You Promised to Be an Idle Son-in-Law, How Could You Become a Land Immortal?

At the Wu Mountain Mutual Market, the rainy night was a chaotic cacophony. Torrential rain battered the dense forest, stripping away dead leaves and sending them smashing into rocks and trees along with the mountain wind. PATTER, PATTER. The sound was endless.

Inside the Mutual Market, which was already beginning to take shape, the outlines of the structures were much clearer than before. It genuinely resembled a small town. A twenty-foot-tall wall rose from the ground on all four sides, topped with dozens of sentry forts along its narrow ridge. Bright firelight emanated from within the forts, faintly illuminating several guards clad in armor. Some belonged to the Xiao Family, while others were from the Mountain Race.

Inside the walls, most of the roads were still a mixture of dirt and gravel. Only the main avenue running north to south was paved with mountain stones. It was about fifty feet wide and polished incredibly smooth. Washed by the rain, it faintly reflected the firelight. Flanking the avenue were two hundred shops of various sizes, their heights staggered yet orderly. Behind the storefronts stood rows of square yet spacious warehouses. Some of their doors even had red paper pasted on them.

A few lines of text were written on the red paper, reading things like ”You State Red Rock Trading Company” and ”Wumeng Mountain Old Li Race.” This clearly indicated that these warehouses had already been claimed by certain trading companies or people from the Mountain Race.

Beyond the shops and warehouses lay several open plots of land where hundreds of uneven pits were filled with rainwater. Quite a few laborers were bent over, clearing out the crushed stones from the pits. The torrential rain cascaded down their glistening, muscular backs, sparkling like scattered crystals.

Xiao Jinghong stood on a small hill outside the Mutual Market, her face unadorned. Gazing at the bustling scene from afar, a hint of satisfaction flickered in her eyes. Several months had flown by in the blink of an eye since the Old Master’s birthday. With the Wu Mountain Mutual Market nearing completion, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Although they had faced difficulties along the way, her collaboration with the Mountain Race had allowed everything to progress fairly smoothly up to this point. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t happy.

At the same time, once the Mutual Market was finished, Xiao Jinghong would finally be able to step back from this project. After years of rigorous training, it was also time to test the results of the Three Towns’ New Army. Barring any major discrepancies, this branch of the Dingyuan Army could be considered to have recovered to the level it was at before the Barbarian Left King’s invasion five years ago. Her years of hard work had not been in vain.

Of course, what made Xiao Jinghong even happier was that once all this was done, she could finally rest in the Prefecture City for a while. The Old Master, her eldest sister, her uncles, the elders, and... her husband. She had to go back and see them eventually. Moreover, with the end of the year approaching, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to be running about outside like she had during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Xiao Jinghong thought about all this as she slipped back into the wooden cabin.

Su Zhenyue stood up and bowed, saying with a playful smile, ”Miss, you always have to take a look at the Mutual Market every single day, rain or shine.”

”Mhm, I won’t have peace of mind if I don’t look.”

”With you here, what is there to worry about?”

In Su Zhenyue’s mind, as long as Xiao Jinghong was at the Mutual Market, let alone those blind fools who might come to cause trouble, even the unruly members of the Mountain Race would obediently do their jobs. Had it not been for this, the Wu Mountain Mutual Market wouldn’t have neared completion so quickly.

Xiao Jinghong gave a noncommittal nod. After sitting down, her eyes naturally fell on the painting hanging across from her. In the warm, soft luminescence, Xiao Fengchun, Fu Wanqing, Xiao Wan’er, Xiao Wuge, and Chen Yi were looking at her with smiles on their faces. In stark contrast, the illusionary portrait of herself stood in the corner with her arms crossed, exuding an aura that warned strangers to keep their distance. Ever since her family had sent this painting, Xiao Jinghong would glance at it from time to time.

At first, she mostly looked at Xiao Fengchun and Fu Wanqing, recalling the scarce few memories she had of living in the Marquis’s Mansion as a child. Yet, seeing the painting brought back thoughts of the people in it. Even a General like her couldn’t help but feel a tinge of melancholy. Later, Xiao Jinghong shifted her attention to Xiao Wan’er and Xiao Wuge, and finally to Chen Yi. Although Chen Yi’s appearance in the painting seemed a bit more handsome than in her memories, she could still see traces of familiarity. It was just like when she had first met him—the sunlight was just right, and he was showing off a freshly dug earthworm, a gentle and radiant smile on his face. As she gazed at him, the corners of her lips unconsciously curled into a smile.

Noticing her expression, a teasing look appeared on Su Zhenyue’s face. ”Miss, are you looking at your husband again?”

Xiao Jinghong instantly reined in her smile and turned her head to look at her. ”Is there any news from the Commander-in-Chief?”

Meeting her gaze, Su Zhenyue coughed to suppress her smile and handed her a memorial booklet. ”The Capital Commandery replied saying they’ve made contact with Mengshui Pass, and they haven’t found any signs of the Barbarian Race invading. General Zhang also sent word via carrier pigeon. The situation is the same along the Ancient Tea-Horse Road. Within a radius of a thousand miles, there hasn’t been a single sighting of the Peacock King Banner.”

Xiao Jinghong looked at the memorial in her hand and gave a slight nod. ”Commander Li will continue to keep an eye on this. As for Zhu Hao...” She paused, pulling out a letter tucked behind the memorial. After opening it and scanning the contents, she frowned. ”After the Holy Emperor issued a decree punishing grandfather, the summer grain taxes from the Three Towns have already arrived in Guangyuan?”

Su Zhenyue hurriedly flipped open a small booklet she carried with her. Finding the right page, she said, ”It should have been delivered to Guangyuan County three days ago. Miss, did Commander Zhu mention a problem with the tax grain in his letter?”

Xiao Jinghong shook her head. ”He must have lost his mind. He actually suspects that the Tax Officers from the Governor’s Office miscalculated.”

”Mis... Why would he harbor such suspicions?”

”Hmph, his greed knows no bounds!” A cold glint flashed in Xiao Jinghong’s eyes. ”He has schemed against the Dingyuan Army time and time again. Sooner or later, I will settle this score with him!”

It was no wonder she was so furious. Over the past two years, Zhu Hao had been the mastermind behind most of the incidents where the Capital Commandery had forcibly interfered. If Commander Li Fu hadn’t acted as a mediator, Xiao Jinghong would have completely fallen out with Zhu Hao a long time ago.

Just as she was about to continue asking Su Zhenyue about the recent situation in Shu State, the sharp cry of an eagle pierced the air from outside.