TGCFNM -Chapter 330 Arrival in the Capital

After a simple dinner, the group each wrapped themselves in cloaks and rested against the walls.

Chu Ling sat by the fire, poking at the flames with a stick. The reddish glow painted her cheeks and drove away much of the chill of the night.

Once the flames flared up again, Chu Ling gently set the stick aside and reached into her clothing to take out the embroidered pouch.

Cui Xi, holding Wangcai, asked from the side, “Miss, didn’t you say you weren’t going to look?”

Chu Ling was silent for a moment. “Still… I should look.” Saying that, she opened the pouch and took out several folded sheets of paper.

Chu Ling frowned in puzzlement as she unfolded them one by one.

Ghost Scholar remarked from the side, “Looks like… they’re all land deeds.”

Chu Ling nodded. “Seems like farmland outside the capital, a couple of estates, and… wait, what’s this? It says ‘Yunyan Tower’?”

“Yunyan Tower… isn’t that a property of the Wan family?” Ghost Scholar said uncertainly.

Chu Ling nodded slightly, as if confirming.

“Then ask Master Wan tomorrow—he might know. Otherwise, ask Uncle Hong,” Ghost Scholar suggested.

Chu Ling made a soft sound of agreement and began stuffing everything back into the pouch, but her hand suddenly froze… A wave of indescribable sadness swept over her.

A vague figure appeared in her mind, pressing the pouch into her hand and holding it tightly, so tightly that her hand ached, not letting go. The figure’s lips moved, as if saying a lot, but she could only make out one sentence:

“Live well.”

Chu Ling opened her mouth, tears falling for no reason. “Live… well… let me live well.”

Bai Su reached out and embraced Chu Ling. “What’s wrong?”

Chu Ling shook her head. She didn’t know either.

Bai Su gently patted her head and sighed, “If you don’t know, then just don’t think about it for now.”

Chu Ling nodded slightly, clutching the pouch tightly and slipping it back into her clothing.

The next day, After completely extinguishing the fire, the group left the house and got back into the carriage.

On the carriage, Chu Ling took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Uncle Hong, asking, “Uncle Hong, what’s this?”

Uncle Hong studied it carefully for a moment and said, “This is a contract, stipulating a thirty percent share of the profits… such a large share. Whoever invested in Yunyan Tower during its early days must have put in quite a lot of silver.”

“Yunyan Tower’s share of profits!” Wan Sanjin exclaimed in surprise. “My eldest brother turned Yunyan Tower into one of the top cosmetics shops in all of Dazhou—does this cover all of it?”

Uncle Hong shook his head. “Just the capital, but it’s still considerable.”

Wan Sanjin let out a disappointed ‘oh.’ “I thought our manor was going to get rich again.”

Uncle Hong tapped Wan Sanjin with the contract in his hand, then looked at Chu Ling and asked, “Master, the contract says the token is a jade pendant.”

Chu Ling looked down at the jade pendant at her waist, removed it, and handed it to Uncle Hong.

He matched it against the seal on the contract and showed it to Chu Ling. “Correct, the token is this jade pendant. The profit share is once a year. Master, you can take the pendant to Yunyan Tower.” Saying this, he returned the contract and pendant to her.

Chu Ling silently took them, still in shock.

It wasn’t until Cui Xi tugged on her sleeve, saying, “Second Madam once said she wanted to do business, and even made a painting for Second Master,” that Chu Ling blinked, coming back to the moment.

Chu Ling murmured softly, “Deeds, estate, dividends… are they leaving money for me?”

The Ghost Scholar let out a gentle sigh. “Ah, the heart of parents is always so pitiable.”

Suddenly, a dull ache spread across Chu Ling’s chest, and tears sprang to her eyes instantly.

Wan Sanjin was startled. “Master, what’s wrong?”

Chu Ling grabbed Wan Sanjin’s arm and turned to him. “I… I want to go there and take a look. Help me think of a way.”

Wan Sanjin glanced at the jade pendant and the dividend papers in Chu Ling’s hand, and suddenly realized. “Uncle Hong, let’s go to the bank first, together with Master.”

Uncle Hong looked at the two of them, his eyes narrowing slightly, and nodded.

For the rest of the journey, no one in the carriage spoke a word. It wasn’t until they reached the city gate and were lining up for inspection that Wan Sanjin finally found a moment to speak. “Master, everything there is actually fine, don’t worry.”

Chu Ling forced a response with a faint hum. As she queued to enter, she absentmindedly pulled out the Prince Rui’s token.

The soldiers guarding the city, seeing it, immediately received it respectfully with both hands. “Young sir, you may pass.”

Chu Ling finally realized what was happening. After thanking them, she got back into the carriage.

Once the Zhuifeng carriage had passed a stretch beyond the city gate, the lively, noisy sounds hit them like a sudden tidal wave, instantly engulfing the two carriages.

Zhang Dong was even a little stunned, watching the throngs of people coming and going, momentarily unsure which way to go.

But Uncle Hong quickly rescued him, as the people who had come to receive them had arrived.

Wan Sanjin lifted the carriage curtain for a look. “The capital is still as bustling as ever… people everywhere.”

Chu Ling looked out as well. “No wonder they call Dongle City a ‘small capital,’ but compared to the real capital, it’s like a small fry facing a giant.”

“Of course,” Wan Sanjin chuckled. “Dongle City isn’t even a ten-thousandth of the capital. Here, if a signboard were to fall, it might hit a scion of a noble family.”

Chu Ling relaxed back into her seat. “Then I hope a few more signboards fall… and hit a few more of them.”

Wan Sanjin couldn’t help but laugh.

Outside, Uncle Hong had arranged everything: the people receiving them would first take Su He, Xiao Hua, and Zhang Dong to their accommodations. Uncle Hong then led Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin to the bank first.

So the two carriages separated at the city gate.

At the bank, Uncle Hong called over a steward to take the Zhuifeng horse to rest, and then silently led the two of them to a narrow street behind the bank.

Passing through a street barely wide enough for two to walk side by side, Uncle Hong stopped in front of a door, knocked three times, then four times, and finally gave it a single pat.

The little door opened, and a middle-aged scholar, seeing it was Uncle Hong, stepped aside.

Uncle Hong led the two of them inside, passing through an unremarkable front hall and all the way to the back room.

Someone was guarding the back room. Once they saw it was Uncle Hong, and after some mechanism was triggered, a flight of stone steps appeared, leading downward.

Uncle Hong led them down. At the bottom, a slightly stout steward approached quickly, smiling at Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin. “Master Chu, Young Sir.”

“Steward Zhu!” Chu Ling was startled. “Has Young Master Wan returned?”

“The Young Master is occupied and is probably returning in a couple of days,” Steward Zhu replied with a smile.

Uncle Hong said, “Good timing. Take the items from their hands and temporarily store them in the treasury. Remember to use the Young Master’s key.”

Steward Zhu’s expression became serious. “Use the Young Master’s key?”

“Yes, and place them together with the Linglong chessboard they previously received,” Uncle Hong said, shooting a sharp glare at Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin.

Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin both shrank their necks and took a step back.