Chapter 222: Ninth Prince

Chen Feng thought for a long time and concluded that she must act with reason. In ancient times, the class hierarchy was strict, and even if Chu Lingxuan genuinely liked her, there were too many external forces preventing him from marrying her. These included pressure from elders, arranged marriages for the future of the family, powerful public opinion, and more. Moreover, he appeared dominant, and she, as a time-traveler, even if she was cautious, many of her thoughts and actions would not conform to the traditional virtues. If a two dominant individuals became a couple, an extended period would easily lead to conflicts…

Now, she was a woman with a son, earning her own living. She had complete control over the life she wanted to lead. She couldn’t foolishly toss away her favorable situation for an unknown emotional attachment.

However, she realized that she would need to be more careful in her interactions with Chu Lingxuan in the future. She would have to maintain a normal superior-subordinate relationship while not completely provoking him… It wasn’t until late at night that she finally fell asleep.

The next day, she got up with dark circles under her eyes, saw off Dabao, and welcomed Chu Hanyan, who was starting full-day kindergarten.

The first thing Chu Hanyan said upon arrival was, “Auntie, Daddy wants you to take me to see my grandmother when you’re free. I miss her too.”

Chen Feng nodded with a smile. She also missed that gentle lady. She replied, “Alright, once I’ve finished preparing the plain clothes, I’ll take you there.”

As they were talking, they noticed Mrs. Zeng, who was going to the county to buy fabric for the plain clothes. This reminded Chen Feng of Yang siblings, who had asked her to pick her up from the county.

She called Mrs. Zeng and said, “I’ll go to the county with you. We’ll visit Yang’s residence as well.”

Upon hearing that Auntie was going to visit the Yang siblings, Chu Hanyan insisted on going too.

Chen Feng was pleased with the little girl’s proactive request to visit, considering it a significant step forward. She agreed and asked Luo Mei to inform the steward at Tangyuan and send a few more guards along with them.

Upon hearing this, the steward was also pleased with the progress of his young miss and arrived with ten guards and two horse-drawn carriages.

Chen Feng, along with the little girl, Mama Song, and Luo Mei, boarded one carriage, while Mrs. Zeng and Autumn, carrying homemade snacks, boarded the other. The steward personally drove Chen Feng’s carriage, with a group of guards on horseback, and they set off for Sanqing County.

During the journey, the steward asked about the newly opened business in Dingzhou Prefecture. He mentioned that his master had instructed him not to accept the two shares for free and was willing to invest six hundred taels of silver.

Half a month ago, Chen Feng had sent Zeng Shuang to Dingzhou Prefecture to prepare for the opening of a business. The business was named “Fengyunlai” and would mainly deal in the family’s own produce such as watermelons, grains, and other profitable goods.

To ensure the business had the support of the Chu family, she had mentioned to the steward that she wanted to offer Tangyuan a portion of the shares and one portion to the steward’s family. She had also considered that Chu Lingxuan might not be interested in such a small shop. If he declined, she planned to offer the shares to the steward.

The steward laughed and said, “I’ll accept the two shares on behalf of Tangyuan. Miss Chen is clever, and the business is sure to make money. I’ll report back to my master when he returns. However, I am a servant of Tangyuan, how can I invest with my master? I’ll decline.”

Chen Feng’s offer of shares to Tangyuan was a formality, as she didn’t want too much involvement with Chu Lingxuan. She had actually wanted to give the shares to the steward. With him on board, ordinary people wouldn’t dare cause trouble for the business. She hadn’t expected the steward’s response and had to accept it.

Today, she heard that Chu Lingxuan wanted to give six hundred taels of silver, so she modestly said, “For such a small shop, six hundred taels of silver is too much. I can’t accept it.”

She knew her business would grow in the future, so six hundred taels of silver for a 20% stake wasn’t too much. However, with the Chu family’s reputation, she felt like she had taken advantage.

The steward chuckled, “My master and I trust Miss Chen. The business will only get better in the future, so Tangyuan won’t lose out.”

Arriving in the county, they first bought two pieces of fine fabric suitable for plain clothes and several pieces of silk and fine fabric for their own clothes. It was already past noon.

The group went to a restaurant for lunch. Upon seeing the restaurant Chen Feng felt that the place was familiar.

The steward chuckled and said, “Miss Chen, haven’t you noticed? This used to be the Xile Restaurant.”

Chen Feng suddenly realized and laughed.

She remembered coming here last time to sell her remedies, wearing a hat to conceal her appearance, afraid of attracting the wrong attention. Now, with bodyguards and servants surrounding her, ordinary people avoided them. Thanks to Chu Hanyan, she had also become a member of the privileged class.

As they entered the restaurant, they encountered a dozen burly men, one of whom was pushing a young gentleman in a wheelchair.

The young man, in his early twenties, was handsome and elegantly dressed. Unfortunately, he was a cripple, sitting in the wheelchair.

Chen Feng had an intuition that these people weren’t ones she or even Tangyuan could afford to provoke. She quickly averted her gaze. Yet, unconsciously, she stole another glance at the young gentleman. He seemed familiar, as though she had seen him somewhere, but she was sure she hadn’t.

Even with just that one extra glance, a hint of indiscernible emotion flickered across her face. It seemed as if the burly men had noticed, and they glared at her, making her quickly lower her head. She clutched Chu Hanyan’s hand tightly, fearing the little girl might accidentally provoke them.

The steward, upon seeing the young gentleman, was also taken aback and quickly went over, bowing, “I’ve seen Ninth… Ninth Lord.”

The Ninth Lord nodded, glanced past the steward at the people behind him, and finally fixed his gaze on Chen Feng and Chu Hanyan.

He asked, “Is this young lady Mr. Chu’s daughter? She does indeed resemble Mr. Chu.” His voice was clear and cold, like a mountain spring.

The steward bowed and said, “Yes, she is my young miss, with the courtesy name Hanyan.” He then turned and beckoned, “Young lady, come and pay your respects to Ninth… Ninth Lord.” He knew the young miss was afraid of strangers, but the Ninth Lord had already spoken, so he had to insist that she go and pay her respects.

Chu Hanyan, scared, clutched Chen Feng’s waist and buried her head in Chen Feng’s side, not daring to step forward. Chen Feng was surprised that a high-ranking noble would want to see Hanyan. She gently patted the little girl’s head and whispered, “Don’t be afraid…” She wanted to encourage the little girl to pay her respects, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it given the little girl’s demeanor.

The steward bowed again, saying, “Please don’t be upset, Ninth Lord. My niece is just a little shy.”

The Ninth Lord didn’t blame him and looked kindly at Chu Hanyan, saying, “Miss Chu is very endearing.” As he spoke, he took a string of jade beads from his wrist and had someone hand it to the little girl. The jade beads circled his wrist twice, translucent and extraordinary.

***Ninth Lord is the Ninth Prince that Chu Lingxuan tutored before when he was young. It seems that the Ninth Prince whereabouts is not known to the public, so Steward Luo address him as Ninth Lord, to kept his identity hidden, and that’s why Chen Feng only knows him as a high-ranking noble, based on her observation.***