A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 103

Chapter 103
“Wen Yu!” Song Shang sat up straight, his expression turning serious.

“To marry you, I offered the Wen family a bride price of two hundred thousand taels of silver! But this silver is not just mine, it’s also yours!”

“What are you saying?” Wen Yu asked in surprise.

“You are the one who’s redeeming yourself from the Wen family! And I simply like you…”

“But how is the silver mine?”

“Do you remember that year, when you and Yan Zhu were working with salt in the Bamboo Garden? You gave me the recipe, and I spent a long time on it, finally making a finished product, named Xiaoxiang Salt. Through some maneuvering, it became tribute salt. Now, in the capital…all the wealthy and influential families are eating it.”

“Ah?! You’re saying…that time, you snatched my recipe, that’s the current Xiaoxiang Salt…”

“You gave me the recipe willingly!”

“I didn’t! You snatched it!”

“You did, you even wrote me an IOU.”

“Shameless!” Wen Yu stopped crying, her sadness gone, her eyes fixed on Song Shang. “How much have you earned?!”

Song Shang was both angry and amused. “Quite a bit. But the output is not large, and the time is short, not many families can afford it, so until now, I haven’t earned two hundred thousand.”

“So, that’s really my silver!” Wen Yu readily agreed.

“Hehe…it’s not that simple. I’ve improved your recipe many times to get it to its current form. More accurately, it’s ours! Ah Yu, between you and me, it’s not just affection. Such an important matter has already bound us together.”

“Are you worried that I will leak this matter?”

“No…”

“You just said, only the two of us know how to make it. What if I also find a way to start making it? You won’t have exclusivity, so you want to keep me under your control?”

“Ah Yu, I’m not underestimating you. This matter, you can’t do it. The white powder in the bamboo tube, to ultimately become tribute salt, how much silver did I pour into it, how much effort did I put in?

Do you think no one is envious of such a good thing coming into existence? How many people came to me to buy the recipe, inquire, steal, guess? Just look at how long Song Lao Si has been messing around, spending silver and losing people…hehe!” Song Shang sneered arrogantly.

“Just you, can you protect it? Moreover, the time you succeeded, there was a lot of chance involved, even if you try again, it may not necessarily work!”

Wen Yu blinked, but she was clearly unconvinced.

“Wen Yu, since I can be honest with you about this matter, I’m not afraid. Moreover, I’ll tell you, we’ve started this, sooner or later someone will imitate it! Besides, even if you tell someone, who would believe you? If I don’t admit it, who can do anything to me?”

“Aren’t you afraid of the Wen family?”

Song Wu looked at her steadily.

“If my grandfather and grandmother knew about this, if they didn’t bite off half of the Song family, I’d have spoken for nothing!” Wen Yu threatened.

“You!” Song Wu looked at her furiously, then suddenly burst into laughter. “Haha, the Wen family…Ah Yu! Even if the Wen family took it, do you think it would have anything to do with you?

You think I’m afraid of your father who got promoted?! You think Old Madam Wen is particularly fond of me not because she can’t earn any silver even though she’s guarding the family property, so she has to rely on me, and no matter what, she has to cater to me?” He had a cunning and sly look on his face.

“Yeah! You’re so capable! She even promised her legitimate eldest granddaughter to you as a concubine!”

“Wen Yu!” Song Shang glared at her.

“Fifth Brother…” Wen Yu said sadly again. “In this life, I not only have wishes to fulfill, but I also want to live a good life. I don’t want to have contact with those people who always bring me sadness.” Seeing him would remind her of the misery of her past life, at least for now, she couldn’t get over it.

But Song Shang didn’t know what she was thinking, and earnestly promised: “I won’t bring you sadness. Look, if you marry me, you can do whatever you want, I will never restrict you. You can do whatever you want, go out whenever you want. If you are dissatisfied with the Wen family, I can help you the most. Really, everything will be up to you.”

It must be said that Old Madam Wen still had some foresight. She knew this situation would arise…

“If you don’t want to have children, that’s up to you too. No matter what you do, I will definitely be your biggest support!”

Wen Yu had a splitting headache. What was wrong with this person?!

“I respect you, so I’m talking to you so sincerely. Otherwise, as long as your grandmother agrees, you would have to marry me even if you don’t want to!” He turned to threats again.

“Fine! Then, when the time comes, it will either be you, the widower, marrying again, or me, the widow, remarrying!” Wen Yu said in a fit of pique.

“You…” Song Wu pointed at Wen Yu, so angry he couldn’t speak. “Do you really not want to be with me?”

“I don’t!” Wen Yu said resolutely.

Song Shang’s heart suddenly felt empty, feeling that all his efforts and planning were meaningless. His nose twitched, and tears actually fell from his eyes.

This made Wen Yu flustered. “What are you doing…”

Song Wu lowered his head, sitting there blankly, tears streaming down his face. “The year before last, you made a piece of embroidery for my mother, deliberately leaving a part unfinished, saying you couldn’t do it well, and asking my mother for guidance. My mother was very good at embroidery when she was young. Not knowing your intentions, she explained it to you very seriously, teaching you hand in hand…

The two of you were whispering and laughing, the sunlight falling on you, it was so beautiful…Thinking of Wei Shi’s inherent arrogance in front of my mother! So, from that moment on, I knew I had to give up on her and be with you.”

Wen Yu felt a bit sad. “That’s because of all the relatives, your mother was the best to me! Fifth Brother, if you didn’t propose marriage, we would still be relatives…”

“But, there’s one more thing…” Song Shang wiped his tears. “It’s also a secret between the two of us.”

