Chapter 471: 471 Clear Direction_1

Wei Ruo quickly turned her head away and murmured, “Of course, I’m still mad at you. I haven’t forgotten how you deceived me. However, we’re on the same team now, and it’s only through mutual cooperation that we can maximize our interests. You know, I love doing business, and a good business person will consider this thoroughly to make big profits.”

“Hmm,” Wei Jinyi responded.

Wei Ruo: “You understand?”

Wei Jinyi: “Yes, I understand.”

Wei Ruo: “Well, good.”

Feeling the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Wei Ruo cleared her throat and continued, “You need to be particularly careful of Chu Lan. He is a capable and shrewd man.”

“Why are you so afraid of him?” Wei Jinyi asked.

“I saved him by mistake and our encounters were a bit unpleasant.”

Wei Ruo wasn’t entirely truthful about this with Wei Jinyi because she couldn’t tell him that she still remembered the past life where the original mistress of this body was killed by Chu Lan.

Wei Ruo continued, “In any case, he seems to be a tough opponent. You should be especially careful when you confront him. If it’s not necessary, try not to conflict with him. Utilizing him as a force might be better.”

“I understand,” Wei Jinyi agreed.

Wei Ruo suddenly remembered something and asked, “When you were in Taizhou prefecture, were you the one who attempted to attack King Jing?”

“No, not me,” Wei Jinyi answered.

“Good, we have not made an enemy of Chu Lan then.”

“It was King Yu,” Wei Jinyi said.

“He is indeed bold. He hasn’t ascended to the throne yet and he’s already committing fratricide,” Wei Ruo had suspected this before, and now her suspicions were confirmed.

“Chu Lan’s performance in the Taizhou prefecture was quite good, so he was a bit anxious.”

“Hmm,” was all Wei Ruo could reply.

The two of them stopped talking, and the room fell into silence, the atmosphere slightly awkward.

“Um…”

Both of them start speaking simultaneously and then stop.

Wei Ruo turns away, and the room goes silent once more.

Wei Ruo broke the silence again, “Is there anything else you want to say, second brother?”

“No,” replied Wei Jinyi.

“It’s getting late, you should go.” Wei Ruo stood up, turning her back to Wei Jinyi.

Wei Jinyi stood up too.

“You should rest early,” he said gently.

Wei Ruo could then hear the gradual fading of footsteps behind her, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing.

He had left.

Wei Ruo let out a sigh of relief.

Wei Ruo then cleared her mind again.

Having shared her feelings with her brother, she knew what she needed to do was clear. Her next steps were already as she had expected.

Mainly two items:

Firstly: Fulfill her role as Queen Rui and assist her brother in taking his revenge within her capabilities;

Secondly: Earn money, grow rice and cotton, and prepare sufficient supplies to deal with any potential extreme weather conditions.

We Ruo then called Xiumei in.

She brought back a lot of accounting books on this trip, including the accounts of the Daiyue Residence, as well as those sent from Jiangzhe.

She had handed over the business in Jiangzhe to Nanny and Uncle Xu to handle. Still, Nanny insisted on transcribing the audited books and having Old Tao, who handled the overland transport, send them to Capital City for Wei Ruo to review along with the goods needed in the city.

The accounts of their previous trade dealings with Fan Chengxu were also among them.

So far, there had never been any mistakes in the accounts between them. But, every month, Fan Chengxu would still send someone to deliver the accounts to a place she designated, as previously agreed.

In addition to these, there were records of land conditions in other areas.

At present, the land prices in Baoding Prefecture, Zhending Prefecture, and Hejian Prefecture didn’t vary much.

These areas all belonged to the plains region, unlike Jiangzhe, which had many mountains and little land. Extensive cultivation could be done here which greatly reduces labor costs.

These three places also belong to the typical continental monsoon climate region with clear four seasons. Whether for cultivating rice, wheat, or her new type of cotton, these places are very suitable.

After studying the map, Wei Ruo finally decided on Hejian Prefecture, which had abundant coal resources.

Having made this decision, Wei Ruo needed to arrange for someone to run the errands. Although she could leave the residence freely now, it would be difficult for her to be absent for long periods, especially so soon after her wedding, as she might be summoned to the Palace at any moment.

Deciding on who to assign this task was a problem. Zhao Hai was reliable but lacked business acumen.

If he teamed up with his brother Zhao Xun it would be ideal. However, now having passed the imperial exams, Zhao Xun couldn’t possibly help her, a merchant, in her dealings.

Thinking about this, Wei Ruo fell silent, deep in thought.

“Mistress, is there anything bothering you?” Seeing Wei Ruo’s furrowed brows, Xiumei asked with concern.

“I’m worried about who to assign the task of buying land. I need someone reliable and a little cunning.”

“I can’t help you with this. If you’re upset with someone, I can beat them up for you. As for personnel matters, you’re better at that, Miss. You’d better figure this out for yourself.” Xiumei said helplessly.

“Who said you can’t help? You can make some midnight snacks for me to recharge.”

“No problem, Miss. What would you like me to make for you?”

“I want grilled meat.”

“Ok!”

Xiumei happily ran off to the kitchen to make some late-night snacks for Wei Ruo.

In the study of the main courtyard.

“Master, Miss and Lady Xiumei are roasting meats in the Songzhu Garden. The aroma is everywhere. I could smell it when I was passing by the garden,” Xiaobei said softly.

“Hmm.”

“Master, when can we have Miss’s barbecue again?”

In the past, Miss would always call them whenever she was barbecuing!

“Wait till she cools down.”

“But master, you married Miss for her own good,”

“But it’s true that I deceived her, and it’s true that I didn’t give her a choice. I feel guilty towards her. She should be angry.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Upon hearing this, Xiaobei hung his head. He wasn’t really craving barbecue; he was just worried about his master.

He knew that even though the master didn’t say anything, he longed to reconcile with Miss.

###

The next morning, Imperial Concubine Qi sent someone to King Rui Residence to invite Wei Ruo into the Palace.

“Did they say why?” Wei Ruo asked Lin Fang who came to report to her.

“They said Imperial Concubine wanted to care for the Queen on behalf of the late Empress, and it was just a normal family chat,” Lin Fang replied.

Wei Ruo couldn’t just believe this easily. Imperial Concubine Qi always dreamed of becoming the Empress, but the Emperor was still fond of Empress Xu. Thus, the position of Empress was still vacant. Imperial Concubine Qi naturally bore a grudge against Empress Xu. How could she truly care about King Rui or her, the Queen Rui?