"What are you thinking about?" Seeing Jiang Shu stunned, Shen Changze couldn't help but be curious.
"The scene stirred up emotion, and I thought of the wedding day." Jiang Shu came back to his senses and stopped thinking about it.
"I have wronged you in the past few years, and I will make it up to you in the future." Shen Changze tried to remember, but he couldn't remember what she looked like on the wedding day.
Jiang Shu smiled and refused to comment.
The general who was fighting on the battlefield carefully applied it to her hands with the hand that wielded a sword and held a gun. He would be lying if he said he wouldn't touch her hands.
In order to hide the throbbing in his heart, Jiang Shu casually brought up a topic: "Borders, battlefields... what are they like?"
"Beacon smoke and yellow sand, strong wind and cold snow, sword flashes and bloody shadows, corpses littering the fields..." The border in Shen Changze's words was not very good.
Jiang Shu lowered his eyes and saw a thin scar on the back of Shen Changze's hand, so he asked him, "Have you had a hard time these past few years?"
Hearing her concern for him, Shen Changze was shocked. His Adam's apple rolled and his voice was hoarse: "The first time I went to the battlefield, I was shocked by the cruelty of war. I was stunned and gave the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of me. At the critical moment, Master blocked me. In front of me, a machete pierced his chest, and hot blood splashed all over my face."
"An enemy attacked me at night. I was stabbed in the chest by a spear while I was unconscious. I almost died. It was Jinchu who killed the enemy and saved me..."
"After escaping from death several times, I finally gained experience and learned to always be vigilant and protect myself. Although I still cannot avoid injuries, I can always survive. Those injuries are nothing, and they will be healed in a few days."
Listening to his calm tone, Jiang Shu felt a little ashamed. Compared to the injuries he suffered on the battlefield, her burns were nothing to mention.
But she still felt pain, excruciating pain.
"Jinchu also has good martial arts skills, and he is no worse than a man in killing enemies in battle. He has followed me through life and death over the years, leaving scars all over his body. If he were in Shangjing, he might not be able to get married."
Speaking of Cheng Jinchu, Shen Changze felt guilt and distress in his eyes, which combined into a strong love that took root in his heart.
Jiang Shu knew that she could not compare to Cheng Jinchu no matter what.
"You have suffered." Jiang Shu said sincerely.
Putting aside their personal grudges, Shen Changze and Cheng Jinchu deserved her admiration for protecting their home and country.
Shen Changze shook his head: "This hardship is nothing compared to other soldiers. Moreover, we are luckier than them and can return to Shangjing alive. I am very satisfied."
Jiang Shu felt a little relieved after hearing him talk calmly about his narrow escape over the years.
But if she feels sorry for others, who will feel sorry for her?
It is not easy for her to support a defeated Hou Mansion with her weak body. It's just that she has nowhere to tell her difficulties and can only bury them in her heart.
Not wanting to think about this anymore, Jiang Shu closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
The night breeze was slightly cool. When Shen Changze saw that she was asleep, he gently carried her to the bed.
Jiang Shu was very light, so light that he felt unsteady at all when he held her in his arms.
After pulling the brocade quilt over to cover her, Shen Changze replaced it with a piece of ice and continued to apply it to her hands.
The person on the bed was sleeping uneasily, frowning and stirring at times.
Shen Changze was afraid that she would get the back of her hand, so he had to grab her Hao wrist with his hand.
From such a close distance, it was clear enough to see her distinct long eyelashes, not to mention her exquisitely carved face and eyebrows.
Everyone in the world loves beauty, and he is not exempt from vulgarity.
His eyes followed the exquisite and upturned nose and fell on the cherry red lips, unable to stop his throat from rolling.
This is his wife.
Chewing these words, Shen Changze felt a hint of sweetness in his heart and leaned over to kiss Jiang Shu's smooth forehead.
The next day, it was bright when Jiang Shu woke up.
"Tanyu, what time is it?"
