She fell out after crying at the wrong grave

"Hey, have you heard?" Aunt Wang had just boiled a pot of hot water and was chatting with the old man selling straw sandals next to her. "The head of the Chamber of Commerce has been thrown into prison!"

"Ah?" The old man's hand trembled, and the dry grass stuck straight into his hand. "Is it the one that usually collects double the commercial tax?"

He stopped talking halfway when he saw Aunt Wang nodding in agreement.

"Who made him embezzle!" Shopkeeper Feng from the wine shop opposite had just opened. He rolled up his sleeves and cleaned the door frame. He joined in the conversation, "I thought it would be fine to pay taxes to the state government. After all, it is the government that is keeping us safe. I didn't expect that all the money went into Liu Jingming's pocket quietly!"

As if that was not enough, he threw a basin of dirty water on the road and spit. Fortunately, there was no one on the street this early in the morning, otherwise it would seem like he was chasing away customers.

"Yes!" Aunt Wang also threw down the wooden ladle when she heard it. "How much money can I earn after working hard all day? All of it went to support Liu Jingming! He didn't even sweep the snow this year. It was the kind-hearted Madam Hou who hired someone to sweep it!"

The old man in straw sandals was confused, "Huh? Why is it the Marquis's wife? Isn't she the shopkeeper Cui from Shui Changdong across from you?"

As he said this, he pointed at Shui Changdong's sign.

"You don't know, do you?" Aunt Wang smiled proudly, as if she was related to the family. "Our young marquis' wife was originally a private businessman in disguise! It was because she was not afraid of rumors and went undercover to work with the young marquis to catch those people who colluded with officials and businessmen. She is really a role model for our generation."

Ah'ao yawned and held her waist, then came out of the shop with Zheng Da and opened the door, ready to open the shop.

Qin Shengguang has been busy with official duties recently and has no time to take care of Qin Xi. Yang has also been restraining herself and dares not to provoke this ancestor, so Qin Xi's life is extremely comfortable.

Yesterday, Ah-yi invited Qin Xi to come and formally asked her to teach her some self-defense martial arts.

At that time, Heng Qi crossed his arms and asked in a chilly voice, "Why, Princess, do you think highly of my martial arts?"

Ah-yi looked him up and down and asked with amusement, "Why, young marquis, your arm is strong now? Don't you need to bleed it?"

The young marquis's face, which looked drunk and decadent, suddenly froze and he walked away without looking back.

Still angry, how old is he? A'ao looked at his back, his robe swaying with his footsteps, more seductive than the spring breeze.

However, it can be seen that Hengzhi has been very depressed these days due to physical limitations.

Yesterday she had just instructed Yun Cheng to place the wooden stakes, swords and other things that Duan Can had sent in an open space in the backyard.

These things were all good stuff for the patrol battalion to use for training. Even a restrained person like Yun Cong couldn't help but performed a set of boxing moves on the wooden stake.

When she turned around, she saw the young marquis leaning against the corridor with an arrogant look on his face, as if he had been treated badly.

A'ao looked up, staring at him with her bright eyes, and after a long while she couldn't help but smiled while pursing her lips.

"You're still laughing?" Hengzhi stretched out his left hand and pinched A's nose.

She laughed even more happily.

After finally calming down, he felt a little sorry for him and asked, "Then Doctor Gong wrote to me and said that he only needs one more medicine. If you suffer for another seven or eight days, the pain will be gone."

These days, Hengzhi seemed to need bloodletting more and more frequently. At first, it was once every two days, and then it became once a day.

Yesterday in the study, Hengzhi was flipping through official documents. As he was reading, he fell headfirst onto the desk, which scared A'an.

But he didn't bleed until early in the morning, and in order to prevent the poison of the Longevity Wood from spreading further, he had to cut his arm again.

Hengzhi was lying there, with his outstretched arm covered in blood and many scars. He was ill and in poor health, so his arm was not as strong as before.

Ah'ao bit her lip, as if she could feel the sharp pain of the knife. She immediately wrote a letter to inquire and sent it to the address Gong Sheng gave her by the fastest eagle.

Fortunately, he replied in time. I received the news today and felt relieved.

Even though Hengzhi was in good health and could still move around normally, he couldn't hide the pain on his face. Most of the color had faded, and he looked weak.

At Ah-yi's suggestion, blood-replenishing things, in addition to soups, were all made into snacks or candies, along with some red dates and donkey-hide gelatin. In addition to the delicate young marquis, each of the girls in the house was also given a portion.

Naturally, girls need to replenish qi and blood more, and Hengzhi's is just a by-product.

The young marquis was the first person to try it. He tasted it for A'an for several days in a row, and the sweetness turned into bitterness in his mouth.

He took medicine every day, and now his body had the bitter taste of the medicine and the sweetness of red dates. In short, it was as complicated as Ah's soft heart now.

"I definitely can't learn those skills in a short time." Ah's wife tried to comfort her, "These objects can't be moved away in an instant. But when Doctor Gong comes back, you will be saved."

His expression relaxed a little, and the young marquis raised his eyebrows, as if the counseling was effective.

"so?"

Ah-yi paused.

Having come this far, do I need to explain it further?

"Aren't you dizzy?" A'ao retorted and didn't say anything more.

Hengzhi looked at her and felt happy and relieved. He narrowed his eyes and acted happily, "I am very dizzy. Please give me a ride."

He lowered his head and nestled it into A's shoulder, which relieved some of the dizziness that was causing his vision to turn white.

Ah'ao was caught off guard and hurriedly put her arms around Hengzhi's waist and back, wrapping her arms around his body for support.

Qin Xi came in and saw this scene.

