Half a Jade Pendant

Su Hong felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his heart.

In the eyes of the Great General, he had now been reduced to the same level as the other merchants of Yunji City.

He could only line up to pay like everyone else, without the slightest bit of special treatment, even if he was more willing to part with his money, and even if he offered more.

A surging wave of discomfort boiled within him, making him somewhat unwilling to accept this reality.

Looking at the high walls of the General's Manor, Su Hong suddenly jumped up. He looked comical, rather like a kangaroo.

He wanted to see over the high walls into the courtyard to catch a glimpse of Su Jin, hoping she could put in a few good words for him in front of Great General Ren Tianye.

However, after jumping for a while, he stopped.

It wasn't because he was tired, but because he knew Su Jin's situation. She could only protect herself. As long as she didn't cause trouble, the Great General wouldn't do anything to her, but Su Jin had no real say within the General's Manor either.

He shouldn't let the Su family's messy actions cause Su Jin to suffer the Great General's anger again. If that happened, their Su family would be completely cut off from the General's Manor.

Forget it, forget it. If I have to line up, I'll line up. If I have to pay, I'll pay...

Su Hong turned back, taking a detour specifically to look at Su Xiu under the city wall. His usually arrogant second niece truly knew she was wrong this time; hanging on the wall, her face was covered in tears.

Unfortunately, he couldn't save her.

Then, walking toward one side of the city wall, he saw that a massive number of Yunji City merchants were already lining up.

Stepping closer, he found that there was an unexpectedly large number of people willing to pay, and they seemed quite proactive about it.

After asking around carefully, he learned that the Great General had given a contract to all the merchants who willingly offered money, stating that the money was borrowed from them.

The contract was made in triplicate: the merchant kept one copy, Yunji City kept one, and the Great General's army kept the third.

Everyone knows the barbarians are already in Shanhe City and could march south at any time. Our Yunji City will bear the brunt of it, and I fear it will fall soon.

The only one who can save us is the Great General.

Yet the Great General is only borrowing our money and even giving us contracts. Based on this alone, I am willing to swear loyalty to the Great General!

Someone said this to Su Hong.

This made Su Hong secretly alarmed.

Great General Ren Tianye was using their Su family as a warning to the others, and using the contracts as a dangling carrot. His masterful use of both the stick and the carrot made the merchants of Yunji City have no choice but to submit!

But the more he looked at it this way, the more severe his regret and remorse became. A Great General like this clearly had a massive chance of conquering the world.

Yet their Su family, who clearly had him in their grasp, had forcefully let him slip away.

He could only try hard to suppress the boiling emotions in his heart and proactively step forward to pay.

You, why are you cutting in line?

Go back and line up.

A soldier maintaining order coldly rebuked Su Hong.

No, brother, I am from the Su family...

The Su family? The Su family that attempted to frame the Great General?

Su Hong was speechless.

He had better just obediently line up!

Su Hong swore that he had never suffered such hardship in his entire life. Lining up with merchants of all sizes from Yunji City, watching the line slowly grind forward, his mood was also being ground down bit by bit.

Their Su family was the largest merchant household in the Northern Frontier, always holding an extraordinary status. Now that they had fallen into such a state, he felt a deep sorrow, yet it only further fueled his determination to revive the Su family.

After much difficulty, he finally reached the front of the line. Once the person in front of him paid, it would be his turn.

My Lord, I am willing to donate one hundred thousand taels of silver!

As soon as these words came out, the soldier collecting the money had little reaction, but Su Hong was greatly shocked.

He naturally recognized the person in front of him. She was the female boss of the Jinyue Pavilion, specializing in high-end intimate goods for women. The profits had always been high, but no matter how high, it was still just a small shop. Offering one hundred thousand taels of silver upfront?

Was she emptying her entire life savings?

Alright, the bookkeeping soldier agreed. Following the rules, he took out a contract in triplicate. After both parties signed, he handed the copy belonging to the Jinyue Pavilion boss to her.

Upon receiving the contract, the boss of Jinyue Pavilion immediately beamed with joy, as if she had obtained a protective talisman.

With this merit, if the barbarians marched south in a few days, the Great General would definitely protect them, right? This was a life-saving item!

Alright, next!

The bookkeeping soldier shouted.

The Jinyue Pavilion boss left, and Su Hong stepped up.

Are you going to lend money to the General's Manor?

You must be clear first. Our Great General does not encourage the merchants of Yunji City to lend us money, but if you insist on lending it to us, it would be inappropriate for us to refuse.

However, a contract will be written in triplicate. You will take one copy, and in the future, the Great General will naturally provide appropriate compensation.

The bookkeeping soldier recited the exact same speech. Hearing this, Su Hong naturally understood what was going on.

He just felt shaken and panicked in his heart.

There were at least several hundred, if not a thousand, merchants in Yunji City. Even if only a small fraction were as generous as the boss of Jinyue Pavilion, the Su family's already precarious position would be completely lost!

Why are you spacing out?

If you are unwilling, then leave.

The bookkeeping soldier said to the person next to him, Take note of this. This merchant is not happy to lend us money and is just following the crowd. We cannot let him feel forced.

