Union

Chapter 204 Crazy About Love
Upon seeing Qiu Ning, Yun Ying initially thought she was seeing things.

After confirming that the woman in front of her, who was hugging her and laughing wildly, was indeed Qiu Ning, Yun Ying hugged her tightly, still feeling incredibly incredulous.

She thought she was hallucinating.

But no, the person in front of you is the living, breathing Qiu Ning.

Yunying finally felt a sense of reality, and she couldn't help but sniff twice.

That's wonderful! She almost thought she would never see Qiu again in her life.

Qiu Ning didn't come back alone; she brought a man with her.

That person was the one she longed for.

Qiu Ning felt a little embarrassed when she mentioned this person, and she felt even more guilty and dared not look at Yun Ying when she mentioned that she was already married to him.

Actually, she and Lei Dazhi had already started dating last winter, but neither of them expressed their feelings at the time, and they just kept their relationship ambiguous.

When the new magistrate of Yungui County took office, the locals learned that the former magistrate had been promoted and was now serving as the prefect of Jinzhou.

At that time, Lei Dazhi probably had a bad feeling, so he told her that he liked her and wanted to marry her.

Qiu Ning was very tempted, but when she thought that if the two of them got married, she would be stuck in Yun Gui County and would probably never be able to go to the capital to see Yun Ying again, she hesitated.

On one hand, they wanted to stay and continue their ordinary life, but on the other hand, they also wanted to go to Beijing or Jinzhou to try for a better future.

Two thoughts battled in her mind, leaving her feeling dizzy. Even when Suiyun went to ask her if she wanted to return to the capital together before leaving Yungui County, she hadn't decided and naturally refused.

After that, she made up her mind and told Lei Dazhi about the marriage. However, the marriage could proceed, but after the marriage, he had to leave Yungui County with her.

Lei Dazhi was the manager in charge of transporting goods and assigning tasks at the dried goods store. Although young, he had traveled to many places. He was quite knowledgeable, and eager to get married, he had considered Qiu Ning's suggestion and readily agreed.

After persuading their elders, the two got married. They stayed at home for a few days to take care of all the chores before coming over with the address given to them by Suiyun.

Qiu Ning spoke of this with a hint of pride, "Lei Dazhi was dumbfounded as soon as he entered Jinzhou." He thought the prefectural city of Lingnan Prefecture was quite nice, even more prosperous than Yungui County. But Lingnan Prefecture was worlds apart from Jinzhou.

If Lei Dazhi was somewhat apprehensive and hesitant when he first left Yungui County for Jinzhou, once he entered Jinzhou, he only regretted not coming sooner.

When Qiu Ning mentioned Lei Dazhi's name, her eyes were filled with smiles and sweetness. This alone reveals how well she is living her married life.

Although Yunying was still saddened by Qiu Ning's fait accompli, she decided to act expediently in this urgent situation, and since Qiu Ning was doing well now, she decided not to dwell on it.

The two sisters said their goodbyes, and then they heard soft voices outside the door again.

The voice sounded familiar, and Yunying couldn't help but shudder. "Why does it sound like Liu'er's voice?"

Qiu Ning looked at her quietly, "You still remember Liu'er?"

Yunying chuckled, "What are you saying? Could it really be Liu'er?"

She called out, and Qingchou led a little maid in. Upon closer inspection, the person behind Qingchou was none other than Liu'er.

Upon seeing the maidservant attending to her, Yunying was very excited. She beckoned Liu'er to come closer, saying, "You maid, why didn't you show yourself earlier? Are you playing hide-and-seek with me?"

Earlier, Yunying had also instructed Suiyun to ask her servants, Sui'er and Liu'er, if they were willing to continue serving her.

As it turned out, Yunying had already foreseen it.

Sui'er's family lives in the village of the Queen Mother of the West. Her family members are all kind and loving, so Sui'er probably won't leave home easily. If that's the case, then leave Sui'er some silver and give her some jewelry that she doesn't use often, just to fulfill the bond between the two of them as master and servant.

As Yunying had predicted, Sui'er chose to return to her family, get married, and have children.

As for Liu'er, she's like a homeless person now. If she beckons Liu'er over, Liu'er will definitely come.

Unfortunately, when Suiyun was about to arrive in Jinzhou, Liu'er was running a high fever.

Suiyun would never delay her journey because of a maid, and even less would she take Liu'er with her while she was sick.

Thus, he left behind a sum of money, instructing Liu'er to have a security escort agency bring her here after she recovered from her illness.

