The Fifth Day of Picking Up a Wife
Lu Ling smiled but said nothing. Maybe to Second Brother, it was only a joke, but a woman’s world was indeed something to look forward to.
In reality, though, no matter who sat on the throne, it made no difference to Haicheng or the Lu family.
The laws on commerce were still heavily taxed, and the layers of extortion remained unchanged. Merchants were treated like thieves. Outdated statutes that ignored the realities of development banned trade in name while leaving it open in practice; merchants were nothing more than wallets to be squeezed for private gain.
In such an environment, business could never feed back into the livelihood of the people. Once outside Haicheng, merchants were worth less than dirt. As for creating jobs, hiring even one more person meant taking on another layer of tax. Even the head tax had to be counted twice.
Which was why many merchants would rather buy people than hire them.
Once those above had drained themselves hollow, they would first plunder the merchants, then the common people.
Just thinking about how most of the money she worked so hard to earn had to be handed over so those pampered sons of noble families could enjoy themselves made her want to pick up a scythe and hammer, raise them high, and call on everyone to storm Kyoto.
Better to have the whole city decked out in golden armor!
“Whoever becomes emperor doesn’t matter,” she said lightly. “What matters is that it better not be another useless fool sitting up there.”
The southeastern shoals, Xicun Port Transport Dock; one of the Lu family’s supply bases on the islands.
A middle-aged woman full of sharp energy sat in a small boat and brought three hundred men ashore, gazing toward the island she had been away from for a long time.
By now, the outlines of official ships had begun to appear around the island; there were eight in all, circling without leaving, lingering around several islands as if they had no intention of departing.
Even the Lu family’s escort troops had been driven ashore. All the supplies on the island had been seized by the official ships; to call it “seized” was really no different from open occupation.
Thinking of how Haicheng’s water transport might not run smoothly in the future, the middle-aged woman said tiredly, “In the early years, they only banned the sea in words. Now I’m afraid they’ll go after it for real.”
“I really can’t tell whether the new emperor’s accession is good or bad. I hear she’s a woman too.”
“I only hope that the few islands our ancestors left behind will still be something my daughter can inherit.”
“Don’t worry, Big Boss. Miss always comes up with some ingenious way to get through a crisis; this time will be no exception.” That was how one of the Lu family’s top escort masters put it.
Hearing her subordinates speak so confidently of her daughter’s abilities, the middle-aged woman still could not help but feel comforted.
By nightfall, Lu Ling should have been resting and preparing to attend the delayed summary meeting tomorrow.
Instead, Tao Hong was already knocking at her door. “Miss, Madam is back.”
“So early?” Lu Ling threw on a cloak and stepped out of Guoan Garden.
Her mother lived in Guotai Garden, just a covered corridor away.
The moment she stepped out, she saw a dust-covered middle-aged woman leading twenty escort guards and just reaching the main hall.
They happened to run into Lu Ling.
“Ling’er?” The middle-aged woman was Lu Ling’s mother in this life; Lu Tianxiang. Mother and daughter shared about fifty percent similarity, but Lu Tianxiang was bold and spirited, more like Lu Ling’s grandmother.
Lu Ling’s temperament, on the other hand, was gentler and quieter, with even a faint coolness at times.
Their auras were completely different.
“Mother, coming back so late; did something happen on the island?” Lu Ling knew best that her mother disliked traveling by water at night. It was far too dangerous.
They said that when she was pregnant with Lu Ling as a child, she once encountered river pirates and nearly miscarried. Since then, she had been deeply superstitious about night travel.
As soon as she spoke, the top escort master behind Lu Tianxiang, Uncle Fang, said first, “Young Miss, the island’s been surrounded by official ships.”
“All the supplies have been detained. A lot of the goods we had ordered haven’t been handled in time; if they aren’t delivered to those official ladies on schedule, I’m afraid the escort house will have to pay three times the deposit first.”
Lu Tianxiang very much disapproved of her subordinates bringing this up in front of her daughter, so she cut them off. “All right. No need to stay on duty for the time being. Before things calm down, go back and keep your families company.”
“Yes, Big Boss.” Uncle Fang quickly led the others away.
Soon, only the mother and daughter remained in the corridor.
Truth be told, it had already been three months since they had last seen each other.
Lu Ling knew very well that unless absolutely necessary, her mother would never come ashore so abruptly.
