SMMW | Chapter 18

This was the eighth time Wen Qing had met with Miss Ke.

“A ready-made clothing shop, a restaurant, a farm estate. In another two months, my family will also have a cosmetics shop to transfer out. Uncle Ke isn’t going to buy that too, is he?”

Ke Xin’an had been holding back her laughter at first, but by the end she could not help it. “Hahaha…”

Wen Qing shook his head helplessly. His family had too many different kinds of businesses, and they were difficult to manage, which was why they wanted to streamline things. But the moment the news was put out, the Ke family sent people over, and in the end, all the shops being transferred out were picked back up by the Ke family. It was simply an amateur giving blind instructions.

Because they were already quite familiar with each other, Ke Xin’an did not hide her contempt for her father at all in front of Wen Qing. “What does he understand? He just thinks that if the whole street is hung with the Ke family’s signboards, it looks impressive.” By the end of it, Ke Xin’an could not help sighing, and her face was full of exhaustion.

Wen Qing sighed as well. “You’re going to have it even harder in the future.”

“Heh, it’s been like this for years already.” Ke Xin’an smiled helplessly.

Ke Xin’an stared at the teacup on the table, not knowing what she was thinking. She stayed silent for a long time, and Wen Qing simply waited quietly like that.

Only after quite a while did Ke Xin’an finally make up her mind and speak. “I’m going to leave the Ke family.”

Wen Qing did not respond, only waited for her to continue.

“In the first two years, I kept thinking that once I had a marriage arranged, I’d be able to escape quickly. Later, he kept dragging it out, and I finally understood. Why jump from one pit into another? If I can’t stand upright on my own, then I can only lean on someone else, and it’ll still be the same bitter life.”

“He’s the sort of person who is snobbish, greedy for money, and obsessed with appearances. My reputation has already become very unpleasant over the past few years, and he can barely hold up any longer either, so he wants to marry me off casually. That’s why I deliberately made my reputation even worse, so bad that I simply can’t be married off at all, and then I’ll use the fake account books I’ve saved over the years to force him to cast me out of the family.”

“Meeting with me was also one part of that?”

“Hahaha, as expected of someone who’s read books. I knew you’d be able to tell.” Ke Xin’an was not flustered at all at being exposed. There was always this kind of tacit understanding between smart people.

“I know Master Wen and Old Madam Wen like me, and my father knows it too. You could call it a mutual unspoken understanding. If you were willing, the marriage could be settled.”

“But I can tell that you don’t have that intention.”

Wen Qing nodded.

“So after I go back from this meeting, I’ll say that you disagreed. I’ll have people make my reputation sound even worse, so my father feels that if I remain in the family, I’ll be the greatest stain on it. That way, I’ll be free.”

“Do you really have to go this far?” Wen Qing felt a little reluctant as he listened. After all, for women, reputation was an even heavier and crueler burden.

“I can’t think of any other way. I’m really sick of this.” Ke Xin’an closed her eyes, and there was pain and weakness in her tone.

A few breaths later, she gathered her spirits. When she opened her eyes again, she was once more the shrewd and capable Manager Ke, and could even joke a little. “Though if you had agreed, I really would have had a bit of a hard time. A young xiucai with limitless prospects, all the girls would be fighting over him~”

“Stop making fun of me.” Wen Qing waved his hand, unable to stand that kind of teasing.

“After you leave the Ke family, what are your plans?”

“Open a small shop and live a few peaceful days. Over the years, I’ve secretly saved up a little too…” As Ke Xin’an spoke, she suddenly thought of something, and her eyes lit up. “Tell me about your family’s cosmetics shop?”

“Hahahahahahaha, all right. Since it’s going to get bought by your Ke family anyway, whether it’s Uncle Ke or Miss Ke, it’s all fine.”

After several shops that they could not properly keep an eye on were sold to the Ke family, the amount of affairs Master Wen had to manage instantly dropped by thirty percent. Wen Qing was also urged to focus on studying properly, and everything else would wait until after the metropolitan exam ended.

The enormous study was now for Wen Qing’s use alone. When his thoughts were immersed in his essays, he did not feel anything was wrong, but during a break in the middle, Wen Qing realized that it was truly too empty.

Because they were afraid of disturbing him, the servants had all intentionally avoided this area as well. The study sat in complete silence with only him inside. Wen Qing looked out the window. In the empty courtyard, there were only a few old trees, and not even a single birdsong could be heard.

He suddenly felt a little frightened, and a strange thought appeared in his mind.

Could it be that there was no one left in the house except him?

Wen Qing could not sit still anymore. He ran out of the study and stood in the courtyard, looking around in some confusion.

As long as I go out, I’ll be able to run into servants. It’s only because Grandmother instructed them that they don’t dare come near this side. I clearly heard it with my own ears.

