Volume One, Chapter 16: The Chu Family Is About to Strike It Rich

The next day.

Xiao Yichen got up with a sense of utter despair, recalling how ridiculous last night’s events had been.

That fierce woman, Su Lingxue, had even wanted Luo Wanying and Han Ziyun to come observe, claiming it was to witness Xiao Yichen begging for mercy.

Xiao Yichen had almost lost control on the spot. Fortunately, the two women were too shy to come, which gave him some relief.

He had intended to give Su Lingxue a severe lesson, but instead, he was the one who got dealt with.

Xiao Yichen decided that until his cultivation recovered, it was best not to share a room with Su Lingxue.

Those stunningly long legs were unbearable—truly a matter of life and death.

“Young master, someone is here to see you. They say it’s Prince Wang who sent them.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yichen immediately perked up—Old Wang had brought money.

He quickly washed up and rushed out, returning shortly after with five silver notes, grinning from ear to ear.

“Mother, here are the silver notes. Use them to hire craftsmen, buy raw materials, and speed up the production of the weaving machines.”

Liu Jinne was surprised. “Where did you get so much money?”

“It’s financing from a friend. When our business takes off, he’ll take a 20% stake.”

Hearing these new terms from Xiao Yichen, Liu Jinne was a bit confused. She vaguely understood financing, but what was this ‘stake’? Before she could ask, Xiao Yichen had already dashed off.

He was merely providing ideas; the actual work would be done by the women of the household.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

The efficiency of spinning and weaving improved significantly. Although there was only one machine, the amount of cloth produced daily was continuous, keeping the third, fourth, and fifth sisters-in-law busy.

All the cloth needed dyeing, a meticulous task.

Zhao Yaxuan couldn’t manage alone, but fortunately, the Xiao family had many women—not just the sisters-in-law, but various other ladies.

Dyeing wasn’t difficult; with some instruction, anyone could learn.

The women of the Xiao family were all skillful and quick learners, having been carefully vetted by the matriarch upon marriage.

Even Su Lingxue, Han Ziyun, and Luo Wanying joined in to help.

Only Xiao Yichen was the detached overseer, and none of the women minded.

Since Tenth Brother was the only male in the Xiao family, he naturally wasn’t made to do the heavy work.

...

Time passed, and only one day remained until the grand wedding of Chu Aoshang and Fu Chenxing.

The two were now celebrities in the capital.

Fu Chenxing had achieved great merit in the war against the Xiongnu and was hailed as a hero by the people.

Though Chu Aoshang was a fifth-rank general, her fame did not match Fu Chenxing’s.

Her notoriety came from the broken engagement half a month ago.

Many commoners had witnessed her harsh words against the Xiao family, turning it into the talk of the town.

Naturally, their wedding attracted much attention.

At this moment, the Chu family’s main hall was filled with joyous excitement—they saw a chance to prosper.

Three days ago, the Chu family’s Luo Clothing Workshop had developed an improved purple dye, causing great delight.

In ancient times, purple dye was the most difficult to produce, making it rare. The Liang kingdom’s purple dye was extracted from lithospermum roots, producing a dull color that faded quickly.

Now, Luo Clothing Workshop had brightened the purple, making it more vibrant and noble, and much more colorfast.

If launched, it would undoubtedly ignite the entire capital.

Of course, the cost of producing the purple dye was high—several taels of silver per batch—and the raw materials were not local.

But the Chu family was prepared to sell everything to bring this purple dye to market.

This was their best chance to soar.

“General Fu, we owe you much. Otherwise, this purple dye would have belonged to the Xiao family,” Chu Qiyun said softly.

The purple dye had been brought by Zhang Tao, who had relatives living by the sea. They had brought some seashells as ornaments.

Seeing the purple coloration in the shells, Zhang Tao thought to extract it.

At the Luo Clothing Workshop, he researched further and finally succeeded in extracting the dye and dyeing fabric purple.

If Zhang Tao were still at the Splendid Pavilion, this unprecedented purple dye would not have reached the Chu family.

Fu Chenxing smiled and waved his hand. “It was nothing.”

“To General Fu, it may be nothing, but to the Chu family, it is a great favor,” Chu Weiming said, his face creased with a broad smile.

“Aoshang, tomorrow is your wedding with General Fu. After marriage, you must temper your temper and repay him well, understand?”

“Mm,” Chu Aoshang nodded, pride shining in her eyes as others praised Fu Chenxing. She knew she had chosen the right husband—far superior to that useless Xiao Yichen, by hundreds or even thousands of times.

“If the Xiao family knew this improved purple dye was originally theirs, I wonder if they’d be furious.”

“I heard that useless Xiao Yichen drove Zhang Tao and his team away—we should thank him.”

“Thank him? We should thank General Fu instead.”

“Yes, yes, we must really thank General Fu.”

...

The crowd chatted back and forth, flattering Fu Chenxing and disparaging Xiao Yichen, much to Fu Chenxing’s satisfaction.

He especially looked forward to tomorrow, when Xiao Yichen would see him marry Chu Aoshang.

Chu Weiming spoke again. “General Fu, tomorrow we will truly be one family. I have an unusual request—wonder if you can grant it.”

“Please, speak.”

“The purple dye costs are high. I plan to sell this mansion and buy large quantities of purple seashells so we can dye fabric in bulk.”

Fu Chenxing nodded. “This is a great money-making opportunity. We should definitely go all out.”

“But if you sell the mansion, where will you live?”

At this question, Fu Chenxing’s heart sank slightly.

Chu Weiming smiled. “I was hoping you could help. We’d temporarily stay at your home, and after making money, buy a new mansion and move out. Would you agree?”

“I’ve already inquired. The west side of your house is still empty. Although the rooms are few, if we squeeze in, we can manage.”

Fu Chenxing’s face stiffened—had they already done their homework?

Seeing Fu Chenxing frozen, Chu Aoshang linked her arm with his. “I’m already married to you. It’s no problem for my family to live at your place, right?”

“My father also said that once we’ve earned money, we’d buy a new mansion. Didn’t you just agree we should put all our effort into this?”

“And this purple fabric will surely make money.”

Fu Chenxing twitched involuntarily. Damn, they’d set a trap for me.

After some thought, the purple dye could indeed bring huge profits. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.

“I knew my worthy son-in-law would agree.”

“Everyone, pack up. We’re moving now.”

Fu Chenxing was dumbfounded. “Wait, moving before it’s even sold?”

Chu Weiming said, “It’s already sold. Today is our last day here.”

The Chu family busied themselves with packing, leaving Fu Chenxing standing alone in the hall.

His heart churned. The Chu family had already sold their mansion early—this...

He felt helpless and restrained.

The Chu family truly knew how to play their cards!

They acted first, reported later, claiming it was an unusual request, but had clearly planned it all along.

Using Chu Aoshang to play the emotional card to get his approval.

He felt manipulated.

Yet, thinking of the enormous profits the purple dye might bring, he suppressed his resentment and comforted himself.

“Fine, I’ll endure for now. Once they’ve made money and bought a new mansion and moved out, everything will return to normal. Consider this a sacrifice for future wealth.”

Fu Chenxing sighed deeply and reluctantly went to help with the move.