When Tang Jiayu wrapped her arm around Li Zhaoji's, he felt the sudden softness pressed against him, and half his body went rigid. Ordinarily, Li Zhaoji was long accustomed to physical contact—when practicing martial arts or in battle, comrades had to look out for one another, and a pull of the hand or an arm slung over a shoulder was perfectly normal. But that sort of contact was different from Tang Jiayu's.
At least no man had ever suddenly lunged at him and embraced him. Since his mother's death, no one had held him. His father held him in high regard, his subordinates were close to him yet respectful, and he had no full brothers—his cousin Wei Chengjun was cordial on the surface but at odds beneath it. Merely imagining any of these people reaching for his hand made Li Zhaoji's skin crawl.
But Tang Jiayu was different. She seemed to have no bones at all, drifting close to him even while walking properly down the road. Li Zhaoji was tempted to grab her by the shoulders and make her stand up straight. On the way, he could still maintain some distance without betraying his discomfort, but once they entered the Hall of Humble Virtue, she grew even bolder. Oddly enough, in front of Wei Chengjun, Li Zhaoji did not flinch.
Tang Jiayu's touch was not nearly as unbearable as he had expected. Compared to that, what he loathed far more was the greedy look in Wei Chengjun's eyes. There was no point making a fuss over something so trivial. Li Zhaoji signaled Pang Cheng with his eyes to stay out of it. He pressed down on Tang Jiayu's hand and soothed her: "Your father only means well for you. Don't be willful."
Sure enough, once Li Zhaoji spoke, Tang Jiayu, who had been throwing a grand young lady's tantrum, reined herself in and huffed: "Fine then. Bingwen, you're just too kind-hearted. If anyone ever bullies you, tell me, and I'll have your back!"
Pang Cheng sat in the seat of honor, his expression complicated. The Young Lord had ordered him not to make a fuss, and Tang Jiayu kept saying she would have his back—which made Pang Cheng look like the villain trying to tear apart a loving couple. Why on earth did Tang Jiayu think the Young Lord could be bullied? Pang Cheng thought of the way the Young Lord dispatched his enemies in battle and suspected he no longer recognized the words "kind-hearted."
Pang Cheng had not anticipated that with the Young Lord around, his hands would be tied. He could no longer discipline Tang Jiayu as he once had, so he could only keep a stern face and take the opening she had given him: "Jiayu, look here. I've doted on you for fifteen years, and you still can't match your husband's good sense."
Tang Jiayu gripped Li Zhaoji's hand in return, interlacing their fingers, and pouted: "He's the man I chose for myself. Naturally, he's perfect in every way."
Pang Cheng caught sight of their intertwined hands and could not tell whether the Young Lord had defiled his cabbage, or his cabbage had defiled the Young Lord. He only wanted to be spared the sight, so he said hurriedly: "Now that I have a son-in-law, I can slowly lay down my burdens. After all, the Tang family will one day be run by the two of you as a couple. There's a grain shop west of the city—I'll have the shopkeeper hand the account books to our son-in-law, so he can get some practice. Later, he can gradually take over the Tang family business. Jiayu, let go of your husband. He has proper matters to attend to."
Tang Jiayu narrowed her eyes in secret. For all these years, Pang Cheng had used his doting on his daughter as an excuse, never letting Tang Jiayu worry about the Tang family business—claiming, in fine words, that daughters should be raised with indulgence. That was precisely why Tang Jiayu had never discovered that the Tang family was one great deception. Now Pang Cheng was letting Li Zhaoji take charge of the business; the shop management was surely a pretense, and the real purpose was to give Li Zhaoji the freedom to vanish at any moment.
How could Tang Jiayu pass up such a perfect opportunity to get out? She gripped Li Zhaoji's hand tightly and said, "Just two days ago you couldn't stand Bingwen, and now you want him to manage the shop? You can't be that kind-hearted. I'm going with Bingwen!"
Pang Cheng couldn't help but frown at Tang Jiayu. Though he didn't truly regard her as his daughter, she was far too quick to side with outsiders—suspecting her own father over a man she'd just met?
No wonder people said daughters were born to leave the family. What use was a daughter like this anyway!
Pang Cheng's face darkened as he snapped, "Tang Jiayu!"
"You're yelling at me—that proves you have something to hide!" Tang Jiayu refused to back down, speaking with absolute certainty. "Wherever Bingwen goes, I go. Don't you dare bully him!"
With that, Tang Jiayu turned to Li Zhaoji, her eyes brimming with affection. "Don't worry, I won't let you face this alone. As long as I'm here, no one will dare humiliate you!"
Tang Jiayu's infatuation exceeded everyone's expectations. Pang Cheng and Li Zhaoji exchanged a glance, and Li Zhaoji gave an almost imperceptible nod. Pang Cheng cursed inwardly, then put on a helpless expression and sighed. "Fine, a grown daughter won't listen to her father. If you want to go, go along."
Tang Jiayu was overjoyed, as if her earlier defiance had never happened. Her face bloomed with a smile as she thanked Pang Cheng. "Thank you, Father. I knew you were the best."
