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Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Zhan Lan Deposits Thirty Thousand Taels in Silver Notes
Eunuch Li retracted his gaze, straightened his back, and with a smile, spoke, "Old General, General, I shall return to the palace now to report back."
Zhan Xinzhang nodded.
Zhan Beicang nodded respectfully and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Li. In that case, I won’t keep you for tea!"
Eunuch Li’s smile was all creases as he said, "Another day, I shall come to bother you again!"
A group of people saw Eunuch Li off.
Zhan Xuerou’s eyes were firmly fixed on the Peony hairpin. At her birthday banquet tonight, she would wear the hairpin to show everyone in Ding’an City who the most honored legitimate daughter of the General Mansion truly is!
...
Zhan Lan stood up to leave, dusting the dirt off her skirts, and went around a pavilion and a rockery.
Suddenly, she overheard Zhan Hui and Zhan Beicang talking.
"Dad, why not let Lan’er join us at Wangjiang Building?"
Puzzlement was written all over Zhan Hui’s face.
Zhan Beicang, with hands clasped behind his back, didn’t know how to explain to Zhan Hui.
Zhan Hui continued to press, "Dad, have you forgotten who it was, in a moment of danger, who saved me without regard for her own safety? Have you forgotten who was the one that obtained the battle plans by herself? Who was it that cut down—..."
"Enough!" Zhan Beicang’s expression turned ugly.
He of course remembered the things that Zhan Lan did.
And he genuinely appreciated her bravery.
But now, his kindness towards Zhan Lan was hurting his own biological daughter, Zhan Xuerou.
He said coldly, "Zhan Hui, you should make a distinction on the surface, who your sister is. We’re not with Rou’er, and her feelings are already sensitive. Moreover, she’s ill; she’s been frail since birth. Can’t you indulge her a bit?"
Zhan Hui’s eyes immediately dimmed, "But did sister say anything?"
Zhan Beicang waved his hand and said, "She said nothing!"
After finishing, he left with a heart full of frustration.
Zhan Hui stood there dumbfounded. His father’s intentions were clear.
It seemed that it was his sister who was feeling sad and hurt because of Zhan Lan’s presence.
Zhan Hui looked up at the sky; it was still early, and he did not know how to face this issue.
Zhan Lan heard Zhan Beicang’s words, and her heart felt as though it had a piece hollowed out.
However, she quickly composed herself. After all, Zhan Xuerou was now the daughter Zhan Beicang officially acknowledged.
She was just a foster daughter living in the mansion.
The more triumphant Zhan Xuerou was now, the more pain she would feel when the truth was revealed in the future!
...
In the afternoon, Shen Shan had someone come to the tea house where he had arranged to meet Zhan Lan.
Inside the private room, he excitedly took out thirty thousand silver notes from his sleeve and handed them to Zhan Lan with both hands.
"Miss Zhan, you are truly miraculous! Under the locust tree in my family’s yard, there indeed was a gold mine left by my ancestors."
With eyes beaming with delight, Shen Shan talked, while Zhan Lan glanced at the silver notes and said, "Haven’t you yet become the richest man in Nanjin? Why are you already distributing the profits to me?"
Shen Shan replied cheerfully, "Miss Zhan, thanks to your blessing, the government bought one hundred and fifty thousand silver notes worth of grain from me yesterday. If it weren’t for Miss Zhan, I wouldn’t have made the acquaintance of the court officials responsible for procurement. This is what you rightfully deserve!"
Zhan Lan smiled with a curled lip, "Then I will not be polite!"
As Shen Shan poured tea for Zhan Lan, he continued, "My business is currently managed by Manager Liu, and all is well. But I want to expand into other ventures."
Zhan Lan picked up her teacup and took a sip of the Longjing tea, the aroma filled the air.
She glanced at the tea leaves suspended in the cup and said, "You can lease the tea mountains in Anxi. The people of Nanjin like to drink tea; the tea business is also a good prospect. Silk trading can be considered as well. Go find this person—remember, even if she sends you away, you must persist and beg her!"
Zhan Lan dipped her finger in the water on the tea tray and wrote a name on the table using the water.
Upon seeing the name, Shen Shan was shocked and whispered, "Ah, Miss Zhan, Granny Huang is known to be unreasonable and difficult to deal with!"
