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Mo Zichen was roiling with different emotions when she said that, though his iceberg face remained as detached as usual.
He had seemed awkward before, but now he was acting proper.
Was he rescuing his pride?
“Why?” he sounded indifferent.
She couldn’t tell if it was an act and was a bit disappointed. It seemed he really didn’t care whether she stayed or not.
But the less he cared, the more it roused Su Biluo’s fighting spirit.
She decisively ripped up the contract and raised her hand and let the scraps of paper drift down like snowflakes.
She stared at him through the paper rain and stated her reasons for staying. “Does it really need to be said? My dad forced this marriage to start with, but I’ve been thinking about it, and marrying you is not necessarily a bad thing. When it comes to looks or status, you’re first-rate. As for being poor, well you won’t be poor with me around. So, where else could I find such a reliable, honorable man? If I remarried I wouldn’t be able to marry anyone better.”
Mo Zichen screwed his brow in a frown. “You’re saying you’re dead-set on being with this general because this general gives you face? So that you can live a stable life?”
“Yah, why else? Su Biluo’s eyes were so clear one could see to the bottom, revealing frank innocence.
But Mo Zichen’s lips curled in a sneer. “Not because you love this general?”
“As if!” Su Biluo’s adamant expression masked her wavering heart. No matter what, she couldn’t admit her true feelings before Mo Zichen showed interest in her.
She had been domineering since she was a kid. She dominated at school and she dominated at her company. She had never been one to yield to another.
She knew full well that if she admitted she liked him it would put her in a passive and weak position, which would make it that much harder to capture his heart when the time came.
This kind of psychological warfare could be seen all the time in business negotiations, and Su Biluo had long ago mastered the art.
“But I can’t deny that you’re a good choice for a husband. I won’t lose out by marrying you and becoming the general’s wife.” Su Biluo clasped her hands behind her back and proudly raised her chin.
“Hmph,” Mo Zichen snorted coldly. “Just like a businessman. Even in matters of marriage you’ve calculated everything precisely.”
Su Biluo felt a stab of pain in her heart, but she just smiled. “Yah, one must make the proper assessments in order to steadily make money. But actually, our marriage is a win-win. I’ve earned you 100,000 taels of silver in the past four months, isn’t that a benefit? Isn’t that why you arranged this marriage in the first place?”
Mo Zichen’s sneer froze and his pupils suddenly dimmed like a bottomless pit. He had nothing to say to that.
Yep, that was why. A marriage with benefits. It was all going smoothly so far, but for some reason it felt a bit off to hear Su Biluo say it.
“So…” She feigned a resigned sigh. “This daughter has to accept her fate. I will continue to be the wife of the Mo family general. And you, don’t you want me to help you all continue to make money after the 300,000 taels are raised? Your army isn’t just going to be dismissed after one year. Don’t you need to support it for a long time? You train the troops, I do the business, both working toward the same goal. That’s what we can call ‘marital harmony!’”
She winked and laid the sweetness on thick. “Isn’t that right, Hubby?”
Mo Zichen’s heart trembled and he inwardly gnashed his teeth. The annoying little hussy.
“Alright!” He seemed reluctant and grumpy. “It was you who drew up the contract. Now you’ve torn it up, so that’s that. The position of general’s wife is yours as long as you don’t overstep your bounds. You will receive this general’s protection and a degree of stable living. However…”
“However what…?” Su Biluo asked.
The Courtyard 