Chapter 330 Letter, Guo

Chapter 330: Letter, Guo

"Oh my, our big shot is back?" Auntie Chang hurried down from the kang and greeted Song Tingzhou eagerly.

Song Tingzhou took a step back and gave a junior's salute. "Auntie, hope you're doing well."

"Fine, fine. Da Lang, this is your cousin Yu Geer. Do you remember him? When you and Wan Geer got married, he could hardly speak a full sentence." Auntie Chang pulled Yu Geer over to bow to Song Tingzhou.

"Hello, cousin." Yu Geer didn't dare look at Song Tingzhou directly, finding him even scarier than the county magistrate.

Song Tingzhou nodded. "Mm, since you're here, settle in and stay for a bit."

With the head of the family's word, Yu Geer finally felt at ease.

No matter what his mother might ask his cousin to do, he had already decided before coming. He didn't want to marry someone from the town or the county. None of the prospects the matchmakers had suggested appealed to him.

He wanted to find a husband in Shengjing.

At dinner, someone from the Zheng family came by with a message: Old Master Zheng had kept A Yan behind after lessons, and Tong'er stayed to keep him company. They might stay the night at the Zheng place and not come back.

Chu Ci and A Xun did come back, but A Xun was too shy to show his face around the Song relatives and ate by himself in his own courtyard.

Yu Geer looked at Chu Ci's handsome face and shyly asked Meng Wan, "Cousin-in-law, um... what should I call him?"

"This is my godson, your cousin's nephew. His name is Chu Ci." Meng Wan was holding a letter Xue Sheng had brought back from the post station. He answered casually.

Yu Geer caught a glimpse of the character "Xiang" on the envelope, but his mind was stuck on what Meng Wan had just called him. His lips turned down, and he said, a little disappointed, "Oh."

Meng Wan seemed to think the letter was important, but he didn't open it right away. He showed it to Song Tingzhou, then carefully tucked it into his robes.

After dinner, when Auntie Chang found out from Chang Jinhua that Chu Ci couldn't speak, she lost even more interest.

That night, Meng Wan followed Song Tingzhou around like a little shadow, watching him bathe in the water he'd already used. The water ran over his lean muscles, soaking his powerful, masculine frame.

Meng Wan rested his chin on his hand and enjoyed the view for a moment. "What do you think your aunt's really here for? She heard we're in the capital and wants to mooch off us?"

Song Tingzhou continued soaping himself without pausing. "If I'm counting right, she must have left for Shengjing right after getting our New Year's gifts and letters. You're probably right."

"Then why didn't your uncle come?" Meng Wan watched as Song Tingzhou stepped out of the water, noticing a certain part of him starting to stir.

Song Tingzhou didn't answer. He dried off quickly with a cloth, then grabbed Meng Wan by the waist and carried him into their bedroom.

As they passed the candle still burning, its flame flickered wildly with their movements.

Now bright, now dim, now strong, now weak.

In the morning, Meng Wan rolled over, holding his waist, and bumped into Song Tingzhou's warm chest.

"No court today?"

"Mm, I have the day off today." Song Tingzhou wanted to stay with Meng Wan a little longer, so even though he was awake, he didn't get up.

Meng Wan lay on his chest, eyes still closed, and said in a rough voice, "I have something to tell you. It's just a guess, but don't be too upset when you hear it."

Meng Wan's words were a warning, and Song Tingzhou immediately caught on. "Something happened to Grandmother?"

Meng Wan told Song Tingzhou what had happened the day before. "I think she might have died. They've been hiding it because of the money we've been sending. I haven't told Mother. You... don't be too sad."

Though the Chang family were money-grubbing, such greedy people were easier to handle. They wanted Grandmother to live a long life more than anyone, so they wouldn't have harmed her. At her age, she probably died of natural causes.

Song Tingzhou felt a little sad, but not overwhelmingly so. Grandmother had a rough time in her earlier years, but the Chang family took decent care of her afterward. She had lived to a ripe old age.

He hugged Meng Wan. "I'm not too sad. Not telling Mother was the right call. We'll talk about it when we go back home. What did the Xiang family's letter say?"

Meng Wan said just one word, his voice low: "Guo."

Song Tingzhou sighed. "I see."

At breakfast, Auntie Chang started talking nonsense again.

"Da Lang, are there any positions in your office where your cousin could work as a low-level clerk?" She meant Yu Geer's older brother, who was already married with kids.

Meng Wan smiled and shot back, "If Cousin had passed the imperial exams and at least gotten the rank of *xiucai*, that would be easy to arrange."

Auntie Chang had nothing to say to that—her son could barely read, let alone pass any exams!

