My Husband Is Not Easy To Mess With. - Chapter 18: It's All Business
Chapter 18: It’s All Business
Nie Yao laughed heartily, bending over.
Nie Zhixu watched from the side, a smile creeping up the corners of his lips.
His younger brother Yao was finally smiling again.
So genuinely happy.
Because of this, Nie Zhixu had a very good impression of the new Emperor.
“Don’t worry, Brother Zhixu. Little Lanlan will send us money soon, a huge sum, more than enough for expansion.” To reassure his sworn older brother, Nie Yao told him about Little Lanlan’s ambition.
He wants to unify the world.
With a contract that large, he could ask for as much money as he wanted when the time came.
Nie Zhixu understood. They were on the new Emperor’s side.
The military expansion was for him.
He had also seen the new Emperor when he was a child and knew he was actually a ge’er (a male who can bear children). Seeing how well his brother Yao treated him, the new Emperor might even become their family’s younger brother-in-law.
The two of them would marry.
And he would have a very, very cute little nephew.
“Brother Zhixu, Brother Zhixu?” Nie Yao saw his perpetually poker-faced sworn older brother suddenly grin and laugh silently.
He shivered uncomfortably.
He nudged the other, “Snap out of it, Brother Zhixu!”
Nie Zhixu only then woke up from the internal struggle of whether to teach his little nephew qinggong (lightness skill) or swordplay.
The prospect of a cute little nephew was still a long way off.
Nie Zhixu said, “Brother Yao, you must be kind to His Majesty.”
What was he saying, out of the blue?
Nie Yao didn’t intend to be enemies with the ge’er. The other party was very rich, and ambitious enough. His military expansion was also a precautionary measure to prevent being unable to handle future orders.
It was all business.
Nie Yao sensed that his sworn older brother seemed to be overthinking, so he explained to him, “Brother Zhixu, under normal circumstances, we won’t be the new Emperor’s enemies. But this is not absolute. Brother Zhixu, you know what ‘not absolute’ means, right?”
He knew.
He remembered every word, every strange sentence, and their meaning that Brother Yao said.
Although he really wanted a little nephew, this matter was still uncertain.
Nie Zhixu lowered his eyes, swallowing his heartfelt joy in disappointment, “Brother Yao, no matter what decision you make, I will support you.”
“Hmm? Oh… okay. Then the matter of military expansion is up to you, Brother Zhixu.”
“Yes.”
Nie Zhixu went back to prepare for the handover.
Nie Yao sat down at his desk and picked up his brush to write a letter to his father.
He briefly explained the situation in the capital.
He also included a birthday present for his father, wishing him a happy birthday.
Then he wrote another letter to his other father, his A-die, just in case he didn’t receive the first one and worried. This letter was much more casual; Nie Yao wrote whatever came to mind.
As he wrote, he didn’t realize that sentences related to the ge’er took up the majority of the letter.
Nie Yao didn’t have the habit of reviewing his work.
After finishing, he sealed the letters and handed them to a subordinate to be delivered.
Time to sleep.
Things had been quite busy recently, and Nie Yao was a little tired, falling asleep the moment he lay down.
Because the time for the morning court was changed, Nie Yao met with Qian Henduo (Money Abundance) and Little Wo after waking up. He instructed the two of them to take over the military affairs of Outpost No. 2.
“We obey, my lord.”
Little Wo still had matters to hand over to others before going to Outpost No. 2, so he left to prepare after receiving the task.
Qian Henduo rubbed his hands, smiling foolishly as he reported to Nie Yao.
“My lord, we have already searched the home of that old man Sun Ji and found some gold, silver, and treasures. The engineering team said the layout of his house is a bit off and there should be a secret tunnel. The entrance is a bit hidden, and they are still looking for it.”
Qian Henduo particularly enjoyed raiding houses.
He was very proactive in this kind of work every time.
Occasionally, he would secretly hide a little bit of gold or silver, not even a few jin (half a kilogram), so Nie Yao didn’t bother with it.
