The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 680: Living Without Purpose (1)_1

Chapter 680: Chapter 680: Living Without Purpose (1)_1

Pei Qin took the letter and, seeing the verbose English, decided to set it aside for later. She asked Lu Hao, "Have you all gone to Capital Jingcheng? What about Lu Hai?" Although Lu Hai also wore a cold expression all day, at least she would occasionally speak. With Lin Feng, it was different—suddenly turning your head, you’d find him silent as a ghost.

"Xiao Hai has gone to Guangning Wei for the ancestral ceremony," said Lu Hao with a smile.

Pei Qin nodded and asked him to come inside.

Guangning Wei was located in Liaodong. Mo Heng reached out, took the letter from Pei Qin’s hand, and opened it. Verbose English. He had only learned simple everyday phrases and some academic vocabulary usually unnecessary for daily use. He could only understand a few words of Shen Songming’s letter, the majority of it was beyond his comprehension.

Mo Heng’s face darkened. If he feared someone intercepting his mail, now that Lu Hao had personally brought it to him, and it was written in English, it was clear it was meant to challenge his incomplete understanding.

Pei Wendong noticed the sudden change in his expression and his eyes flickered subtly. Brother Songming must have said something indecent again, hmph! Don’t think you’re the only one with someone who cares, with a fair lady confidante.

Pei Qin rolled her eyes, took the letter, and began to read. Halfway through, she couldn’t help but let her mouth twitch. She had thought he’d written about some secret affair, hence the cautiousness, sending it through Lu Hao in English. But no, he was still prone to rambling, only getting to the point after a mound of nonsense.

He had sent Lu Hai to Liaodong under the pretext of commemorating her deceased husband, where Xiao Guangbi’s maternal uncle Bao Xun was stationed. Although Great Chu was occasionally troubled by foreign enemies, its court was relatively stable; the Crown Prince had been in office for many years without fault, making it extremely difficult to shake his position. Moreover, Emperor Chu Wen always favored the Crown Prince, who was also the legitimate heir. In short, as long as the Crown Prince didn’t bring disaster upon himself, even if he achieved nothing, once Emperor Chu Wen died, he would be the new Emperor of Great Chu.

The Crown Prince was not foolish; with over a decade of stable reign, he wouldn’t ruin things for himself. For Xiao Guangbi to rise to power, he would have to take unconventional routes. Without a valid reason, Emperor Chu Wen would not depose the heir, and the full court of civil and military officials would not agree to it. Xiao Guangbi would either have to assassinate the Crown Prince to disrupt the situation, or play a waiting game, reaping benefits like a fisherman watching two contending parties.

His early emergence indicated that he was not capable of playing the long game. That left only one path—rebellion.

Silver Coin, private soldiers, weapons. These were what he currently needed most. And Liang San had only recently become involved with him, eager to participate in his business, to earn money for him, whether her backers were the Crown Prince or Prince Yongle; they had already started preparations in the dark. He had set up the Silver Coin business, taking advantage of the current capital shortage to pull Liang San into the investment.

Pei Qin’s brow furrowed—Shen Songming had gone mad! Bringing Liang San into the partnership, was he prepared to bleed money to her, or was his life too long for his liking? If Liang San used the Silver Coin business for money laundering or counterfeiting, and it was discovered, not only Shen Songming, but the entire Shen family would be implicated. He was courting death!

Liang San planned to use his Silver Coin business for money laundering and counterfeiting, and Shen Songming was no pushover. But Shen Songming had invested all her money into the crystal mine and transferred ownership of one crystal mine to her name, effectively a division of assets. With this visit, he brought the property deeds and other documents to her.

Seeing her complexion turn worse, Pei Wendong and the youngsters began to worry.

"Sister! Is something wrong?" Pei Qian couldn’t help but ask.

"It’s nothing much!" Pei Qin said verbally, but her eyebrows twisted worryingly. Seeing everyone looking at her, she turned to Pei Wendong, "Do you want to go to the Imperial College?"

Pei Wendong didn’t really want to go to the Imperial College. He had just been appointed Scholar and gained a voice; with uncertainties at home, he wouldn’t be kept informed if he were so far away. And there was Wei Shu—would she still contact his brother-in-law? Sabotage the marital bond between his sister and brother-in-law?