Chapter 357: Spending a Thousand Gold to Gift a Beauty, Just to Pass Time

Du Shanü was startled.

Du Shanü was truly stunned.

She wondered if she hadn't yet woken up, or if Afang would soon laugh hahaha and tell her that earlier it was just a joke...

However, the facts proved—

Afang never jokes.

Chen Weifang, composed and calm, tidied her originally disheveled collar, then said poisedly:

"Ordinarilly, a bamboo-split frame covered with black gauze and lacquered black makes a lacquer-gauze crown...... but Afang has been ordinary for too long; now she specifically does not want the two words 'ordinary'."

He summoned craftsmen overnight, inquired, and finally decided to use tortoiseshell and gold-thread openwork for the inner lining, coating it with multiple layers of top-grade raw lacquer.

This not only makes it light and sturdy, never warping or cracking in a lifetime; the lacquer surface is sufficiently matte and warm, pure black in darkness, and under sunlight one can see the fine gauze weave pattern.

As for the robe fabric, it must be made of the Min-Yue tribute-woven ice gauze, woven with dark Confucian-book cloud patterns; the cuffs and edges are trimmed with black shark-skin gauze, making it water- and dust-resistant, and it will not stain with sweat even after long wear.

Finally, a craftsman from the palace made it uniquely, taking three months, resulting in only this one crown and one set of robes...

The flower hall was silent, with only Chen Weifang's final words echoing.

Unlike the three people before her, who were stunned like wooden chickens, Chen Weifang was instead open and forthright, and directly said:

"My Lord, I want this!"

"If you don't give it to me, I'll immediately pack up and head north— the court offers no grace, the wilds provide refuge! If the ruler shows no favor, I have my own way!"

"When the time comes and the Lord sees me in the enemy camp, don't again ask me, 'Afang, how are you here?!'"

"No no no!"

"No no no!"

"No no no!"

Three hands shot out together, blocking Chen Weifang as she was about to rise.

Chen Weifang immediately sat down steady and unperturbed, lifted her porridge bowl, and took a small, leisurely sip.

Du Shanü clicked her teeth, trying to defend herself:

"Oh dear, I was just marveling at how expensive this is......"

Chen Weifang set down her bowl, again intending to rise:

"The court offers no grace, the wilds provide refuge! If the ruler shows no favor, I—"

Du Shanü yielded, Du Shanü yielded completely.

Her earlier words were swallowed back, and Du Shanü, face grimy, tried to make amends to her own Afang:

"No no no, as long as you like it, don't say it's eight hundred taels; even if it were a thousand or ten thousand taels, it would be worth it!"

"Coax her a bit!"

"We must definitely coax her a bit!"

"Never mind that Afang alone could match ten people; just speaking of his poisonous schemes—though they're not used day to day—if one day they were turned on oneself, that would truly be suffering!"

Du Shanü spoke sincerely; Chen Weifang seized the opportunity, even pushing further:

"Since my Lord said a thousand taels, I happen to also want to custom-make double black leather boots......"

Chinu: "......"

Yu Baobao: "......"

Du Shanü: "......"

Detestable! (angry face)

She just had to grow that mouth!

In the time it took to say a sentence, another two hundred taels of silver were spent!

That's a full thousand taels, a thousand taels!

Who could outfit clothing with that much money, enough to wear an entire Jiangnan cottage on one's body!

Is there really no honest person to tell Afang, 'It's gold, it's jade, it's tortoiseshell, it's tribute gauze......'

Wearing it all at once, dazzling to the eyes—wouldn't that be terribly vulgar!

Du Shanü grew angry......

But it was only a minor thunderclap; she fundamentally dared not stop it.

Du Shanü, without temper, again nudged the dish toward the opposite side:

"Fine, they're just small matters; if you want it, go ahead and procure it."

"Silver, after all, is earned, not saved."

"Although we are presently poor to the point of embarrassment, if we cannot even treat those around us well now, what more can we say about the future?"

"Although being chased by ledgers in dreams is indeed somewhat embarrassing......"

"But, but she runs fast!"

"Isn't this just much ado about nothing!"

Chen Weifang seemed to take well to these words, picking up a slice of crisp bamboo shoot, lightly chewing it, and only after a few breaths did she say, composed:

"My Lord need not always worry about silver; since I can spend so much of your silver, I naturally also have a way to make you earn that much silver......"