She guessed the Imperial Court was up to some new nonsense again, using inspections as an excuse to demand money. In previous years, handing over five thousand taels would still get the cargo back.
But as time went on, the fine kept growing; from five thousand it had risen to thirty thousand taels.
Soon, Lu Ling said, “Mother, don’t worry about the goods this time. If we have to pay, then we pay.”
“Six hundred thousand taels.” Lu Tianxiang leaned against a pillar and said, “We’ve been set up.”
“It has to be the Ye family scheming from behind the scenes.”
The Ye family was the second-richest household in Haicheng after the Lu family.
The Ye family head was the prefect’s nephew, the prefect’s black glove in Haicheng.
Of Haicheng’s five docks, the remaining two belonged to them.
Their properties were located in a rather remote area, so they had always been at odds with the Lu family.
But they did not have the ability to command the dock gangs; even if they called themselves the prefect’s black glove, the real power behind that claim was far from enough.
The only ones in Haicheng who truly controlled both the underworld and the legitimate side were the Lu family.
And many of the dock gang members were actually sons of former naval soldiers.
After the navy was wiped out, the surviving soldiers received no pension and had to find another way to survive.
Lu Ling’s grandmother could not bear to see the families of those soldiers suffer, so she opened syrup, rice, and tea shops at the docks and supported many of them.
On top of that, Lu Ling’s grandfather had become utterly disappointed in the Imperial Court. He simply sold part of the family property and took over a port, hiring the former sailors as laborers just to barely make a living.
At that time, Haicheng only had two docks; it expanded to five later because of the growing flow of traffic.
In essence, all five were Lu family assets. But because of the official government’s unreasonable seizure, by the time Lu Ling had just turned seventeen and taken over part of the business, the Ye family had already snatched two docks away.
This was a wound that had always hurt her mother.
But Lu Ling saw it more clearly. The Ye family’s two docks were truly too remote; they were also shallow waters and prone to running aground, so only small boats came. In the end, large ships still had to rely on the Lu family.
Moreover, the year she took over, Lu Ling had regularized the scattered gangs into Water Manor.
They were no longer called gangs, but official contract labor for Water Manor. Because they now had proper status and better pay, the descendants of those sailors lived far better than their fathers ever had.
By winning people’s hearts, Lu Ling had ensured that no matter how many dirty tricks the Ye family tried from then on, they still could not shake the Lu family’s position at the docks.
“Mother, sixty thousand is nothing,” Lu Ling said. “We’re not short on that much money.”
Lu Tianxiang did know what her daughter was capable of. Sixty thousand taels was six years’ worth of political achievements for her father, but for her daughter it was nothing more than a few months’ profit.
She felt deeply comforted. “You know Mother isn’t heartbroken over the money; I’m afraid those people will only push their luck.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry,” Lu Ling comforted her mother. “Go back and rest first; I’ll handle this matter.”
“Tomorrow happens to be the March summary meeting, and the prefect’s wife’s younger sister-in-law will also be attending.”
“What’s your plan?” Lu Tianxiang couldn’t help asking curiously.
Lu Ling didn’t hide it. “Mother, do you still remember where most of that cargo was originally meant to go?”
“Kyoto.”
Lu Ling said, “I mixed in some highly sought-after goods needed in the north. No matter how capable Kyoto is, those noble families in the north aren’t easy to deal with either. And just as it happens, the officials in Kyoto are hoping to rely on the northern military to suppress Prince Yan’s movements.”
Prince Yan was the late emperor’s younger brother. The late emperor had no son, and when he was young, he once promised Prince Yan that if he guarded the northern frontier well, then after his death he would pass the dragon throne to Prince Yan’s line.
In the end, after stringing Prince Yan along for twenty years, the late emperor turned around and gave the throne to his fourth daughter.
That Prince Yan had long intended to rebel was already known throughout the world. As for why Lu Ling knew the late emperor had passed the throne to his fourth daughter, it was because people from her second sister-in-law’s side had just sent over the news.
At that, Lu Tianxiang’s eyes flashed. “What goods are they?”
“Rubber from the South Seas, and copper from the East Seas.”
Rubber had many uses.
Not to mention copper; either one was a scarce commodity at present. Most of the official ships sent from the islands were probably people from the prefect’s side, but no matter how powerful the prefect was, he was still only the head of one prefecture. In the end, he could not suppress the greater force above him from the east.
