Chapter 99: “Do You Know Why Tuo Baxiao Married You?”…

Chapter 99: "Do you know why Tuo Baxiao married you..."

The night before, Tuo Baxiao had strutted around admiring himself in that Han-style robe for ages. Jiang Congyan thought he would wear it the next day too, but he didn’t. Instead, he folded it neatly and made sure to place it right next to hers in the wardrobe.

When she asked him about it, he said, "I’m drilling troops all day—could rip it."

Fine, then. Given his life of constantly rolling in the dirt at the military camp, clothes did tend to wear out quickly.

Maybe getting that gift put him in a good mood these past few days—most notably in how much more he kept coming after her at night.

Now that restrictions were lifted, he was dead set on reclaiming every missed chance. Even after she shut him down for overdoing it, he still kept coming after her.

And the tricks up his sleeve were growing increasingly varied—sometimes it felt good, but other times too intense, leaving her limp, as if her body wasn’t hers anymore. She wasn’t used to it—it unsettled her.

Eventually, she couldn’t help but ask, "What the hell have you been reading?"

She refused to believe that the flimsy little manual Ruo Lan had given him contained all this.

Tuo Baxiao gave a sly laugh and didn’t hide it from her, bringing over the collection of books he had gathered.

Jiang Congyan’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

The stack was waist-high...

"...Tuo Baxiao!" she gritted out.

She knew he must have sought out other books, but she never imagined he’d amassed so many.

How the hell did he even find these? Didn’t he care about the shame? What if some of them contained depraved crap—had he read those too?

Tuo Baxiao paid no heed to her shock. Instead, he eagerly picked up one of the books and flipped to a certain page.

"C’mon, let’s try this tonight?"

Jiang Congyan didn’t even glance at it before kicking at him.

The man caught her ankle quick as a whip, tugging lightly until she was pulled toward him. He pressed her into the bed.

"Just give it a try," he murmured, already pressing kisses down the nape of her neck.

In her haze, she thought... The new bed held up impressively. Even with his vigorous movements, it barely made a sound.

When it was finally over, Jiang Congyan’s face was flushed crimson. She wanted nothing to do with the man and yanked the covers over herself.

Then she heard the sound of a hidden compartment by the bed being opened. Peeking through a slit in her eyelids, she saw Tuo Baxiao attempting to stash those books inside for easy access.

Jiang Congyan snapped at him, absolutely forbidding it, and only then did he relent.

"It would’ve been so convenient right by the bed," he sighed.

Jiang Congyan kicked him again.

The man caught her calf. "Still got the energy to kick me? Shall we go another round?"

Jiang Congyan: "..."

She wanted to kick this bastard even more.

The man clung to her leg, unwilling to release it. After caressing the smooth, delicate skin for a while, he suddenly noticed her knees were slightly red. Recalling his earlier actions, he said eagerly, "Let me apply some ointment and massage it for you."

Jiang Congyan closed her eyes, refusing to acknowledge him any further.

——

By October, snowfall had become routine.

Jiang Congyan was at her busiest. Once the snow grew heavier, travel would become difficult, forcing everyone to huddle indoors through the harsh winter. She had to settle all preparations for the next two months before then.

The wheat in Tumochuan had long been harvested, with 300,000 bushels transported to the royal court and now stored under her control. She posted guards daily to keep watch—this winter’s survival hinged on these reserves.

Originally, this was Tuoba Xiu's property, but he considered it the same as her managing it. After all, she had been overseeing the wheat cultivation all along, doing a far better job than the men he had previously assigned. So, he turned everything over to her control. They were husband and wife—what was his was hers, and hers was his. There was no distinction.

Jiang Congyan, of course, was more than pleased.

Taking advantage of the two months after the autumn harvest before the soil froze, Ruo Lan led the people of Tumochuan in thoroughly preparing the plowed fields, burning wild grass to fertilize the land, and even clearing new fields. They also dug several irrigation channels. If no disasters struck, next year’s harvest would likely be two or three times greater than this year’s. Only then would she have real leverage.

Much of this progress was thanks to the forced labor from the Jie captives Zhang Zheng had brought back.

With hundreds of thousands of Jie people, only about 50,000 had been relocated so far. More would follow next year, but with greater numbers came the risk of unrest. Careful balance was needed to prevent trouble.

Tuoba Xiu, seeing how much effort she was expending on this, became irritated. He had already been more merciful than ever before with enemies. If these Jie slaves dared to rebel, he would make them pay in blood.

To this, Jiang Congyan only responded with a faint smile.

Trading caravans were also returning one after another, bringing back all sorts of goods. Whether nobles or common herders, everyone was eager to exchange for salt, tea, and cloth. People from various tribes came and went, making the royal court livelier than usual—almost as bustling as the spring assembly.

