She led the whole village to prosperity by raising koi fish.

Chapter 17 Favors

As night fell, the setting sun dyed half the sky blood-red. As time passed, the sky grew darker and darker, and the once clearly visible mountains, trees, and houses began to be swallowed by the darkness, leaving only blurry outlines. One by one, the lights in the distance lit up, like twinkling stars adorning this vast land.

Su Yuning rode her horse back to her doorstep, and the woman walked over curiously to ask, "Daughter, where did you get this fine horse?"

Su Yuning dismounted from the horse and went to her mother's side to answer, "Mother, this horse was lent to me by a young master in the city. He was worried that it would be dark by the time I walked back, and I would be scared by myself."

The woman replied, "We don't want to owe them favors. I'll cook you something nice to eat later, and you can take it to them."

"Okay." Su Yuning readily nodded in agreement.

"Alright, go to the next village to buy medicine for your father, then go to the back mountain to dig up wild vegetables," the woman instructed.

"Aren't you coming with me?" Su Yuning asked.

The woman waved her hand and refused, "I'm not going. I plan to make the remaining small fish into small salted fish."

"Alright then, I'm off!" As soon as she finished speaking, Su Yuning had already dashed out.

Not long after Su Yuning left, Ye Beichen traveled alone by carriage, asking around along the way, and was eventually taken to Su's house by a kind villager.

"Brother Su, Sister-in-law, you have guests!" Old Zhou, a villager, called out, then patted Ye Beichen on the shoulder and left.

The woman came out of the kitchen and saw a handsome young man dressed in fine clothes. Curious, she asked…

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Hello, I'm Ye Beichen, a friend of Su Yuning. I'm here to discuss something with her."

The woman responded gently, "Yu Ning has gone out on business. Why don't you come another day?"

Ye Beichen was a little reluctant. He explained to the woman, "I do business in the city, and it takes me quite a while to get to Xinghua Village. I'd like to wait a little longer."

The woman didn't make things difficult for him, after all, he was Su Yuning's friend, and he seemed very simple and kind.

“Yu Ning’s father is bedridden, and I have to start a fire and cook. If you’re bored, go and chat with your uncle for a while.”

"Okay, sure." Ye Beichen nodded in agreement, then pushed open the door and walked into the room. He saw a very thin middle-aged man lying half-reclined on the bed, holding a book with an old cover and reading it attentively.

"Hello, Uncle!" Ye Beichen greeted him first.

Old Su put down his book, rubbed his eyes, carefully observed the young man who entered, and slowly asked, "Who are you?"

Ye Beichen replied, "I am your daughter's friend. My name is Ye Beichen."

Old Su was well-informed and knew that as soon as he heard the surname Ye, he knew that Ye was not a person from the Song Dynasty.

“My daughter usually only goes around the village and delivers goods in the city. How could she have made friends from other countries?”

Ye Beichen smiled, "Uncle, you don't know this, but people in the city come from all over the world. Your daughter and I met in the city."

Old Su then asked, "So, what brings you to my house?"

Ye Beichen told him frankly, "My friend bought a carriage, which I thought would be suitable for Su Yuning, so I bought it to do her a favor."

Old Su asked, a little annoyed, "You wouldn't happen to like my daughter, would you?"

Ye Beichen blushed and replied, "Yes."

"You have guts, I like that! I've decided you're the right son-in-law! Hahaha!" Old Su finally burst into laughter.

"Uh, it's too early to call me a son-in-law. Su Yuning hasn't agreed to date me yet," Ye Beichen replied shyly.

"It's alright, her mother and I agree, she has to agree whether she agrees or not!" Old Su promised Ye Beichen domineeringly.

In the city, Young Master Zhao was feeling suspicious about Ye Beichen buying the carriage when the prospective prince consort arrived uninvited.

"Zhao Shouyi! Give me some advice, and I'll treat you to dinner!" Su Muyang said with a big smile.

Young Master Zhao was immediately displeased and reprimanded him with a stern face, "Wan'er still has to call me Imperial Brother, how dare you address me by my full name? Who gave you the courage?"

At this moment, Su Muyang realized his rudeness and quickly bowed to apologize, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I spoke without thinking. Please explain!"

Young Master Zhao continued his criticism,

"You're about to marry a princess, why do you still look so sloppy? Look at your clothes, the buttons are all buttoned wrong."