She muttered a few more complaints in front of Chang Jinhua, mostly about how Song Tingzhou had gotten rich but didn't help his relatives, and how much the Song family had gotten out of it, and so on.

Chang Jinhua scolded her, and she shut up for a minute before starting in on other gossip.

Song Tingzhou had taken the day off partly to get away from people. He stayed home with Meng Wan for a while, but got tired of Auntie Chang constantly interrupting, so he went over to Wu Zhaoyuan's place.

Wu Zhaoyuan was also off that day, like they'd planned it.

Zheng Shushen was walking in the courtyard when she saw Song Tingzhou arrive and asked how Meng Wan was doing. When she learned the Song family had guests and Meng Wan might not visit for a while, she said she'd go see him once her pregnancy was more stable.

Wu Zhaoyuan invited Song Tingzhou into his study, carefully closed the door, and had Qiu Ying and Xue Sheng stand guard outside. Then he said quietly, "Someone recommended an old Daoist to the Emperor. The Daoist moved into the palace with his disciples, and now the Emperor has ordered the Hanlin Academy to draft an edict making him National Preceptor."

Song Tingzhou was silent for a long time. A ruler who gets lost in alchemy and cultivation while ignoring state affairs—that's how a nation starts to decline.

"Jingxing, you need to be really careful at court these days. Don't let your guard down." Wu Zhaoyuan was a fifth-rank Reader-in-Waiting in the Hanlin Academy, in charge of drafting imperial edicts. He shared this inside information with Song Tingzhou without holding back, which showed how much he trusted him.

Song Tingzhou patted his shoulder. "If anything happens to me, you have to stay calm. As long as you're alive, nothing is impossible."

Wu Zhaoyuan's hand on the desk shook. "What do you mean by that?"

Song Tingzhou's jaw tightened, his lips pressed together, his eyes lowered and dark. "The Emperor is bewitched by that fake Daoist and ignoring his duties. I can't just stand by and do nothing."

Wu Zhaoyuan stared at him in disbelief, his nostrils flaring. "How could you have such a reckless idea?" he said urgently.

A knock came at the study door, and Xue Sheng's voice came from outside. "My lord, someone's here to see you."

Song Tingzhou said quietly, "Got it."

He pushed the door open and left, leaving Wu Zhaoyuan still in shock.

Seeing Song Tingzhou come out, Xue Sheng quickly reported, "My lord, Count Chengen came in person. The Wu servants didn't dare stop him—he should be here any minute."

Song Tingzhou had already guessed why the man was here. He looked back at Wu Zhaoyuan with a serious look. "Zhaoyuan, remember what I said today."

—

Count Chengen had a position at the military camp outside the capital. His family had been nobles for generations, with lots of marriage connections at court. Even without money, they had plenty of connections.

When the Ministry of Justice received the case files from Shuntian Prefecture and saw they were about the sentencing of Count Chengen's older brother, they set the matter aside and sent word to Count Chengen instead.

Count Chengen came back from the camp to find that something big had happened at home. Lady Qi had long regretted offending the wrong people and didn't like the eldest branch of the family, so she'd deliberately not sent for him.

But the old dowager didn't want to see her eldest son exiled and suffering. She tearfully begged her second son, bringing up all the things the late old count had said before he died.

A mother's orders can't be ignored, and Count Chengen, who already felt some guilt toward his older brother, immediately set out to track down Song Tingzhou.

Knowing he was staying at Wu's residence, he went straight there.

As expected, his efforts were in vain—Count Chengen's roar was loud enough for the Wu family's neighbors to hear clearly.

After the two left Wu's residence, only Wu Zhaoyuan remained, his brow furrowed with worry.

——

When Song Tingzhou returned home, carriage after carriage clogged the alley outside his door. A few familiar faces called out greetings.

"Lord Song, long time no see!" Na Tuo had his brothers file in, then turned to see Song Tingzhou and smiled and bowed in greeting.

Song Tingzhou's mood lifted a little. "Long time no see. You only brought your own men?"

Na Tuo stepped aside to let the other brothers enter first. "Jinshuang and the young couple went in ahead to see Meng Fulang. I stayed back to take care of things."

They had arrived at midnight, but the city gates were shut, so they had to tough it out outside the city walls for half the night. Early this morning, they followed the address in Meng Wan's letter.

They'd already lost a lot of time, but nobody dared let their guard down until they reached the Song house, since they were hauling actual gold and silver.

"I figured you'd be arriving soon. Have you gotten yourselves sorted in the capital yet?" Meng Wan called Tang Jinshuang and Yu Yandong to the main courtyard to rest up, then told Zhifan and Zhimao to have the kitchen buy more meat and veggies. With Tang Jinshuang's group of over sixty people, they'd need at least six tables' worth of food.

