Chapter 503: Let’s Wait to Become Brothers-in-Law

At the end of the year, when transporting grain to Xuanfu, one could pick the nearest salt field to withdraw salt without following a fixed order, and each shipment only required three dou and five sheng of rice! This news from the general’s office struck like a thunderbolt among all the Shanxi merchants. Due to Shanxi’s large population and limited land, even though the imperial court had relocated people from Shanxi to Shandong, Beijing, and other places since the early Ming dynasty, local production still fell short, leaving most people as merchants. Shanxi’s salt fields were renowned throughout the country, and the nearby Datong and Xuanfu regions were in greatest need of military provisions—thus, the salt distribution system benefited the Shanxi merchants the most. Now, the imperial court ordered that grain sent to Xuanfu did not require waiting for salt allocation, and each shipment only needed three dou and five sheng of rice—providing enormous profits.

Even after adding another one dou and five sheng for bribes, as long as they could obtain salt, they could turn it into several times the profit! Immediately, prominent Shanxi merchants from Taiyuan, Lu’an, Fenzhou, Pingyao, and other places sent capable agents to Xuanfu, hoping to secure a share in this lucrative opportunity. The Yongqing Granary, designated to receive the grain, became the focus of everyone’s attention. However, the person in charge of receiving the grain had not been appointed yet, leaving the managers who rushed there at a loss.

To cover all bases, these well-informed merchants had no choice but to seek connections everywhere. Yet, places like the general’s office, the eunuch guards, Zhang Yue living on Bajinzhen Street, and Lu Feng living west of the Xuanfu Jinyiwei station were all out of reach. So they had to settle for getting close to those who worked in these four places. After all, although official documents stated that salt could be withdrawn without following the usual order, given the huge amount of grain needed this time, some order would surely be established. It was clearly better to obtain the allocation early and go fetch salt right away than to arrive late and have to wait two or three years.

While the business world was bustling, the official circles seemed calm. After the grand review, Zhang Yue, who knew what was going on, met Lu Feng again and gave him subtle hints. Then he continued to recover while sending people to check the grain stocks in the three major granaries: Yongqing, Yongping, and Yongan. Since he wasn’t personally involved this time due to illness, those low-ranking officials who had been worried loosened up. Meanwhile, the Liansheng and Lianhu brothers, who traveled back and forth between the two places, thoroughly enjoyed being treated with respect, considering any hardships insignificant.

That day, Lian Sheng rushed back excitedly. As soon as he entered the house, he exclaimed, “Young master, it’s crazy! Truly crazy! In all these days in Xuanfu, this is the first time I’ve seen so many merchants! As soon as I came out of Yongqing Granary, I was blocked by several supervisors. They almost dragged me straight into an inn. Even so, people still tried to slip money into my hands before I left! If it weren’t for the troops stationed at both ends of Bazhen Street to prevent merchants from entering or leaving, our doorstep would have been crowded with people!”
“Merchants are driven by profit. If it weren’t for the imperial decree banning the sale of salt at will, they wouldn’t flock here in such numbers.”
After four or five days of recuperation, Zhang Yue had almost fully recovered, though he still pretended to be ill to observe the situation. After saying this, seeing Lian Sheng nodding vigorously, he asked a few questions about Yongqing Granary, then sent him to the general’s office to gather more information, before continuing to sit on the kang and write his memorial. Finally, when he finished writing, he called out but got no reply. Looking up, he realized the house was empty—only then did he remember that he had sent Peng Shisan, Xiang Long, Liu Bao, and even Lian Hu away.
He had initially thought his mission to Xuanfu was just an ordinary official task. But now that the emperor had suddenly granted him the title of governor of Xuanfu, he was short-staffed. Should he send someone home to send word and bring more people over?
As he was thinking this, the curtain in front of the door was pushed open again. Seeing that familiar face, he couldn’t help but think how both brothers had exactly the same noisy temper. So when Lian Hu cheerfully shouted something, he showed an annoyed expression. But when another head appeared behind Lian Hu, his expression immediately froze.
“Young master, look who’s here!”
“Brother-in-law!”
“Xiao Wu, you… how did you come here?”
Stunned, Zhang Yue stared at Xiao Wu, dressed in men’s clothes and looking extremely proud. His mind couldn’t process this. Even though this girl always did as she pleased, her mother-in-law surely wouldn’t let her run around freely, and Du Wan certainly wouldn’t agree so easily. Finally regaining his composure, he noticed there were more people behind Xiao Wu and couldn’t help but glare at them fiercely.
“Lao Wan, what are you up to?”

