With Xiao Yi's intentions clarified and Shen Yun's endorsement, Su Xiaoqi felt a surge of confidence. She was not one to shy away from trouble.
She outlined her upcoming plans to Xiao Yi. She emphasized that she had never publicly appeared for Chen Jin Ji or the supermarket. Others were unaware these were her businesses. Therefore, if the Su family were to target her, they would focus their efforts on the current grain shop, meaning the pressure would fall entirely on him. She hoped he could withstand it, but assured him that she would retaliate soon. They were not puppets to be pushed around and attacked without fighting back.
Xiao Yi readily agreed. He declared he wasn't afraid and welcomed the challenge. He also wanted to confront them. If it weren't for the Su family, Xiao Qi-jie wouldn't have been blinded by wealth and Xiao Ze-ge wouldn't have gone missing.
Hearing Xiao Ze's name, Su Xiaoqi faltered for a moment before quickly recovering. She patted Xiao Yi's shoulder, expressing her fondness for his spirited nature. She encouraged him to continue his previous work, focusing on training and developing employees. She praised him for doing an excellent job. She also promised him a bonus at the end of the year if he performed well.
Xiao Yi was pleased with the initial praise, but his face turned red when he heard about the bonus. He stated that he wasn't doing this for money. Although he had never had money before and was in great need of it, some things were more important. Su Xiaoqi understood; he was referring to the bond of mutual support they had shared over the years, and most importantly, her kindness in supporting the dozen or so of them. Without her, they wouldn't have their current comfortable lives. Nothing could compare to that!
"I've taken note of your words. I hope you will stay true to your heart in the future," Su Xiaoqi said as she prepared to leave. Xiao Yi nodded solemnly, having heard and understood her message.
She had visited many places and handled numerous matters throughout the day. As dusk settled, Su Xiaoqi and Shen Yun boarded a mule cart to head home.
On the cart, Shen Yun gazed intently at Su Xiaoqi. He wondered if she had intentionally or unintentionally revealed her intention to deal with the Su family in front of him.
"So, do you still maintain that you have ties to the Su family?" Shen Yun finally asked. He had already deeply cherished Su Xiaoqi and wished for her to be open with him, as she had been in the past. He hoped Xiao Qi understood that as husband and wife, their fates were intertwined; they would rise and fall together. More than anything, he hoped she would be honest and voluntarily share her secrets with him.
Su Xiaoqi met Shen Yun's deep gaze, her hand tightening around her silk handkerchief, her heart in turmoil. Being pressed by Shen Yun made her realize that in her excitement while speaking with Xiao Yi, she had completely forgotten about her own identity. Xiao Yi had known all along that she wasn't a daughter of the Su family. As for Shen Yun, she had truly overlooked him. It was because they had become so familiar with each other recently that she had assumed there were no more secrets between them. She hadn't expected Shen Yun to seize upon this particular issue.
She remained silent for several breaths before finally asking, "Does it matter who I am?" She didn't want to discuss it now, but she knew Shen Yun would eventually find out. After all, the Su family had such extensive influence in Mianzhou City, and they were not a monolithic entity. And as for the original owner of the body, with Xiao Yi and the others supporting her, her identity was fraught with flaws everywhere. That was why the original owner had wanted to break free from them. At this moment, if Shen Yun put in even a little effort and questioned Xiao Yi and Xiao Xi Que, he could easily discover her identity. Su Xiaoqi believed Shen Yun possessed the means to do so.
Seeing the struggle in her eyes and her serious expression, Shen Yun said earnestly, "It doesn't matter who you were. What matters is that you are my wife now."