"We came straight here after entering the city—settle in? We were scared the whole way that something might happen to these goods." Yu Yandong's chin was stubbly and he looked exhausted, though his eyes were still bright.

"The journey was no joke. The bandits on the road seemed to have caught wind of something. Fortunately, we had numbers on our side, and Na Tuo and the others were really good fighters, and there was also..." Tang Jinshuang's words trailed off mid-sentence as she awkwardly changed the subject, wrapping it up dryly with "we made it through in one piece."

Meng Wan stood up with a smile. "You all really put in the work this time. It's only the first year—once things get sorted with the post stations, it won't be such a hassle."

The post station network looked big, but really it was just taking up space. A lot of the systems still needed work. Meng Wan had only a handful of truly capable people working for him, and with so many station managers, there were bound to be some with divided loyalties.

Tang Jinshuang stayed in the main courtyard, while the rest were settled in the front courtyard. The stoves in the main courtyard kitchen were all heating water for them to wash up.

The servants carried the bought meat and vegetables to Chang Jinhua's small kitchen in the back courtyard to wash and prep. Once the main kitchen was available, they'd still go there to cook.

Yu Geer watched from the back courtyard as the purchasers carried basket after basket of meat and vegetables—the amount clearly wasn't just for the family's own use.

He stopped a hurried servant boy. "Has the household received guests?"

"To answer the young master, it's some managers working for the master's husband who've come to the capital." The servant boy was followed by a fisherman, each carrying a large basket of fish, their arms aching. Seeing that Yu Geer had no further questions, they hurried off to bring the baskets to the kitchen.

Yu Geer muttered to himself, "Managers? Under my cousin-in-law?"

Filled with curiosity, he walked toward the front courtyard, followed the sound of voices until he found where they were coming from. Sure enough, cart after cart of wooden crates was being unloaded at the entrance to the main courtyard's storeroom.

The crates came in all sizes, and the estate servants were sorting and moving them. Huang Ye walked among them, supervising, while Zhifan and Zhimao stood guard before one of the storerooms, their eyes vigilant as they watched over the crates.

"What are you doing here?" Meng Wan was instructing people to move items like the canned lotus root paste to Chang Jinhua's storeroom in the back courtyard.

Yu Geer said hesitantly, "I had nothing to do in the back courtyard, so I came to take a look."

Meng Wan brushed him off casually. "There are some rolls of silk over there. See if any catch your eye—you can take them back to make handkerchiefs or clothes."

Among silks and satins, luo was second in prestige—noble ladies used it for handkerchiefs, which shows how precious it was.

Yu Geer's eyes immediately lit up. "Thank you, cousin-in-law!"

Meng Wan turned his attention to the main matter—last year's profits from the Zhen Guan Workshop.

Meng Wan had put all the post station earnings into road construction. The road would take at least four years to complete, so there was no way the post station would turn a profit anytime soon.

Thus, Meng Wan's main source of income over these years was his Zhen Guan Workshop, followed by the sugar mill, dried fruit workshop, and lotus root workshop.

Meng Wan only held one share in the lotus root workshop, which was meant to protect He Niang, Dong Geer, and the others, with the rest given to them as dowry.

The dried fruit workshop started small but grew steadily. Lingnan's weather wasn't actually suitable for drying fruit—sales kept improving, but output remained limited, mainly because Meng Wan himself loved eating them. It didn't lose money, but you couldn't expect big profits either.

The sugar mill's yearly income was steady, with well-established buying and selling channels. It required the least attention from Meng Wan—he could just sit back and collect the money.

The Heshan Sugar Mill had a huge reputation. Even when sugar mills of all sizes sprang up throughout West Wu Prefecture later on, the Heshan Sugar Mill's standing stayed rock-solid, its foundation untouchable, because the people genuinely supported it—it was what the public wanted.

The Zhen Guan Workshop was the opposite—it was a moneymaker, but the income was all over the place. Last winter, the fruit preserve jars remained popular in Shengjing, but they didn't cause the same craze as the year before.

Before, Meng Wan had only kept a small cut of the Zhen Guan Workshop's profits, using the bulk for road construction and setting up post stations.

Last year, as the post stations got on track and road construction moved along smoothly, Meng Wan had Tang Jinshuang bring his cut of the profits to Shengjing.

Meng Wan took the thick account book Tang Jinshuang had brought and had the silver counted first.

There were no large-denomination banknotes, and given the long distance from Lingnan to Shengjing, crates of banknotes would be hard to transport and keep safe. So they went with gold and silver instead.

Even though Zhifan and Zhimao had counted the storeroom's silver before, this huge haul still shocked them.

With several times more silver than last time, which couldn't be counted in a day or two, both their hands started cramping on their own.