A Willing Mistake, My Lady – Chapter 72
by Little PandaNot So Easy to Coax
Bedtime Stories for Half a Month
After dinner, Jiang Chenyu followed Shen Hetang out of the main hall.
The Shen family had few members. In the past, Madam Lin had been unwilling to dine with Concubine Ru and her son, always eating alone. But now that Ah Tang was back, they naturally wanted to fill the manor with lively, bustling warmth.
And so, their recent dinners had all been eaten together. Stepping out of the hall, the weather outside was still freezing cold, the sky dim and hazy.
She turned back to take Jiang Chenyu’s hand, and together they walked past the large red lanterns, returning to their bridal chamber.
Along the way, she felt that Jiang Chenyu was unusually quiet today, perhaps tired from spending so much time with her mother.
“If you don’t want to go to Mother’s place, you don’t have to stay so long tomorrow,” Shen Hetang said. “You look a bit tired.”
“Not at all. I’m doing very well,” Jiang Chenyu replied, the corners of her mouth curving up, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Mother’s place is very lively. There’s all kinds of news to be heard there.”
Shen Hetang felt the atmosphere around her was off, yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong.
But she knew Madam Lin; if anything were to happen, the older woman was no match for Jiang Chenyu. Thus, the probability of a mother-in-law making life difficult for her daughter-in-law was very slim.
As for the other two, Madam Lin certainly wouldn’t give Concubine Ru a chance to speak. That left only… her cousin?
“You don’t look very happy. Why don’t you give me a smile?” She leaned in close to Jiang Chenyu, collapsing against her as if she had no bones.
Jiang Chenyu, who was leaning against the daybed, dodged slightly to the side as she felt the other woman’s weight press down on her, offering a fake smile for her to interpret on her own.
“What color is that on your lips? It looks incredibly beautiful.” Shen Hetang could tell by now that she was truly upset.
“Red!” Jiang Chenyu said bluntly.
“Put some on me too…!” A rich, melting amusement filled her clear, cold phoenix eyes, brimming with a tenderness like flowing spring water.
Jiang Chenyu’s stiff expression softened slightly, but she still turned her head away, refusing to look at her.
Shen Hetang hooked her index finger under Jiang Chenyu’s chin and pressed close. Although she didn’t know the reason, coaxing her first was never the wrong move.
“…Mmh… Nnh…” With her chin held in her grasp, she could only yield completely. The invasion of a nimble tongue brought with it the faint sweetness of lip rouge. As she pushed deeper, Jiang Chenyu felt her mind go numb, as if a jolt of electricity had surged through her.
She… she felt a bit overwhelmed and wanted to take a bath, so she pushed her away.
“Get off me, I want to bathe,” she said with a soft pant, seeing Shen Hetang lingering near her ear.
“Alright, let’s go then!” Shen Hetang rose and pulled her up.
“Who wants to go with you? I’ll go by myself.” Shaking off her hand, Jiang Chenyu walked toward the bath chamber, her clothes in disarray.
With two of her front buttons already undone, she began stripping off her robes as she walked.
Shen Hetang’s naturally vibrant lips, now stained with the orange-red lip rouge, made her look inexplicably like a rakish playboy, her eyes flashing with a roguish, improper charm.
To stay so cold even after all that intimacy—no, she had to follow her in and find out exactly what was making her wife so angry.
“I’ll rub some skin oil on you. It’s jasmine-scented. I spent some silver to get it from the palace. Your skin gets dry in the winter, so let me help you put some on.” In her hand, she held a bottle of tea-colored skin oil. She had heard that the imperial consorts loved applying skin oil to their bodies in the winter to keep their skin smooth and tender, so she had joined in the trend and secured a bottle for herself.
“Are you saying my skin is bad?” Jiang Chenyu scoffed.
Well, whatever she did, it was bound to be wrong.
No matter what Jiang Chenyu said, Shen Hetang went ahead and stripped off her clothes, stepping into the pool anyway.