Although Li Zhaoji had come to the Tang residence for a special mission, he couldn't neglect his duties at the military camp. So Pang Cheng used the pretext of managing a shop to allow Li Zhaoji to come and go freely from the Tang residence. The Tang family did indeed own a grain shop—raising Tang Jiayu was so expensive that the Governor's Manor couldn't keep subsidizing it forever, so Li Jichen had purchased several shops for the Tang family, and this grain shop was one of them. The shopkeeper was one of Li Jichen's own men, while the other clerks were hired from among the common folk. They only knew that their master's surname was Tang—aloof and mysterious—and knew nothing else.
Tang Jiayu followed Li Zhaoji into Fengnian Grain Shop. She looked at the clerk dozing behind the counter and the sparse trickle of customers, her heart pounding. These people stood with slack postures and relaxed stances—they weren't soldiers in disguise, but genuine ordinary folk! She was finally touching the real world, one step closer to escaping her cage.
When the shopkeeper heard that Li Zhaoji had arrived, he hurried over from the back hall. As he strode into the front room and saw the clerk nodding off behind the counter, he smacked him on the back of the head. "The master's here! Get up now!"
The clerk jolted awake and, opening his eyes, saw a strikingly handsome man and woman standing in the shop. He froze, thinking he was still dreaming. The shopkeeper urged him again before he snapped out of it and hastily bowed. "This one greets the master, greets the mistress."
The shopkeeper hadn't expected Tang Jiayu to come as well. He was extremely tense, afraid both of slighting the Young Lord and of Tang Jiayu seeing through something. He smiled obsequiously and asked cautiously, "Today isn't the day for settling accounts—why has the master come?"
Tang Jiayu saw the clerk's reaction and realized he must have taken Li Zhaoji for the master, assuming she was merely the young mistress. She smiled and spoke up. "I don't usually involve myself in my father's business. Since we married yesterday, Father intends to hand the family business over to us, so I've brought my husband to meet everyone."
The waiter suddenly understood—so this beautiful woman, lovely as a peony, was the real proprietor! He quickly bowed to Tang Jiayu with hands clasped in salute: "So it is the lady. This humble one has not been here long and failed to recognize your eminence. I beg the lady's pardon."
Tang Jiayu was quite pleased with how readily the waiter caught on. She smiled and said, "My husband and I are of one heart and one mind, husband and wife as one body. If I find out anyone dares to take advantage of my husband's unfamiliarity with business to deceive him—whether you are new or long-standing staff—I will not let you off."
The young mistress had stepped forward, assertively backing her live-in son-in-law. The staff voiced their flattering agreement while casting envious glances at Li Zhaoji.
His wife had vast wealth, was beautiful as a fairy, and tended to his every need. How was this pretty boy so fortunate?
The shopkeeper knew Li Zhaoji's true identity and hesitated, looking toward the Young Lord. Li Zhaoji was used to being the center of attention, but this was the first time he was receiving everyone's gaze as a live-in son-in-law. The feeling was… novel.
Only those with fragile hearts care about others' opinions. Given Li Zhaoji's status, being taken for a live-in son-in-law did not sting him in the least. Li Zhaoji was also curious about what human affairs and worldly ways looked like from a low position, so with a smile on his lips, he calmly let Tang Jiayu proclaim her live-in son-in-law to all, offering no objection.
After Tang Jiayu, under the guise of backing him up, had thoroughly trampled Li Zhaoji in public, the pent-up anger in her heart dissipated somewhat, and her innate pragmatism kicked in. Although this grain shop did not truly belong to her, seeing such a large storefront with so few customers still made Tang Jiayu feel the sting of loss.
Tang Jiayu asked, "We have been here quite a while, and only six customers have come in to look. Not a single one has bought anything. Is business usually this sluggish?"
At the mention of this, the shopkeeper finally had something to say. He sighed, "To be honest with you, sir and madam, this year's harvest has been poor. It is not just our shop—every business on this entire street is struggling."
"That still cannot go on like this." Tang Jiayu took a turn around the shop and could not help but fret. "The arrangement is too cluttered. The storefront is clearly not small, yet it feels dark and cramped. Move the large sacks of grain to the granary in the back hall. Build a row of display counters in the front hall, and put samples of millet, foxtail millet, beans, rice, and wheat flour on the counter, displayed by category—do not mix them together. Even for the same item, such as rice—fragrant rice, japonica rice, and Champa rice, early rice and late rice—they must all be sold separately."
Tang Jiayu looked around and asked, "Why do I not see any price tags?"
The shopkeeper said, "Grain prices change daily. Making price tags is too much trouble. If customers want to buy, they will come in and ask."
Tang Jiayu glared at him fiercely. "If grain prices change daily, can you not change the tags daily too? You want to do business with people, yet you make the customers go out of their way to ask? In a moment, find a carpenter and place an order for price tags today. Mark the place of origin and the type clearly. Leave the price column blank so it can be changed at any time. Also, the front hall is too dark."
