She led the whole village to prosperity by raising koi fish.

Chapter 42 Polite Refusal

After spending time together, Nangong Xiawu surprisingly took a liking to the village chief's nephew. She mustered up her courage and confessed her feelings to Zheng Tianqi.

"We've been together for quite a few days now, and I've found you to be a really warm-hearted person, and you're very thoughtful in everything you do. How about we start dating?"

"Pfft!" Zheng Tianqi didn't drink a sip of water and spat it all out on the ground. He replied with a bewildered look, "My God, don't scare me. We have a completely innocent working relationship. What do you mean by 'we've been together for many days'? Besides, I have a fiancée. You should find someone else."

Nangong Xiawu retorted, "A fiancée is an unmarried woman. As long as you're not married, I have a chance. Zheng Tianqi, I will definitely win you over!"

The village chief's nephew, Zheng Tianqi, was very helpless. He had no choice but to ask the steward to change his partner. He knew he was bad at talking and couldn't win against the eldest daughter of the Nangong family. If he couldn't afford to offend her, he might as well avoid her.

Afterwards, Nangong Xiawu was assigned to a group with Daxi, an older single man. Upon learning that Nangong Xiawu and the new young man had not gotten together, he picked a bunch of flowers and gave them to Nangong Xiawu, along with a poem: "Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, I leisurely gaze at the Southern Mountains. I give you a flower, please marry me."

Nangong Xiawu threw his flowers on the ground, then stomped on them in anger before turning and leaving. Da Xi stood there, bewildered, wondering what he had done wrong.

When Da Xi returned to his dorm room dejectedly, his roommates asked him how things were going. Da Xi replied helplessly, "No chance."

"Hey, what flowers did you send?" the village chief's nephew asked while tidying up the bed.

Overjoyed, he replied, "There's nothing else to see this season but chrysanthemums, right? I gave her a bunch of colorful chrysanthemums. But she didn't like them and just threw them away."

At this moment, everyone burst into laughter, "Hahaha, hahahaha! You're so stupid!"

Zhu Daxi was completely confused, not knowing what everyone was laughing at. At this moment, the village chief's nephew kindly reminded him, "Chrysanthemums are for our ancestors. Try other flowers next time."

Zhu Daxi chuckled, "I see, how could I have forgotten about that?"

Although being a bodyguard is tiring every day, it's also very fulfilling. The village chief's nephew can ask him any questions he doesn't understand.

"Senior Brother Da Xi, why are there several colors on the task sheet? Is there some significance to it?"

Zhu Daxi nodded in response, "Of course, there are three colors of task sheets: red, purple, and blue. Red is the most important task and earns the most money, ten taels of silver per task. Purple is next, and blue is the most common. After the task sheets are completed each month, they are bound together, and then the wages are calculated based on the quality and quantity of the completed tasks."

"Ah, I see. Thank you for your guidance! I am very grateful! Thank you, my good brother!" the village chief's nephew quickly replied.

Then, his bunkmate Sun Shangwu explained the relevant information to him: "There are treasure maps in the treasure pavilion. If you don't have many tasks, you can go and get a treasure map to find treasures."

The village chief's nephew asked, "Senior brother, who gets the recovered treasure?"

The guy in the upper bunk replied, "Of course it goes to the Treasure Pavilion, but they'll pay you wages so you won't waste your time and energy."

The village chief's nephew nodded in satisfaction, "That's more like it, as long as it's not zero income."

At this moment, Sun Shangwu, who was in the upper bunk, reminded him, "There are no missions next month because all the escort agencies in the city are going to have a martial arts competition. Why don't we form a team and go treasure hunting together!"

The village chief's nephew replied with a smile, "Of course!"

At this moment, Qian Erniu also quickly raised his hand in response, "Then I want to go too, can you guys take me with you!"

"Okay," the other two said in unison.

At this moment, Sun Shangwu threw an orange at Da Xi, saying, "Are you going or not? We're just missing you."

Zhu Daxi waved his hand and refused, "I'm not going. I want to take advantage of the time to go out with Nangong Xiawu. I've been single for many years and I'll try to find a girlfriend as soon as possible."

"Tch, boring!" Sun Shangwu retorted with a sneer, then went out to eat with the others.

After getting married, Su Yuning and Ye Beichen lived in Ni Chang Pavilion. Although she missed her family, her parents wouldn't let her go back and told her to stay peacefully by her husband's side. Bored, she went to chat with her sister-in-law.

