Volume 1 Chapter 85 Planning

  It turned out that Ji Huifeng and others were under Zhu An's command, ordered to protect Zhen Shiniang and her son. There were seven of them in total, trying to figure out how to sneak into the ancestral mansion. When they heard that Zhen Shiniang was going to recruit a nurse, they asked for help from the government office in Wutong Town. Seeing that they had brought a letter of recommendation from the imperial court, the government office dared not neglect them and immediately found a guarantor, Sun Baowen, a wealthy resident of Wutong Town.

  It was an introduction from the government office, and Li Changhe took the documents to the government office, but nothing came out of it.

  "Who did it?" Suddenly hearing that Zhen Shiniang had been assassinated, Shen Zhongjie was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat.

  "An Lao is investigating..." Ji Huaifeng shook his head.

  What can a weak and gentle woman like her possibly do to offend anyone?

  Shen Zhong's eyebrows were tightly locked, considering whether to send some more guards over himself.

  "General, rest assured, I will never let Madame... " Ji Huai Feng swallowed the two words 'young master', "There's something."

  Also, with them here, it would be beneath him to send more guards, which would have the implication of supervising for eternity. Once Shen Zhongjie understood this, he clasped his fists together and said, "I'll have to trouble Brother Jixian."

  Ji Huai Feng's face looked strange.

  His son calls himself "big brother", and he also calls himself "younger brother", what is this?

  Not feeling quite himself, he saw Shen Zhongjie throw over two thousand taels of silver notes to buy wine and drink, and was stunned, "General..."

  These guards, when they are sent on an errand, always get a reward wherever they go, which is nothing unusual. However, most of them only get 100 or 200 taels. Especially for someone like Shen Zhongjue, who is in high favor, people can't even get close to him, and if they can get him to praise them once, it's already a rare thing.

  He actually made 2,000 taels with just one move!

  The weasel's New Year greeting to the chicken is either deceitful or thieving.

  What does he want from me?

  Could it be...

  He recalled the pale face of Zhen Shi Niang when he heard that someone had assassinated her. Ji Huai Feng's cold sweat fell; outside, it was rumored that he had been admiring the beauty of Anqing Hou Fu's tenth miss for a long time, with the intention of abandoning his wife and marrying another. Who would have thought that Wan Sui suddenly issued an edict ordering him to attend the Lantern Festival banquet in the palace with his wife, dashing all his fantasies with a splash of cold water.

  But what if Zhen Shiniang suddenly fell ill and died?

  He felt as if he had grasped a piece of hot coal, and Ji Huai's ten fingers were slightly trembling. He almost threw the silver ticket away, shaking his head repeatedly, "The general cannot... I am just following orders to do things. No merit or virtue, how dare I accept such great kindness from the general..." He tried hard to push the silver ticket back.

  "Brother Ji, don't be polite..." Shen Zhongge simply pushed outward with a bit of force, and yet Ji Huaifeng couldn't budge an inch.

  "General..." His face turned red.

  "Don't worry, the silver isn't for you to take for nothing..." Shen Zhongge said calmly, "Madam's body is weak and her fate is precarious..." He seemed quite unaccustomed to saying such things in front of people. His voice was a bit hoarse, and he suddenly spoke decisively, "I won't be able to come over often, so from now on, you'll have to take care of more trivial matters outside the inner courtyard, if there's anything going on with Madam, I'll also know about it in time."

  It's not that they want to guard against theft and assassinate Zhen Shiniang. Ji Huai Feng let out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "It seems the rumors are untrue, he added furniture here not for the sake of the imperial edict to show off to Wan Shi, but because he truly cares about his wife." He hesitated with the silver note in hand.

  "I'm telling you, brother, we're all eating imperial rations, don't take yourself too seriously." Seeing him still hesitating, Rong Sheng quickly spoke up, "Although the Emperor only asked you to protect the Empress Dowager, this courtyard is full of weak and delicate women. There are some things that we can help with if we see them... Don't just stand there laughing... Not even speaking up when someone's child is being bullied..." Rong Sheng glanced at the painting of Nezha on the wall and swallowed his next words.

