Misty Rain of the Old Times

The banquet for relatives and friends was scheduled for the afternoon, which was really inappropriate at noon. Since it was still early, the young couple decided to spend their time in the back garden after meeting everyone in the household.

Du Juan and her several personal maids accompanied him, constantly bowing and greeting him along the way. Although Chen Xuan preferred peace and quiet, he quickly adapted to this life surrounded by people.

Back when he was with the Gao family, he used to be surrounded by a group of people wherever he went. Now it's even more so. But deep down, Chen Xuan still prefers peace and quiet. Two different lives, each with its own joys. He's no longer the kind of person who bows down to others.

In the third month of spring, when the sun shines brightly, it is the best time to go out and enjoy the spring scenery. Although we did not go out, the peach trees that Chen Xuan brought for yesterday's wedding are still in full bloom. The huge mansion is like a paradise, and strolling through it is intoxicating.

I heard that the peach blossoms and peach trees along the road where the wedding procession took place yesterday were looted afterward, as everyone wanted to share in the joy. This led to many fights, which were only quelled by government intervention. Fortunately, no one was injured.

No matter when or what, anything associated with royalty takes on a special significance. Even something as simple as the peach blossoms fluttering along a princess's wedding route is something many people would cherish, dreaming of having such an unforgettable wedding of their own.

The newlyweds were deeply in love and never felt satiated with each other.

Arriving at the back garden, the spring breeze carried the faint fragrance of peach blossoms. Chen Xuan slumped onto a cushioned recliner, surrounded by plenty of fruits, snacks, and fragrant tea. He felt incredibly comfortable, and most importantly, his wife was by his side, her eyes filled with her. He felt blissful and fulfilled, and Chen Xuan felt that he had reached the pinnacle of his life.

The little princess relaxed herself just like Chen Xuan, and she was truly enjoying herself immensely.

If Madam Gao saw this scene, she would definitely be both amused and exasperated. Birds of a feather flock together! Look, another one has become a lazy bum. Carefree and without worries, that's the life everyone yearns for.

On a whim, Chen Xuan subtly manipulated the airflow, creating a gentle breeze that caused the blooming peach trees to sway and shower the surrounding blossoms with petals, creating a beautiful and dreamlike scene.

Tilting his head slightly, Chen Xuan said to the little princess beside him, who was beaming with delight, "My lady, you must not have had a chance to fully experience it yesterday in the bridal sedan chair, right? Let me make up for it for you. How about it? Do you like it?"

"Thank you, my husband! I love it! It's so beautiful!" the little princess exclaimed excitedly, reaching out to catch the playful peach blossoms, as happy as a child who never grew up.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan watched quietly; even the falling petals couldn't compare to the beauty of his own wife.

A moment later, she turned back and reminisced, "My husband, you wrote to me under the pseudonym Peach Blossom Prince back then, and that's how our fates began. Now we are husband and wife, life is truly wonderful."

"Yes, eight years have passed in the blink of an eye," Chen Xuan also felt it was a bit strange. He never thought that the author of Lingyun Chronicles was actually a ten-year-old girl, and a princess of noble birth at that.

Thinking of something, the little princess asked curiously, "By the way, husband, you told me in a letter when we were little that you planted a peach tree. How is it now?"

“It’s planted in the yard of my house in Yang County. It hasn’t changed much, but calling it a sapling isn’t quite right. The plant is as vigorous as a dragon, but it just won’t grow tall. I don’t understand why. I’ll take you there to see it another day,” Chen Xuan said with a smile.

She was speechless for a moment and said, "You haven't grown any taller over the years? I'll have to take a good look at you another day."

The two chatted and laughed, enjoying the intoxicating spring breeze. Gradually, Chen Xuan became a little sleepy, and as they talked, he relaxed and drifted off to sleep.

Seeing this, the little princess gestured for Yunlan and the others to be quiet, covered him with a light blanket, and stayed by his side.

The rain of blossoms has gradually stopped, and the peach blossoms in the garden are like a carpet. The servants responsible for cleaning will be busy afterwards.

The little princess couldn't sleep. Seeing her husband sleeping soundly, she stayed by his side while Yunlan and the others brought her the organized accounts, silently flipping through them. To be honest, she didn't even know the exact extent of her family's wealth. She had to find out. Now that she was married, she couldn't remain ignorant. Although it was unlikely that the people below would embezzle, what a huge embezzlement it would be if it happened! She couldn't afford to lose face like that.

"Huh? Xiaolan, does our family own a business like this?"