“By heaven and earth, I haven’t done anything!” Wan Shijie quickly raised his hand to explain. “I came down to select military households. As you know, so many people died or were injured in Xinghe earlier, and these vacancies had to be filled. As for Miss Xiao Wu, didn’t your family know you were sick? You were almost killed in the siege before, and now you say you’re sick again—your family must be extremely worried. That’s why Miss Xiao Wu volunteered; no one could stop her. When your mother-in-law learned I was heading to Xuanfu, she asked me to take care of her along the way.”
“Yes, indeed. I really owe a lot to Brother Wan for taking care of me along the way. He even refused to stay at inns for my sake! But I was also very unlucky. He kept saying things were urgent and rode at full speed, leaving me almost crushed inside the carriage. It only took a day and night to get from the capital here!”
Hearing Xiao Wu’s words, Zhang Yue almost choked on his own saliva. Seeing Wan Shijie’s innocent expression, he became even angrier and shouted at Lian Hu, “Who told you to meddle? Didn’t I say beforehand it was just a minor illness? Stop spreading nonsense back home!”
“Young master, it was either Uncle Peng or someone else. I can guarantee it wasn’t us who leaked the news!”
Seeing Lian Hu’s aggrieved look, Zhang Yue felt the whole situation was truly bizarre. But before he could say anything, Xiao Wu sat down seriously in front of him and carefully took his wrist to feel his pulse. With no other choice, he looked up at Wan Shijie and asked in a deep voice, “Old Wan, where are we going to select military households this time?”
“Nearby, to Lu’an Prefecture,” Wan Shijie replied honestly, shrugging his shoulders. “I first went to the commander’s mansion to see Marquis Wu’an. I originally planned for Miss Xiao Wu to meet up with you first, but seeing so many people on the street, I was worried about safety, so I had her wait in the carriage for a while before we came together. Since I’ve fulfilled Aunt Du’s request, I’ll set off this afternoon. After finishing my tasks, I’ll return to Xuanfu to report, and then head straight back to the capital. There’s a mountain of work piled up at the Ministry of War, so everything has to be done quickly.”
Although he knew well Wan Shijie’s character and understood he would never do something like abducting someone, at first glance Zhang Yue had thought the two of them were staging some kind of elopement. Now he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Yet before he could fully relax, Xiao Wu released his wrist and turned to Wan Shijie, saying, “Then please give a message to my mother and sister when you return to the capital. Just say I’ll go back with my brother-in-law…”

“Nonsense, Lao Wan, take her back with you when you go!” By this point, Zhang Yue had completely forgotten his initial annoyance and gave Xiao Wu orders in an unambiguous tone. “This is Xuanfu. Even if our family is worried about me, staying for a few days is enough—go back soon! Your sister can’t take care of home, and if you focus on me, what about your mother-in-law? There must be priorities in life and work. Amn’t I fine?”
Scolded by Zhang Yue, Xiao Wu thought of Mrs. Qiu alone at home and immediately became dispirited. After a long while, he reluctantly nodded, “I’ll follow your advice, brother-in-law… Don’t blame others either. It was the wife of the Marquis of Wu’an next door who casually mentioned that you were sick. Since the old lady isn’t well, your sister was afraid that seeing you might upset her, and since she couldn’t leave, I begged her until she reluctantly allowed me to come and check on you. By the way, your father has returned, and I heard your uncle is also on his way… There’s one more thing—Lao Wan and I had a hard time getting into this street. Someone saw us enter and came over to talk. He said he’s Fang Qing from Shandong and asked if you could meet him.”
Xiao Wu’s rambling speech made it extremely difficult for Zhang Yue to follow. By the last sentence, he suddenly remembered that Fang Qing had mentioned moving his whole family from Shanxi to Shandong, and that his family was also a prominent clan in Shanxi. But since Lao Wan Shi Jie and Xiao Wu had just arrived, he didn’t want to ask too many questions. He immediately ordered Lian Hu to order some food and drinks from the nearby Bajinzhan Restaurant and sent Xiao Wu to the next room to wash up and change into new clothes. Once they left, he snorted at Lao Wan Shi Jie.
“Don’t you often go to the Du family? How could you just let her disguise herself as a man? You shouldn’t have tried to persuade her?”
“You know your sister-in-law’s stubbornness better than I do. Once she makes up her mind, nothing can change it. How could I possibly do that?” Lao Wan Shi Jie sighed and shook his head. Seeing Zhang Yue staring at him intently, he awkwardly smiled and said, “Yuan Jie, can you stop looking at me like that? It’s embarrassing… Along the way, I rode a horse while she rode in a carriage. There was nothing improper. I just brought her here as per Aunt Du’s request. I didn’t do anything!”
This increasingly confusing explanation made Zhang Yue even more suspicious. He simply asked directly, “Lao Wan, let’s not beat around the bush. Tell me honestly—do you have feelings for Xiao Wu?”

Seeing Zhang Yue’s determined gaze, realizing he couldn’t get away with it, Wan Shijie readily admitted, “A graceful and virtuous woman is an ideal match for a gentleman. I truly like her. Ever since I met her again after dining with you at Ducang Tower, I’ve been visiting the Du family, just to have more chances to talk to her. You don’t know—there were times I almost asked Aunt Du for her hand in marriage, but Xiao Wu is so naive, and I was afraid of scaring her… But with sincere effort, even the hardest hearts can be moved. I’m sure I can win her over. Let’s look forward to becoming brothers-in-law.”
Faced with such bold words, Zhang Yue didn’t know what to say. After a long while, he finally managed to utter a fierce reply, “That’s what you said. If you dare treat her badly in the future, don’t blame me if I’m not gentle with you!”