Hong Lingxiang looked at him in disbelief as he walked past her and towards the carriage after speaking, touching her face and murmuring to herself, "Does he regret it? Or is my makeup not exquisite enough today to capture his attention?"
As Zhou Tianpeng approached the Zhou mansion, he saw his mother standing at the entrance, waiting for him with a stern expression. He forced a smile, "What's wrong? I just went out, why are you personally coming to greet me?"
"Did they really leave?" Madam Zhou, seeing her son return alone, already had a bad feeling. She couldn't help but confirm again.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tianpeng's smile slightly faded, and he slowly nodded.
Madam Zhou's cane lashed out at him with lightning speed. After a few blows, she, still ill, was already panting.
"You fool! It's one thing that Shiyun left, but how could you let her take the two children with her? They are the blood of our Zhou family!"
"Mother, don't be angry. It's just children. Lingxiang and I will have more in the future. Besides, there are plenty of women in the world who can have children," Zhou Tianpeng quickly stepped forward to support her.
"Can that be the same? Even raising a cat or a dog develops affection, let alone children you've raised for over a decade. You are practically trying to kill me!" Although Madam Zhou didn't particularly like the two children Shiyun had borne, they were, after all, her grandchildren.
"Mother, you exaggerate. I'll give you a whole litter another day, and you can hold them to your heart's content." Zhou Tianpeng was a man who cared greatly about his reputation. Seeing people peeking, he quickly helped his mother inside.
"I'm old and can't control you anymore. Take care of yourself." Although Madam Zhou looked down on Shiyun's maid status, she had to admit that she was an intelligent woman. After so many years of being mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, she truly felt a bit reluctant to part with her.
Wu Caiwei, with the two bewildered children, went directly to the prefecture city. One reason was to start a business, and another was to thoroughly investigate the death of the prefect's son. She wanted to know if Hong Lingxiang had any part in it. After all, if she dared to harm the original host and her two children, she didn't believe Hong Lingxiang's hands were clean.
The siblings left the Zhou mansion, unusually silent and very reluctant. Wu Caiwei understood their feelings very well, having grown up there since childhood and developed attachments.
They first found an inn and booked three rooms to freshen up.
The next morning, Wu Caiwei found an agent and began buying property.
With money, she certainly wasn't going to shortchange herself. She spent over thirty thousand taels to buy a four-courtyard residence with an exquisite layout. Wu Caiwei loved it.
It was ten days later when they were truly settled.
Zhou Ziyuan had mentally prepared himself to endure hardship with his mother. However, seeing the courtyard filled with lush flowers and numerous servants, he found it hard to process.
He had assumed that his mother, having never managed the household affairs for so many years, wouldn't have much money. But watching her buy whatever she fancied and bring it home, her extravagant spending made him feel heartache for her.
Having money was certainly better than being poor, and he felt more confident about their future life.
With life settling into a routine, the next step was business. If possible, she also hoped Zhou Ziyuan could continue his studies, even just to become a scholar. In ancient times, that was a higher status than a merchant. Unfortunately, he truly lacked the talent for academics and preferred business instead.
So, she took him with her every time she went out. Zhou Ziyuan secretly admired his mother as she chatted and laughed with people. He had accompanied his father out before and, frankly, his father was far inferior to his mother.
He felt that his mother had been wasted in the inner chambers for so many years. If his father had been more magnanimous, the Zhou family would be far more prosperous than it was now.
After some investigation, Wu Caiwei decided to go into the silk business. They would buy raw cloth and dye it themselves, which would yield a larger profit margin.
Having lived through several lives and conducted business for many years, Wu Caiwei had a habit of collecting various recipes in every world, just in case.
This habit now came in handy. As for where the recipes came from, her explanation to her son was that she had found them in an ancient book. Zhou Ziyuan knew his mother was very intelligent and loved to read, so he believed her.
Her formulas were quite complete, and she dyed colors that didn't exist in this era. Her fame spread rapidly.
One day, while Wu Caiwei was helping out in the shop, a female customer caught her attention. She noticed her not only because she was dressed entirely in black, neat and sharp, but also because of the familiar face.
When the other woman saw her, her pupils widened slightly. Although the movement was small, Wu Caiwei still noticed it, clearly indicating the other woman had recognized her too.
Wu Caiwei quickly stepped forward, her voice filled with emotion, "Miss, are you..."
"I'm here to buy fabric. I heard you have a good selection, so I came. Show me all your dark-colored, good-quality ones," the woman interrupted her, speaking in a cold voice.
Seeing that the other woman was unwilling to acknowledge her, Wu Caiwei treated her as an ordinary customer.
"Miss, do you like this fabric? This one is quite expensive, ten taels of silver per bolt. That makes it thirty taels in total." Wu Caiwei watched her rub three bolts of dark red fabric back and forth, introducing it to her.
"Are you the owner here?"
The woman suddenly asked an unrelated question. Wu Caiwei nodded involuntarily.
The woman didn't even look and directly pulled out three banknotes from her embrace, pressing them into Wu Caiwei's hand. She then picked up the fabric and left quickly.
Wu Caiwei looked at the amount on the banknotes and fell into thought. The sum of the banknotes, totaling three thousand taels, was no small matter.
It seemed she wasn't as cold and heartless as she appeared. Wu Caiwei wondered what she had been through over the years to become this way. The woman's gait had been quick, and most people wouldn't notice, but Wu Caiwei was different. She could tell at a glance that the woman had martial arts skills and a faint smell of blood about her.
The other woman didn't want to acknowledge her but gave her money. This must have been due to her own difficult circumstances. Wu Caiwei decided that the next time she saw her, she would ask if there was anything she could help with.
Little did she know, after the woman left Wu Caiwei's shop, a man appeared beside her. He looked at her with a lecherous gaze, "Did the owner just now know you?"
The woman immediately stopped and gave him a warning look. "She's just a stranger."
"You're afraid? That means she's quite important to you. You're like an iceberg, if there was really no connection, you wouldn't bother explaining." The man smiled as if he had found something amusing.
"I warn you not to bother her, or I won't let you off." Hearing her voice, which sounded as if it came from hell, the man dramatically touched his arm. "It's too cold, truly icy. I can keep your secret, but it depends on how you behave next."