Shen Yun’s voice held no trace of annoyance or displeasure, instead sounding as calm as could be.
Clearly, Shen Yun’s words had not comforted Su Xiaoqi, but rather made her feel more defeated.
“I thought I had outsmarted him, but it turns out he had already calculated my thoughts. I’m very angry.”
Su Xiaoqi pouted, feeling a bit dejected.
Seeing her childish demeanor, Shen Yun couldn’t help but smile. He got up, walked over to her, pulled her into his arms, and stroking her cheek, said, “Sometimes, when others scheme against us, it’s not necessarily to harm us.
Think about why he didn’t scheme against others and give them a courtyard?”
And a three-courtyard dwelling at that, quite the undertaking.
“Because, because you have value,” Su Xiaoqi said hesitantly.
Shen Yun lowered his head, lightly kissed her forehead, and chuckled, “It’s not necessarily just me. In young Master He’s eyes, I’m probably not as important as someone else.
If it were just me, I’d probably only be worth a small courtyard by the street.”
Shen Yun didn’t name anyone, but Su Xiaoqi’s face flushed.
His gaze was too direct, looking at her so openly that she couldn’t help but think of herself.
Su Xiaoqi could understand He Qiulei coming for Shen Yun, but she couldn’t quite grasp why he was also coming for her. She gently nudged Shen Yun’s waist with her elbow, urging him to stop being mysterious and just say it.
“Oh dear, the tigress at home is causing her husband pain,” Shen Yun joked, showing his playful side.
Su Xiaoqi was speechless but still worried about hurting Shen Yun. She gently rubbed his waist.
Shen Yun stopped joking and explained gently, “To me, he’s merely harboring a gambling spirit. But to you, it’s a true benefit.”
Investing in Su Xiaoqi was a visible, large-scale business.
But Shen Yun was different.
He was a good scholar, but he hadn’t yet taken the imperial examinations. Even if he passed and became a Jinshi, or even the top scholar, who could guarantee his smooth sailing in his future official career?
Therefore, it was just about forging a good relationship.
Or perhaps he wanted to gain an ally for his elder brother.
Thus, Shen Yun believed that He Qiulei’s primary intention was for his wife.
To be honest, if Xiaoqi hadn’t intended to acquire their residence, he would have refused this gesture.
But since his wife liked it, and his calligraphy and paintings were worth the price, he would accept it.
Su Xiaoqi understood and her mood became even more dejected.
He Qiulei looked honest and sincere, especially when he smiled, appearing very approachable.
But she never expected that even such a person would be full of schemes.
Alas, couldn’t people in this era be simpler?
While the couple was chatting lively,
He Qiulei had already returned home and informed the head of the He family, He Wenlang, about the situation.
He Wenlang clearly knew his son’s intentions. Seeing that he had succeeded, he stroked his beard and nodded.
“Good, good. My son has always been good, a complete success. However, are you sure Shen Yun will be able to help your elder brother and our family in the future?”
He Qiulei lowered his head, feeling a bit ashamed. “Father, I haven’t known Brother Shen for long, but observing his demeanor and character, he is not someone who is willing to remain subordinate to others.
Just you wait and see, within three years, he will surely soar to great heights.”
He Qiulei spoke with great confidence.
But He Wenlang remained skeptical, unsure where his son garnered such confidence.
“Father, look. My elder brother mentioned in a letter that the current Emperor favors the Slender Gold script and landscape paintings.
See the calligraphy and paintings by this young Master Shen.”
He Qiulei brought back a piece written by Shen Yun in Slender Gold script of the "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering."
The large characters were written with unrestrained vigor, sharp and prominent, flowing for thousands of miles, with an unyielding spirit, like cutting gold and jade, possessing a unique charm.
The landscape painting depicted a thousand-mile panorama.
The mountains were majestic, the rivers winding, stretching as far as the eye could see, grand and magnificent.
“These two pieces, I think there’s no need to give them to the Minister of Personnel, we can offer them directly to His Majesty,” He Qiulei said confidently.
He could already imagine his elder brother’s excited reaction upon receiving these two works.
