Double blessings at the door

Tao Yaoyao naturally caught the barbed edge in Chen Shi'an's words and said coldly:

"I've already agreed to your terms. Hurry up and write the poem."

Chen Shi'an dipped his brush in ink. "As for making Tiantian a Spirit Medium, I hope you'll arrange things carefully. I don't want her or her mother to know I had anything to do with it."

"Fine!" Tao Yaoyao answered without hesitation.

Only then did Chen Shi'an lower his brush, letting the ink flow across the page.

Before long, another five-character quatrain took shape beneath his brush:

Before my bed, bright moonlight glows,

Like frost upon the ground below.

I lift my head to watch the moon,

Then bow and dream of home again.

Chen Shi'an set down his brush. "The poem is called 'Quiet Night Thoughts.' Please appraise it, Mistress Tao."

Tao Yaoyao read it through, her eyes lighting up. "Write the next one," she urged.

"Don't be impatient, Mistress Tao. Once the Spirit Medium selection is over, I'll deliver it to you personally," Chen Shi'an said evenly.

Tao Yaoyao's delicate brows drew together. "You don't trust me?"

Chen Shi'an made no attempt to conceal it and nodded outright. "After all, this is the first time we've met."

Tao Yaoyao's brows knitted even tighter. "Chen Shi'an, in Windrise Stronghold, the people who dare defy me number no more than..."

Before she could finish, the corners of Chen Shi'an's mouth curled upward. "Mistress Tao, the Spirit Medium Selection Contest is about to enter its final round. You'd better hurry."

With that, he stepped straight out of the carriage and strode away.

Tao Yaoyao's mouth twitched, her chest heaving with anger, but in the end, she said nothing.

Cui Zhu climbed into the carriage. "Mistress, he's just a gambler who picked up someone else's poetry manuscript, yet he dares haggle with you and give you attitude! I'll go tie him up right now and squeeze every poem out of him."

It took Tao Yaoyao a while to quell her anger. She raised a hand. "Don't act rashly. This man is deeply calculating. There's far more to him than meets the eye."

Cui Zhu looked disdainful. "He has neither power nor influence. He's nothing but an ant. What good does being calculating do him?"

Tao Yaoyao gently shook her head. "With nothing but a poetry manuscript, he kept Wang Tianye from acting rashly, led Lu Chenyang around by the nose, and drew me here.

"Even if he is an ant, he's a rather large one."

At that, she let out a soft breath. "I'm beginning to suspect he wrote these poems himself."

"Impossible," Cui Zhu said without thinking. "I investigated him thoroughly. Chen Shi'an is an ignorant, uneducated gambling addict. How could he write such moving verses?"

Tao Yaoyao lifted her eyelids slightly. "If he really wrote them, someone with such talent would naturally need an identity to hide behind.

"What you managed to uncover may well be exactly what he wanted you to see."

Cui Zhu clearly didn't believe it. "Mistress, aren't you giving him too much credit?

"Even if he wrote the poems, so what? In the Desolate Ruins, strength reigns supreme. Those who wield a pen can only become ornaments and lackeys.

"He dares throw his weight around in front of you? I won't stand for it!"

Tao Yaoyao smiled faintly, lifting her chin. "His behavior just now was merely that old trick of letting go to reel someone in.

"Just watch. After a few more meetings, he'll be no different from any other man. All he wants is to win my favor."

When Chen Shi'an returned home, Su Qingrou had just finished making dinner.

"Uncle, they didn't give you any trouble, did they?" Chen Tiantian handed him a bowl of rice.

Su Qingrou added, "Those two young women were plainly dressed, but judging by their bearing and the way they spoke, they certainly weren't ordinary people.

"I don't think they came to buy chili sauce."

Chen Shi'an shook his head with a smile. "Stop being so suspicious. They really did just have me deliver chili sauce. We barely exchanged two sentences along the way."

Su Qingrou relaxed a little. "Brother-in-law, you sold all sixty jars of chili sauce that quickly?"

Chen Shi'an nodded. "Sister-in-law, you should have faith in your own skills."

Worry appeared on Su Qingrou's face. "Brother-in-law, having you carry a shoulder pole out to hawk our goods isn't a long-term solution.

"It's hard work, and ultimately, it won't earn much silver."

Chen Shi'an's lips curved into a broad smile. "Today will be the only time I do it. If I'm right, people will soon come knocking to buy it, and they'll want large quantities."

Su Qingrou clearly looked doubtful and was about to speak.

Chen Shi'an continued, "Sister-in-law, there are a few things I need to tell you beforehand.

"If they buy a lot, you can lower the price, but by no more than two copper coins.

"And if anyone wants to take over all our chili sauce business, you must refuse. We have to keep the recipe, the craft, and the selling rights in our own hands."

Su Qingrou blinked. "Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?"