Jiang Chenyu shot her a resentful look from the corner of her eye, pretending to ignore her. But when she felt Shen Hetang pour some oil onto her hands, turn her around, and press them against her back, kneading and massaging her back in a way that was undeniably comfortable, she stopped acting so cold.
“Who upset you today?” she asked as she massaged her. “Why is that pretty face of yours puffed up like a steamed bun?”
“No one upset me,” Jiang Chenyu retorted. “But before we sleep tonight, I want to hear a story. If you can’t tell one… heh! Don’t blame me if I take Jiang Ning out to visit a brothel.”
Shen Hetang had expected something serious. A bedtime story?
She picked up the bottle, poured more jasmine oil, let her hands glide down to Jiang Chenyu’s waist, and continued her massage.
“What’s so hard about telling stories? You got this puffed up just over that? Hmm?” Shen Hetang pressed herself against her smooth back, applying a bit of pressure with her fingers as she asked.
“I don’t care. I want to hear one,” Jiang Chenyu said, tilting her head back against her shoulder. Her eyes were closed, and her long, curled eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, looking breathtakingly lovely.
“Alright,” Shen Hetang murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to the corner of her eye.
For the next half a month, a small lamp burned in the warm pavilion every night. Like a point-and-read machine1, Shen Hetang told stories to her wife night after night, unable to ‘get off the clock’ until the other woman had drifted off to sleep.
Later, she finally uncovered the root cause: Jiang Chenyu was actually eating some vintage vinegar2. When had she ever told stories to that cousin? She had merely given some adult-like advice to a child who hated going to school.
In the dead of night, inside a simple yet understated study, two men were conversing in hushed tones.
“My lord, he’s already begun investigating the delayed military reports from last time, as well as why the reinforcements never received the carrier pigeons,” a plain-looking man in his thirties said. He stood across the desk, anxiously watching the reaction of the man seated before him.
“What’s there to panic about?” the man in the chair said leisurely. “If he manages to find any clues, we’ll simply dump a dung bucket on him.”
“But… but where am I supposed to get evidence against him?” The man’s face showed some worry.
“Where to get it? That’s for you to figure out, of course,” the older man subtly hinted. “As long as you handle the matters on the front end well, I’ll naturally back you up in the end. Go ahead and do it with a free hand.”
“Thank you for the pointer, My lord. This humble one will find a way to get this done right away,” the man opposite him resolved. He absolutely could not be dragged out. Delaying military orders was a capital offense. Although that person was still bearing the brunt of it, the unnecessary casualties alone would be enough to cost him his little life.
“Go on, then. Be careful when you leave, and don’t let anyone spot you.” The man leaned back against his chair, closing his eyes to rest his mind.
“Yes, My lord.”
The night remained deep, and the study fell into a silence so profound it felt as if no one was there.
After breakfast, Shen Hetang took Jiang Chenyu to Madam Lin’s room. With the year-end approaching, the shops were extremely busy, and the ledgers needed to be audited. Since Jiang Ning was busy with travels outside the capital, Jiang Chenyu had to oversee the shop herself.
As it was freezing cold outside, she unearthed her Red-Faced Tiger Skin Cloak. Because it had been well-preserved, it required very little effort to clean; a quick airing out and a dust-off, and it was ready to wear.
“Where are you two headed?” Madam Lin asked, seeing them dressed to head out.
“Mother, Chenyu has a shop outside,” Shen Hetang explained. “Since it’s the end of the year, things are quite busy, so she has to go check on it from time to time.”
“Oh, then be careful on the way. Make sure you escort her,” Madam Lin said with a smile. It was perfectly normal for a young lady to have her own properties; back when they themselves married, they too had brought their own estates.
“Mother, is there anything you’d like to eat? I’ll bring some back for you on our way home,” Jiang Chenyu asked sweetly. Having gone without a mother’s affection for so long, she deeply treasured Madam Lin’s warmth.
“If you’re bringing something, then bring some cloud cakes and radish cakes. The ones from Wu’s Small Shop at the end of the street will do,” Madam Lin said after a brief thought, suddenly craving some pastries.
“Mother loves sweets,” Shen Hetang remarked.
