"You want me to attend a party?"

Yinzhen: "That's right, I think this is the perfect job for you. Women are easier to talk to each other. I'll have someone cooperate with you. See if you can find out some inside information. Since those foreigners want to do business with our Qing Dynasty, they will inevitably reveal some things. The old foxes in the business world are tight-lipped, but their backyards may not be so tight-lipped."

Yunrong had no objection, but as the Empress, attending a gathering of businesswomen's wives would likely be met with disapproval from everyone.

What kind of identity have you prepared for me?

Yinzhen smiled and said, "A lady from the capital, having seen imported goods, was amazed and wanted to use her connections to do some unusual things for her mother-in-law's birthday celebration. How about that?"

Yunrong glanced at him, surprised that he could make up stories! They sounded plausible and even reasonable.

Yinzhen added, "I will have someone take you there. All you need to do is steer the conversation toward the foreign merchant ships. With your status, there will always be people who flatter you, and you will surely be able to reveal some inside information."

Yunrong understood what Yinzhen meant: "You want to find out how those foreign merchants control the slaves on their ships?"

Yinzhen: "Hmm"

Yinzhen suddenly thought of something, and if his guess was true, he would never let those people go.

Yunrong agreed, and when the time came, a woman came over. This woman was a well-regarded lady in the area. Her husband's family was the prefect of Guangzhou. She was kind and gentle. Many officials' wives were unwilling to deal with merchants, but this prefect's wife was willing.

Guangzhou has a well-developed maritime and fishing industry, so there are many merchants. As the wife of the prefect, she would also interact with some of the wives of merchants for the sake of her husband's career.

It's true that merchants often intermarry, and merchant daughters are generally more "straightforward" than daughters of officials. They don't hold back when it comes to their words, so the prefect's wife's behavior earned her a good reputation among them, making her quite popular in the local area.

The prefect's wife naturally knew Yunrong's identity. Before she came, she didn't know what kind of person the empress was. She only heard that the emperor favored the empress alone, and that the entire harem had become a mere decoration for the sake of the empress. The prefect's wife had no idea what to do with her, so she was particularly respectful when she saw Yunrong.

In her words, she flattered Yunrong and was very considerate. Yunrong often summoned the wives of the imperial family and the wives of officials in the capital. They all knew that unless something was really excessive, she would not get angry. It had been a long time since they had seen someone like the wife of the prefect.

Yunrong smiled and said, "Madam Zhou, please relax. I've heard that you have some connections with the wives of these seven merchants from Guangzhou?"

Madam Zhou looked at the Empress's kind smile and remembered that her purpose in coming today was to take the Empress to a gathering of the wives of merchants.

As for why?

Although she didn't know, she knew it was better not to know. As the saying goes, it's better to be confused sometimes.

She saw that Yunrong didn't seem like someone who was difficult to get along with. Thinking about it, it made sense. Someone who could keep the Emperor completely under her thumb would certainly not do anything that would leave any leverage for others, and must be a smart person.

Mrs. Zhou gradually relaxed and started talking to Yunrong about the gathering.

"Your Majesty, I once had a close friend who married into the Li family and became a merchant's wife. We were best friends since we were young, and after our marriage, we wanted to visit each other more often. In addition, my friend is a very sociable person, and she would often invite the ladies of various families to get together and chat. I went, and through these visits, I became quite familiar with the ladies of the merchants in Guangzhou."

Yunrong didn't care how she got to know them; she was just trying to start a conversation.

Yunrong sighed, "So that's how it is. I'll have to trouble Madam Zhou to show me the way this time, so I can broaden my horizons."

Madam Zhou said humbly, "Your Majesty, I am foolish. If Your Majesty has any instructions, I will certainly obey."

Yunrong smiled and said, "Since Madam Zhou has said so, then we will trouble you today. I don't know my identity to others. Today, I am your distant cousin from the capital. My husband's family is an official in the capital. The reason I came with you is because my husband's family plans to come here to take up their post. However, there are still some things that need to be understood in the capital, so I came in advance to make some arrangements."

Madam Zhou was naturally aware of this matter: "Your Majesty, I obey your command."

Yunrong smiled and said, "Then, cousin, it's settled then."

Yunrong was not old, only in her early twenties, and for a moment, Madam Zhou was taken aback when she saw her calling her "cousin" with such a smile.

Madam Zhou thought to herself, "The Empress must be exceptionally beautiful to have won the Emperor's heart!"

"Then I must offend you."

Yunrong: "It's not really necessary. Since we're all ready, let's set off!"

Yunrong went to the banquet with Madam Zhou. The banquet was hosted by the Li family, a well-known wealthy merchant family in Guangzhou and a friend of Madam Zhou.

The main purpose of this banquet was to divide up the goods on this batch of merchant ships. The front courtyard was occupied by wealthy merchants from Guangzhou and foreign businessmen, while the back courtyard was occupied by Madam Li and some other merchants' wives, as well as a small number of officials' wives.

After all, with Madam Zhou, the wife of the prefect, here, there are people who want to curry favor with her.

When Yunrong and Madam Zhou arrived, almost everyone had already arrived. Their appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention. Madam Li stood up, smiled, and walked up to them. She first said to Madam Zhou, "Sister Zhou, you've finally arrived. I've kept you waiting."

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