  If I go on like this, it will be suspected that Zhen Niang's eyesight is questionable.

  Yu Guang glanced at Shen Zhongge and saw that he was also looking at the "Fu" character on the wall, and seemed to have nodded in agreement.

  Ji Huifeng is so wronged.

  "What's the matter with you? You're not even making a sound! ... All of this is your precious son's doing, go ask him about it. If that 'Five Sons Playing in the Lotus' painting hadn't been hung in the corridor to shock you, consider yourself lucky!" Ji Huaifeng's face turned from white to red and then to purple-red, his lips moved again and again, but in the end he didn't say that all of this was the masterpiece of Shen Zhongjie's precious son Jian Wujianwen.

  Ji Huifeng and others left, Zhen Shiniang took over Dong Jiu's prepared tea and pushed the door to enter.

  Shen Zhong was deep in thought, his eyebrows furrowed, and his five fingers lightly tapped on the desk.

  "General, the tea is ready." Zhen Shining poured the tea while secretly glancing at Shen Zhongjie's expression.

  There is nothing unusual.

  Shen Zhongding lifted his head and saw her still standing there, so he took over the teacup, "...... You sit down."

  "......Does the general also think it's inappropriate?" Zhen Shi Niang sat down opposite him and asked tentatively.

  Shen Zhong's eyes widened in confusion as he stared at Zhen Shi Niang.

  "That day... " Zhen Shi Niang's voice paused for a moment, "It's not certain whether that day was the thief or not, so I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Because we were in urgent need of people and they were recommended by Sun Baiwan, a wealthy merchant from the town, I hired them." She changed the subject, "I've been observing them for two days, and it seems like they all have some skills. From their behavior, they don't seem like ordinary people either." She looked at Shen Zhong Ge, "If General also thinks it's not right, I'll find an opportunity to fire them in the next two days."

  They were never ordinary people!

  Shen Zhong was surprised that Zhen Shi Niang didn't know martial arts yet had such sharp eyesight. He looked at her deeply and said casually, "I just tried it too, they all have some foundation in martial arts."

  "General..." Zhen Shi Niang sat up straight.

  She saw Ji Huai Feng hugging Jian Wu Tie's small flag that day and was terrified, never thinking they actually had a background.

  "The big households usually have two or three courtyard guards, it's nothing special." Shen Zhongqiu said vaguely, "It's their master and I have some connections, they are all reliable people, you just use them with peace of mind, hmm...". He thought for a moment, "In the future, I will directly allocate the monthly salary of these four people from the outer courtyard, so you don't need to worry about it."

  It's said they have connections with Shen Zhongjie, so Zhen Shining felt at ease.

  But Zhen Shiniang furrowed her brow again - if they weren't paid by her, would they be of one mind with her?

  "Their contract was signed with me." Zhen Shi Niang hesitated for a moment, and said tactfully, "I've been observing them these past two days, they seem to be somewhat unruly, if... I'm afraid I won't be able to control them."

  Unmanageable?

  Shen Zhong's face was twisted in a mixture of laughter and tears. The imperial guards were watching the house, protecting the courtyard. Did you still want them to be as gentle as domesticated cats?

  Is it possible that this is what they mean by "beating a tiger into being a cat"?

  As Shen Zhongge's eyes flashed with memories of Ji Huai Feng and the four little cats being manipulated by Zhen Shi Niang, he suddenly became mischievous. He turned his face and said, "There's no need to say so much, just arrange what needs to be done, if you don't listen, get out!" They were all imperial guards who feared nothing in heaven or earth, only this move could deal with Ji Huai Feng.

  If he were really dumped by a woman, it would spread like wildfire. He wouldn't be able to hold his head up in front of Wan Si even.

  This guy will never learn to respect!

  The gentle proposal was rejected, and Zhen Shiniang had become numb to Shen Zhong's cold and overbearing manner. She would no longer get angry like she used to before. She responded softly and picked up her tea, taking small sips.

  They are just superior and subordinate. Few employees would be foolish enough to ask their boss for respect.