“There’s more?!” What else was there? Wen Yu felt like she had lived her life in vain!

“You don’t even remember…You were five years old, Zhu Zhu was a little over six. I had already started to get involved in family affairs then. Several masters were teaching me, they liked me very much and often praised me. Song Wei, he was the eldest son of my second uncle, my second elder brother, do you remember him?”

Wen Yu blinked, she had a vague impression. “Quite tall, quite fat, loved to laugh, but never paid attention to me…”

At that time, only this guy in front of her was good to her and Zhu Zhu. The most hateful was Song Si, who always bullied her.

✿✿✿

“It’s him. One day, he gave me a note, which said some very unpleasant things about my mother, and asked me to meet him at the narrow passage behind the bamboo grove where the wall was broken. Actually, I was usually wary of them. But him saying those things about my mother…I couldn’t stand it, I didn’t tell anyone, and I went there with a dagger.”

“Hehe, he wanted to kill me, he brought a knife. Maybe he was afraid of others knowing too, he didn’t tell anyone, he came alone. I knew I couldn’t beat him, so as soon as we met, I took out the dagger.”

“During the fight, he knocked it away from me, I kicked him, and he backed up, leaning against the wall. Then he laughed as he drew his knife, still cursing my mother.”

“I panicked and rushed towards him. He grabbed me with one hand and raised his knife with the other…”

“Ah…” He described it vividly, Wen Yu vaguely remembered seeing that scene…

“At this time, a large brick fell from the top of the broken wall and hit him on the head. It knocked him unconscious immediately. I looked up and saw you and Zhu Zhu.”

“Ah?!” Wen Yu squinted, thinking carefully, it seemed like…

“That brick was very heavy, the two of you pushed it down together. Seeing him fall to the ground bleeding, the two of you were also scared silly, lying on the wall, just watching and not moving. I shouted at you: Run away quickly. Don’t tell anyone about this! Then the two of you ran away.”

“Why can’t I remember…So he didn’t disappear, he died?”

“Yes.” Song Shang replied coldly.

“It was me and Zhu Zhu…” Wen Yu wondered, but didn’t dare to ask.

“No! He woke up later. Hehe, he threatened, begged, promised, repented, played the brotherly affection card, he used every trick in the book. I was unmoved and killed him. I buried him on the spot…Later, when the bamboo garden was rebuilt, he was moved.”

“So that’s how it was…”

“He may have looked honest because he was tall and fat, but in fact, he was really talented, much better than his younger brother. If he were alive, it wouldn’t have been so easy for me to control the Song family! But I am the legitimate eldest son of the main branch, he probably felt he couldn’t compete with me. So, he wanted me to die like my elder brother.”

“Your elder brother was also…”

“Presumed to be by the second uncle’s family. But the evidence is long gone.”

“So, not only did I earn you so much silver, but I’m also your lifesaver?” Wen Yu suddenly became emboldened.

The turn was a bit fast, Song Shang’s tears hadn’t dried yet. He nodded. “…You could say that!”

“Oh, Fifth Brother, you see, without me, there would be no prosperous you today. Right? But speaking of this, there’s no need to be so serious, you can settle my contribution with silver!”

“Wen Yu!” Song Shang was quite angry.

“I’m serious! How about this, four hundred thousand taels of silver! Two hundred thousand for the Xiaoxiang Salt recipe, two hundred thousand for Fifth Master Song’s life, not too much, right?!”

“Marry me, the silver and I will all be yours.”

“No way!”

There really was no way… “Who does the Qi family want you to marry? Fourth Young Master or…”

“Fifth Young Master!”

“…” Song Shang knew that person. “No wonder…”

“Understandable, right?! Four hundred thousand taels of silver, how about it?” Wen Yu actually smiled.

“Wen Yu! Don’t go too far, don’t make me regret confiding in you…”

“Song Shang, you don’t go too far either, don’t make me regret that I was ignorant and risked saving the wrong person!”

Song Shang was so choked up that he said hatefully: “The Qi family is very rich, what do you need silver for?”

“Of course I have uses for it, there are so many things I want to do! You’ll know when the time comes.” Wen Yu’s face turned cold.

“You still blame the Wen family, right?! But if you really marry into the Qi family, the Wen family will change!”

“I don’t really care, but the Wen family…will change!”

Song Wu sat there, looking at her, motionless for a long time. He didn’t expect that his conversation with her would turn out like this.

He had said what he needed to say, he had cried what he needed to cry, he had even revealed such important secrets, but it still didn’t work.

“Ah Yu, even if you don’t marry me, I will still be very good to you. But I’m not happy!” Song Shang said helplessly.

“But I’m very happy!” Wen Yu smiled, the room brightening up.

“Since you’ve agreed so readily, I’ll be kind enough to give you one more push. First, don’t trust Song Tao, and don’t let him use Madam Xu’s youngest son. Second, Wei Shi, she agreed to the divorce, perhaps because she’s climbed onto a higher branch, you now…maybe you already have a head full of green grass. Also, she won’t let you and me off!”

“How do you know this?” Song Shang was very shocked.

“Don’t ask! We’ve been through so much together, don’t you understand? Just trust me!”

Happy weekend! I heard that today we’re on the Qingyun recommendation list, congratulations to everyone…Here’s a three thousand word chapter!

There are causes and effects, many people didn’t understand before, now how do you all feel about the way they get along?