The Slender Waist-Chapter 271 - 190 Accomplish Each Other

Tan Dajin, the Marching Commander responsible for the internal affairs of the Northern Yong Army and also managing Pei Jue’s property, was instructing the guards who accompanied him to carry the valuables inside when Feng Yun went out.

"Lady."

Upon seeing his lady, he gave her a proper salute and then turned to point at the items.

"All twelve boxes are here, unchanged and intact. The General said to leave them for the young lady to manage."

Before Feng Yun could speak, he had people carry over two more large trunks from behind.

"These are also the General’s personal possessions, all to be kept by the young lady. I brought all the account books as well."

Feng Yun thought about Pei Jue’s claim of having no money and pursed her lips in surprise, "Didn’t the General say that it was all traded for winter clothes?"

Tan Dajin smiled, "The General found another way for the winter clothes; the young lady need not worry about that. Please start inventorying these items and store them away."

The inventory list had been lost in the chaos of war in Bingzhou, and Feng Yun had not checked the records at that time, so she wasn’t entirely aware of the contents.

She had never considered these as her possessions; when she went to Pei Jue for money, her fundamental reasoning was that she had identified a good business deal and wanted to earn a bit of profit for General Pei in return for her investment.

She had a clear understanding of the situation.

But now with Tan Dajin handing over the items to her, it was as though Pei Jue’s entire foundation was being entrusted to her.

That made for an essential distinction.

Seeing that she wasn’t moving, Tan Dajin opened one of the chests in front of him containing several account books, handed them to Feng Yun, and said with a beaming smile:

"The army is on the move; the Great General hasn’t made any personal acquisitions and is not adept at managing his wealth. In the past two years, I have managed all of this on behalf of the General, including salary, rewards, Tianzhuang estates, shops, and properties—all documented here and now entrusted to the lady for inventory."

Feng Yun’s eyelids twitched, and she saluted him in response.

"General Tan, you should take them back; I don’t need these right now."

Tan Dajin, seeing her calm demeanor and knowing she wasn’t just feigning reluctance, stiffened with awkwardness.

He feared that something he said the day before was taken amiss, causing discord between the General and his wife and prompting the General to suddenly change his mind, bringing back all twelve boxes of the dowry and then personally rushing to Pingyang to request supplies from the Tiger Guard Army.

That’s why she would say such things.

He thought to himself that women are petty and was sure that she was bearing a grudge against the General.

Tan Dajin considered himself adept at reading cues and dealing with matters, but he couldn’t decipher Feng Yun’s smiling face, let alone understand what she was really thinking. Where would he dare to drag the items back?

"No, no, no, no."

He waved his hands repeatedly as if handling a hot potato.

"The General said that, from now on, the lady is to take charge. I cannot overstep the General’s orders nor dare to make decisions on his behalf."

He then bowed deeply to Feng Yun again.

"This subordinate has military matters to attend to and must take his leave."

Tan Dajin hurried off, with his men rushing into the veil of rain, not looking back.

Feng Yun stared at the pile of items and the thick account books before her, momentarily uncertain what kind of scheme Pei Jue was hatching.

The pressing matter was the winter clothes...

Pei Jue had sent back the items, but what was he planning to use to fill this gap? 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Currently, about one hundred and twenty thousand troops of the Northern Yong Army were stationed in Yupu, Wanning, Andu, and Xinzhou. They had waived many miscellaneous taxes to help the people recover after the war, so the civilians didn’t have much to spare.

If the Imperial Court did not provide supplies, it would be impossible to sustain such a large force. If they resorted to taxing the local populace to support the army, the delicate relationship between the military and the civilians that they had worked so hard to mend could be strained once again, wasting the efforts made in earlier governance.

Feng Yun suddenly felt the wealth and account books were burning her hands.

-

In the afternoon, the skies cleared, and Chunyu Yan returned from Bingzhou.

Just as Feng Yun anticipated, Xiao Cheng did not object to the refurbishment of the guest house and also contributed funds.

But Chunyu Yan hinted, "The Qi Emperor seems to have doubts about you..."

Feng Yun, "Doubts about what?"

Chunyu Yan said with a smile, "He suspects whether you, Feng Twelve, have such ability. At first, he thought it was Pei Jue causing trouble behind the scenes. It took me much convincing to make him believe that you indeed were responsible for managing this project..."

Seeking credit again?

Feng Yun snorted with laughter.

"Princely Heir, rest assured, you won’t miss out on your share of the profits."

Chunyu Yan smiled faintly, "Naturally, there’s no need for us to split things so finely..."

"That’s true," Feng Yun said lightly, pursing her lips, "I currently have a good business opportunity, I wonder if the Princely Heir is interested?"

Chunyu Yan was a businessman and would not refuse a profitable endeavor.

However, he could never have imagined that Feng Yun’s great business opportunity would actually involve Pei Jue’s bridal gifts, not to be traded for money or land, but for fabric and cotton padding.