After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Jiang Xiaoqi certainly understood Lin Feng's meaning; he thought the same thing.

My mother ran a business and workshop in the south, and she did not deliberately hide her identity.

After all, having the status of being an official's spouse is still very useful in a place where all sorts of people mingle.

Even the most ruthless and vicious people won't openly oppose officials; they'll usually give them some face.

However, this is a double-edged sword. Those with more power who don't care about officials' families will naturally try to threaten their families if they know that their affairs might be exposed because of someone.

After finishing the pot of tea, Lin Feng and Li Mo took their leave, leaving Jiang Xiaoqi alone, lost in thought.

"Host, uh, young master, what if Madam doesn't come back?"

Only Eleven, who wasn't really a "human" left in the room, asked the question that Lin Feng and Li Mo hadn't dared to ask.

"I have a way to persuade my mother. Eleven, please prepare some writing materials for me."

The message was sent that very night, and no one knows exactly what Jiang Xiaoqi said.

All she knew was that she received a reply five days later, and that Lin Yueniang would set off in half a month.

"What did the young master say to the lady? Did he tell her the truth about the southern region?"

"Of course... no, but as a son, I know my mother best."

"Huh?" Li Mo and Eleven looked at each other in bewilderment.

It's normal for Shiyi to feel like she's not even human, and that she doesn't have a mother.

But how come Li Mo, who has a mother, didn't understand?

A son knows his mother best, so what? And then what?

Jiang Xiaoqi just smiled when she saw their bewildered expressions.

"Why is the young master being so mysterious lately? He only says half of what he means."

Li Mo turned to look at Eleven. "You seem to have only been at the Jiang family for a few days, but the way you're talking makes it sound like you've known the young master for years?"

"Well, I was just saying that compared to a few days ago, the young master only says half of what he means, leaving people confused, cough cough."

"Really?" Li Mo asked doubtfully.

The young master bought the person himself, and there is a contract of indenture, so there shouldn't be any problems. The young master is such a smart person, he can't be set up by someone, right?

Li Mo's tendency to think divergently only developed after he started working with Jiang Xiaoqi. Jiang Xiaoqi encouraged him to use his brain more, and after going on several missions on his own, Li Mo did indeed develop the habit of thinking independently.

However, this boomerang only hit Jiang Xiaoqi. Now, Li Mo's suspicion of Eleven's identity is a result of his cautious nature formed over a long period of handling affairs.

A thoughtful subordinate is definitely a capable subordinate, but a thoughtful subordinate who thinks about his master can sometimes be quite troublesome.

"Yes~" Eleven sighed helplessly. Where did he slip up? Wasn't Li Mo a dull-witted martial artist before? Why is he so meticulous now, able to pick out even the smallest flaw in his words?

"Ah."

What the heck is this "hmm"?! Does it mean they believe it or not?!

Sigh~ It seems I'll have to think twice before I say anything in the future, it's such a hassle.

Eleven silently complained in his heart, but his expression was incredibly sincere and bewildered, as if he didn't understand why Li Mo would say those things.

Yes, very good. Your acting skills are superb. It was worth watching so many Chinese and foreign films and TV series during your free time while leveling up.

"Oh dear, the young master's pigeons are hungry. I have to hurry and feed them. This back and forth must be exhausting for them."

I made up an excuse and simply disappeared during the National Day holiday.

Looking at Eleven's somewhat thin figure, Li Mo felt that this new pageboy had a secret.

In the south, inside a flower workshop—

"Fuling, is everything packed?"

"Madam, it's almost packed, but there are still some odds and ends."

"Sell or give away anything that's too bulky. If it's too small and takes up too much space, you don't have to bring it. Just bring what you need on the road."

"It's not like we're not coming back; there's no need to make it all so messy, like a locust swarm."

"Hehe, you know, madam. The odds and ends I mentioned are just things we'll need on the road, like pots and pans, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar."

We won't be able to find towns with inns or restaurants along the way; we still need to be prepared to sleep on the streets or in the mountains.

Lin Yueniang nodded, "I know you've always been a shrewd person, so you can make the decisions on these small matters. I'll just make sure you have enough travel money."

Fuling covered her mouth and smiled faintly, thinking that her wife didn't need her to carry travel expenses with her at all times.

Liuxiang Pavilion has branches in almost all the relatively wealthy prefectures of the Great Zhou Dynasty. As long as the lady shows the sign of the owner of Liuxiang Pavilion, she can withdraw silver directly from the directly operated stores.

Even if it's not a directly operated store of Liuxiang Pavilion but a franchise store, you can still borrow money from them in case of an emergency, although the amount may not be as much as that of a directly operated store.

However, the borrowed money is definitely enough for food and lodging. This money doesn't need to be returned; it can be offset by the goods from Liuxiang Pavilion when the goods are allocated.

They have been implementing these rules for over a year. Although there has been little opportunity to borrow money, all the Liuxiang Pavilion stores in the prefecture are aware of these rules.

The head managers of each prefecture had all seen the token of the owner of Liuxiang Pavilion. How could these managers and franchisees not do everything they could to maintain a good relationship with the patron who made them rich?

Let alone borrowing some silver, even if he were to personally escort Lin Yueniang back to the capital, these people would scramble to curry favor with him.

However, Lin Yueniang already had a caravan under her command that she had been training for nearly two years, so she didn't need theirs.

This caravan had about a hundred people, and while not every one of them was exceptionally skilled, each one was a formidable fighter capable of taking on several opponents.

The镖队 (bodyguard team) had both men and women as bodyguards, and Lin Yueniang also implemented her son's approach of "recruiting talents without being bound by conventions," regardless of gender, as long as they had real skills, she would recruit them.

Of course, wages are distributed according to skill level and effort; men are not paid more than women.

In the past two years, Fuling has kept up with the martial arts she learned from Master Zhao while following Lin Yueniang, and she often sparred with the bodyguards of the escort team.

Lin Yueniang's martial arts skills have improved several levels since then, and the little girl Fuling can now take on ten opponents at once.

Therefore, there is no need to worry too much about safety when returning to Beijing.

The only thing to worry about was food, clothing, and lodging on the road, which Fuling took care of, so Lin Yueniang could comfortably be a hands-off manager, or rather, a hands-off boss.

The workshop has been working overtime to produce a large batch of finished products recently, since Lin Yueniang was going to take dozens of cartloads of goods with her when she left, delivering them to various shops along the way. Of course, this was just a side trip.

There are usually dedicated delivery teams, but since the towns and prefectures along the way all have Liuxiang Pavilion shops, Lin Yueniang simply went herself to deliver the goods and visit the shops all at once.

After all, who knows when I'll be able to visit the store again, I won't feel at ease unless I see it for myself.

Returning to Beijing, delivering goods, and visiting stores, Lin Yueniang decided to do three things at once.