Chapter 35 My Cousin's Goading

Pei Wu's memorial secretly circled back to its source, as if it had never appeared at all.

Meanwhile, impeachment memorials fell like snowflakes, but they were all secretly suppressed. The court and the public seemed to have no choice but to accept that there was no such thing and continue to dream of a peaceful life.

The incident of beating people in the city that day quickly passed, and the people of Bianjing City completely forgot about it. Life went on as usual, and as long as it didn't concern them, no one paid much attention.

After returning from the Prime Minister's residence, Song Pingzhang did not take the initiative to contact Pei Wu. Pei Wu acted as if nothing had happened and continued to work as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. However, he spent most of his time in his study these days, sometimes for several hours at a time.

Jiang Ru could roughly guess what he was doing, but she didn't ask. Pei Wu was sensible and always handled things properly, so she wouldn't interfere too much.

Life went on at a leisurely pace. Jiang Ru took the time to rent out all the land in Pei Wu's salary, keeping only a few acres for herself. The money she earned was more than enough to open several shops in Bianjing.

In her spare time, Jiang Ru would take Xia Xia and Xiao Zhu around to look for shops in the most bustling streets of Bianjing.

After searching around, they ended up going to the Zhouqiao Night Market, the place Jiang Ru and the others had visited before. It was a bustling place with rows of shops, one of the most crowded places in Bianjing, so the rent was naturally not low.

According to what Jiang Ru found out, even the smallest shop costs ten strings of cash a month.

Although she still has some money, Jiang Ru will definitely feel the pinch if she spends ten strings of cash in a month. If she loses money, it will be a real loss of money.

The matter of renting a shop was temporarily put on hold. Since they were already out, Jiang Ru wasn't in a hurry to go back, so she took the two of them for a stroll around the city. This stroll led them to the Bian River.

The shops in this area are all located along the river, with many teahouses. Setting up tea tables by the river to drink tea and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Bian River is the most popular place for young ladies in Bianjing. Jiang Ru had previously come here to find outside help when she was weaving nets for Pei Wu.

She glanced subconsciously at the tea table area, and in that glance, she spotted a few familiar faces.

Just as she shifted her gaze, the young ladies also saw her. The leader among them was named Song Shu. Upon seeing Jiang Ru, she smiled and waved to her.

Jiang Ru then walked over.

After not seeing each other for a long time, Song Shu deliberately scolded, "Young Lady Jiang, you're so good. You finished weaving the net and then forgot about us sisters."

It was indeed Jiang Ru's fault. Jiang Ru also said a few words of reproach, and Song Shu didn't blame her. She just reached out to pull her.

It was clear that Song Shu was always pampered; her hands were as soft as silk as she gently pulled Jiang Ru to sit down. A faint fragrance emanated from her, making her stand out even in a crowd.

Jiang Ru sat down beside her. Several young ladies were drinking tea at the tea table, some of them embroidering on handkerchiefs. Seeing her sit down, one of the young ladies smiled and teased her, "Young Lady Jiang, do you have another tassel to embroider?"

The young women giggled and teased Jiang Ru, who had no choice but to beg for forgiveness: "It was my fault. I will definitely remember to come and find you next time."

The young ladies then asked, "Have you given away your brocade? Did he like it?"

Ever since that net was given to Pei Wu, he has worn it every day, so he must like it. Jiang Ru said, "He likes it."

The young ladies looked at each other, then lowered their heads and chuckled.

Jiang Ru was puzzled, and Song Shu smiled and said, "Young Lady Jiang, you didn't come here this time to embroider something again, did you?"

This meeting was purely by chance, and Jiang Ru honestly replied that she didn't want to embroider anything, she was just browsing.

She didn't say she came to look at the shop, after all, whether the shop should be opened was still a question, and besides, they hadn't known each other for very long, so it didn't warrant such a discussion.

She didn't finish her story, and Song Shu and the others didn't ask any further questions. They invited Jiang Ru to stay for a while to drink tea, but when Jiang Ru saw that it was getting late, she decided to take her leave.

A young lady called out to her, "Miss Jiang, there will be a flower viewing banquet at Sister Song's residence in three days. Would you do me the honor of coming and have a look?"

Jiang Ru originally wanted to refuse, but they were so enthusiastic that she could only agree: "Then I'll have to ask where Sister Song's residence is located."

Seeing that she had agreed, Song Shu smiled and said, "It's in the Song residence south of the Imperial Street. You can ask around and you'll find out."

After confirming the time for the flower viewing banquet, Jiang Ru was finally able to leave. However, not long after she left, Xia whispered, "Young lady, the Song residence is the Prime Minister's residence."

Jiang Ru suddenly stopped in her tracks. She frowned. If she remembered correctly, it was the prime minister who sent Pei Wu the invitation a few days ago.

Jiang Ru asked, "Then Song Shu is..."

Xia shook her head: "I've never seen her, but judging from her age, she's probably the granddaughter of the prime minister."

She met Song Shu last month. At that time, Pei Wu had not yet become the top scholar in the imperial examination, but he had already become the top scholar in the provincial examination. Jiang Ru was unsure whether her relationship with Song Shu was a coincidence or something else.

That night, Pei Wu returned home after his shift. As soon as he stepped inside, Jiang Ru ran up to him and told him what had happened that day, including the whole story of how she met Song Shu.