Qian Henduo continued, “My lord, we hadn’t been at Old Man Sun’s house for long yesterday when the old folks from the Imperial Clan Court came to drive us out.”
Qian Henduo had only been cutting people down on the battlefield before.
A few old men couldn’t scare him.
He summoned a small squad and chased them away.
However, those people were, after all, relatives of the imperial family. Qian Henduo only realized it belatedly after his subordinates reminded him, “My lord, is this alright?”
“It’s fine.”
Nie Yao praised him for doing a good job.
The Emperor’s surname was now Du, not Yan, so why should he give the Imperial Clan Court any respect?
Nie Yao said, “Those good-for-nothings from the Imperial Clan Court must have done a lot of bad things, right? Expose all of it.”
This time, he not only wanted to expose them but also to arrest people.
Qian Henduo detested the imperial relatives. When he heard that they were going to be dealt with, his eyes lit up like bulbs. He volunteered to work overtime, arresting people during the day and going back to Outpost No. 2 at night to train the recruits.
“Alright, alright.”
Nie Yao told him to take it easy.
He shouldn’t move back and forth and risk exposing Outpost No. 2.
Qian Henduo replied, “Then why don’t we just transfer the people to Outpost No. 4? Outpost No. 4 is very conspicuous! Let others see that we are not to be trifled with!”
As a battle maniac, he looked forward to some clueless fools showing up every day, so they could get some exercise and earn some bonuses along the way.
Nie Yao told him to stop talking nonsense.
“Go to Outpost No. 2 and stay put. Don’t expose it.”
“Sigh… yes.”
Absolute obedience to orders was one of Qian Henduo’s few merits.
Although he felt uncomfortable, he complied readily after Nie Yao made the final decision.
Nie Yao knew his nature.
He waved his hand, “Do a good job. When you get there, I will give you a bonus of two qian of silver from my private coffers.”
Two qian of silver was only two hundred wen (copper coins).
Others probably wouldn’t care for this small amount.
But Qian Henduo was different.
He was so happy to get an extra two qian of silver that he immediately patted his chest and guaranteed, “Hehe, thank you, my lord! Rest assured, I promise to manage the recruits at Outpost No. 2 until they are completely submissive!”
After discussing work, Qian Henduo was in no hurry to leave.
He smiled goofily and asked the butler to prepare a few extra servings of breakfast, which he would eat before going to morning court with Nie Yao.
He also wanted to ride in Nie Yao’s carriage.
He even asked the servants to lead away the donkey he rode in on and feed it more hay. He also instructed them that if they accidentally gave the donkey too much hay and it couldn’t finish it, they should find something to pack it up so he could take it back and continue eating it.
As for himself, he ate ten people’s breakfasts.
After burping, he still asked the butler to prepare a few extra flatbreads for him, so he could eat them if he got hungry during court.
In short, he would freeload everything he could before leaving.
Having seen this kind of behavior many times, Nie Yao was already numb to it.
He said nothing and got into the carriage to drink tea.
“My lord, your carriage is so spacious! It’s so comfortable to sit in!” Qian Henduo said this every time he hitched a ride.
Because the carriage had been parked in the palace for two nights, it now had many more things inside.
For example, this tea.
It was fragrant and elegant, with a lingering aftertaste.
It wasn’t the coarse tea Nie Yao usually used.
The previously empty little drawer also had many small snacks.
As soon as Nie Yao took them out, Qian Henduo stared at them, his eyes wide, “My lord, can I taste these?”
“Take them.”
Nie Yao kept a little for himself.
He gave the rest to Qian Henduo, “Put them in your pocket and eat them later. Don’t burst your stomach.”
This fellow would eat more fiercely than a bear preparing for winter once he started.
Nie Yao knew this was a problem with his mental state.
However, the army doctors were mostly skilled at treating wounds from swords and blades, and only knew a little about mental health.
“Didn’t I tell you to see a doctor before? How was the doctor this time? Did he prescribe any medicine?”