Although Young Master Zhao spoke rather seriously, he still thoughtfully buttoned up Su Muyang's clothes again.

"Isn't this a small matter? Is it necessary to make such a fuss? Don't I have any dignity?" Su Muyang gave him an angry look and retorted with dissatisfaction.

"A hat must be straight and buttons must be fastened. Even a three-year-old understands this principle, don't you?" Young Master Zhao continued to lecture him. "You are now the emperor's prospective son-in-law. You must strictly regulate your words and actions, and stop acting like a child."

"Alright, alright, I know." Su Muyang frowned, impatiently interrupting him. "I said I want to open a shop, can you help me come up with some ideas?"

Young Master Zhao said to him, "Since you are an apprentice at the teahouse, I believe you already know a lot about tea. Otherwise?"

"No way! I can't do something like betraying my master and ancestors!" Su Muyang said righteously. "Using the tea-making skills I learned to open my own teahouse, isn't that taking the owner's job? Am I that kind of person? It's infuriating! Zhao Shouyi, you're just looking down on me!"

Young Master Zhao was both amused and exasperated. He slowly said, "Brother, can you let me finish what I have to say? What I mean is, you could open a high-end gift shop and sell things like tea and alcohol."

“With teahouses already established, who would buy my tea?” Su Muyang said uncertainly. “I’d rather stay home and relax than do a business that doesn’t make money.”

Young Master Zhao was a shrewd and knowledgeable man; he patiently explained to Su Muyang...

"If it weren't for the fact that you're my brother-in-law, I really wouldn't bother arguing with you. Tea and wine may be expensive, but they're presentable gifts for holidays. We live right here in the heart of the country, where every inch of land is precious. Everyone here is rich and powerful. As long as you have the goods, you won't have to worry about finding a market. Trust me, I'm sure I'm right!"

Su Muyang thought what he said made sense, listened carefully, and then summarized, "My shop can stock tea, wine, candy, tobacco, and other products. During the Spring Festival and other holidays, I can package the products nicely and sell them to people visiting relatives and friends. But, I'm a little short on cash right now, so could you please help me out?"

"Even between brothers, accounts should be kept clear. Consider the thousand taels of silver as my investment, and I'll receive a dividend at the end of the year," Young Master Zhao said succinctly.

"Alright, alright! You're in charge!" Su Muyang readily agreed, then put his arm around Young Master Zhao's shoulder and went out for drinks and dinner.

In Xinghua Village, the Su family had guests, so the woman invited Old Lady Su, the eldest son, and his wife to dinner. Everyone except the second son was present. They sat around the table and ate happily.

"People can't help but keep talking about you. I was just at home telling Yu Ning that I wanted to thank you properly, and then Young Master Ye came. Make yourself at home, eat whatever you like, don't be shy!" the woman kindly reminded her.

“Okay, Auntie,” Ye Beichen replied with a smile.

At this moment, Grandma Su said kindly, "Is this your grandson-in-law? He's so handsome!"

Ye Beichen lowered his head shyly, "Thank you for the compliment, Grandmother."

"Grandma! Please don't talk nonsense!" Su Yuning retorted angrily, "He and I are just friends."

At this moment, Su's eldest sister-in-law quickly smoothed things over, "Grandma is only thinking about your future, little sister, don't argue, let's eat!"

Su Yuning couldn't afford to offend her sister-in-law, so she could only eat in silence.

After the family banquet, the eldest son of the Su family instructed Su Yuning, "Little sister, return the horse to Young Master Ye, and return the carriage too! Be a good girl!"

Su Yuning looked at the carriage with reluctance, "I also need a carriage, so I won't have to walk into the city. Besides, he can only choose one mode of transportation at most when he goes back alone. Can he catch up with more than one?"

The eldest son of the Su family replied with an air of superiority, "If you want a carriage, I'll buy you one when I have the money. You can't accept what belongs to others. A gentleman doesn't accept charity; you're beholden to those who offer you food. Don't you know that principle?"

Su Yuning stood there, stunned and at a loss. Just then, Old Su stormed over, fuming.

“I heard everything you two said. Who are you talking about? Young Master Ye is the son-in-law I've chosen. He's one of my own! Daughter, just listen to what others say. If you can't stand it, then don't listen. I support you. Leave the carriage here and take Young Master Ye down!”

"Okay!" Su Yuning smiled and nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Ye Beichen outside the door also smiled. He was genuinely happy because he knew that the Su family had accepted him as their prospective son-in-law.

