A month passed in the blink of an eye, and as expected, fighting broke out in the prefectures and counties surrounding Ziyun Ridge.
Qin Anmin was extremely busy. A few days ago, Baili Honglan also returned with an imperial edict and reinforcements, accompanied by some military officers from the capital.
According to Baili Honglan, Yuan Tongjun was the son-in-law of the Prince of Changping's mansion, and also the second young lady of the Yuan family in the Prince of Changping's fiefdom.
With the two families joining forces in this rebellion, the Yuan family must certainly be involved.
Right now, Qin Anmin and Baili Honglan are getting along very well with them, while Su Qinghe is enjoying a peaceful time at Qin Anmin's residence.
Building a house is a time-consuming project, let alone a house as big as the Su residence. It has only been half completed after a month.
With the war still raging, Qin Anmin did not want Su Qinghe, this free protective shield, to leave his residence.
With the construction at the mansion still unfinished and constant noise, Su Qinghe didn't want to move back, so she simply agreed to Qin Anmin's request.
With fighting raging all around, Tianhe County, despite its geographical advantages, has remained relatively stable. However, the people there are still living in fear, and far fewer people are going out on weekdays. The streets are not as bustling as they used to be.
It wasn't until three months later, when the Prince of Changping was shot dead on the spot, his palace was sealed off, and most of the people associated with him were detained, that this internal war finally came to an end.
However, Qin Anmin then sent back a message.
In Yuzhou, which is the fiefdom of the Prince of Changping, after some investigation, she discovered that Zhao Xin, who had previously appeared in court with Su Qinghe, was also one of the Prince of Changping's men.
She supplied most of the rebel army's food.
Further investigation revealed the connections to the Ji family.
Upon learning this news, Su Qinghe and Ji Yuan discussed it for a while and decided to take the two brothers to Yuzhou in person.
Almost all the influential members of the Ji family who hadn't colluded with Zhao Xin were harmed by her.
Those who remain in the clan to do business are all loyal to the Prince of Changping. Qin Anmin has already imprisoned them all, leaving behind only a group of unaware and leaderless employees.
At this point, the largest grain merchant in Yuzhou was left without a leader.
As the eldest son of the Ji family, Ji Yuan was known by many of the employees.
Now that he has taken his wife back to take over, and with Qin Anmin, an official, backing him up, those people wouldn't dare to cause trouble even if they had grievances.
Su Qinghe and the two stayed in Yuzhou for more than a month. After helping Ji Yuan settle his original shops and finding suitable agents, they returned home.
During this time, Ji Yuan originally wanted to hand over the business to Su Qinghe, since he wouldn't be where he is today without her, but Su Qinghe refused.
Do I look like someone who lives off a woman?
Ji Yuan was speechless when asked the question.
Seeing his genuine difficulty, Su Qinghe thought for a moment and then said:
"Just treat this as helping Su Le manage things for now. We'll talk about it again when Qing Yu has a daughter. Once they get married, you can hand it over to them, just like with Ling Cheng. I won't interfere too much with how they develop in the future."
After a while, Su Qinghe added, "I mean all my daughters."
Seeing Su Qinghe say this, Ji Yuan knew she had made up her mind, so he could only nod in agreement.
"Alright, they are the wife's daughters anyway."
Having figured this out, Ji Yuan stopped worrying and focused on managing the Ji family business.
Now that he has his own business to manage, he can't help Lin Xi with household chores anymore.
Fortunately, Lin Xi learns quickly. In the few months the two have spent together, she has become familiar with most things, such as reading account books, using an abacus, and managing the affairs of the mansion.
Even if you occasionally don't understand something, you can ask Ji Yuan, so it's not contradictory.
...
For a month after the death of the Prince of Changping, Baili Honglan and others were busy cleaning up the remaining forces. The operation was finally completed two days before the Double Ninth Festival.
At the Qin residence, at the dining table.
The lobby was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation, with two large round tables filling the entire space.
One table was filled with soft-spoken men and children, while the other table was full of noisy women.
Today is a celebration banquet. Baili Honglan and Qin Anmin have both finished their business and returned. Of course, some military officers from the capital also came to the mansion with them.
After a few rounds of drinks, Baili Honglan looked at Su Qinghe.
"Qinghe, now that this matter is settled, I will be returning to the capital to report back in a few days."
"You have accomplished a great feat this time. When I sent the message back to the capital, I informed the Crown Princess. His Majesty is also aware of your actions. However, time is of the essence, and he is busy suppressing the rebellion. His Majesty has not yet decided how to reward you."
"I'm about to return now, and I expect His Majesty's decree will be issued soon. His Majesty also asked me to ask you what reward you would like!"
Baili Honglan looked proud, and the officials at the table were all extremely polite to Su Qinghe, raising their wine glasses to praise her.
Qin Anmin laughed exaggeratedly.
"Hahaha... Sister-in-law, with such a great achievement, we should at least ask His Majesty for an official position! That would be a glorious event that brings honor to our ancestors!"
"Excellent! Patriarch Su, this will surely go down in history!"
A group of people echoed this sentiment, already thinking about how they would curry favor with Su Qinghe once he became an official.
But to everyone's surprise, Su Qinghe shook her head repeatedly.
"No, no, no, Sister Qin, please don't mention this. Sister Baili, please don't mention this to the Emperor either. I don't want to be an official!"
Su Qinghe put on a weary expression, showing her strong resistance to the matter.
“I’m lazy, being an official is too tiring! If Your Majesty insists on rewarding me, I’m just a common man who loves money. You can tell His Majesty that he only wants to reward me with gold and silver jewelry.”
As she spoke, Su Qinghe once again adopted a greedy demeanor.
What a joke! Making her an official would only harm her.
Working for the emperor meant risking your head with the slightest mistake, and there were always endless official duties to handle.
If one cannot wield immense power and spend money lavishly, and must always maintain the image of an honest and upright official, how can one be as carefree and at ease as she is as a boss?
If you're worried about offending officials, aren't there Qin Anmin and Baili Honglan?
One is a military officer, and the other is a close advisor to the Crown Princess. With the two of them around, most things can be resolved, so why should she create more work for herself?
"Since ancient times, which woman hasn't wanted to pass the imperial examinations, become a nobleman or prime minister? Shouldn't the Su family head reconsider? That would be a great opportunity to rise to the top and benefit future generations!"
A group of people were still trying to persuade her, but Su Qinghe remained resolute in her refusal.
In the end, Baili Honglan could only nod with a regretful expression.
"Alright! Since you've made up your mind, I'll have no choice but to report to His Majesty as you've said."
Su Qinghe beamed with joy. "Thank you, Sister Baili. Here, let me toast you."
Su Qinghe and Baili Honglan clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they chatted for a while before parting ways.
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