Improper transactions with Lord Pei

Wen Zhibai had already told him about what happened while Pei Qinzhou was away a few days ago.

“My father brought home a new child. I suppose it was the idea of ​​the elders in the Wen family after Wen Fushi lost his hand. Qin Shi is also so eager to marry Wen Xian off to the Gao family, probably because of this. When we went to the Wen residence today, I felt that my father and Qin Shi had become much more distant. I guess now that Wen Xian has married into the Gao family, Qin Shi will soon take action against me.”

As Wen Zhibai spoke, he took the joint lawsuit that Thirteen Sister had given him from the bookcase and handed it to Pei Qinzhou: "This is the lawsuit I told you about. I was originally thinking about when to take action against her, but now it seems that I might as well wait for Qin Shi to start first, and then I will use this as a pretext to lure her into a trap."

"Unfortunately, I couldn't help you."

She smiled, cupped Pei Qinzhou's face in her hands, and made him look into her eyes: "Why do you say that, Lord Pei? Without you, where would I get the confidence? If it weren't for you, how could I, all alone, gather evidence to help those who are oppressed?"

"Thanks a lot."

"This is exactly what I wanted to do, and it's not hard work at all. On the contrary, I want to thank you for your support."

“You’ve said thank you so many times already.” Pei Qinzhou pulled Wen Zhibai’s waist and made her fall into his arms.

The scent of cedarwood instantly enveloped her, and then his warm breath blew into her ear: "I don't accept verbal thanks."

Just then, the candles in the study flickered and went out silently.

"Wait!" she cried. "I remember... I remember—"

Wen Zhibai blushed and started spouting nonsense.

“No, we won’t wait.” His interruption was firm and left no room for argument.

"Pei Qinzhou!"

She struggled to her feet and pushed him away, saying, "I'm sleepy, I'm going to sleep." With that, she lifted her skirt and ran to the inner room of her bedroom, quickly closing the door behind her, the sound of her heart pounding still ringing in her ears.

Wen Zhibai was completely unaware that Pei Qinzhou's eyes were full of smiles as he watched her "fleeing in disarray." With a casual wave of his hand, the candles in the room were relit.

He didn't mean anything by it; he was just teasing her.

Cloth Shop

Wen Zhibai held the ledger in one hand and used a pen in the other to tally the goods.

Shopkeeper Jia jogged to her side and handed her the recruitment roster and warehouse ledger together: "Miss, the count has been done. A total of 365 people have come to take on jobs. However, the warehouse's current funds are probably insufficient to cover their wages, and the imperial court's funding will not be disbursed until the goods are delivered. What do you think..."

“These deficits are more than I imagined…” Wen Zhibai stared at the ledger, his fingertip lightly pointing to a huge deficit.

"Alas, the relief efforts in Liangchuan have emptied the warehouses, and now we have to rush to produce 10,000 bolts of cotton cloth. We are all extremely stressed."

At this moment, a beautifully decorated carriage stopped in front of the shop. Wen Zhibai put down the account book in his hand and went to greet the woman who got off the carriage.

The woman was dressed in outdated embroidered brocade, but her face was beautiful and charming.

"Is this young lady the owner of Lingxi Pavilion?"

Wen Zhibai nodded: "Indeed, is there anything you need, Miss?"

"Well, a few of my close sisters and I were planning a spring outing. Last time we passed by Lingxi Pavilion, we noticed that the patterns on the new clothes were unique and very beautiful. It's just a pity that the fabric wasn't what we wanted. We came here today because we heard that you're here, and we wanted to ask if we could have a few bolts of silk made using the same pattern to make new clothes for our spring outing."

Shopkeeper A looked at Wen Zhibai with a troubled expression: "Miss... our fabrics are made for ordinary people, I'm afraid..."

When do you need it?

"It will be early next month."

"Very well, Lingxi Pavilion agrees. I will send someone to your residence in half an hour to take your measurements."

After the girl left, the shopkeeper looked at Wen Zhibai with a puzzled expression: "Miss, what are you going to do...?"

“Lingxi Pavilion, Chaoge Workshop, and Suyue Workshop have always only made ordinary, low-grade fabrics, but their patterns are favored by young ladies from well-off families. Why not try a different approach?”

"Even so, with our current manpower and resources, we cannot produce high-quality Jiangnan silk fabrics like those from Qian's Cloth Workshop."

“Who says we should do the same as the Qian family? The brocade that young lady was wearing just now is no longer fashionable in the capital, which shows that she prefers novel patterns to top-quality materials. Why don’t we use second-grade materials with first-grade patterns? That way, the price will be moderate, which can attract customers who pursue the latest trends without directly clashing with the Qian family.”

"I admire your plan, Miss. But how can we let everyone know that Lingxi Pavilion also produces the finest fabrics?"

Wen Zhibai paused, as if thinking of someone, and a smile appeared on his lips: "I have a way."

After saying that, she handed the ledger to Manager A and asked him to do the calculations for her, as she needed to go home.

"Pei Qinzhou!" Wen Zhibai ran from the front hall, searching everywhere for Pei Qinzhou: "Pei Qinzhou! Lord Pei? Is General Pei home?! Qinzhou? Pei—"

She had just turned around when she bumped into his arms: "Hey!"

"Are you alright?" He reached out and rubbed her forehead where she had bumped it.