When raw iron was transported back to the Xianbei, Tuoba Xiu announced he would allocate a portion to her. The Xianbei nobles, led by Kedi Yanxun, vehemently opposed this. Giving iron to her meant less for them—and worse, she was Han. The king’s favor toward this Han woman, his willingness to listen to her and even share iron, had them fearing that one day he would hand over the entire Xianbei to her.

Yet no matter how they protested, Tuoba Xiu’s decision remained unchanged.

Jiang Congyan noticed the particularly intense look Kedi Yanxun gave her, laden with deep-seated loathing. In response, she returned his gaze impassively.

She wouldn’t abandon her plans just because they opposed her. She had long known conflict with these Xianbei people was inevitable.

Since it was unavoidable, tensions would inevitably build until one day… She lowered her eyes slightly, calculating whether to take the initiative.

Tuoba Xiu gave her a third of the iron. She had the blacksmiths forge it into plows, sickles, hoes, and other farming tools. Of course, this was far from enough, so she improvised with wood and stone implements for Ruo Lan to make do.

Iron was simply too scarce, and demand far outstripped supply. Relying on trade wouldn’t yield much, and there was always the risk of sudden disruption. If only they could mine their own… She vaguely recalled the locations of some iron deposits, including within former Jie territory. But even narrowed down to specific counties or towns, locating precise deposits with current exploration techniques was no easy task—though still better than blind searching. Yet she lacked the manpower and would have to recruit specialists from Liangzhou, which would take until next year at the earliest.

Several batches of sugar had also been produced. Taking advantage of autumn, when livestock were at their fattest, she traded with the Xianbei for a considerable number of cattle, sheep, and horses—her largest income apart from Tumochuan. Many other workshops were still running deficits, but all ventures have difficult starts. Next year should be better.

Since winter made grazing impossible, she had the sheep slaughtered and stored. The cold weather kept it from rotting, and salting further preserved the meat. The hides were sent to the tannery to be processed into warm clothing.

By now, every workshop and trade caravan had expanded several times over from their initial scale, staffed largely by mixed-heritage slaves—especially in the workshops, where every child she'd spared was now an apprentice.

Next year, she planned to build more ceramic kilns, brick kilns, and brewing workshops. She also wanted to establish a breeding experimental station to specialize and optimize cattle and sheep for different purposes. Expanding literacy demanded paper, so papermaking was another priority. Zhang Fu’s side would also need a basic medical training system.

Hmm, the smelting facilities needed expansion too. Concentrating everything in the royal court was impractical—some should be moved to Tumochuan, where population density was higher, labor more abundant, and transportation more convenient.

She also sent envoys with ceremonial gifts to the King of Chu and Liangzhou. It was a bit early for such gifts, but any later and heavy snow would block the roads.

The group heading to Liangzhou carried both ceremonial gifts and her correspondence.

She even sent Lingxiao along, having the merchants transport it. Communication with Liangzhou would be much easier next year.

Oh, and there was Qu Yao—she had a commercial venture she wanted to discuss. Hopefully, her third cousin could help bring the right people over.

This year, the broad framework for next year's plans needed to be finalized. Jiang Congyan spent long hours every day discussing with Gan Luo, A Chun, Zhang Zheng, and He Zhou. Whether it was selecting sites for factories, securing raw material supplies, or arranging personnel, everything was a complex task. At the same time, she corresponded with Ruo Lan to ensure coordination between both sides.

Huan Jun also sent a letter, stating he had already departed from Chang'an, while Xie Shao would have to wait until next year. Jiang Congyan replied to each of them individually.

The sheer volume of miscellaneous tasks was overwhelming even for her, and she even fell mildly ill in the middle of it all, taking two or three days to recover.

Tuo Baxiao was naturally displeased, not wanting her to exhaust herself with so many responsibilities. Yet, in the end, he couldn’t win against her stubbornness—especially when she batted her big, dewy dark eyes, took his hand, and pleaded in a gentle voice. His brain turned to mush, and he instinctively agreed with a "yes," only to slap his own forehead in frustration once he realized what he’d done.

——

Lan Zhu received some facial cream and brought a bottle to Qiu Liju.

Qiu Liju loved it after just one use. They had previously used sheep fat ointment to protect their skin from cracking in the cold, but the Khatun’s facial cream not only carried a pleasant fragrance but also had a luxuriously smooth texture that felt soothing when applied.

Like Lan Zhu, she adored beauty and quickly abandoned the old sheep fat ointment, gleefully swapping to Jiang Congyan’s cream.

One evening, Tuoba Wuxi saw her applying it and suddenly fixed his gaze on the porcelain jar.

He grabbed the jar and demanded loudly, "Where did this come from?"

