A Good Country Wife
Chapter 589 - 583章_1

Chapter 589: 583章_1

Lin Yue glared at Zhao Erhu. "You handle it?! A woman’s quarrel, and you, a grown man, getting involved is quite inappropriate. It’s clear that cousin-in-law is not easy to deal with. If she starts crying and wailing, what could you do to her? In the end, it would still be up to me to handle the aftermath. It’s better for us women to resolve our own issues."

As Lin Yue spoke, she walked toward the center of the crowd. When the people saw her approaching, they automatically cleared a path for her. Mrs. Qian raised her head and saw Lin Yue coming; she immediately toned down her act. Mrs. Qian wasn’t foolish; she was well aware of her situation. Even when she made things difficult for the servants, it was always done secretly behind Zhao Erhu and his wife’s back. In front of Lin Yue, she was always very mild-mannered and polite. Did she really think her pretense could fool anyone?

The commotion was such that everyone came to watch. Lin Yue had thought it would be some serious matter but it turned out to be merely a minor conflict. Probably thinking that Zhao Erhu and his wife weren’t home, Mrs. Qian had been particularly brazen. Lin Yue couldn’t be bothered to say much. Since Mrs. Qian was an outsider, it wouldn’t be appropriate to scold her. And since her own servants hadn’t done anything wrong, Lin Yue really wasn’t in the mood to deal with these issues. With just a few words, she managed to resolve the matter and instructed Nurse Xu to comfort the servants who had been harassed by Mrs. Qian. As for Mrs. Qian, it wouldn’t be long before she would have to move out. It was better to avoid trouble where possible. As long as she didn’t cross paths with Lin Yue, out of sight would mean out of mind.

Zhao Erhu saw how his young wife resolved the issue in just a few words and was quite impressed. Her methods and demeanor were no less than those of a lady from a large household.

After a good rest, Lin Yue started to take care of the household matters. There was always plenty to do at home, and with the recent delay, even someone like Lin Yue, who excelled at managing servants and delegating tasks, found a backlog of things to address.

Now that the weather was gradually getting warmer, Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue had already sent word that they were collecting saplings. The Huangshan mountain area had been cleared and fertilized. In the past few days, many people had brought saplings to sell, and Lin Yue assigned this task to Mrs. Haishi, ordering her to plant all the saplings they had acquired.

During the past few days in Shanglin Village, the people Zhao Erhu had brought back from the capital had also arrived. Lin Yue’s long-awaited glass artisans were not only brought back by Zhao Erhu, but he had also brought three of them at once. Thanks to Princess Yongle’s efforts, it wasn’t just the people who were summoned; their contracts were also in Zhao Erhu’s hands, ensuring they wouldn’t get other ideas in the future. In addition, there were other artisans. Even though Lin Yue hadn’t mentioned needing them, having extra talent was never a bad thing. Jiang Ziqi merely needed to mention it, and Zhao Erhu would hire them all.

Had it been any other time, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. The new Emperor had ascended the throne not long ago, and the treasury was at a low. The cost of glass production was extremely high, leading Huangfu Jing to restrict the quantity, which resulted in surplus labor. The plan was to release a group of people from the palace, and Zhao Erhu’s need for workers coincided perfectly with this.

Princess Yongle had received many gifts from Lin Yue and was wondering how to repay her. When Commandery Princess Roujia told her about this matter, Princess Yongle immediately took charge without a second thought. Zhao Erhu thought such talents were rare, especially those from the palace, and initially, following Lin Yue’s request, sought out only one glass artisan. However, Princess Yongle felt this would seem too stingy and wouldn’t reflect well on her generosity, so she ordered people to be selected from various departments within the Imperial Household Department. Huangfu Jing, knowing what Princess Yongle was doing, didn’t object, implicitly approving her actions.

"Really? That’s wonderful! The ones from the palace are surely top-notch, and definitely talented. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been chosen for the Imperial Household Department. Such talent is not to be missed, and I’m in dire need of such people. Of course, I will take them all in. They will be the treasure that helps me earn wealth in the future. And there are even two craftsmen who make gold and silver jewelry—Princess Yongle is really considerate of my interests. It wasn’t in vain that I went out of my way to send her those gifts."

Zhao Erhu knew his wife would be pleased. "My dear, here are the contracts of those people; keep them safe. And the others, the Emperor himself sent to help me out. Additionally, there’s a pair of Guard Yulin, assigned for my personal use."

"Guard Yulin? Aren’t they the imperial guards of the palace, specially responsible for the Emperor’s safety? The Emperor actually assigned Guard Yulin to you!" Lin Yue hadn’t expected the Emperor to value Zhao Erhu so highly—or rather, to value this business venture so highly.

Zhao Erhu, perhaps thinking Lin Yue wasn’t stimulated enough, took a wrapped bundle from his chest and unveiled the Golden Token bestowed by the Emperor for Lin Yue to see. "Look at this, it’s the Golden Token from the Emperor—a token of his presence. With this, no official at the court will dare to trouble me openly. As for those who act in secret, all I need to do is be vigilant. If I see through their schemes and report directly to the Emperor, they would be offending the Emperor himself. Now in this business, the Emperor is the main patron."

Lin Yue was indeed slightly disoriented, snatching the Golden Token from Zhao Erhu’s hand to see what this legendary token looked like. After scrutinizing it, which appeared to be just an exquisitely made gold plaque with engraved characters and dragon motifs, she was somewhat disappointed.

The so-called Golden Token was merely a handsome-looking gold plaque about the size of a palm, and it was hard to see what was so special about it, except for the exclusive dragon motifs that only the Emperor used.

"You’d better take good care of this. Although it looks ordinary, losing it could cost a head," Lin Yue said as she tossed the Golden Token to Zhao Erhu with little care, as if it wasn’t worth much attention. After all, it was made of gold, sturdy enough, and not likely to break in two if dropped.

Hearing Lin Yue’s words and witnessing her actions, Zhao Erhu broke out in a cold sweat, quickly catching the near-fallen Golden Token and looking after it with care, as if any damage might be considered disrespectful to the Emperor. Zhao Erhu, having been born and raised in Dazhou, had a profound reverence for imperial authority ingrained in his soul. Even after being influenced by Lin Yue, such deeply embedded sentiments were not easily changed.

"You girl, this is an imperial gift, the Golden Token, a symbol of trust from the Emperor. It may look ordinary, but it represents the Emperor’s authority, commanding all officials to bow their heads—an exceptional and powerful item. The Emperor gave this to me, fearing I wouldn’t be able to control those below me. You shouldn’t toss it around like a toy. As you said, it may not break, but that doesn’t mean it should be bumped and knocked about," Zhao Erhu said, carefully wiping off the already clean Golden Token with his sleeve as if to show extra reverence. Lin Yue just shook her head; it was, after all, an inanimate object. Was such fuss really necessary? She thought it was enough to simply put it away safely.

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