Destined

Gu Jiusi was momentarily stunned by these words and quickly responded, "I have my own ways. If you're doing this for me..."

"I'm not doing it for you."

Liu Yuru sat down and began discussing with Gu Jiusi in a businesslike manner: "Speaking purely from a commercial perspective, if you weren't my husband, I would have approached you about this business opportunity long ago. Lord Gu," she looked at him seriously, "with the substantial funds you currently hold, you'll eventually need someone to manage them. While you excel in official circles, business might not be your forte. Among those you can employ, most lack the capability, and those who are capable aren't necessarily trustworthy. Why not let me handle it? You pay me a commission, and we both profit."

Listening to her, Gu Jiusi observed Liu Yuru's earnest expression and after a moment, chuckled softly: "How much do you want?"

"You provide the capital, and I take ten percent of the profits."

"What if there are losses?"

"If there are losses," Liu Yuru replied seriously, "I'll cover every penny. If I can't compensate immediately, I'll spend my whole life making it up."

Gu Jiusi fell silent. After a long pause, he smiled wryly: "Liu Yuru, that's no way to do business. No one can guarantee they'll always profit. Making such a bold pledge is rather foolish."

"I'm not foolish with just anyone," Liu Yuru smiled. "It's because you're my husband. If something goes wrong with the money, you'd be responsible, and I need to secure a path for you."

Hearing this, Gu Jiusi couldn't help but curl his lips, though he coughed lightly and said: "Since I'm your husband, I must intervene from a personal standpoint. I won't stop you from going out, but you need to explain everything clearly - how you plan to go, your itinerary, your route. I need to ensure your safety before I can let you proceed."

"Yuru," he reached out to stroke her hair, speaking gently, "don't think I'm controlling you. It's just that on this matter, I really can't compromise."

"How could I think you're controlling me?" Liu Yuru smiled. "If you entrusted such a large sum to someone who can't even protect themselves, how could you possibly feel at ease?"

"You should go to the County Government Office first," Liu Yuru straightened his clothes for him. "I'll write down all my plans for you. Don't think of me as your wife in this matter. If you find the plan feasible, give me the funds to manage. If not, then forget it."

Gu Jiusi acknowledged with a sound and smiled: "Then I'll take my leave now."

After their conversation, Gu Jiusi went out alone.

Walking on the road with Munan following behind, when Liu Yuru was no longer in sight, Munan said uneasily: "Young master, are you really going to let the young mistress go out alone?"

"What else can I do?"

Gu Jiusi sounded somewhat helpless: "Can I actually stop her?"

"The young mistress is a woman..." Munan carefully worded his concern, "For her to go out alone, isn't it somewhat inappropriate after all?"

"If she can make proper arrangements, I won't stop her. If her arrangements are inadequate, I'll naturally advise against it. But she's still her own person," Gu Jiusi glanced at Munan and said, "Tell me, if you and I chose a path that everyone said was wrong, and they forced us not to take it, how would we feel?""Everything forces me," Gu Jiusi said seriously, "Even if it were my own parents, I wouldn't tolerate it. I'd rather not have this so-called 'for my own good' than be controlled at every turn."

"What if the young mistress makes poor arrangements but still insists on going?"

Munan followed up with the question, and Gu Jiusi smiled wryly.

"What else can I do?" he sighed, "I can only find a way to follow her."

Fortunately, Liu Yuru far exceeded their expectations in her capabilities.

After thinking for several nights, Liu Yuru finally wrote out the entire travel plan clearly and presented it to Gu Jiusi.

She had thoroughly investigated the current situation in various provinces, listed all the target cities for this trip, and based on each city's circumstances, prepared a guard team accordingly.

She had even itemized all the expense budgets, clearly outlined how grain purchases would be made throughout the journey, and even analyzed the expected returns. After reading it, Gu Jiusi couldn't help but feel impressed - truth be told, he hadn't expected Liu Yuru to perform this well before seeing the plan.

Her entire route avoided almost all dangerous areas, sticking only to currently stable cities. The route was relatively safe. Her arrangements for the guard personnel were also sufficient to handle almost any crisis she could imagine.

Her method for purchasing grain was particularly innovative, something Gu Jiusi had never even considered.

Through repeatedly trading Youzhou debt, Liu Yuru had gained substantial understanding of market dynamics. She began to grasp some fundamental market principles: if someone massively bought up Youzhou debt when supply was scarce while simultaneously raising prices, everyone would desperately try to acquire Youzhou debt, causing its price to rise accordingly; if someone massively sold Youzhou debt, flooding the market with supply, the price would naturally fall.

People's "perception" of a commodity was the key to these price fluctuations.