"The two 'Ouyang' who were previously placed under house arrest—my Lord, do you still remember them?"

"The Ouyang brothers, namely Ouyang Yan and Ouyang An."

"The two brothers came from the An Nan royal family, their ages differing greatly; earlier they disguised themselves as father and son to flee, were rescued by Du Shanü, and later Ouyang Yan angered Du Shanü by falsifying accounts, causing the brothers to be separated in two cities, nominally at leisure but actually under confinement."

Du Shanü recalled the matter of the two as if it were yesterday; merely calculating on her fingers, the last time she saw them was at least half a year ago.

Therefore, now Du Shanü is especially puzzled as to why her Afang would bring up those two.

"What's up? Could those two still have some profit to be squeezed out of them?"

Afang, Ouyang Yan, also mentions that Ouyang Yan's maternal clan is famous for its horse band in the Great Qu Yue State.

We need to output glossary after translation, listing each name that appears. We must reuse the EXACT English already in the glossary above for those that are in the glossary. For others not in glossary, we need to provide their English translation (meaning) as per rules. Also need to include any technique, item, beast, realm etc. Let's scan.

Lines:

Afang, don't say to me things like 'Ouyang Yan's maternal clan is famous for its horse band in the Great Qu Yue State; he can definitely get us horses.' That's nonsense. Honestly, if I trusted Ouyang Yan's ability, I wouldn't have kept him imprisoned for so long.

The names mentioned are Afang, Ouyang Yan, and the Great Qu Yue State (which may need translation); 'horse gang' is not a name but a generic term.

Who wouldn't want a fine horse?

Whether for cavalry charges or hauling grain and supplies, horses are incredibly useful.

But wanting something doesn't mean it's easy to get.

Just picturing Ouyang Yan's earlier blunder and his dazed look gives Du Shanü a headache.

Even when Ouyang Yan worked under her, he could act obediently on the surface while defying her in secret. How much could she trust him? And how could she ensure he wouldn't slip up or drag her into trouble when handling this confidential task?

She isn't against having horses; she just truly doesn't trust Ouyang Yan.

Both his temperament and his abilities are hard to trust.

Someone as capable as Afang mentioning Ouyang Yan now—could she be preparing something?

It's not Ouyang Yan; it's Ouyang An.

A single remark broke through Du Shanü's confused thoughts.

Chen Weifang had followed Du Shanü since she was a commoner, and they had worked together for a long time. Seeing that their lord had been silent for a while, he immediately guessed her thoughts and spoke up to explain:

When we moved from Dun Cheng to Zhoufu, we didn't bring Ouyang An, and we let him stay long-term at the Sincere City County Office.

Before, this person had always been law-abiding, but half a month ago, Chunrijian mentioned in a letter to me that this person had come up with a way to make money, yet refused to say it outright, wanting to meet the lord once.

Also, the Wise Lord appears.

Ouyang An...

Ouyang An...

Du Shanü frowned, deep in thought, recalling all sorts of past events——

If I'm not mistaken, this person is indeed quite different from his older brother.

When Ouyang Yan made a mistake earlier, Ouyang An even helped Du Shanü scold his brother.

Earlier, when they came as refugees to the small mountain village where Du Shanü lived, Ouyang An was the first to grasp that 'to eat, one must work,' and he helped make cooling jelly——

If Ouyang Yan came today claiming he had a money-making scheme, Du Shanü would just laugh it off.

But if Ouyang An said he had...

That might still be worth a listen.

Du Shanü snapped out of it and casually asked:

Since that was from half a month ago, why are you only saying it now?

Though the question was asked casually, the foolish slave who was busy competing with Yu Baobao over vegetables quickly glanced up, just for a moment, then quickly lowered his eyes.

Chen Weifang stood still:

The Wise Lord asking me this, it would be better to ask Ouyang An why he only now happened to think of a money-making method.

This person is a bit smarter than his brother, but his disposition is also more unclear. I sent Chunrijian to inquire, but this person stubbornly refused to see the lord and speak. The lord is pregnant; who knows what he's thinking, and how could I dare report?

The Wise Lord asking me like this—could he be suspecting me?

Lacquer coating: applying lacquer to objects.

? Afang——a talent that must never appear in the enemy camp, no matter what.