The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 177 I didn't treat you as an outsider

"Where did Second Master come from?" Shang Mingshu turned her head to look at the vast river outside the window, the water shimmering with silver light in the dark night.

She had just left Hankou, and it would be difficult for Cheng She to get here from anywhere on the Yangtze River.

“A month ago, I was in Chengdu Prefecture.” Cheng She did not hide anything.

Starting from Chengdu and traveling by water along the Min River, it would take about twenty days to get here, even with a smooth journey...

Shang Mingshu looked at Cheng She, who was clearly still damp from washing up. He looked energetic, but the redness in his eyes revealed his exhaustion.

"Please come in..." Since the person had traveled a long way to celebrate her birthday, Shang Mingshu couldn't refuse them entry. "Please bring an extra set of chopsticks and a bowl."

After instructing He Sui, he turned to Cheng She and asked, "What would Second Master like to eat? I'll have someone go to the kitchen to see if there's anything left."

"Anything that fills my stomach will suffice." Cheng She was genuinely hungry and afraid that his stomach would rumble in front of Shang Mingshu.

Shang Mingshu nodded to He Sui and let He Sui decide: "Choose ready-made food and spend some money."

The two sat facing each other by the railing, the bright moon reflected in the river, just as the moon was half full, its clear light shining brightly.

The waves are calm and the banks are wide, the wind carries the sound of the tide, the lights on the side of the boat sway, and the fishing lights in front of the boat are sparse. The moonlight shines down, making the whole river clear and bright, and the surrounding area is quiet except for the sound of oars.

On this auspicious day, I wish Third Sister a life filled with good fortune and happiness, and a peaceful and tranquil existence.

Cheng She couldn't wait to hand the box, which he had carefully protected all along, to Shang Mingshu.

The box was square and slightly larger than a jewelry box. Shang Mingshu gladly accepted it, saying, "Thank you, Second Master."

Even though he knew she was just being polite and accepting the gift generously because he was just like any other merchant he did business with, Cheng She was still delighted.

"Why is Second Master in Chengdu?" Shang Mingshu asked casually as she poured tea for Cheng She.

"Official business," Cheng She replied with exceptional seriousness, his eyes shining brightly. "I have taken up a post from the imperial court—the Garrison Commander."

Shang Mingshu was taken aback. The Zhenfu Shi was a member of the Jinyiwei, a fourth-rank official. What surprised her was not that Cheng She had such a high position and salary as soon as he entered the court, but that he would join the Jinyiwei.

With the Embroidered Uniform Guard under Commander Lu's control, and given the delicate relationship between Cheng She and Commander Lu, it's clear that Cheng She had more than one option. Shang Mingshu couldn't fathom why he chose the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"As you thought, I should have been surnamed Lu..."

"Second Master!" Shang Mingshu's eyelids twitched, and she immediately interrupted, "Second Master's family matters are not to be discussed with outsiders."

She deliberately emphasized the word "outsider".

Shang Mingshu treated birthday gifts as normal business dealings. No matter what the gift was, she would give it a discount and return the gift on Cheng She's birthday. She didn't want to get too involved, so she returned the gift to Cheng Qin and his wife, which was considered a sign of good relations between the Cheng and Shang families.

Listening to Cheng She talk about his background, it was not just a nodding acquaintance, but even the affection that should exist between close family friends and siblings.

“I don’t consider you an outsider.” Cheng She’s shoulders relaxed, her posture casual. “I already know your intelligence. I’m just saying this casually, and you can take it as a casual remark. Don’t take it as a heartfelt confession.” Cheng She had said this much. If she asked him to leave, it would seem like she was avoiding something. If she said she didn’t want to listen, it would seem like she was guilty.

Shang Mingshu readily adopted a listening posture: "Please speak, Second Master."

With his eyelids slightly lowered, Cheng She was once again certain that Shang Mingshu had no romantic thoughts about him: "The night Madam Lu gave birth to me, she dreamed that evil spirits crawled into her womb. She woke up in fright and went into labor. She was in pain for three days and three nights before she gave birth to me."

