CH 59

Chapter 59: I’m Fine

Mo Wenchen, who had walked here with Leng Yan, saw Su Qiqi dazing out. He found it a bit strange and approached to ask, “Qiqi, what’s wrong?”

Su Qiqi looked at Mo Wenchen who had a trace of a smile on his face and was being as gentle as a manservant. Indeed, he had the appearance of a man facing a happy occasion.

A moment of stunned silence passed, and then, Su Qiqi hastily lowered her head. She clutched the two plum flowers in her hand. “So, it’s wang ye. I… I’m fine.”

Mo Wenchen didn’t take Su Qiqi’s brusqueness to heart as she has always been that way.

Changing her habits, he knew,  would take time.

Thinking quickly, Mo Wenchen shot Leng Yan a look, silently telling him to leave first. When Leng Yan had gone, he stood next to Su Qiqi’s side and looked at the blooming plum flowers. “After lunar New Year’s Eve, I will be taking Qianzi as a side consort. I will leave you to handle this matter.”

That one sentence transferred the power held by the wang fu’s female master to Su Qiqi.

However, this was not what Su Qiqi wanted. What she wanted wasn’t anything uncommon.

But what could she say? She could only pretend not to mind. She nodded. “Understood, wang ye.”

Mo Wenchen momentarily creased his brow at Su Qiqi’s calmness and apparent indifference. He had expected for this yatou to feel sad, or at least express unwillingness.

Unexpectedly, she had shown none of that.

He sighed. “You should just call me Mo Wenchen.”

He actually felt it was a little dull.

Su Qiqi’s talents were indeed stunning and unparalleled. However, he felt she was too tranquil. Her personality, which tended to stand aloof from worldly matters, sometimes caused people to feel bored.

Even Mo Wenchen himself felt this way.

She wasn’t suitable to be a wife. She was only suited to the job of being his left hand and his right arm. There was no better option than having her as a partner in collaboration. Together, they would be able to achieve any grand prospects and great causes.

It was just that he had sworn to the late Emperor that as long as Mo Wenxuan was alive, he would never fight against great Yan, and would only aid Mo Wenxuan. His oath was the only reason he hadn’t become hostile towards Mo Wenxuan even until now.

And did not use his power to overthrow Mo Wenxuan.

When Mo Wenchen finished speaking, he turned and left. Su Qiqi was left with the sight of a tall, straight-backed figure moving away from her. As before, he was wearing a black robe. And as before, it could not conceal his peerless magnificence and king-like aura.

Now, all the strength drained from Su Qiqi’s legs. She was unable to take a single step. She simply grasped a branch in one hand to keep herself upright and quietly watched Mo Wenchen leave. She continued to watch him until he disappeared. Then, she stood alone in the wind.

Mo Wenchen, Mo Wenchen. These three words seemed to have already become carved into Su Qiqi’s bones. She called the name out over and over again in her heart. Before she realized it, her face was running with her tears.

She was cowardly. She didn’t dare to fight for anything, to snatch anything.

She could only watch like this.

Hua Qianzi was naturally unwilling to simply hand over the authority in her grasp. However, it occurred to her that it really wasn’t appropriate for her to make the wedding arrangements herself when she was about to be the bride.

However, she still didn’t feel willing.

Thus, after she had instructed Su Qiqi on everything, she also instructed a couple of her trusted aides not to cooperate with Su Qiqi.

And because Hua Qianzi was about to become the side wang fei of the wang fu, the servants were even more anxious to curry favor. They naturally saw, heard, and obeyed.

As it was close to the end of the year, Su Qiqi was also extremely busy. Su Qiqi had never handled household arrangements before. So when, quite suddenly, everything was left for her to handle, especially in a household as big as this wang fu, she felt a little overwhelmed and didn’t know where to start. However, giving up wasn’t a choice. She could only continue to persevere.

The unhappiness in her heart was still present, however, she knew that she couldn’t change anything so she stopped thinking about it.

In this lifetime, she was destined to be like this.

Then, when she needed to purchase items for New Years, the accountant presented her with a difficult problem. He said something was wrong with her account, and it had to be verified before they would be able to give her the money she needed.

Naturally, she didn’t believe him. She knew there was no way Hua Qianzi would obediently hand over her power. However, Su Qiqi didn’t want to bicker with the accountant either. She simply told him she would personally inspect the accounting books three days later.

She wasn’t too soft or too hard. Her tone was just right.

The accountant lost his confidence when he saw her reaction.

Hua Qianzi, who was currently soaking in happiness, heard the accountant’s report, then came up with an idea for him.