Even as he thought this in his heart, Wen Qing still hesitated, and the fear deep inside him swelled more and more. What if he went out and still did not run into any servants? What if he went into the street and still did not run into any passersby? What if the entire Wen residence, the entire capital, the entire world, had only me left?

He knew he was letting his imagination run wild, that he had read too much and his mind had become muddled. But the more he tried to stop it, the more uncontrollable these chaotic thoughts became.

In the end, he felt weak all over, his hands and feet limp, and had no choice but to sit down on the stone bench to rest.

The moon gate of the courtyard was only a few dozen steps away, yet he did not dare walk out through it.

A gust of wind passed through, stirring the branches and making a soft rustling sound. Several flower petals drifted down with the wind and landed on Wen Qing’s shoulder.

Wen Qing had originally wanted to brush them away casually, but before his hand touched his shoulder, he smelled a rich fragrance. It was osmanthus.

It was already October, and it still had not all fallen.

At home in Jinping Prefecture, there was also an osmanthus tree planted, though it was not as old as the one in his grandfather’s house. Wen Qing placed the petals in his palm and found himself missing his mother a little.

He remembered that in summer, his mother would sit in the shade under the tree to cool off, placing a reclining chair there. If he fell asleep himself, his mother would fan him. Once the osmanthus bloomed in the eighth month, they would gather the petals, and he would have a sachet scented with osmanthus. The petals would be washed clean, then used to brew osmanthus wine and make osmanthus cakes… Yuan Hao liked osmanthus cakes very much.

After coming to the capital, although they lived next door, he and Yuan Hao rarely saw each other anymore. He was learning to handle business matters himself, and Yuan Hao was busy learning martial arts, so they only met at dinner. Later on, Yuan Hao simply went off to escort goods, and it would take twenty days before he returned.

Twenty days…

Wen Qing counted on his fingers. Fifteen days had already passed. He should be on the way back by now.

He wondered whether there was any danger on the road. His master had once been a general, so his martial arts should be very good. If they ran into danger, nothing should happen, right? After all, Yuan Hao also knew magic and could hide for a while.

It seemed like he could not always hide successfully.

Wen Qing thought of the return journey after the provincial exam. There had been three roads, and every one of them had danger. The first two times, Yuan Hao had been barely clinging to life, and it made Wen Qing afraid that he would not be able to use it a third time.

Fortunately, they had all survived. Demons with meager magic power struggled through life just as much as humans did.

Wen Qing’s baseless fear turned into worry for Yuan Hao. He crushed the petals in his palm, and his thoughts drifted far away.

“Young Master! This is bad!” A pageboy came hurrying into the courtyard. “That batch of our goods got snatched away by the Yanshan Sect. They threw a sword manual at the escort team and said it was an exchange.”

Wen Qing stood up and caught hold of the pageboy. “What!? Then what about the people? How are they?”

“Wh… what people?” The pageboy delivering the message was a little confused.

Wen Qing was both angry and anxious, irritated at how slow-witted the pageboy was. “The people in the escort team. Were they injured?”

“No, there were only two of them, and they came back just fine. I guess they couldn’t beat them. For such a huge shipment, they actually only sent two people to escort it. We should demand an explanation from the escort agency!” The pageboy muttered on indignantly.

Wen Qing sat down again and let out a sigh of relief. As long as the person was fine, that was enough.

Standing up suddenly and then sitting again made him feel dizzy and disoriented. His vision went black, and he could only press a hand to his forehead and slowly recover. In the middle of that pause, he heard the pageboy shout again. It was the same person, and the voice was coming closer from far away, except this time it carried delight.

“Young Master! The escort team came back early, and all the goods were sold off!”

Wen Qing barely forced his eyes open, feeling as though the ground below was doubled in shadow. “What?”

“On the way while escorting the goods, they ran into the Yanshan Sect. Their attitude was forceful, and they urgently needed medicinal herbs, so the escort team made the decision to sell everything to them. The selling price was pretty good too~”

“No one got hurt?” Wen Qing pressed again, then hurriedly added, “I mean the people in the escort team. Were they injured?”

“No!” The pageboy gave a broad wave of his hand and launched into a lively explanation. “They’re doing great. It saved a lot of time, and none of the goods were lost. The manager at the escort agency even wants some extra reward.”

Wen Qing understood what had happened and said with a smile, “As they should. Give them 500 qian more.”

“Got it~ I’ll go give them the answer. The escort team sent word ahead, they’ll arrive in the capital in two days.” The pageboy ran off happily.

Two days, which meant this escort trip had taken seventeen days.

Yuan Hao had probably used magic again, refusing to let the Yanshan Sect exchange for the sword manual and making them buy the goods with money instead.