Princess Wan'er was overjoyed to see Su Yuning at her home. She served her tea and water, and prepared fruit and snacks for her.

"I was just about to look for you, and here you are! We're such best friends!" Princess Wan'er replied with a smile. "Guess what's been going on lately?"

Su Yuning looked bewildered. "I never leave the house and I'm completely oblivious to what's going on outside. How would I know what happened? Sister-in-law, stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me what's going on."

At this moment, Princess Wan'er whispered in her ear, and Su Yuning instantly perked up, "How dare she come here? This Nangong Xiawu is no good!"

"Haha, you two aren't rivals for love, are you?" Princess Wan'er teased in response.

At this moment, Su Yuning retorted angrily, "Sister-in-law, you don't know this, but when I went to the Northern Desert with Her Majesty the Empress, she was not only arrogant and domineering towards Her Majesty the Empress, but she also threw water at Her Majesty the Empress! Such a person should never be a friend!"

Princess Wan'er was truly enraged. "This girl is despicable! How dare she disrespect the Empress Dowager! I should arrest her and send her to the palace to apologize!"

At this moment, Su Yuning responded, "It's too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. As soon as she heard that she was going to the palace to see the emperor and empress, she was so frightened that she ran away. How could you catch her?"

Princess Wan'er nodded in agreement, "It seems I should go to the palace to warn Nangong Xue'er, so she won't be deceived or taken advantage of by Nangong Xiawu."

Su Yuning quickly replied, "I'll go with you!"

Princess Wan'er smiled and refused, "You are not allowed to go. Putting aside everything else, Nangong Xue'er is pregnant now, and you have only been married for a short time. It is not appropriate for the two of you to meet. If the Empress Dowager blames you, you will have to apologize."

Su Yuning nodded helplessly, "Alright then, I'll listen to you."

"Stay for lunch, I just learned a new specialty dish," Princess Wan'er invited with a smile.

Su Yuning nodded in agreement, "Okay, okay, I'll help you out."

"How can we ask our guests to cook? Just wait patiently, the food will be ready in a little while." Princess Wan'er politely declined, then went to the kitchen to cook with a smile.

It's unbelievable that Princess Wan'er, despite her noble status, is so down-to-earth and cooks incredibly delicious food!

"I've only ever had sweet and sour pork with pineapple, what kind of dish is this? I don't quite understand it," Su Yuning asked, staring at the new dish on the table.

Princess Wan'er smiled and explained, "This is stir-fried chicken with grapes. It's sweet and sour and very delicious. Why don't you try some?"

Su Yuning picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of the dish, and nodded in satisfaction. "It's quite delicious. The chicken not only has the refreshing aroma of grapes but also a savory flavor. This is my first time eating this dish, and it's pretty good!"

“I’m glad you like it! I heard from your brother that there’s a dish that’s popular in the city lately called coconut stewed chicken. I’ll learn how to make it sometime and cook it for you when I get back!” Princess Wan’er replied.

Su Yuning was both amused and exasperated. "I've become a taste tester! Okay, okay, I'll be waiting for your new dishes!"

Afterwards, Princess Wan'er instructed Su Yuning, "Although Ye Beichen is now married to you, he is handsome and it's inevitable that some girls will like him. You must keep a close eye on him, be strong, and live a good life! Don't let outsiders laugh at you."

Su Yuning nodded, "Sister-in-law is right, I will definitely listen to you."

"By the way, isn't Ye Beichen the Crown Prince of Mobei? Has his father intended to pass the throne to him? Are you two going to continue running the shop, or go back to your hometown in Mobei?" Princess Wan'er asked with concern.

Su Yuning hesitated for a moment, then told the truth, "Sister-in-law, to be honest, his father has decided to abdicate, but Ye Beichen doesn't want to get involved in those matters. Lately, he's been helping me with the shop, and he might go back to Mobei later."

Princess Wan'er was a little unhappy. "If you go to the Northern Desert, it will be difficult for us sisters to meet. I really hate to see you leave."

Su Yuning nodded, "I think so too, but we can write letters, write several letters every day, then we won't feel sad."

Princess Wan'er's worries turned to joy, "Hahaha, we are happy, but I guess the carrier pigeon doesn't think so."