Chen Xuan, who didn't know how long he had slept, woke up feeling refreshed and heard his wife asking him in a low voice beside him.

Stretching, Chen Xuan said lazily, "I actually fell asleep. I get sleepy as soon as I lie down. It's an old problem of mine. How long did I sleep? I vaguely heard my wife talking about business. What business?"

The account books can be looked at any time, but nothing is more important than her husband. The little princess put down the books and said, "Did I disturb my husband? I was looking at the account books when I had nothing to do just now, and I found that I don't know when I added a property under my name. I haven't even finished looking at one account book yet, and I guess there are more like this."

The little princess wasn't embarrassed that she didn't know the details of how many assets she owned; she just didn't ask much. As long as the people around her knew, that was enough. Would she dare to ask when the time came?
Hearing this, Chen Xuan was speechless and said, "No, I slept until I woke up naturally, it was very comfortable. My wife can learn from me in the future. Also, what industry did you see that surprised you so much just now?"

She pointed to the ledger on the table and said, "A horse farm on the outskirts of the city can produce hundreds of warhorses every year. If they were sold, the market price would be over 30,000 taels of silver."

Horses were a luxury item in this era. Ordinary horses cost tens of taels of silver, let alone warhorses, which were strategic resources. Not only were they in short supply, but they were also not something that ordinary people could get their hands on. As a princess, who would dare to say anything against her?
This single horse ranch, if managed well, could provide enough for a moderately wealthy family to live a life of luxury.

Chen Xuan asked in surprise, "This is a fairly important industry, isn't it? How come you don't remember it, Madam?"

"I don't usually pay attention to so much; it's all managed by Steward Hua and the others," the little princess said frankly. She spent most of her energy writing stories and collecting leaves, and only in recent years has she focused more on Chen Xuan.

Nodding, Chen Xuan asked Yun Lan, "Xiao Lan, do you understand?"

She was about to answer the little princess's question when Chen Xuan woke up and stopped. Now she nodded and replied, "Your Majesty, I remember the horse farm incident. It was one of the gifts His Majesty gave me on the day of the Lady's coming-of-age ceremony last year."

This is one of the functions of a personal maid; like a personal secretary, she can answer questions the boss might not normally pay attention to. Otherwise, what use is she? Hearing Yunlan say this, the little princess suddenly remembered and laughed, "Oh right, it was a coming-of-age gift from Father last year. There were so many gifts given that I completely forgot. Father said it could be used to arm the guards; I didn't care about such things."

In fact, after the princess comes of age, she will move to her fiefdom just like the prince. However, as the old man's most beloved princess, how could he bear to leave her side?

Even so, the old man gave his word and ordered an extraordinary increase in the number of guards for the little princess. The horse farm was just an add-on; the little princess had her own horse farm where she could train knights to improve her combat strength. Although the horse farm was not large, it produced more than a hundred horses every year, which was more than enough for armed guards. She would not need any more than that, and it would also cause some bad things.

All the bestowals upon the little princess were officially decreed and recorded, and no one but the emperor could change them. I wonder if the scale of the bestowals will be reduced when the crown prince ascends the throne. Probably not, there's no need to risk offending Chen Xuan, a master-level expert and his brother-in-law.

In short, those were all the little princess's personal savings, which she brought with her after marrying into the family. This meant that Chen Xuan and the little princess together were now considered wealthy. It wasn't a case of him living off a woman; worldly wealth was readily available to Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan wasn't surprised that his wife owned a private horse farm, even one that produced warhorses. Instead, he asked out of curiosity, "Wife, how many guards do we have?"

Blinking, the little princess herself wasn't sure either, and turned to ask Yunlan and the others, "How many guards do we have again?"

Yunxin rattled off the details as if reciting a familiar story: "Reporting to Master and Madam, apart from special personal guards like Commander Xia, there are a thousand guards stationed in the manor at any time, patrolling in three shifts. Then, there are four thousand guards stationed and training in the fiefdom, rotating every ten days. These are Madam's private guards, who can be dispatched at any time with a warrant. Even if there are fewer than a thousand, they don't need to report to His Majesty when they enter the capital."

Actually, Xia Mei knows the most about guards, after all, she is the guard commander. But Yun Lan and the other maids also know the details, otherwise, when they really need people, wouldn't Xia Mei be there to mobilize them?
Hearing this, Chen Xuan wasn't surprised, but he was somewhat taken aback and said, "Our family has five thousand guards by itself, and if you add the others, how many people are there around us?"

"So many? I never noticed before," the little princess said belatedly.

