Shen Yun seized the opportunity to embrace her, saying, "Something I've thought about for a long time, and now it's finally done!"
He had been thinking about this from the moment he left the Gong Yuan.
Now that the chance had come, he kissed her with all his heart, his movements gentle and captivating.
Su Xiaoqi couldn't help but close her eyes, tilting her head back to receive his tenderness.
It was like a soft brush of goose feathers, gently caressing, sending ripples of tingling pleasure.
It was also like a gentle breeze, bringing a face full of spring's radiance.
Their lips remained entwined for a long time before finally parting.
Su Xiaoqi, still thinking about the book, snuggled into Shen Yun's embrace, coquettishly asking for it.
Shen Yun tapped her nose, knowing she was not one to be outdone.
He told Su Xiaoqi that Lu Yang had secretly given him the book after she and Du Yiyi had left.
Su Xiaoqi was completely focused on the book and, upon receiving it, eagerly began to flip through it.
The more she flipped, the more excited and moved she became. Towards the end, she directly hugged Shen Yun's neck and kissed him on the corner of his mouth.
"Mmmph... This is wonderful! I knew there was something odd about that book, like it was missing pages. With this, it's perfect."
Shen Yun pressed his hand against the corner of his mouth, his handsome and refined face filled with doting affection.
Seeing her so happy made his promise to Lu Yang worthwhile.
"As long as you like it," he said, concealing his intricate plans, his only spoken words being those five short ones.
He believed that some things didn't need to be explained clearly; it was enough to know what to do in one's heart.
"I like it, I like it so much!" Su Xiaoqi was so excited that her peach blossom eyes seemed to sparkle, shining brightly.
This book was essentially a supplement and explanation to the previous one.
The two books had to be read together to be understood.
At this point, Su Xiaoqi finally understood why Lu Yang had dared to sell the medical text "Miscellaneous Diseases," which discussed poisons, in the open.
Since it wasn't a complete volume, it would be useless to anyone who wasn't meant to see it.
It was fortunate that she hadn't gone with her initial plan to have Shen Yun, with his photographic memory, steal and transcribe his medical books.
Otherwise, what she would have gotten back would have only been an incomplete version, not only useless but potentially harmful.
Indeed, Shen Yun, as the male protagonist, had truly great luck!
Both of them slept exceptionally soundly that night.
With Shen Yun's company, Su Xiaoqi no longer had to toss and turn in bed, unable to sleep, in the middle of the night.
And Shen Yun, by smelling Su Xiaoqi's scent, had also slept very well.
The next day, they discussed their plans for the coming days.
Su Xiaoqi told Shen Yun that she was collaborating with Du Yiyi to open shops.
In fact, they had already opened two.
Shen Yun raised an eyebrow, looking at Su Xiaoqi with surprise.
He knew his wife was capable, but he hadn't expected her to be so incredibly so.
In just a few days, she had managed to open shops, and not just one, but two.
Even though they were partnerships, it was still incredibly ambitious. She truly was the one he had chosen.
"Jin Niang should be arriving in the next day or two. I was thinking it would be best to buy a residence. It would be convenient whether we live here for now or if we need to bring people over later to manage the shops."
Living in inns like this was not only inconvenient but also expensive.
As soon as Su Xiaoqi finished speaking, Shen Yun took a five-hundred tael silver note from his embrace.
"Big Brother, where did you get this silver note?" Su Xiaoqi asked, quite surprised.
She hadn't really seen Shen Yun do much, yet why was it that he could always produce such a large sum of silver notes at crucial moments?
"Have you forgotten I have patrons introduced by my tutor?" He wrote epitaphs and autobiographies for wealthy individuals.
As long as he was willing, earning money wasn't that difficult.
Previously, he had felt that money wasn't of much use.
Moreover, even if he earned it and brought it back, his younger sister and mother, with their natures, might not be able to protect it.
It might even bring them trouble.
But now it was different. With Xiaoqi, she always openly expressed her desire to make money.
And she conducted the business of trading and making money with such elegance and refinement.
It made him feel no aversion at all; instead, he wanted to dote on her and indulge her.
Just like now, because he knew Su Xiaoqi needed it, he had to restrain himself and accept writing those articles that required no soul.
Su Xiaoqi wasn't foolish; she saw all the changes in Shen Yun compared to before.
She accepted the silver note with a smile, just as she had before, and even remarked that they had been a bit short for buying a house, but now, with this, they had more than enough, and could even afford to buy a manor.
Shen Yun didn't worry about these matters at all, letting her handle them.
However, he did inquire about the attack Su Xiaoqi had experienced at the inn last time.
