Rebirth: So what if my husband is a little crazy? He loves me.

Chapter 76 A Clever Plan

"Li'er is here, please sit down." Xiao Zhan blinked to hide the tears in his eyes and asked, "Is the instructor that Grandpa sent you doing well? Have you been practicing your swordsmanship diligently lately?"

“No, my granddaughter has been painting behind closed doors recently, and she brought some paintings to her cousin.” Shen Li turned to the side, and Xiao Zhan saw the servants carrying in four large boxes.

"How many paintings have you made?" Xiao Zhan looked at the four huge boxes and thought to himself that hundreds of paintings could fit in them.

There are only four.

"Li'er is still thinking of her brother." Xiao Qi put his gun away and placed it on the weapon rack, then smiled and walked towards the box, about to open it: "Let your brother see what treasure it is? Why is it locked?"

"It's not time to open it yet. Consider it a clever plan. If a city is truly in danger and can't be defended, this might buy you a day or two." Shen Li said, handing him four brass keys.

"Oh? Opportunities on the battlefield are fleeting. Not to mention a day or half a day, even a quarter of an hour or an hour can be a turning point. You think this painting is useful?" Xiao Qi found it unbelievable and took the key with some skepticism.

"I hope my brother won't need it. After all, it's not something to be proud of, and if he does, he'll get scolded." Shen Li touched her nose guiltily.

Forsythia and Peony were also very puzzled. They knew that the young lady had been saying that she was painting birthday celebration pictures, but in fact she was painting pictures that they couldn't understand. Recently, the mansion had used a lot of silk to piece together these four huge canvases.

Now they say it's for defending the city? How can you defend a city with this weird stuff?

"Okay, brother will definitely take it with me. Thank you, little Ali." Xiao Qi patted her head affectionately, his smile bright.

Even if he didn't quite believe it, he didn't want to disappoint the little girl's feelings.

Shen Li couldn't help but feel a little sad when she saw him smiling like that.

"My lord, young master, young lady, Miss Lin has come to bid farewell to you. Where would you like to meet her?" The steward came over to report.

"Please come this way, it's kind of this girl to be so thoughtful," Xiao Zhan said with a smile.

Shen Li looked at Xiao Qi and said with a half-smile, "Yes, you have quite the ambition."

"What did you say, little sister?" Xiao Qi looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean?"

Shen Li was taken aback, then realized that Lin Wan'er had a one-sided love in her previous life, and her silly cousin still didn't know how the girl felt.

He died in vain.

"I want to say that since the Lin family girl is traveling with you all the way, and the military camp is full of men, you should take good care of her," Shen Li instructed.

"Don't worry about that. She's Marshal Lin's daughter, and the entire army will respect her, not just me."

Shen Li sighed, and could only wish Lin Wan'er all the best.

Lin Wan'er greeted the old Duke and then clasped her hands in a fist salute to Xiao Qi, displaying a heroic and spirited demeanor.

Xiao Qi returned the greeting, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Lin Wan'er. She was the most unique girl he had ever met.

"Let's go to the flower hall for tea." Xiao Zhan stood up first.

Lin Wan'er's last glance was into Shen Li's eyes. Lin Wan'er knew that Shen Li had come to say goodbye, and Shen Li also knew that Lin Wan'er would definitely come.

After having tea, Xiao Qi helped the old man back to his bedroom, leaving only the two of them in the flower hall.

"Is there anything you want to give me?" Lin Wan'er asked, noticing that Lian Qiao and Shao Yao were each carrying a bundle, which looked quite bulging.

Shen Li put down her teacup and smiled, "You're quite impolite."

"I guessed you wouldn't see them off empty-handed, I'm just curious what you'd bring." Lin Wan'er became much more lively after the person left, and walked over to say, "Let me see."

Lianqiao and Shaoyao placed their respective bundles on the small table, and Shen Li nudged them toward Lin Wan'er, signaling her to open them.

"Then I'll open it." Lin Wan'er opened it with a smile, but her smile quickly faded as she froze when she saw what it contained.

Open the other one, and you'll see the same scene.

"Are you serious?" Lin Wan'er felt as if her face was bathed in golden light.

The two bundles each contained two items: a thick stack of silver notes and a pile of gold.

She finally understood why the bundle was divided into two; it was too heavy for one person to carry. These two girls were clearly trained, otherwise they wouldn't be so steady.

"Here are five hundred taels of gold and one hundred thousand taels of silver notes. Use them to prepare some provisions. If the imperial court runs out of provisions, use them to tide you over." Shen Li was quite calm.

"So much money, does your Shen family own a bank?" Lin Wan'er was relieved to hear this, because the largest bank in Dazhao was indeed owned by the Shen family.

The Shen family is called a prestigious family because of its profound heritage, having been a large family for hundreds of years, while the Great Zhao Dynasty has only been established for a hundred years.

The once supremely honored Grand Tutor Shen, and now the Grand Secretary Shen Zizai, who is at the height of his power, is not even the head of the Shen family; he can only be considered a direct descendant.

The Shen family's former residence was located in the prosperous Jiangnan region. They were primarily engaged in commerce, with businesses scattered throughout the country, and their wealth was immeasurable.

Of course, regardless of the dynasty, the Shen family would always send some of their sons to serve as officials in the capital and local areas to maintain their influence.

In order to expand their influence, the Shen family built schools in various places, and did not charge tuition fees for those with good aptitude. This helped the court to cultivate talents to a certain extent, but it was also a way to consolidate their own power.

To a certain extent, the emperor was powerless against the Shen family, because if the Shen family fell, the economic lifeline of the Great Zhao would be destroyed, and the disaster would only be greater.

Fortunately, the Shen family has always been very discreet and has not interfered in factional struggles or the struggle for imperial power. Even when members of the family were beheaded by the court, they did not care and simply sent a new batch to replace them. Thus, they have lived in peace for over a hundred years.

As the highest-ranking direct descendant of the Shen family in the imperial court, Shen Zizai receives a large sum of bonus money from the main branch of the Shen family every year to maintain their relationship, and they are given shops and land whenever they want.

In addition, Xiao Bailing was full of energy. Since he couldn't go to the battlefield, he devoted all his energy to acquiring property and doing business. Even without the annual dividends from his family, money was still flowing into his household.

This led to Shen Li never caring about money since childhood. In her view, it was an ordinary thing. So even though she read a lot, she was still aloof from the masses and had the air of empty talk that could harm the country.

She only realized how miserable the lives of ordinary people were when she got to prison. They could only get a few strings of cash by selling their children and never see silver in their entire lives.

In this life, she will use the money where it is needed.

"Take it, but be careful. We need to guard against more than just external enemies." Shen Li said meaningfully.

The defeat in her previous life was too swift, and with the cession of territory, many clues could no longer be found, but Shen Li always felt that there was something fishy going on.

The most deadly enemies are often those hidden within.

Lin Wan'er nodded: "I had the same suspicion. I'll take it then, and I'll return it to you if I don't need it."

"If you find anything amiss, in addition to reporting it to the Ministry of War, also give me a report," Shen Li instructed again.

"Okay." Lin Wan'er smiled. "Don't be so serious. You sound like you've aged ten years. Give me a smile."