He Wenlang nodded. Although he was past forty, due to years of pampered living, coupled with his round, plump face and fair skin, he appeared very young.
He greatly admired his son’s scheming.
He told his sons to act with confidence, entrusting the He family to the two of them, feeling very reassured.
One by one, they were all plotting and scheming.
On the other side, it was no different.
The Su family had been experiencing some difficulties recently.
Due to the crackdown by Tianxia Liangcang, their grain shop in Mianzhou City was doing very poorly, with hardly any customers daily.
Although this was partly due to fewer people buying during the New Year period,
the larger reason was that Tianxia Liangcang’s rice and flour were sold at lower prices but of better quality.
It was an obvious move to compete for business.
Su Baiwan was angered and had instructed Steward Su to investigate Tianxia Liangcang’s supply chain early in the morning.
He didn’t want to do anything to the shops; that was uninteresting.
His plan was to directly cut off their supply.
With the Su family’s strength, taking over Tianxia Liangcang would not be a problem.
However, Steward Su, who was usually successful in everything, encountered a hard obstacle this time.
After much inquiry, he finally found an outsider merchant who was said to supply grain to Tianxia Liangcang.
He was from Jiangnan and was staying away from home.
The person was found, but when asked to cut off Tianxia Liangcang’s supply, he immediately refused.
“This contract was personally signed by my father with that individual. I, as a manager away from home, wouldn’t dare go against him.”
Well, this person couldn’t make the decision.
The one who could make the decision was far away in Jiangnan’s Jinling.
What could be done?
The supply could not be cut off.
But they still had to find another way, they couldn’t just watch Tianxia Liangcang bully them like this.
Otherwise, if they let this happen, who would respect the Su family in the future?
Su Baiwan slammed his palm heavily on the table.
The matter of Steward Su finding Su Xiaoqi was brought up again.
Steward Su was also filled with helplessness. It was his worst luck to have sought out Su Xiaoqi.
Not only had two of his sons died, but even his position as steward of the Su family, which he had managed for decades, was now precarious.
Was this what he wanted?
“Father, you can’t blame Steward Su for this.
At the time, didn’t you and I see her by chance at Zuifeng Lou while listening to music?
You even said she was quite good-looking, and taking her in as a goddaughter to marry that poor scholar Shen Yun wouldn’t be a disgrace to him.” Su Jiamo, sitting beside him, exposed his father’s shortcomings.
Steward Su smiled gratefully at Su Jiamo. He knew all these things in his heart, but as the young master, he dared to speak, while he, a servant, wouldn’t dare to speak nonsense even if given ten times the courage.
“You… you spendthrift…” Su Baiwan was so angry that he even cursed his most cherished son.
“How dare you talk about me? Think about what you did back then, huh… why did you go and fight with him?”
It was bad enough that he lost the fight and ended up with a bruised face, but he was also bitten and sent to prison.
Had their Su family encountered any bad luck this year? Every time they got involved with Su Xiaoqi, nothing good happened.
It was only after he took a thousand taels of silver to County Magistrate Huang that he got him out.
So much pure silver was wasted like that, given to that old man, it truly pained him.
But this unfilial son, before his injuries had even healed, was causing more trouble.
“You, go back and rest. You will leave after the Lantern Festival.”
Speaking of which, Su Baiwan thought that his incompetent son couldn’t outsmart others or defeat them in a fight.
But he was still someone who could take the imperial examinations.
His mood suddenly balanced a little, and his tone towards him softened.
He also told him to withdraw tens of thousands of taels from the accounting department for his journey.
“If that’s not enough when you reach the capital, withdraw it from Su Ji Liangpu.”
Su Baiwan was originally an extremely stingy person.
But he was generous with his own son.
Su Jiamo’s mood improved upon hearing this. He pulled his father closer and said, “Hey, old man, let me tell you, we shouldn’t provoke them again for now.
If someone wants to deal with them, we’ll just wait and watch.”
Su Jiamo had originally planned to keep the matter of someone approaching him a secret.
But he was afraid that if he went to the capital and his father acted recklessly, it would implicate their own family, making them stepping stones, which wouldn’t be worth it.