Therefore, in Liu Yuru's plan, she would first go to a small city that met three requirements:

First, it should be neither too big nor too small, just within their financial control range;

Second, grain prices should be at medium to low levels, definitely not at high levels;

Third, government regulation should be minimal, without excessive market intervention.

Then Liu Yuru would buy up all available grain overnight regardless of price and indicate she would continue purchasing. This would cause everyone to start buying grain, hoping to sell to Liu Yuru at high prices. When everyone began purchasing and hoarding grain from various sources, Liu Yuru would gradually release her originally purchased grain back into the market, profiting from the price difference between buying low and selling high. At this point, grain prices would gradually decline. After they returned to normal or even low levels, she would then buy up 60-70% of the grain available on the market.

Gu Jiusi clearly understood that Liu Yuru's method was exactly the same as how wealthy merchants in the city were speculating on Youzhou debt - first driving up prices, then secretly selling at high prices, waiting for prices to fall before buying again.

"In that case, why don't you bring some grain from Wangdu," Gu Jiusi pondered after reading Liu Yuru's plan, "After grain prices return to normal, directly dump fifty thousand dan onto the market. Grain prices would inevitably plummet, and then you could buy everything back. Wouldn't that be better?""No." Liu Yuru shook her head decisively. "That would create too much commotion and would definitely alert the authorities. The reason I only purchase sixty to seventy percent of the grain even after price adjustments is precisely to avoid causing immediate impact on people's livelihoods. This way, the authorities will assume it's a natural phenomenon during wartime and won't pay too much attention."

Gu Jiusi nodded. From these few sentences, he understood that Liu Yuru had considered this matter much more thoroughly than he had.

When it came to business matters, he wasn't as skilled as Liu Yuru, so he turned his attention to her arrangements for logistics and security. After hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "Take Shen Ming with you, and I'll borrow a few more people from Brother Zhou to ensure everything goes smoothly."

Liu Yuru agreed. When it came to matters of survival, the more thorough the preparations, the better.

"When you reach Yangzhou," Gu Jiusi said carefully, "don't show yourself directly. Have others represent you."

"I understand."

Liu Yuru nodded.

That night, as Liu Yuru and Gu Jiusi lay in bed, Gu Jiusi remained awake all night. Sensing his restlessness, Liu Yuru turned over and embraced him from behind. "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I've been thinking," Gu Jiusi said after a long silence, his eyes open, "I should go with you."

Hearing this, Liu Yuru couldn't help but laugh. "If you come with me, what about your official duties?"

"I'll figure something out," Gu Jiusi mused. "I'll go see Lord Fan..."

"Jiusi," Liu Yuru's voice softened, "I'll have to travel to many places in the future."

"For business, the most important thing is actually the information asymmetry between different regions. Persian spices are ordinary items in Persia, but they're worth a fortune when they reach the Eastern Capital. If I continue to expand my business, my ambitions will only grow, and I can't stay home all the time. Even if you accompany me this time, what about the next time? And the time after that? You have your own responsibilities," Liu Yuru placed her hand over his, persuading him gently. "You've just started your official career and have gained Fan Xuan's appreciation. Don't let family matters ruin your progress. If you insist on coming with me, then I won't go at all."

Hearing that Liu Yuru would cancel her trip if he joined her, Gu Jiusi fell silent. After a moment, he sighed and could only say, "Alright then, let it be."

The next day, Gu Jiusi saw Liu Yuru off outside the city. Initially, they agreed he would only accompany her to the city gate, then he suggested going one more li. One li led to another, and by the time they had traveled ten li, Liu Yuru finally lost her patience. She lifted the carriage curtain and said to Gu Jiusi, "Alright, go back now. Stop following me."

Gu Jiusi was taken aback, then lowered his head and said, "Oh."

Seeing Gu Jiusi's dejected expression, Liu Yuru felt a pang of guilt. She couldn't understand how this once lively and arrogant man had become someone who seemed unable to function without her.

She sighed, glanced around, and waved Gu Jiusi closer.

Gu Jiusi leaned in, and Liu Yuru cupped his face in her hands. In front of everyone, she gently kissed his cheek and said, "If you miss me, write me letters."

With that, she quickly returned to the carriage, lowered the curtain, and said with feigned composure, "Alright, let's go."

Gu Jiusi sat on his horse, watching the merchant caravan disappear into the distance. He gazed after them for a long time before finally turning back home.That evening during dinner, Su Wan and Jiang Rou noticed Liu Yuru hadn't returned and found it somewhat strange. Su Wan cautiously asked, "Where's Yuru?"

Only then did Gu Jiusi speak up: "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Yuru won't be coming back for some time."

"Did you two have a fight?" Jiang Rou paused her movements. Gu Jiusi shook his head: "The court has some matters for Yuru to handle. She left ahead on her own."

