Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law

After listening to what Cui Shuang said, Yuan Youchun was momentarily stunned and instinctively asked, "Commander Cui, why are you speaking up for that kid?"

Although what Cui Shuang said was true, can the emperor commit a crime and be treated the same as the common people?

Even though He Jinwu was not the emperor, he was his adopted son; what was his relationship with the Commander?

Therefore, with this connection, could He Jinwu just die like that?

Cui Shuang frowned, "I'm not speaking up for Chen Mo; I'm standing on fairness. From a fair standpoint, Chen Mo did nothing wrong. Instead, General Yuan, you are the one trying to mislead the Commander by turning black into white."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Youchun's face darkened. As the Commander's adopted son, he did not need to consider Cui Shuang's opinion, and his rank was higher than Cui Shuang's. So he directly countered, "Did that kid Chen Mo say something to Commander Cui to deceive him?"

"So, General Yuan, do you feel I'm targeting you?" Cui Shuang glared at Yuan Youchun. If it weren't for him being the Commander's adopted son, he would have left long ago for speaking to him this way.

"I dare not, but Jinwu's death cannot be settled like this," Yuan Youchun said.

"Is General Yuan questioning the Commander's decision?" Cui Shuang's tone was slightly cold.

Seeing that Cui Shuang gave him no face at all, Yuan Youchun also stopped being polite and said, "I don't think this is the Commander's decision; it's your own decision, Commander Cui."

"Insolent." Cui Shuang slammed the table, but he really couldn't do much to Yuan Youchun, so he said, "I've told you my words; believe them or not, it's up to you."

After speaking, Cui Shuang angrily swept his sleeves and left.

After leaving the tavern and seeing that Yuan Youchun didn't chase after him to explain or apologize, Cui Shuang's face completely cooled down. He didn't linger and left Qingtian County with his men.

On the way back.

The bumpy dirt road, coupled with the poor shock absorption of the carriage, made the already upset Cui Shuang think of the events in Qingtian County, making him even angrier the more he thought about it.

He felt there was a world of difference between Yuan Youchun and Chen Mo.

Two days later.

Returning to Xia Lin, Cui Shuang didn't go to rest but went straight to find Yang Minggui to tell him about the situation.

Having accepted a favor from Chen Mo, he naturally spoke of Chen Mo very well. But having harbored anger towards Yuan Youchun, he did his utmost to undermine him, saying:

"According to my investigation, Chen Mo indeed did not deceive the Commander; he truly is impoverished. As for the so-called fine salt, it's refined from coarse salt. From every pound of coarse salt, only three taels of fine salt can be obtained. Additionally, many materials are needed to refine the fine salt. General Yuan sold Chen Mo the coarse salt at higher than market price, and after deducting all sorts of costs, the profit isn't high.

Moreover, I found that just the coarse salt General Yuan sold to Chen Mo amounted to more than ten thousand pounds, while only five thousand pounds were reported to the Commander."

Compared to Yuan Youchun, Yang Minggui trusted Cui Shuang more because the latter was always by his side, while the former, though his adopted son, was left to his own devices.

After hearing this, Yang Minggui's face slightly darkened, "Is there such a thing."

"Also, I told General Yuan to let Jo Jinwu's matter rest, claiming it was your decision, Commander. But General Yuan didn't believe it and said He Jinwu couldn't just die in vain and wanted to never end things with Chen Mo." Cui Shuang said.

Yang Minggui frowned.

Next to him, Xu Mu showed indifference to this matter and only said, "So, this fine salt matter is indeed true?"

Cui Shuang nodded, "Chen Mo said this is just a small business, so he didn't tell the Commander. After I told him the Commander needed fine salt, he immediately shared the method of refining fine salt from coarse salt without charging a penny.

But I told him the Commander rewards and punishes clearly, so I privately decided if this method was true, we would sell red copper to him at forty percent below market price."

After speaking, Cui Shuang took out a folded piece of paper from his robe and handed it to Yang Minggui.

Though he initially told Chen Mo the price would be thirty percent below market value, since he didn't solve the coarse salt price issue for Chen Mo, he could only lower the price of the red copper.

Yang Minggui couldn't quite understand it, so after reading it, he handed it to Xu Mu.

Xu Mu also didn't fully understand it, but this matter was easy to verify—just try it according to the method.

The method Chen Mo wrote on the paper was comprehensive, fearing the other party wouldn't understand.

The next day, they followed Chen Mo's method and indeed refined fine salt from the coarse salt.

Of course, it wasn't as white as the fine salt from Pingting County and slightly less than three taels.

But for Yang Minggui, Xu Mu, and Cui Shuang, they didn't think much of it as beginners refining for the first time; achieving these results showed Chen Mo's method was true.

Even if it's only ten percent, it's still more profitable than selling coarse salt.

Yang Minggui's sales channels were significantly larger than Chen Mo's; he could even sell to the Capital City of Celestial River.

The profit was unimaginable.

Now, he wouldn't be sad at all if not only his adopted son's adopted son died but even if his adopted son died, since he got this method of refining fine salt.

