After a confused night, He Qixie, having tasted the sweetness of love, almost clung to Qiao Qiu and went wild in the morning. At the crucial moment, Qiao Qiu kicked him away, got out of bed, and went to take a shower behind the side door.

He Qi Xie relentlessly pursued them, using all his persuasion to get them to take a blush-inducing bath together.

Qiao Qiu was exhausted from his antics; her back ached, and she suffered terribly. She rested all morning before finally setting off in the afternoon.

The Emperor personally came to see her off and called her aside. He told her that the ten wealthiest merchants each had their own characteristics and preferences, and that as long as she catered to their preferences, it would not be a problem for her, given her status, to negotiate a deal with them.

Then the emperor told her what they liked on the surface, and what they actually liked.

Qiao Qiu kept this in mind and had a plan in mind.

After bidding farewell to He Qixie and the Emperor, Qiao Qiu was escorted by the main force to Baicao City.

Inside the carriage, Liu Yibu lowered the curtain to keep out the wind and dust, looked at the young man leaning against the carriage wall reading a book, and asked uncertainly, "Young master, are you really going to do this?"

What do you mean?

“Wei Chao clearly likes antiques, but you insisted on giving him a guqin. Not to mention that you have nothing to do with what he really likes, you have nothing to do with what he openly likes either. Young master, what are you thinking?” Liu Yibu couldn’t understand what Qiao Qiu was thinking. How could his usually steady young master do something so irrational?

Qiao Qiu didn't even look up, her slender fingers turning the page. "I've heard he plays the guqin exceptionally well. In ancient times, people made friends through the guqin, which is why there were such life-and-death friendships as Bo Ya and Zi Qi. I treated him with sincerity. Don't you think giving him a guqin is the best choice?"

“But young master, don’t forget, he’s a merchant. Who are the people he usually associates with when he plays the zither? Girls from places like Cuihonglou and Zuihonglou. If he feels that you are insulting him, wouldn’t that backfire?” Liu Yibu said.

“If that’s what he thinks, it’s enough to prove he’s a vulgar person. Playing the piano is such an elegant thing. If he doesn’t even understand this, he’s not worthy of playing the piano.” Qiao Qiu remained unmoved, not compromising in the slightest.

Liu Yibu had no choice. He couldn't do anything presumptuously once the young master had made a decision; otherwise, he wouldn't have the opportunity to work for the young master.

Three days later, Qiao Qiu arrived at Baicao City.

Her arrival attracted the attention of many people, especially the city's prefect, who personally went to the city gate to greet her.

Qiao Qiu declined the prefect's invitation to stay at the prefect's residence and instead chose to stay at the most bustling inn in the city center.

Even the prefect was puzzled. Shen Junbai had a cold and aloof demeanor, and there was nothing about him that suggested he liked crowds. Could it be that he wanted to find a quiet courtyard in this inn amidst the hustle and bustle? Yes, that was also possible.

Liu Yibu gave the prefect a sympathetic look. "The young master's behavior has been unusually strange lately. Don't tell me you don't understand, I don't understand either."

After entering the inn, Qiao Qiu chose a superior room facing the street to stay in.

The prefect, who was slapped in the face: ...

Qiao Qiu turned to the prefect and smiled, "Thank you for your warm hospitality, Prefect. I am quite tired from the journey today. I will definitely visit you in person another day to express my gratitude."

This was a way of telling people to leave. The prefect realized it too, and he didn't want to stay here any longer. This Shen Junbai was really too unpredictable.

"In that case, I will head back now. Young Master Shen, please rest well."

"Please take care, Your Excellency." Qiao Qiu looked at Liu Yibu and said, "See Your Excellency off for me."

"Yes, young master." Liu Yibu understood, gave his subordinate a wink, then smiled and gestured to the prefect, "Prefect, please."

"Let's go." The prefect turned and left, and the officials followed him.

Liu Yibu followed behind, one step behind. His subordinates brought him the box, which he took with one hand. Turning his head, he saw that the prefect had already descended halfway down the stairs, followed by two groups of officials. There was no room for him to squeeze past. Liu Yibu simply leaped up, placed his foot on the railing, and used the momentum to jump down, landing lightly.

"Sir, please wait a moment."

The prefect turned around and saw Liu Yibu running towards him. He glanced at the queue behind him; half of it was still on the stairs. How had he gotten down?

Liu ran up to him and smiled, "My lord, my young master has another gift to give you."

"Oh, what gift?" The prefect's eyes flickered slightly when he saw the box in the man's hand.

Liu Yibu presented the box to the prefect with both hands and said with a smile, "These are some local specialties from Xiangzhou. They are all things that are not very valuable, but they are a little 'heavy'."

Upon hearing this, the prefect waved his hand and summoned a constable to come and fetch him.

The official respectfully accepted it, but the moment Liu let go, the official almost fell. He barely managed to hold on, and dared not let his guard down again.

Liu Yibu laughed and said, "Brother Cha, be careful."

The prefect was impressed by Liu Yibu. In his hands, Liu was as light as if there was nothing inside, while in someone else, he would feel as heavy as a thousand pounds. This man's martial arts skills were unfathomable.

"May I have your name?"

"This humble citizen is Liu Yibu."

"So it's Young Master Liu. I've heard of you; you're Young Master Shen's most trusted right-hand man." The prefect's attitude had improved considerably.

"Your Excellency is too kind. This humble subject will see you off."

"Alright." The prefect glanced at the box of local specialties, smiled broadly, and turned to leave the inn.

Qiao Qiu sat by the window, observing the buying and selling situation on the street.

Actually, the operating model is the same everywhere: vendors set up stalls, and people come to buy. However, Qiao Qiu noticed a shortage of fruit. Even when fruit was available, the quantity was very limited. Furthermore, many varieties of vegetables were also missing.

After a moment's thought, she realized that nothing with flowers could survive here, right? Many fruits and vegetables that are grown go through a flowering process.

Qiao Qiu truly felt that she hadn't studied enough when she needed the knowledge. If she knew biology, chemistry, and geography, she could have solved all the soil problems here.

"Young Master." Liu Yibu knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Liu Yibu walked in and said to her, "Young Master, everything has been taken care of."

Qiao Qiu nodded, turned to look down, and said, "Come and take a look."

Liu walked to the window, looked down, and raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.

"What did you find?" Qiao Qiu asked.

"There's basically no fruit for sale, and many cooked dishes are also unavailable. I think it's mostly related to the geology here," Liu Yibu replied.

Qiao Qiu nodded again, "That's right. We only considered this side before and didn't spend any money. Our vision was really short-sighted."

Liu Yi looked at her, "Young Master, I know what you mean, but what can we do?" (For the latest chapters, please visit Tangkexing on your mobile phone.)