As he spoke, Gu Jiusi took a letter from his robe and handed it to Jiang Rou: "Yuru asked me to give this to you. She said she'll need you to look after the shop while she's away."

"What business does the court have sending her?" Jiang Rou frowned disapprovingly. "She's just a young woman. With things so chaotic these days, what could she possibly accomplish?"

"Aren't you just a woman too?" Gu Jiusi retorted instinctively. Jiang Rou was taken aback, then heard her son declare righteously: "If others can do it, why can't she? That makes no sense."

"You child," Jiang Rou couldn't help laughing, "you forget your mother when you have a wife. Who was it that cried and made a scene refusing to marry?"

"I was young and foolish then," Gu Jiusi said with complete composure. "Now that I've grown up and know what's good, is that wrong?"

With that, Gu Jiusi waved his hand and stood up: "Never mind, I can't make you understand. Anyway, Yuru is fine, so don't worry."

After speaking, he returned to his own room.

He sat in his study, the room cold and empty with only himself there. He remained lost in thought for a long time until Munan entered carrying soup. Noticing Gu Jiusi's expression, Munan smiled and asked: "What has Young Master so engrossed in thought?"

Hearing this, Gu Jiusi quickly snapped out of it and shook his head: "Nothing."

He then began rummaging through cabinets looking for paper. Munan looked puzzled: "What is Young Master searching for?"

"Didn't we previously acquire some paper printed with peach blossoms?"

"Yes." Munan found it in the cabinet and handed it to him. Watching Gu Jiusi take the paper back to his desk, Munan asked suspiciously: "Is My Lord writing a letter?"

"Mhm."

Hearing this, Munan asked uncertainly: "To... Madam?"

"Yeah."

As Gu Jiusi concentrated on writing his letter, Munan remained silent for a moment before slowly reminding him: "Young Master, the young madam only left today, didn't she?"

Gu Jiusi's brush paused, as if his thoughts had been exposed.

He couldn't help looking up to glare at Munan, angrily retorting: "You talk too much!"

This letter was written on the day Liu Yuru departed, but it arrived on the very day she reached her first destination.

The first city where Liu Yuru stopped was Wucheng in Cangzhou.

When she had passed through Cangzhou before, her memory was of endless yellow sand and cracked earth. But Wucheng, being the prefectural capital of Cangzhou, was completely different from her memories.

Wucheng was built on a grand scale with high city walls. The surrounding plains stretched as far as the eye could see, covered with lush green grass. It wasn't much different from Wangdu.

Shen Ming was far more familiar with Cangzhou than she was, so their entire merchant fleet followed Shen Ming's lead as he negotiated their entry into Cangzhou.

This time, Gu Jiusi had prepared a fake official travel document for Liu Yuru. Though he currently served merely as the lowly eighth-rank magistrate of Wangdu, he was still an official. Creating a fake travel document was as easy as lifting a hand for him.Liu Yu Ru, Shen Ming, and the others entered the city using forged official travel documents and then checked into an inn. As soon as Liu Yu Ru stepped into the city, she began observing the prices of goods and scrutinizing the clothing and conversations of everyone around her.

To Liu Yu Ru, these passersby were essentially walking silver coins—each person had a clearly marked value in her mind.

Clothing, demeanor, and speech—most of these traits revealed a person's lifestyle habits. Once she understood their habits, she could naturally deduce their income level.

Everyone believed that Liu Yu Ru had an innate sensitivity to numbers.

Everyone knew that buying low and selling high would yield profits, but the hardest part was determining what constituted "low" and "high."

When faced with such questions, Liu Yu Ru always seemed to possess a foresight, as if she could predict the most appropriate prices. While others attributed this to chance, Liu Yu Ru gradually realized it might be related to her habit since childhood of observing people's expressions and paying close attention to her surroundings.

She had her own method for gauging prices, essentially inferring the big picture from small details—a skill no one else could learn, which was why she had to make this trip herself.

After gathering information until evening, she entered her room, and the messenger sent by Gu Jiusi arrived shortly after.

Liu Yu Ru was somewhat surprised to receive Gu Jiusi's letter, thinking something urgent had happened since it arrived so quickly. She hurriedly opened it and saw that the first page contained only one sentence:

"When will you return?"

She checked the date and realized it had been written on the day she left—meaning Gu Jiusi had started thinking about her return the moment she stepped out.

Amused and exasperated, she turned to the second page and saw Gu Jiusi's handwriting, which wasn't particularly elegant but was neat and orderly, inscribed on the paper:

"Through countless mountains, over endless ranges, across high peaks and distant waters, you have yet to return. My longing blazes like the crimson maple leaves."