Chapter 14 Coercive Buying and Selling

Lingxiao asked with a playful tone, panting and arriving a step later, "Third Young Master said he was going to find the person whose decision counts. Could it be that the Zuo Residence is now under Fourth Miss's rule?"

"No, it's not," Zuo Zimo wiped the sweat from his forehead, cautiously tugging at Zuo Xiangning's sleeve, whispering, "You go back first, I'm here!"

Zuo Xiangning shook off Zuo Zimo's hand, stepped in front of him, and glared at the man with an attitude of breezy indifference, "I can clearly tell you that we are not selling the mountain. What are you going to do to us?"

For Zuo Xiangning, the mountain was like a bone that had landed in her mouth—she hadn't even begun to bite it, so how could she possibly spit it out?

The man picked up his teacup and took another sip, before speaking leisurely, "Let's talk nicely. If you don't want to sell it, then you don't sell it."

He stood up, casually flicked his dark blue brocade robe with black trim, placed one hand in front of him, and the other behind his back as he looked with interest at the siblings, his narrow phoenix eyes amused.

"I hope you can stick it out to the end."

After Lingxiao walked out with his head held high and confident strides, Zuo Zimo turned to Zuo Xiangning, giving her a thumbs-up, "Sister, you're amazing! In just a few words, you sent away such a ruthless person!"

Zuo Xiangning, looking at her carefree older brother, sat down speechlessly and said, "What did he mean by his last sentence?"

"Which sentence?" Zuo Zimo had been too preoccupied with his fear to pay attention to what Lingxiao had said.

"He said, he hopes we can stick it out to the end." Zuo Xiangning spoke seriously. "He wouldn't be planning to harm us, would he?"

"You worry too much. Didn't the Young Master say it already? If we don't want to sell, we won't," Zuo Zimo reassured her. "Just relax, the Princely Heir is a man whose word is his bond."

"Aren't you the same person who earlier said he was arrogant, self-conceited, and impolite?" Zuo Xiangning still harbored worry deep within her heart.

"But he is also a man who stands tall under heaven and keeps his promises," Zuo Zimo replied.

"It's better to be cautious. If anything happens, you must inform me in time."

Zuo Xiangning gave her brother several words of warning before she returned to her own courtyard.

Zhang Rui's household servant approached quietly at the door, saying, "Fourth Miss, my husband came over. He says he has something important to discuss with you."

"Let him in quickly." Zuo Xiangning entered the main house, had Pan Xia and Zhang Rui's household servant stand guard outside, leaving only Zhang Rui with her, and asked, "How is it?"

"My cousin said it's gold, and its purity is very high." Zhang Rui's voice trembled with excitement, "I told my cousin that it was scraped off a gold ingot from my wife. He didn't suspect a thing."

Zuo Xiangning's heart also couldn't help but pound "thump thump" with excitement.

"First, go fill in that hole, then measure out the area of that platform. Try to get the house built as quickly as possible." She thought for a moment, "We don't know if there are other places on this mountain like that one. I might need to trouble you to go around the mountain carefully in these next few days."

"Yes," Zhang Rui nodded in agreement.

"And for the workers, make sure to choose those who are honest and tight-lipped." Zuo Xiangning recalled from the memories of her past life, "Ma Qiang and his brother Ma Zhuang both seem decent. If it works out, I'll find a way to arrange for them to work under you."

"The Ma brothers are good, straightforward men, and there's also Old Master Ma from the Ma Family," Zhang Rui spoke excitedly. "I heard he'd worked in mining before, though I don't know what kind. The stable master Xu Gui in the back courtyard is Old Master Ma's disciple, and he's said to have come straight from the mines. Xu Gui can work hard too."

Zuo Xiangning took note of these names and had Pan Xia investigate them. Upon learning that they normally had no contact with Zhang Rui's household, she regarded Zhang Rui even more highly.

The next day, Zuo Xiangning took the baby bib pattern she had drawn and went to Fanghua Courtyard.

Madame Jiang looked at Zuo Xiangning with surprise, "When did you become such a good artist?"

"I wonder too. It seems like I suddenly started drawing well overnight," Zuo Xiangning said with a smile curving her brows.

