Su Xiaoqi fell silent. She had expected that Liang Jingchen's days after entering the Prince of Duan's manor would not be easy.
However, she truly hadn't anticipated it would be this difficult.
But thankfully, he had endured.
"Things will get better from now on," Su Xiaoqi patted his shoulder, comforting him softly.
"You're right, things will get better from now on." Liang Jingchen's eyes sparkled with a myriad of lights, shining brightly.
Su Xiaoqi realized that something within his heart was beginning to sprout.
She dared not imagine it, yet she couldn't help herself.
Even the energy within her bones seemed to urge her to say words she had never dared to think before.
"If, and I mean if, as long as you wish it, I will help you."
Su Xiaoqi did not explicitly state it, but Liang Jingchen understood. He looked at Su Xiaoqi with a hint of pleasant surprise.
Before this moment, he had entertained such thoughts, but never had they been this profound.
Moreover, he had actually been afraid to tell Su Xiaoqi.
Because he feared she would not approve, calling him foolish and delusional.
But now, not only did she understand his thoughts, but she had also promised to help him.
Others might look down on Su Xiaoqi, considering her merely an ordinary woman who was a bit adept at making a small fortune, but he did not.
From the very beginning, he knew that Xiaoqi possessed more strength than she outwardly displayed.
Furthermore, she possessed an undeniable aura of good fortune; anyone who was close to her would fare better than before.
It was like a magnetic field, automatically filtering out the bad and leaving the good!
Just like in Zhao Family Village, ever since he had met her, he had found himself irresistibly drawn to her.
If they were still in Zhao Family Village, he could see her every day.
After he returned to the capital alone with Yu Changfeng, he arrived at this cold Prince of Duan's manor.
Let alone seeing her, he didn't even have basic freedom.
Outwardly, he appeared to be in a position of prestige.
He was the Second Young Master of the Prince of Duan's manor when he went out, but he had no power to decide what he ate or what he wore.
Until he discovered a way to make his own decisions.
That was to step into his father's plan, to become a pawn in his hands.
Constantly taking on missions, he at least had freedom during the times he was away from the Prince of Duan's manor.
Even this time was the same. Everyone in and out of the manor praised the Second Young Master of the Prince of Duan's manor for his filial piety, willing to sacrifice his life to save the Prince of Duan.
But only he knew that he had hesitated at that moment.
Who would willingly give up their life for someone else without reason?
Of course, if that person were Xiaoqi, he would do so without hesitation.
He couldn't even do that readily for his own father, the Prince of Duan.
"What are you thinking about?" Su Xiaoqi saw that Liang Jingchen had been silent for a long time.
His facial expression kept changing, as if he had thought through countless things in mere moments.
"Nothing, I just have many things I can't figure out, I won't think about it anymore," Liang Jingchen said with a faint smile.
Comforting himself, he thought, what did it matter? Xiaoqi was by his side now, and everything else could wait.
As long as he could talk to her, he felt that the remaining time would not be so unbearable.
Moreover, there were things he couldn't tell others that he was willing to tell her.
"Getting injured was not my intention," he said indirectly, fearing eavesdroppers.
Su Xiaoqi blinked her eyes. She understood what Liang Jingchen meant by saying that.
Holding him back, she first pricked up her ears to listen to the movements outside and shook her head at him.
She meant that someone was in the corridor outside, seemingly sweeping, but whether they were truly sweeping or faking it, she didn't know.
But it was clear that if they spoke too loudly, she would definitely be able to hear them.
Liang Jingchen's time in the Prince of Duan's manor had not been spent in vain.
At that moment, he beckoned. A figure flashed outside the window, and a muffled grunt was heard. The person in the corridor fell.
Su Xiaoqi also heard the sound of a broom falling to the ground.
She looked at Liang Jingchen in surprise.
He was more capable than she had imagined, decisive in his actions, and possessed a full set of skills.
She now understood why he had spoken like that earlier.
Now she had even greater confidence in him.
She believed he could do it.
"That was his subordinate. He was injured while carrying out a mission outside with me. I used the healing medicine you gave me on him.
After he was cured, he has since obeyed my command," Liang Jingchen explained the origin of the person outside.
In addition to this, he had also recruited many people in secret.
However, their identities made it inconvenient to reside in the manor, so he bought them a house outside to settle them.
After speaking, he looked at Su Xiaoqi and said hesitantly, "By the way, are you doing any business now?"
Su Xiaoqi counted the shops she had opened since arriving in the capital, including Liu Yuan.
Liang Jingchen said with some embarrassment, "Next time, next time you open a shop, can you include me?"
Su Xiaoqi gazed at him seriously, "Are you very short of money?"
She surveyed the furnishings in Liang Jingchen's room.
When she first entered, she had been preoccupied with his injuries and hadn't had the time to look around.
Now, upon seeing it, she was startled.
This room was too empty.
No wonder she had felt the room was so spacious when she first came in.
Because there were basically no furnishings.
Apart from the necessary bed, chairs, tables, cabinets, screens, and washstands, the display shelves were all empty.
There were only a few scattered gold items carved with dragons and phoenixes.
"Is the Prince of Duan's manor so shabby?" Su Xiaoqi asked rather bluntly.
For the Second Young Master of such a manor, did his room not even have a single decent piece of decoration?
It shouldn't be like this.
Su Xiaoqi's mind still held the memory of the furnishings in the Prince of Duan's room just now.
His room was clearly adorned with many priceless items.
Whether they were decorative pieces or hanging ornaments, made of jade, porcelain, gold, silver, coral, or gemstones, they had everything.
Why was there nothing here?
"The expenses are high, so I had them taken out to exchange for money..." Liang Jingchen became even more embarrassed, but he had to tell the truth.
"What? What? No, you are the Second Young Master of the Prince's manor. Usually, don't families like this have a monthly allowance? And don't their expenses go through the public accounts?
Do you really need to live so tightly?"
Su Xiaoqi was both surprised and heartbroken.
She felt that other than the empty title of Second Young Master of the Prince of Duan's manor, Liang Jingchen had truly gained no benefits.
She couldn't help but regret not asking for his consent before revealing his identity.
"Don't worry, I won't starve. The manor has regulations for food, clothing, and daily necessities.
The financial expenses are mainly for the people I've hired outside, and those accounts cannot be known by others."
Therefore, he had to use his own private funds to cover them.
But after being impoverished for over ten years, where did he have any personal wealth?
After spending the five thousand taels Su Xiaoqi had given him, he could only move the furnishings in his room to pawn shops or sell them.
Fortunately, although those items were valuable, they were not from the palace; they were ordinary items.
"Alright, next time, uh, no need, I'll take you along this time."
As Su Xiaoqi spoke, she took half of her profits from the slide business.
After she made up her mind, fearing he didn't have enough money, she casually gave him ten thousand taels.
Liang Jingchen could not accept her money and refused on the spot, saying they could talk about the dividends once the business started generating profits.
"Pfft, you still have principles. Since we are going into business together, there will definitely be dividends in the future. I'll deduct it from the dividends," Su Xiaoqi said casually.
In reality, she was not short of money at all.