NOVPUBAfter Guo Jia left, Chen Xi looked up to the sky and laughed out loud; he understood that this time he had completely intimidated these fellows. In the future, they would think twice before confronting him as a group. After all, his actions now seemed somewhat too monstrous, with every casual move calculated towards the end.
"Jian’er, where are you?" Chen Xi called into the inner courtyard. It was time to drag Liu Bei into the fray. There was plenty of money to be had, and he had no intention of keeping it all to himself.
"What is it, husband?" It took Fan Jian a good while to respond, then she shuffled out leisurely.
"Bring me the smallest box from under the bed," Chen Xi said casually to Fan Jian. Having Fan Jian by his side was like taking care of a pet, in the long run, she’d become very well-behaved, though she had grown rather clingy, especially when Chen Xi was at home—now it was pretty severe.
"Okay~" Fan Jian scampered away, and Chen Xi couldn’t be bothered to restrain her. She could paint, read, enjoyed books, and could embroider, which was already quite impressive. Why ask for more? It was just that lately she was getting overexcited, pampered by Chen Xi to the point where she wasn’t much for maintaining the image of a well-bred young lady anymore.
Soon after, Fan Jian came running back with a small wooden box, placing it before Chen Xi and sitting by his side, fixing him with an eager gaze, hoping he would open it.
"Want to see?" Chen Xi smiled and asked. Fan Jian nodded her head. Indeed, as long as Chen Xi didn’t demand or constrain her nature, she would quickly become unrelated to a well-bred young lady, her temperament had become a lot wilder—this was probably her true nature.
"Not going to!" Chen Xi said with a grin, but before Fan Jian could pout, he opened the box, "Alright, I’ll show you. These are land deeds, just fill in a name, and they’re ours. Go and call Ran’er over, let her pick one."
"The rest are mine?" Fan Jian’s eyes sparkled.
"Are you kidding? You can only pick one too," Chen Xi tapped Fan Jian’s head, and she withdrew like a cat, running off in a huff.
All these were land deeds for North First Street, including the locations where the Mi Family and the Zhen Family were squatting; the deeds were here, meaning their occupation of those places was actually illegal. Chen Xi could teach them a lesson any minute if he wanted to, but he was too lazy to bother them.
Fan Jian quickly dragged over Chen Lan, who was dressed only in a white silk nightgown. It seemed that the Chen Family had now completely become dominated by the female presence, with only two adult males and probably only Chen Xi that could be considered full of vigor.
"Ran’er, you were sleeping again?" Chen Xi looked at Chen Lan, speechless. Ever since he transferred Chen Lan from slave status to a commoner woman, and then from a commoner woman to a daughter of the Chen Family, all Chen Lan seemed to do every day was sleep. She spent most of the daytime sleeping and always looked like she hadn’t slept enough when awakened. Conversely, at night, she was extremely energetic, completely the opposite of Fan Jian.
"Yawwn~" Chen Lan yawned, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes, "I’ve seen you, husband~"
"Never mind that, just pick one quickly. I still have to go see Lord Xuande. Hurry up, see the blank space? Once you’ve decided, write your name on it," Chen Xi took out a stack of land deeds and casually handed them to Chen Lan and Fan Jian.
As two girls who hardly ever shopped, they had no idea what these land deeds meant. Fan Jian chose carefully, while Chen Lan, in a daze, simply took one, wrote Chen Xi’s name on it, and handed it to him as if that settled it.
"..." Chen Xi looked helplessly at the land deed Chen Lan handed him, glanced at Fan Jian’s deed—fortunately, she obediently wrote her own name. If she had done the same as Chen Lan, it would have meant one less estate worth about one hundred thousand strings of coins for Liu Xuande. So, Chen Xi, feeling helpless, took the pen from Chen Lan and, after skimming over the stack of deeds, pulled one that looked of moderate value and scribbled Chen Lan’s name on it.
After completing this, Chen Xi, now catching yawns from Chen Lan’s sleepiness, stacked the land deeds neatly and stuffed them into Chen Lan’s bosom, playfully pinching and fluffing them up. Instantly, the previously drowsy Chen Lan seemed much more alert, her cheeks flushed as she glanced at Chen Xi and straightened her chest.
He glanced over the deed in Fan Jian’s hands, took it, neatly folded it, and handed it back to Fan Jian, "Keep this safe, this is a gift prepared for the two of you. If you ever run out of money, go to this shop, and there will surely be some."
After finishing these matters, Chen Xi sent Chen Lan back to rest. Running around in pajamas was asking for a cold.
"Jian’er, you need to manage the singer maids at home. They’re all being spoiled by Chen Lan, lazing about every day. Although I never intended for them to do much, how come there’s no one to even serve tea or pour water?" Chen Xi stored the land deeds and tapped Fan Jian’s head as he spoke.
If the singers weren’t interested in Chen Xi, he would never believe it. To put it shamelessly, Chen Xi could be considered one of the most eligible bachelors currently, young, not bad-looking, capable, and holding actual power. If Chen Xi announced he was seeking a concubine, the line would stretch from the east to the west of Fenggao City without a problem. Yet now, there wasn’t even a maid to serve tea or pour water at home, and if this wasn’t by Fan Jian’s orders, then it would be strange.
Chen Xi didn’t have strong feelings about maids bustling around, but having maids at hand versus drinking tea alone were entirely different experiences. It should be noted that although the Chen Family might lack men, they certainly didn’t lack maids, with ages ranging from twelve to twenty-two.
"Oh~" Fan Jian responded disingenuously.
"I’m leaving now. Stay home and don’t run around," Chen Xi began to fuss again. It seemed that whenever he was not careful, he would treat Fan Jian like a little girl, completely forgetting his place.
After Chen Xi left, Fan Jian pouted, looked down at her chest, and glared resentfully towards the back yard, "Can sleeping make it bigger?"
Chen Xi never tried to understand Fan Jian’s logic; he had to find Liu Bei, as there were things he needed to explain to him.
"Lord is in the study!" Xu Chu bellowed.
Chen Xi cupped his ears and glared at Xu Chu, "Do you want me to wait here for a few minutes? Why shout so loudly? Don’t think I don’t know Madame Zhang is here. Really."
Xu Chu glanced at Chen Xi somewhat awkwardly, then scratched his head and continued to stand aside like a pillar.
Not long after Chen Xi spoke, Liu Bei opened the study door, "Zichuan, what brings you here? Is it related to the commerce in Qingzhou?"
"Somewhat related, but not significantly." Chen Xi, holding a box, stepped inside, and sure enough, Madame Zhang was sitting by the tea table in a gown of green brocade, embroidered with floral patterns, counting her hairpins, with various pastries arranged on the tea tray.
"Oh, Madame is also here." Chen Xi expressed surprise on his face, but the laughter in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Why such a fuss, Zichuan." Madame Zhang glanced at Chen Xi, then spoke with composure, showing no signs of panic, "Firstly, congratulations to Zichuan, the new law truly has remarkable effects. To say nothing else, just from trading shop premises alone, I fear Fenggao’s earnings are probably comparable to half a year’s tax revenue from a whole Ji province."
"Zichuan, please have a seat, no need for formalities." Liu Bei handed Chen Xi a cup, smiling, "I was just discussing matters concerning you with Madame."
"I suppose Madame is interested in the properties on North First Street, or perhaps the top merchants are now all curious as to where North First Street has gone." Seeing Madame Zhang stand to pour him a cup of tea, Chen Xi smiled, took a sip, then raised his head and gazed at her to inquire. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
