.
The man in front of me is dangerous, more dangerous than anyone else.
Zhu Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he observed the man's wounds with great interest.
To him, the pungent smell of blood was a rare delicacy.
"You can die if you want, but it depends on whether your information is true."
The man was panting heavily and swallowed hard.
He was genuinely afraid of the dangerous man before him; only in his hands could he understand what it felt like to be worse than dead.
"I am General Xiao's private soldiers. After he fell seriously ill, His Majesty took us under his command. We came here today to find out what's going on here."
Zhu Yuan listened to the man's words with a calm expression, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.
The man couldn't figure out what he was thinking, so he had no choice but to tell him everything he knew.
"Besides gathering information, we came here..."
He glanced cautiously at Zhu Yuan, then continued nervously, "There's still a chance to take care of your wife and children as well..."
As soon as the man finished speaking, he felt the temperature around him drop to freezing point, and he couldn't help but shiver.
Staring at Zhu Yuan with the look of utter contempt, he continued, "I...we were only here a few days ago when we were captured by your men. We haven't had any contact with Madam Ling!"
Zhu Yuan pursed his lips and said calmly, "Continue."
"We also need to find a way to locate the Zhang family's black token, deploy troops to ambush within the prefectural city, and then work together from within and without to take down Anqing Prefecture in one fell swoop."
Upon hearing the name of the black token, Zhu Yuan's eyes flickered. This token was given to his wife by Si Qin in private.
This matter was highly secretive. The fact that the Third Prince's people knew that the black token was in his possession suggests that there was a traitor within their ranks.
After thinking it over, he felt that the spy was more likely to be among Madam Fang's entourage.
Zhu Yuan gestured to the people behind him to give the man a quick death, then left the dungeon without looking back.
After playing with the children for a while, Zhen Wanwan and A Yue each carried a child to the soap factory.
As the Zhen family expanded their business, the soap factory also increased its workforce.
Most of them are from Meizi Village. The aunties and sisters-in-law working there are from harmonious families and have kind personalities.
Zhen Wanwan greeted them one by one, then went next door to find Old Lady Li.
In the other room, only Zhen's family was present, and someone was keeping watch at the door to prevent others from peeping.
After all, soap is their main source of income, so they naturally value it more than their lives.
Grandpa Zhen was the first to notice Zhen Wanwan's arrival, and a hint of joy appeared on his serious expression.
"This place is a mess, why did you bring a child here?"
Zhen Wanwan smiled and said, "I was bored at home, so I came to take a look."
"Dad, why does it look like the soap production has increased a lot compared to before?"
Every corner of the room was filled with water tanks, which contained materials for making soap and bar soap.
Upon hearing this, a clear smile appeared on Grandpa Zhen's face: "These are the orders your brother negotiated. He said that a wealthy merchant from Kyoto has taken a liking to the value of the soap and wants to buy a batch from us to sell in Kyoto!"
Zhen Wanwan was somewhat surprised, then said happily, "Really! That's great. How much did that businessman order? I saw that the aunties outside have filled the room with the soaps they've made."
She was very curious about what kind of wealthy businessman would order so much soap at once.
Although soaps and bar soaps are indeed more affordable than shower gels and shampoos in department stores.
For ordinary families, buying a bar of soap that they can't eat and that they use up quickly is a slightly luxurious thing.
Moreover, at such a sensitive time, who would spend extra money to buy these things?
The consumers of soap in Guangling County are mostly middle-class or above.
Their willingness to spend money stems from two factors: effective promotion and the competitive spirit among ordinary people.
After all, the allure of luxury goods remains irresistible to brand-conscious individuals regardless of the era.
Grandma Li had also thought about this issue. She explained, "I was initially skeptical about this matter, and I even went with my eldest son to meet that wealthy businessman. He was dressed in very expensive clothes, was generous, and had a very dignified manner."
"And he had previously paid us one-third of the remaining balance before we agreed to do it for him."
Although Grandma Li was not very educated, she was very good at arithmetic.
She had calculated it carefully many times. Even if the wealthy businessman didn't want the goods in the end, they could still break even and even make a lot more money.
And these soaps are not in short supply; they only need to be sold out in two or three months.
After listening to Grandma Li's explanation, Zhen Wanwan didn't say much. Since her family thought it was reliable, she should let them grow up on their own.
Only then will you be able to stand on your own.
If you can't even withstand the slightest storm, how can you talk about doing big business?