After all, she had even changed rooms, and many people at the inn that day knew about it; it was impossible to hide.
Besides, Su Xiaoqi hadn't intended to hide it; she just hadn't thought of that particular aspect.
The attackers had indeed ambushed her, but in the end, they were the ones who suffered.
"You don't know how badly they were whipped by Yiyi's whip."
Su Xiaoqi giggled. "It was Huang Yuanxiang who did it," Shen Yun stated, not as a question but as a certainty.
"For them to dare to plot against you, only whipping them is too lenient," Shen Yun said in a deep voice.
Su Xiaoqi spread her hands, indicating it was enough.
They were merely acting under someone's orders.
The most detestable was Huang Yuanxiang.
Shen Yun didn't say anything after hearing this, but Su Xiaoqi knew he had taken it to heart.
Shen Yun said, "My sister wrote to say everything is well at home and that we don't need to worry. Why don't we stay here until the results are posted on the first day of the ninth month before leaving?"
Su Xiaoqi had no objections. The two newly opened shops, while capable of operating in the short term, required careful planning for long-term sustainability.
Especially the grain shop; having it be half a clothing shop and half a grain shop wasn't ideal.
Su Xiaoqi was a little busy in the following days.
She first found a real estate agent and bought a manor.
It had two hundred mu of land, and a courtyard house with two entrances and two courtyards, totaling three thousand taels.
Tsk, so expensive.
Su Xiaoqi clicked her tongue; the property prices here were incomparable to those in Mianzhou City.
However, this manor's advantage was its location beside the official road. The exterior could be converted into shops, and it also had a large courtyard.
Moreover, the previous owner had excellent taste and was very clean, having decorated the interior to be extremely exquisite.
Along with the house, ten household servants were sold as part of the dowry, as well as an elderly couple.
They were husband and wife, bearing the surname Li from their former masters, named Li Zhong and Li Cui respectively.
Su Xiaoqi addressed them as Uncle Li and Aunt Li.
Aunt Li told Su Xiaoqi that this house was originally prepared by the Li family as a dowry courtyard for their eldest daughter.
However, as she was marrying to the capital, the distance between the two places was too great, so they sold this courtyard, which had remained unoccupied since its acquisition, to convert it into cash for purchases in the capital.
Many of the original household staff had also been given as dowry to the capital.
As for the old couple, due to their advanced age and frailty, and having no children, they did not go north with the family and were left behind to look after the property.
The reason Aunt Li said so much was actually to beg a favor from Su Xiaoqi.
She and her husband wanted to stay here and continue to look after this manor.
"That's fine," Su Xiaoqi agreed readily.
She bought this manor only for temporary residence.
She had never considered living here long-term.
Therefore, she hoped to have two people who were familiar with the manor's affairs look after it for her.
"You can rest assured and stay here.
I'll say this now: as long as you work diligently, when you are old, I will provide for your care and see you off in death."
"Owner, is this... is this true?" Aunt Li asked tearfully.
Su Xiaoqi nodded, saying of course, but the condition was that they must do their jobs well.
She also asked many questions about the manor's cultivation and management.
After all, she had no experience managing a manor in this life, nor in her previous one.
She hadn't even had time to manage the manor she bought in Mianzhou City.
She intended to learn how to manage it here, so she could later manage the one over there.
"The previous owner of our manor, the Li family, was a renowned wealthy family in the prefectural city and was extremely generous to the manor servants.
While servants on other manors only received a two-tenths share of the profits annually, ours received three-tenths.
Even the tenants in the surrounding areas only paid a two-tenths rent.
However, in the past two years, there have been floods and droughts, and the harvests have not been good, making it difficult for everyone.
Miss Li even subsidized the manor, but other than that, there's nothing much to say."
Hearing this, Su Xiaoqi roughly understood why the Li family wanted to sell the manor.
So it was due to poor harvests.
Indeed, manors like this relied on growing crops to prosper.
But with poor harvests, prosperity was naturally low.
And everyone's life became difficult.
Su Xiaoqi's heart stirred.
This time was actually the best opportunity to buy manors and farmland.
Otherwise, in years of good harvest, such manors would be impossible to find, even with a lantern.
However, it was a pity that most of the money she had earned had already been spent.
She wanted to buy another one, but she was willing but unable.
While she was troubled, Shen Yun unexpectedly brought her silver notes that evening.
A full ten thousand taels.
"You... you didn't write an epitaph for someone else again, did you?" Su Xiaoqi blinked, showing disbelief.
Which unsuspecting wealthy patron was so willing to spend such a large sum of money?
Ten thousand taels was by no means a small amount.