Yu Tang’s eyes widened even more.

Pei Yan’s servant actually dared to question Pei Yan’s decision!

Don’t ordinary servants just accept whatever their master says?

What exactly was this servant’s background?

With one look, Pei Yan knew what Yu Tang was thinking.

He glanced at Yu Tang sideways and said coldly, “Pei Qi is my milk brother.”

“Oh, oh, oh.” Yu Tang quickly lowered her head in acknowledgment of her mistake. “I was just thinking incorrectly for a moment.”

Pei Yan said coldly, “I think you haven’t just thought incorrectly for a moment—you’re constantly thinking incorrectly.”

How could such a pretty young girl have this habit of gossiping about everything? She needed to change this.

Taking liberties with her tongue was one of the seven grounds for divorce.

Just as Pei Yan was thinking about how to teach Yu Tang a lesson, Pei Qi came rushing over again, saying, “Third Master, Lord Gu’s attendant refuses to leave and insists on seeing you. He also says that his master has urgent business to discuss with you…”

He paused here and glanced at Yu Tang.

Yu Tang immediately stood up alertly and said, “I just came to bring you some tea leaves to try. Since you’re busy, I’ll take my leave now.”

However, Pei Yan paid no attention to Yu Tang and said to Pei Qi, “What mystery is Gu Chaoyang up to now?”

Seeing that he wasn’t avoiding Yu Tang, Pei Qi spoke without reservation and said frankly, “He says it’s about the matter of the Lianghuai Salt Transportation Commissioner.”

Yu Tang was greatly startled when she heard this.

That Gu Chang wanted to see Pei Yan about this matter meant that Pei Yan was either involved in the salt certificate business or doing something related to salt trading.

It was no longer appropriate for her to stay here.

“I’m leaving!” Without waiting for Pei Yan to speak, she hugged the books that A’Ming had packed for her earlier, curtsied slightly to Pei Yan, and said, “With so many books, I need to hurry and read them. I still don’t know what to do with that mountain forest of mine. However, I’ve already tried planting some peanuts. After I harvest the peanuts, I’ll send some for you to try. I don’t know if you prefer peanut brittle or boiled peanuts? When the time comes, I’ll make you some of each.”

Her speech had become somewhat incoherent.

Pei Yan found it quite amusing to watch.

Usually, this Miss Yu appeared to be extremely bold, but now she looked as if she’d been frightened.

He wondered what that little head of hers was thinking about.

Could she be thinking that he was engaged in illegal salt trading?

Or perhaps she felt afraid because she had inadvertently glimpsed his family’s business dealings?

If that was the case, then he might as well give her a good scare.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t know the limits of heaven and earth all day long, daring to go anywhere and say anything. She had even run to his place with Li Duan to confront him. If he hadn’t spread the word to make others think he was protecting her, she would have probably been drowned in a pond long ago.

It would be good for her to learn a lesson and become more prudent.

He was doing this for her own good!

The more Pei Yan thought about it, the more he felt he was doing the right thing.

With a stern face, he instructed A’Ming, “See Miss Yu home!”

Yu Tang hurriedly followed A’Ming out of the Plowing Garden.

But on the road, she couldn’t help thinking that Pei Yan had previously made a trip to Huai’an, saying he was helping someone with something, and had even gone with Champion Zhou… Gu Chang’s official trip away from the capital this time was also to Huai’an… Pei Yan’s expression had been so sour—could there be some connection between these matters?

She carefully recalled the events from her previous life.

It seemed she hadn’t heard of the Pei family being involved in the salt certificate business…

The more Yu Tang thought about it, the more her head ached. She felt like a blind person feeling an elephant—even if she tried to figure it out, she couldn’t make sense of it, so she might as well not think about it. With Pei Yan’s capabilities, if even he couldn’t handle the situation, she would be even less likely to have any solutions.

She could only hope that this time he would get through it smoothly and safely without any incidents.

Looking at the books in her arms, she silently prayed, thinking that when she got home she would read through all these books as quickly as possible so as not to disappoint Pei Yan’s kind intentions.

However, what she didn’t expect was that as soon as she returned home, she discovered that her father and eldest cousin had actually returned from their trip.

Yu Tang cried out in surprise, set the books aside, and threw her arms around her father’s arm, saying happily, “Father, Elder Brother, when did you get back? Why didn’t you let the family know in advance so we could go meet you?”

In just a few days, Yu Wen looked more tanned than when he’d left home, but he was in extremely good spirits, his two eyes bright as morning stars.

He chuckled twice and patted his daughter’s head, saying, “I brought you a box of this year’s new pearls from Suzhou. When your mother has time, you can go to the silversmith’s to have some jewelry made.” The last sentence was directed at Chen Shi.

Chen Shi said coquettishly, “It’s enough that you’ve returned safely. Why bring things back? This year’s new pearls must be very expensive, right? You don’t necessarily have to buy this year’s new pearls—previous years’ are just as good.”

Yu Yuan smiled and said, “When people say ‘old person, yellow pearl,’ it means that pearls lose their value when they’re old. Since we’re buying them, we naturally have to buy this year’s new pearls.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Rarely, she joked with Yu Yuan, “Are you saying that your mother and aunt are old?”

Yu Yuan froze, then his whole face turned red. He awkwardly touched the back of his head and said, “No, no. Aunt, please don’t blame me for not knowing how to speak…”

Chen Shi laughingly interrupted him, saying, “I’m just joking with you! But you’re already married now, so in the future when you say things like this, you need to be careful so your nephew’s wife doesn’t feel uncomfortable.”