On second thought, this meant that Young Master Zhao had absolutely no chance. Ye Beichen smiled even more broadly.

The time spent together passed quickly. Grandma Su had already gone home with her cane, and the eldest son of the Su family had also helped his pregnant wife back home. Old Su gave Ye Beichen a bottle of good wine, and the woman packed it into a bundle for him, along with a few crispy and delicious scallion pancakes for him to take on the road.

And so, Ye Beichen politely waved goodbye to the Su family, then mounted his horse and rode away, his figure soon disappearing without a trace.

Old Su instructed the woman, "Go to town and buy me a few bottles of wine later, okay? I'll save them to enjoy with my son-in-law during the New Year."

The woman was both amused and exasperated. "You should take good care of yourself. You mustn't touch a drop of alcohol until you've fully recovered."

"I'll listen to you," Old Su echoed.

As for Su Yuning, she happily climbed onto the carriage and sat inside, looking around. Everything felt wonderful. Although she didn't know how to drive, she knew how to call people. Soon, she called the village chief's nephew over and asked him to teach her how to drive the carriage.

The village chief's nephew usually only drives the village chief around to pick him up and drop him off, and he also goes into the mountains to dig up some wild produce to sell for money. He is also single. This time, Su Yuning took the initiative to come and ask him for help, and he thought that she was interested in him, so he happily came to help.

When the village chief's nephew saw the carriage, he was stunned. He opened his eyes wide and his mouth opened, but he didn't say a word, as if he had seen something new.

"Hey, Qi-ge, what's wrong?" Su Yuning waved her hand in front of his eyes, and he finally came to his senses, exclaiming in surprise, "This carriage is so beautiful!"

Su Yuning chuckled, "Right? I think so too. My boyfriend gave it to me."

Now, the village chief's nephew got angry and launched into a tirade against Su Yuning, "You have a boyfriend? Then why don't you let him teach you? It's unbelievable, there are all sorts of people out there, wasting my time! Wasting my feelings!"

Seeing that the village chief's nephew was about to leave, Su Yuning quickly went over to stop him, "Don't go, we're all from the same village, we're all neighbors, just teach me how to drive the cart, I'll give you ten coins."

"A true hero doesn't turn down money," so the village chief's nephew stayed behind. With his guidance, Su Yuning was able to drive the carriage a few steps. However, when they came to an intersection, Su Yuning didn't know how to stop, so she shouted, "Horse, stop!" But the horse didn't understand her and kept going.

"My dear aunt, can you please stop this nonsense?" The village chief's nephew looked utterly speechless. "Pull the reins! Don't look at me, there are no reins on my face!"

Su Yuning hurriedly pulled on the reins, and the horse finally stopped.

"Brother Qi, does the carriage need fodder?" Su Yuning asked while driving the carriage, and laughed at herself after asking, realizing that the question was indeed a bit childish.

“The cart doesn’t need to eat, but the horse is different. The horse needs to eat grass to pull the cart and travel,” the village chief’s nephew replied impatiently.

At this moment, Su Yuning asked him again, "You're quite good-looking and have skills, why don't you go to the city and find a job?"

The village chief's nephew responded, "Everyone has their own ambitions, and we can't force them. My ambition is to live in seclusion in the mountains and be an ordinary person who doesn't seek fame or fortune."

"Nonsense!" Su Yuning scolded him. "You're not getting any younger, and you're still single. Aren't your parents worried?"

The village chief's nephew was furious. He jumped out of the car and stormed off, yelling, "You dare talk back to me? I'm not going to be your teacher anymore! Humph!"

Su Yuning quickly stopped the carriage by the roadside, then jumped off and explained to him, "Your seclusion is certainly carefree and efficient, but which girl would even know you exist? The world is so big, you should go and see it. The more you travel, the more friends you'll make, and the more opportunities you'll have to say goodbye to being single! Okay, Qi-ge, don't be angry anymore, give me a smile."

The village chief's nephew gave her a cold laugh, then reached out his hand for the money, "Where's the promised ten copper coins? Not a single one less!"

"Alright, alright, here's the money!" Su Yuning said, taking out her purse from her pocket and handing him ten copper coins.

Then, the village chief's nephew was about to turn and leave when Su Yuning called out to him, "Wait a minute! I'm not very good at driving anymore, you have to take me home."

Left with no other option, the village chief's nephew had to drive Su Yuning home.