Chapter 397: He’s Back

The rain beat down relentlessly against the carriage, each drop landing with a sharp, rhythmic sound. It felt like the storm was only growing fiercer with every passing moment.

Nian Qiu quickly pulled the curtains shut, sealing out the rain, and gently adjusted the blanket over the young lady’s legs. She murmured softly, “You were the one who said it—this is their marriage business. Why get so worked up about it?”

Hua Zhi shook her head slowly, her thoughts heavy. “I just think it’s so unfair for women. Madam Cai is already so kind-hearted, yet she still feels compelled to push someone into her son’s room. And that’s just one case. Think about those families where things are even worse, where the women have to swallow their pain in silence. How much do they suffer, hiding their tears?”

The harsh reality was that when it came to the clash between parental commands and matchmaker’s words, the women—kept away from the outside world—had neither the voice to object nor the power to resist. The notions of ‘reputation’ and ‘virtue’ hung like a noose around their necks, suffocating any hope of independence.

“If Miss Hua Qian could escape this fate, it would be a blessing. I can see her husband does care about her,” Nian Qiu offered, her voice gentle but hopeful.

Hua Zhi nodded quietly, though her mind wasn’t as convinced. "He does care, but how much? The foundation of their relationship is too fragile to say for sure. It’s not built to last, not yet, at least."

She chose not to delve deeper, sensing the apprehension in the young servant girl. She didn’t want to add to the burden, especially when the girl was already hesitant about marriage. Adding fear to her uncertainty would do no one any good.

As they continued their journey home, the steady drum of rain on the roof made Hua Zhi’s eyes grow heavy. The cool breeze that slipped through the slightly open curtains startled her, rousing her from the drowsy fog she’d slipped into.

Bending down to step out of the carriage, she looked up and froze.

This person...is back.

Gu Yanxi's eyes were full of smiles as he held an umbrella in one hand and reached out to her with the other.

Hua Zhi pursed her lips, suppressing her smile, and allowed him to help her out of the carriage. He then opened a cloak to protect her and shared an umbrella with her as they walked into the courtyard.

Nian Qiu suppressed her smile and took the umbrella handed to her by a little servant girl as she made her way to the kitchen. She needed to prepare more dishes and some ginger soup.

Entering the house, Hua Zhi was barely wet, while Gu Yanxi was soaked half-body. Most of the rainwater was blocked by the cloak.

Gu Yanxi set his cloak aside and studied Hua Zhi, who looked a little off, as if something about her had changed since they last spoke. "So, are you glad I'm back, or not so much?"

Hua Zhi was caught off guard, a flush of embarrassment creeping up on her, but she quickly regained her composure. "Did you come from the palace?" she asked, shifting the focus.

"Yeah," Gu Yanxi replied, his gaze fixed on her. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something important he was missing in this moment. His instincts were telling him it was something he definitely didn’t want to overlook.

Hua Zhi didn't seem to notice his internal shift, though. She pressed on, keeping her mind on the matter at hand. "So, did you find anything over there? Any traces of the Chaoli tribe?"

"Not yet," he answered, his tone measured.

Hua Zhi's expression remained calm, but her brow furrowed slightly. "So you didn't find anything at all?"

Gu Yanxi shook his head. "The stronghold they left behind has been empty for a while, but I wouldn't say the trip was a complete waste." He pulled a silver ingot from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Hua Zhi's eyes instantly sharpened. She recognized the significance in the way the light glinted off the silver. Several thoughts ran through her mind in a flash. She looked up, locking eyes with him. "Is this silver smelted by the Chaoli tribe?"

"Take a closer look," Gu Yanxi urged, his tone giving nothing away.

Hua Zhi picked up the ingot, turning it in her hands as she examined it carefully. She’d seen the Chaoli tribe's official silver before at home, distinguishable by a cross pattern at the bottom. This ingot had a similar pattern, but it was lighter—subtle enough that it would have been easy to miss unless you looked closely.

And it looked like new silver. Old silver would’ve been more difficult to trace. New silver?

"Light the lamp," she said, her voice firm.

