He Ying felt a sharp pain in her arm from being pinched, and tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly said:

"They say there's been a problem with the Thirteen Factories' fleet..."

Su Wanwan's body suddenly relaxed, and she realized that she had used too much force and hurt He Ying.

She rubbed He Ying's arm apologetically, saying, "I hurt you."

He Ying didn't mind, but asked, "If Your Highness is worried, should we ask the manager of the Thirteen Factories?"

Su Wanwan paused for a moment, then replied decisively, "Yes, you can arrange for us to meet on the way back to the city."

Now that she is the Empress, she has some trouble with her former subordinates and has to keep a low profile.

Moreover, the identity of the Thirteen Factories is somewhat delicate.

The Great Liang Dynasty implemented a maritime ban.

However, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the eunuch Zheng He made a fortune by sailing to the Western Ocean, which aroused the covetousness of private forces, who then joined in smuggling activities.

The imperial court's overseas trade, on the contrary, disappeared.

Su Wanwan's Thirteen Factories was an overseas trade business, a shady business outside of her dowry.

It involves a wide range of items, including jewelry, cotton cloth, porcelain, silk, soybean cakes, cast tripods, sugar, silk thread, fish, paper, tea, and shipbuilding.

Because it was something that couldn't be done openly, the Thirteen Factories claimed to be engaged in domestic trade, and the managers and accounts were handled and managed privately.

After their parting in Weizhou City, Su Wanwan handed over this business to Xiao Bin.

Last year, the Thirteen Factories were entrusted by her to purchase rice and grains overseas.

Now that this problem has suddenly arisen, I wonder if there are any issues with food procurement and transportation.

Because she was thinking about the Thirteen Factories, Su Wanwan couldn't sit still and couldn't wait to return to Beijing.

"Get ready, we're going to see Miss Yanruo," Su Wanwan instructed.

Because she was worried about the Empress Dowager's wrath, she still had to put on a show of being virtuous.

Yanruo had a pale face and wore a light purple embroidered plum blossom dress and a white silk bamboo leaf collared undergarment.

It evokes a feeling of "a beautiful woman in the north, living alone and aloof from the world."

Especially when she sits at the table with a calligraphy brush in hand, breathing softly and her brows slightly furrowed, she looks more like a talented woman full of poetry and literature but unable to find a kindred spirit.

Su Wanwan couldn't help but sigh inwardly at the pity.

It would be a real waste that Lu Xingjian didn't see this beautiful, sickly portrait of a woman.

When Yanruo heard footsteps, she looked over with hopeful eyes.

There was only Su Wanwan and her maid at the door; there was no sign of the Emperor.

The light in Yanruo's eyes quickly went out.

He covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed lightly a few times, then managed a perfunctory bow.

Su Wanwan said politely, "Sister Yanruo, you should take good care of yourself and recover from your illness. Why rush to write?"

Yanruo said with a mournful and sorrowful tone:

"It's just a body that nobody cares about or asks about; whether it's taken care of or not is unimportant."

Su Wanwan thought, "It's the emperor who's ignoring you, why are you taking it out on me?"

If you're so capable, go back to the palace and confront him.

She's just a little girl; she can't be bothered to argue with her.

She simply changed the subject with a gentle expression: "Yanruo, is there anything you'd like to write?"

"It's nothing but sentimental poems lamenting the passing of spring and the coming of autumn," Yanruo replied lazily.

Su Wanwan said calmly, "The Empress Dowager said long ago that Yanruo could compose poems and couplets from a young age and was very much to the Emperor's liking."

"Why not compose a poem to suit the occasion and have it engraved on a stone? If the Emperor sees it, he will surely praise the young lady for being more talented than Zhuo Wenjun."

Yanruo's eyes flickered slightly, showing some interest.

I picked up my brush and composed a poem in delicate, small regular script:

The wind and frost beyond the Great Wall are unusually severe, and the pond is strangely empty, like boiling water.

A single, flowing stream, past and present, never seeking to cleanse the cold heart of humankind.

Su Wanwan praised with a smile: "What a fine poem, Crane Shadow. Have it carved in stone so that when the Emperor comes again, he will be able to see this poem."

He Ying took the note, suppressed a laugh, and left.

Whose cold heart is the one that Miss Yanruo speaks of?

Does seeing this sentimental poem make my gut feel even colder?

Yanruo raised an eyebrow at Su Wanwan and asked in confusion, "Turn around?"

"Yes, the Emperor had something to attend to and has already left," Su Wanwan sighed softly.

The sigh sounded particularly ironic to Yanruo.

Was she mocking herself for shamelessly trying to seduce the emperor, but failing?

Yanruo's face flushed red and then turned pale, her high breasts heaving, clearly she was furious.

Su Wanwan simply said, "If you're sick, just take good care of yourself. We'll go back to the palace once you've recovered."

However, she quickly lost interest in thinking about it because she herself was also getting a fever.

I probably caught a chill from spending too much time at the outdoor hot spring yesterday.

It was several days later when they returned to the capital by carriage.

The meeting with the manager of the Thirteen Factories was arranged at a writing implement shop that she had previously owned.

"Our merchant ships were seized in Guangdong and Guangxi. Fortunately, only five ships made it to shore first, while the others were able to continue drifting on the sea."

The steward looked worried: "Fortunately, Lord Xiao went there personally, hopefully he can come up with a foolproof plan."

Su Wanwan lowered her eyes and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It turns out that Xiao Bin went south to resolve the issue.

But to leave no trace... he must be holding a grudge against her, right?

Su Wanwan felt a dull pain in her heart.

She was the one who wronged him.

"However, Guangdong and Guangxi are not the most suitable places to moor the ships. If so much grain is constantly intercepted along the way, I'm afraid it won't be able to reach the capital."

The manager frowned deeply, looking at Su Wanwan with expectant eyes.

"Ideally, the fleet should travel directly by sea and dock at a nearby pier."

Su Wanwan nodded gently: "I'll think of a way."

He then fell into deep thought.

The Commander-in-Chief of Guangdong and Guangxi was Marquis Anyuan, who belonged to the maternal family of the Empress Dowager.

It seems that to get these grains to land in Guangdong and Guangxi, we need to get in touch with the Empress Dowager.

However, she did not want the Empress Dowager to know about her hidden Thirteen Factories business.

The manager is right. Whether it's transporting goods to the Nine Borders or the capital, waterway is the cheapest way.

Taking sea routes can avoid local checkpoints along the way.

The problem is finding a reliable dock for ships.

Just as Su Wanwan was about to leave the stationery shop, she encountered a group of scholars walking in from the doorway.

The leader was Yang Zhen.

Su Wanwan was dressed in casual clothes and looked no different from any other wealthy woman.

He was just sick, coughed a few times, and looked a bit weak.

His brow was slightly furrowed, as if he was worried about something.

Yang Zhen paused for a moment, then chose to pretend he didn't know her and walked past her.

Someone asked Yang Zhen curiously, "That young lady, wasn't she the one from a while ago..."

Yang Zhen gave the man a sharp look, which startled him so much that he immediately shut up.

This scene was witnessed by Yanruo, who was strolling around the pen and ink shop. Her eyes flickered, and she gave Yang Zhen a few more meaningful glances.

She instructed her servants to keep track of the scholars' identities before leisurely following Su Wanwan away.

...

Guli, who was staying at Kunning Palace, reported to Su Wanwan in a panic:

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has ordered that Ma Ji be brought into the palace and stay in her former residence, Yongshou Palace."

Guli had personally witnessed Maji's arrogance and domineering nature.