After the consultation, Cui Yudie asked the steward to bring a hundred taels of silver as a reward, but Jiang Shuyue resolutely refused and only accepted the consultation fee that was due.
"Thank you, Sister Jiang. I hope you will keep quiet about what happened today. My mother is a person who values her reputation. She doesn't want others to know that she has such a wretched servant."
Upon arriving at the main hall of the Cui residence, Cui Yudie thanked Jiang Shuyue again and pleaded with her to keep Huang Pozi's matter a secret.
Jiang Shuyue understood. Wealthy families value their reputation, and if this matter got out, it would have a significant impact on Madam Cui.
People would speculate that she had instructed her maids to do some shameful and sordid things, which might even affect the marriage prospects of the young masters and ladies in the mansion.
With the Right Chancellor's abilities, the government can surely turn a big problem into a small one, and a small problem into nothing. As long as this matter is not publicized, it will be fine.
Jiang Shuyue was not one to gossip, and readily agreed, "Miss Cui, you don't need to overthink it. Just pretend I never came to the Cui residence today, and I know nothing about it."
Upon leaving the Cui residence, Gao Mu had already arrived in his carriage and was waiting outside.
The master and servant got into the carriage, and Jiang Shuyue said to Gao Mu, "Go to Jinxiufang."
Jiang Shuyue wasn't interested in the gossip about the Cui family, but Qiuju was.
As soon as she sat down, Qiuju couldn't wait to say, "The yamen has really gone mad today, daring to come to the Right Prime Minister's residence to arrest people."
"Miss, could it be that the old woman serving Madam Cui has committed murder and arson?"
Seeing Qiu Ju's gossipy expression, Jiang Shuyue pondered for a moment before asking quietly, "Who do you think a maidservant could have such a deep grudge against that she would need to kill and set fires?"
"Then, that's what Madam Cui ordered the maid to do," Qiuju suddenly realized.
"Let's pretend we don't know anything about this. The Prefect of the Capital isn't that reckless to arrest someone from the Right Chancellor's residence."
Jiang Shuyue left it at that, and Qiu Ju nodded as if she understood.
"This servant understands. This matter has nothing to do with us. Let's move on."
Upon learning of the grand occasion at Jinxiufang, Madam Su rushed over.
A long queue formed outside the shop, and Zhang Man and Qing Sheng led the group in an orderly and efficient manner.
Zhang Man and Qing Sheng were in charge of cashiering and bookkeeping, while Er Niu and the rest of the people were in charge of selling fabric.
Seeing that there were too many people, Sister-in-law Qingsheng left her child in the backyard and stood at the shop entrance to prevent anyone from cutting in line and squeezing into the shop.
In less than half an hour, the two new varieties in the shop were sold out.
When Madam Su arrived, she saw some girls who hadn't bought any fabric standing regretfully in front of the shop, unwilling to leave for a long time.
"Shopkeeper, when will you have more stock?" A young lady hesitated before having her maid step forward to ask.
Zhang Man cupped his hands and said, "Ladies, please come again tomorrow. There aren't many goods available, so it's first come, first served."
The girls reluctantly dispersed, and when Madam Su arrived at the shop entrance, she saw that all the samples on the wall had been bought.
She exclaimed in amazement, "Yue'er is truly talented; she really sold out today!"
When Jiang Shuyue arrived, Zhang Man had already gone to the dye shop to expedite the delivery.
Mrs. Su held her hand, extremely excited.
"Moon, your aunt is really benefiting from you. If this continues, the cloth shop will earn more money in a year than your uncle earns a salary."
Jiang Shuyue joked, "That's a good thing. We can save up more money so we can get Nannan a wife in the future."
Mrs. Su knew that the new variety would only be profitable for a limited time, but she was still overjoyed.
No one knows who leaked the news, but the information that the ink-wash dyeing technique was created by Jiang Shuyue spread like wildfire.