  Very satisfied with Zhen Shiniang's gentleness, Shen Zhongjie unconsciously examined her carefully.

  She wore a pale blue plain cross-collared thin jacket, her slender face was as white as porcelain, a pair of especially large bright eyes were slightly narrowed, the black pupils were hidden in a misty veil, as if always carrying a faint smile. Warm and gentle, quiet and peaceful.

  He caught a whiff of a faint, yet distinct fragrance. Suddenly, he felt that sitting quietly beside her like this made his heart exceptionally calm.

  Feeling a gaze fixed tightly on her, Zhen Shiniang raised her head.

  Four eyes met, Shen Zhong's face slightly flushed with embarrassment as if he had been caught red-handed. However, his gaze didn't waver, and he continued to say, "If this young lady is really not suitable for purchase, let Rong Sheng take a look and pick out a few in the capital city for you..."

  She didn't say that she would assign people from the general's mansion to serve her, which made Zhen Shiniang feel at ease. She thought of herself having hands and feet, and basically didn't need so many people to serve her, and she was a bit hesitant.

  Shen Zhong Bian after all is not a good communication object.

  After deliberating for half a day, Zhen Shiniang decided to give it a try. "I prefer quiet and don't want so many people serving me..."

  Before she could finish speaking, Shen Zhongge interrupted her, "The yard is so big, twenty or thirty people are not many!" With a few more servants serving her, she would suffer less and take good care of her body, who knows, maybe her life would be extended.

  Zhen Shining was speechless, she had almost become a little Qiang who couldn't be beaten to death.

  Repeatedly defeated, repeatedly fight!

  Shen Zhong thought for a moment and said, "If you're afraid of trouble, just arrange for them to stay in the backyard and not come over." Remembering that there was still a pond behind, it wouldn't work without men, "...if you think there are too many maids, I'll exchange a few young servants for you." It's just right to help clean up the pond and sweep the backyard, doing some heavy chores.

  "...What place is in the backyard?" Zhen Shi Niang frowned.

  There are four rooms in total. Jian Wu and Jian Wen occupied two of them, one was the kitchen, so it's not like they would let these people live together with men and women mixed, sleeping on shared beds?

  "...Isn't there still a row of houses on the west side of the pond?" He remembered that when he was young, the long-term workers his family hired all lived there.

  Zhen Shiniang didn't think of it until after a long time, "It's been many years, and people can no longer live there."

  At first, she wanted to rent it out, but on the one hand, those houses leaked badly and needed a lot of money for renovation. On the other hand, she was also worried that there were many people in the courtyard, and no matter what, her body was indeed somewhat weak and lonely as an orphaned mother. Once someone had their eye on it, it would be a loss, so she left it idle. Back and forth, it seemed like several outer walls had collapsed.

  The whole village was filled with simple and unadorned houses, where a group of children often played hide-and-seek.

  "Can't live here anymore?" Shen Zhongqiu was somewhat surprised, thinking that the yard should be repaired properly, and suddenly stood up, "I'll go take a look." This is supposed to be a matter of the backyard, not worth his worry, but her gaze... He really didn't dare to neglect it... Better for him to pay attention.

  He said he would move, and Zhen Shiniang hastily got up to serve him. He put on his crane cloak and hat, then turned back to pick up his clothes. "I'll accompany the general," she said.

  It was cold outside and she wasn't feeling well, Shen Zhongge was about to refuse, but when he turned around, he saw that she had already put on the silver fox fur coat that Rong Sheng had sent over. The snow-white fox fur set off her pale face, making her look even more delicate, his heart skipped a beat, and he unconsciously nodded in agreement.

  "These fences have all been dismantled, and those bean trellises..." As soon as they entered the corner gate, Shen Zhongjie began to instruct Rong Sheng, "As soon as spring begins, you'll find craftsmen to come over here and build a covered corridor...". Turning his head to look at Zhen Shi Niang, "Move your chickens and ducks to the pond to raise them, and clear out this area to repair the garden..."

  Zhen Shiniang smiled and nodded, thinking in her heart, "If I throw the little chicken into the pond to raise it, will it learn how to swim?"