It was noon when Ye Jiayao saw Chunyu again. She asked him, “How was your trip to the vinegar workshop?”
Xia Chunyu deadpanned, “Fantastic.”
She giggled. She had a feeling that he wouldn’t like it because the vinegar smell is very strong, especially for first-time visitors.
“What about you? Do you actually remember all these relatives?” Xia Chunyu whispered, his eyes scanning the houseful of people.
Ye Jiayao winked at him. “You want me to introduce you to them?”
She was expecting him to refuse because that introduction would need a boatload of patience, but instead, he nodded in agreement. “Might as well. It’ll save me the awkwardness of not knowing them when they talk to me later.”
And so, she quietly pointed out her relatives to him. There were a lot of names and Ye Jiayao was pretty sure that she mangled at least five of them. She wasn’t even sure if she’s addressing all of them properly.
To her surprise, though, by the end of the gathering, Xia Chunyu was chatting it up with a few men from her grandmother’s side, addressing them correctly.
She was highly impressed with his memory.
The days passed by quickly and before they knew it, it was time to leave. Although she’s tired from meeting so many people, she was also full of happiness. Her family has shown her so much love and affection that she honestly just wanted to stay with them.
Their departure left her with so much sadness that she couldn’t stop crying even as their ship left.
Xia Chunyu found it a little funny. “Hey, come on, no more tears. If you want to spend time with them that much, we can come back every year.”
“Are you serious?” Ye Jiayao asked hopefully, tears still streaming down her face.
He doesn’t get much leave working from the government, and he’s already used all his allowed leaves for this year to go with her on this trip. If he did that every year, his mother’s not gonna like it.
“Of course I am. Besides, I like the Fang family. They are very warm and kind.” Xia Chunyu would figure out the rest when the time comes. He just wanted his Yaoyao to be happy.
Ye Jiayao stopped crying and stared deeply into his loving eyes. She leaned forward and rested her cheek against his heart, overwhelmed with love and happiness. “Chunyu, you are so nice.”
He helped the Ye family even though they’ve done nothing to deserve it simply because they were her blood. Chunyu would do anything for her happiness and well-being, and for that, she’s so grateful. She was truly blessed to have found a man like him.
Xia Chunyu gathered her in his arms, a lovesick smile on his face.
They got back to Jin Ling on the thirteenth of the month.
Ye Jiayao and Xia Chunyu met with Zhao Qixuan, Su Yi, and Helian Jing on the sixteenth. It was some sort of going away get-together since the couple will be leaving soon.
They were meeting at Heavenly Residence whose business had significantly slowed down for January. However, compared to the other restaurants, they were still doing pretty good.
After a few rounds of drinks, Xia Chunyu asked, “How long are you guys gonna be gone?”
“At least half a year!” Qixuan answered enthusiastically. “It depends on how smoothly things go there.
“Is the government certain to open for border trades? What if they change their minds?” Ye Jiayao asked worriedly.
Zhao Qixuan’s businesses covered the whole Jiang Nan. He’s grown such a profitable empire that he could just lie back and count his money as it comes to him. With this venture, he’d have to start all over again. Not only that but he’s putting his position as an Heir-son Lord in trouble for love. He’s taking a lot of risks and Ye Jiayao was afraid that they won’t pay off.
“I don’t think so, I’ve heard that the Nan Yue King will send envoys to Jin Ling in March. Everything will be decided by then,” Little Jing said.
Xia Chunyu nodded. “The Nan Yue government is not stable. Of course, they’d want to be allied with Huai Song and the best way to do that is border trades. It’s a win-win for both parties so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“If you guys want to invest in it, I’d be more than happy to make room for you. You know how good I am with business,” Qixuan offered.
Little Jing smiled. “Sure!”
“I’ve just invested in a mine,” Chunyu told him. “I actually still owe you some money! When you’re settled there, Yaoyao and I will come to visit.”
“Take me with you guys too!” Little Jing quickly said.
Xia Chunyu refrained from answering. There was no way in hell he’s going to take the kid with them. Why would he want an interloper in his quality time with his wife?
