Chapter 1814: Chapter 423: The Terrifying Potential of Huangzhou Prefecture

In the back courtyard of Huangzhou Prefecture, the sun was bright, its gentle light shining down on two loungers in the rear yard.

The two most honored women in the residence were there basking in the sun.

Su Yunjin was lying on a lounger at this moment, her face still somewhat pale. After the last caesarean birth, although Chen Jiusi had used Life Force to mend the aftereffects of her massive bleeding,

Bai Wenjing had also given her many blood‑tonifying prescriptions, yet Su Yunjin’s essence was still injured.

Fortunately, with Bai Wenjing managing things from outside and with Chen Jie’s current status, all kinds of supplemental medicine were sent over as if they cost nothing.

So this bit of loss of Su Yunjin’s was slowly being repaired, but it would take time; illness comes like a landslide and goes like drawing silk—one could not rush it, nor fuss over it.

And sitting beside Su Yunjin, also basking in the sun, was Chen Jie’s Second Madam, Mrs. Huang, Huang Wan’er.

She too was sunning herself, dressed in a red long robe that could not conceal the peerless grace upon her.

She was different from Su Yunjin. Su Yunjin liked plain colors and disliked ostentation, so her clothes were mostly solemn and dignified. Now that she was ill, such solemnity was of no use, so she had changed into a pure white plain dress.

Huang Wan’er, on the other hand, loved to dress up. She was extremely skilled at bringing out her feminine charm, and she had to carefully dress herself every day before going out. First, she disliked others seeing her in a disheveled state.

For she had had far too many disheveled moments. Although she had followed Chen Jie for a long time and had lived good days for many years now, in the depths of her heart she could never forget the humiliations she had once suffered.

Back then she had been so wretched, and now that she had the means, she wanted to dress herself up beautifully. Besides, she never knew when Chen Jie would return, and she did not want her husband to come home and see her slovenly.

So as long as she stepped out of her room, she would dress herself with care.

Not far from them, a senior maid each was preparing tea and watching over the young little masters in their respective rooms.

And a short distance in front of the rocking chairs, two small cradles had been placed there, each holding a little child carved of powder and jade, exceedingly adorable.

One was a bit older, looking to be more than a year.

The other was a bit younger, seemingly only one or two months old.

At this moment the sunlight spilled over the two children. Yin Hongmei, the senior maid from Su Yunjin’s quarters, and Du Juan, the senior maid from Huang Wan’er’s quarters, each held a fan before one child’s face to block the sunlight, lest it prick the eyes of their own young master and young lady.

Indeed, these were Chen Jie’s two children. The older one was the girl born to Huang Wan’er, named Chen Luoning.

The younger one was Chen Jie’s eldest son, born to Su Yunjin and named Chen Li.

The two children slept comfortably under the sun, utterly at ease.

Not far away stood a stone table, on which were set several plates of pastries and seasonal fruits. Cuiju, the second maid from Su Yunjin’s rooms, and Du Juan, the second maid from Huang Wan’er’s rooms, were at this moment brewing tea.

However, the teas they were brewing were different.

Su Yunjin’s body was weak, so she did not like to drink green tea. Thus the tea Cuiju was brewing for her Lady was Dahongpao from Wuyi Mountain; its liquor was soft and mellow, most nourishing to the body.

Huang Wan’er, however, was not used to drinking black tea. What she liked was pre‑rain Longjing from West Lake, so the tea Mudan was brewing for her was this year’s top level pre‑rain Longjing, just brought by the caravans from West Lake. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The two Madams each drank tea of different flavors.

This too was because the conditions of the Chen Residence were good now, life was thriving, and wealth was pouring in from all directions.

Thus the household of Chen Jiusi received the highest treatment. If they wanted Wuyi Mountain Dahongpao, they could have Wuyi Mountain Dahongpao; if they wanted West Lake Longjing, then they could drink West Lake Longjing.

In the past, where would there have been such treatment?

Think back to the days of Chen Jie and Su Yunjin in Xiantao Village of Mianshui County—back then, having a bowl of plain rice porridge to drink was enough to be happy about.

To think of drinking Dahongpao from Wuyi Mountain or Longjing from West Lake was simply dreaming; even a mouthful of tea dregs would have been something.

But now it was no problem at all. The various standards of the Chen Residence had been gradually raised over these years.

From the initial food‑not‑enough‑to‑fill‑their‑stomachs in Xiantao Village, to a well‑to‑do household in Mianshui County, and then to the wealthy class of Huangzhou Prefecture.

The changes in the Chen Residence were tremendous, and the source of these changes lay in the continual increase of Chen Jie’s strength, which in turn led to the expansion of his power.

Chen Jie’s influence was now expanding madly, and as his level in Martial Arts rose, he was ever more able to hold the scene down.

At present Chen Jie’s power directly encompassed Huangzhou Prefecture, Qianjiang Prefecture, Tianmen Prefecture, Huanggang, Xianning, and Xiaogan—six prefectures in all. Along the way, his influence was also infiltrating toward Sui Province and Jingmen, with great effect. One could say Chen Jie now basically controlled half of Hubei’s territory.

With such a vast domain, the armies under Chen Jie’s command were also expanding at great speed.

After a period of reorganizing the troops, the number of soldiers under Chen Jie had grown to thirty thousand elites and one hundred thousand reserves.

The elites were the three major Armies in Chen Jie’s hands: the Azure Dragon Corps, the White Tiger Army, and the Vermilion Bird Army.

Each corps had ten thousand elite soldiers, all selected with utmost care for excellence.

As for the hundred thousand reserves, they were mainly responsible for the defense of each city, belonging to the garrison corps. Most were chosen from good commoner families, and some were originally the local official army, retained after being incorporated by Chen Jie.

Besides these, in each city Chen Jie also had several thousand Fishing Guild Disciples; taken together there were forty to fifty thousand of them. These Disciples were currently doing the work of Government Officials, responsible for local public security.