CMWKSD -Chapter 154 The Estate

Hu Chunhua hadn’t seen Jiu Yue in such a long time and had thought she wouldn’t feel fear anymore. Perhaps life in Qingshui County had been too peaceful, so along the way, she had forgotten all the extraordinary feats Jiu Yue had once accomplished.

But now, seeing Jiu Yue again, she felt as if she could hear the sound of bones cracking in her ears.

That was the sound of Jiu Yue breaking Ji Dahu’s bones…

Jiu Yue appeared suddenly, catching Hu Chunhua completely off guard. She shrank back into the carriage, nodding repeatedly: “No, no, I didn’t not want to come! This… this is the capital. Old lady never even dreamed that in this lifetime I’d be lucky enough to live here.”

With a wave of her hand, Jiu Yue had the curtains of several carriages lifted. The soldiers at the city gate looked curiously at the carriages not far away.

Inside the carriages, the Ji family looked like animals in a zoo, as one stranger after another peeked in at them.

Everyone was completely confused.

Jiu Yue stood there like a Rakshasa, and the Ji family didn’t even dare to ask a single question.

They were inspected from end to end by wave after wave of onlookers.

After a short while, Shao Qing walked over to Jiu Yue’s side and whispered, “All recognized.”

Jiu Yue’s lips curved slightly. Hand braced on the carriage frame, she flipped herself up into the carriage: “Grandma, Granddad, Yiqing and Brother-in-law don’t have time to come, so I came to fetch you myself. Aren’t you touched?”

Hu Chunhua and Ji Shan shrank into a ball. Move? They didn’t dare move!

Shao Qing simply sat atop the lead carriage. Upon passing the city gate, everything was handled by Shao Qing.

If Jiu Yue had to say what her greatest gain from coming here was, she wouldn’t hesitate: it was Shao Qing.

With Shao Qing’s meticulous reliability, he was like a top-level assistant earning a million a year.

If she could take someone back to the modern world, she probably wouldn’t take Ji Yiqing—she’d take Shao Qing.

With Shao Qing present, Jiu Yue never had to think about how to handle this or that. Once she gave instructions, Shao Qing could come up with multiple plans.

He could practically be awarded a “Best Worker” certificate.

The carriage soon stopped at the Ji family mansion. The grandeur of the gates and the servants rushing to greet them left the Ji family utterly stunned.

Besides the shock, there was also a subtle sense of pride, which made Jiu Yue’s gaze grow colder.

She led the group into the courtyard.

Walking at the front, Jiu Yue glanced sideways at Hu Chunhua and Ji Shan, who were greedily staring at the mansion.

Cheerfully, she called out: “Granddad, Grandma, do you know what your greatest purpose is?”

Hu Chunhua and Ji Shan snapped back to attention. Even Ji Dahu and Ji Dahai, two steps behind, straightened their spines instinctively.

They hurried forward, standing in line beside Hu Chunhua and Ji Shan.

Everyone lined up, eyes blazing, staring at Jiu Yue, afraid that if they were a moment too slow, she would start cracking bones again.

Hu Chunhua shivered. She knew now that Jiu Yue was in charge. They were living the good life, enjoying the best food and drink. She no longer dared to act up or try to assert authority.

“Jiu Yue, Grandma will do whatever you say. If you tell me to go east, I won’t dare go west.”

Jiu Yue ignored Hu Chunhua’s words of loyalty and said coolly: “If either of you dies unexpectedly, brother-in-law and Yiqing would have to mourn, and mourning would halt their progress. But as for me, I think someone truly capable wouldn’t mind even one mourning period—or two, three, four, it wouldn’t matter. What do you think?”

Her gaze swept ominously over Hu Chunhua, Ji Shan, Ji Dahu, Shen Mei, Ji Dahai, and Su Ruo…

Whoever she looked at felt a sudden chill, a violent shiver running through them.

It felt like Jiu Yue’s presence had grown even more terrifying since they last met.

Jiu Yue snorted coldly. “If I wanted, I could make you die in a hundred ways without a sound. So don’t do unnecessary things. Don’t do anything that displeases me…”

“Be good—very good—or the Ji family will be hosting a feast tomorrow.”

With that, Jiu Yue turned and left.

Hu Chunhua and the others didn’t dare look around anymore. This place had been purchased with Jiu Yue’s money.

If it were another daughter-in-law, it would belong to the husband’s family. But Jiu Yue wasn’t like that.

What was hers was hers; what was theirs also belonged to Jiu Yue.

In fact, with Jiu Yue, even they themselves were her private property.

The servants of the mansion looked on in amazement.

Whether the previously purchased servants or the newly hired ones, they hadn’t spent much time with Jiu Yue. She had been too busy—first in the Shen household, then in the palace.

All they knew was that Jiu Yue was the mistress, but they didn’t truly understand her.

Today, seeing her, they realized that even the family feared the mistress more than they did.

Each of them now held profound respect, born not of protocol, but of pure, bone-deep fear—just like the Ji family.

Shao Qing quickly had the Ji family escorted inside. With the mansion now spacious enough, even if they couldn’t stay all together, there was another residence nearby.

Since Jiu Yue had gained favor with the Emperor, connecting the two estates was no trouble at all.

Jiu Yue had already arranged the roles for Shen Mei, Su Ruo, and Hu Chunhua. They returned to their original professions: two embroiderers were hired, managed by Su Ruo, to make clothes for the household. Su Ruo would handle Jiu Yue’s garments herself.

Shen Mei managed the kitchen, as Jiu Yue still preferred her cooking.

Hu Chunhua would assist.

The three young girls would continue making medicinal pills for the pharmacy—the smaller the profits, the better to practice, after all.

As for Ji Dahu, Ji Dahai, and Ji Shan—the three older men—there was nothing for them to do.

Jiu Yue had no interest in managing them; Shao Qing reported the arrangements to her.

When Jiu Yue laughed, Shao Qing, who was usually so composed, would relax. At barely fifteen, he had to act mature in front of adults to avoid being taken advantage of.

Embarrassed, Shao Qing scratched his head: “There’s an estate in the suburbs with 500 acres. I took a look. It’s a bit expensive, but most of it is fertile farmland and paddy fields. The tenant farmers are reasonably honest.”

Jiu Yue frowned. “You want to send them to the estate?”

Shao Qing nodded.

What Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian worried about, Shao Qing worried too. If the Ji family stayed in the capital, they could easily be interfered with by those with ill intentions, especially now that Ji Yiqing and Jiu Yue were so prominent—Ji Yiqing for the movable type printing, Jiu Yue for her close connection with the Emperor.

Better to place them in the estate, with dedicated supervision.

Shao Qing had organized a capable team, and the estate was just the right place for them.