“It’s okay…” She gave him a mischievous smile: “Hehehe… um…”

"Hmm? What are you up to now?" Pei Qinzhou gently touched her chin with his fingertip.

Wen Zhibai bit her lower lip, naturally pulled up his wrist, and unconsciously scrambled her feet on the ground. Her voice softened a little: "Um... I... I need some money."

"Just... just money?" He chuckled helplessly.

She looked up, pouted, and gazed at him expectantly: "Mmm!"

——

Several large boxes of gleaming silver were laid out in the courtyard, and Wen Zhibai's eyes widened in surprise: "Lord Pei, are you serious?"

So many, it can't be...

"Isn't that enough? Then I'll have some more—"

Before he could finish speaking, Wen Zhibai immediately closed the box lid: "This is too much... But is it from a legitimate source?"

"What I did was improper?"

That's true, Pei Qinzhou isn't that kind of person.

Wen Zhibai felt relieved, took out his money bag, and put two large ingots of silver into the box, making it bulge.

She grinned from ear to ear and had someone carry the silver back to the cloth storeroom. Then she rushed forward, stood on tiptoe, and planted a kiss on Pei Qinzhou's lips.

"I'm going out!" By the time Pei Qinzhou realized what was happening, the person had already run far away.

Tao Zhi and Xie An hid behind a tree and smiled at each other.

Tao Zhi couldn't help but exclaim, "A man like you is so charming!"

Xie An nodded frantically: "If I were Miss Wen, I would have married you long ago!"

Then the two of them said together, "Tsk tsk tsk..."

As dusk settled, crowds surged forth, and young ladies from all walks of life who loved music flocked to Yiying Tower.

Wen Zhibai was no exception.

She carefully clutched her money pouch, as well as the bell she had secretly retrieved from Pei Qinzhou's room—the one that Su Mu, the top courtesan of Yiying Tower, had given her before.

Following the crowd, she also stepped into Yiying Tower.

Several of the courtesans she had met before walked toward her.

"Hey, isn't this the young lady who invited us to her manor to watch the opera last time?"

Because of Pei Qinzhou's reputation, the group only dared to ask a few questions and did not dare to get too close.

She smiled awkwardly: "May I ask where Mr. Su is?"

The courtesan who had spoken up for her earlier whispered, "If we tell you, won't Lord Pei be angry?"

"Yes, after our last gathering at the Pei residence, we didn't dare show our faces for several days after we returned."

Seeing the fearful looks on their faces, Wen Zhibai sighed and smiled wryly, "I'm sorry, everyone, that was a last resort. But don't worry, I came alone this time, and Pei Qinzhou doesn't know about it."

"I see..." As she spoke, the musicians took her arm and pushed her to sit in the first row in front of the stage: "Miss, you've come at just the right time. Young Master Su will be here to perform soon, so please sit here and wait."

After saying that, the musicians went off to attend to other guests.

She held the bell in her hand, not yet having told them that she had Su Mu's keepsake, but it didn't matter, since she would be seeing him soon anyway.

As she ate the fruit, she looked around at the couples embracing and hugging, then looked down at the silver in her hand and felt a pang of guilt.

He was using Pei Qinzhou's money to fool around at Yiyinglou...

That doesn't seem right no matter how you look at it.

Wait, Wen Zhibai, you came here to ask Su Mu for help, how can that be called fooling around?

Anyway, nobody knows, so we just won't tell him.

During the time she waited for Su Mu to go on stage, she finally understood what it meant to feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.

Suddenly, pale pink gauze curtains were draped over the revolving pavilion, and melodious singing drifted closer and closer, while the cheers of the crowd nearly shattered their eardrums.

A slender, tall man sat on a swing, slowly descending from the sky, holding a pipa in his hands, his face half-covered by a veil.

The women present seemed to hold their breath for a moment.

"Wow--"

Wen Zhibai was also somewhat stunned.

She truly deserves to be called the number one courtesan in Shangjing, and also the top courtesan of Yiying Tower.

The pipa inadvertently caused the beauty to become intoxicated; without wine, she could enjoy three more days of blissful intoxication.

Upon seeing Wen Zhibai sitting in the front row, a hint of surprise flashed in Su Mu's eyes, followed by a gentle smile, and her singing became even softer and sweeter.

As Qu was dying, he stood up, walked slowly to Wen Zhibai, and met her gaze.

"I'm waiting to meet you in the flower-lined alley of my dreams." As the last line was sung, petals fluttered down.

Su Mu put down the pipa and picked up a rose.

The owner of Yiyinglou then came out and asked, "Which young lady will be able to receive Young Master Su's flowers and spend time with him tonight?"

Those present eagerly took out their silver notes, all hoping that Su Mu would give them the flowers.

Seeing such a scene for the first time, Wen Zhibai regretted not bringing Tao Zhi along.

Amidst the bidding frenzy, Su Mu walked straight up to Wen Zhibai and softly asked, "How much are you offering, Miss?"

Wen Zhibai was surprised that he would ask him that question, and pointed at himself, asking, "Me? Me?"

Su Mu nodded with a gentle smile: "Yes, it's you, young lady."

She quickly took out the two silver ingots and the bell from her money bag.

"Although the amount of silver you brought isn't the most, it's enough." Su Mu stepped forward, accepted the bell, picked up the rose, and brought it close to Wen Zhibai's face.

She retreated in alarm.

"I forgot that you already have Lord Pei." He took the rose, broke off the stem, and tucked the flower into her hair.