Chapter 288: Ji Zeyu

Judging from this, Qin Huaiyuan understood with a chuckle that his daughter must’ve seen Lian Shengjie back in the army camp. “He didn’t ask for anything ridiculous this time. But since the emperor is surrendering, his position is naturally lower than Great Zhou’s. There’s nothing we can do apart from listen to all of their demands.”

“But with father’s wisdom, you won’t let the emperor come off too worse for the wear.” Qin Yining smiled.

“That’s right.” An answering smile blossomed on Qin Huaiyuan’s lips. “I heard your analysis just now. Perhaps I really will have more opportunities to showcase my talents with our trip to Great Zhou.”

“With father’s talents and sharp wits, none of that will be hard.”

“You have quite some confidence in me.”

“Naturally,” Qin Yining pronounced firmly. “Father will accomplish tremendous feats in Great Zhou.”

Née Sun looked at the father-daughter duo chatting. Though she was unable to join in their conversation, she felt a heretofore unexperienced sense of satisfaction. In this moment, she felt quite content with life. There was no need to begrudge or envy Cao Yuqing.

So what if Cao Yuqing was young and beautiful. Née Sun was the mother of Qin Huaiyuan’s daughter, and she alone was his wife. As stunning as Cao Yuqing was, she was only a concubine.

During this period of time, née Sun had felt a tremendous boulder crushing her heart whenever she thought of Cao Yuqing standing guard by Qin Huaiyuan’s side. She’d found it hard to breathe, but all that was unravelled now that their family was together again.

……

Over the next two days, many of the aristocratic houses in the city busied themselves with intense preparations for the upcoming journey.

For the Qins, it was naturally the second and third elder master leading Qin Yu and Qin Han in taking care of things. Meanwhile, Qin Yining went to see Steward Zhang in private.

“…don’t worry, miss. I’ve handled most of the things that you’ve set out for me. I took careful stock of the land that we secretly bought. When added to the fertile fields and paddy fields that we have in the city and the outskirts, we own more than sixty percent of the nearby farmland. Add to that the paddy fields and terrace fields we have elsewhere — that makes you the greatest landowner in Great Yan.”

Qin Yining nodded. “None of them are under my name, correct?”

“Don’t worry, the people I used were all trustworthy. None of it will be traced back to you.”

“That’s good. Before we leave, let’s assign the refugees in Ning Park to the various farms we own. Now that the war is over, this is all part of Great Zhou territory. They’ll be able to rebuild their homes one day if they earn their own living.”

“Understood,” Steward Zhong agreed with great admiration. “They owe you their lives, and now you’re giving them jobs to relieve the stress of an unknown future. They’ll feel only more gratitude to you.”

Qin Yining shook her head with a smile. “I didn’t do all this for people to be grateful to me. That’s just an added bonus. As for you, have you really decided to go to Great Zhou?”

“Naturally. Great Yan has fallen, and the Institute of Luminous Charm is now history. We don’t need to hire convicts for labor in the future, and they’ll probably all be pardoned soon. Our taverns and inns are just ordinary businesses in the future. I feel that when it comes to commerce, greater opportunities naturally lie within more prosperous cities.”

The fourth miss couldn’t help chucking when she saw the steward’s dashing energy. “To be honest, I feel more at ease with you along as well. You don’t need to rush to set off with me. There’s going to be several batches of people moving to Great Zhou’s capital. Why don’t you stay and make the arrangements at your leisure? It’s not too late to the capital only when everything is taken care of. I’ll be on firm footing in the capital then as well. We’ll be able to pick up right where we left off.”