She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

After Zhao Jue was given the task of collecting military provisions, he went to visit the Qin family. The people there only said that their master had gone south, and they knew nothing more.

I learned by chance yesterday that Baixiangzhai is a branch of the Qin family business.

Mr. Qin's confidant works here as the manager, collecting information for Mr. Qin and having channels to contact him.

As soon as Zhao Jue received the news yesterday, he came here to find Boss Qin. After introducing himself and explaining why he came, the manager revealed that Boss Qin would be returning to Baixiangzhai today.

These past few days, besides waiting for news from Boss Qin, he has also been looking for other ways, fearing that Boss Qin might not be able to come up with so much grain.

He was busy socializing with powerful families and clans, trying to borrow or buy grain from them, but unfortunately, he had little success and they all complained to him about being poor.

Three days have passed since the deadline for signing the pledge, leaving seven days remaining.

Zhao Jue tossed the reins to the servant and strode into the shop: "Manager Hu, has your boss arrived yet?"

"My lord, the master arrived early this morning and is resting in the backyard." Manager Hu said respectfully, "I have already conveyed your message to the master. He said that if you come, he will take you to see him."

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Jue's tense mind relaxed after days of tension: "Thank you for leading the way."

Manager Hu led Zhao Jue to the study in the backyard.

Boss Qin saw Zhao Jue through the open window and gestured to the servant grinding ink: "A distinguished guest has arrived, go and open the door quickly."

"Yes." The servant obeyed and went to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Zhao Jue arrived at the entrance. Just as he stepped inside, he saw Boss Qin leisurely emerge from behind his desk, bow to him, and say, "Young General, I returned home late last night and received a message from Manager Hu. I came here early this morning to await your arrival."

Zhao Jue offered a helping hand: "Boss Qin, Tan'er and your daughter are like sisters. You are her elder, so there's no need to be so polite."

"I was originally going to attend the wedding banquet of the young general and Miss Shen, but business in Jiangnan went wrong, so I couldn't come to your residence for a drink." Boss Qin invited Zhao Jue to sit down and poured tea for him. "I found a treasure in Jiangnan. When it arrives in the capital, I will send it to your residence to celebrate Miss Shen's wedding."

Zhao Jue's eyes flickered slightly. He deliberately mentioned Shen Qingtan in an intimate tone in order to test Boss Qin.

The implication in Boss Qin's words seemed to be that he was unaware that he and Shen Qingtan had each married other.

A sudden surge of emotion welled up within him. If Shen Qingtan were to break off her relationship with him, she would surely write to Boss Qin to sever their cooperation.

After all, Shen Qingtan married someone else, and their positions were different, placing them on opposite sides.

Now it seems... is Shen Qingtan still hung up on his past feelings?

"I'll invite Mr. Qin to dinner another day." Zhao Jue didn't explain the inside story of the marriage exchange, but took a sip of tea: "Mr. Qin has traveled all over the country doing business, and his abilities are outstanding. The south-to-north grain transport was a precedent set by you, and your grain shops are all over the Great Zhou, with a very good reputation."

Mr. Qin humbly replied, "Not at all. Whether in life or in business, we always prioritize integrity."

Zhao Jue got straight to the point: "I've come here today to cooperate with Boss Qin and buy 100,000 shi of military rations from you."

Boss Qin was shocked: "Ten...ten thousand shi?"

He sighed, "As you know, there's a food shortage right now. Where would I get so much grain? The little grain I have is old grain that I bought at a high price."

Zhao Jue said in a heavy tone, "The people of Great Zhou are able to live and work in peace and contentment entirely because of the soldiers on the border who risked their lives to defend the country."

It turns out that the war in the northern border should have ended long ago. The Northern Qi Kingdom knew that the Great Zhou was suffering from a food shortage, so they wanted to use delaying tactics to drag things out until we ran out of ammunition and food before taking the city in one fell swoop.

If the northern border could not be defended, the people of the Great Zhou would suffer greatly, and there would be no peace and tranquility as we have now.

With food shortages in the North, the soldiers are starving and have no strength to fight the enemy.

To die on the battlefield fighting the enemy is a worthy death.

To starve to death on the battlefield—how tragic and desolate!

Boss Qin looked solemn.

“Boss Qin, sell me all the grain you have.” Zhao Jue stood up and bowed deeply to Boss Qin: “I thank you on behalf of the soldiers of the Northern Border.”

Boss Qin dared not accept Zhao Jue's courtesy and hurriedly stepped aside, saying, "Young General, as a citizen of the Great Zhou, I naturally have to do my part in the face of national crisis."

