Remarrying Chun Yuan

"Okay, I understand." Yuan Cuo nodded, not taking it to heart.

Liu Yuechu was exhausted and wanted to go back to the courtyard to take a nap. After Yuan Cuo coaxed her to sleep, he went to the Liu family's business.

He still had half a warehouse of items to check, and he also had to meet someone today.

The three-day homecoming ceremony is held after the wedding.

Liu Yuechu specifically decided to visit the Princess's residence.

Princess Chen had already planned to head to the southwest before Qingming Festival, and it wouldn't be easy for them to meet again after that. Liu Yuechu just wanted to spend more time with her.

The two got ready and prepared to get into the car.

Hou Lai suddenly appeared and whispered a few words in Yuan Cuo's ear.

Yuan Cuo paused for a moment, then accompanied Liu Yuechu to the Princess's residence. After paying his respects to Princess Chen, he said he had to go out for a while, "...A friend of mine wants to go to the trading company to look at paintings. I'll go with him for a bit and come back to pick you up later."

Liu Yuechu readily agreed.

After Yuan Cuo left, Princess Chen poked her cheek reproachfully, "What friend? Why didn't you ask more carefully?"

"Uh...do I need to ask?" Liu Yuechu was confused. Even though she had been a wife in two lifetimes, she still didn't know how to get along with her partner.

In his past life, Wei Gongming was capricious, doing whatever he pleased without ever informing her beforehand...

"Of course you should ask!" Princess Chen began to worry again. "He is your husband. You should know more about his life and preferences, his character and habits. Even though his parents have passed away, don't you still have relatives? No matter how good or bad the relationship is, even if it's so bad that you've broken off ties, you should still know."

Liu Yuechu scratched her head. "Okay, I'll ask carefully..." She hadn't paid attention to this aspect before, and even resisted it.

Perhaps it was because her relatives in her past life skinned her, dug out her bones, and sucked her blood that she felt so averse to the word "relatives."

Since Yuan Cuo's parents passed away, he started selling calligraphy on the street to make a living when he was ten years old. Presumably, even if he had relatives, they were the kind he couldn't rely on.

Yuan Cuo hurriedly arrived at the Liu Family Trading Company, where someone was already waiting for him.

"Boss Zhu." Yuan Cuo gave a perfunctory bow, lacking any welcoming smile.

"Congratulations, congratulations! First of all, congratulations to Young Master Yuan on your marriage to your beautiful bride." Boss Zhu was over fifty years old, but he bowed even lower.

Yuan Cuo nodded. "I'll go get the painting materials for you first." He didn't say anything more and went directly to the inner courtyard of the trading company.

Boss Zhu thanked him repeatedly, and looked at the other items with Hou Lai, as if waiting for something.

When Yuan Cuo arrived at the inner courtyard, someone was already waiting for him.

The man was young, with a face as white as snow, wearing a tight-fitting black brocade robe, and without a trace of a beard on his chin. He was smiling at him from the courtyard.

"You didn't even bring a gift to congratulate me?" Yuan Cuo sat at the tea table, took a tinderbox to light the charcoal stove, and then put a handful of dregs into the teapot.

The aroma of tea wafted through the air, so warming that even the sugar cubes on the tea table seemed to melt.

He took a sip to calm himself down.

He had been traveling so fast that his throat was already dry.

"That person said that since you have already married the eldest daughter of the richest man in the capital, you don't need a gift or two." The man's voice was soft and feminine, as if he were both male and female. He took out a box, which was very exquisite. "If that person doesn't want to give one, then I... will give one. I hope Young Master Yuan will accept it and not find it offensive."

Yuan Cuo took the tea and tossed it around, then poured out the broken tea dregs. "Break whatever you want to drink." He went to the table next door and began grinding the ink and preparing the pigments.

"Thank you for the gift, young master." The man lifted the teapot to brew tea with extremely light movements. He lifted his hand, pinched the tea leaves, weighed them on the scale, and found that they amounted to exactly three qian (a unit of weight). He sprinkled them into the teapot, rinsed them with warm water, and then poured boiling water over them to disperse them.

He poured a cup and handed it to Yuan Cuo.

Yuan Cuo looked at him and asked, "Why are you in such a hurry to see me without bringing any gifts?"

"You changed your mind and got married, fine, but why are you also participating in the imperial examination? Let me ask you, when do you plan to leave the capital for a year? Two years? Or are you not leaving at all?"

He stood face to face with Yuan Cuo, his eyes fixed on him.

Yuan Cuo paused for a moment, then said, "Are you just hoping I'll leave?"

"No, no, it's just that your plans have changed..."

Yuan Cuo had already mixed the tridacna shell ink powder with turquoise, added white powder, and mixed it with his hands in a small bowl. "I promised Elder Zhuang that I would participate in the imperial examination, and as the saying goes, I will do it."

"But if you pass the exam, will you still become an official in the imperial court?" The man's high-pitched voice almost cracked with astonishment.

"Even if you pass the exam, you don't have to become an official."

"!!!"

"You're being ridiculous! Why would you do this out of the blue?" He couldn't suppress his shrill voice, the news was truly explosive.

Yuan Cuo said calmly, "After all, I have a wife now. Even if I can't earn enough money for her, at least I can't let people gossip about her behind her back, right? Criticize her for marrying a good-for-nothing good-for-nothing?" He didn't care about appearances, but he cared about hers.

"You're playing with fire!" the man cried out in desperation.

"That person said that as long as you don't participate in the imperial examination, you can make any requests you have." He was determined to give a definite answer.

"...The tea's gone cold, drink it quickly." Yuan Cuo left with these words and said nothing more.

He carefully mixed the paints, then separated the colors and packed them into specially made small boxes.

A box of paint costs one tael of gold, and the man paid with trembling hands.

At this moment, Boss Zhu also selected a fan painting and paid Hou Lai with silver.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yuan Cuo escorted the pretentious master and servants to the front gate, warmly inviting them to "come again often."

"How much silver did you sell it for?"

Seeing Boss Zhu's carriage leave, Yuan Cuo immediately asked about the money.

Hou Lai sniffed. "One hundred taels." The fan painting was something he'd drawn out of boredom, and it was exceptionally ugly. He felt sorry for Boss Zhu for wasting money.

Yuan Cuo smiled. The business had opened and made money just three days after their marriage. Wasn't he very lucky for his wife?

"Keep the books in order, and then take the ledger back to your master to see."

Hou Lai: Isn't my master you?

Yuan Cuo fastened the sash of his cloak and hung up the signboard for the Liu Family Trading Company to indicate that it was closed for business. "From now on, your master is Yue Niang. I'm just a kept man and I'm not in charge anymore."

Hou Lai: "..." Anyone who heard this would be furious. You really don't take the term "son-in-law" seriously!

The master and servant boarded the carriage and headed straight for Princess Chen's residence.

At this time, Liu Yuechu received a selection invitation from the Imperial Household Department, asking her to run for the position of head of the Imperial Merchants in seven days.

If she wins the election, she can choose to monopolize one of the businesses or manage the royal family's assets.

"Why were you suddenly chosen?" Liu Yuechu was very surprised.

Princess Chen smiled happily, "This is the good fortune you have accumulated. During the snow disaster, you invested so much in disaster relief and rescue, and the palace knows about it."

Liu Yuechu didn't believe it. The palace had tried to use the sacrificial ceremony to get rid of the matter before, so how could they suddenly give it the title of imperial merchant?

"Master Yue, our master will open for business today, one hundred taels for a single fan!" Hou Lai entered with a grin, his voice preceding his arrival.