The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

“You are not in your usual state now.” Mrs. Li scolded, “You are still not fully recovered from your illness. You need to take good care of yourself, let’s go to the Nuan Pavilion to sit for a while before we talk about other things.”

Mrs. Li dragged Cheng Ruize towards the Nuan Pavilion without further ado.

Cheng Ruize had to follow her obediently.

“Mother, why did you come here suddenly?” Cheng Ruize handed the tea prepared by Fang Hou to Mrs. Li with both hands.

Mrs. Li took a sip, placed it on the tea table nearby, then tapped Cheng Ruize’s forehead, “If I hadn’t come, I wouldn’t know about such a major incident. I nearly lost my son.”

“Mother… you know everything?” Cheng Ruize scratched his nose somewhat awkwardly, “The servants might have exaggerated, it wasn’t that serious. Look, I’ve completely recovered now. Don’t worry, mother.”

“It’s precisely because you are in good condition now, otherwise, I would never let your servants off easily!”

Mrs. Li fumed, “I really don’t know whether to say your subordinates are loyal or disloyal. If they were disloyal, no one would dare to disobey your orders. If they were loyal, they didn’t even bother to pass such significant information.”

“If it weren’t for Mrs. Zhang mentioning today that Doctor Qin has been spreading rumors around the capital about how our Cheng family abuses our power and fosters evil slaves, I wouldn’t have inquired about the real situation. Only then did I find out about your poisoning.”

“Honestly speaking, you have made quite an achievement. You don’t even bother to inform your parents when such a big incident happened. It’s a good thing that you’re fine, otherwise, do you want to scare me to death?”

Mrs. Li became more upset as she spoke, her tears flowing down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, mother. I’ve made you worry.” Cheng Ruize hurriedly apologized.

“Since you know that I’m worried, you are not allowed to do this again in the future.” Mrs. Li said and then frowned, “Scrap that, in the future, you will never encounter such a thing…”

This childish behavior made Cheng Ruize laugh uncontrollably. He sat down beside Mrs. Li and started rubbing her shoulders, “Mother, you must be tired from the journey. Where’s father?”

“Your father has not returned from the capital city. I didn’t have time to write him a letter when I heard about this, so I came first.” Mrs. Li wiped the tear stains on her face and spoke tenderly, “I was worried on my way here. Now that I see you’re fine, I feel somewhat relieved.”

“Just now when I entered the courtyard, I inquired about the entire situation from the servants. Zhu Ankang deserved his punishment, and Manager Zhuang has indeed saved your life. We need to express our gratitude properly.”

“Mother, don’t worry. I have already asked Fang Hou to send a thank you gift.” Cheng Ruize laughed, “However, Manager Zhuang has been refusing, so we only managed to send some ordinary items.”

“How can that be enough?” Mrs. Li frowned, “You are the Third Young Master of our Cheng family. If we only send some ordinary items, how can we repay the favor of saving a life?”

Mrs. Li raised her head and called out, “Qingyu, come here.”

A round-faced maid lifted the curtain and came in, “Lady.”

“Go and ask Fang Hou where Manager Zhuang lives and what his usual preferences are. Find out who lives in his household, then choose some high-quality and useful items to send over.”

“Remember, Manager Zhuang is Ruize’s life savior, so be cautious when choosing the gifts.” Mrs. Li emphasized.

“Yes.” Qingyu responded and left to find Fang Hou.

“Mother, it’s really not necessary. Manager Zhuang doesn’t really care about these things. Besides, Manager Zhuang also has business dealings with us. I think we can slowly reciprocate when the opportunity arises.” Cheng Ruize said.

“Silly child, it’s their choice to refuse, but it’s up to us whether or not to send gifts. This is a simple logic that I shouldn’t need to teach you.”

Mrs. Li laughed, “And your act of expressing gratitude is your own business. I didn’t know about it before, but now that I do, it’s natural for me to go.”

“Moreover, if we sincerely want to thank Manager Zhuang, this would serve as an excellent pretext.”

Indeed, it’s a good pretext.

If someone else was to deliver the gifts, even if Zhuang Qingning wanted to refuse, she couldn’t refuse them all. She would have to accept some of them.

Cheng Ruize felt somewhat uneasy when Zhuang Qingning initially refused to accept the thank you gift. But now, he would feel somewhat relieved.

However…

If it were up to Mrs. Li’s taste, wouldn’t she prefer something shiny and sparkly for Zhuang Qingning?

The thought of this made Cheng Ruize couldn’t help but rub his forehead.

Although they might seem a bit ostentatious, when it comes to practicality, they are simple and unadorned, right?

“Yes, mother, your consideration is very thorough.” Cheng Ruize laughed, holding Mrs. Li’s arm, “Speaking of Manager Zhuang, I just finalized a business deal with her today.”

“Oh? What deal has my Ruize finalized?” Mrs. Li tilted her head with interest and laughed, “Let me guess, is it a big deal that can also benefit your two elder brothers’ business in Yangzhou?”

“Mother, you’re really amazing. You guessed right away.” Cheng Ruize laughed, “Manager Zhuang came here today with the Moon Incense formula. We agreed that Cheng’s will produce the Moon Incense. The profits will be split as follows: Zhuang gets three parts, Cheng’s gets seven.”

“I just tried this Moon Incense, and it has a delightful fragrance. It’s very much like what’s written in the book, so it should be right. I will write a letter to my elder brothers later, and also give the formula to the incense master. Once the finished product is made, it will be sent to Yangzhou immediately. Hopefully, it can give my elder brothers’ business in Yangzhou a boost.”

“Um, good.” Mrs. Li nodded her head in approval, “Ruize is becoming more and more capable.”

“It’s all thanks to the good teaching of father and mother, which has influenced me.” Cheng Ruize chuckled, “It looks like it’s almost noon. Mother, you must be hungry after the rush. I will ask the kitchen to prepare lunch. Would you like your favorite fried spring rolls?”

“I’ll listen to you.” Mrs. Li laughed, “When I came here, I thought about your illness and thought that your appetite might not be good. So, I brought a cook from home. Later, he will cook your favorite pickled goose and Eight Treasure Soup.”

“I was just thinking about the flavor of pickled goose, and was considering whether to buy some from the Hanfeng Tower. Luckily, mother brought the cook over.” Upon hearing this, Cheng Ruize couldn’t help but act spoiled, “Mother knows me the best.”