"It's past half-hour, Madam, do you still feel pain?" Tan Yu helped Jiang Shu get up.
Jiang Shu lowered his eyes and looked at the back of his hand, which had reduced swelling: "It doesn't hurt anymore."
She searched around the house and found no sign of Shen Changze, so he must have left.
Seeing what she was thinking, Tan Yu said: "Master Hou stayed with my wife all night and gave her medicine at dawn before leaving."
"He kept watch all night?" Jiang Shu couldn't believe it.
Tan Yu nodded: "Chu Yu also stayed outside the house all night, delivering ice every half an hour. I saw it with my own eyes."
Originally, Tan Yu didn't want to see Shen Changze, but now she has changed her mind: "I feel that the Marquis still has a wife in his heart."
But she was not the only one in his heart.
Jiang Shu remained silent, put on her shoes and socks, and let Tan Yu help her wash up, then sat in front of the bronze mirror to dress up.
In Lanyun Courtyard, Yan Yang and Yan Huan were playing in the yard, while Cheng Jinchu was checking the account books in the house.
Although she was literate, the account books of the Hou Mansion were complicated and difficult for her to read, and many parts were not clear to her.
She wanted to ask Shen Changze, but he had just taken a break, and he was a man who did not necessarily understand the affairs of the back house. After much thought, she took the account book to find her mother-in-law, Mrs. Lin.
"What? Jiang Shu asked you to take charge of the house." Mother Shen was so shocked that she almost choked on her tea.
Seeing Shen's mother's reaction, Cheng Jinchu thought he didn't trust her, so he vowed: "Don't worry, mother, I will do my best."
Mother Shen waved her hand: "It's not that I don't worry about you, it's just that you don't understand the Hou Mansion. Not just anyone can control this family."
Mother Shen sighed and didn't know how to tell her. After all, it was not a glorious thing.
"When I first arrived at the Hou Mansion, I really didn't understand anything. I hope my mother will give me some advice." Cheng Jinchu was determined.
She didn't believe it. How could running a household be more difficult than going into battle to kill the enemy?
"Alas!" At this point, Mother Shen knew that she wouldn't listen to anything she said, so she could only speak with facts.
"Don't worry about the account books for now. Come with me to the warehouse and take a look."
The warehouse really needed to be inventoried, but Cheng Jinchu didn't think anything of it and took the key and followed Shen's mother.
The warehouse of the Hou Mansion is large, but it is very empty, with only a dozen wooden boxes.
Shen's mother asked someone to open it, and Cheng Jinchu saw that the wooden boxes contained antiques, calligraphy, paintings and other utensils. There were only two boxes of silver and one box of gold.
"This..." Cheng Jinchu couldn't believe that the huge Hou Mansion only had this little property.
Shen's mother dismissed the servants and said with shame: "The Hou Mansion has been gradually declining since twenty years ago. Nagasawa's father left early, and I, a woman, don't know how to make money. If not, how could I marry a merchant?" The woman is the mistress.”
Even so, she also felt that Jiang Shu's marriage into the Hou Mansion was a high one.
"So all the expenses of Jiang Shu's family come from herself?" At this moment, Cheng Jinchu finally understood what Mother Shen said.
It’s true that not everyone can run this business.
Mother Shen was ashamed: "If it weren't for her, the Hou Mansion would have been ruined long ago."
Cheng Jinchu squeezed the key in his hand, his face turned cold.
No wonder Jiang Shu gave up the power of the family so generously because he wanted to dig a hole and humiliate her.
She heard Shen Changze say that Jiang Shu was the daughter of a wealthy businessman in Beijing, and she had nothing but a lot of money.
"Let's go back and look at the account books first." Cheng Jinchu took a deep breath and walked out of the warehouse, his figure resolute and determined.
Shen's mother wanted to persuade her to return the power of the family to Jiang Shu, but she didn't know how to say it.
She couldn't afford to offend either of her two daughters-in-law.