Zhao Jue breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak.

"But..." Boss Qin said helplessly, "After the natural disaster, I didn't have more than 50,000 shi of grain on hand. Now I've been away from the capital for more than a month, and I still don't know how much grain is left in the granaries. I'll go and make an assessment now and give you an answer tonight."

"Okay." Before leaving, Zhao Jue explained, "Tan'er and I were deeply in love but our fate was short-lived. On our wedding day, something went wrong, and she got into my second brother's bridal sedan chair and went into my second brother's new house."

Mr. Qin was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses: "It's a pity that your fate was not strong enough." Then he smiled and said: "Although you could not become husband and wife, you are still family, so you can be considered to have kinship."

Zhao Jue looked somber and didn't say anything more, but deliberately reminded him, "I'll come here to see you tonight."

“Alright.” Boss Qin seemed to see through his thoughts: “This concerns the war in the northern border, and I will not act rashly.” After a pause, he added meaningfully, “Young general, I am a businessman, and I have many mouths to feed.”

Why would they turn away business that comes knocking on their door?

Zhao Jue was relieved after receiving the assurance.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Zhao Jue decided to find an opportunity to coax Shen Qingtan.

-

After seeing Zhao Jue off, Boss Qin ordered his men to remove the leftover tea and replace it with the finest West Lake Longjing tea, along with some snacks.

Just as everything was ready, Manager Hu led Shen Qingtan over.

As soon as Shen Qingtan entered the study, she took off her veil and saw Boss Qin standing in front of the table.

He wore a square scarf on his head and a wide-sleeved robe, with a smooth, long beard on his chin. He was elegant and refined, showing no trace of the shrewdness and mercenary nature of a businessman.

But she knew that Boss Qin was good at playing dumb to fool others, and that he was very shrewd.

It's been a year and a half since we last met, but in reality, it feels like a lifetime has passed.

In his previous life, Boss Qin helped Zhao Jue, but he didn't end up well. All of his family's property was seized by Zhao Jue, and he eventually died unjustly in prison.

This is partly her fault.

Because on the day Boss Qin died, Zhao Jue came to her room drunk and told her the news of Boss Qin's death, saying, "You can only blame him for finding out you weren't dead and almost coming to the other house, otherwise you wouldn't have ended up like this today."

He also said, "Shen Qingtan, more than sixty lives of the Qin family were lost because of you."

Shen Qingtan's eyes stung, and she quickly lowered her head.

Boss Qin didn't notice her unusual behavior: "Miss Shen, you specifically sent someone to deliver a message, is it about the military rations?"

He learned from Manager Hu yesterday that Shen Qingtan had become the second mistress of the first branch of the Duke's mansion.

The reason I met with Zhao Jue today is firstly to discuss military provisions, which are crucial for the soldiers in the northern border region.

Secondly, Zhao Jue's status meant that he, as a businessman, could not openly offend him.

Thirdly, he wanted to see if Zhao Jue had any other motives.

"Third Master Zhao just left a while ago, and he was just trying to curry favor with you." Boss Qin recalled Zhao Jue's expression and tone when he mentioned Shen Qingtan, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "He's really a hopeless romantic." Bullshit.

You wouldn't recognize a childhood sweetheart even if they turned to ashes, but you could at least recognize them by their figure, right?

He knew best what kind of person this man was.

They start relationships and then abandon each other for power, fame, and fortune.

Boss Qin said with relief, "Third Master Zhao is not a good man. The fact that he didn't marry you is a good thing he did."

The bitterness that welled up in Shen Qingtan's eyes was instantly suppressed. Looking at Boss Qin, who was both angry and relieved at the same time, she felt only helplessness.

She sighed softly, "Uncle Qin, I have some grudges against him."

Because she had saved Qin Yao, she got to know Mr. Qin, who had come to Beijing to develop his business. At first, Mr. Qin's business was not going well, and he suffered suppression from merchants who had powerful families as their backers.

She had a good reputation in the capital and knew many officials' wives. She introduced a lot of connections to Boss Qin, allowing him to gain a foothold in the capital.

Mr. Qin was an upright and grateful man. Seeing that she had helped him a lot, he secretly took her into his business.

“I’ve thought of this, but I haven’t given him a definite answer yet.” Boss Qin frowned and said, “Putting aside the fact that the provisions are for the soldiers in the northern border, he was just on a mission to collect military provisions. If I refuse, he might get an imperial decree to investigate me, and it might even implicate you.”