Duke Fuguo Luo Rui returned from the main residence with a heavy heart.
Qu Hongfu was a lieutenant under his command and was sent to his tent after the bonfire party to entertain the troops.
Being together day and night, the tenderness and love he felt, the gentle affection and love he felt, made him not even long for a letter from home.
In the past, I couldn’t wait to open the letters and read them over and over again, placing them next to my pillow. Gradually, I would throw them aside after receiving them. Only when I received the next letter did I remember that I had not replied to the previous one or even opened it.
He and Qu Hongfu, in the warm spring nights, rode horses and sang, their ears rubbing, their eyes filled with affection. Sometimes he felt a little guilty, thinking of his wife at home tending to their parents, caring for their sick son, enduring the life of a widow, worrying and waiting day and night, sending her hand-made packages every month. Sometimes he thought he would just write a few more words this time.
But Qu Hongfu's annoying and charming mouth pouted, and later, according to her wishes, he wrote many "Be safe, don't worry" on them at once, and sent back four words each time.
Qu Hongfu didn't allow him to read his family's letters. She was the one who opened them and read them. Sometimes she threw them directly into the fire after reading them. Although she didn't allow him to read his wife's letters, he still doted on her and obeyed her.
When his wife expressed her longing for him, Qu Hongfu would jokingly recite those two lines, still forbidding him to read them. She would say that Li Muyun's yearning for him hurt her and made her sad, and that he should work twice as hard to make it up to her that night. She was truly a devil.
Later, he took Qu Hongfu home, and the contents of these letters became her weapon to mock Li Muyun. He was completely ignorant of the contents, while Qu Hongfu was omniscient.
One time when he returned home, he heard Li Muyun ask Qu Hongfu: "This is the soup I gave to my husband. Why did you drink it?"
Qu Hongfu insulted Li Muyun: "What husband? He doesn't even bother to pay attention to you. How can you be so cheap? You received so many four-character replies, but you don't know what's going on? And you're still pushing it like that? I drink your soup to show you respect. Ruilang will only drink it if I let him. If I don't let him, he won't even look at it. What kind of wife is this? You're just a shameless bitch!"
He frowned after hearing that. As soon as he entered, he saw Li Muyun slapping Qu Hongfu in the face. He suddenly became angry and slapped Li Muyun hard with his hand. Swearing is wrong, but hitting is right?
Li Muyun couldn't bear the force and was knocked to the ground. He pulled Hongfu away. Hongfu said, "This bitch dared to hit me. She even dared to hit me when you were in the mansion. If you don't punish this rotten bitch today, I don't know how she will bully me in the future!"
After saying that, Hong Fu poured the can of soup on Li Muyun's head, took two steps back, and smashed the can on her head. Then she said, "Bitch, so what if I hit and scold you in front of Ruilang, bitch! From now on, I will call you a bitch day and night!"
Hong Fu turned to him and said, "If you don't teach this bitch a lesson, then from now on you are not allowed to call her Madam!"
He saw the hot soup pouring onto Li Muyun's face, steam rising from it. Blood was seeping out from her head where she was hit, and her face, where he had slapped her, was already red and swollen. As a martial artist, he was much stronger than an ordinary man.
He said to Hongfu, "I understand, let's go!" It was also because Li Muyun, as the legal wife, was not tolerant and didn't want to call her Madam.
That night, Qu Hongfu's son Lin'er stabbed Yi'er... and then the two sides split up.
Even though he has retired for many years, he still insists on going to the small training ground at home to practice weapons and boxing for more than an hour every day. His figure is still upright and his demeanor is dignified, and he looks much younger than his peers.
He stood by the window, thinking about what Li Muyun had just said. He could either divorce her and let her and Yi'er take her dowry and the family property that had been divided that year. In fact, it wasn't much to ask for. After all, she was no longer the Duke's wife, and she didn't want the title of Crown Prince either. But...;
Either let Qu Hongfu take Lin'er away, since they are the 'cousin and his son', all they can take with them is enough money to go back home.
He said, "Aren't you going to force them and their son to death?"
Li Muyun said: "When the knife stabbed into Yi'er's body, only the handle was left. When the Duke came, he first protected the murderer and said it was a misunderstanding without even looking at Yi'er's wound.
Now they have left safely with their money, yet they still say they are being forced to death. Who wants whom to die?
If the Duke is reluctant, then divorce me."
Was she forcing him to divorce? But he couldn't divorce her. He and Hong Fu had already agreed that Li Muyun would take the blame.
He had thought that, so that his son could finally inherit the title, she would yield, letting Qu Hongfu and Lin'er take most of the assets that would compensate them. He would then give his private vault to Hongfu and her son, settle them, and let the rest of the storm unfold as it pleased. If he could successfully make Li Muyun take the blame, he could also escape.
I thought of Li Muyun's words, "Who wants who to die?" and felt annoyed. I wondered if she had noticed something.
Actually, there's still a large sum of money, but Hongfu said that it can't be used in the short term, and it might take ten or eight years to withdraw it...
Hongfu started her business in the second year of being with him, dealing in military supplies and lending money at high interest rates using military pay.
Every time the three armies' salaries were delayed by ten days, they'd collect a substantial amount of usury. If someone didn't pay, what a joke! The Northern Army was also involved? Every time, they'd summon a group of soldiers and give them a random excuse to go on a mission. They'd fight and smash whatever was needed, and fight and protect the good! Hong Fu would receive her money instantly.
Military supplies could be over-reported, and any excess war horses, weapons, and rations could be sold. The number of troops on the roster could be falsified, with 29,000 reported as 30,000, resulting in an excess of 1,000 men's supplies, which could be resold, and the salaries of "these 1,000 men" could be embezzled.
Therefore, the person in charge of the accounts in the army must be one of their own. He fired the original account book keeper and replaced him with Hongfu's younger brother.
People are always greedy. Hongfu told him that military uniforms are very durable, so why would they need four sets each for winter and summer? Then they could cut the price in half. The half that was cut back could be sold for money.
But the army trains every day, and no matter how strong the uniform is, it will wear out easily. You can't wear it with a bare buttocks. When the soldiers are at their wit's end, they will inevitably complain. Hong Fu finds someone to scold these soldiers: "Is it easy for the people to support you? Can't you think of a way out?"
There are only two solutions: train less or wear less. If you train less, your clothes won't tear as easily. But if you sweat less in peacetime, you bleed more in war.
Then wear less clothes. Since we're all grown men, we only wear underwear during training, saving on uniforms and letting our skin get tanned. The new recruits asked, "Will that waste the underwear?" The veterans said, "Silly, when you're in uniform, you don't wear underwear. It gives the underwear a break."
Amidst the roar of laughter, these men defending their country had their backs, legs, and arms covered in tiny scratches, each oozing with blood. Mixed in with the peeling skin from sunburn, they were mottled and painful all night long.
But the most profitable deal Luo Rui had ever made was the one involving Shen Yun.
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