Jiang Shuyue is once again making headlines in Beijing.
The noble ladies instructed their maids to find a way to buy the new products from Jinxiufang.
When the people of Sangguo arrived at the cloth shop after hearing the news, they did not see the cloth that everyone was scrambling to buy.
On the way back, I overheard people on the street talking about some extraordinary woman, and they even mentioned the Juxian Pavilion.
The people of Sangguo approached and inquired carefully, only to learn that the famous Yueniang, who was known throughout the capital, was the one who invented the new cloth dyeing technique.
The Sang Kingdom envoy returned to the post station and began to discuss the matter.
“Our Sang Kingdom is rich in silk and needs the technology of dyeing cloth. If we bring such an extraordinary woman back to Sang Kingdom, it will be a great achievement for us.”
“That Yue Niang is a wealthy merchant. How could she possibly obediently go with us to a foreign land? This idea is not very reliable.”
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, for there was some truth to it.
A moment later, one of the messengers' eyes lit up. "I understand. Someone mentioned today that Yue Niang is not married yet. We can ask Emperor Wanling for her hand in marriage and have Yue Niang go to our Sang Kingdom as a royal consort. She will surely be tempted by that."
The other envoy immediately rejected the proposal.
"You're kidding me. The Emperor sent us to Wanling only to promote trade and improve relations between the two countries. If we suddenly bring back a princess for a political marriage, and rumors say that Yue Niang is beautiful, let alone the Emperor's attitude, the Empress would want to kill us."
A man who had been sitting silently to the side lifted his eyelids slightly. “You’re all daydreaming. Wanling’s military strength is no weaker than our Sang Kingdom’s. Wanling has no reason to form a marriage alliance. Even if it were, it would be our Sang Kingdom that would send the princess to Wanling.”
“Well, that seems to be the case. But since Yue Niang is just a commoner, we can bring it up. If Emperor Wanling agrees, a single imperial edict will be issued, and our Sang Kingdom will gain a prodigy for free. Why not?”
Those who had opposed it just moments before now chimed in, "That makes sense. We'll take them back. What the Emperor decides to do is none of our business. If the Empress asks, we can just say it's a matter of state."
The leading envoy stood up abruptly and slammed his hand on the armrest of the armchair. "Alright, let's do it this way. We'll go see Emperor Wanling again tomorrow."
The following day, Xiao Jingzhao finally agreed to meet with the foreign envoys after several days of waiting.
Before the Sang people could even state their demands, the envoy from the northern desert willingly added another five hundred taels of gold to the original amount.
The gold wasn't added for nothing; I also asked for green bell pepper and lettuce seeds.
Xiao Jingzhao readily agreed to open up trade between the two countries, allowing them to deliver jewelry and gold to the palace. He also sent Xiang Song to the Jiang residence to tell Jiang Shuyue to bring seeds to the palace to collect money.
After reaching an agreement, the envoy from the northern desert was led to a side hall to wait for the transaction.
The Sang Kingdom envoys, fearing that others would discover their intentions, all huddled to the side, listening to the other envoys bargaining with Emperor Wanling and his ministers.
Emperor Wanling negotiated a very high price with the northern deserts, and it would be inappropriate to offer any price to the envoys of other small countries.
If the price is too high, they won't have it; if the price is too low, what will the envoy from the northern desert think? It's clearly a matter of making good relations with foreign countries, but if the negotiation goes wrong, it could lead to favoritism and sow the seeds of future trouble.
Seeing the ministers' predicament, Xiao Jingzhao simply said to them, "I cannot make the decision on this matter entirely. It would be better to wait until the owner of the seeds arrives so you can discuss it in person."
Xiao Jingzhao treated everyone equally and agreed to their request to open the border trade.
These past few days, Jiang Shuyue has been preparing for her wedding at home. When Xiang Song came to deliver the message, Jiang Shuyue brought the seeds she had prepared in advance and the booklet on how to plant them to the palace.
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