After she finished writing the letter, Emerald seemed to remember something and quickly said, "Oh, right, my lady, the Regent came to see you."

"When?" Qin Sheng asked in surprise.

"On the third day after you went to Qingzhou."

"..."

Qin Sheng pursed her lips, thinking that he must have stopped by on his way back to the capital from Crescent Moon City.

but---

When Qin Sheng handed the letter to Emerald to have someone deliver it to the capital, she had some doubts. It seemed that the journey from Crescent Moon City back to the capital did not pass through Ningzhou, did it?

...

The day after returning from Qingzhou, Qin Sheng summoned Yu Rou to the mansion.

Since taking over the embroidery shop, Yu Rou has devoted all her energy to it, wishing she could work from morning till night to repay her wife's kindness.

When she arrived, Qin Sheng had already had tea brewed and snacks and dried fruit served.

"You look so energetic!" Qin Sheng looked at her and couldn't help but smile. "It seems that choosing you to manage the shop was really the right decision."

"Please don't tease me, my wife," Yu Rou said, embarrassed.

She was extremely grateful to Qin Sheng, both before and now, when she was in the Yin family.

She was sold directly into the Yin family. Her aunt died, and her indenture was held by Old Madam Yin.

Later, the Yin family suffered a series of misfortunes, and more than half of the servants in the mansion were sold off.

Several of the younger maids were sold directly into brothels.

Yu Rou's parents would never spend money to buy her back; what awaits her is perhaps a fate of ending up in a brothel.

But then, the regent's men appeared.

Later, Qin Niangzi let her stay here and even entrusted her with managing the shop she had taken over.

Thinking of all this, Yu Rou felt very grateful.

Qin Sheng told her about the shop's plan to hire a few more embroiderers, and asked Yu Rou how much she should be paid each month.

Since Yu Rou was responsible for recruiting the embroiderers in the shop, Qin Sheng let her decide on the wages and didn't ask too many questions.

“Actually, being a seamstress is also a job that relies on youth,” Yu Rou said.

"The best time to make money is only these few years. Once I get a little older, embroidering will be too hard on my eyes."

Yu Rou thought for a moment and said, "What do you think of two taels of silver, my lady?"

Qin Sheng nodded, "In addition, you can decide on some extra benefits for the embroiderers each month, such as buying them rice, flour, cooking oil, etc., and giving each of them a share, however much or little."

Yu Rou smiled and said, "My wife is kind-hearted."

Then Qin Sheng told her about doing business with the Wuyue Kingdom's merchant caravan.

She had already made an agreement with Mrs. Keya that they would decide the style and quantity of the embroidery they would produce each month.

This was Yu Rou's first time doing business like this, and she couldn't help but feel nervous, her expression becoming serious.

Qin Sheng talked with her for several hours, and after she had dinner at the mansion, he asked Awei to take her back to the shop.

The embroidery shop is quite far from here; that's where Yu Rou usually stays at night.

A few days later, Yue Rongheng's reply arrived.

Qin Sheng was embroidering something. She wanted to make a pair of shoes for each of her parents. The soles were already sewn, and she was choosing a style.

Emerald came in with the letter, and Qin Sheng opened it first.

The letter contained only a few words; Yue Rong simply said he would handle it himself and told her to take care of herself in Ningzhou.

"And this too."

With a smile, Jade handed over another item—a very exquisite fan that felt incredibly light in the hand.

"They said it was a tribute from Shanzhou to the palace. Since there are no concubines in the palace, the Regent had it sent over to the Lady as well."

"..."

Qin Sheng was drinking tea when she heard this and almost choked on it.

She took the fan, her ears burning slightly. "Even if there are no concubines in the palace, why are you giving it to me..."

Isn't there still the eldest princess?

"Who knows?" Emerald teased boldly. "Perhaps it's a thank-you gift from the Regent because he thinks you're planning to do business with him."

"You brat."

Qin Sheng could tell exactly what was going on, and immediately raised his hand to hit her.

The business matters with Yue Rongheng and the Wuyue Kingdom caravan have basically been settled.

Qin Sheng enjoyed two rare days of leisure.

She had targets set up in the yard and sent Awei outside to buy some wooden arrows, intending to learn archery properly.

Qin Sheng had studied riding and archery, but he wasn't particularly proficient; he was only passable.

She sent someone to call Lü Qingfeng over for guidance, and in just half a day, Qin Sheng was finally able to hit the bullseye with her first arrow.

However, because of constantly drawing the bow and string, by the end of the day, the palms of both hands were red and had several blisters.

But Qin Sheng did not back down because of this. She still had someone call Lü Qingfeng over every day. In addition to learning archery, she also learned some simple skills that could be used to fight back or save her life when necessary.

Time flies, and it's already May.

In the morning, after Qin Sheng finished breakfast, he was looking at the shop's accounts when Qiao'er brought in an invitation.

Qiao'er's wounds have healed completely, and Qin Sheng told her to rest more, but she couldn't stay idle.

"Madam, this is an invitation sent to you by the young mistress of the Lin family."

Qin Sheng was talking to Emerald about things at the Yin residence when Emerald said, "Judging by the time, Aunt Mei should have given birth around this time, right?"

"Probably." Qin Sheng didn't know either.

She didn't pay much attention to the matters in the capital and related to the Yin family, and took the invitation from Qiao'er and opened it.

"Hmm?" Qin Sheng was slightly taken aback after reading the post.

"The young mistress of the Lin family invited me to go to Daji Temple to offer incense."

Qiao'er said, "I heard that the young mistress of the Lin family has been going to all the temples around here to burn incense and pray to the Guanyin Bodhisattva who grants children because she has not been able to give birth to a son."

Jade sighed, "She's pitiful too."

Qin Sheng thought for a moment, then replied to Wu Xiaotong, accepting her invitation.

...

The Lin residence.

That evening, Wu Xiaotong finally breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that the old man had gone out again and had told the gatekeeper that he wouldn't be back that night.

After putting her daughter to sleep, Wu Xiaotong sat alone at the table, lost in thought.

The personal nanny who came with her as part of the dowry, and was also Wu Xiaotong's wet nurse, gently took her hand and said, "Is the young mistress still hesitating?"

"..."

There was nothing in this mansion that Wu Xiaotong would miss; the only thing she couldn't let go of was her only daughter.

"Granny, do you think I can really get a divorce from Lin Ke in this lifetime?"

Before learning Qin Sheng's identity, she never dared to dream of such a thing.

However, ever since she learned that Qin Sheng was the legitimate daughter of the Left Censor-in-Chief of the capital and that she had divorced the former Earl of Pingyin, the thought of divorcing Lin Ke had surfaced in her mind.