Chen Tiantian smiled slightly. "Uncle, you haven't even caught the duck, and you're already deciding whether to steam it or stir-fry it."

Chen Shi'an put on a stern face. "You little brat. When adults are talking business, children should keep quiet."

Chen Tiantian made a face.

"Hurry up and eat. Afterward, help me put labels on all the chili sauce in the cellar," Chen Shi'an added.

"Sure!" Chen Tiantian answered sweetly.

Seeing how well uncle and niece got along, Su Qingrou broke into a radiant, happy smile.

The City Guard Battalion finally found the Chen Family's home. Quite a few men came, including Hou Fang, to ask about Zhao Desheng.

Following Hou Fang's instructions, Chen Shi'an repeated his earlier account without leaving anything out or adding a single word.

After receiving several dozen copper coins, the guards soon left, telling Chen Shi'an to report immediately if he remembered anything else.

Naturally, Chen Shi'an readily agreed and saw the guards off with an ingratiating smile.

Fortunately, Su Qingrou wasn't home.

Otherwise, he would have had more explaining to do.

That same afternoon, Chen Tiantian returned home in high spirits, bringing several people with her.

They were all chief organizers of the Spirit Medium Selection Contest. They had happened upon Chen Tiantian on the road, said she brimmed with spiritual vitality and had exactly the bearing of a Spirit Medium, and invited her to enter the contest.

Naturally, Su Qingrou was overjoyed and was about to agree.

Chen Shi'an, however, stepped forward and questioned their identities, suspecting that they were impostors running a scam.

They had to spend considerable time explaining and produce some evidence before finally dispelling Chen Shi'an's "concerns."

Not long after they had seen those people off, another visitor arrived: the manager of the Stronghold's Anfeng Restaurant.

He got straight to the point, asking to buy a thousand jars of chili sauce in one go, though he wanted the price lowered to seven copper coins per jar.

Chen Shi'an pushed Su Qingrou forward and let her handle the entire negotiation.

After some bargaining, Su Qingrou sold the Anfeng Restaurant five hundred jars of chili sauce at nine copper coins each.

With nearly five taels of silver in hand, Su Qingrou could scarcely believe it was real.

Only after the Anfeng Restaurant hauled the chili sauce away did she come back to her senses, smiling so broadly she couldn't close her mouth.

In a rare gesture, she even gave Chen Tiantian some copper coins and sent her to buy a catty of wine and two catties of meat. Tonight, they would celebrate properly.

When Chen Tiantian returned, however, she was carrying a full five catties of meat.

Su Qingrou was astonished. The money she had given her certainly wasn't enough to buy that much meat.

Chen Tiantian smiled. "I only bought two catties, but Zhang Mazi insisted on giving me five. And it's all prime lean meat. I couldn't turn him down."

Su Qingrou's expression changed. "There are several butcher shops on the street. Why did you have to go to Zhang Mazi's?"

Chen Tiantian replied, "The meat's all about the same anyway. It doesn't matter which shop I buy it from.

"If I deliberately avoided his shop, he'd think I was afraid of him.

"Uncle was right. A lot of people who look fierce and act like they're above everyone else are really paper tigers. Give them a poke, and they'll behave. They'll even turn around and fawn over you."

Su Qingrou looked at Chen Shi'an reproachfully. "Brother-in-law, you mustn't teach a child things like that."

Chen Shi'an shook his head, protesting his innocence. "Sister-in-law, don't believe this girl's nonsense. I've never taught her anything like that."

Chen Tiantian immediately added, "Uncle really didn't teach me that. He only told me that a dog travels a thousand miles and still eats filth, while a wolf travels a thousand miles and eats meat. If you're weak and always give way, filth is all you deserve."

Su Qingrou's brows shot up.

Seeing trouble coming, Chen Shi'an snatched up the meat and dashed into the kitchen. "Sister-in-law, I'll wash and cut the meat!"

The oil lamp was lit, and wine and dishes covered the table. The Chen Family hadn't enjoyed such a festive scene in a long time.

"Tiantian gets to enter the Spirit Medium Selection Contest, and our Chen Su Ji chili sauce is selling wonderfully. Double blessings at the door! Today is worth celebrating."

Smiling broadly, Su Qingrou raised her wine cup. "Let's have a toast."

Chen Tiantian looked at the water in her cup. "Mother, can I taste the wine?"

"Don't you dare!" Su Qingrou's delicate brows bristled.

Chen Tiantian immediately stuck out her tongue and abandoned the idea.

Chen Shi'an, however, quickly dipped his chopsticks in his wine and slipped them straight into Chen Tiantian's mouth.

"It burns! It really burns!" Chen Tiantian looked pained and shook her little head repeatedly.

Su Qingrou burst out laughing, then said, "Brother-in-law, you can't keep spoiling Tiantian. Lately, she's been like a wild horse that's slipped its reins, just like some little tomboy."