Unexpectedly, Liu'er arrived so late not because she changed her mind, but because she had already made an agreement with Qiu Ning to go north with her to find her.

When Liu'er saw Yunying, she burst into tears and couldn't stop crying.

She only had two good days after she came to Yunying's side.

As a result, once the girl arrived in the capital, they were left behind.

Although they knew in their hearts that the girl wasn't heartless and would make sure they were settled beforehand even if she wanted to get rid of them, the fact that she hadn't returned to Yungui County afterward still made them anxious.

Fortunately, the guard Suiyun soon brought good news: the young lady wanted to bring her back to serve her...

Liu'er cried until tears streamed down her face.

"Girl, I thought you didn't want me anymore!"

"Young lady, your status is different now. Can I still serve you?"

Only after Liu'er reminded her did Qiu Ning suddenly remember something she had been ignoring.

She said she forgot something, but thought it wasn't important, so she didn't think about it carefully. It turned out to be such a big deal!

Qiu Ning immediately perked up and grabbed Yun Ying's hand, nuzzling it vigorously. "What a blessing I am to be able to become sisters with a young lady from the Duke of Xuan's mansion! Oh, Yun Ying, you have no idea how shocked I was when I first heard about this."

Qiu Ning's statement is not an exaggeration at all.

She first heard about this from Sui Yun, and only later received the letter from Yun Ying.

When Suiyun told her about this, she also looked quite saddened. Qiu Ning's reaction was even more exaggerated; she coughed so violently that she almost choked to death.

Furthermore, in the letter Yunying wrote to her, she didn't mention her identity in detail, only saying that she had found her family. She also mentioned that her family was a noble and prestigious family, and that her family had been searching for her all these years. Oh, and Yunying also mentioned that Lin Shuqing had received her just deserts, and her engagement to Chen Yanzhou.

It's better not to think about these things, because once she does, Qiu Ning's gossipy heart starts pounding wildly.

She pulled Yunying aside and inquired about everything in detail, from the beginning to the end. She would sigh from time to time, "Truly, the most vicious heart is that of a woman." "Initially, she cried and refused to go to Lingnan, which led to our trip south. Who would have thought that she would still have to go now?" "Second Master only has you in his heart, and you have him in your heart too. Now you can finally be together legitimately."

After meeting Qiu Ning, they waited for Qiu Ning and Lei Dazhi to settle down.

Seeing that Chen Yanzhou had arranged new tasks for the two of them, they busied themselves with them. Yunying had nothing to do, and with her grandmother in the capital urging her to leave, she bid farewell to Qiu Ning and her maternal grandparents and boarded a passenger ship back to the capital.

On the passenger ship, Chen Yanzhou handed over two boxes.

Of the two boxes, one was slightly smaller, resembling a jewelry box; the other was quite large, clearly a musical instrument box. Yunying had a very bad feeling, but she didn't say anything.

She first picked up the small box and asked Chen Yanzhou, "What's inside?"

Chen Yanzhou smiled and opened it to show her, "They're all silver notes."

It was indeed silver notes, a thick, solid box.

Yunying glanced through the items and saw that there were both large and small amounts. At the top were fifty taels and one hundred taels, while at the bottom were tens of thousands of taels.

That's a lot; it must amount to at least a couple hundred thousand taels of silver. Has Chen Yanzhou given her all his possessions?

That doesn't make sense either.

They've only been apart for a few months, how did he accumulate so much wealth?
It couldn't have been money received as a gift, or perhaps it was embezzled.

Yunying's eyes immediately turned hostile. "Tell me the truth."

Yunying's thoughts were written all over her face. Chen Yanzhou could tell what she was thinking at a glance, so he couldn't help but turn his head and chuckle.

How could they be so audacious as to embezzle funds?

If he wanted to climb the ranks, he wouldn't touch a single tael of silver that he shouldn't have.

When Chen Yanzhou told Yun Ying this, Yun Ying outwardly believed him, but inwardly she remained suspicious.

She knew that Chen Yanzhou had invested in some businesses, most of which were invested in by him, Zhou Zhenshu, Chen Songnian and others, and her second brother Gu Yuanxi was also involved.

Since all four of them had embarked on official careers, it would be inappropriate for them to engage in business outside. Liu Ying'an usually handled most of the business matters.

Liu Ying'an was neither good at academics nor martial arts, but he had no shortage of business acumen. With the support of his family, his business flourished.

However, no matter how lucrative the business is, after everyone has shared the profits, it's unlikely that they would earn this much in just a few months.
This isn't right.

