Xie Family.
Little Xie's office.
"Jewel, go home this week. Mom has something important to talk to you about."
In her dream, Jewel's mother called again, urging her to come home.
Jewel remembered past experiences and firmly rejected her mother's usual tricks.
"Mom, you're trying to trick me into meeting someone for an arranged marriage again, right? I'm not going."
She knew that if she went back, there would definitely be some so-called "guest" waiting—someone her mother arranged for her to meet.
Her mother realized her plan was seen through and got a bit anxious.
"Jewel, you're already in your late twenties, and your career is doing great. Don't you think it's time to think about settling down?
This guy is different from before. He's a sincere and outstanding young man. Just meet him…"
Jewel looked helplessly at her phone as her mom kept talking non-stop, then pressed her lips together.
"Mom, I'm not going."
In the dream, Jewel rejected her mother very firmly!
She wanted to tell her mom that she was already married, but suddenly her voice wouldn't come out!
Her mother paused after hearing her words. She felt something was off. Normally, her daughter wouldn't refuse so quickly—even if she didn't end up going, she wouldn't say no right away like that.
"Jewel, don't tell me you already like someone…"
Her mother tried to sound her out.
Jewel wanted to say, "Yes, I'm already married!"
But her mom couldn't hear her no matter how hard she tried. She just kept shouting her name, and that made Jewel suddenly wake up from her dream!
…
She opened her eyes to see the familiar bright red wedding room, the blinding sunlight, burnt-out red candles, and her gentle husband still sleeping sweetly beside her.
When Jewel saw her Xavi snuggled lazily under the blanket, she finally let out a breath and felt her pounding heart calm down.
She watched her lovely husband for a while, then lay down again and rested with her eyes closed.
She didn't understand what that dream meant, but if she ever really went back to her old world, she hoped she could take her loved one with her…
It was rare for the couple to stay in bed so late. Neither wanted to get up, so they held hands and fell back asleep.
…
At that time, Jewel's father was relaxing in his room, enjoying his lunch.
Yes, it was nearly noon, but the young couple still hadn't shown any sign of getting up.
Father Xie was in a good mood. If they were still in bed, they must've had a long night—maybe even continued this morning…
He didn't want to be a third wheel, so he stayed away from the front yard.
He also told all the servants at home not to make any noise, whether in the morning or afternoon.
He was serious about having grandchildren!
After lunch, he took out an old silver ring from his jewelry box. It didn't look fancy, but it was his dowry—his father gave it to him when he married into the Xie family.
Even though Jewel often gave him lots of money and expensive jewelry, this dowry ring was still his most treasured item.
Now that the Xie family was doing better, and his daughter had changed for the better—just like the fortune-teller predicted—and even married a good husband, he finally had nothing more to worry about.
He planned to give that ring to Xavi once he woke up, as a way of officially handing over the family responsibilities to him.
From now on, money matters and relationships with other families should be handled by Xavi. He hoped his son-in-law would grow into someone who could take charge of their household.
After all, when a good man enters a lucky household, it can bring happiness for three generations.
A sensible young man like Xavi would definitely do well as a son-in-law, husband, and father. The Xie family's future would be stable with him in charge.
It was time for him, the elder, to step back and let the young ones take the lead.
All he wanted now was to rest for a few years, spoil his future grandchildren, and enjoy a worry-free life…
And so, after the wedding, Xavi became the real master of the Xie family.
After Jewel's father passed on the responsibility, he rarely interfered in their daily life. Jewel completely trusted her husband, too. So after the wedding, Xavi lived freely and comfortably. Life was peaceful and smooth.
On the seventh day of Jewel and Xavi's marriage, County Magistrate Mo Yunhai suddenly called for a big meeting with the top merchants of An Town, and as one of the rising stars in the business world, Jewel was of course invited.
So, Jewel didn't sleep in anymore and headed straight to the county office.
She had already heard some news recently. Especially near the tea plantation outside town, she often saw groups of homeless people.
She had asked Qijie to look into it. It turned out that there had been an earthquake in another province, and many citizens had been displaced and turned into refugees.
Right now, her tea plantation was already sheltering more than ten of these people.
She guessed that Lord Mo's sudden meeting was probably about this.
After all, throughout history, merchants had always played a part in helping stabilize the country.
With that in mind, Jewel asked her husband how much silver they had left at home.
"Honey, last time I checked, we had a little less than five thousand taels."
Xavi had a feeling his wife needed money—and a lot of it.
"Don't count your dowry in that."
That massive dowry of a hundred and ten chests belonged to Xavi alone. Even though most of it was prepared by her before the wedding, she had already promised that it would be his and wouldn't go back on her word.
"Then we have around four thousand taels."
Xavi recalled the previous bookkeeping and recent restaurant income and gave a rough estimate.
"Do you need the silver for something, honey?"
If it was urgent, he needed to get it ready quickly.
Jewel thought for a moment and made a decision.
"Xavi, get two thousand taels ready. I need it urgently."
Xavi didn't know what his wife was planning, but her decisions were always right. He just had to follow her lead.
That afternoon, Jewel arrived at the county office half an hour earlier than scheduled. As soon as she entered, she saw Mo Yunhai pacing nervously with a frown.
"Lord Mo."
Jewel felt her guess was spot on. Whatever made the magistrate this anxious had to be the issue of settling the refugees from Pingzhou.
"I'm so glad you're here, Miss Xie!"
Mo Yunhai was always polite to Jewel. When he saw her, he rushed over with urgency.
In just a few days, large groups of refugees from Pingzhou would arrive in their Yuzhou…