Chapter 69: The Hour of Homecoming Decides All Matters

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“Yanxi, what are we doing?” Although Lu Jin knew they were supposed to inspect the tunnel today, this hardly looked like a tunnel inspection. The cavalry behind them, armored and ready, made him feel as if a rebellion was about to break out.

“Hunting!”

Hunting? What kind of hunt was this? Was there nothing serious to attend to? Just as he was about to speak, Shen Yanxi pinched his thigh, prompting Lu Jin to scoot away, thinking, “This isn’t my fault.”

To distract himself, Lu Jin turned his gaze to the sides—and indeed, he noticed something. On either side rode two women, one named Shu Qing, while the other clearly wasn’t one of Shen Yanxi’s maids. Her long hair flew behind her, her expression stern, one hand gripping the reins, the other wielding a gleaming sword, sitting astride her horse with heroic poise. Lu Jin couldn’t help but praise her in his heart: What a splendid heroine.

Shu Qing, too, was impressive; who would have guessed she could ride so swiftly? Isn’t she supposed to be a maid?

But the oddest of all was Shen Yanxi herself. Are you sure you’re a lady of a noble family? Nothing about her now resembled her usual self. She even pinched him—if only she didn’t look so stunning.

Lu Jin realized the group was traveling swiftly along deserted streets, moving so fast that any passersby quickly made way. In no time, they reached the city gate. Lu Jin stared in disbelief: this was the north gate—were they really going hunting?

As he questioned, the group suddenly veered eastward. Fine, hunt if you want. Resigned, Lu Jin rested his head against Shen Yanxi’s back—she was his wife, after all, so why not hold her close?

Shen Yanxi’s face blushed crimson at Lu Jin’s embrace, grateful for the veil she wore. Shen Qingyun, riding behind, wore a face as dark as iron, glaring fiercely at Lu Jin. Little did Lu Jin know he had yet another rival lurking behind.

The group galloped around the city, finally arriving near the east gate.

“Yuanfang, lead the way!” At this moment, Shen Yanxi was no longer the refined lady of a noble house but a commanding general. Lu Jin couldn’t help but wonder where she had learned all this. Didn’t she ever rest? He himself had endured hardship as a child, but nothing like this. Shen Yanxi would have been a top student in his previous life—how else could she master so much?

After some time, the group finally halted. If Shen Qingyun had heard them described as “galloping,” he’d have scoffed—this was hardly true galloping.

“Still not letting go?” Shen Yanxi complained, annoyed. Her back was drenched in sweat.

“Oh? Right, right!” Lu Jin quickly slid off the horse, reluctant to part from such a comfortable embrace.

The household soldiers swiftly set up camp nearby. Shen Yanxi, accompanied by Lu Jin’s maids, settled in the center to rest.

“Shen Qingyun!”

“Miss!”

“Send forty men to hunt at Qingfeng Plain.”

“The rest, follow Yuanfang and Xiaobai to locate the tunnel entrance. Once found, enter and search, then map out the tunnels.”

“Yes, Miss!”

The group dispersed, each to their task. Lu Jin sat quietly, realizing his help wasn’t needed and feeling no urge to rise.

“That was Shen Qingyun, the Shen family’s captain. He commands five hundred household soldiers. If you need help, you can go to him.” Shen Yanxi, having calmed her fluttering heart, turned to inform Lu Jin.

“Alright,” Lu Jin replied, though he didn’t take it seriously; why would others help him?

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“He’s trustworthy. Use him as you like.” Shen Yanxi understood Lu Jin’s concerns well. She had noticed he rarely troubled those he didn’t know well, lacking the awareness of a son-in-law of the Shen family.

“Let’s go have a look!” Shen Yanxi took a sip of water.

They approached the tunnel entrance, finding many already inside. Shen Yanxi gazed around, her eyes lingering on the distant Lan River, lost in thought.

“Yanxi, let’s go back. We can wait in the city courtyard.” Lu Jin thought unpleasant things might emerge later, and certainly didn’t want Shen Yanxi traversing the tunnel herself. That would never do.

“Alright. Xiaobai, Yuanfang, you come with us. Qingyun, stay here. Once the tunnel is fully explored, seal both entrances.” Shen Yanxi instructed.

“Miss, shall I send someone to escort you back?” Shen Qingyun asked.

“No need. Su Nian is with us. Just see to things here.” Only now did Lu Jin learn the heroic woman’s name was Su Nian.

Without lingering, the group mounted up and re-entered the city through the east gate, now only five or six in number.

Arriving before the courtyard, Shen Yanxi frowned at the dilapidated scene. Led by Xiaobai and Yuanfang, she inspected the entire grounds, finally reaching the well in the back yard, where several household soldiers had already emerged.