Then, Su Yuning asked with concern, "Sister-in-law, when are you and my second brother going to have a baby?"

Princess Wan'er replied, "Your brother said there's no rush. We should focus on our careers while we're young and have children later. As for me, well, I'm not ready to be a mother yet. I'll wait a few years and let nature take its course."

Su Yuning nodded, "Yes, these things can't be rushed, let's take it slow."

At this moment, Princess Wan'er kindly reminded her, "Weren't you working in the city? Now that you're married, taking care of your family is more important. Why don't you quit your job?"

Su Yuning chuckled, "No, no, I have to go to work later. After all, work makes me feel fulfilled, and there are lots of colleagues to chat with there."

"Since that's the case, I won't keep you any longer. Go to your workplace and explain the situation to the boss. Otherwise, if you don't come to work every day, people will think you've found a new job!" Princess Wan'er gently reminded her.

"Alright then, I'm off, see you next time!" Su Yuning smiled and waved goodbye to Princess Wan'er before heading to the shop where she worked.

The first thing the proprietress said to Su Yuning was, "Hey, where's the soap you made for me?"

Su Yuning gave an awkward smile, "Boss lady, it will take a while for the soap to be made. Please don't worry, just wait a few days."

Now the proprietress was unhappy and gave Su Yuning a dressing down, "Since you're not making soap, why haven't you come to work for so long? Have you put your mind to your work? Do you even care about us? Do you even want to work anymore?"

Su Yuning listened patiently as she finished speaking, and then explained, "The Empress and I went to the Northern Desert together. After much persuasion, the lord of the Northern Desert finally agreed to let his son and me be together. Then we had a wedding, and then there were three days for the bride's return visit, and various other things. I'm so sorry for taking up so much time and causing you so much trouble. If you are willing to take me in, I will continue to work here."

The shop owner left the soap shop after saying three sentences, then asked again, "You said the soap would be ready in a while, so can you give me a specific time? If not, I'll go to your hometown to pick up the soap myself!"

Su Yuning was both amused and exasperated, but replied earnestly, "Boss lady, you don't even know where I live, so how can I pick up the soap? Since you insist on a precise time, I'll be honest, about a week. If the weather is good, I'll go back early to pick up the soap for you; if the weather is bad, I might arrive a little later. Is that alright with you?"

The proprietress then nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, Su Yuning worked with her colleagues again. She felt that although the work was rather tedious and boring, it was a great way to pass the time. Rather than eating, drinking and having fun at home, she preferred to work here.

Back at the escort agency, Nangong Xiawu still refused to give up. She decided to confess her feelings to the village chief's nephew again, but the village chief's nephew not only ignored her, but also said that he had to go back to his hometown when he had some free time. So she rented a car and went back to Xinghua Village with the village chief's nephew.

In the village, the village chief's nephew and Chestnut Girl immediately went outside hand in hand to whisper sweet nothings upon meeting. Nangong Xiawu followed but lost track of them, so she sat down to rest by the lotus pond. Just then, a single young man from the village came to fish, and the two of them chatted idly.

"Where are you from, young lady? You look a little unfamiliar to me," the young man asked.

Nangong Xiawu replied casually, "My hometown is in the northern desert, but I live in the capital now."

The young man laughed heartily, "So how did you end up in our little mountain village? Did you hear that the hawthorns here are ripe, so you came to pick them? Let me tell you, our hawthorns are delicious, sweet and sour, and you can make hawthorn cakes and candied hawthorn skewers!"

Nangong Xiawu shook her head and replied, "I came with a friend. That guy claimed to be the village chief's nephew, and he said he has a girlfriend. Is that true or not?"

The young man chuckled and replied, "Of course! They're a match made in heaven! Do you like him too? Let me tell you, his family is very poor. You might as well marry me. Although we won't be rich, at least I can provide you with a comfortable life."

Nangong Xiawu replied, both amused and exasperated, "What do you have? You have fish, right? To eat fish with you every day? I don't like that kind of life... We're not a good match? I don't like staying in the mountains, and I don't like life here."

However, the young man said to her, "It's not easy for the village chief's nephew and Chestnut Girl to get together. If you dare to break them up, the whole village will hate you!"

This time, Nangong Xiawu really gave up. "Alright then, thank you for reminding me. I'm going back to the city now. Do you want to come with me?"

After hesitating for a while, the young man decided to go to the city with Nangong Xiawu to earn money.