Chapter 149 Your Highness, Let's Share a Table

Shen Chu placed the two letters together.

One letter was written by the father to Hatu, and the other was written by Hatu to the father.

Even after ten years, the ink on the letter is still as black as lacquer, and when held to the nose, one can faintly smell the fragrance of plum blossoms.

It is a plum blossom ink.

Most people use pine soot ink or lampblack ink. More than ten years ago, Luo Chao, a famous ink maker in Jiangnan, carefully researched and developed a plum blossom ink based on pine soot ink.

Plum ink is made by adding precious Chinese medicinal herbs and spices such as musk, plum blossom, and borneol during the preparation process. The resulting ink has a texture like jade and a pattern like rhinoceros horn. It is said that even after a hundred years, the ink will still be as black as lacquer.

The reputation of Biaoyoumei ink soared as soon as it was launched, and it was said that "gold is easy to obtain, but Biaoyoumei ink is hard to find." As a result, the Luo family was promoted to imperial merchants.

The production of plum blossom ink is extremely complex, so the quantity is limited and the price is very high. Once it is launched, it is either offered as tribute to the royal family or snatched up by noble families.

The young masters of noble families are all proud to own a piece of ink with plum blossoms, but their father does not like ink with plum blossoms.

She was six years old that year. She remembered that on her father's birthday, her mother asked her aunt in the capital to buy a piece of ink with plum blossoms on it as a birthday gift for her father.

Father scolded Mother for being extravagant and wasteful, saying that a single inkstone costs several hundred taels of silver. He suggested that instead of giving that money to the people, it would be enough to support the people of ten villages in Liangzhou for a year.

The next day, Dad secretly sold the ink. Mom had a fight with Dad over it. Of course, Dad apologized and it took a lot of effort for Fu Xiao to appease Mom.

She still remembered her father holding her on his lap afterwards, smiling and saying, "Your mother just likes those flashy but impractical things. Chuchu, don't be like that when you grow up."

When Chuchu grows up, she should be as diligent, frugal, and kind as her father, serving her country and its people, and walking the world with a clear conscience.

The mother rolled her eyes, "Chuchu is a girl, how could she possibly become an official?"

Her father chuckled, his short beard tugging at her chin. "Who says women can't be officials? Maybe when our Chuchu grows up, she'll become a female official who will amaze the world."

Now that she has grown up and become an official, it is all for the sake of seeking justice for her father and family.

Recalling the past, Chen Chu's eyes welled up with tears. She closed her eyes briefly and then opened them again, her gaze gradually clearing.

Father never used Biaoyoumei ink, but this secret letter to Hatu was written with Biaoyoumei ink.

Hatu's reply also used the character "葽有梅墨".

At that time, ink with plum blossoms was extremely rare in the Great Wei, and with constant warfare between the Northern Rong and the Great Wei, it was even more impossible for it to have spread to the Northern Rong.

Therefore, as long as she follows the clues about the Biaoyoumei ink, and investigates which noble families bought Biaoyoumei ink ten years ago and had connections with Liangzhou, she can find out who framed her father.

Having finally obtained a useful clue, Shen Chu was greatly encouraged. He saw that the sun had already risen outside and that some people from the Inspectorate had already begun to come on duty.

Li Chengxuan came in carrying a stack of documents. Seeing her, he asked in surprise, "Why are you so busy so early in the morning? Where are you going?"

"Going to look up some information." Chen Chu saw him suddenly stop. "What are you busy with? Have you had breakfast?"

Li Chengxuan placed the document on the table. "Don't even mention it. A few days ago, the Changping Marquis's mansion was raided, and all the officials at Huimin Pharmacy were replaced from top to bottom. You, Little Lord Shen, have certainly gained some notoriety in the court."

These past two days, all departments have been on edge, rushing to deliver their documents, files, and ledgers.

I've been looking at documents for two days straight, and my eyes are getting tired.

Ah Chu, you have to treat me to something good to eat and nourish me. Look at my face, I've gotten so thin from exhaustion. If this continues, my grandmother and aunt will be heartbroken and cry.

