Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Zheng Yi pulled out a stack of silver bills from his sleeve and handed them to Jiang Chun, saying, "This is the five hundred taels of silver Liu Family is compensating Chun Niang for."

Beside him, Jiang He hissed in surprise, "Five hundred taels of silver?"

Zheng Yi nodded and explained, "Scholar Zhao said that Old Master Liu mentioned that due to Young Master Liu Jiu, Chun Niang was frightened. These five hundred taels of silver are to soothe her.

He also said that he should have come to apologize in person, but he feared that if this matter became public, it would tarnish Chun Niang's reputation. Therefore, he asked Scholar Zhao to deliver the silver and convey his apologies, hoping Chun Niang would forgive him."

Jiang Chun took the silver bills and glanced sideways at Song Shian.

She wasn't foolish. Although the original owner had a fierce reputation as a sea-patrolling demon, she was ultimately just a common woman. It was unlikely that someone like the Liu family, a prominent official household, would lower themselves so much for her sake.

Clearly, this was all because of Song Shian.

Whether they feared him as the brother-in-law of King Yan or his connections with the county magistrate, it was all related to him.

In front of her uncle, she didn't say much more and casually stuffed the silver bills into her money bag.

Then she smiled at Zheng Yi and said, "Thanks to Uncle's help, running around for my matters. Otherwise, I don't know how this would have turned out.

There's no need for formal thanks. Uncle, don't be in a hurry to leave. I'll prepare a meal, and let my father keep you company for a few drinks."

"You're my niece, and I have no other siblings, only one younger sister. When you encounter difficulties, who else would help you if not your uncle?"

Zheng Yi smiled at Jiang Chun and didn't refuse his niece's invitation. Just as he was about to agree to stay for the meal, his gaze fell on the pots and jars on the wheelbarrow.

He then looked toward the kitchen, and to his surprise, it was empty. Even the large iron pots on the two stoves had been removed, leaving only two large holes.

Zheng Yi: "..."

How could they eat a meal like this?

By the time they found all the cooking utensils and prepared a proper meal, it would probably be dark.

He quickly changed his mind and said, "Your father and I can always have a drink another day. Today, things here are in disarray. Uncle will leave to avoid causing trouble. Another time."

Following her uncle's gaze, Jiang Chun also saw the empty stove holes without the large iron pots and smiled awkwardly.

Seeing this, Jiang He decided, "When Brother has some free time, we'll have a good drink together."

He offered, "I'll take Brother back."

Zheng Yi had come to Daliushu Village in a mule cart from village head Zou's house. He couldn't walk back to town.

"Alright," Zheng Yi agreed without further ado.

Seeing this, Jiang Chun hurried to the wheelbarrow, found a cloth bag, and under the cover of various items, stuffed the herbs and spices from the warehouse into it.

After some thought, she reluctantly added a valuable golden hairpin.

She handed the bag to Zheng Yi and said, "Please give these things to Scholar Zhao as a token of my gratitude."

Even the king is easy to see, but the little ghosts are hard to deal with. Zhao Deyang was a favorite of the county magistrate, and there might be times when she needed his help again.

Even if she never needed his help again, these gifts could help her uncle build a closer relationship with Zhao Deyang, providing some benefits for her uncle.

Zheng Yi had seen these items before and readily accepted them, saying, "Alright, I'll take them to Scholar Zhao when I go to the county tomorrow."

He didn't ask where the items came from, knowing they were specifically bought by his niece for Scholar Zhao.

Just as Zheng Yi was about to leave, he remembered something and quickly told Song Shian, "Son-in-law, Scholar Zhao asked me to tell you that the county magistrate finds the paper, ink, and paints in the county unsatisfactory. He has sent someone to the prefectural city to purchase better supplies. Once they arrive, I'll bring them to you."

If possible, Lu Zhengheng would have come to see Song Shian himself, watching him paint without missing a moment.

However, Song Shian was now an official slave who had committed a crime. As a direct descendant of the Fan Yang Lu clan, Lu Zhengheng couldn't openly associate with him too much, as it might bring disaster to the Lu family.

So, he had to use Zheng Yi as an intermediary to pass on information and supplies.

Song Shian nodded and said, "I understand. Thank you for letting me know, Uncle."

Lu Zhengheng was indeed considerate, understanding that as a son-in-law, Song Shian had no money to buy such painting supplies.

Even if Jiang Chun were willing to buy them for him, she would only get the cheapest ones. Using such poor quality materials would make Lu Zhengheng spit blood, calling it a waste of talent.