Qixuan’ eyes brightened. “A mine! That’s practically a cornucopia! Brother Chunyu, how can you not tell anyone about this?”
Ye Jiayao laughed lightly. “I don’t even know if we can make money from that! We only hold a small share.”
Su Yi slowly said, “I heard that there was a huge mine was sold for three million in Shan Xi last year. They’re putting a million tax on it every year. Is that the mine you’re talking about?”
Xia Chunyu looked at him, surprised. “Su Yi, you are impressively well-informed!”
Su Yi smiled delicately. “I like to keep up to date with things to keep me from getting bored.
He was a firm believer that knowledge holds a lot of power. He liked to make sure that he’s updated with the happenings around him, especially in the business industry, to stay ahead of everyone.
They chatted for some time until Qixuan and Susu excused themselves to get ready for their journey on the eighteenth. Little Jing also had to go back to the Ministry of War to work on his documents. Unfortunately, the war didn’t take a break for the New Year. They get reports almost every day from their troops.
Since it was still early, Chunyu brought Yaoyao out to see the lantern show.
“Little Jing’s too relaxed compared to his brother. Helian Xuan’s been getting constant headaches because of this war,” Chunyu mocked lightly.
Ye Jiayao sighed. “Little Jing has actually matured a lot.”
That wasn’t the response he was expecting so before they get deeper into it, Chunyu changed the topic. “Yaoyao, there are lantern riddles over there. Want to have a go at it?”
Ye Jiayao nodded excitedly. She was a pro at lantern riddles!
The two of them walked around the show with Ye Jiayao picking up riddles left and right.
“Are you sure you answered all of those correctly?” Chunyu asked skeptically.
Ye Jiayao waved her riddles around proudly. “These are nothing. I answered more than these in the last mid-autumn festival lantern show.”
Xia Chunyu thought about it. Wasn’t that the time he pissed her off using Liu Yiyi? So she walked off angrily away from them and then went to the lantern show for riddles?
All this time, he thought that she had run off to somewhere private to cry! Was she even the slightest bit jealous? Did he set up all of that for nothing?
“Do you remember anything else from that day?” he couldn’t help but ask.
Of course, she remembered something else from that day. She leveled him with a sharp look. “Are you sure you want to do this right here?”
He suppressed a shiver from her look. “No, no, not at all.”
She wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. He was the one who brought it up! “Be honest. Did you do anything with Liu Yiyi that you should apologize to me for?”
“No! No! Never, I swear.”
“Even before that day? Or after?”
“Never. I am not that thirsty for a companion.”
“So you spent thousands on her for what? Just to eat with her?”
Xia Chunyu scratched his head, a little embarrassed. “I knew her dad. I was just trying to help them out.”
Ye Jiayao harrumphed. “If you ever pull something like that again, I will make sure you regret it.”
“Let’s stop rehashing the past. It’s not a good memory for the both of us so let’s just forget about it.” Xia Chunyu dragged her forward, saying, “Let’s go claim your rewards.”
Ye Jiayao dropped it and proceeded to claim her rewards. They were able to win a lot so they had Song Qi take them back to the carriage.
“I will go answer some too! I can’t let you have all the glory,” Chunyu told her.
She taunted, “Go then. Let’s see how good is the hero with his pen.”
Much to Ye Jiayao’s surprise, Xia Chunyu was quite good. He matched the sixteen riddles she answered and was able to win a lot of prizes on his own too.
On the way home, as the carriage passed by the riverbank, Ye Jiayao suddenly remembered something. She opened the curtain and looked out, spotting the girl from last time.
“Stop!” she ordered.
Song Qi stopped the horse.
Ye Jiayao jumped off the carriage.
“Yaoyao, what are you doing?” Xia Chunyu asked, following behind her.
Ye Jiayao walked to the little girl and asked, “Little Sister, how much is this lotus lantern?”
“Five copper coins each.”
Ye Jiayao pulled out a handful of coins, not even bothering to count them. “I’ll take two.”
