Reborn as a Merchant Girl, the General's Beloved

Anan looked up at her and replied with a smile, "I've been busy lately and have been busy both morning and night. I haven't seen him for a few days."

"Could it be that His Majesty has assigned him a mission?" Hong Chu expressed his surprise and distress in an exaggerated manner.

Anan smiled and shook his head: "He is on annual leave now, not to mention he is injured. His Majesty's order is to let him recuperate, so why would he assign him an errand? It's just that he is more popular than his brother in the capital, so he is invited to dinner every day!"

Hong Chu sighed and said with a smile: "Now that he has made great contributions and has been rewarded by the emperor, he will definitely have a bright future. Who among the dignitaries in the capital would not want to make friends with him? It's normal for him to be a little busy."

"I know Brother Yuan's character best." Mrs. Ge, who had been silent, suddenly interrupted.

"Yes." Anan put down the tea bowl with a smile and looked at the mother and daughter.

Mrs. Ge realized that she had said something wrong, so she coughed twice and laughed, "Brother Yuan is kind-hearted. When he was young, he studied with Brother Ze at Xianyuntai, and later joined the army. He had almost no chance to come into contact with the wealthy families in the capital. How could he have imagined the schemes in their minds?"

"Oh? Someone is plotting against Brother Yuan? How is this possible?" Anan pretended to be surprised and asked nervously, "Could it be that Madam heard some gossip?"

"You stay indoors all day, so I guess you don't know." Hong Chu said sincerely, "It's all spread like wildfire outside. It's said that Yuan Ge'er is now the youngest third-rank official. He has been in the army for many years, has a cold and tough temperament, and is also very beautiful. Right now, the unmarried girls in the capital are all eyeing him!"

"What am I supposed to do?" Anan breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the tea bowl again, and smiled at the mother and daughter with a little excitement, "If a girl likes me, it would be the best thing! Madam and the eldest girl also know that my family is a merchant. Although the family has some money, it is still a lowly family that cannot be seen on the stage. Now if so many young ladies from official families like our brother Yuan, it will be a good opportunity for us to get along well. If he can get close to a powerful family, maybe he can find a job for my brother Yi, so that our family can get rid of the merchant status and find a better way out for our descendants!"

Although Hong Chu smiled, he was actually full of contempt, saying, "I never thought that my sister-in-law would be so successful! Big brother is so lucky."

"Hey!" Anan patted his thigh and smiled, "To be honest, my dear lady, we are not short of money now, what we lack is people. If Brother Yuan likes them and those young ladies from official families are willing, we can give them 300 yuan as betrothal gifts each, and we will marry a few of them to Brother Yuan!"

Hong Chu's face turned blue and red, and the seventh girl from the Wei family turned pale. She quickly stood up and found an excuse to go out.

"Brother Ze's daughter-in-law!" Madam Ge frowned and said, "I know you come from a merchant family, but now you are at least the wife of a third-rank official. Why are you so reckless in your words and deeds?"

"Madam, did I say something wrong?" Anan was so scared that he stood up quickly and looked at her timidly.

Madam Ge said coldly, "Okay, I don't care whether you understand or not, I'll just tell you the truth! Go back and tell Brother Yuan that you should go to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion to ask for Miss Seven's hand in marriage tomorrow!"

"A noble lady like Seventh Miss is willing to marry us or Brother Yuan?" Anan became interested and stepped forward.