"Is it from that Han Princess of Tuo Baxiao’s? Only she would use porcelain like this."

Qiu Liju, furious at his sudden outburst, stood up. "Yes, it was given to me by the Khatun."

"How many times have I told you not to get so close to her? She’s a Han, and Tuo Baxiao’s woman. You’re disobeying my orders—this is betrayal!"

Over a mere jar of cream, he had the audacity to accuse her of "betrayal." Qiu Liju trembled with anger, pointing at him and shouting, "Tuoba Wuxi, just because you hate the King, you forbid me from befriending the Khatun. Whatever you dislike, I can’t like either. Am I supposed to live every day walking on eggshells around you?"

"Ever since returning from the Jie tribe, you’ve been brooding—either drinking or riding all day. When Mica fell ill, you couldn’t even bother to check on him. It was only after getting medicine from the Khatun that he recovered. You didn’t know any of that. All you do is take your anger out on me and Lan Zhu."

"Now I’m starting to think the throne truly belongs to the King. Look at yourself—do you even have the capability to rule? The way you are now, you’re nothing like the Sixth Prince you used to be. You’re just a good-for-nothing bastard."

Tuoba Wuxi stared at her with burning intensity.

"Give it back to me," Qiu Liju demanded, holding out her hand.

Having been so ruthlessly exposed by his wife, Tuoba Wuxi’s jowls quivered with rage, his eyes bloodshot as he panted heavily.

Return it? In his dreams!

He hurled the jar to the ground, shattering it into pieces.

Qiu Liju shrieked and lunged at him, striking him repeatedly.

Tuoba Wuxi endured a few blows before shoving her aside and storming out of the tent.

Qiu Liju chased after him, relieved to see he wasn’t heading toward the Khatun’s quarters, then returned to the tent.

Get lost! The farther, the better!

Turning back to the shattered porcelain on the ground, Qiu Liju cursed the man in her heart a hundred times before salvaging what was left of the cream.

——

As the year drew to a close, after a full year of hard work, Jiang Congyan considered giving her employees some benefits. However, with operations spread thin on a large scale and not yet fully productive, they had to tighten their belts.

When supplies ran short, goodwill made up the difference.

She showed up in person, much to everyone’s delight. Her gist was: stick together and put their backs into it, and once profits came in next year, life would only get better. Everyone took her at her word—especially the former slaves. In the past, they faced backbreaking work, went hungry, and were frequently beaten and scolded. Now, under the Princess’s leadership, not only was their workload lighter, but they also had two full meals a day. Such a life was something they’d never dared hope for, and they prayed they’d never have to leave the workshops.

After delivering the encouraging words, Jiang Congyan distributed some wheat and mutton to them, so everyone could have a proper feast for New Year's.

Having inspected all the workshops, she rode her horse back slowly, only to encounter Tuoba Wuxi halfway.

It was unclear whether it was a coincidence or if he had been waiting there deliberately. He seemed to have stood for a long time, snow piling on his body, his face dark and blue as if frozen overnight. He radiated a corpse-like rigidity. When he saw her, his eyes burned with a frightening intensity.

He urged his horse toward her, the snowflakes cascading off his body.

Jiang Congyan's Liangzhou Imperial Guard immediately shifted stance, swiftly stepping forward to shield her. Tuoba Wuxi seemed deranged—who knew if he might go mad?

Jiang Congyan didn’t sense murderous intent from him, but she remained wary, edging her horse back half a step.

"Do you know why Tuoba Xie married you?" Tuoba Wuxi suddenly spoke.

Perhaps his muscles had stiffened from prolonged exposure to the cold, but his frozen smirk twisted unnaturally, making her skin crawl.

Jiang Congyan knew he harbored no goodwill, especially when it involved Tuoba Xie. Her expression darkened, and without hesitation, she wheeled her mount around to detour.

Of course, she had thought about it—but this was a matter between her and Tuoba Xie. It was not for an outsider, especially a malicious man, to interfere. Buying his crap would make her a damn fool.

Ignoring him, Jiang Congyan tried to leave, but Tuoba Wuxi refused to let her go. He cut her off at a gallop.

"Get out of my way," Jiang Congyan bit out.

"Don’t you really want to know?"

Jiang Congyan remained silent, so Tuoba Wuxi continued on his own, "Because—Tuoba Xie sees you as a replacement for his Han mother! Hahaha!"

Jiang Congyan went statue-still, face locking up.

"Hahahaha!" Seeing her reaction, Tuoba Wuxi laughed even more wildly, like a madman, words tumbling out in hysterics.

But Jiang Congyan no longer heard him. She ignored him, her eyes tracking over his shoulder—

Tuoba Xie sat motionless astride his horse.