The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

“Dayong brought wheat-colored apricots from home today, they’re big, sweet, and so delicious. The apricot tree has been around since my childhood, I wouldn’t dare say it grows the best apricots, but for a few neighboring villages, one might find it hard to buy apricots as sweet as these ones.”

Mrs. Ye laughed, “Take some home, let Miss Sui taste them. If she finds them delicious, come back and get more. We have several trees at home, we can’t finish them all when they’re ripe. Don’t worry about not having enough to eat.” “Okay, thank you Aunt.” After expressing her gratitude, Zhuang Qingning took the apricots and went home.

On the way, she ran into Ye Dayong, who was returning home. They chatted briefly before she continued on her way home.

By the time she arrived home, Zhuang Qingning had already run to two households to deliver the pork head meat, and was cutting the meat.

Despite Zhuang Qingsui’s proficiency in various tasks, especially chopping vegetables and meat, Zhuang Qingning couldn’t bear to let her beloved sister, who was also her only blood relative and an obedient girl, do something potentially dangerous. She quickly took over the knife.

“I’ll cut it, you peel a green onion, then wash a couple of coriander stalks. We’ll mix it with the spicy chili oil I cooked.”

“Okay.” Zhuang Qingsui agreed, and quickly started peeling the green onions and pulling out coriander.

The chili oil Zhuang Qingning made was bright red and deliciously fragrant, yet it wasn’t overly spicy. The meat mixed with this chili oil tasted rich and full-bodied. Along with scallion pancakes and egg soup, it was nothing short of delicious.

After the sisters finished eating, as was customary, they went to check on the tofu workshop and didn’t return home to sleep until late that night.

With the high moon, the low humming of insects, a gentle breeze against their faces, and the swaying tree branches, the misty moonlight spilled all over the ground, casting scattered tree shadows.

A dark figure slipped through the door crack, treading intentionally to reach a ‘Osmanthus’ tree.

Following closely, another figure arrived, and together they hurried to the corner gate.

“Sir, are you sure we can escape from this courtyard?” Chu Jinzhou asked nervously, looking up with his sleeves in his fist.

Since Fan Wenxuan arrived, in order to prevent him from taking Chu Jinzhou out privately to dangerous places, Ning Feng had repeatedly instructed his subordinates to guard the gate.

As long as the gate was guarded, no matter how unexpectedly Fan Wenxuan acted, they would always be within Qingzhuyuan, within a controllable range, and would not make any big mistakes.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that, at this point, Qingzhuyuan was an impregnable fortress. For him and Fan Wenxuan, it was almost impossible to successfully bribe the servants guarding the corner gate and secretly slip out of Qingzhuyuan.

“Don’t worry, I have already surveyed the terrain and prepared everything.” Fan Wenxuan beckoned to Chu Jinzhou, “Follow me.”

“Where are we going?” asked Chu Jinzhou.

“Out.” Fan Wenxuan answered in a low voice.

“But…” Chu Jinzhou was full of doubts, “Isn’t the gate over there?”

“Silly student.” Fan Wenxuan pulled up the corners of his mouth, “Sure, there is a gate here, but if you can’t get out, it’s not a gate. ‘Out’ implies that you can get out. You should be more flexible in your thinking, not dwelling on literal meanings and nitpicking.”

“I see.” Chu Jinzhou agreed verbally, but he was still confused. He followed Fan Wenxuan until they reached a tung tree. Seeing Fan Wenxuan rolling up his sleeves and tucking the corners of his long gown into his belt, he was taken aback.

“Sir, are you planning to climb the tree, then jump off from the tree?”

“At least you figured it out.” Fan Wenxuan gave Chu Jinzhou a dissatisfied glance.

This student of his was bright, indeed. He was extraordinary when it came to learning characters, reciting literature, and practicing calligraphy. He understood the context of books instantly. From a learning standpoint, he was a good student.

Regrettably, Chu Jinzhou had been taught to be too mature since he was young. Unwedged in mischief and enthusiasm of childhood, he was overly sensible. Whatever request he made as a teacher, his student would neither be surprised nor refute it.

In rare cases when they had differing opinions, the student would engage him in emotional debates and logical reasoning until he wore out.

Chu Jinzhou lagged far behind the notorious rascal Chu Jinnian. It was strange that these siblings could be so different.

If he could have taught a young Chu Jinnian, it would have been much more interesting. Regrettably, his current behavior differed greatly from his childhood. Now, Chu Jinnian was uninteresting. His days were expressionless and conventional, with nothing reckless and random happening anymore. Boring, extremely boring!

Fan Wenxuan couldn’t help shaking his head in disappointment.

Upon seeing this, Chu Jinzhou asked anxiously, “Sir, is there anything wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Fan Wenxuan was pulled back to reality by the voice filled with anxiety. Looking at Chu Jinzhou with his little face full of concern, he felt slightly comforted.

After all, his student had a pure heart, was diligent with him, and respected and cherished him earnestly.

As for his overly strict character…

He would slowly teach him over time. Isn’t that what he was doing now?

Having thought about this, Fan Wenxuan felt a bit relieved. He lifted his hand and said, “It’s nothing, don’t worry.” Then, he pulled in the previously prepared rope with force.

“I’ve been observing this spot for a while. This tree is tall and its branches are robust. Conveniently, they extend over the wall. Later, you just need to pull this rope to climb the tree, then jump onto the wall from the tree branches, and finally jump from the wall to the outside. That way, everything will be fine.”

Fan Wenxuan pulled the rope, climbed up a bit more and said, “I’ll go first to show you. I’ll wait for you in the tree. If you can’t climb up, I can pull you up.” “Okay.” Chu Jinzhou nodded and reminded, “Sir, be careful, watch your feet.” “Don’t worry. In comparison, this tree is nothing. In the past, when I climbed mountains, I could tread as though on level ground even with only a pair of wooden clogs.”

As Fan Wenxuan spoke, he had already sat down on a branch, tossing the rope to Chu Jinzhou, “Hurry up, don’t let those servants notice.”

“Okay.” Chu Jinzhou nodded. Learning from Fan Wenxuan, he tied the corner of his long gown around his waist, rubbed his palms together, then started to climb the tree with the help of the rope.

As he hadn’t done such things before, despite being small and nimble, Chu Jinzhou still expended a lot of energy. He only managed to sit on a branch with the help of Fan Wenxuan.

“Finally, I’ve made it up.” Chu Jinchou released a sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat from his brow that had appeared due to his nerves..