Song Ning named his future headquarters Xiangyun Tower, mainly because it was auspicious.
In the future, this place will be a fully functional place, covering restaurants, entertainment, and leisure. Basically, Song Ning will arrange everything he can think of.
On the day Xiangyun Tower was completed, there was another round of gongs and drums. The Song family all came, the county magistrate even sent a congratulatory gift, and Xie Linzhou came in person with a lot of things.
Now, her Xiangyun Tower has gained prestige.
The Song family prepared a lot of candy and distributed it to the attendees for good luck.
The county center was filled with celebration for quite some time, and when the excitement subsided, Song Ning was finally able to take a break.
With the Xiangyun Tower completed, the next step is interior decoration.
Song Ning went back that day and started thinking about the renovation. She continued to draw and write on paper with her charcoal pencil, so focused that she didn't notice Xie Linzhou coming in.
Xie Linzhou quietly stood behind her and glanced at the table. He was stunned by that single glance.
The charcoal drawings on the paper were secondary; what he was familiar with were the words on the paper.
The note left by the man in black during the transaction is exactly the same as the one on this.
He had said last time that she looked familiar, and then suddenly looked at Song Ning, his brow twitching slightly, as if he had discovered something extraordinary.
Song Ning sensed someone behind her and turned around to see a chin and a man's slightly moving Adam's apple.
He quickly stepped back and asked, "When did General Xie come in?"
Xie Linzhou straightened up and looked at her meaningfully. Song Ning felt a little flustered, but after thinking about it, she realized that she hadn't done anything recently that she was afraid he would find out.
"W-What's wrong?"
Xie Linzhou sat down, a slight smile playing on his lips: "It's nothing, I just think your drawings are quite interesting."
"I'm just drawing casually, after all, my Xiangyun Tower still needs renovation."
"You've always used charcoal to write? How about I give you a set of the Four Treasures of the Study? They're very convenient to use."
Song Ning quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need. To be honest, I don't know how to use a calligraphy brush. Giving it to me would be a waste. General Xie, please don't spend money on me."
Xie Linzhou's eyes darkened, and he became even more certain of his thoughts.
Xie Linzhou regained his gentle expression and asked with a smile, "By the way, there's something I'd like to ask if you could help me with?"
"General, please speak. I will help if I can."
Xie Linzhou smiled faintly: "Last year, a mysterious person suddenly appeared in Jiangning County, claiming to have cotton. I had some contact with this person, but we weren't close. After that, there was no trace of him."
He was observing Song Ning's reaction as he spoke.
"The authorities have also investigated this person, but there aren't many leads. They only know that he has connections with Yunxiu Workshop. I heard that you also bought cotton from Yunxiu Workshop. Is there anything you can provide?"
When Song Ning heard the word "cotton," she became wary. But who was she? How could she give herself away so easily?
"Oh, I did buy cotton, but I was just a cotton buyer. I did have some business dealings with Yunxiufang, as the general knows, it was about that hair ornament, but I don't know anything else."
"Really? But my men discovered that the person ended up in Tianxiang County. You didn't see him there?"
Song Ning's heart skipped a beat, then he chuckled a few times: "The general has seen it too. I'm very busy in Tianxiang County, how could I have noticed these things? I'm afraid I can't help the general."
Xie Linzhou nodded and smiled faintly: "If that's the case, then I'll go ask others."
After saying that, he stared at her intently, and Song Ning quickly changed the subject: "General Xie, what would you like to eat today? I'll make it for you."
Xie Linzhou's smile deepened: "It's fine if you decide."
Song Ning went straight into the kitchen after leaving the courtyard. Xie Linzhou stood in the courtyard, gradually calming his shock and doubts, and finally asked no more questions.
Since Song Ning was unwilling to talk about it, he didn't want to force her, and it wasn't a bad thing anyway.
After finishing their meal and finally seeing Xie Linzhou off, Song Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yunniang teased, "Er Ya, you and General Xie seem to know each other quite well? Could it be that he's taken a liking to you?"
Song Ning looked horrified: "Yunniang, why are you saying such indecent things like them? Don't scare me. If General Xie finds out, he'll probably be furious."
She had indeed heard such things before, but she never took them seriously. In her mind, it was as impossible as the sun rising in the west.
Xie Linzhou likes her? This isn't a surprise, it's a shock.
Yunniang lowered her head and chuckled, "Don't think I don't know, General Xie used to come every night."
Upon hearing this, Song Ning quickly shushed him, as no one else knew about this.
"Oh, it's not what you think. General Xie helped me before, so I'm just... paying back the debt. I'm just making him some food."
"Furthermore, don't worry, General Xie would never be interested in someone like me. Most importantly, he's so much older than me, it's impossible."
Yunniang smiled but didn't say anything. Those involved are often blinded by their own interests; in her view, Xie Linzhou clearly had ulterior motives.
However, Princess Jianing is a very good person, and Xie Linzhou has been well-educated, so... it's not impossible.
In her eyes, Er Ya deserves the best.
"But General Xie is young and promising, and comes from a good family. Aren't you tempted?"
Song Ning quickly waved her hand: "Impossible, impossible. I want to be in charge of my own household from now on. Let alone someone from such a high social class, I won't even consider anyone from a slightly lower social class."
She knew that it was common to have multiple wives and concubines in ancient times, and she didn't want to marry into a wealthy family and live her whole life in the inner courtyard of a mansion, competing for her husband's favor with his concubines, waiting every day for her husband's affection, and then dying in despair.
This era has always been harsh on women, especially those in high-class families, who are bound by rules and regulations, such as morning and evening greetings, carrying on the family line, not being allowed to laugh loudly, not being allowed to talk while eating, and so on.
She doesn't yearn for that kind of life at all. She can earn her own money, so why should she put up with that kind of treatment?
Although the general environment is like this, she is not a native of ancient times and cannot accept such a thing.
If it's truly unavoidable, one can always find someone to have their own child later. In that case, the father will be gone and the son will remain, providing an heir while eliminating the need for a man—a win-win situation.
Believe it or not, this method might actually work.
As the two were talking, someone came in from outside; it was Stone.
Stone, carrying a stack of booklets, placed them on the table for her.
“My family said that these are maps of the counties and towns under Yuanzhou City, and asked me to bring them to you so that you can take your time to look at them.”
There are ten counties under Yuanzhou City, and each county has many towns. These maps were sent over, and it was quite a thick stack.
That'll have to wait until the end of time.
However, the map is quite detailed, marking the terrain and everything that exists in the area today; it is indeed very detailed.
Although the matter was rather complicated, Song Ning became excited when he saw the land deeds sent along with the map.
She felt she could live for another five hundred years.
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