Write down his name. In the future, if anything happens, there will be no need to notify him, so as to avoid troubling him.

Su Hong finally snapped back to reality and hastily said, My Lord, this humble one is willing to lend money.

This humble one is willing.

Oh? You are willing? We are not forcing you. How much money do you want to lend us?

This humble one... Su Hong took a deep breath, suddenly raised his voice, and shouted, This humble one is willing to lend two million taels of silver to the General's Manor!

Boom!

Like a clap of thunder, it struck the crowd.

The surroundings instantly fell dead silent as everyone turned their gazes toward Su Hong. At this moment, Su Hong finally felt as if he had reclaimed some of the Su family's past glory.

Are you really willing to lend this much?

Su Hong nodded heavily and said, The barbarians have invaded Shanhe City, and the world is showing signs of great chaos. We merchants are nothing but meat on a chopping block. Without the Great General's protection, how could we possibly have a good end?

The Great General loves the people like his own children. How could we be reluctant to part with a little wealth?

Alright! The bookkeeper gave Su Hong an approving look and asked, What is your name? Come, sign your name here!

As Su Hong was writing on the contract, he whispered, My Lord, this humble one has one more request. I have a son who wishes to temper himself in the army. I wonder if you could inform the Great General and ask for his permission.

The bookkeeper was somewhat surprised.

Someone who could produce two million taels of silver was willing to send his son to the army, a place of life and death? It wasn't until the person next to him carefully reminded him of Su Hong's identity that he suddenly understood.

Send him to serve under the Great General to temper himself?

More like sending him as a hostage, right?!

He then said, Alright, I will report this to the Great General. Just go back and wait for news. Whether it is approved or not, you will be given a reply.

Then, thank you, My Lord.

Su Hong let out a sigh of relief before returning home.

This trip made his heart grow even heavier. Not to mention having to give away the two million taels of silver kept at the bottom of the chest for emergencies, it might not even yield much benefit, and he even had to drag his son into it.

However, if the matter succeeded, it might recover a lot of the Su Manor's losses. At least there was a goal and something to strive for, so he could not relax in the slightest.

Now, the crux of the problem lay with his third niece, Su Li. He had to go see Su Li again; absolutely nothing else could go wrong.

Upon returning to the Su Manor, he went specifically to see Su Li.

He saw Su Li packing up, carefully sorting through all her belongings one by one.

He immediately felt a sense of comfort.

"Alas, if only Li'er had been chosen back then, there wouldn't be all this messy trouble."

"Growing up under the same roof, how could the difference in their character be so vast?"

Sighing with emotion, he took large strides over and smiled, "Li'er, there is no rush. Don't exhaust yourself."

Seeing Su Hong arrive, Su Li quickly curtsied, then revealed a gentle, innocent smile and said, "Second Uncle, it's no trouble. Li'er is not tired."

"You say you're not tired, but look at you, you're sweating!" Su Hong said with heartache. "If there's anything to do, just let the maids handle it. Why must you do it yourself?"

"Li'er is already used to it. It doesn't matter."

Su Hong's heart trembled slightly. Over the years, because Su Li was born of a concubine, the Su Manor had never cared enough for her, assigning her only a single maid.

Although this had fostered Su Li's habit of doing everything herself, it still felt somewhat harsh and mistreating—especially now, when the Su family's entire honor, disgrace, and wealth were tied to Su Li alone.

He said, "Second Uncle will assign a few more maids to you right away. I believe that in the future, if you truly marry into the General's Manor, the Great General will not treat you poorly either."

"Also..."

Su Hong pointed at the things Su Li had packed on the floor and said, "Many of these things, if they are old or not very important, you don't need to pack them."

"On the day of your wedding, the Su Manor will prepare a lavish dowry for you."

The Su Manor had actually already prepared a dowry. It was meant for his second niece, Su Xiu, and was extremely rich, absolutely not inferior to those of the noble ladies in the imperial capital.

Now that Su Xiu had lost her chance, this dowry had become ownerless, but Su Hong would absolutely not use it just to make up the numbers.

He would prepare a new one, not only brand new but even more lavish.

As for the one prepared for Su Xiu... it could be sold off or even discarded, but he would absolutely not allow even a single item from it to flow into Su Li's dowry list.

He continued, "Second Uncle will definitely prepare that dowry meticulously, ensuring that even after you go to the General's Manor, you will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of your life."

Su Li said in panic, "Second Uncle, it's too, too precious. I am merely..."

"There is no 'merely'!" Su Hong interrupted. "You are now a legitimate daughter, and you will forever be a legitimate daughter of our Su Manor. As for the clansmen, your Second Uncle will persuade them one by one."

"From now on, you are the face of our Su Manor."

Pausing for a moment, Su Hong continued, "So, for some of these unimportant things, just throw them away if they should be thrown away. Like this jade pendant..."

He reached out, took a chipped jade pendant from Su Li's hands, and casually moved to toss it away, saying, "There is no longer any need for these old things..."

But before the jade pendant in his hand could be thrown, the usually obedient, sensible, and gentle Su Li suddenly let out a sharp scream: "No!"

Looking as if she had gone mad, she lunged forward and snatched the jade pendant back.

...