Zhan Lan looked firmly into Shen Shan’s eyes and said, "She can make you the most formidable silk merchant, don’t worry. She was just abandoned by her own son, that’s why her temperament is quirky. There’s nothing too difficult in this world, just win her over with sincerity."
Shen Shan had absolute faith in Zhan Lan’s suggestion, nodding hurriedly he said: "Miss Zhan, rest assured, my parents passed away early. If Granny Huang comes out of retirement, I promise to treat her as my own mother."
Zhan Lan stood up, nodded, and waved the silver note in her hand: "Thank you, Shen."
Shen Shan bowed deeply to Zhan Lan, "It’s you who are my God of Wealth!"
Zhan Lan just smiled without saying a word. Shen Shan was unparalleled when it came to playing emotional cards.
He knew how to be a person and get things done, surely he would win Granny Huang’s favor. 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪
Their money-making days were still to come!
...
Not long after Zhan Lan returned to the back courtyard with the silver note, Housekeeper Zeng arrived.
He smiled kindly at Zhan Lan and said, "The Old General says today is your birthday, and he asked me to find out what you would like to eat so that the kitchen can prepare it in advance."
Zhan Lan’s cold heart felt a warm current pass through; only her grandfather, who had watched her grow up, would think of these things.
She nodded and said, "Thank you, Grandfather, for the concern. However, I would like to go out and see the night scenery tonight, so I won’t dine in the mansion."
Housekeeper Zeng smiled and pulled out a silver note worth a thousand taels from his sleeve, saying, "This is from the Old General; he said to buy whatever you like and not to wrong yourself."
Zhan Lan’s eyes dampened at the sight of the thousand-tael silver note.
Her grandfather truly cherished her, no matter whether she was part of the Zhan Family or not.
That was the affection of an elder for a younger generation.
Although Zhan Lan had thirty thousand taels of silver notes in her sleeve, she felt that compared to her grandfather’s thousand taels, this note was especially precious.
She smiled and took the silver note, "Thank you, Grandfather. You’ve troubled Housekeeper Zeng with this trip."
Housekeeper Zeng waved his hand. His brow relaxed, and something suddenly came to mind. He took a sachet out of his sleeve and handed it to Zhan Lan.
Zhan Lan looked down at the sachet, upon which two characters were embroidered—’Peace’.
Inside, there was a peace charm with her birthdate written on it.
Housekeeper Zeng held his hands together and said, "This is from the Madam, she had it blessed at the temple for you when you went to the battlefield, hoping for your safety."
As he spoke, Housekeeper Zeng’s expression became somewhat uneasy. He looked at his intertwined hands and said, "The Madam had some matters today, so she asked me to deliver this to you."
Zhan Lan obviously knew why Housekeeper Zeng felt awkward.
Today was both her and Zhan Xuerou’s birthday. Every year, no matter what, the mansion would celebrate it for them.
This year, however, they had gone off without including Zhan Lan.
If Zhan Lan wasn’t the legitimate daughter of the Zhan Family, she wouldn’t care. After all, that was Zhan Xuerou’s father; they were free to celebrate however they liked, and she wouldn’t feel sad or hurt.
But now, it was Zhan Xuerou occupying her place, enjoying the affection that should have been hers.
To say it wasn’t painful would be somewhat hypocritical.
Zhan Lan bid farewell to Housekeeper Zeng and put the sachet away.
Back in her room, she stroked Little Black, who had grown a bit taller and comfortably sprawled on the table, squinting his eyes.
Zhan Lan started to comb her hair, and Liu Xi hurried forward: "Miss, let me help you comb it."
Zhan Lan looked at Liu Xi’s still-recovering fingers and said, "No need, I’m going out for a bit. Help me find a hairpin and take the new red dress out of the wardrobe."
"Yes, Miss!"
After dressing herself up, Zhan Lan put on her new clothes and a golden hairpin, and walked towards the long street of Ding’an City.
The street was ablaze with lights, a lavish scene of bustling prosperity.
Zhan Lan looked up towards the end of the street; today was her birthday, and even without family members around, she wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.
Just as Zhan Lan was about to head to the brothel to listen to music, she had barely taken a step.
Suddenly, two people behind her spoke in a deep voice: "Miss, please come with us!"