Su Xiaoqi was momentarily stunned. She looked at Shen Yun, his handsome features, his dark, deep eyes filled with an unreadable expression. She suddenly realized that Shen Yun might have already suspected her identity. It made sense; he was such an intelligent person, and she wasn't without flaws. How could he not have noticed? Moreover, after the initial period when Su Xiaoqi had considered hiding it from him, she had gradually abandoned the idea. She wasn't the original owner and didn't want to cling to the Su family, nor did she want to be bound by a strange marriage contract. It was fine for her identity to be revealed. When spring arrived, Shen Yun would be going to the capital, and she would accompany him on this journey. Afterward, they were destined to part ways. Even if Shen Yun wanted her to stay, she would refuse. It was precisely because she had this thought in her heart that she no longer cared if the truth about the arranged marriage was exposed.
With the conversation reaching this point, Su Xiaoqi lowered her head and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. Fortunately, the journey was not long, and they arrived home in about fifteen minutes.
After getting off the mule cart, Su Xiaoqi told Shen Yun that she needed to arrange the banquet for the next day and dashed off as if flying. Before she could get far, Shen Yun grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He said the banquet arrangements were already taken care of. When he left that morning, he had asked his mother to invite their maternal uncles, the eldest and second, to help with the purchasing and to oversee the setup with the estate's servants. Furthermore, Su Xiaoqi had already invited Chef Bai from Zui Feng Lou in Mianzhou City to assist with the menu. Therefore, there wasn't much to do now. They only needed to prepare the drinks, and the tables, chairs, benches, and tableware were all self-provided, requiring no extra preparation.
Su Xiaoqi, fearing he would bring up the old topic again, struggled slightly and whispered in a low voice, "Even if the buffet-style banquet is ready, there's still the family banquet to be held in the inner hall. We've invited Mr. Gu and Godmother, so nothing can go wrong." As she spoke, she retreated, and once she reached a safe distance, she immediately broke free from Shen Yun and ran off quickly.
Upon reaching the main hall, Madam Zhao was about to invite Zhao Dashan and Zhao Er Hu to stay for dinner. However, both declined, stating that their wives had come looking for them and that dinner was ready at home. Madam Zhao had no choice but to let them go. Su Xiaoqi then conveniently packaged two bags of pastries to thank her uncles and their wives. Madam Qian reached out and accepted them. Su Xiaoqi looked up at her. This was the first time she had seen Madam Qian since returning from Yizhou Prefecture, and she thought Madam Qian seemed somewhat different from before. But the thought had barely formed before she was proven wrong, as Madam Qian spoke:
"It's different now that Brother Yun has passed the imperial examinations. Such a large estate, it's truly magnificent." Her words were flattering, but her eyes eagerly scanned everything around her, as if she wanted to imprint the entire estate into her gaze and make it her own. She had heard that her sister-in-law had invited her husband to help at the estate, so she quickly used the excuse of dinner being ready at home to call her husband back. Upon seeing the estate, she was astonished. The estate was vast. She had already walked several laps around the estate, and her goodness, this estate was so large that it tired her out before she could even finish touring it. She looked on with envy.
In just a few months, the Shen family had moved twice. The first time, they moved out of the thatched cottage their family had lent them. The second time, they moved into this large estate. Crucially, their entire family had kept such significant matters a complete secret. Before they moved, not a single person in the village knew that the Shen family had purchased the estate. It wasn't until they had moved out and today's invitation to the clan elder to attend the feast that people found out. Such a large estate, tsk tsk, she couldn't imagine how much money it cost. Madam Qian's heart pounded wildly, constantly thinking of getting some benefit to take back, but wherever she went, she was accompanied. As a result, her hands couldn't reach out. She suddenly realized that the Shen family was no longer the Shen family of the past. Now that her family no longer lived in her house, she couldn't be as arrogant towards them. Her own husband was right; Brother Yun was no longer the impoverished scholar he used to be. He was a Juren, and even the top scholar in the provincial exam. In the hundred-year history of the village, no one had ever produced a Juren before. This was the first honor. Back then, the reason she dared to treat Shen Yun the way she did was simply because she thought he was in poor health and would likely remain that way forever. But who could have imagined that he not only passed the Xiucai exam but also passed the Juren exam so easily? All of this happened too suddenly; she hadn't had time to adjust. Shen Yun's status had changed, making her afraid to provoke him.