Chapter 48 Generous Spending

In Su Wan'er's eyes, Su Chen's recent changes were actually a normal development, simply because her younger brother had grown up.

As they chatted, Su Chen also shared with his sister that he had recently made quite a few consecutive fortunes in Chang'an City by relying on the Taibai Drunken.

Although the Su family's financial situation was decent, the household honestly did not have much liquid cash.

"Let's set that aside for a moment. I also heard that you went to a pleasure house not long ago. You must never go to a place like that again in the future."

Su Chen had originally intended to boast a little bit in front of his sister. After all, he was now a man of means with cash in hand, quite different from his former self.

However, Su Wan'er was not easily distracted by his diversion. She turned her head right back and flatly told him that he was strictly forbidden from visiting pleasure houses ever again.

Now that Su Chen had started walking the righteous path, and as long as he continued to take steady, solid steps forward step by step, his future was bound to be promising and wouldn't turn out poorly.

Places like pleasure houses were mixed congregations of good and bad elements where trouble easily arose, and they were hardly reputable establishments.

"Sister, I went there that time to treat a patient. As a responsible physician, whenever I see a patient no matter where they might be, I always want to help them."

Su Chen could get away with telling such nonsense to Princess Changle, but trying to fool Su Wan'er was no easy task.

Had she not investigated the entire matter thoroughly, Su Wan'er would not have brought this issue up.

"Stop putting on an act in front of me. I know all about those things you did. It's useless for you to pretend; I've already had someone investigate the whole affair. I heard you even spent an entire night with a woman named Yang Wan'er who came from Gusu City. What on earth did the two of you do?"

When she first heard the name, Su Wan'er had felt that it possessed some sort of destined affinity with her. Yet how could she possibly share any affinity with a woman from a pleasure quarter? The very thought had made her extremely angry.

Later on, when she wanted to send people to look for Yang Wan'er, the woman could no longer be found. However, they had managed to find out everything that happened on that particular night.

The only thing they failed to uncover was the fact that Cui Wenbin had taken people to look for Yang Wan'er the very next day, as the Cui family had kept that matter under wraps.

"So Sister, you've already had people look into it thoroughly. Since you've already found out everything, why are you still asking me? Nothing actually happened between us that night; we simply chatted and played the zither."

What Su Chen said was indeed the truth, for the two of them had found each other's conversation exceptionally congenial. In the end, they had even played the zither together and appreciated music.

Su Wan'er also knew that seemingly nothing untoward had happened that night, otherwise she would certainly have reprimanded her younger brother right then and there.

"A young man should take a wife, and a maiden should be wed. It seems my little brother is no longer a child."

Su Wan'er suddenly turned her head and looked up and down at her brother. All of these recent troubles had been stirred up by women, and Su Wan'er was now suddenly inclined to find a woman for her brother.

This remark caught Su Chen completely off guard and left him momentarily stunned.

How long had it been since he arrived in the Tang Dynasty? Many things were still unsettled, and he absolutely could not let his sister take matters into her own hands regarding the second half of his life.

Su Chen was reflecting that even if he wanted to take a wife and settle down here, he had to find someone he himself agreed upon. The concept of free love had long since taken deep, unshakeable roots in Su Chen's mind. He had no desire for the traditional arrangements dictated by parents' orders and matchmakers' words.

"Sister, you don't need to trouble yourself with these matters. Your little brother will naturally handle them properly and will definitely not give you cause for worry. Just focus on being your Crown Princess in peace."

Su Chen hurriedly tried to calm his sister down. He could not afford any impulsiveness at a moment like this; if his sister took it upon herself to find a woman for him—or worse, several—the negative impact on his future plans would be severe.

Su Wan'er chuckled softly. Since her little brother was this quick-witted, he indeed didn't need others to worry so much on his behalf.

"Fine, I know you're clever. I heard that you've earned quite a bit of silver in Chang'an City relying on the Taibai Drunken—hand some of it over. Your sister is running a bit short on cash lately."

Su Wan'er joked and extended her hand. As the Crown Princess, she naturally had no need for large sums of money, and she also received a monthly stipend. At this moment, she was merely teasing Su Chen.

Su Chen understood this well, yet he generously reached into his sleeve and produced five hundred taels of silver.

"Sister, I've already instructed people to purchase some materials with a portion of the funds, so I don't have all that much left on me. Here are five hundred taels of silver; take this to spend as you like first, and let me know if you need more later."

This gesture genuinely startled Su Wan'er. Her little brother was far too generous. Knowing that her brother had struck it rich, she had never imagined he would be so lavish as to pull out five hundred taels of silver without a second thought. This amount far exceeded several months of her own income.

"What is it, Sister? Do you think it's too little? If you feel it's not enough, I can have someone bring another five hundred taels over from the medical clinic's counter."

When it came to spending money, Su Chen was exceedingly generous. If his sister wanted cash, she only had to take it from him. Since arriving in the Tang Dynasty, he had only these few relatives left; if he didn't cherish his own family, who else was there to cherish?

As Su Chen spoke, he made a motion to have someone fetch more money from the clinic.

Su Wan'er hastily stopped him. How could she possibly need that much money? She had only been joking with Su Chen a moment ago.

"No, no, that won't be necessary. I stay inside the Crown Prince's Mansion all day long and have no use for so much money. Besides, the funds at your clinic naturally need to be kept for business operations. I'll just hold onto these five hundred taels for safekeeping on your behalf; you can come and ask your sister for it whenever you want to use it or find yourself short of cash."

Originally, Su Wan'er had no intention of taking her brother's money. However, fearing that he might spend recklessly and squander every last coin, keeping these five hundred taels with her would at least ensure he had a nest egg saved up to take a wife in the future.

Su Chen's modern mindset differed entirely from the ancient concept of hoarding wealth—money was meant to be spent. As the verse goes, "Heaven has endowed me with talents, and wealth spent will return again." Money was only truly money when it was put to use; otherwise, idle money was nothing more than numbers.

However, since his sister wanted to save money for him, he let her do as she wished, if only to give her peace of mind.

"Sister, you needn't worry so much. In a little while, I believe our Su family will surely become wealthy enough to rival nations, and we will never be as destitute as before."

On this point, Su Chen remained exceptionally confident. Although the Su family boasted a Crown Princess and Su Chen's father served as an official in the imperial court, their financial standing had never been ideal.

Hearing Su Chen's bold declaration, Su Wan'er instead shook her head and sighed softly.