Free Web NovelChapter 392: Chapter 153: Discussing the Move
De’an grinned, wincing in pain but laughing. "Go on, go on. If I don’t seize this amazing opportunity, I’d be a fool!"
This joyous occasion made the room feel even more festive.
Xu Su Ying was so happy she didn’t know what to do. One moment she’d say, "It’s a double blessing today," and the next, "We should celebrate, but it’s a pity your father isn’t back yet." Suddenly, she thought of Yao’an and couldn’t help but mutter, "If that boy knew you could get into the prefectural academy, he’d be green with envy."
That night, Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing didn’t return to the Zhao Village.
It was simply too late, and pitch-black outside.
Although Qingshui County was quite safe and highway robberies were rare, it had rained the day before yesterday. The roads were a muddy mess, especially with the deep ruts carved out by wagon wheels, making them very difficult to traverse. The ox-cart could easily slip, and while falling into the mud was a minor issue, getting injured would be a major one.
For this reason, the two of them stayed at the Chen family’s home for the night.
As they lay in bed resting, Chen Song still hadn’t returned. Neither of them felt sleepy, so they covered their stomachs with a thin blanket and chatted idly.
The moonlight was beautiful tonight, its glow pure and bright. A gentle evening breeze drifted in, bringing with it a hint of coolness. Outside the window, cicadas chirped in a rising and falling rhythm, while inside, the faint scent of wormwood filled the air.
The window was open and the mosquito net was down. Everything was so peaceful and serene.
Chen Wanqing told Zhao Jing about their earnings for the day.
"We earned two hundred and fifty taels of silver today, and His Majesty and Her Majesty also rewarded us with two hundred taels of Gold."
The two hundred taels of Gold were in the form of ten large ingots, arranged in a mahogany box. Lying against the black velvet lining, the ingots gleamed brightly, an increasingly pleasing sight.
The current exchange rate between Gold and silver had risen to one to ten, meaning one tael of Gold could be exchanged for ten taels of silver. So, these two hundred taels of Gold were equivalent to two thousand taels of silver.
A full two thousand taels. It would take her a whole year of selling Moonlight Fragrance to earn that much. This was truly a windfall from the heavens.
Zhao Jing smiled at her words. "Give half to De’an; the rest is all yours, Wanqing. With these two new sources of income, are you still upset about the Silver you spent buying people the other day?"
Chen Wanqing’s lips curled as she playfully argued, "I wasn’t upset at all. Money that needs to be spent will be spent sooner or later. Besides, that Silver wasn’t spent for nothing. I got a lot of capable staff out of it. It was an excellent deal."
She continued chattering, mentioning that besides the two hundred taels of Gold, the various boxes also contained sets of jewelry, bolts of cloth, and pearl hairpins, which she figured were special rewards for her from Her Majesty. There were also sets of ink, brushes, paper, and inkstones, a few sashes, a golden crown, a Jade Crown, and most numerous of all, several large chests filled to the brim with books.
Some of the books even had annotations. Judging by their obscure titles, they were clearly not common works.
Chen Wanqing guessed, "Of all these rewards, I think the most valuable aren’t the two hundred taels of Gold, but those chests of books. For His Majesty to personally select them as a gift, they must be anything but ordinary."
Zhao Jing stroked her fingers, a thoughtful expression on his face. He would hum in agreement from time to time, showing that he was listening. But his thoughts ran deeper than hers. She only saw the value of the books themselves and hadn’t considered the meaning behind such a gift.
Zhao Jing, however, had. His heart pounded with excitement, and he was too worked up to calm down.
Zhao Jing didn’t hear what else Chen Wanqing said, because he was pondering something.
"Wanqing, what do you think about moving to the Prefecture?"
"Huh?"
Although she had already been planning this, she was confused. ’Weren’t we just talking about how to divide things up? How did we suddenly jump to moving?’
Zhao Jing said, "You were worried before that if we bought a house, we wouldn’t have enough Silver on hand, and it would hinder the business. Now that we have this money, it solves our most pressing problem. Since buying a house is no longer an issue, why not move to the Prefecture for a couple of years?"
Zhao Jing began to list the benefits of moving to the Prefecture.
One, it would be more convenient for his studies. Two, it would be easier for her to do business. Three, when one has the means, one should strive for greater heights instead of succumbing to a life of comfort and ease, which would only dull one’s ambition...
Zhao Jing was a persuasive man. He didn’t just list reasons one, two, and three; he went on to four, five, and six.
Chen Wanqing wanted to raise her hands in surrender, but she also wanted to see Jing put all his effort into persuading her, to see how much he wanted to take her with him. So, with a mischievous little smile, she kept quiet.
The last time they had looked at houses in the Prefecture, Jing had been particularly unenthusiastic. He tried his best to hide it, but she had seen right through him.
The reason for it was actually quite simple: Zhao Jing didn’t want to live apart from her.
And now, while the timing wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t bad either. Moving to the Prefecture was no longer a problem, so what reason was there to hesitate?
