She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Chapter 125 Returning to the Capital to See Shen Qingtan

Gu Zongci's eyes darkened, and his expression turned serious. He decided to return to the capital to see Shen Qingtan.

Shen Shaoheng recalled his childhood and muttered with a sour face, "That little girl was so arrogant before she got lost. She would roll her eyes at me whenever she saw me, and she always tried to frame me for what she did wrong. Because my aunt wouldn't punish me for what I did, she would always blame me for whatever trouble she got into."

He couldn't stand being wronged, so he wanted to teach her a lesson.

She retorted, "You're an orphan, you stole my parents, I hate you, and I'm going to frame you!"

He had never hated anyone, except for Shen Qingtan at that time.

Gu Zongci seemed intrigued and continued to ask, "After she was found, did her personality change? Did she become more affectionate towards you?"

"She became very timid after she came back, and turned into a spoiled brat. She does love being close to people, but she only likes to cling to her own brother and doesn't like me, her cousin." Shen Shaoheng sneered, "Forget it, at least she's not framing me anymore."

But he's still a nuisance.

Because she seemed like a different person, soft and delicate, her coquettish manner when clinging to Shen Shaohuai was particularly endearing.

Especially her rosy little face; he secretly pinched it, and her fair and tender cheeks turned red.

He was stunned; her little face was so soft and tender that he hadn't even used much force.

He had done countless bad things in his life, but this was the first time he felt somewhat at a loss and a little guilty.

Especially when her round eyes were filled with tears, she looked at him with a pitiful expression, her chubby little hands pointing at her face: "Brother, it hurts."

He felt his heart melt and decided to forgive and forget, and cherish her, since she was his only legitimate sister.

To his surprise, just as he was about to coax her, the little girl turned her head and snuggled into Shen Shaohuai's arms, acting coquettishly.

Shen Shaohuai, disgusted by her tears, picked her up and tossed her to the nanny, then walked away with a stern face.

He felt a surge of satisfaction and was about to tease the little girl when he saw her leaning on the nanny's shoulder, watching Shen Shaohuai leave with pleading eyes, her lips trembling and tears welling up in her eyes.

He was a little annoyed by it. What was so good about Shen Shaohuai's pretentious attitude?

Nobody wanted her, but she insisted on chasing after them and making herself disliked.

He cheekily poked her cheek with his index finger, and the little girl's tears started falling. From then on, she ran away whenever she saw him.

Recalling these past events, Shen Shaoheng felt that he had been somewhat foolish.

The little girl called him a wild child without parents.

If a three-year-old child says these things, isn't it because the people around him taught him to?

It's just that he's too young to understand these things.

Shen Shaoheng casually asked, "Old Gu, did you come to Guanzhou to inspect the shops?"

"I've come to donate grain," Gu Zongci said, using the pretext of donating grain to conceal his true purpose. He inquired, "You came to Guanzhou to buy grain, also for the purpose of donating it?"

"Yes." Shen Shaoheng then asked, "Are the carriages behind you all loaded with grain?"

Gu Zongci nodded: "Transport a few carts of grain first, and the remaining carts can be transported to Guanzhou City later."

Shen Shaoheng's heart skipped a beat, and he continued to ask, "When are you returning to the capital?"

Gu Zongci replied, "We will return to the city today to donate grain, rest for another night, and set off back to the capital tomorrow."

Shen Shaoheng's eyes lit up. He had been worried about how to transport the silver to the capital.

If Gu Zongci were to provide cover, they could deceive the soldiers at the checkpoint.

After all, every city has checkpoints, and to pass through a checkpoint, you need to show a travel permit, which contains your detailed personal information.

As the heir of a marquis's family, it's bound to attract too much attention that he possesses such a large sum of money.

Moreover, with an imperial envoy coming to Guanzhou to investigate corrupt officials, even if he deposited his money in a money shop, it would easily be exposed.

"I originally wanted to buy grain from you and Lao Qin to donate to the disaster victims, but the other party raised the price too high, so I decided not to compete with them for the credit and leave the opportunity to do good deeds to them."

Shen Shaoheng sat down next to Gu Zongci: "I need to take the money for buying grain back to the capital. Why don't you give me a ride back to the capital with you?"

Gu Zongci agreed without much thought. Guided by Shen Shaoheng, they arrived at a farmhouse at the entrance of the town. The family consisted of only an elderly woman and a little girl of about six or seven years old.

The old woman was blind, so the little girl did all the chores inside and outside the house.

Shen Shaoheng hid the silver here, and all four of his attendants, whom he brought from the capital, stayed here to guard it.

He gave the old woman a bag of loose silver and two sacks of grain as payment.

Gu Zongci saw Shen Shaoheng carrying out six boxes and realized something was wrong.

Even if Shen Shaoheng wanted to donate grain, there was no need for him to bring six boxes of silver, and to hide it so discreetly, as if he were afraid of being discovered.

Although Guanzhou was suffering from famine, it was reasonable to keep one's wealth hidden away, otherwise it would be easy to be robbed.

However, considering Shen Shaoheng's attitude in the carriage, it seemed as if he was deliberately trying to hitch a ride back to the capital, and his words and actions were a bit too enthusiastic, as if he was afraid that Shen Shaoheng would not agree.

As the heir of the Marquis's mansion, Shen Shaoheng could have easily returned to the capital on his own.

Unless there are other hidden reasons that force them to seek his help as a cover-up?

As Gu Zongci thought of this, his gaze towards the box deepened.

The two of them got into the carriage together. Shen Shaoheng had finally resolved a major issue that had been weighing on his mind, and his mood brightened.

He patted his sleeves and sighed, "If no one had come to take the grain from me, I wouldn't have had to go through all the trouble of transporting the silver back to the capital. I've only dragged you down with me."

When Shen Shaoheng came to Guanzhou, he told Shen Qingtan that he was there to reap the benefits.

He'll then show off this batch of silver to Shen Qingtan, letting her see just how capable her older brother is.

He was secretly pleased with himself, thinking he would give half of it to Shen Qingtan, so that she would know that her brother, who had been clinging to her since childhood, only used and schemed against her.

Her eldest brother, whom she disliked, still retained a shred of conscience and knew a thing or two.

"Did you deliberately transport silver from the capital to buy grain for disaster relief?" Gu Zongci knew the inside story. Back then, Boss Qin discussed with him that the two of them would work together to transport the grain to Guanzhou, and then ask people to raise the price and sell it to those corrupt officials to fill the granaries.

Corrupt officials, knowing they've been cheated, have no choice but to swallow their pride and accept it.

Shen Shaoheng was the one who came to drive up the price.

Whether Shen Shaoheng actually brought extra money for disaster relief after completing the task assigned by Shen Qingtan remains to be seen.

After all, Madam Shen's ancestral home was in Guanzhou, and Guanzhou had produced corrupt officials. The fact that Shen Shaoheng had such a large sum of money in his hands was bound to arouse suspicion.

"The refugees from Guanzhou fled to the foot of the capital, and my second uncle was in charge of settling and providing relief to them. I thought we should address the root cause first. As long as the refugees from Guanzhou have food to eat, they will not flock to the capital again."

Shen Shaoheng feigned helplessness, tapped his nose with his index finger, and complained half-heartedly, "This is the first time I've done a good deed, and I've already encountered obstacles. Isn't that frustrating?"

“It’s not that bad,” Gu Zongci said. “I have another batch of grain that I can sell to you to fulfill your wish.”