After my birth, the Lu family suffered many misfortunes. Later, a Taoist priest came to our door, saying that my birth chart was incompatible with the Lu family's, that I was a karmic debt owed to the Lu family, and that I had come to collect it in this life. So Commander Lu and his wife adopted me to avoid any connection with the Lu family. I was adopted by my aunt, who then remarried into the Cheng family and gave birth to Sanlang.

With just a few words, Cheng She calmly and effortlessly unraveled the mystery of his origins.

Shang Mingshu felt that there were some unreasonable points in the story. Last time, when Commander Lu mentioned Cheng She's mother, Cheng She reacted very strongly. Shang Mingshu even guessed that Cheng She's mother might have been abandoned by Commander Lu, causing him to wander among the common people and be adopted by the Cheng family by chance.

It turns out that Cheng She's mother was his aunt, which explains why Lu Yi felt brotherly affection for Cheng She. If they were half-brothers, Lu Yi probably wouldn't have accepted Cheng She, his brother, into the family to compete for the inheritance without any resentment.

Everyone has curiosity, and Shang Mingshu subconsciously asked, "How old was Second Master when he was adopted?"

"Six years old."

At six years old, Cheng She is already old enough to remember things, given his current abilities. It's likely that his six years in the Lu family were not good, which is why he harbors such deep resentment towards them.

Then another thought occurred to her: "Why would a noblewoman from the Lu family marry a down-on-his-luck merchant?"

The Cheng family owes its current status to the rise of Huizhou merchants during the time of the three Cheng brothers, Cheng Qin. She didn't research the Cheng family, but guessed that the Cheng family probably didn't have much wealth in Cheng Qin's father's generation.

The Lu family had a glorious history spanning three generations. Cheng She's adoptive mother was a member of the Lu family. Even if she were to remarry, she wouldn't choose Cheng Qin, a widower with an orphan.

Cheng She's eyes were filled with admiration; she always managed to quickly and incisively pinpoint the crucial point!

"Madam Lu firmly believed that I was a jinx to the Lu family and would bring about its downfall, so she forbade my mother from teaching me literature and martial arts... My mother was just a member of a collateral branch of the Lu family and was never of high status or wealth. Before her second marriage, she and her husband were loving and affectionate. My father was frail but talented. He took the imperial examinations despite his illness, and I thought he failed because of a lack of talent. Later, I learned that Madam Lu had sabotaged the process to prevent my father from succeeding, and thus he died in despair..."

Cheng She's face gradually turned cold, his eyes filled with undisguised hatred. He picked up his teacup and drank it down in one gulp, calming his anger before continuing: "My mother was both beautiful and talented. Even before her marriage, a powerful man had his eye on her. However, my mother was unwilling to be a concubine. This man was not yet powerful enough. When my father passed away, he was in full power. When Madam Lu found out, she feared that my mother would remarry into a high-ranking family with me. She used me to threaten my mother, forcing her to remarry quickly and leave the capital..."

Shang Mingshu was dumbfounded. How could there be such a vicious birth mother? And how could there be such a kind adoptive mother?
For a moment, I didn't know whether to say Cheng She was fortunate or unfortunate.

It seems that Cheng She's adoptive mother truly regarded him as her own son, which is why she compromised for him. Cheng Qin's father was the best choice for her at the time, and also the choice that Madam Lu could allow.

Not only did she not hold a grudge against Cheng She for her husband's death, but she even named Cheng She "She," which was probably not to make him forgive the Lu family, but simply because she did not want Cheng She to grow up in hatred, be trapped in it for life, and lose himself.

The image of a gentle, virtuous, soft, and open-minded woman was sketched out in Cheng She's few words.

Shang Mingshu is not like that, nor could she do that, but she had to admit that this woman possessed all the qualities that young men of today dream of in a wife.

"Second Master, why did you choose to enter officialdom?" Shang Mingshu asked with a sigh, "Is it because of me?"

Cheng She was intelligent and extremely organized. If he wanted to enter officialdom, he wouldn't have waited so long, and he certainly wouldn't have shifted the responsibility of supporting the Cheng family onto Cheng Mian, who was dispensable for official career.