By providing the paper, ink, and paints himself, he avoided such an awkward situation and saved Jiang Chun a lot of money.

It was a win-win situation.

Jiang He drove the cart to take Zheng Yi back. Given his uncle's nature, he would have insisted on keeping his brother-in-law for lunch, so Jiang Chun only needed to feed herself and Song Shian.

*

It sounded simple, but the wheelbarrow was packed full. Some cooking utensils and ingredients were on top, while others were firmly pressed at the bottom.

As a result, she couldn't prioritize putting the kitchen items back in place and had to unload everything in order.

This required patience.

But clearly, Jiang Chun wasn't a patient person. Previously, she had been forced to do so, but now, with the pressure off, she got distracted after working for a short while.

She walked over to Song Shian, who was sitting on a stool with his eyes closed, basking in the sun, and deliberately stood in front of him, blocking the sunlight.

Song Shian heard the commotion, opened his phoenix-like eyes, and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

In essence, he was asking: Why aren't you busy organizing the luggage, and why are you coming over here?

Jiang Chun took out the stack of silver bills from her money bag and held them out to him, saying, "These five hundred taels of silver are nominally for me, but they're actually for you. I'm not greedy; you keep them."

Song Shian lifted his eyelids and glanced at her.

He indeed needed money; it was one thing for other relatives, but he had to redeem his cousin from the brothel no matter what.

But this money belonged to Jiang Chun, and five hundred taels was not a small sum for her. He wasn't so greedy as to take it.

At worst, he could paint another picture and sell it to Lu Zhengheng at a high price.

Since he had already started down this path, what difference did it make to sell one more?

Having lived this life again, he was no longer the proud and aloof person he had been in his previous life.

Now, he was someone willing to bend for a living.

As for redeeming his cousin, it was both urgent and not urgent.

It was urgent because a brothel was no place for a young lady of good family. The longer she stayed there, the more it would harm her reputation.

It was not urgent because she was only fourteen and had not yet reached the age of marriage. She was currently learning skills from the instructors in the brothel and could still maintain her innocence for now.

Most importantly, his body was still weak, and his cousin had been sold to Shaoxing Prefecture, which was far from Prefecture Qi. Even if he managed to save up a thousand taels, he wouldn't have the strength to travel such a long distance to redeem her.

Attempting something beyond his capabilities might result in failing to redeem her and losing his own life.

So these five hundred taels meant little to him.

He said coolly, "Old Master Liu made it clear that these five hundred taels are to comfort you. Keep them. What do you need them for me?"

Pausing, he sneered, "Or are you thinking of divorcing me again?"

Mentioning this, Jiang Chun suddenly remembered and immediately placed her hands on her hips, loudly accusing him, "You dare bring this up? I haven't even settled accounts with you yet!"

"You scoundrel, you clearly had a way to help me but kept quiet, finding it amusing to watch my father, uncle, and me jump around like monkeys?"

"Why didn't you keep quiet until my father and I fled to Green Ox Town, leaving you completely free?"

"Then you could sell a painting to the county magistrate, earn several thousand taels, buy a large house, and hire a few servants to wait on you hand and foot, living a life of luxury. How comfortable and carefree would that be?"

Last night, he had looked pitiful, acting as if he would rather lose his life than escape without her, making her heart soften and change her mind, abandoning her plan to leave him behind and run away secretly.

She had thought that no matter how hard or difficult it would be, she had to take him with her. If they couldn't escape, they would die together.

But it turned out it was all fake. He had been testing her.

If she hadn't changed her mind, he would have watched her and her father flee, living a life of hiding and running.

Truly, he was Song Shian, always so calculating!

Song Shian, however, showed no guilt, calmly saying, "I had to know if you were worth helping before I took action."

After all, this was something that hadn't happened in his previous life. Standing aside might have been fine, but once he got involved, things could become uncontrollable.

He couldn't predict the changes or the outcomes, whether they would be good or bad.

Clearly, this was not a favorable situation for him.

So he had to test her, to see if she would abandon him in a crisis.

The facts proved that she didn't.

She didn't disappoint him.

Through this incident, he had completely let down his guard and would treat her as one of his own, no longer hiding things from her as he had this time.

Jiang Chun glared at him, fuming, "To actually doubt my character, you ungrateful wretch! All my efforts were for nothing!"