Yu Yuan quickly lowered his head and said, “Yes.”

Chen Shi then said to Yu Tang, “It’s such a hot day—stop clinging to your father. Your father and brother only arrived a moment before you. Whatever you have to say, let them wash up and change clothes first.”

Yu Tang giggled, said “You’ve worked hard” to her father and elder cousin, and let go of his arm.

Yu Wen then said to Yu Yuan, “You should go back and rest too! This evening, come over for dinner with your father, your mother, and your wife. There are some matters we need to discuss with your father as well.”

Yu Yuan bowed respectfully, greeted Chen Shi and Yu Tang, and returned to his own home with Sanmu.

Chen Shi went to attend to Yu Wen while he changed clothes. Yu Tang personally helped set the table, and when Yu Wen emerged in clean clothes, she even took the initiative to serve her father a bowl of mushroom soup and urged him to eat.

Yu Wen let out a comfortable breath. After dining in the company of his wife and daughter, he moved to sit under the grape arbor in the back garden. Shuang Tao served tea and snacks, and only then did he smile and ask Yu Tang, “I heard from your mother that you went to the Pei family early this morning. Was there something urgent?”

Yu Tang went to fetch the books that Pei Yan had lent her and said somewhat boastfully, “Look! Third Master lent them to me!” Then she began talking endlessly about the scene at the Pei family: “You don’t know, but I actually saw pears at the Pei family! They were sent from their estate! Available at this time of year! Third Master even said that if they taste good, he’ll sell them to merchants… Third Master really knows how to farm… No wonder everyone wants to study… There are even books about how to farm…”

This time even Chen Shi was amazed.

Flipping through the books Yu Tang had borrowed, she said in surprise, “Books actually teach you how to farm? This is the first time in my life I’ve heard of such a thing!”

Yu Wen was already eagerly starting to flip through the books.

Watching this, Yu Tang smiled with pursed lips.

She said to her father, “Third Master said that if I don’t understand something, I should ask you!”

Yu Wen, who had been absorbed in the books, stiffened, chuckled twice, and said, “Let me look first, let me look first.”

Yu Tang blinked her eyes.

The situation seemed different from what she had imagined!

Shouldn’t her father know how to farm after reading the books? Why did his tone suggest he wasn’t very confident? Was Pei Yan too intelligent, or was her father… completely clueless?

Just as Yu Tang was thinking about how to tactfully ask her father about this, she heard her uncle Yu Bo’s voice: “Huili, Yuan said you wanted to see me about something urgent?”

The family of three quickly stood up.

“Elder Brother has arrived!” Yu Wen greeted Yu Bo, while Yu Tang and Chen Shi greeted Yu Yuan, Wang Shi, and Xiang Shi, who had come along with Yu Bo.

Chen Pozi and Shuang Tao hurriedly brought over stools.

The family sat down according to seniority. Shuang Tao and Chen Pozi changed the refreshments and served melons and fruits.

Only then did Yu Wen look at Yu Yuan with satisfaction and say to Yu Bo, “Elder Brother, let Yuan tell you! This matter is also thanks to Yuan’s contribution.”

It seemed that Father and Elder Cousin had gained much from their trip to Suzhou Prefecture.

Father hadn’t mentioned it before because he certainly wanted to praise Elder Cousin in front of everyone.

Yu Tang pondered this in her heart, but her gaze followed everyone else’s and fell upon Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan rarely received such affirmation from his elders.

His face turned red as blood, but his expression was very excited. He first said humbly, “It’s all thanks to Uncle’s guidance,” then briefly recounted the events of his trip to Suzhou Prefecture with Yu Tang, before continuing: “After we returned and discussed it with Uncle, Uncle was somewhat uneasy, so he made a special trip with me to Suzhou Prefecture to meet Lord Jiang. That Lord Jiang is young and accomplished, brave and resourceful, steady in his actions yet flexible in his approach. He and Uncle hit it off immediately.” He grew more excited as he spoke. “But since Uncle was dealing with him for the first time after all, he didn’t make any promises to Lord Jiang at the time. Instead, he and I rushed overnight to Ningbo Prefecture!”

“Ah!” Everyone was astonished.

Seeing their reaction, Yu Wen smiled smugly. With an air of casual confidence, he picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Yu Yuan grinned silently and continued, “Not only did Uncle and I thoroughly investigate that ship owner surnamed Wang, but we also went to see the Wang family’s ships and inquired about the maritime business over these past few years. Finding that what Lord Jiang had said was true, we rushed back to Suzhou Prefecture overnight again and only then finalized the investment contract with Lord Jiang.”

In other words, their family had decided to invest in Jiang Chao’s maritime business.

Yu Tang couldn’t help but ask, “Then, then how much silver is our family putting in?”

Yu Wen raised his chin with some pride and said, “Six thousand taels!”

An additional two thousand taels.

Yu Tang exclaimed, “That much?”

Yu Bo said, “Where would our family get that much silver?”

Wang Shi and Chen Shi looked at each other in confusion.

Xiang Shi might have known something. She kept her head lowered, but the corners of her eyes kept glancing at Yu Yuan.

For a moment, the hall fell silent.

Yu Wen opened his folding fan with a “swoosh” and declared confidently in a loud voice, “Don’t worry, I’ve personally examined this business deal. It’s a sure thing—absolutely no chance of error. As for the family’s silver,” he glanced at Yu Bo, “I recently came into some unexpected wealth. This silver will come from my unexpected windfall—you won’t need to contribute. But if we make a profit, we two families will split it evenly, half and half!”