Ming Shu was taken aback: "Why not go?"
Su Xuerong gently scooped a little agarwood powder into the small steelyard with a small silver spoon, gently adjusted the balance, and moved it left and right a few times until the steelyard was balanced. Then she poured the agarwood powder into the porcelain bottle next to her before looking up at Ming Shu.
"What brings you here, Mr. Ge?"
Ming Shu shook his head: "How would I know?"
But the expression on his face was somewhat ambiguous.
Su Xuerong sneered, "I'm not going unless you explain it clearly!"
She wasn't stupid. She knew from Ge Cong'an's arrangement for the Su family to move into Mingxiu Garden that Ge Cong'an had designs on her.
This idea, like Xiao Shiyan's in the past, was driven by her beauty.
Ge Cong'an is not young anymore, and he must have a wife at home. For her, a widow with a child, it was probably just a passing fancy.
Even if she were willing, he would only take her back as a concubine.
Now that she has already escaped Xiao Shiyan's fiery pit, why would she jump into another one?
Seeing that she seemed to have seen through her master's thoughts, Ming Shu looked somewhat embarrassed and said, "He probably just wants to ask about your recent situation..."
Su Xuerong said casually, "Don't the people you arranged have been watching me every day? How could he not know?"
Akira's face immediately turned bright red.
Unexpectedly, Su Xuerong had already discovered that he had sent people to keep an eye on him.
Su Xuerong said calmly, "Go back and tell your master..."
I'd rather be a poor man's wife than a rich man's concubine!
She is no longer the naive woman who was easily deceived by men in her previous life.
Having been given a second chance at life, she would never again become a man's appendage.
Seeing Ming Shu's disappointed expression, she said, "Please thank Mr. Ge for saving my life at Jinshan Temple. If I ever need anything in the future, I will repay him. But I will never become anyone's concubine in this life, not even the current emperor!"
Ming Shu was stunned by her words and couldn't speak for a long time.
How is he supposed to explain this to his family?
Seeing his troubled expression, Su Xuerong suddenly smiled: "Since you're here today, I'll give you some incense. Light it and place it by your bedside when you get home to calm your mind and refresh your spirit."
She had Xiuchun pack the incense into several exquisite gift boxes and handed them to him, saying, "If it's really inconvenient to repeat what I just said, just give him this first, and we'll talk about it in a couple of days."
Ming Shu left with a worried look on his face.
Xiuchun gasped in surprise: "Wife, that Mr. Ge actually sent people to spy on us?"
Su Xuerong smiled and said, "Otherwise, how would I guess what he's thinking?"
The day after Ming Shu left, the surveillance near Su Ji Xiang Shop disappeared.
Ming Shu never appeared again, and Su Xuerong breathed a slight sigh of relief.
No matter what, Ge Cong'an is a decent person. If she encounters someone who wants to use their power to intimidate others, she will be helpless against this tactic.
After a few more quiet days, Su Jingxuan was working on his abacus in the shop when he suddenly heard someone enter. He raised his smiling face to greet them.
Upon seeing the person who had arrived, he was overjoyed: "Cheng Gui!"
On this day, the Su family mansion was bustling with activity as the Lin family finally arrived in Hangzhou after two months of travel.
Lin Chenggui also took care of all the things that Su Xuerong had entrusted to her in the past. The house and land in Suzhou were not sold for a high price, totaling less than three thousand taels, but the priceless calligraphy, paintings and antiques in the house sold for a full five thousand taels.
Su Xuerong was overjoyed; now she had money to buy shops and houses on both sides of Xiaohe Street.
She felt she couldn't accept her uncle's help for nothing, so she said:
"Uncle, if you have extra money on hand right now, I suggest you buy a house on the south side of Xiahe Street, especially a house or shop near the Prince of Fenyang's Mansion."
Lin Chenggui was very surprised: "Why is that?"
Su Xuerong said, "Didn't my father just say that the Mr. Ling we met on the passenger ship on our way south is now a retainer of the Prince of Fenyang? He has some inside information that there will be a lot of construction in the south in the future, and land prices will rise."
"Then why did you buy these temple properties?" Lin Chenggui was puzzled when he learned that Su Xuerong had spent nearly two thousand taels of silver to purchase some temple properties near Yangming Academy.
"Prices will also rise here, but not by as much as in the south..." Su Xuerong said vaguely.
Lin Chenggui said thoughtfully, "I also came here this time to purchase some real estate, but I prefer the estates outside the city."
Su Xuerong nodded: "I also want to buy some land, but I only have so much money on hand right now, so I can only take it one step at a time."
Lin Chenggui didn't take Su Xuerong's words seriously, but he did need to buy land, so he said to her, "After we rest, I'll go outside the city to look at land and pick some out for you, so you'll have something to rely on in the future."
Su Xuerong thanked him, and the huge weight in her heart finally lifted.
The two families sat around a table, eating and chatting.
Wang was laughing and crying while pulling Zhou along, while Lin Chenggui and Su Jingxuan were quietly drinking.
Su Xuerong noticed that Lin Jinyu, who was usually lively, seemed to be preoccupied.
She whispered, "What's wrong?"
Lin Jinyu glanced at her relatives at the table and gave her a wink.
The two then left the main room and went to the back courtyard corridor to rest and cool off.
Xiuchun brought them some summer drinks, saying, "These were made by my wife..."
But Lin Jinyu still looked completely uninterested.
Su Xuerong gave Xiuchun a wink, and then she took Xiaohong to the side to eat snacks and drink beverages.
"Sister, why do you think Lord Ming helped us back then?" Lin Jinyu suddenly asked.
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