He pressed his finger into his face, creating a deep indentation, looking utterly miserable as if to say, "I've really lost weight."

Shen Chu was amused by his silly antics and was just about to ask him about Biao You Mei Mo.

"Let's go, I'll treat you to breakfast."

"I've been waiting for you to say that. I want to eat two beef tongue buns and two bowls of mutton offal soup."

The two walked toward the breakfast stall on the street corner, chatting and laughing.

The breakfast stalls were located near the government offices, so those who came to eat there were mostly young officials or clerks from nearby government offices.

The stall has five or six long tables, each of which can seat five or six people.

All the tables were packed, except for one table where only one person was sitting. People were squatting around eating with bowls in their hands, but no one dared to sit at that table.

It is Pei Yuan.

He was dressed in a magnificent brocade robe, leisurely eating his breakfast in the morning light, completely out of place with the surrounding bustling city atmosphere, yet impossible to look away from.

As Shen Chu watched him sandwich a piece of sugar-coated fried dough between two pieces of beef tongue fritters, just as she had taught him to eat them, a complex mix of emotions welled up in her eyes.

She lowered her eyes, pulled Li Chengxuan aside, and whispered, "Brother Chengxuan, how about we go somewhere else to have breakfast?"

Li Chengxuan followed his gaze and immediately saw Pei Yuan.

He grabbed Shen Chu's arm. "Where do we go? I love this place for breakfast."

Shen Chu looked at her suspiciously, "Aren't you afraid of the Sixth Prince?"

"Of course... I'm scared." Li Chengxuan gripped his arm tightly and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, "Right now, rumors are circulating about you and the Sixth Prince. Why are you avoiding suspicion at this time? Of course, you should greet him openly and honestly."

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the breakfast stall.

The once noisy breakfast stalls suddenly became quiet.

All eyes lingered between Shen Chu and Pei Yuan, creating an inexplicable sense of unease.

Li Chengxuan said with a smile, "What a coincidence, Your Highness, what brings you here for breakfast today?"

Pei Yuan's gaze swept over Shen Chu's face, and he said in a low voice, "We're having shredded potatoes with rice this morning, I don't want to eat that."

The sixth prince, who was originally high and mighty and aloof, suddenly seemed to descend to the mortal world because of this one sentence.

One official even dared to say, "So His Highness doesn't like shredded potatoes either."

Pei Yuan hummed in agreement.

Many people were amused.

When Shen Chu recalled his strange hobby of cutting potato shreds, she had a strange intuition: it was probably not that he didn't like potato shreds with rice, but that there were too many potato shreds in the mansion and he was tired of eating them.

Li Chengxuan nudged her with his elbow, "What are you standing there for?"

She snapped out of her reverie, took a deep breath, and bowed respectfully. "Your Highness, this humble subject greets the Sixth Prince. There are no seats left at the other tables. If Your Highness doesn't mind, would you like to share a table?"

The surroundings fell silent once again.

Shen Chu even heard someone say in a very low voice, "I heard that Lord Shen has feelings for the Sixth Prince..."

"Shh, are you looking for death? How dare you say such a thing? Haven't you heard that the Marquis of Changxing's son's mouth was swollen and his jaw was dislocated a couple of days ago?"

After saying those words, Chen Chu couldn't help but regret her quick tongue.

She said such harsh things a few days ago, and Pei Yuan has already started to distance himself from her. How could he possibly agree to share a table with her?

But if Pei Yuan refuses...

Although Zhang Yongliang was dealt with and Xie Qingqiu was sent away, the rumors had already spread.

Many people gossiped that she was a homosexual who kept pestering the sixth prince, who was extremely annoyed by her.

If Pei Yuan were to refuse the suggestion to share a table at this moment, it would likely confirm in everyone's eyes that she was indeed entangled with the Sixth Prince.

That's a terrible suggestion.

Just as she was about to find an excuse to take back what she had just said, Pei Yuan spoke up at that moment.