The splendor of the Red Chamber, the power that reigns supreme.

Chapter 9 The Lucky Goods Were Hijacked

Red candles burned brightly inside the tent.

The powerful official Ximen Qing leaned against a large red python-patterned pillow.

His well-developed muscles were visible beneath his half-open lingerie.

Although the official was a womanizer, he was also skilled in martial arts and had some impressive skills.

She has also developed a great physique.

Wu Yueniang was wearing only an apricot-colored bodice and a pair of thin silk trousers, leaning close to his strong and warm body.

She still had one soft hand resting on the official's chest, with a satisfied look on her face.

Although she was already fully mature, she married Ximen Da Guanren as his second wife relatively early.

She's only twenty-five or twenty-six now, just the perfect time for her flower buds to begin to bloom and for them to be full of juice.

She was of medium height, but her body was perfectly proportioned, and her figure was soft and warm.

That silver basin face, though not as beautiful as Qin Keqing or Wang Xifeng, was still one in a thousand.

In the candlelight, her body was white and smooth, like a freshly steamed bun made of fine flour, radiating a warm glow.

She moved her neck slightly and rested her head a little closer to the official's arm.

"What time is it?" Ximen Qing asked vaguely, without even lifting his eyelids. Instead, he turned his face to the side, buried his face in the fragrant crook of her neck, and took a deep breath.

The warm breath sprayed onto Yue Niang's delicate skin, causing her to tremble slightly and feel a tingling sensation on half of her body.

A hoarse laugh escaped his throat, and he tightened his grip on her arm, his rough fingers picking up a strand of her hair that was loose on her chest, twirling and twisting it here and there.

"The clapper has been striking past midnight for a while now, sir." Yue Niang's voice was extremely soft, like it had been soaked in warm honey water: "The dew is heavy, sir, you should rest now."

"Rest? What's there to rest!" Ximen Qing chuckled, his eyes closed, but his thick fingers slid down and scratched Yue Niang's tender chin: "You're out here all day, dealing with a bunch of lousy things and entertaining a bunch of scoundrels. Your bones are aching."

"Only at this moment do I feel relaxed in my bones. Holding my wife's warm and soft body, even talking to her is comfortable. How could I bear to go to sleep?"

He nuzzled the soft spot on the top of her head with his chin. "But you, you worked so hard serving me just now, aren't you tired now?"

His wife was not only good at managing the household, but also had such beautiful skin and figure. She felt soft, warm, and elastic to the touch, like holding a warm, fragrant jade ball.

Compared to those skinny actresses, it has a unique, plump and delicious flavor.
Not only was his family background impeccable, but they were also from an official family.

His father, Wu Qianhu, served as the Left Guard Qianhu of Qinghe County before his death.

She now has two older brothers at home.

Wu Kai's brother-in-law inherited his father's position as a commander of a thousand men.
Wu Bing's brother-in-law is an idle man who comes to his sister's house to beg for money whenever he runs out.

It didn't cause any trouble, it just meant less money.

"Not lacking!"

Yue Niang's heart skipped a beat. "Serving the master is the proper thing to do, and I dare not say it is hard work."

"Besides, besides, it's been quite a while since I've served you, sir."

"I am truly delighted today, but the master seems to be a little different?"

Oh?
Master Ximen laughed and said, "How is it different?"

Wu Yueniang said shyly, "I don't know either. Maybe it's because I haven't served you, sir. I just feel that I've gotten much stronger and have more brute strength."

"Tonight, I feel as if I have returned to the night I first married you, sir."

"Where are you strong?" Master Ximen asked with a smile. "My lord, where do you mean it?" Wu Yueniang shyly covered her face with her hands, "You're just being so embarrassing!"

Ximen Da Guanren was taken aback.

Does time travel offer some kind of physical enhancement?

He couldn't help but tighten his grip.

Wu Yueniang used her small hand to stop herself: "I can't go on. I have some important things to tell you, sir."

Seeing Yue Niang's serious expression, Ximen Da Guanren stopped acting strangely.

"What's so important?"

Yue Niang paused gently, then raised her eyes. In the lamplight, her eyes reflected a warm glow as she gazed at Ximen Qing's profile:

"Didn't the master personally go and buy those three thousand catties of honeysuckle when he saw the epidemic spreading?"

"But today I heard news that the three thousand catties of honeysuckle that the shop urgently needs may... cause problems."

Ximen Da Guanren paused in his rubbing.

Carefully recall the fragments of memory in your mind.

That's true.

Rebellions are now rampant throughout the land.

With various epidemics constantly occurring, they were still hoping to make a fortune from this batch of honeysuckle.

Ximen Da Guanren frowned and asked, "Hmm? I've already reached an agreement. Didn't I send someone to Hebei the day before yesterday to urge them to proceed? That medicine merchant, Old Li, and I have some acquaintance. We've been doing business together for years, and I've already paid the deposit. How could it cause any problems?"

"It was that Manager Li from Hebei who got into trouble!" Yue Niang sighed, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.
"The honeysuckle has been slow to arrive, and I overheard some rumors circulating on the street today."

"So he sent Fu, the shop assistant in the pharmacy, to inquire. Not long ago, he came back and said that Manager Li... had broken the contract."

"Breach of contract?" Ximen Qing raised an eyebrow, his previous languidness dissipating slightly. "Why would he breach the contract? Does he dare to steal my deposit?"

“I reckon the deposit will definitely be returned,” Yue Niang hurriedly said. “I gave ten taels of silver to Fu, and only after making inquiries from various sources did I get the definite answer.”

"They say that our batch of goods... was intercepted by Zhang, a big spender from Qinghe County, who bought it all."

"Zhang the wealthy man from Qinghe County?" Ximen Qing was slightly taken aback. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

In Qinghe County, Ximen Qing considered himself the most prominent of all the wealthy families.

Who else is a Zhang tycoon below him?
Who else has the skill to steal Ximen Da Guanren's goods?

"Which Zhang tycoon? When did such a person appear in Qinghe County?" asked Master Ximen.

Yue Niang looked up at him and said softly, "Master, have you forgotten? It's Zhang Shouchu, the wealthy Zhang, who started out as a herbal medicine shop outside the South Gate, and later closed the shop and bought land to amass a fortune!"

"His first wife, Madam Yu, was a notorious jealous shrew. Do you remember her, sir?"

“This wealthy man is the most shrewd and calculating. He specializes in dealing with the wealthy families in the county and lending money to officials.”

"Relying on their wealth and power, and by lending money privately at a 5% interest rate, their wealth is now no less than ours."

"The fields in our family are vast and the granaries are overflowing with rice. All of this was acquired through lending money at exorbitant interest rates and by acquiring other land properties."

"Most of his vast wealth was accumulated through this kind of 'rolling around'!"

Ximen Da Guanren then remembered and sneered, "So it's this old bastard. He thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he has some money and some connections with some clerks and bailiffs in the yamen."

(End of this chapter)