The moment she said that, the knot in Lu Tianxiang’s heart finally loosened.
“I understand now,” she said, coming over to gently rub her daughter’s cheek. “You should sleep early.”
Lu Ling really was tired.
She did not refuse and turned to leave.
Looking at her back, Lu Tianxiang could not help but feel proud. It seemed her daughter had already learned what it meant to use leverage against leverage.
It was a pity the world was unfair to women; otherwise, with her daughter’s abilities, why couldn’t she stand among the court’s great officials?
All the fault lay with this world...
It was Da Chong’s fault!
Lu Ling returned to her room and soon fell asleep.
The Lu household passed that night in rare quiet.
The next morning, Lu Ling stretched, then finished breakfast with her mother, who had not been home in quite some time.
After that, she was ready to head out by carriage.
The coachwoman, Wang Xianglan, reminded her, “Young Miss, Shopkeeper Yu asked me to tell you that the young lady you rescued has woken up.”
“Do you want to go see her?”
The beauty had woken up? Of course Lu Ling chose to check on her first.
“Let’s go. Qingzhu Tower first, then Qingyu Pavilion,” Lu Ling said without hesitation as she got in and pulled down the window.
Wang Xianglan drove straight to Qingzhu Tower.
Today, the streets were a little more desolate than usual; many street vendors had not come out to do business.
It was obvious the official ship detentions had directly affected local livelihoods.
When Lu Ling arrived at Qingzhu Tower, Liu Yuer greeted her with a yawn and a listless look. “You’re here.”
“Where did you go off to have fun last night?” Lu Ling asked with concern.
Unexpectedly, Liu Yuer looked at her with grievance instead. “The very beauty you generously redeemed, of course. Do you know how much trouble she is?”
“I stayed up all night just to keep an eye on her for you.”
“Trouble? Did the fever come back?” Lu Ling frowned at once.
“You’ll know once you see her yourself, but I still recommend waiting until Wang Yi gets back before you go in,” Liu Yuer said, growing even more resentful. “So she doesn’t scratch you.”
Scratch her? Lu Ling found that she was increasingly unable to understand.
What exactly had happened on the beauty’s side?
“Let’s go. No need to wait for Wang Yi; he’s still keeping an eye on that surnamed Wu for me and can’t get away.” Lu Ling headed straight into the stair room without another word.
On the other side, in the private room that belonged to her alone.
The moment Lu Ling pushed open the door, she saw no one inside; only some newly added clothes and pastries remained on the huanghuali Eight Immortals table.
The spout of the teapot was still steaming.
“Where is she?”
Liu Yuer, following behind her, raised a hand with practiced ease and pointed to the cushion beside the beam on the floor.
Lu Ling followed her gaze.
Liu Yuer said, “That was where I stood guard for you last night.”
Lu Ling: ?
Then Liu Yuer pointed up at the roof. “Since waking up, she’s been up there the whole time.”
The words had barely fallen.
Whoosh! A light figure like purple mist swooped down gracefully, like a swallow in flight.
She landed right in front of Lu Ling. What reached her first was that familiar fragrance, making Lu Ling freeze for an instant and instinctively raise a hand to her own neck.
But before she could react, the beauty clasped her hands behind her back and stepped forward, walking straight up to her until they were almost pressed together.
Faced with that peerless face at such close range, with lips red as a piece of soft blood jade and a few strands of loose hair draped over one shoulder like black gauze, her snow-white neck looked even more radiant, making her seem vividly alive and intoxicatingly beautiful.
As if she had walked straight out of a painting.
Lu Ling’s breathing caught.
This time it was a living, breathing beauty standing right in front of her.
Yet the beauty’s phoenix eyes were solemn and stern as she asked sharply, “You’re the madam of this brothel?”
Lu Ling’s expression cracked at once: ......
TL Note:
"pick up a scythe and hammer" (镰刀和锤子) means a communist-style revolution aimed at overthrowing the ruling class.
"Better to have the whole city decked out in golden armor!" (满城尽带黄金甲) = a famous poetic line evoking a city covered in gold armor, used here to picture a dramatic uprising.
the prefect’s black glove (黑手套) = a behind-the-scenes fixer who does dirty work for the prefect.