allonlinenovel Chapter 187: The Old Clam Gives Birth to a Pearl, Baochai Waits to Get Married
Chapter 187: The Old Clam Gives Birth to a Pearl, Baochai Waits to Get Married
Wang Chaozong is the current president of the Lianghuai Salt Merchants Association.
Xiao Wenshu's father was the former president.
The marriage between the two families can be said to be a perfect match, making the wealth even richer.
Xiao Wenshu was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She didn't spend money like water, but she was not far from it. She had never known what worry was since she was a child.
It was not until she married Wang Chaozong and gave birth to only a daughter that she was forced to pretend to be magnanimous and take a concubine for Wang Chaozong that she knew the taste of worry.
Fortunately, Wang Chaozong was not a lustful man and never agreed to take a concubine.
Xiao Wenshu felt much better and occasionally pretended to be magnanimous in front of others.
However, as the retired emperor made six trips to the south of the Yangtze River, the Lianghuai salt merchants were bled dry one after another. Although Wang Xiao and his family were wealthy, they could no longer hold on and their situation was much worse than before.
Now Wang Chaozong is still detained by Akzan in Mingyufang, and he has been told that he will not be able to go home unless he pays a donation of 500,000 taels.
It’s only five hundred thousand taels, you still have to afford it!
But the meaning behind it made Xiao Wenshu shudder, fearing that the Wang and Xiao families would be searched that day.
But she got pregnant anyway. No matter whose child the sperm came from, she had to carry the baby for ten months and give birth to the child.
As parents, we always have to consider the future of our children.
Since you have to sell the property at a low price just to show off, it would be better to sell it to the child’s biological father, so that there will be more security in the future.
This is roughly what Xiao Wenshu was thinking about.
After Cao Rui figured it out, there was naturally no reason for him to refuse.
Both parties were willing to facilitate the deal and soon reached a preliminary agreement.
suddenly!
The Shen family's chief steward came in and said that there was a man outside who claimed to be the Wang family's steward and had something urgent to discuss with Mrs. Wang.
"Bring him in."
Chen Shuozhen immediately gave the order, and seeing Xiao Wenshu's face suddenly changed, she comforted him:
"Don't worry, Madam Wang. Akzhan wants donations. You have been very cooperative. He won't kill anyone."
Xiao Wenshu thought so too, but still looked towards the door.
Not long after, the Wang family's housekeeper came running in, panting and saying:
"Ma'am, it's not good!"
"When the young lady led a team to transport salt to the Majiajugang salt field, they were attacked by unknown persons. Not only did they not bring the salt back, but the young lady was also kidnapped."
"what?"
Xiao Wenshu was horrified and the blood instantly drained from her face.
Now her husband is being detained in Mingyufang and her daughter has been kidnapped. How come things have suddenly become so disastrous?
She hurriedly asked, "Have you received the ransom note from the kidnappers? How much money do they want to release me?"
“No ransom note has been received, and there is no other news.”
"what!"
If they don't want money after the kidnapping, then what do they want? This?
Xiao Wenshu's eyes went dark, she didn't dare to think any further, her whole body began to tremble.
Seeing this, Cao Rui comforted him:
"Mrs. Wang, don't worry. We have some connections in both the black and white worlds. We will definitely help you catch those kidnappers."
"Thank you!"
Finally, there was good news. Xiao Wenshu was finally willing to look at Cao Rui, the second man in her life, with a very complicated look in her eyes.
"Thank you both very much. If you can save my daughter, I will definitely remember it in my heart."
However, she did not put all her hopes on others. After getting up and saying goodbye, she hurried back home, ready to find a way to find her daughter's whereabouts.
Cao Rui looked at Xiao Wenshu's departing back and said:
"My lady bandit, I'll leave this matter to you."
Chen Shuozhen nodded and talked about another matter:
"The situation has been tense recently. The powerful people in Jinling have all been defeated on the Jinchuan front, and the Lianghuai salt merchants have been detained collectively, which has caused panic among the people. So it is the right time to marry Xue Baochai."
