Transmigrated as the Villainess, She Made the General Blush - Chapter 101

Chapter 101

“Haven’t people been coming to ask you to work for them? Wait for them to ask a few more times. Let them raise their prices. When you feel the price has reached its peak, go ahead and take the job.

“You have already signed a contract with me, which serves as an excellent pretext. There is no need to sign another contract with them, and besides, the government wouldn’t recognize a second contract anyway.

“Without the constraints of a contract, whether the finished product is good or bad, or whether the decor is beautiful or ugly-won’t that be entirely up to your own creative discretion?”

Xiao Wangshu looked at them, her smile carrying a deep, hidden meaning.

The two foremen looked up at her. One of them asked hesitantly, “Does the young lady mean… for us to go and intentionally ruin those shops?”

Seeing Xiao Wangshu nod with a smile, the other foreman added, “But if we do that, the reputation of our construction team will suffer.”

“If word of this gets out, shouldn’t the ones whose reputations suffer first be those who tried to poach workers and plagiarize ideas?” Xiao Wangshu countered.

Seeing them fall into deep thought, Xiao Wangshu continued, “Furthermore, you are currently working for me. Do you really need to worry about whether your reputation is good or bad? As long as you handle the tasks I give you well, you will always have business to do with me.”

The two foremen thought about it carefully; she was right.

Then, they heard Xiao Wangshu continue-

“Think further ahead. Don’t the two of you want to experience what it’s like to deal with the imperial Ministry of Works?

“If you could secure work on civil engineering projects alongside officials from the Ministry of Works, even if it’s just odd jobs, it would be enough to change your destinies.

“As for that negligible bit of reputation, in the eyes of the Ministry of Works officials, it is utterly insignificant.

“As long as you do the job well, you’ll be the people introduced by the Prime Minister’s Mansion to do the work. No one will dare to nitpick or find fault with you.”

The Ministry of Works oversaw all civil engineering and construction in the realm. Every project they undertook was massive in scale, requiring vast amounts of manpower and resources, making it inevitable for them to deal with civilian craftsmen.

But how many civilian craftsmen were actually familiar with the officials of the Ministry of Works?

When those officials dealt with civilian craftsmen, they followed only a few established paths. The most common was through connections with relatives or in-laws.

The legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister’s Mansion was offering herself as a connection right in front of them. One would have to be incredibly indifferent to fame and fortune to remain unmoved by her words.

Regardless, these two foremen certainly weren’t that indifferent.

“We understand! We are truly grateful for the young lady’s patronage!”

“The young lady’s great kindness is something we shall never forget! We will do our utmost for you and follow your lead in all things!”

With two loud thuds, the men knelt neatly on the ground, their voices rising one after the other in a chorus of loyalty.

The corners of Xiao Wangshu’s mouth curled up slightly. “You may go.”

“Yes, yes!”

The two foremen scrambled up from the ground and retreated with bowed backs.

Chen Chu sat beside her, quietly watching the entire process. Only when he saw that she was finished with her business did he serve her a bowl of warm soup.

“Please eat, My Lady. The food is getting cold.”

Hearing this, Yichun and Shuxia stepped forward and touched the edges of the porcelain plates. They asked Xiao Wangshu, “Miss, should we take these back to be reheated?”

Over the past six months, the young lady had become very particular about her food and drink. Anything she consumed required extra attention. She ate very little greasy or fatty meat, rarely touched spicy or heavy flavors, and almost never touched cold food or cold tea.

Although the food was still warm, it was slightly cooler than what she usually ate, and she likely wouldn’t be accustomed to it.

Just as Yichun was about to pick up the dishes to reheat them, Xiao Wangshu spoke.

“No need. This is fine.”
The temperature was acceptable to her, and after a quick glance, she noticed that her betrothed didn’t seem to handle food that was too hot either.

“Yes, Miss.” Yichun looked at Xiao Wangshu, then at Chen Chu, and obediently withdrew her hand.

It felt strange to her seeing their lady sitting with General Chen today. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why, but it was definitely odd.

Usually, when they accompanied their lady, they were the close personal maids while General Chen was an outsider-an unrelated male.

But for some reason today, she felt as if she and Shuxia were the outsiders instead.

***

A few days later.

It was the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. The festive atmosphere of the New Year was growing stronger, and the Capital was bustling with activity.

The streets selling New Year’s goods were packed. Rice and flour shops, dried fruit stalls, red paper shops, peach wood charm vendors, wine shops, and even cloth manors had made a fortune during these days.

Snow rested on the eaves, and every household was decorated with lanterns and streamers, all preparing for the annual festival to ring in the new and bid farewell to the old.

The servants of the Prime Minister’s Mansion and the Capital’s Official Lodge were also busy beyond belief, preparing for the grand wedding of Xiao Pingnan and Tuoba Xin.

***

Chancellor’s Mansion, front hall of the Moonlight Courtyard.

Liu Imperial Physician had come from the palace. He carefully cut away the bandages on Xiao Wangshu’s hand, used a medicinal decoction to wash the herbal residue from the scar, and then applied a thin layer of Herbal Honey Paste.

“The incision on your hand has healed, and the scabs have fallen off, so there is no further need for bandaging. However, to fully recover, it will take about two more months for the flesh beneath the skin to slowly knit back together.

“During these two months, you may wash as usual; it won’t be an issue. There is only one thing: you must not lift heavy objects with this hand.

“Because while the wound looks healed, the tissue underneath hasn’t fully closed yet. Lifting heavy weights would still damage the newly formed flesh inside. I hope you can understand what I mean, Miss?”

Xiao Wangshu nodded. “Of course. You’ve made it very clear, Liu Imperial Physician. I will follow your instructions.”

Setting aside the recovery period, she never lifted anything heavy even under normal circumstances.

Her life before the injury was essentially the same as her life after-she was someone who couldn’t carry anything with her hands or shoulders.

To her, there was no real difference in her lifestyle.

“It is good that you are willing to follow my advice. Then I can rest easy.” A smile appeared on Liu Imperial Physician’s face as he stepped aside to pack his medical kit.

He had practiced medicine for decades and always preferred patients who listened to orders and didn’t act recklessly.

“Miss, the Young Master is here.”

Just as Yichun finished speaking, Xiao Fuguang walked into the hall.

Upon entering, he first checked the wound on Xiao Wangshu’s palm and asked, “Sister, has your injury fully healed?”

Xiao Wangshu nodded with a smile. “With Liu Imperial Physician looking after it, it has naturally healed.”

“That’s good.”

Xiao Fuguang let out a long sigh of relief before remembering why he had come. He added, “Sister, Third Brother is almost here. Mother asked us all to go to the gates to welcome him.”

“So early?” Xiao Wangshu rose slowly, an apologetic look on her face as she addressed the doctor. “There are matters to attend to in the mansion today. If there has been any lack of hospitality, I hope Liu Imperial Physician will be understanding.”

“No matter, no matter! You are too kind, Miss!”

Liu Imperial Physician slung his medical kit over his shoulder and continued, “Please, go ahead and attend to your business. It is rare for the Third Young Master to return to the Capital. It is getting late, and since I have been out for a while, it is time for me to return to the palace.”

Xiao Wangshu gave a slight nod and instructed Yichun and Shuxia, “Escort Liu Imperial Physician out for me.”

“Yes,” Yichun and Shuxia replied with a curtsy.

Xiao Wangshu bid farewell to Liu Imperial Physician once more, then hurriedly left the Moonlight Courtyard with Xiao Fuguang. The siblings walked briskly toward the main gates of the Chancellor’s Mansion.