Why Make an Enemy of Him?

Song Rusheng looked at the bed curtains. She had lived like this for five years. Five years ago, she gave birth in the room.

Zhao Hu and his wet nurse were having a passionate affair right next door.

They thought they didn't know, but at that time, she was in severe stomach pain and went next door, only to witness what she saw.

From that moment on, she slowly began to despair.

I'm indifferent to these things now.

She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.

The next day, Zhao Hu went to her bedside, looked at her, and said, "Wife, are you bored at home? Why don't you have one of your maids push you out for a walk?"

Song Rusheng shook his head and said, "My legs are like this, it's inconvenient."

Zhao Hu looked at the maids under her command and said, "Didn't we make a four-wheeled carriage? Carry Madam out for a walk."

Helpless, Song Rusheng could only get into the four-wheeled vehicle. Zhao Hu draped a cloak over her shoulders and said, "It's cold outside, be careful not to catch a cold. We'll be back after we've sunbathed for a while."

Song Rusheng nodded.

After Zhao Hu left, one of the maids sneered, "She's just a cripple, yet our master treats her so well. The problem is, he can't seem to warm her heart."

"That's right! Our master is really unlucky to have married such a woman, making us serve a useless person every day. It's disgusting."

"We have to do everything, from pooping to peeing, it's really disgusting."

Song Rusheng remained expressionless. These two maids were arranged by Zhao Hu; they were Zhao Hu's spies.

Lüzhu rushed over and looked at them, saying, "What are you doing? If you keep gossiping like this, I'll tell the master when he gets back."

The two maids completely ignored her and left.

Lüzhu's eyes reddened with anger. "Miss, they're getting more and more unruly!"

Song Rusheng sighed and said, "They've long seen that Zhao Hu has no feelings for me, so naturally they dare to treat me so recklessly. Let's wait and see!"

Lüzhu looked at her and said, "Miss, what are you waiting for?"

Song Rusheng looked at her and said, "If we really leave, all that family fortune will benefit Zhao Hu. I'm just not willing to accept that."

Lüzhu pushed her to an open space before whispering, "Even if you're unwilling, so what? We can't find any evidence against him. He's been on guard against you all along!"

Song Rusheng twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Perhaps that girl really can help me?"

Lüzhu looked at her helplessly and said, "Miss, people say you're a female strategist, do you really think a six-year-old child can help us?"

Song Rusheng said, "Who knows? We have to try! What if it works?"

Lüzhu wiped away her tears and said, "Zhao Hu is really despicable. He was afraid you would run away, so he tried to imprison you. He's so hateful."

Song Rusheng smiled faintly and said:

He can be imprisoned for a time, but not forever.

We've hidden the child away now, so I'm not afraid of him at all.

Zhou Wanwan was quite busy that day, constantly sorting through the messages sent by various trees.

Zhou Wanwan looked at these accounts and said:

"Goodness, this Zhao Hu is no ordinary person either."

They own twenty estates and more than ten shops! They're really rich!

"And the banknotes from the money exchange are all deposited in that wet nurse's name, which is quite interesting."

The Old Scholar Tree frowned and said, "Then what do you suggest we do about this?"

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and said, "Oh! Isn't that simple? He's a businessman, so naturally he needs to buy goods. We can just find someone to pretend to be a seller and swindle him out of his money, right?"

The Old Scholar Tree looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "This Zhao Hu is very shrewd and not easily fooled!"

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said, "Isn't he in need of medicinal herbs lately? I have some! I'll have someone contact him beforehand and let him see the samples."

Soon, someone found Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Where did you find out that I need medicinal herbs?"

The person who met him smiled and said, "Naturally, you're from the Zhao Clan. I know your uncle, that's why we're here."

The uncle smiled and said, "Zhao Hu! Didn't you say you were looking for medicinal herbs? I think his herbs are really good. Would you like to take a look?"

Zhao Hu nodded and said, "Alright, let's see what kind of medicinal herbs they are."

The man pulled a century-old ginseng from his robes, and everyone was stunned.

"Wow! That's incredible! It must be at least 200 years old, right?"

"Tsk tsk tsk... This quality is extraordinary. I wonder how much ginseng you have?"

Zheng Yuanbao looked at them and said, "We can have as many as you want, but the price is very high."

Zhao Hu scoffed and said, "This ginseng must cost several hundred taels, right?"

Zheng Yuanbao nodded and said, "Yes, three hundred taels, no cheating the young or old."

Zhao Hu shook his head and said, "Three hundred taels? That price is too high. We can't afford it. Ten ginseng roots would cost three thousand taels."

Zheng Yuanbao looked at him and said, "But my family not only has ginseng, but also all sorts of other medicinal herbs."

Zheng Yuanbao laid out all the goods in his house: century-old He Shou Wu), century-old Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum), Cordyceps sinensis, Tianshan snow lotus, deer antler, musk...

Zhao Hu's eyes widened as he asked, "Where did all these goods come from?"

Zheng Yuanbao looked at him and said:

"Many of them come from the mountains, and of course, many are collected from farmers."

I have my own channels, and the goods at home are no worse than these.

But I need to receive payment first before I can take the goods.

Zhao Hu scoffed and said, "Are you trying to scam me?"

Zheng Yuanbao was taken aback for a moment and said, "What do you mean by that, Boss Zhao? I supply goods to the government regularly, why would I lie to you about this little bit of money?"

My uncle sighed:

Zhao Hu, why do you have to offend people?

We know them; they run a very large business in the government and have close ties with the officials.

Zheng Yuanbao carefully put away the medicinal herbs and said, "Since you think I'm lying to you, then forget it. I'll take my leave first."

Zheng Yuanbao walked away without looking back, and his uncle rushed over to stop him, saying, "Wait! Wait! Now that I've brought you here, you should at least have a meal with me, right?"

Zheng Yuanbao looked at them and said, "I've come here sincerely to make friends. I have more than twenty pharmacies in Dongshan Prefecture. Why would I need to deceive you?"

His uncle quickly stopped him, Zhao Hu hurriedly said with a smile, "Brother Zheng, don't be angry. You said you needed to take out money first to purchase the goods; we don't have that kind of rule here!"

Zheng Yuanbao snorted coldly and said:

"Are you suggesting I use my own money to buy the goods?"

What if you decide you don't want it anymore? This is our first time working together, and we don't know each other well.

I have not only two-hundred-year-old ginseng, but I also have thousand-year-old ginseng. Why would I lie to you?

Zheng Yuanbao carefully took a box out of his basket, which was wrapped in layers of red cloth.

Only when everyone had lost patience did Zheng Yuanbao take out the ginseng from the box and say, "See this? A thousand-year-old ginseng. How many people in your capital can afford to collect that?"