Seeing the Crown Prince and his guards gradually walk away, Meng Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief, straightened his back, and retorted sarcastically, "Tch, if you were the one being pointed at with a sword just now, you would know how I feel."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qinghe's gaze unconsciously fell on Meng Zhao's neck. Although there were no visible wounds, the thought of that sharp sword just now being pressed against her most vulnerable spot—her throat—and how a slight mishap could have resulted in death, sent a chill down his spine.

"It was my oversight; I shouldn't have brought the Crown Prince to the residence."

His slender fingers clenched unconsciously, his knuckles turning white, revealing his inner regret and lingering fear.

Seeing his expression, Meng Zhao didn't want to blame him and laughed it off, saying, "It's nothing. I should thank you instead for giving me a chance to get to know the Crown Prince. But judging from the Crown Prince's manner, it seems like he already knew me before?"

Shen Qinghe nodded slightly, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes: "His Highness the Crown Prince likes you very much."

"Huh?" Meng Zhao's eyes widened in shock. "Why? Why didn't he tell me that earlier?"

Shen Qinghe's face darkened. "He is the Crown Prince, how can he easily reveal his likes and dislikes? However, the fact that he was willing to talk to you for so long and even let you pinch his cheek is enough to show that he likes you." As he spoke, he glanced at Meng Zhao with a hint of amusement: "Otherwise, just the fact that you dared to pinch the Crown Prince's cheek would be enough to charge you with 'great disrespect'."

Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao belatedly shrank back, muttering, "How would I know he was the Crown Prince?" Then, curiously, she pressed on, "Then how did he know me?"

Shen Qinghe's eyes softened with a gentle smile: "When His Majesty issued an edict to commend you for your meritorious work in developing fertilizer last time, His Highness the Crown Prince was also present. His Highness has always had a wide range of interests and is very curious about many things. Afterwards, he privately inquired about your character from me. I told His Highness about your shop and business dealings. I also told him that the Huarong Road puzzle he has been playing with recently was also made by you. Upon hearing this, His Highness became even more curious about you."

The origin of Huarong Road can be traced back to the first time Meng Zhao went to Mingde Academy. At that time, she casually mentioned the blackboard and chalk to Dean Gu. Unexpectedly, Dean Gu took it to heart and insisted that she make a sample. After the sample was made, not only Dean Gu ordered many, but also Song Siyue of the Imperial Academy and Master Yan who ran a private school also placed orders.

She urgently recruited several craftsmen from Wei Jinglan's academy to make them, but the market hadn't opened up yet and the demand was small. Later, in order to verify the matter of the new city gate, she made a few educational toys for Manman. Seeing that the child loved them, she had an idea and recalled the appearance of more educational toys, drew up the drawings and handed them over to the craftsmen to make.

After they were made, they were sold to general stores in the capital. The sales of these toys, which had various ways of playing, increased dramatically, making more money than the blackboards that were originally intended to be made. The Huarong Road game, in particular, had a way of arranging random numbers in order and a classic escape game. Because of its variety of ways of playing and its small size and portability, it immediately caused quite a stir in the capital.

Moreover, not only children enjoyed playing with it, but many adults also loved it. Unfortunately, it was easy to make, and there were many clever people in the capital, so imitations soon appeared.

So Meng Zhao immediately came up with a new idea: to have woodcarvers carve exquisite patterns on a whole piece of wood, then cut it into blocks and place them randomly. Players had to move the blocks to restore the pattern. Because this increased the production threshold, there were far fewer new imitations on the market.

Because of its established reputation, every time the villa releases a new toy, major general stores in the capital rush to buy it. It is said that a limited edition Huarong Road puzzle has been sold for several taels of silver, enough for an ordinary family to live on for a month. What surprised Meng Zhao even more was that even His Highness the Crown Prince liked to play with it.

Seeing Meng Zhao's delighted expression, Shen Qinghe was happy to make her even happier, so he said, "Not only does His Highness the Crown Prince like it, but His Majesty saw it a couple of days ago. He was originally going to reprimand His Highness for indulging in playthings and neglecting his duties, but after His Majesty tried it himself, he also fell in love with it. Later, when he summoned his ministers to discuss state affairs, he continued to play with it in front of them until the chess piece successfully escaped before they began to discuss matters."

Meng Zhao's eyes lit up, and she was overjoyed. Since ancient times, the emperor's preferences have often set trends. This object played with in front of the emperor would surely make the powerful and noble in the capital flock to it. She immediately turned around and was about to rush out, but Shen Qing grabbed her wrist.

"Where are you going?" Shen Qing asked helplessly.

"Of course, we should go to the other courtyard to deliver the message! We need to get the craftsmen to speed up the production and prepare all the stock. If those imitations get ahead of us, wouldn't we suffer a huge loss!"

Shen Qinghe found her anxious appearance somewhat amusing. "What time is it? Do you still want to leave the city?" He gently led her back. "We'll send someone to deliver the message first thing tomorrow morning."

Meng Zhao calmed down and noticed that Shen Qinghe was holding her hand tightly. She raised her wrist and gave him a look. Without her saying anything, Shen Qinghe had no choice but to let go.

Seeing Meng Zhao immediately take two steps back, he felt a pang of nostalgia for the time when the Crown Prince was present. At least back then, Meng Zhao was unusually willing to get close to him.

Not long after, Madam Gu returned from outside with her two children. As soon as they entered the door, they saw Meng Zhao, and the two children's eyes lit up immediately.

"Sister!" Shen Qingyu lifted her skirt and ran over. "You haven't been back to the manor for several days!"

Shen Qingze also stepped forward, looking up at her with his small face, and said, "We all missed you."

Meng Zhao put his arms around them, one in each arm, and laughed, "It's just that things have been busy at the restaurant these past few days. But you two missed me so much that you didn't even come to see me."

Shen Qingyu said in a serious tone, "We know the restaurant is busy lately, and we were afraid of causing you trouble if we went there."

Meng Zhao felt a warmth in her heart. "How could that be? You two are so well-behaved, I'm overjoyed."

"Really?" Shen Qingze's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to ask, "Can we bring our friends? I told Ji Huai last time that the manager of Yingkelou is my sister, but he just wouldn't believe me and said I was bragging."

Meng Zhao couldn't help but chuckle; she could easily see through a child's little scheme. She readily agreed, "Sure! Just let me know in advance, and I'll arrange the best private room for you."

Madam Gu shook her head as she watched, but couldn't hide the smile on her lips: "Zhaozhao, you spoil them too much."

"What's the big deal? Being happy is the most important thing."

After the two children ran off happily, Meng Zhao's smile gradually faded. She had another important matter to discuss with Gu Changwu. A few days ago, she had written to him asking if he would be willing to serve as the deputy leader of the Western Regions caravan, in charge of goods, accounting records, and personnel scheduling.