Chapter 126: Preparing the Betrothal Gifts (Part II)

Only then did Su Fan enter the storage room. After roughly counting, he realized there were probably over a thousand treasure pouches on the shelves. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Seventeenth Brother, comparing oneself to others really is a matter of life and death.”

“I left the mansion early and gathered all these fascinating things. Saving some money is nothing unusual,” Su Nanxing said as he removed the seals from two treasure pouches and handed them to Su Fan. “Here, these are for you.”

Su Fan eagerly took them, pricked his finger to drip blood, and quickly examined their contents. One contained over a hundred pieces of rare metal, while the other held various rare woods of incalculable value. He suddenly felt uneasy. “Seventeenth Brother, isn’t this too much?”

“Take them. Mingming really likes you,” Su Nanxing replied, weaving between the shelves with a basket in hand, occasionally plucking a treasure pouch and dropping it inside.

Su Fan nervously produced a cold metal brick, roughly shaped like a tile, and gently caressed it as if stroking a lover’s face. His mood soared to the heavens. But when he heard that Mingming liked him, he jumped in surprise. “Seventeenth Brother, don’t scare me like that.”

“What are you thinking? Mingming likes you as a younger brother,” Su Nanxing said, eyeing the nearly hundred treasure pouches in the basket, wondering if the most valuable ones were all here and if the rest were unnecessary.

Su Fan silently put away the cold metal, feeling a pang of bitterness. He couldn’t hold back and asked, “Seventeenth Brother, is that really true?”

“True or not?” Su Nanxing was still pondering whether to take more items.

Su Fan muttered, “I’ve never been well regarded in the mansion. Not to mention the other brothers, even Su Pei refuses to acknowledge me. Does Sister-in-law really see me as a younger brother?”

Su Nanxing walked over and punched Su Fan lightly on the chest. “A real man doesn’t act like a little girl.”

Su Fan blinked, holding back tears, and stared at Su Nanxing in silence.

“Besides me, guess which other man has spent hours alone with Softy?” Su Nanxing reminded him, seeing his gloomy expression.

Su Fan tried to recall but responded uncertainly, “Me?”

“That’s right. Not even Qiao Kongqing has had the chance.”

Su Fan remembered how Tao Ming and Qiao Kongqing often bickered and hesitantly said, “Seventeenth Brother, there’s something off between Sister-in-law and Qiao Kongqing.”

“They’re just friends.” Su Nanxing would never admit that Qiao Kongqing was nothing but a big liar.

“I thought you were quite angry then…”

Shaking his head with a smile, Su Nanxing said, “That was just for show, to make others think I value Mingming.”

“So… you actually don’t care about Sister-in-law at all?” Su Fan was puzzled.

Su Nanxing punched him again. “Are you really stupid or just pretending?”

Su Fan rubbed the sore spot, utterly confused by the complicated nature of relationships between men and women.

“Forget it. Just remember that Mingming sees you as a younger brother,” Su Nanxing gave up hope in Su Fan.

Su Fan grinned broadly. “From now on, I must cling tightly to Sister-in-law’s thigh.”

“Stay away from my wife!” Su Nanxing said, then couldn’t help but laugh.

Warmth surged in Su Fan’s heart as he looked at the basket in Su Nanxing’s hand. “Seventeenth Brother, what are you going to do with all these?”

“Tomorrow, we’re delivering the betrothal gifts to the Qin family.” Su Nanxing lifted his foot to leave, planning to give the items to Qiao Ruowei to pack.

Su Fan followed and declared, “I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

...

At the entrance of the large storage room, they found Qiao Ruowei. Watching the many servants bustling in and out, Su Fan thought again, comparing oneself to others really is a matter of life and death.

Su Nanxing handed the basket to Qiao Ruowei. “Mother, this is my private collection. Let’s pack it together.”

“How can I use your private stash?” Qiao Ruowei refused.

