kingnovel Chapter 263 Encounter with Mrs. Qian
Chapter 263 Encounter with Mrs. Qian
The man in black robe pointed across the table and motioned for Aunt Lu to sit down.
"What's the current situation in the north?"
"A little bit."
After arriving in Lin'an Prefecture, Su Li and her family settled in a teahouse, rarely leaving the house, living a secluded life. Her daily duties included caring for Pei Heng and taking care of the children's diet and studies. Only the old lady and her third aunt would come up the mountain every now and then to visit.
They did talk about some things in the north, but not much. Aunt Lu followed them and listened to some of the conversation.
The man in black robes seemed to be in a bad mood, and there was a low pressure around him, which made people feel uncomfortable. He said:
"The situation in the north is not favorable to the master. If we continue to advance south, the master will need a large amount of money and food. I am trying to find a solution and need your cooperation."
Aunt Lu was shocked and bowed her head:
"But at the master's command."
"The lady you met in the teahouse today is surnamed Qian. She's the mistress of the Qian family, the richest family in Lin'an Prefecture. The grain trade in Lin'an Prefecture is essentially monopolized by the Qian family. Her family is quite powerful and prestigious in Lin'an Prefecture. If you can find a way to get her to take the lead in donating money and grain to the court, I can find a way to get this large amount of money and grain delivered to her."
"Okay, I'll figure out a way to deal with this."
Aunt Lu agreed.
The black-robed man said again:
"If you have any news from now on, please come to this Xiangfu Restaurant."
"Yes!"
After accepting the task, Aunt Lu turned around and went downstairs. She happened to meet Madam Qian at the stairs.
"Isn't this the young lady from before?"
Mrs. Qian enthusiastically pulled Aunt Lu aside. She had been out shopping today and had run into someone she found appealing. She was about to formally introduce herself to Su Li by handing her a visiting card, but she had simply walked away without even telling him her name.
She was still feeling regretful when she turned around and met Aunt Lu here again.
Madam Qian pulled Aunt Lu and said happily:
"Look, look, this is fate. My dear lady, where is your wife? She's upstairs, and I'd like to make her acquaintance. Could you introduce her?"
Aunt Lu was caught red-handed by Madam Qian. Her heart quickly calmed down and she raised her eyebrows and smiled:
"Madam, my wife has already gone home. I was about to go back too, but it's hard to rent a sedan chair at this time. My maidservant has been gone for a long time and hasn't returned yet."
"Oh, you've met me, why would you rent a sedan chair?"
Madam Qian waved her hand and pointed to the luxurious carriageway outside the door, inlaid with gold and jade:
"Let's go. If you don't mind, Madam, I will personally take you back."
"How does this work?"
Although Aunt Lu refused in her words, she was eager to make friends with Madam Qian immediately.
Just at this time, Xiao Cui came back and said that she couldn't rent a sedan chair.
"At this time, everyone at the carriage and horse shop has gone to eat after their shift change, so there are no cars available. Come on, I'll take you back."
Mrs. Qian took Aunt Lu's arm and got into the carriage.
Night falls.
A gentle breeze blows over the tea mountains.
Madam Qian's carriage ding-donged as it came to a stop at the entrance of the teahouse. Madam Qian and Concubine Lu got out of the carriage one after another. Madam Qian stood at the entrance of the teahouse, walked around, and said:
"Oh, so this Banshan Tea House was bought by your wife. I heard the buyer's surname is Su!"
During the journey, Aunt Lu deliberately tried to please Madam Qian, and the two of them were already very close. Upon hearing this, Aunt Lu said:
"To be honest with you, Madam Qian, my wife's surname is Su. Her husband's family is none other than General Pei Heng."
"General Pei!" Madam Qian's eyes widened upon hearing this, and she pulled Aunt Lu aside. "When we were at the teahouse this day, I felt that your wife was extraordinary and either rich or noble. I never thought she was actually General Pei's wife. You don't know how much I admire General Pei. I go to listen to his stories every now and then. Can you take me to see him? I heard he was ill, and I'm so worried."
Aunt Lu smiled awkwardly and said:
"Mrs. Qian, this is really putting me in a difficult position."
"Yes, yes, yes, I was a bit abrupt. Don't worry, I'll prepare a visiting card as soon as I get home and come to visit formally tomorrow."
Mrs. Qian was overwhelmed with emotion to meet her idol. She said goodbye to Aunt Lu in a hurry and went down the mountain.
Aunt Lu tugged at her skirt, looked at the carriage going away, and turned back to walk towards the main courtyard.
The main courtyard was quiet, and the air was filled with the usual strong smell of Chinese medicine.
In the room, Su Li was sitting on the couch playing with Xi Jie'er, Nanny Li was making small clothes with needle and thread, and Huan Ge'er was sitting in front of the bed reading to Pei Heng.
Pei Heng was still the same, lying there motionless.
Aunt Lu took a closer look and found that Pei Heng seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and his body under the quilt looked even thinner and more frail.
When Aunt Lu came in, the room, which was full of joy and laughter just now, suddenly became quiet.
Nanny Li threw the clothes into the bamboo basket with a bad face and said to Xi Jie'er:
"Xijie'er, let's go. It's time to go to bed."
Huan Ge'er also closed the book, placed it on the bedside, bowed to Pei Heng and said:
"That's all for today, Dad. I'll come back and read to you tomorrow."
"Mom, I'm going back to my room to read."
"Go."
Seeing that everyone avoided Aunt Lu like the plague, Su Li smiled inwardly and asked Songzhi to serve Aunt Lu a cup of this year's new tea.
"What good things did you buy? Why did you shop for so long?"
Aunt Lu looked shy and lowered her head and said:
"I entered the palace at the age of fifteen and stayed there for ten years. I've rarely seen the outside world. Today, I rarely go out, and I was so lost in wandering that I forgot the time. I'm sorry to make you laugh, Madam."
It's quite convincing.
Su Li was always kind to her and said with a smile:
"It was my fault. I thought the general needed to rest, and I was pregnant and didn't want to move around much, so I ended up restricting you."
"Madam, you are very kind to me and don't restrict me. But you have hit the nail on the head. When I was in the palace, whenever the ladies were pregnant, the imperial physician would always advise them to go out and walk around more after the fetus was stable after three months. The imperial physician said that this would help with future childbirth. Madam, you are now almost five months pregnant, and the weather outside is so beautiful. You really should go out and walk around more."
Hearing this, Su Li turned her head to look at Pei Heng on the bed, sighed softly and said:
"Well, I do want to, too. But the general..."
Aunt Lu quickly said, "I think the general should walk outside more often, breathe some fresh air, and listen to the sounds outside. This may be beneficial to his condition. Will he wake up one day?"
Seeing Aunt Lu's expectant face, Su Li raised her eyebrows.
"You're right. I'll think about it."
"It's getting late today, so I won't disturb Madam and the General from resting. I'll take my leave."
As soon as Aunt Lu left, Songzhi said:
"The sun really rises from the west. What is Madam Lu planning today?"
Su Li smiled but said nothing, "Has the person who followed her come back?"
"I'm back."
As soon as the voice fell, a figure appeared in the night outside the house. The guard informed Lu Yi Niang of her whereabouts. Su Li reached out and turned a page in the book in front of him, saying:
"Haha, when things are out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on. She's been trying to get me out today, and she's also secretly befriending Madam Qian. She must have some agenda. Let's see what she does next."
"Also, check out that scholar named Huang Yiwen."
Looking at the book in front of him, Su Li twitched the corner of his mouth. This scholar Huang is quite interesting.