Du Juan and Su Roujia exchanged glances, secretly astonished. It all seemed a bit unreal. What kind of family was this? The master just got married, and overnight everything changed. They couldn't quite understand it. Was this what it meant to be a powerful and wealthy family?

Yunxin pondered for a moment before replying, "Master, including Madam's other businesses and the people managing them scattered across various regions, the total number would easily exceed ten thousand."

It's hard to believe until you start thinking about it; the scale is truly enormous. And this only includes those directly related to the princess. In terms of influence, it's unimaginable.

Turning over, Chen Xuan scratched his butt and said, "Let me think... When I met the people from the manor before, the guards standing at the back were very disciplined. Judging from their demeanor, they were all from military backgrounds, with most of them being tough soldiers. Moreover, they were wearing armor and carrying spears, and I even saw some carrying crossbows. Calling them guards is a bit of an exaggeration; they were clearly an elite army."

These aren't guards; they're clearly a private army, and an elite one at that. It's easy to see how much the old man dotes on the little princess.

Take Prince Qing for example. Even though he was stationed at the border and held military power, his actual number of private soldiers was only about three thousand. Any more than that would be taboo, and he would only dare to secretly cross that line if he wanted to rebel.

Yunlan hesitated for a moment, then cautiously corrected, "Master, I humbly request that you be careful with your words. They are your and your wife's guards, not soldiers."

Then, seeing Chen Xuan's knowing look, she said dejectedly, "Okay, it's actually the military, but we can't say it like that to outsiders."

There's no need to be so reserved about one's master's status and the mistress's identity behind closed doors.

At this moment, Chen Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Five thousand soldiers, we have a horse farm, half of them can be cavalry, right? How much money and grain would that cost every year? It's a complete waste. To put it bluntly, what use would I have for them, sir?"

With Chen Xuan's cultivation level, these five thousand soldiers wouldn't even be enough for him to slap. It would be better to send them away and save the money elsewhere than to keep this army around.

However, he also knew that his wife's status was what it was, and he couldn't just assume things.

As expected, Yunxin said nervously, "Does Master intend to dismiss some of the guards? I dare to ask, Master, to reconsider this idea. They may not be of much help to you normally, but their existence is still necessary. They serve to deter petty thieves, and Madam's entourage cannot be shabby, otherwise she will be looked down upon. Furthermore, someone needs to keep an eye on things in the fiefdom, otherwise the people there will inevitably have designs on them. Perhaps they won't dare to act openly, but if they collude, it's not like Master would have to personally go and reprimand them, is it?"

"That's true," Chen Xuan nodded and said, "I was just asking. Let's do what we need to do. I have to say, it's pretty cool to have a force of 5,000 elite soldiers at my disposal at any time."

What belongs to a wife is his own; given their relationship, Chen Xuan wouldn't make such a distinction.

Du Juan and Su Roujia had no say in these matters. They didn't dwell on it and just focused on doing their own jobs. The master had no other arrangements, so they would continue to stay by his side. If he did arrange specific matters, that would be considered estrangement.

At this moment, Yunxin asked cautiously, "Is Master worried that the household expenses are too high and the business cannot be managed? Actually, there is no need to worry. The many businesses in the household are sufficient to keep it running. We learned from Steward Hua earlier that, under the current circumstances, after all expenses are paid each year, there will still be a surplus of 300,000 taels if there are no other additional expenses."

Is there really so much left? Almost all of it came from his wife's dowry. Wouldn't he be living off her? Of course, Chen Xuan also knew that the so-called surplus was only under normal circumstances. If his wife went out with a grand procession, it would cost a lot. Moreover, according to Chen Xuan's observation, his wife usually only wore her clothes once. He had never seen her wear them a second time. If she wore the same clothes a second time, people would think that the little princess had fallen out of favor.

Chen Xuan didn't care about any of that. Now that things had come to this point, he asked curiously, "What other businesses does our family have? Tell me, so I can broaden my horizons."

The little princess, both amused and exasperated, patted Chen Xuan on the shoulder and said, "What are you saying, husband? It's fine at home, but you can't say such things in public. People will look down on you."

Tsk, so she's already starting to be a wife and mother? Is this the legendary situation of having a wife to manage things? This experience was quite novel to Chen Xuan.

Before he could say anything more, Xia Mei hurried over and bowed from a short distance away, saying, "Master, Madam, Lord Gao and the others will be here soon."

Looking at the sky, it was almost time, so Chen Xuan stopped talking and said, "Okay, I'm coming..." (End of this chapter)