’I should save money where I can. Besides, I’ll need to rent a few places nearby to use as warehouses.’
By the ti Lu Yuan headed ho, it was past six in the evening and completely dark.
Now that all his business was taken care of, he planned to spend the remaining few days exploring the Provincial City with his won.
After all, this place was the birthplace of Lu cuisine, considered the head of the Eight Great Culinary Traditions of China.
The food here was unbelievably delicious, one dish better than the next.
It was one of the rare places where you could truly sample every delicacy from both mountain and sea.
After a few days of fun, the prices for those large storefronts would have been negotiated down. Then he would just pick whichever was cheapest.
Lu Yuan returned to the courtyard through the side gate. It was deathly quiet.
No one was in the East Wing; not a single lamp was lit.
’Huh?’
’Did the three of them go wild playing outside?’
’Did they forget to co ho after dark?’
As Lu Yuan was wondering about this, he saw several maids from the Zhao Family returning from the front courtyard.
The mont these maids saw Lu Yuan, they imdiately said:
"Young Nephew, the mistress is at the ancestral hall."
’Huh?’
Lu Yuan paused for a mont, then had one of them lead him to the ancestral hall.
’What’s Aunt Zhao doing at soone else’s ancestral hall?’
’What for?’
’Is she praying to their ancestors, hoping to marry into the family?’
’Not a chance! She belongs in the ancestral hall in Shige Village!’
Before he even reached the ancestral hall, he could hear a sharp, chattering voice from the long corridor. It was not a pleasant sound.
When Lu Yuan arrived,
he found Song iqin kneeling in the freezing, snow-covered courtyard.
There was nothing placed beneath her knees.
Song iqin’s face was streaked with tears.
She was holding a bowl of water, her delicate hands frozen bright red.
There was no telling how long she had been kneeling there.
Zhao Qiao’Er and Su Liyan stood to the side, their faces filled with distress and helplessness, but there was nothing they could do.
The old woman held a rattan cane, muttering and complaining.
Lu Yuan didn’t know what had happened today.
How had things suddenly co to this?
But Lu Yuan didn’t want to know either.
That’s just how the world worked. When a mother-in-law wanted to punish her daughter-in-law, she would always succeed.
There were all sorts of ways to do it.
It was like an official wanting to make trouble for a commoner; he would have ten thousand ways to do it.
He wouldn’t kill you or even beat you. He might not even bother to look at you.
But he could make your life a living hell.
Lu Yuan quietly walked to one side.
When Zhao Qiao’Er and Su Liyan saw Lu Yuan arrive, they trotted over to him.
Song iqin saw Lu Yuan, too.
A look of grievance, indignation, and humiliation—a mix of complex emotions—washed over her face, accompanied by a flood of tears.
Lu Yuan watched Song iqin quietly for a few seconds.
Then, the old woman suddenly raised her rattan cane. With a sharp WHOOSH, she struck Song iqin’s back twice more.
Song iqin wasn’t wearing thick clothes. Her heavy cloak had been stripped off and thrown aside, leaving her in the kind of thin, silk garnts worn only in sumr.
A blow from such a cane was truly painful.
But Song iqin made no sound. She just bit her lip and stared at Lu Yuan, her tears flowing faster and faster.
"Don’t think I can’t handle you just because your little brother is a Vice General!!
"Let tell you, if he can’t get rid of the bandits over there, he’s going to lose his post!"
the old woman shrieked.
Lu Yuan reached into his robes and fumbled for a mont, then turned his head slightly and said softly:
"Uncle Li."
The old steward quietly approached, bowing his back.
Lu Yuan pulled out twenty thousand taels in silver notes from his robes and said:
"No more haggling. I want that wooden building by the Xiliang River.
"Buy it outright tomorrow. And buy those large courtyards too. We’ll put up sheds over them and use them as warehouses.
"As for the rest of the money, use it to renovate the inside of that big storefront according to my specifications. Feel free to spend the entire twenty thousand taels."
Li Fu was slightly taken aback. He accepted the silver notes and imdiately bowed before departing.
Then, Lu Yuan glanced at Aunt Zhao and his wives, his gaze finally settling on Song iqin, who was still kneeling on the ground, staring at him. He said:
"Go back and pack your things. We’re going ho for the New Year. We leave tonight."
Zhao Qiao’Er and Su Liyan sighed, but ultimately nodded.
There was nothing to be done about a situation like this. Truly, not a single thing.
Leaving now was the best option. After all, they couldn’t help in any way, and staying here to watch would only humiliate Song iqin further.
Leaving early really was for the best...
At this, Song iqin closed her eyes, but her tears only flowed more heavily.
Song iqin had resigned herself to it. This was her fate.
But just as Song iqin closed her eyes in resignation, she heard Lu Yuan shout from beside her:
"Song iqin! I told you we’re going ho for the New Year! Are you deaf?!"
After a mont of silence, there was the sudden, crisp sound of a shattering bowl.
To the astonishnt of the old woman and everyone else present, Song iqin threw herself into Lu Yuan’s arms.
Lu Yuan wrapped his thick robes around Song iqin.
He then swept her up into a bridal carry and, while walking away, looked at her and said:
"Let’s go. We’re going ho."
[Congratulations, Host. Song iqin’s Multiplication Factor has reached 9. You have received a nine-fold reward: Military God: Volu 1.]
(The explanation is in the author’s notes. Readers on channels other than Qidian and Q-Reading will not be able to see it, so it is recomnded to view it on one of those two platforms.)
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