Yunying said, "Tell me quickly, don't make me guess."

Chen Yanzhou smiled and, without hiding anything from her, told her everything she wanted to know.

As Yunying expected, part of it was a share of the business.

In recent years, Liu Ying'an has been collecting valuable furs from the Northwest, hiring craftsmen and embroiderers to meticulously embroider them, and then selling them at high prices to the Jinzhou area. Because they were marketed as "popular goods in the capital" and were indeed of high quality, they were snapped up as soon as they arrived, making him a considerable fortune.

The other part was the tribute money given by the merchants.

It can be called a tribute or a donation. The gist is that this merchant is now under your name, so that if anyone tries to take advantage of you, they can use your name.

Upon hearing Chen Yanzhou's words, Yunying couldn't help but ask, "Isn't it illegal to accept this money?"

"If the imperial court investigates this thoroughly, it will certainly be unreasonable." But under normal circumstances, would the imperial court investigate this?
Look around the entire court, how many officials haven't protected some merchants?

In reality, these merchants give you money simply for peace of mind. With your name in charge, some petty thieves won't dare to cause trouble. For the merchants, although they've spent money, they've also gained something tangible, so it's a good thing.

Chen Yanzhou also wanted to tell Yun Ying that if you want to establish yourself in a place as soon as possible, sometimes accepting the things that these merchants offer is not a bad thing.

Conversely, if you frequently refuse these opportunities, it will make people worry that you might plot against them behind their backs.

Overall, it's not a big deal. As long as it's not too outrageous, even if His Majesty finds out, he'll turn a blind eye.

Chen Yanzhou then placed the box in Yun Ying's hands, saying, "It's all for you."

"Should I keep them for you, or give them all to me?"

"I'll give them all to you."

"So generous?"

Chen Yanzhou was both amused and annoyed, but he still had to agree, "Yes, I'm just that generous."

The real reason was that he would always remember that when he was so poor in Yun Gui County that he could hardly make ends meet, it was Yun Ying who took out her silver and gave it to him to help him out in his time of need.

At that time, he thought that once he was rich, he would repay her a thousandfold or a hundredfold.

Now, she has become the love of his life. He feels that even repaying his debt a thousandfold is not enough; he only wants to give her everything he has.

Chen Yanzhou said, "Take it and use it. Buy whatever you want. I still have extra money and I get paid every month, so I don't lack money."

Yunying thought about her recent business plans and realized she might actually need to use a large sum of money. Logically, with the various assets her family had given her, she wasn't short of money and certainly didn't need to use Chen Yanzhou's "private funds." However, since the man had offered to pay, it would be incredibly ungrateful of her to refuse.

Yunying resolutely accepted the money.

At worst, she could share the profits with Prefect Chen once the business took off.

Chen Yanzhou picked up another box.

Inside the box is a guqin shaped like a sunset glow.

The guqin is made of the finest wood, and as soon as it is opened, a faint fragrance of wood wafts out. It has a lustrous sheen, like jade that has been aged for thousands of years.

This zither is entirely vermilion in color, and its shape is exquisite and flowing. In addition to the simple and solemn style of the common sunset, the adjustment made at the head of the zither makes it appear delicate and small, simple and elegant.

In short, it is an exceptionally delicate and beautiful guqin. If a guqin enthusiast were to see such a perfectly preserved instrument, they would probably be moved to tears.

But Yunying didn't understand the zither, and when she saw this zither, she felt as if she were facing a formidable enemy.

Yunying was knowledgeable about the zither and was quite famous for her playing skills. She, however, was not, so when she stepped into the carriage on her way to the Marquis of Chang'an's residence, she deliberately let the zither slip from her hands by taking advantage of Xianglan's bump.

The piano broke, and Liu's mother said she would compensate her with a new one later, but that was the end of it.

She didn't buy a violin after that.

She had finally managed to smooth things over, but now, why would Chen Yanzhou give her a zither?!
Yunying looked at Chen Yanzhou, who chuckled and said softly, "You're about to return to the capital, and I've been thinking about what to give you so you can remember me by looking at it. I asked Qiu Ning, and she said you're good at playing the zither, but unfortunately, your zither was broken when you left that manor."

“Yingying, I’ve found this zither for you. From now on, whenever you see it, it will remind you of me. I also hope that next time we meet, I can hear you play a piece called ‘Song of Longing’.”

"Yingying, do you like this gift?"

Yunying took a deep breath, snatched the zither from his hands, and strode towards her cabin on the passenger ship. "I love it to death!"

(End of this chapter)