This master had far too many opinions. The shopkeeper said with a bitter face, "Grain shops must guard against fire. This humble one dares not light lamps."
If lamps could not be lit, then other solutions must be found. In any case, whatever Tang Jiayu set her mind to, she would see done. She walked to the window and looked for a good while, then said, "Tear out this entire row of windows and replace them with removable lattice doors."
"What?" The shopkeeper was shocked. All this trouble? He couldn't help but look at Li Zhaoji. Li Zhaoji didn't understand much about business, but Tang Jiayu's reasoning made sense. Since she was willing to go to all this trouble, he would let her do as she pleased.
Li Zhaoji gave a slight nod, and the shopkeeper had no choice but to clasp his hands and agree: "Yes."
Tang Jiayu inspected both the front hall and the back rooms, even crawling into the grain storehouse to check it herself. At first the shopkeeper tried to keep everything in his head, but in the end he had to fetch paper and brush, and even then he still couldn't keep up with Tang Jiayu's wild ideas. Tang Jiayu, fed up with the shopkeeper's clumsiness, finally lost patience and said: "Forget it. I'll go back and draw the designs for the display cabinets, price tags, and lattice doors myself. You find a skilled carpenter to make them according to the drawings. Once the samples are made, they must be sent to the Tang residence for my approval. Only after I say they're fine can you continue. Can you find a carpenter?"
The shopkeeper nodded hurriedly—this much he could manage. In the bitter cold of deep winter, the shopkeeper was drenched in sweat. He stood at the door with his hands hanging down, eager to see Tang Jiayu off: "Take care, madam, sir."
Tang Jiayu had Zhandong carry the account books from the Fengnian Grain Shop back to the carriage. She caught sight of someone selling roasted chestnuts across the street, and since she was a bit hungry, she tugged at Li Zhaoji's sleeve and said affectionately: "Husband, I want roasted chestnuts."
Li Zhaoji glanced left and right, realizing she was ordering him around. He was incredulous: "You want me to go?"
"Yes." Tang Jiayu clung to him, her eyes curved like crescents, her smile amiable. "You're my husband. What's wrong with buying me some chestnuts?"
Li Zhaoji thought there was a very big problem—he was the one others waited on. When had he ever waited on anyone? But Tang Jiayu wouldn't let it go, clinging to his arm and shaking it gently: "Husband!"
The two of them were behaving intimately, and many people on the street had already turned to look. Li Zhaoji really didn't want to be gawked at like a monkey on the street, so he could only go across the street with a dark expression to buy her chestnuts.
Today Tang Jiayu had only brought Zhandong with her. Zhandong had gone to the carriage to put away the account books and hadn't returned yet. After Li Zhaoji left as well, Tang Jiayu was alone on the street. Her heart began to race, but she also knew with absolute clarity that she could not escape.
Behind her was the Fengnian Grain Shop. Zhandong and the driver were nearby. These people were all trained fighters—the slightest unusual movement on her part would be noticed. Never mind escaping Bingzhou; she couldn't even handle Li Zhaoji across the street.
So Li Zhaoji dared to turn his back on her, because he was confident that even if Tang Jiayu ran, she couldn't escape beyond the range of his arrow.
Tang Jiayu couldn't help feeling disheartened. In another two years, Li Jichen would die of illness, and the situation in Hedong would change drastically. As a tiny fish in the pond, she would be dragged into the chaos. Those ambitious men didn't care what she said or did. Her identity doomed her to a life where she could not stay uninvolved. She couldn't guarantee that she would escape this time. She had to leave Bingzhou before Li Jichen died.
But the road ahead stretched endlessly, so long she couldn't see the end. Could she really change her fate?
Tang Jiayu was lost in thought, unaware of her surroundings, and only snapped back to her senses when she heard the exclamations of passersby. She discovered a crazed horse charging straight at her, its hooves right above her head!
Tang Jiayu was frozen with terror. The fear of dying from her past life seized her, leaving her unable to move.
Was she going to die again? Not by Li Zhaoji's arrow, but by a bizarre and absurd runaway horse on the street.
At the critical moment of life and death, a black figure suddenly leaped down in front of her—narrow waist, ape-like back, long arms sweeping the reins of the frantic horse to the other side. Almost simultaneously, an iron-clamp-like force seized her arm. Tang Jiayu was yanked backward, stumbling until she crashed hard against a firm chest.
Li Zhaoji's face was cold and fierce, his narrow dark eyes fixed on her. "You saw a horse charging at you and didn't dodge—do you not value your life?"
Tang Jiayu knew that at a time like this, she should act coy and feign fear, stirring Li Zhaoji's protective instincts. But she simply couldn't muster the energy to put on an act for him. She couldn't help but look ahead—there was a man in black sitting on the horse, his legs clamped tightly around its flanks. Under his control, the wild stallion gradually calmed back to obedience. His clothes were simple, his appearance rough, but his hard, angular features remained striking.
It was Huo Zheng—the man who had saved her in her previous life!