"You've had an epiphany. The baby bib still has months to go; you take your time with the embroidery. There's no rush. Start by embroidering two handkerchiefs for me first," Madame Jiang smiled, "Lady Zhou had been showing off a handkerchief her daughter embroidered. Next time, I will let her see what truly exquisite embroidery looks like."

"Okay," Zuo Xiangning gave a wry smile. Her mother was always looking for opportunities to publicize her skills, all to secure a good marriage proposal for her.

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In the realm of what she could manage, she was more than willing for Madame Jiang to take pride in her, regardless of what the future held, she hoped that those she cared about could enjoy each and every day a little more.

"I heard from the steward that Zhang Rui came over early this morning, is there something going on?" Madame Jiang asked.

"Mother, I would like to find a few people to accompany Zhang Rui to Mingyue Mountain," Zuo Xiangning told Madame Jiang.

Hearing the names of the people she mentioned, Madame Jiang nodded and said, "These people are all good, I will speak to the steward about it in a moment."

"Mother..." Zuo Xiangning looked at Madame Jiang who was always thoughtful of her, hesitating over whether to tell Madame Jiang about Mingyue Mountain.

"What's wrong? Is there something you can't resolve?" Madame Jiang asked with a smile.

"Thank you," Zuo Xiangning took hold of Madame Jiang's hand, but ultimately decided not to say anything yet.

After her rebirth, she hoped that those around her could be happy, rather than filled with even more fear and worry because of her.

"Don't worry, I have prepared five thousand taels of silver for you, you can build the house according to your own wishes," Madame Jiang said with a smile.

Zuo Xiangning hesitated for a moment and asked, "How is the relationship between the steward and Old Madam and Auntie Liu?"

"The steward was promoted by me..." Madame Jiang looked into her daughter's shining eyes, "What have you found out?"

"In the garden, I saw the steward holding Jin Zhui, Auntie Liu's main maid's hand, they seemed quite... intimate, and talked for quite a while. It looked like the steward gave her a package," Zuo Xiangning blushed as she spoke, "Perhaps you should have someone take a close look into this?"

Madame Jiang felt a jolt in her heart.

Her own dowry and private savings were all managed by the steward, if the steward and Auntie Liu were in league, the consequences...

Once Zuo Xiangning had left, Madame Jiang called Nanny Cai into her room, and they spoke behind closed doors for quite a while.

An hour later, Nanny Cai hurried out of the residence.

Zuo Xiangning returned to Xianglan Residence and saw Pan Cui talking with someone from Zhang Rui's household at the entrance.

Seeing Zuo Xiangning return, Pan Cui hurriedly greeted her, "Fourth Miss."

"You're back?" Zuo Xiangning asked with concern, "How is your mother's health?"

"Thanks to your sending the doctor with me, my mother has been struggling to breathe these past few days and felt tightness in her chest. The doctor said it was lucky we didn't delay any longer, or it could have been serious," Pan Cui knelt down, insisting on kowtowing to Zuo Xiangning twice.

"My mother said I must kowtow twice to thank you," Pan Cui said gratefully.

"It's good that she's alright," Zuo Xiangning hastened her to get up.

Zuo Xiangning went to her room to change her clothes and asked Pan Xia to accompany her out of the residence.

Since there were indeed gold mines on the mountain, Gu Zhiqing and Lingxiao would not easily give up. Without going to take a look herself, she would never be at ease.

At the base of the mountain, Zuo Xiangning and Pan Xia first went up to a platform on the mountainside. She asked Pan Xia to wait for her there.

"Miss, I should come with you," Pan Xia said with concern, "There could be wild animals on this mountain..."

"If you come with me, it'll just make the wild animals fuller," Zuo Xiangning joked. "If anything happens, I'll call for you, and you signal the coachman to bring help."

She carefully looked for traces of where people had walked, heading towards the east side of the mountain. Upon seeing the tallest ginkgo tree, she quickened her pace with excitement.

Suddenly, she heard voices talking ahead. She quickly crouched down and hid in the dense bushes nearby.

"You still can't confirm whether this mountain has it or not?" It was Gu Zhiqing's voice, filled with annoyance, "You tell me one of these sixteen mountain peaks, but what I need to know is, which one exactly?"

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