SFS Chapter 83 Oh no, Ah Li is really angry!
Chapter 83 Oh no, Ah Li is really angry!
Gu Chang'an returned in a sedan chair. The sedan chair was carried to the main courtyard corridor. Gu Chang'an was helped out of the sedan chair and saw Shen Li looking at him at the door.
Unlike her usual gentle or teasing smile, Ah Li now looks somewhat serious.
He immediately swallowed hard, feeling extremely guilty.
“Let go, I can walk by myself. It’s just a minor injury, it doesn’t hurt anymore,” he said to Chunsheng.
Chunsheng immediately understood, and with a quick glance, said, "Yes, the imperial physician said there's nothing to worry about, just a few days of rest will do the trick."
Gu Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief and gave Shen Li a slightly awkward smile.
"Stop showing off, let me help you." Shen Li stepped forward with a hint of annoyance, put his arm on her shoulder, and helped him walk slowly towards the house.
"Ah Li, I'm really fine." Gu Chang'an panicked even more. He hadn't seen Ah Li with such a serious expression in months.
The last time he saw her was before she had a fever. He was worried that Ah Li would get angry and never talk to him again, just like before.
"Don't speak." Shen Li helped him to the couch in the room, where the maids had prepared pillows for him to lean on.
Gu Chang'an wanted to explain, but hearing the serious tone in his voice, he didn't dare to speak.
Oh no, Ah Li is really angry.
"Go ask Dr. Zou what medicines he uses and what medications he takes, and have him prescribe them," Shen Li instructed.
She can't trust outsiders after all, so it's always better to be cautious.
She looked at Gu Chang'an only after the maids left. He was in poor health, and although his injury was not serious, his lips were pale and he looked very unwell.
"Miss, the chicken soup is here." Lian Qiao brought over the soup that had been simmering for a long time.
"I'll do it." Shen Li sighed helplessly before taking the bowl.
"Thank you, A-Li. I can do it myself. I'm really fine." Gu Chang'an said, trying to get up with his hands.
Shen Li shot her a sharp glare: "You dare to touch me and see what happens."
Gu Chang'an, who had been about to sit up, immediately relaxed and lay back down, his eyes full of guilt as he looked at her: "Ali, I know I was wrong, please don't be angry anymore, okay?"
Shen Li remained silent, but sat down on the couch beside him and said, "Open your mouth."
Gu Chang'an was very obedient, drinking the chicken soup that was fed to him, while his eyes kept looking at Shen Li's face guiltily.
He felt he had never been so afraid before. Compared to this scene, the torture he had suffered in the imperial prison was nothing.
He could endure the torture, but he truly didn't know what to do when Ah Li was angry.
"Ah..."
"I heard that Lord Gu encountered another unknown assassin on his way back to the Dali Temple?" Shen Li interrupted her, her voice calm and indifferent.
“If they can fool those people, how can they fool you, A-Li?” Gu Chang’an quickly explained when he heard her question: “The current efforts to rectify official corruption are not strong enough. There are countless cases of corruption in local government coffers that prevent people from paying national taxes. We need to increase our efforts.”
“If we want to strengthen the crackdown, we can think of other ways. Is it really necessary to hurt ourselves?” Shen Li sighed.
“This is the fastest way.” Gu Chang’an looked at her: “Otherwise, once the war breaks out at the front, the national treasury will really have no food or supplies.”
"It's gotten to this point?" Shen Li asked, frowning.
"Yes." Gu Chang'an looked worried when talking about the court: "Zhao Jing gave me some information privately. The Great Liang is coming in with great force this time. If a protracted war breaks out, does A-Li know how much food and fodder will be consumed?"
“But aren’t the provisions ordered by the Ministry of War to be collected from the nearby prefectures and counties?” Shen Li suddenly realized, “My husband means that the provisions near the northern border are not abundant.”
Gu Chang'an nodded: "Ah Li is smart. I only found out about this after I took over the Ministry of Revenue. Corruption is rampant in various places and is colluding with the capital. It's a complicated situation. We can't change this chaos without drastic measures."
"I see you've used all that ruthlessness on yourself." Shen Li rolled her eyes at him, even though she understood. "Next time, you mustn't hurt yourself for anything, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am." Gu Chang'an agreed quickly, his expression obedient and his eyes full of flattery.
Shen Li rarely saw him so lively, and she was amused. However, the smell of blood from his nose made her sigh, and she asked with concern, "Does it hurt a lot?"
"It doesn't hurt, it's nothing to me," Gu Chang'an said casually.
He wasn't lying; compared to the myriad tortures in the imperial prison, this pain was indeed insignificant.
However, his body had been weakened by the torture, making his injuries appear to be quite severe.
Hearing this, Shen Li felt even more heartbroken. Her eyes were glued to him, but she said, "Can't we just put Zhao Jing in a sack and beat him up?"
She always felt a surge of anger whenever she thought about how her husband was being tortured.
"What did Ah Li say?" Gu Chang'an asked, somewhat doubting his ears.
Is this something a young lady from a prestigious family like Ah Li would say? It sounds like something a street thug would do.
Shen Li turned her head away guiltily; of course, it was the sisters in prison who taught her this.
The sisters were kidnapped as children and forced to steal. They said that when they were stealing, they would encounter men who would take advantage of them and then commit such acts of violence at night.
You'll vent your anger, and the other person won't even know who hit them, so you're safe.
"Um, are you hungry?" Shen Li felt that this was not appropriate to say in front of Gu Chang'an, so she quickly changed the subject.
"Fortunately."
"I've asked the kitchen to prepare a light meal for you," Shen Li instructed the servants behind the screen to bring the food over.
"Okay, let's eat together then." Gu Chang'an looked at her red eyes and felt touched and guilty. She must have been worried and didn't eat well.
Thinking about it carefully, Ah Li was right. Next time, he should consider her feelings first. It seems that he needs to accumulate more leverage in the future. Only in this way will he have more ways to solve problems.
Shen Li quickly discovered the benefits of Gu Chang'an's injury: he was recuperating at home, so she could see him every day, instead of just the two times she saw him in the morning and evening.
However, Gu Chang'an did not neglect his official duties because of this. He simply did not go to the yamen, but still had his official documents delivered to his home by messengers. Every day, he could bring half a carriage full of official documents.
When Shen Li sat on the couch, she would casually flip through these things, but when she saw the account book, she would look at it as if it were a book written in a foreign language and put it down awkwardly.
She disliked dealing with money and valuables from a young age, so she lacked the essential accounting skills required to be a matriarch, a fact that her mother often laughed at.
However, her parents indulged her, so if she didn't want to study, so be it, since the Shen family had more money than they could spend.