Song Shian glanced at the silver note in her hand and smiled faintly, "But I did manage to get you five hundred taels as compensation. Isn't that enough to forgive me?"

Jiang Chun clutched the silver note, licked her lips, and asked, confirming, "You really don't want this silver note?"

"No," Song Shian answered decisively.

Pausing, he added, "Just keep it. After all, you manage our finances, and any money Father earns is given to you."

The word "our" made Jiang Chun's face light up, unable to suppress her smile.

It meant he didn't consider her an outsider and saw her as part of the family.

But she struggled to hold back her smile.

He had dared to test her and shouldn't be forgiven so easily, or he would do it again.

She put the silver note back into her money bag and coldly huffed, "You said it yourself, this money is compensation from the Liu family to me. It's only right that I keep it. Don't think this will make me forgive you."

Song Shian rubbed his temples and asked, "What will it take for you to forgive me?"

Jiang Chun rolled her eyes, her gaze lingering on his increasingly rosy lips, and she couldn't help but swallow.

She cleared her throat and, thick-skinned, made her demand, "Kiss me, and I'll forgive you."

Pausing, she pointed to her mouth, "A kiss here counts."

Song Shian: "..."

He regretted asking the question as soon as he finished it, sensing something was amiss. Sure enough, she seized the opportunity, never disappointing.

He sighed, "Can't you be serious? Your mind is always on such things. Aren't you ashamed?"

"If you don't, I won't forgive you," Jiang Chun said, turning and walking away.

Returning to the wheelbarrow, she continued unloading items, moving each one into the house as soon as it was offloaded.

She treated Song Shian as if he were air, not even glancing at him as she passed by.

Listening to her chatter incessantly every day, Song Shian initially didn't mind when she suddenly ignored him. But after two days of Jiang Chun treating him as if he didn't exist, he began to feel anxious.

During lunch that day, he tried to initiate conversation, pointing his chopsticks at the stir-fried shredded cabbage on the plate and praising, "This dish is well done, very appetizing."

Seeing that Jiang Chun remained silent, Jiang He scolded her, "Chunniang, your son-in-law is complimenting you, why aren't you responding?"

Even though they had been in a tiff earlier, she shouldn't still be angry with him since he had helped resolve her troubles.

Jiang Chun tapped her bowl with her chopsticks and said seriously, "Father, talk less during meals; the wealthy families all adhere to the principle of 'no talking while eating, no speaking while sleeping.'"

Jiang He: "..."

In the past, she talked more than anyone else during meals, but now she wouldn't let anyone speak.

It seemed she was still angry with her son-in-law.

Jiang He hesitated, wanting to say more to his daughter but fearing that too much talk might upset her.

Forget it, he decided not to interfere and let them handle it themselves.

He finished his black flour steamed bun in a few bites, stood up, and said, "Father will go to Uncle Jiang Wan's place, asking him to take me to Little Li Village to buy a mule. You two can eat slowly."

With that, he left.

Swallowing the white flour steamed bun in his mouth, Song Shian stood up, took a pair of clean chopsticks from the chopstick holder, picked up a piece of radish and meat slices from the plate, and placed it in Jiang Chun's bowl.

He said, "The radish and meat slices look good, eat more of them."

Jiang Chun ignored him and didn't touch the radish and meat slices in her bowl. Instead, she used her chopsticks to pick up some pickled mustard root and placed it on her steamed bun, eating it in large bites.

Song Shian was truly amused by her behavior.

This guy was really determined to take advantage of him.

Given her usually chatty nature, these two days of silence must have been hard for her?

It was admirable that she could hold back.

Jiang Chun was indeed struggling to keep quiet, but she couldn't afford to lose face.

In a marriage, either the west wind prevails over the east wind or the east wind prevails over the west. If she gave in easily this time, she would only be the one to give in in the future.

Their backgrounds were vastly different, and now, with him being a fallen phoenix, it wasn't a big issue.

But in two years, when the Song family is rehabilitated and he returns to office, she would still be a lowly pig butcher, making their status gap significant, and their relationship would become delicate.

Therefore, she had to suppress him from the start so that even if he became Prime Minister in the future, she could face him without hesitation, because she would have enough confidence.

So, she chose to ignore his attempts to reconcile, giving him no face at all.

Song Shian was truly at a loss with her. Lying on the kang at night, he sighed deeply and then, in the dark, crawled to the end of the kang where Jiang Chun lay.

He leaned down, slid his hands under the pillow, cradled her head, and then felt his way to press his lips towards hers.