Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 496: Jealousy (1)_1

Chapter 496: Chapter 496: Jealousy (1)_1

Xiao Ruiyuan came from the Hou Mansion. Despite having a heartless father with little affection for him, his grandfather, the old Lord Wei Yuan, was exceedingly affectionate towards his legitimate eldest grandson. Against his only son and daughter-in-law’s opposition, he took the boy under his wing and raised him personally. Otherwise, even if Xiao Ruiyuan were exceptionally talented, had he fallen into the hands of his stepmother, it would have been uncertain whether he could survive to adulthood, let alone become the revered Great General respected by those in power today.

When Xiao Ruiyuan was twelve, old Lord Wei Yuan’s chronic illness relapsed, beyond recovery, and knowing his days were numbered, he dragged his ailing body to submit a petition to Emperor Huian for his eldest grandson’s ennoblement as the Princely Heir. Granted approval, he disregarded whether it was proper or not and forcefully divided the family assets among his children and grandchildren—only then did he hold his grandson’s hand with a smile and closed his eyes for the last time.

As the heir of Lord Wei Yuan House and the future owner of the Hou Mansion, Xiao Ruiyuan inherited forty percent of the family’s wealth and all of the private wealth accumulated by the old marquis over the years. Combined, even if he were a prodigal son who squandered wealth, he would have enough to squander for several lifetimes.

Moreover, Xiao Ruiyuan’s mother came from a prominent family. When she married into the Hou Mansion with a lavish dowry, she left behind a dowry of a hundred thousand in silver, several shops, two fields, and ancient paintings worth a city’s fortune to her only son. His private treasury was certainly not lacking, so building a winery would not be difficult for him.

However, when he subtly expressed to the woman he loved the message "What’s mine is yours; feel free to use it," he was flatly rejected by the "unromantic" Mo Yanming:

"Bro Xiao, I’ve already arranged the silver needed to build the winery, so don’t worry! You are destined for greater things; that silver should be saved for more important uses, not to be spent on this!"

Mo Yan looked at Xiao Ruiyuan, her eyes resolute beyond doubt.

The Crown Prince’s success inevitably depended on silver. Not to mention other things, just the training of the Hidden Guards was a significant expense. If other forces were being nurtured secretly, it would cost even more silver. She couldn’t help in this regard and absolutely could not hold him back.

On the other hand, she cherished their relationship genuinely and didn’t want it muddled with too many extraneous matters. Moreover, building a winery wasn’t just a matter of money; with Yan Junyu’s influence, many problems could be avoided. Their collaboration was essential.

Xiao Ruiyuan, oblivious to these factors, was deeply dejected after the rejection. He stared at the woman he loved with eyes cold as the stars. Even though his face remained expressionless, Mo Yan could distinctly feel his confusion and... frustration from his emotions!

Building a winery of such scale would require at least a hundred thousand silver coins. Even in Jing City, where noble and wealthy merchant families were many, few had the means to spend so lavishly—let alone the moderately better-off Mo Family.

Without thinking too hard, Xiao Ruiyuan could guess that this sum of silver must have come from elsewhere. The fact that his beloved would rather seek help from outsiders (with no recognition of his own status as an outsider) than accept his kindness was undeniably frustrating.

Looking at the woman staring back at him, Xiao Ruiyuan felt a lump in his throat as if it were stuffed with cotton. He took a deep breath to expel the frustration in his chest, slightly improving his mood, yet he couldn’t help but start to worry.

The person who could easily spend so much silver to build a winery must be extremely wealthy. However, no one would find themselves with too much silver. If that person saw the value in the winemaking recipe, they could easily use means to take the recipe for themselves to exploit, but instead, they chose to collaborate with Yanyan—how could he not be worried?

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