The set date of three days later had arrived. As Su Qiqi saw the account books piled all over the table, her graceful brows pinched. However, she didn’t say anything.

She knew that if she failed to settle the matter, people would laugh at her even more, and would then refuse to work with her.

Although she had never looked at account books before, she had read the Book of Songs and the Book of History intensively, so she understood basic calculations. Also, that knowledge was essential when she made prescriptions.

Casually, she picked up an account book and quickly looked through it.

Su Qiqi’s spotlessly white sleeves were becoming slightly discolored with dust, but she didn’t pay attention to it. She threw her entire concentration into these little matters on hand. Only by doing so was she able to stop thinking about Mo Wenchen and his wedding to Hua Quanzi.

“The pharmacy’s income is greater than its expenses by three times, so the tax collected from it has increased as well. Though the expenses for my trip with wang ye to the Imperial City are a bit high, they didn’t reach the point where income failed to cover expenditure. Then, I’d like to ask, were the rest taken home by you, or left to the Cousin Miss?” Su Qiqi didn’t bother to be roundabout as she spoke.

She stared straight at the accountant in front of her.

She knew the man was deliberately causing problems for her. She also knew that if she suffered this in silence, it would simply cause more people to ridicule her.

It might even go as far as making her incapable of standing firmly as head of household in the wang fu.

Since Mo Wenchen had passed all these matters over for her to handle, she naturally took it seriously.

“Venomous slander!” The accountant was a little anxious. However, since he knew he had the backing of Hua Qianzi, he kept his spine straight.

“Tell me where the remaining silver is.” Su Qiqi shook out her sleeves, then leisurely sat down on the chair. Her voice was not shrill or loud, nor was it impatient.

She looked coldly at the rather old accountant in front of her.

“You…” The accountant found he was unable to think of any way to explain himself. He had never expected Su Qiqi to understand the account books. In all these years that Hua Qianzi had managed wang fu, she had never personally looked through these account books; because she hadn’t been able to understand them at all.

“I am wang ye’s wang fei.” Su Qiqi’s voice sounded. The depths of her eyes were as clear as ever.

When he heard Su Qiqi’s words, the accountant finally snapped out of it. That was right. No matter what, Su Qiqi was still the wang fei niang niang personally bestowed by His Majesty’s decree.

He abruptly fell to his knees with a quiver. “Wang fei niang niang, please punish.”

“A punishment is indeed necessary.” Su Qiqi touched the high pile of account books as she said mildly, “Tomorrow, withdraw an additional month’s salary. Then, go home and enjoy your retirement.”

Her voice was not loud, yet it was unquestionable.

Only then did the accountant become truly flustered. He hastily kowtowed. “Please wang fei niang niang, pardon…”

Su Qiqi didn’t even look back, and she simply left.

She was killing the chicken to warn the monkey. Although she could hardly bear to do it, she knew it was necessary.

The accountant only rose from his position on the floor after Su Qiqi had gone. Then, he headed towards Hua Qianzi’s courtyard. He could only beg for her help now.

Hua Qianzi was currently grooming herself while facing the mirror. She was trying on the wedding dress that had come from Hundred Flower Nation, and her face was flushed with happiness.

When she saw the accountant with his tear-soaked face, her brows knitted. She was displeased. “Who are you trying to show your wailing to?”

The accountant hastily narrated what had happened carefully.

The furrows in Hua Qianzi’s brows deepened as he spoke. Her good-looking features seemed to squeeze together, and she gritted her teeth. “Humph, impressive, Su Qiqi. Looks like this miss has actually underestimated you.”

She threw down the wedding dress she was holding and stood up. “Wait here.”

Then, she turned and left.

Hua Qianzi headed straight towards Su Qiqi’s courtyard.

Su Qiqi was writing notes as she deliberated over how to make the account books of the wang fu more concise and clear. She was putting all her energy into the affairs of the wang fu.

She saw Hua Qianzi walking over rapidly. However, she didn’t stop what she was doing. She paused, swept a cold glance over Hua Qianzi, and then continued with her current work.

“Su Qiqi, you shouldn’t bully too intolerably!” Hua Qianzi shouted the moment she walked in with her hands propped on her hips.

Mo Wenchen who was next door also looked over upon hearing this. However, he didn’t move.

He was thinking that Su Qiqi could probably handle this small matter with ease.

“Wonder what Cousin Miss means by that?” Su Qiqi’s tone was mild from start to finish without any undulation.

Hua Qianzi gritted her teeth and stomped upon seeing Su Qiqi like this. “What did Old Zhao do wrong for you to order him to retire!? This is clearly bullying!”

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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Proofread by Ailin