Su Nanxing stuffed the basket into her hands. “Mother, it’s for the family’s honor. The more, the better.”

Only then did Qiao Ruowei accept the basket, inspecting each item before teasing, “Did you bring your entire fortune?”

“Mother, don’t mock me. My little stash can’t compare to yours.”

The entire afternoon, Su Nanxing accompanied Qiao Ruowei preparing the betrothal gifts, while Su Fan helped here and there.

Su Nanxing meticulously wrote the list of gifts in black characters on red silk, each item on a separate line. The ribbon, one foot wide, stretched nearly thirty yards long.

After Qiao Ruowei carefully checked everything and confirmed no mistakes, she handed the list to Su Nanxing and asked the steward in charge of the servants and carriages, “Steward Zhao, are the men and vehicles ready?”

Steward Zhao respectfully replied, “Madam, both men and carriages have long been prepared. They can be loaded immediately.”

“Watch over the loading. I’m going back to rest.” Qiao Ruowei, exhausted from the afternoon’s work, felt weary.

Qiao Ruowei returned to the Wei Xiang Courtyard with Su Nanxing and Su Fan, warning Su Nanxing, “Don’t oversleep tomorrow. Don’t miss the auspicious hour.”

“Mother, don’t worry. I’ll be back early. I definitely won’t miss it.”

Qiao Ruowei teased, “You’re not staying at the mansion tonight?”

“I want Mingming.” Su Nanxing thought Qiao Kongqing might still be at the Qin residence, which was infuriating.

“The wedding is just days away. Can’t you wait?”

Su Nanxing said dejectedly, “Mingming is still mad at me. I have to go and make it up to her.”

Qiao Ruowei’s expression darkened. “She hasn’t even stepped into the door, and her temper is already this fierce.”

“Mother, it’s all my fault. Sister-in-law overheard some unpleasant things,” Su Fan hurriedly recounted the earlier incident.

Qiao Ruowei’s face tightened. “Men having multiple wives and concubines is common. Are you saying you won’t take concubines in the future?”

“Mother, Father didn’t take any concubines either.” Su Nanxing could only use Su Yanfeng as a scapegoat.

Suddenly, Qiao Ruowei burst out laughing. “Enough, I’m not teasing you anymore. Go on.”

Su Nanxing and Su Fan left the Wei Xiang Courtyard. Su Fan wiped imaginary cold sweat from his forehead. “I thought Mother was going to scold me again.”

“You should go rest too. Remember to get up early tomorrow.” Su Nanxing hurried out, leaving the words behind as he strode away.

Su Nanxing left the Su Mansion, turning into a quiet alley. After disguising himself, he mounted his dragon horse and sped southward.

After leaving the southern gate of the imperial city and walking south for a quarter of an hour, he turned west and walked another half hour before arriving at an inn.

Circling around to the back door, Su Nanxing reined in the dragon horse, knocked a secret code on the door frame, and soon a young servant silently came to escort him inside.

He hurried into a side room in the back courtyard where miscellaneous items were piled. In the corner, a worn table held some broken objects commonly found in inns, all covered in dust.

Su Nanxing crouched down, feeling around the legs of the table, then stood and pressed firmly on a spot half a meter above the ground on the opposite corner of the wall. A two-person wide door silently slid open in the wall next to it.

He slipped inside, closed the door behind him, and hurried upstairs. After about fifteen minutes, he reached a spacious room.

A few people were chatting inside but fell silent at Su Nanxing’s arrival.

Su Nanxing sat down, scanning each of them with a furrowed brow. “Why isn’t Yuehua here?”

You’an reported, “Master, Yuehua has not returned yet. He sent word that the target has recently shown unusual activity.”

“Hm.” Su Nanxing tossed Lingqing and Lingqian to the ground and ordered, “Devourer, interrogate them carefully. Don’t kill them.”

Devourer, clad in black robes with his face hidden beneath a hood, rasped, “At your command, master.”