Bao Xia, who had been standing outside, quickly entered and lit the lamp. Hua Zhi held the ingot up to the light, but the glow was still dim, so she stepped outside to get a clearer look. The second she saw it in the stronger light, she confirmed it—new silver.

Her gaze shifted back to Gu Yanxi, and she raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting they have a silver mine you didn’t know about, or that they’ve tapped into some financial network you're not aware of?"

"Both," Gu Yanxi answered, his voice low. "I hope it’s the mine, but the likelihood of them having a financial connection is also pretty high."

"Could they have brought it in from outside the border?" Hua Zhi asked, still piecing things together.

"No," Gu Yanxi said. "I found this silver hidden in a tucked-away corner. There were five ingots in total, neatly arranged along the wall. Based on the marks on the floor, it looked like there used to be a lot more stored there. These five are probably just what got left behind."

Hua Zhi nodded, her mind sharp. "If the new silver came from outside the border, it's bound to have some imperfections. There's no need for that. This suggests that the smelting probably happened in Yuzhou."

She paused for a moment, then added, "I left someone there to dig deeper, but I’m not optimistic about it. They’re not stupid enough to let me uncover their old schemes without putting up a fight."

They both stepped back inside the house, and Gu Yanxi asked, "What did he say?"

"He said to investigate," Hua Zhi replied flatly, her tone laced with a bit of frustration.

In that moment, Hua Zhi probably looked as uninspired as a dead fish—which might be why it made Gu Yanxi chuckle despite himself. She didn’t even bother to acknowledge his amusement.

Gu Yanxi struggled to stifle his laughter. This version of Hua Zhi was refreshingly rare and, if he was honest, quite endearing. But like any cat with ruffled fur, it was clear she needed a little calming down. He cleared his throat and, in a more serious tone, shared his plan. "I’m looking to establish a mushroom trade in Yuzhou."

Hua Zhi snorted in response. "You don’t need to run that by me."

Gu Yanxi smiled wryly, not fazed by her bluntness. "If it were just about setting up a basic trade, I could do that myself. But I need your sharp mind to help expose their hidden secrets."

Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "You seem to believe in me more than I believe in myself," she remarked, her tone shifting into something softer and more thoughtful as they discussed business. "It’s not impossible to work with you, but relying only on the mushroom trade isn’t going to cut it. To really draw them out, we have to cut off their financial lifelines. But before we do that, we need a solid lead. There are so many different trades, and I can't keep track of all of them myself. I’m not exactly swimming in extra hands."

Gu Yanxi let out a quiet laugh, not because he doubted his own ability, but because the real problem wasn’t the lack of skill—it was the lack of manpower. Still, Hua Zhi spoke with complete confidence, as her businesses were well-known for being profitable.

"I’ll find a general direction for us," he assured her, "and I’ll make sure you have the resources you need. The mansion’s staff is larger than it looks, and many of them are underutilized."

Hua Zhi, who’d long struggled with a shortage of hands, narrowed her eyes slightly. "If you keep talking like that, I’ll start thinking you're just showing off," she said, her tone a mix of exasperation and amusement.

This time, Gu Yanxi couldn’t help but chuckle. With a wry grin, he explained, “Those people were all left by my mother. When the Lu family married off their daughters, every servant-household had at least two or three sons, and some even had more. All together, it came to about twenty-four families. And that’s just the public side of things—there are tons more people scattered across our other estates. Over the past few years, I’ve been pretty stretched thin, so I ended up closing down a lot of the less profitable shops. I don’t need that many people around me, which is why a lot of them ended up with not much to do.”

Now that’s what you call a massive family business!

The Lu family's daughters had truly been married off in style. Each servant-household had at least two or three sons, and in some cases, they had seven or eight. It all added up to hundreds of people, and that didn’t even count the workers in the estates. Even if we were being conservative, we’re probably talking about over three hundred people. For the first time, Hua Zhi realized that the man she was getting involved with wasn’t just wealthy—he was seriously rich.

———TN: Just three more chapters until we hit 400—what a journey!

I know it's been a long one, but seriously, this story is worth every minute of your time. And there’s still another volume coming up. I really hope you stick with it and see it all the way through.

Don’t stop now!