In the evening, Zhen Wanwan gave the two children a bath and held them as she lay down on the bed.
The moonlight shone through the window, and Zhen Wanwan gently patted her two children to sleep.
Seeing them sleeping soundly, she smiled slightly, but her mind was elsewhere.
I wonder if Zhuyuan will go home tonight. She usually stays in Plum Village for a short time.
Because the room was too small, when he wasn't too busy with official business, he would come early to have dinner with them before rushing home to stay.
He didn't come for dinner today; I suppose he's busy with official business!
As she thought about it, Zhen Wanwan felt sleepy and unconsciously closed her eyes, soon falling into a deep sleep.
Zhu Yuan stood far away outside the courtyard, watching the faint light inside the house go out, before turning away after a long while.
He gently touched his agitated heart; what that man had said earlier that day had indeed affected his state of mind.
He should have foreseen this situation; with Zhen Wanwan by his side, she would inevitably face unknown dangers sooner or later.
If his people hadn't been so fortunate as to discover those people's existence, Zhen Wanwan and Guaibao Tianbao might very well have met with misfortune.
In that case, he would never be able to forgive himself.
If they were all gone, what beauty would remain in this world?
Zhu Yuan thought that if that were really the case, he would leave with them without hesitation.
I slept without any dreams.
Zhen Wanwan didn't work on her online space last night, so she got up exceptionally early today.
Guaibao and Tianbao had already woken up. The two little ones lay obediently on the bed, quietly waiting for Zhen Wanwan to wake up.
When Zhen Wanwan opened her eyes, she saw two pairs of clear and bright eyes, and her heart felt full.
"My two little darlings~ You're so good, Mommy's going to make you some milk right away..."
Guaibao and Tianbao grinned, their eyes filled with Zhen Wanwan, which melted her heart.
The two little ones saw that she had them completely under her control.
"My wife! Is she awake?"
Hearing noises coming from inside, A-Yue quickly asked what was going on.
Zhen Wanwan hummed in agreement and secretly took out the hot water from her spatial storage to prepare two bottles of milk.
Ah Yue brought the toiletries into the room and said, "Madam, Master came over last night and stood outside for a long time before leaving."
Zhen Wanwan paused in her face-washing motions, looking at A Yue with some surprise.
"He's here? Why didn't he come in to say hello?"
Zhen Wanwan felt somewhat confused and couldn't understand what Zhuyuan was doing.
Ah Yue pursed her lips, remained silent for a moment, and then hesitated before saying, "This servant noticed something was wrong with Master's face, and... he smelled strongly of blood!"
"What! The smell of blood? He's injured?"
Zhen Wanwan said in a panic, her first thought being that he was injured.
She threw down the handkerchief in her hand, quickly dried the water droplets, and then instructed, "Ah Yue, you're fast on your feet. Go home and call Uncle Ma over. We'll go to the county and take a look."
Zhen Wanwan was worried about Zhu Yuan, fearing that his injuries were too severe.
Ah Yue nodded, but after thinking for a moment, she explained, "Although I smelled a strong stench of blood on Master, I could tell that the blood did not come from Master."
At this moment, Zhen Wanwan was preoccupied with the news that Zhuyuan might be injured, and had no interest in listening to Ayue's explanation, so she told her to hurry home and prepare the carriage.
The Zhen family originally had a carriage, but unfortunately, the carriage had just been loaded with soap and taken to the county town this morning.
And they've been gone for a while now, so they won't be back anytime soon.
Fortunately, Meizi Village is not far from home, and A-Yue knows martial arts, so it won't take long for her to get there.
Ah Yue understood Zhen Wanwan's worries, so she stopped talking and turned to leave, trying to shorten the time as much as possible.
Seeing that A-Yue had left in a hurry, Old Lady Li came looking for Zhen Wanwan.
"Wanwan, where is Yue going? Why are you running so fast?"
When Zhen Wanwan saw Old Lady Li coming over, she quickly put away her worried expression.
It is still unclear whether Zhu Yuan is injured. Old Mrs. Li and Old Mr. Zhen are too old to worry about such things.
She smiled and explained, "Oh, it's nothing serious. It's just that the two little ones forgot their toys, so I asked Yue to go back and find them! If she has time, she can also go to the county to buy some snacks for the kids!"
Grandma Li then dispelled her doubts. She gave Zhen Wanwan a few instructions, telling her to go and come back early, and then went out to do her errands.