"With this method, the construction of the Celestial King Hall can proceed much faster," Xu Mu said.

"Indeed, indeed," Yang Minggui said to Cui Shuang, "Your decision was correct. I naturally reward and punish clearly. Let's not make it 40% but tell Chen Mo that from now on, when he purchases red copper, I will sell it to him at half the market price."

"Understood," Cui Shuang acknowledged, then said, "Commander, what about General Yuan?"

Yang Minggui thought for a moment and was about to respond when his personal soldiers reported that Bai Shu, the deputy commander to General Yuan, had arrived.

Xu Mu said, "Commander, since Chen Mo didn't deceive you, it's time to reprimand General Yuan."

Yang Minggui nodded.

...

June 15th.

The divorce date was drawing closer, but Chen Mo temporarily set aside the unpleasantness of this period and began handling the matter of taking a concubine.

Originally, it was just about taking a concubine, and Chen Mo didn't want to make it a big deal. It was supposed to be just a simple wedding ceremony without even setting up a banquet.

However, just two days ago, someone in the city got married and held a banquet, collecting a lot of money from guests in the process.

Chen Mo thought, why not hold a banquet himself? This way, he'd give face to the Yi Family, show Yi Shiyin that she was being taken seriously, and also collect some money from the guests.

Even though Chen Mo didn't say it outright, after all, when attending a wedding banquet, one shouldn't come empty-handed.

Others didn't think much of it, assuming that Chen Mo was doing this to give face to the Yi Family.

On the road leading from the Yi Family to the Yi Family Courtyard, the streets were already decorated with red lanterns in advance.

The banquet was to be held at the Yi Family Courtyard, so after the ceremony at the Yi Family, Chen Mo would go straight to the Yi Family Courtyard.

The city was already immersed in a festive atmosphere.

Yi Shiyin, upon hearing this news, couldn't stop smiling all day.

She thought that once she entered the door, she must serve Chen Mo well.

Yi Qianchi even pondered whether the dowry was too small.

...

Outside the city, the Divine Brave Guard had temporarily halted their training to patrol.

Since the crops in the fields were nearing harvest, Chen Mo had past conflicts with Yuan Youchun, fearing that he might cause trouble, so he made preparations in advance.

Most of these fields belonged to the families of the Divine Brave Guard, so they patrolled with particular diligence because if disaster struck, they would suffer the greatest loss.

Due to Chen Mo offering a high price at Dadong Lake, together with the actual monetary rewards for certain types of fish that had been caught and released, the news spread, and some old fishermen treated fishing there as work, staying by Dadong Lake every day just to catch those specific types of fish.

Yet, these Spirit Fish were extremely rare, and in over a dozen days, it might not be possible to catch even one.

But if one were caught, it would cover food and drink expenses for a year.

Thus, some people sneaked into the areas under Qingtian County's control to poach.

…

In the backyard of the Government Office, within the side chamber.

"The peach blossom in full bloom, glorious its flowers."

"This daughter is going to marry, worthy of her household and family."

"..."

"This daughter is going to marry, worthy of her family members."

"This is my new poem, what does Zhiqing think?" Chen Mo sat beside Xia Zhiqing, his hand resting on the desk with a guzheng, propping his head, his deep gaze locked on Xia Zhiqing's profile.

Xia Zhiqing fixed her gaze, and after carefully reading it, she found it excellent, but the poem's theme was about a lady getting married and having noble offspring, clearly not meant for her.

Recalling that Chen Mo was going to take a concubine in a few days, Xia Zhiqing didn't answer his question, instead asking, "Did the County Magistrate write this for Miss Shiyan?"

Chen Mo nodded: "Yes, the 21st is when Xiaolu enters the house. What does Zhiqing think of this poem? Will Xiaolu like it?"

Upon realizing that the young man wrote it for another woman and asked her whether the other woman would like it, Xia Zhiqing suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable and said, "It's alright, but it's not as good as last time's 'Guan Ju.'"

"Indeed." Chen Mo straightened up and said, "That was a poem I specifically wrote for Zhiqing, pouring my emotions into it, unlike this one."

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhiqing's heart trembled. Was he implying that he liked her more than Yi Shiyin?

If he had no feelings, then why bring the other into the house?

At that moment, she suddenly remembered that Yi Shiyin was a noble clan's daughter.

Was he marrying Yi Shiyin solely to draw the Yi Family into his circle?

"Stop saying ridiculous things." Xia Zhiqing felt a bit confused, choosing to ignore the young man.

On the other side, Xia Zhining bit her lip, feeling a bit displeased.

She sensed that Chen Mo's attitude towards her over the past two days wasn't as warm as when she first started menstruating.

She recalled the night before when Chen Mo had asked her to use her mouth to help him...

He was doing it on purpose.

Was it because she refused to help him, so he responded this way?

Seeing her older sister's suddenly shy demeanor, Xia Zhining felt a bit upset.

At this moment, Chunhong's voice echoed from outside the chamber: "County Magistrate, Commander Sun is looking for you, saying you have a letter."

ps: The previous chapter's price of red copper being half the market rate has been amended to three-tenths.