Speaking of martial arts training, Ah-yi had no basic skills and was not young anymore. At this point, it was obviously impossible for her to learn some advanced skills that could defeat the enemy with one move. Therefore, she could only practice some boxing and kicking skills, and pay attention to hitting accurately and painfully, so that it would be effective.

So A'ao's first class started with horse stance and Five Animal Exercises.

Judging from his physical condition, he is healthy, but his physique is not strong enough. Even if he has learned how to punch and dance with a sword, his moves are just fancy moves with no lethality.

"Since the young marquis's wife trusts me so much, I will naturally give her everything without reservation." Qin Xi hung a sandbag on A's ankles with a smile and took her to run around the backyard with the weight.

One, two, or even ten laps would be easy. She ran for half an hour straight. When she stopped, she was panting and couldn't utter a word.

In the afternoon, Qin Xi urged me to go horse racing on the outskirts of the city. At the end of the day, I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately.

Then early this morning, because Mrs. Zhou was on a day off and had to help Zhao Zhuo take care of the children, A'ao had to open the shop early in the morning with dark circles under her eyes.

Halfway through her yawn, Aunt Wang came up to her with a smile on her face. "Good morning, Madam Hou! You are so diligent that you come to open the door so early."

So the half-open mouth turned into a smile, responding to the good intentions of others, "Good morning, ma'am. Aren't we going to vote for a new Chamber of Commerce chief today? So please open the door early so that you can help count the votes."

Hearing the voice, Feng the shopkeeper next door also poked his head out and said, "I have already made up my mind. When the votes are counted today, I will vote for Ah-an... Madam Hou, you hired someone to clear the snow this year, which saved us a lot of money."

Halfway through the conversation, Shopkeeper Feng obediently changed his address.

Ah-yi patted the dust off her hands, feeling quite embarrassed. The neighbors were all looking at her, and she suddenly felt uncomfortable because of the difference in status. "Don't be polite, Brother Feng, just call me Ah-yi as usual. There are no so many rules. I'm here to do business sincerely."

She looked across the street again and treated everyone equally, "Uncle, Aunt Wang, and you too. Just treat me as we used to be. Don't treat me like a marquis' wife."

"Hey! Hey!" Aunt Wang responded with a smile, thinking that this was truly a rare couple.

As for the young marquis, he had no prejudice against the royal family, nor was he like the ordinary husbands who suppressed their wives. He gave her the freedom to explore the world.

The young marquis's wife was not arrogant and was always willing to stand up for small vendors like them, so she was always very friendly to her neighbors.

So the news spread from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, and from house to house, and the people's support was invisibly accumulated.

Near noon, the people from the Bank of China who were counting the bills arrived at East Street.

Ah-yi was so sleepy that she was confused and the words on the account book were doubled. When people came, they all knew the identity of the young marquis' wife, so there was no need to stand up. "Thank you for your hard work, little clerk, serve tea."

The vote counter bowed respectfully and said, "It's not hard, it's not hard. Vote for the new chief manager. Who do you vote for?"

Tearing a piece of paper from the blank back of the account book, Ah-yi licked the pen beside the inkstone and wrote down her name.

"Ah? You, don't want to vote for yourself?" Looking at the two neatly written words "Zhang Hai" on the paper, the clerk was somewhat puzzled.

Ah-yi shook her head and said frankly, "As for me, I have no experience in business, I am neither capable nor lazy, so I cannot be an official."

After sending the person out, Ah'an began to think carefully about the probability of this matter.

Zhang Hai had been doing well in the city recently because of his so-called friendship with Heng Zhi at the Full Moon Banquet. When he heard that Wei Guohui and Liu Jingming were imprisoned, he hurriedly submitted all the cases he had collected to the court, partly to sever ties with them and partly to make himself happy.

In this way, the person most likely to be selected in the whole city is Zhang Hai.

First, the business is big, and second, you have money to canvass votes, which is half the battle.

Including the vote she cast... Ah'an thought confidently that she would probably be able to go and congratulate Zhang Hai in the afternoon.

The identity revealed by Wei Guohui was also mixed. Although some people still scolded her on the streets, at least she had earned enough recognition from the entire Chamber of Commerce, which was enough.

After leaving Shuichangdong, every house the vote counter passed by would be asked who the young marquis's wife had chosen.

The ripples brought by fame should be fully utilized.

Shui Changdong's business has been very busy these past two days. Every day, people come to hold weddings for the title of Marquis's wife or to flatter her. When the sun sets, he is free.

Zheng Da closed the door, sat at the table in the hall, and drank water with a few waiters.

"Thank you for your hard work." Ah-yi sorted out the signed forms for today and packed up the red paper for writing the wedding couplets, ready to take them back to write in the evening. "I've been busy recently, but I'm afraid it will be even busier in the future."

"Boss, should we hire some more people? We can't let you and Mrs. Zhou keep working so hard, right?" Zheng Da mentioned.

Ah-yi nodded, "It's reasonable for the two of us to work hard, but it's also reasonable to hire people to share the work. The funeral attendants that I discussed with Mrs. Zhou a few days ago will come to work soon. There may not be a lot of funeral chores, and they will also help with chores, so we can have an easier time in the future."

The waiters all cheered up and raised their bowls to toast Ah-yi.

After telling them to go back early, Ah'an went straight to the list on the street to look at the vote counting results posted.

A lot of people crowded in front of the list to see the results, and they were all saying "well-deserved".

A'ao walked forward and saw that Zhang Hai's name was indeed listed high at the top.

Great, another thing that has been put to rest has been solved.

From now on, Kezhou’s military expenditure will no longer be constrained by the capital.

(End of this chapter)