On the carriage in front, Jiang Huai had a bitter face and was still making a last-ditch effort against Jiang Shan.
"It's just that you've taken in a servant, why are you so anxious?" Jiang Shan really couldn't understand where Sanlang's resistance came from.
Saburo gritted his teeth and said defiantly, "Anyway, I don't want him! He bullied you!"
Jiang Shan laughed. "He bullied me, so you dislike him? Silly boy, you have his life in your hands now. Even if he bullied me again, you'll have plenty of opportunities to get revenge later. What are you worrying about?"
Saburo raised his chin and said stubbornly, "I get angry just looking at him. You can make him do anything, just don't hang around in front of me!"
Jiang Shan shook her head helplessly, gently turned Sanlang's face, and said, "Sister knows what you think, but this is his own choice. Although he is a slave, how can we really treat him as a slave? But if he falls into someone else's hands, then he really will be a slave, and there will be no turning back in this life!"
Sanlang slowly raised his head to meet Jiangshan's gaze and asked softly, "Then, how should I face him?"
"Just deal with it as it comes. After all, there's a difference between a master and a servant. He works for you to earn a living. As for the future, that depends on his abilities. Just don't mistreat him! You can leave the rest to the steward!"
Saburo then sniffed, hummed in agreement, and finally stopped feeling awkward.
At the pavilion outside Guyang County, the county magistrate, along with a group of officials and gentry, craned their necks, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Jiangshan's carriage.
Although the county magistrate had already made arrangements for the personnel to open the shop in the county town, he, as the head of the county, was still not entirely at ease.
He didn't know if he would ever have the chance to go to the capital in his lifetime, but he knew that if this tycoon left like this, he would never have another chance to get rich!
Jiang Shan peeked out and told Liang Chen to handle it.
Liangchen presented the notes that Jiangshan had prepared long ago with both hands.
"My lord, my master said that Manager Qiao is already working on opening the shop. These notes are just some suggestions from my master and son-in-law, for your reference only. It's getting late, so we won't take up any more of your time. Farewell!"
The magistrate was overjoyed, clutching the letter tightly and grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Lord Fu! I hope you all have a safe journey and take care!"
Jiang Shan rested her head on Fu Qiyuan's lap, holding the sleeping Jiang Huai in her arms, and lazily asked, "How much income can I, as a county magistrate, earn in a year?"
Fu Qiyuan paused his hand on Jiang Shan's hair, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I think it's better if you don't know."
Jiang Shan paused for a moment, then said angrily, "The emperor is so stingy! How much tax revenue do I pay him every year? And he only gives me such a small reward. How can he be so shameless!"
Fu Qiyuan comforted him, "Anyway, it's just a nice reputation. We don't lack money and food. Don't take it to heart."
Jiang Shan pouted and said with dissatisfaction, "Isn't all this for Jiang Huai? That kid has money now, he can spend it like water without batting an eye! He even said he'd help support my family, but he spends money better than me, humph!"
Fu Qiyuan lowered his head and smiled faintly, "What has Huai'er done this time?"
Jiang Shan groaned in pain, rubbing his temples, and said, "Before we left the capital, the steward told me that Huai'er had An Yi help him set up a shop. Originally, the shop dealt in antiques and calligraphy and paintings, and business was pretty good. But he turned it into a bookstore, and it's all just casual reading! It's all because Li Huan casually mentioned that a collection of folk chronicles about mountains and rivers was very interesting. After Jiang Huai found out, he opened a study and gave Li Huan seven or eight of those books. It made me so angry...!"
"He's generous to his friends, but stingy with himself. I don't know where he got that personality from!"
As Jiang Shan grumbled, Fu Qiyuan wisely refrained from saying anything and instead gently massaged Jiang Shan's head.
Jiang Shan mumbled a few more words, and gradually, his eyelids grew heavy, and his little mouth finally closed.
Fu Qiyuan curved his lips into a smile, his eyes sparkling with tiny starlight, his heart seemingly filled with the warmest sunshine of spring.
He knows about the Jianghuai affair.
Li Huan was being groomed to be the heir apparent. If the Crown Prince found out he was reading idle books, who knows how he would be scolded? But what child doesn't like new and exciting things? He inadvertently poured out his frustrations to Jiang Huai.
Jiang Huai was a clever little man. He went to ask his father about his thoughts and told him all about his idea.
Fu Qiyuan didn't lecture Jiang Huai like most parents would. He simply asked Jiang Huai about his own intentions and what he wanted to achieve. In the end, he only said that he wouldn't stop his son from doing this, but that he should also consider the consequences and impact, and not cause trouble that would make him, his father, have to clean up.
Although Jianghuai is small, the people around him are extremely capable. With a master like An Yi who only cares about his apprentice, what can't he accomplish?
He even personally made a copy of the miscellaneous notes that Li Huan had been longing for and put it in the bookstore!
The precocious Jiang Huai not only gave the miscellaneous notes to Li Huan, but also argued in front of the Crown Prince: "My grandfather said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Brother Huan is still young and cannot travel ten thousand miles, but he can read ten thousand books first! Do you know where Mount Fuji is? Do you know how magnets are made? You certainly don't know, and I don't know either, but Brother Huan does!"
His proud tone and the way he acted as if "my Huan-ge is the best in the world" made him exaggerate Huan-ge's reputation.
Li Huan went from being nervous and uneasy to being so excited that his face turned red. He was almost ready to ask his father to praise him for being so amazing.
This left the crown prince completely speechless!
In the end, not only was Li Huan allowed to read miscellaneous notes, but he was also permitted to read other leisure books after finishing his homework.
Li Huan was overjoyed!
Because the matter was handled so perfectly, Fu Qiyuan didn't mention it to Jiang Shan, for fear of worrying her.
This matter is neither a big deal nor a small one; it concerns the Crown Prince, and the Emperor cares about it very much.
Therefore, when the emperor summoned Fu Qiyuan to question him about this matter alone, it was already too late; he had already made a huge fuss.
Fu Qiyuan did not exaggerate; he simply gave the emperor an answer from the perspective of Jianghuai.
Jiang Huai just didn't like seeing Li Huan's regretful face. The people around him just didn't want to disappoint their young master. Since they had the ability to handle this matter well, why not do it?
As for anything else, no!
Don't spout nonsense like Jiang Huai is up to no good or Li Huan is indulging in frivolous pursuits; as his father, he refuses to accept it!
The emperor laughed heartily, praising the two children for their innocent hearts, and then asking his two grandsons what they did at the Grand Tutor's mansion and in Jianghuai.
Fu Qiyuan gave an even more detailed account, even telling the emperor how many times Li Huan had fallen flat on his face on the plum blossom stakes, which greatly pleased the emperor.
Jiang Huai was not punished; instead, the emperor bestowed upon him several glittering gold treasures.
He hid them all in his secret stash, and no one knew about them except his father.
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