“Nanqu, what do you think?” Shen Yanxi glanced at the well.

“Let’s buy this courtyard.” Lu Jin couldn’t shake an uneasy sense of danger. A tunnel leading directly outside the city might prove useful someday.

“Shu Qing, follow your master’s wishes… then inform Shen Qingyun to station a squad of soldiers here.”

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Apart from preparing to return home, Lu Jin spent the past ten days on several matters.

First was fabricating “Dream of the Red Chamber.” He had written up to twenty chapters, brimming with endless tales of love.

This novel had become a must-read among the ladies of Jianlin City, spreading rapidly to other major cities, especially in the great Liang where noble families abound. It was particularly favored by daughters of such families.

Using the story as bait, Lu Jin had successfully enticed Shen Yanxi, who ordered Shen family’s bookstore to print and distribute copies to all shops. The quality of the books was assured.

Normally, publishing in ancient times was hardly profitable—the cost of paper and woodblock printing was high. The more printed, the greater the loss.

But Lu Jin’s target audience was wealthy families, beloved daughters willing to spend a few taels of silver for a lifetime collectible. With a high-spending clientele and top-quality books, Lu Jin made some profit. And this was just the beginning; future earnings looked promising.

Still, publishing wasn’t a lucrative business overall, unless paper and printing costs could be drastically reduced. This venture was mainly to please Shen Yanxi.

Second, together with Jiang Shaonian, he invested a thousand taels of silver to take over a nearly bankrupt restaurant, renaming it “Breeze and Moon Pavilion.”

The Breeze and Moon Pavilion had opened just two days ago, packed and unable to meet demand. Why? Because its dishes were stir-fried—a novelty in Liang, with vibrant colors, aromas, and flavors.

Scarce dishes combined with familiar marketing tricks from his previous life made it easy for the Breeze and Moon Pavilion to take Jianlin by storm.

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Yet Lu Jin still held his real trump card in reserve; he was lazy, and there was no way to produce liquor in such a short time.

But with his planned liquor and the restaurant’s current popularity, Lu Jin was confident about its future. Once he made the liquor, wouldn’t it sweep across Jiangzhou?

As for problems arising from brewing, Lu Jin wasn’t worried. If push came to shove, he’d let Shen Yanxi handle it. If even the Shen family couldn’t manage, there’d be no hope for him.

Management of the Breeze and Moon Pavilion was left entirely to Jiang Shaonian; Lu Jin only visited occasionally. He couldn’t be seen front and center—as a son-in-law of the Shen family, it was a matter of pride. If he lost face, so would the Shen family.

Third was his money-making weapon—distilled spirits. Complicated processes weren’t his forte, but he could assemble a distillation apparatus. Brewing could be left to others; he would simply refine the product. Perhaps the Shen family already had a brewing business.

After five ruined pots, today he finally succeeded in producing liquor. The first stage of experimentation was complete.

The helpers were arranged by Su Bo, steward of Creek Garden. Lu Jin had never intended to hide the brewing from the Shen family; he couldn’t manage alone, lacking both manpower and influence. But that didn’t matter—Shen Yanxi had both.

Now, the goal was to improve yield and efficiency. He didn’t need high alcohol content—just a few degrees higher than the world’s current ten-something would guarantee sales.

Also needed was a way to measure alcohol content and establish standards. For now, he planned to offer thirty, forty, and fifty-degree spirits for sale. Higher proof would be kept for family or other uses.

How to measure alcohol? He had no idea. Lu Jin could only suggest a few methods: ask seasoned drinkers to taste, ignite the spirits directly, or judge based on stages of distillation. The specifics would be left for them to figure out, as long as they developed a controllable, quantifiable indicator. Perhaps their “fifty-degree” spirits would actually exceed sixty, lacking scientific benchmarks.

That was trivial; Lu Jin only needed a clear commercial standard, not a scientific one.

So, the task now was to keep experimenting and summarizing. He only needed results.

Aside from these endeavors, Lu Jin was scheduled to return to Shangqing County’s Xiahe Village tomorrow.

The thought of this return made him anxious and uneasy. But he had no choice; he could not delay any longer and could only brace himself for fate’s judgment.

His mother stood behind the village, waiting in vain for her son’s return…

His childhood sweetheart, now his wife, struggled to support their child…

The tyrannical landlord and his band of vicious servants blocked the door, demanding payment…

Shen Yanxi and his original wife, swords drawn, ready for confrontation…

He himself was cursed as a heartless scoundrel by the whole village…

Thinking of all this, Lu Jin’s head throbbed painfully. Heaven, are you just toying with me?