Both the land reclamation at home and the soap factory require human intervention. Although we've hired people to help, someone still needs to keep an eye on things!
Not long after Grandma Li left, A-Yue arrived with Ma Xiao Si.
Without further ado, Zhen Wanwan took Guabao and Tianbao directly into the carriage.
Although the carriage was going a bit faster than usual, it was very smooth, which suggests that Ma Xiaosi has a habit of practicing riding horses in private.
People come and go in Guangling County.
The streets of this small county town are usually deserted, only bustling with activity during market days.
Nowadays, due to the popularity of sweet potatoes and department stores, the guesthouses and other vacant rooms have all been rented out by people from other places.
When Zhen Wanwan and her companions arrived at the entrance of the county town, they found the road to be very congested.
She decisively gave up on taking a carriage into the city; given the crowds, she figured walking would be faster.
The county town was small, and the government office was located in the southeast.
Zhen Wanwan entered from the south gate and arrived in about ten minutes.
Fortunately, Yue helped clear the way, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get here so easily.
Zhen Wanwan walked to the back door, and this time Zhu Yuan didn't know she had come early.
When the guards saw her coming, they hurriedly helped her up and then went to report to them.
Zhen Wanwan quickly spoke up to stop him, saying, "Young man, there's no need to trouble yourself. I can go by myself."
Then, Zhen Wanwan and A Yue took the two children to Zhu Yuan's office.
When she arrived, she found the study very quiet. Could it be that no one was there?
Zhen Wanwan looked around, wanting to find someone to ask, when she unexpectedly saw Chen Yong running over.
His forehead was covered in cold sweat, as if he had worked all day.
"Lord Chen, what's wrong with you?"
Chen Yong, panting slightly, wiped his sweat before explaining with a faint smile, "I just came back from the countryside and heard that Zhen Niangzi had come, so I thought I'd come to find you."
Zhen Wanwan was taken aback for a moment, then asked curiously, "Is something the matter?"
Aside from exchanging greetings when they meet, they don't really interact much on a daily basis.
If we're talking about her relationship with Madam Chen, it's even better than Chen Yong's.
Chen Yong nervously wiped his sweat. It wasn't because he was going to the countryside at all!
He's clearly here to stall for time.
Just now, Zhu Yuan was in the dungeon interrogating a prisoner when someone came looking for him, saying that Zhen Wanwan had arrived.
Zhu Yuan disliked the stench of blood on his body and was afraid it would offend Zhen Wanwan, so he asked him to come over first to buy time so he could wash up.
However, he did have something he wanted to ask Zhen Wanwan.
“Madam Zhen, I do have something I’d like to ask you. Sweet potatoes have already been planted in our county. I wonder if you’d like to plant them in other counties as well?”
Upon hearing this, Zhen Wanwan knew what his purpose was. She figured that the magistrates of other counties didn't dare to bother her personally, so they asked Chen Yong to find out the information first.
Zhen Wanwan thought about it carefully, and wondered why she would plant a second crop of sweet potatoes in Guangling County so quickly.
One reason was to help Zhu Yuan lighten her burden, and another was because she trusted Zhu Yuan and Chen Yong and knew they wouldn't leak the sweet potato seeds to outsiders.
Sweet potatoes were a very valuable commodity to them.
It is also the capital they rely on for survival and to attract people.
The current situation in the world is unstable, and other forces could launch an attack on them at any time.
Because of the previous famine, food was scarce in the north. She had heard Zhu Yuan mention that the Northern Hu people had been plotting with the Yang King's men to seize Anqing Prefecture's territory.
Therefore, at such a crucial moment, the appearance of sweet potatoes would greatly increase their attack speed.
However, they also needed food, so they had to strengthen their defenses within Anqing Prefecture to prevent anyone with ulterior motives from spying on them or taking away the sweet potato seeds.
What Zhen Wanwan didn't know was that the Northern Hu people were not good at farming; they mostly plundered other people's food.
Because they didn't know how to farm, they couldn't store food; otherwise, they wouldn't have launched attacks on China so frequently in the dead of winter.
If they knew that Anqing Prefecture had an amazing yield of sweet potatoes, they would only think about coming over to plunder a batch and then living off the surplus.
Yang Wang is in a slightly better position, but what he wants is the whole country. Currently, only by cooperating with the Northern Hu people can he have a greater chance of taking that position.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com