Chen Shi'an replied, "In a law-governed country like the Sacred Martial Dynasty, a girl should naturally be gentle and refined, a proper young lady.

"But this is the Desolate Ruins. That sort of thing won't help her at all. It'll only put her in greater danger."

Hearing that, Su Qingrou fell silent. She stroked Chen Tiantian's head and sighed deeply. "Fate. It's all fate."

Chen Tiantian lifted her little head. "Mother, don't believe in fate. Human strength may have its limits, but if we keep striving to better ourselves, we still have a chance to defy heaven and change our destiny.

"Who knows? One day, we might leave the Desolate Ruins and go to the Sacred Martial Dynasty, Northern Liang, or Southern Qing."

Su Qingrou gave a bitter smile. "Did your uncle teach you all that?

"You're still young. You don't know how hard life is. Defying heaven and changing your destiny is easier said than done.

"The Desolate Ruins have stood for hundreds of years. Has there ever been an ordinary person like us who managed to leave?"

"Just because there's no precedent doesn't mean it's impossible," Chen Tiantian replied.

Seeing that mother and daughter were about to start debating, Chen Shi'an raised his wine cup. "Today's a happy day. Let's not talk about such heavy, unpleasant things. Come on, let's drink."

Su Qingrou could hold her liquor quite well. Even after drinking four taels of wine, she remained clearheaded.

Her pretty face was flushed, and the oil lamp's glow only made her more alluring. Chen Shi'an hardly dared look at her for long.

Naturally, Chen Shi'an finished all the remaining wine.

The wine wasn't very strong, probably only around twenty percent alcohol.

Even after six taels, he was only beginning to feel it and still wanted more.

Chen Tiantian was already clearing the table when Su Qingrou suddenly said, "Brother-in-law, at this rate, we'll soon earn twenty taels of silver.

"When that happens, I'll find you a nice girl and refurbish the house so you can get married soon."

Chen Shi'an smiled wryly. "Sister-in-law, why are you always thinking about that?

"I'm only eighteen this year. I'm still young. Building a livelihood comes first."

Su Qingrou shook her head. "Eighteen isn't young anymore. Plenty of lads your age in the Stronghold already have children old enough to run out and buy soy sauce."

Chen Tiantian came over. "Mother, Uncle doesn't want a wife. Don't force him."

Su Qingrou glared. "You little brat, stay out of adult business. Go do your lessons."

Chen Tiantian pouted. "I think things are pretty good the way they are. If Uncle gets a wife and has children, he definitely won't dote on me the way he does now."

Chen Shi'an stroked Chen Tiantian's head and smiled. "Don't worry. Until you grow up and marry someone who'll look after you and cherish you, I'll always protect you."

"I knew it. Uncle is the best." Chen Tiantian hugged Chen Shi'an's arm and affectionately rested her head against him.

A gratified smile appeared on Su Qingrou's face. "Brother-in-law, I'm not joking. Once a little more time has passed, I'll start making arrangements..."

Chen Shi'an abruptly stood. "Tiantian, come to my room. I have something to tell you."

With that, he strode out of the room, looking distinctly as though he were fleeing.

Watching Chen Shi'an's retreating back, Su Qingrou sighed softly and sat beneath the oil lamp, lost in thought.

Inside the room.

Chen Shi'an took out a small, narrow-necked porcelain bottle and slipped it into his sleeve.

Then, with a gentle extension of his wrist, he caught the little bottle in his palm.

Working his thumb, index finger, and middle finger together, he easily pulled out the slender stopper and poured out a small splash of water.

"Did you see my movements clearly?"

Chen Shi'an refilled the porcelain bottle with water, replaced the stopper, and handed it to Chen Tiantian. "Do it the way I did. Pour the water out without spilling so much as half a drop on your hand."

"Uncle, what are you doing?" Chen Tiantian was completely bewildered.

Chen Shi'an said gravely, "Don't ask why yet. Just do it the way I showed you. You only have tomorrow to practice.

"Once you've mastered it, I'll tell you why."

Chen Tiantian pursed her lips. "Uncle, you're really underestimating me. Why would I need to practice something so simple? I can do it right now."

With that, she deftly slipped the porcelain bottle into her sleeve. Copying Chen Shi'an's movements, she gently thrust her wrist forward and easily caught the bottle in her palm.

The bottle was small enough for her hand to conceal it completely, leaving nothing visible.

Chen Shi'an was rather surprised. As he watched, Chen Tiantian kept moving, her thumb, index finger, and middle finger shifting lightly.

In less than three breaths, she nimbly removed the stopper and poured out the water inside.

The entire process was extremely discreet. Without watching closely, no one would notice anything amiss.

"Uncle, look! I got it on the first try. Why would I need a whole day?" Chen Tiantian lifted her head proudly.