Chapter 131 I Want to Marry You, My Betrothed Wife (with the Three Letters and Six Ceremonies)
The pavilion came in handy that very day.
After sunset, the courtyard is cool and the fragrance of flowers is refreshing, much more comfortable than the stuffy house.
Fu'er, Xiuzhou, and Xiulian played on the swing under the big tree.
Zhou Congxian also bought ice from the ice shop and froze the fruit early in the morning. He also used the ice to make sweet cheese.
When bowls of steaming cold ice were served, He Ran's eyes widened in amazement.
Ice in summer is so expensive, it's worth its weight in gold!
"Lord Zhou, with this pavilion, flower garden, and iced drinks, your wallet must be quite thick! It's getting hot in the house tonight, should we buy some more?"
He Ran couldn't help but mock Zhou Congxian as soon as he opened his mouth.
Shuang'er held the cool, icy bowl and said, "Then I'd rather not. I can't bear to eat it; I'll just leave it in the house."
"The thought of all that hard-earned money going to waste makes my heart ache. I'd rather stay warm."
He Ran poked her back, "It's not your money!"
Zhou Congxian had become accustomed to He Ran's hostility. As long as Yao Shisan remained indifferent to him, He Ran's hostility would not diminish.
He looked at Yao Shisan, but she still didn't glance at him.
He simply raised his hand and waved to the children playing, "Come on over."
Fu'er was covered in sweat from playing, and she had grown quite a bit taller than last year.
"Iced cheese!"
She turned around and pulled Xiuzhou and Xiulian, who were standing outside the pavilion, inside.
"Come on, your mother is calling you to eat together!"
I don't know if it's because of the pavilion, but everyone is staying up very late tonight.
This group of people would probably have been difficult to meet and get together in the past.
We used to chat about everything under the sun.
Fu'er was so sleepy that she nestled in her mother's arms, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep!
Zhou Congxian stood under the corridor, looking at the results of his hard work all day.
He didn't receive a single word from her, not even a glance.
It seems so.
He was just wasting his time.
After a long while, he smiled slightly, raising the corners of his lips.
Is it useless?
At least, she wouldn't just disappear after eating. Today, she stayed in the pavilion for a long time until Fu'er fell asleep before returning to her room.
He slowly walked out of the corridor, the moonlight casting a long shadow over him.
A cool night breeze ruffled his sleeves.
Gradually, a long shadow appeared on the ground.
"You don't have to do that."
The slightly cool voice made him pause.
Yao Shisan stood behind him, her lips pressed tightly together.
He looks very different now than before.
Would he have done this before?
What she saw most often was his hurried departure.
But she's living a peaceful life now, and that's fine.
Zhou Congxian slowly turned around. "Shi Yao, everything I've done is simply following my heart."
“I’ve never done these things before.”
"I've gotten used to you being behind me; I can see you as soon as I turn around."
"It seems I've never understood the love between men and women; it's about mutual affection and wholehearted devotion."
Yao Shisan lowered his eyes and smiled, "It seems you don't need these."
"If you like it, someone will naturally bring it to you. What I think is not important."
"It's fine as it is now. I've already told you that you'll have to go back to the capital sooner or later, and I'll never go back in this lifetime."
"So you don't have to do that."
Zhou Congxian looked up at her. "Perhaps you said before that you wouldn't return to Beijing, but things are different now."
She frowned.
What difference could there be?
He continued, "General Meng will not give up easily, and you and your sister will still return to the capital."
"If you change your identity, you will be a useful pawn in General Meng's hands."
"Just like your mother back then."
Yao Shisan pursed his lips, his eyes growing colder. "What, is it not enough that I used you once? Do you want to use you again?"
Seeing that she had misunderstood, Zhou Congxian repeatedly said, "No!"
“I have never used you. It was my mistake to involve you in this when we were in Beijing.”
"But this time, I want to protect you!"
"Protect?" Yao Shisan chuckled and shook his head. "I've heard that once before, it's pointless to hear it again."
A flicker of pain crossed Zhou Congxian's eyes.
After a long pause, he still said firmly, "Shi Yao, I will definitely keep my word!"
"General Meng commands 200,000 troops, making him a target for court officials to win over."
"The Meng family has no successor, and Jiang Xingyao is unwilling to return to the capital. General Meng will not let him go either."
"And you are the same!"
Yao Shisan looked into his eyes and asked, "And what about you?"
"You are also a military officer, and you command the Imperial Guards. Don't you want to use me to win over the Meng family?"
Zhou Congxian shook his head. "His Majesty will not allow the Imperial Guards and the Northwest Camp."
"Only with me can you avoid becoming a pawn of the Meng family."
Yao Shisan found it amusing. "You were the one who wanted to place me in the Meng family line. The Duke even gave me a lot of rewards and wanted to elevate me to the status of a concubine to be enshrined in the ancestral hall."
"Now you're the one saying that after becoming a member of the Meng family, you'll only be a pawn."
“Times have changed,” Zhou Congxian explained patiently. “The big tree in the capital has deep roots; even if you cut off the main trunk, there are still hidden branches.”
“Outside the capital, both the Meng and He families wield significant military power.”
