Free Web NovelChapter 368: Chapter 145: Aftermath
His nominal maternal grandparents had passed away. The ones who came bearing gifts were his two full-blooded maternal uncles.
The uncles sat on their stools, tearfully recounting how difficult their lives had been and expressing their guilt for mistreating his mother years ago.
Their eyes darted about; hardly a word they said was true. But his mother, for her part, was softening. Perhaps it was her age that made her yearn for family, or perhaps it was the way her relatives fawned over her now that he was a Scholar. Whatever the reason, she was clearly enjoying the attention, and her tone toward them had softened.
When his uncles mentioned the possibility of having his cousin come over for academic guidance, his mother didn’t refuse outright. Instead, she hesitated, saying she needed to ask for his opinion first.
His mother had a soft personality; she was indecisive and couldn’t stand her ground.
He had already been planning to find the right opportunity to talk this over with his mother, but he hadn’t expected it to come so suddenly.
Xiang’er’s words had been harsh, it was true, but when properly leveraged, they could be surprisingly effective.
Now, his mother was starting to reflect.
In the future, she would likely be more careful with her words and actions, so as not to cause trouble for her children.
’This might seem ruthless, cold-blooded, and even unfilial.’ But his ambitions were lofty, and he had no intention of squandering the rest of his life in this remote little village.
He wanted to go far, and he couldn’t possibly leave his mother behind.
’Since I’ll have to take her with me, reining in her behavior now is a matter of self-preservation. It will only benefit her, and our whole family.’
Zhao Jing then brought up the matter of the incense business with Chen Wanqing. "Hiring our clansmen to make the incense is reliable, to be sure, but it also means our hands will be tied."
Most of those clansmen were their elders. If not their aunts, then they were certainly their sisters-in-law or older sisters.
"When you hire them for odd jobs, you can’t act like a proper Shopkeeper at all. Even if they do something wrong, you can’t point it out directly. You can’t even say a word about it."
"And take what happened today. Sure, many people are clear-headed enough to see that Lanhua was in the wrong first and that firing her was the right thing to do."
"But people always sympathize with the underdog. Once Lanhua and her children start to have a hard time, those same people will surely step up to play ’peacemaker.’ On the surface, it will be a request, but in reality, they’ll be using their status as elders to pressure you into hiring her back."
"Have you ever seen a Shopkeeper so spineless?"
"If a Shopkeeper can’t establish any authority, dissenting voices will inevitably pop up. And if those voices stick around long enough, it’s hard for the others not to be swayed."
"A group of employees who can control their Shopkeeper is definitely not a good thing for the business."
Chen Wanqing understood what Zhao Jing was getting at. She couldn’t help but look at him and ask in a small voice, "Then what do you think I should do?"
Zhao Jing didn’t give her a direct answer. Instead, he made a rather pointed analogy. "Throughout history, how have rulers dealt with old ministers whose achievements threatened the throne?"
’Those ministers who threatened the throne... the smart ones retired early. The ones who didn’t were lucky to be left with an intact corpse in the end.’
’Of course, a humble incense-making business wouldn’t lead to bloodshed.’
’But it was certainly necessary to replace those who were difficult to manage.’
"But these people from the Zhao Family helped me when I was short-staffed."
"If you keep thinking you owe them, my dear, you’re gravely mistaken. They helped you, but haven’t you also helped them? It was a clean transaction; you paid for their work. No one owes anyone anything. If you stay tied to them, the relationship will only sour. It’s better to sever this connection now, while the good feelings are still there."
"...That sounds a bit like casting people aside once they’ve served their purpose."
"What if they abandon you first, my dear?"
Chen Wanqing’s eyes lit up, and she unconsciously grabbed his sleeve. "You have a way?"
Zhao Jing pointed to his own lips. "Give me a kiss, my dear, and I’ll solve this for you. I guarantee I’ll do it without putting you in a difficult spot or hurting anyone’s feelings. I might even be able to make the clansmen feel indebted to you."
In broad daylight, with the sound of Xiang’er and another young girl’s laughter drifting in from the window, how could Chen Wanqing possibly have the nerve to kiss his lips?
She averted her eyes and mumbled, "Tonight, maybe? Can we do it tonight?"
"The price will be different tonight. Are you sure you want to wait, my dear?"
Chen Wanqing thought of how he became a different person every night—relentless, insatiable, and full of inventive ways to torment her until she could only surrender. The mere thought made her scalp tingle.
She quickly leaned forward and stole a kiss from his lips. She planned to retreat just as fast and pretend nothing had happened, but sure enough, he caught her and pulled her into a deep, devouring kiss.
That night, after the lamps were out, she thought she could finally get some rest. But she didn’t expect him to skillfully roll on top of her, tear open her clothes in a few deft movements, and toss them to the floor.
"Jing... Jing, didn’t we agree? After that kiss this afternoon..."
"What does this afternoon’s kiss have to do with tonight? My dear, don’t try to twist things. I won’t be fooled." freewebnσvel.cøm
Chen Wanqing: "..." ƒгeewebnovёl.com
’Just who was fooling whom?!’