Cao Rui frowned and asked, "Aren't we being too anxious?"
"We have to be anxious. Recently, rumors have been circulating that the Xue family was hijacked by bandits and their lives were controlled by someone, so they fired the elderly and replaced them with outsiders."
Chen Shuozhen had been prepared for this. She couldn't hide it, but she could take advantage of the situation and release half-true and half-false news to cover it up:
"So I plan to publicize that when the Xue family was almost robbed by bandits, it was me who led people to rescue them."
"So Miss Bao insisted on marrying me. After learning that I already had a wife, she even wanted to be my concubine. Let those people envy her!"
Cao Rui couldn't help but laugh:
"You have gained both wealth and people, and you have also spread your reputation as a chivalrous man. If it gets to the ears of those resentful ladies and rich girls in the boudoir, I'm afraid they will all admire you."
"Hahaha, you get the advantage in the end."
The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
Chen Shuozhen went to arrange to investigate the whereabouts of Xiao Wenshu's daughter.
Cao Rui got up and went to discuss the marriage with Aunt Xue. Outside the door, he saw Qiu Ruoyao and her former maid Caizhu whispering in the corridor.
"How's it going? Are you still getting used to it?"
Cao Rui suddenly appeared and grabbed Qiu Ruoyao's delicate hand and started playing with it.
"Master, you are here!"
Qiu Ruoyao was pleasantly surprised and looked at Cao Rui carefully, fearing that he might get hurt or hungry outside. Her love was flowing, and she felt so sweet that it was indescribable.
I had no idea how deeply I had been tricked.
The two of them stayed together for a while, and Caizhu blushed with embarrassment. She lowered her head and dared not look at anyone.
Cao Rui asked:
"Is the Second Madam in the room? I have something to discuss with her."
Qiu Ruoyao reported the good news: "The Second Madam has been a little sleepy recently. She has consulted a doctor and it seems that she is pregnant. However, it has been too short and we cannot be 100% sure. She is now resting in the house."
"What about Miss Bao?"
Normally, when the mother is pregnant, a daughter should serve her by her bedside.
"Miss Bao comes here often and stays for a long time, but the Xue family seems to be very busy with business, so she is often called away."
Cao Rui nodded, stood up and walked into the house.
I saw Aunt Xue lying quietly on the bed, seemingly taking a nap.
Beside her lay a few unfinished baby clothes, with the needle and thread still haphazardly hanging on them.
Maybe because of her pregnancy, she looks good.
Her body was slightly tilted, with one hand on her belly, and her curves looked even more plump and attractive under the soft light.
Cao Rui hadn't originally planned to wake her up immediately.
Aunt Xue seemed to have woken up as if she had telepathy. When she saw Cao Rui, she said in surprise:
"Master, you are here."
Cao Rui walked forward with a smile, held her hand and said:
"I heard you were pregnant, so I came to see you."
Aunt Xue's face flushed. She felt a little embarrassed to say this, after all, she was the one who gave birth to the pearl:
"The doctor said it might be a pregnancy pulse, but it's not certain yet."
“Are you making clothes for your children?”
"I have nothing to do anyway, so I want to make something for my kids."
"Don't be too tired. Pay more attention to rest."
"I will."
Aunt Xue looked at the little servant of the past. Who could have imagined that he would become her husband and even give birth to a child for him?
After chatting about daily life, Cao Rui naturally talked about Xue Baochai's marriage, who was going to get married soon.
"..."
Aunt Xue had a complicated expression. She was unwilling to let her daughter become a concubine, even if there was a reason.
How many women in the world just want to be a legitimate wife, give birth to a legitimate son, and inherit the family business in a legitimate way.
Also because of his wealthy family background, he had seen many concubines in miserable situations.
But as a woman, she had no way to resist the fate, so she sighed and said:
"Forget it. I will take her back to the Xue family's old house in Jinling to get married and prepare more dowry."