"Especially the Meng family. General Meng is getting old. Whoever becomes his son-in-law or daughter-in-law can get a share of the pie!"
"Besides..."
His gaze fell on the direction of Jiang Xingyao's room, and then swept over He Ran's room.
"General He is now weighing the pros and cons and is more inclined to favor the young master from a prominent family in the capital."
"If your brother wants to live happily ever after with Miss He, the safest way is to become the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo."
Looking at him, Yao Shisan felt his heart being tightly bound, making it hard to breathe.
She took a step back. "Zhou Congxian, do you know why I always avoid you?"
"You are like an invisible net, ensnaring me and holding me captive."
"You seem to be constantly reminding me that I can't escape, reminding me of the days when I was manipulated by others."
"No matter who I am, Jiang Shiyao, Yao Shisan, or Meng Qinglian's daughter, I will be arranged and manipulated."
She laughed, "Isn't it true that kind people get bullied?"
"No matter where I am?"
Zhou Congxian: "No, I just wanted to protect you."
Yao Shisan: "No need."
Her voice was full of sarcasm, "Just like you said, the Meng family is powerful and influential. If I really need to seek protection, why don't I acknowledge my ancestors and return to my roots?"
"Did I become your mistress without even knowing why I was protected by you?"
"No, I..."
Before Zhou Congxian could even speak, Yao Shisan had already turned and left.
He stared at the departing figure for a long while before finally muttering something.
"I want to marry you, my proper wife according to the traditional marriage rites."
But those words could only dissipate in the night wind.
*
"Boss! Boss!"
Uncle Qi from the grain depot rushed over in a panic, ignoring the sweat streaming down his face.
"The villages that are supposed to collect grain are all running out of grain!"
It's the time for grain depots to receive new grain, but they can't get any new rice into their warehouses.
"What's going on?" Yao Shisan looked up from the ledger.
Uncle Qi sighed, "The new rice in the warehouse, after being harvested from rented fields, has only yielded thirteen bushels."
"Several villages near the rented land are not receiving any more supplies."
Rent land...
Yao Shisan understood without even asking.
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then we don't need to worry about them. Didn't we talk to some farmers in Ling County before? Uncle Qi, why don't you take some people there?"
Uncle Qi wanted to say something more, but seeing that the owner had already continued to do his accounting, he didn't say anything more.
Yao Shisan opened another ledger, which was her separate private account.
She wanted to use Xiao Shu's money to do her own thing.
Xiao Shu had been urging her, both openly and secretly, to open a medicinal herb shop.
She kept making excuses that she didn't have any free time at the moment; she couldn't really become Xiao Shu's manager of the business.
Now, she has no interest in the medicinal herb business; she has her sights set on shipping.
Now, with the construction of waterways, Dingxian, Lingxian, Yuzhou, and Linzhou can all be connected.
Whether going to the capital or south, there will be no obstacles.
Whether it is a passenger ship, a cargo ship, or a merchant ship.
These are all excellent deals.
She absolutely could not let Xiao Shu interfere with the ship's journey.
"elder sister!"
Yao Shisan closed the ledger and looked up at Shuang'er, who was fuming.
"What's wrong? Who upset you?"
Shuang'er sat opposite her sister and said, "These people are simply ungrateful!"
"Have they forgotten who took over their food supply last year?!"
"Now they're even saying they'd rather feed the grain to the pigs than sell it to us!"
Yao Shisan opened the account book in front of him. "Uncle Qi has already said it's alright. I've sent him to Ling County."
“Grain is something every household grows; is it a rare commodity? If he doesn’t want to sell it, he doesn’t have to. What’s the big deal?”
Shuang'er puffed out her cheeks, "I'm afraid of being out of the market..."
Yao Shisan smiled and said, "How could the granary be empty? We've already harvested a lot of grain from the rented land."
"Because of the suppression by the Cao family in the past, other grain merchants could not grow big, and this had become a fait accompli in Ding County."
“The output is still this high. Without the Cao family, and with them refusing to buy from us, other grain merchants can’t handle this much. Prices will definitely drop further.”
Shuang'er's eyes lit up instantly, "Sister wanted to wait for the price to drop before buying, so they had no choice but to sell!"
Yao Shisan said, "I didn't mean to lower the price; it's just that they wouldn't sell."
Shuang'er felt much better now.
"They brought this on themselves, thinking we were easy to bully!"
"That Uncle Fu, Lord Jiang gave him a lenient sentence, only imprisoning him for fifteen days!"
Yao Shisan shook his head. "Every cause has its effect. They listened to Uncle Fu's instigation, and when the price is lowered later, everyone's resentment will be directed at him."
"Fifteen days in jail is nothing. The real punishment is that his whole family is being gossiped about and cursed behind their backs every day in the village."
Shuang'er nodded, "Yes! Let him get scolded every day, so he won't dare to leave the house!"
As she spoke, she covered her face and burst into laughter!
Yao Shisan showed her the ledger in front of him. "Alright, stop grinning like an idiot. I've been teaching you for so long, now do the math."
Shuang'er got up and ran.
"Sister, I'm already doing a great job of keeping accounts, so please don't make me do the accounting anymore!"
"You should go find Xiulian instead!"
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