Before this, whenever Yuan Hao used magic, it was always for himself, such as cheating in exams, competing at poetry gatherings, or sneaking snacks.

A smile climbed onto Wen Qing’s lips, and he could not help thinking, were his family’s goods worth using his precious magic on too?

Two days later, the escort team returned as promised. Yuan Hao also came back wearing that roguish escort guard’s outfit, and immediately went to look for Wen Qing. At the time, Wen Qing was sitting on the stone bench beneath the osmanthus tree, staring blankly into space.

Only when a human shadow blocked the light did he realize that Yuan Hao was already standing at his side.

Wearing the escort guard’s outfit, Yuan Hao did not look as handsome as usual, but he was still recognizable.

Yuan Hao sat down across from Wen Qing, picked up a piece of pastry from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, and said indistinctly, “So how was it? This trip made quite a bit for your family, didn’t it?”

Wen Qing smiled and poured him tea. “It was more than I expected. I had thought there would be some losses on the road no matter what.”

“Hahaha, of course. Isn’t it because my martial arts are strong and my brains are good too?” Yuan Hao praised himself proudly.

Wen Qing followed along and praised him too. “Yes, yes. This business was only made possible thanks to ‘Rolling Blade Tiger’ escorting the goods.”

Yuan Hao said anxiously, “Shh, don’t call me that. My master just made it up blindly.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. I think it sounds very nice.” Wen Qing pretended to be innocent.

“Hey? You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Yuan Hao said as he stood up and walked in front of Wen Qing to teach him a lesson.

How could Wen Qing possibly beat him? He immediately begged for mercy and changed the subject at once. “Wait, wait! You handled the job so well, and I haven’t thanked you yet.”

“And how are you going to thank me?” Yuan Hao bent down to look at him, without retreating at all.

“The main reason for selling that batch of medicinal herbs was to clear out warehouse space. We weren’t expecting to earn very much from it. A profit of ten percent would have been good enough. This time, you sold it for a good price, so I discussed it with Grandfather and Grandmother, and we’re going to give you the extra profit. It should be around 2000.”

“2000? Then… then what about the escort fee?”

“The escort fee will of course still be paid, and there’s also an extra reward of 500, but you’ll have to wait for the escort agency to divide that out to you. This 2000 here counts as something given directly to you.”

“2000… really?” Yuan Hao had already been stunned silly by this windfall from the heavens.

“Mhm, really.” Wen Qing nodded as he smiled.

Yuan Hao stayed dazed for a moment. After coming back to himself, he saw Wen Qing smiling cheerfully, and knew that he had made a joke of himself for others to see. He was not actually angry, though. Instead, he put on a fierce act and said in a rough voice, “You dare laugh at Rolling Blade Tiger? You’ve got some nerve!”

As soon as he said that, he reached out to grab Wen Qing. Wen Qing was still begging for mercy, but Yuan Hao had already caught him by the waist, suddenly lifted him up, and tossed him into the air.

“Ah!”

Who knew when Yuan Hao’s strength had become so great? After being tossed upward, Wen Qing was a full five chi off the ground and was thoroughly frightened.

Looking down, he saw Yuan Hao looking up at him with a grin, his arms spread open and ready to catch him.

Wen Qing stretched out his arms to reach for him and fell into Yuan Hao’s embrace. Before he could catch his breath, he heard another cry that could not contain its joy. “2000!”

He rose into the air again, then was caught again.

“I’m rich!”

A third time, he rose into the air, then was caught again.

Wen Qing felt like a cloth doll, being tossed around by Yuan Hao. When he was thrown up for the fourth time, Wen Qing finally found his voice and cried out tremblingly, “Yuan… Yuan Hao!”

When he fell back into Yuan Hao’s arms this time, Wen Qing had learned his lesson. He wrapped both arms tightly around Yuan Hao’s neck and refused to let go, afraid that he would be tossed upward again.

“Hahahahahahahahaha…”

This time Yuan Hao did not force him any further. He only laughed out loud, and the vibrations in his chest were felt by Wen Qing through their closely pressed bodies. Wen Qing wanted to reason with him a little, but then he noticed that Yuan Hao’s headscarf had somehow been pulled off at some point. Without that obstructive headscarf, that face of his had returned to its usual handsomeness. At this moment, he was smiling brightly and unrestrainedly.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

He had been frightened, so that was why his heart was beating so fast.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

After teasing Wen Qing like this, Yuan Hao had also used up quite a bit of strength. He was panting, and the rhythm of his rapidly beating heart was being transmitted to Wen Qing through their bodily contact.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

Why had it still not calmed down? It seemed like it was not only because he had been frightened.

Wen Qing did not dare meet Yuan Hao’s eyes again, and instead deceitfully buried his head in Yuan Hao’s shoulder.

This chaotic heartbeat had appeared before as well.

He seemed to know why now.