“Alright, then we’ll buy some cakes on our way back,” Jiang Chenyu said, turning slightly.
“Go on, and come back early,” Madam Lin said, waving them off.
“Mm.”
The two of them boarded their carriage and left the Shen Manor.
“Mother loves sweets, but what about you?” Jiang Chenyu asked. Shen Hetang never seemed to be a picky eater, quietly consuming whatever Jiang Chenyu prepared for her, leaving Jiang Chenyu completely in the dark about her favorite dishes.
“I love eating you,” Shen Hetang blurted out without a second thought, her expression entirely serious.
A rosy flush spread across Jiang Chenyu’s pale face. With a soft smile, she chided, “You’re terrible.”
She turned her burning face toward the window, lifting the small curtain slightly to peek out through the gap.
Shen Hetang took her soft fingers and played with them, closing her eyes to rest her mind, lost in unknown thoughts.
Some time ago, Jiang Ning had tracked down tea farmers in the south. Having her standards raised by the maritime trade, she would only look at goods that promised massive profit margins.
She had also considered dealing in salt, but the salt trade was far too troublesome and difficult to break into. Thus, she set her sights on southern tea. As one of the seven daily necessities, tea was indispensable, meaning high demand and high profits.
They had their own merchant caravans that could head south to transport the goods directly, before bringing them back to the capital for sale. Now that they had the space and the connections, as long as they worked hard, they would not have to worry about making money.
Jiang Ning’s time spent wandering taverns and brothels recently had not been in vain; she had long since mapped out several potential routes. Ultimately, she had connected with a merchant from the south. The two of them had hit it off immediately, and she had already led a group down south, likely not returning until after the New Year.
Most of the time, the shop was managed by Jiang Yi and Chuntao. With the New Year fast approaching, Jiang Chenyu was not only auditing the ledgers but also planning year-end bonuses for the staff so that everyone could enjoy a happy celebration.
Most of the shop’s original inventory had already been sold out. Though the jewelry sold slower, the revenue was still substantial.
The revenue from the shop had all been taken by Jiang Ning to purchase inventory. Unsure of how long she would remain there, the books now showed a total of one hundred and fifty thousand taels—comprising the untouched initial capital of one hundred thousand taels and fifty thousand taels of new profit, even after deducting the funds Jiang Ning had taken with her. As for payroll, they only had to pay eight workers in the shop, about ten of their brothers who had not gone south, and finally Chuntao and Jiang Yi—exactly twenty people in total.
Chuntao drew two separate salaries: her standard monthly wage, which was three taels—the same as what Cuiwan and Cuidie received—and her managerial salary of ten taels, which she drew alongside Jiang Yi.
The other workers were all paid a monthly wage of two taels. Of course, Jiang Ning’s brothers usually made more than two taels a month, but that was when they had active shipping jobs. Now, they were merely taking turns acting as guards for the shop, so they naturally did not receive a high monthly salary.
With all the calculations settled, the monthly payroll was easy to compute, totaling fifty-six taels. Since she wanted to hand out some year-end bonuses, she paid everyone double, bringing the total to one hundred and twelve taels.
That was all for the cash payments, but she also prepared plenty of rice, flour, oil, and meat to foster a festive and cheerful atmosphere.
When the workers saw the money placed in their hands, they all grinned from ear to ear. The brothers of Jiang-ji did not complain about the small sum either, as they had already saved plenty of money the previous year.
Knowing they had to cast a long line to catch a big fish, they were confident that following Jiang Ning would eventually yield massive fortunes once more. The next time they set out, the prime jobs would surely be theirs.
Furthermore, these days of acting as guards were no different from resting. Even if they went to work as laborers at the docks, they would not make much more than this, so they were well aware of how good they had it.
By the time Jiang Ning returned, this batch of goods—excluding a few pieces of jewelry—would be nearly sold out. At that point, they could convert the entire first floor into a specialty tea shop. If all went smoothly, their business for the coming year would be fully secured.
Once everything was properly arranged, they had only to wait for the arrival of the New Year.
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