She saw a few young women embroidering and went over to ask them for advice, but she never expected that the person she met by chance would be related to the prime minister.

After saying that, Jiang Ru said with some unease, "Do you think this will have any impact on you? If it's not appropriate, I won't go in three days."

Pei Wu, who was always calm and collected, simply said, "You can go."

Jiang Ru was stunned for a moment.

Pei Wu continued, "Your friendship with her has no impact on me. She is herself, and the prime minister is the prime minister."

He walked very slowly, and Jiang Ru could easily keep up with his pace. Seeing her puzzled, Pei Wu said, "Your meeting with her may not necessarily be related to the Prime Minister. I had not yet become the top scholar at that time, so the Prime Minister should not have known me. Therefore, there is no need to worry."

Jiang Ru was still worried: "What if it really has something to do with you?"

She pressed for details, and Pei Wu patiently replied, "It's alright. She asked you to admire the flowers, so just go and admire them."

If it truly is the Prime Minister's intention, and he wants to win him over, then sending Jiang Ru is simply to establish a good relationship with her first. Jiang Ru can do as she pleases. If it has nothing to do with the Prime Minister, then it depends on Jiang Ru's wishes.

At this point, Pei Wu paused for a moment: "If you really don't want to go, then don't go. I'll send someone to your door to turn her away."

Jiang Ru felt that something was not quite right, but since Pei Wu had already said so, she said, "I'd better go."

Since she said she would go, Pei Wu nodded and said, "Okay."

She was still worried, so Pei Wu asked Jiang Ru, "You said you were going to look at shops today, did you find one you liked?"

When this was mentioned, Jiang Ru could only shake her head: "The rent for the shop is too expensive, it costs ten strings of cash a month, I'm afraid it will squander your salary."

She was just thinking about it. Not to mention that the shop was too expensive for her to afford, Jiang Ru hadn't figured out what to do for the time being. If she lost money, she would have no face to see Pei Wu again.

Pei Wu pondered for a moment: "I have a day off tomorrow, so I can go with you to take a look."

“Great idea!” Jiang Ru exclaimed with delight. “Let’s go take a look first thing tomorrow morning.”

Pei Wu agreed.

With Pei Wu's help and advice, Jiang Ru was able to relax a little. The next morning, after getting ready, Jiang Ru went to the main hall to meet Pei Wu.

On his days off, Pei Wu wore more casual clothes in simple colors, unlike his usual bright red official robes, which made him look even more elegant and refined.

The two walked together to Zhouqiao Bridge and had breakfast first. Jiang Ru then took Pei Wu to the shop. The shop was in a good location, and besides them, other people had also taken a liking to it. It was just a matter of who could make the first move.

Jiang Ru stood in the center of the shop and muttered, "The location is good, but the rent is too expensive."

Pei Wu also looked around, and while Jiang Ru was still hesitating, Pei Wu said, "It's okay to rent it."

This street is mostly filled with food stalls, and it gets especially lively at night. Unless the food is too unpopular, business is usually pretty good.

But Jiang Ru had much more to consider than just that. Pei Wu said, "If you really take over this shop, you'll have to hire workers and watch the shop, so you'll really be busy."

These weren't really problems; Jiang Ru just wanted to find something to do. What troubled her was money.

Pei Wu: "Don't worry too much. If this shop is gone, you can rent another one. Just think about what you want to do. As for the money..."

Pei Wu thought for a moment and said, "I will receive my salary in a few days. Even if I spend ten strings of cash each month, I will still have ten strings left. The rest of the grain allowance will be enough for us to eat."

At this point, Pei Wu chuckled lightly: "If we really lose money, we'll just have to give up renting the shop. But I think my cousin won't lose money. What do you think?"

Jiang Ru: "..."

She realized that Pei Wu really loved to mock her. Wasn't that a blatant provocation? It would have been better if Jiang Ru hadn't paid compensation. If she had, wouldn't Pei Wu have mocked her even more?

The provocation worked, and Jiang Ru decisively agreed: "Rent, I'll rent this shop."

Pei Wu raised an eyebrow slightly: "What does my cousin want to do?"

Jiang Ru: "...Let me think about it."

Jiang Ru frantically tried to recall the time-travel novels she had read, but unfortunately, she had been in the time-travel world for too long, and her memories were no longer clear, so she couldn't remember them at all.

Perhaps... selling salt is wrong; the imperial court forbids the sale of salt, and those who do will be arrested.

How is soap made?

Selling beef? The imperial court forbids the killing of cattle. Cattle are the foundation of farming; killing them will result in being flogged.

Jiang Ru winked at Pei Wu, her gaze falling on the tea shop outside. Suddenly remembering something, she said, "Milk tea!"

The Xia Dynasty had a diverse diet, including many kinds of drinks. Jiang Ru could follow the trend and make modern milk tea, which might be a good idea.

Pei Wu remained noncommittal: "It should be possible."

To enhance her core competitiveness, Jiang Ru could also launch a food delivery service and hire a few deliverymen.

With this in mind, Jiang Ru enthusiastically booked the shop and paid the rent as well, and then took Pei Wu out to purchase materials.

Upon reaching the Bian River, Song Shu sat in the same spot as before. Upon seeing the two of them, she stood up and curtsied to Pei Wu from a distance.

Sure enough, Song Shu recognized Pei Wu.