"Miss... everything is fine in the mansion, but..." The housekeeper Wang Bo glanced at her quietly, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Su Zhiruan took a sip of tea and said, "Go ahead."

"There have been some rumors about you on the street recently," Wang Bo carefully observed her expression. After seeing that Su Zhiruan did not look unusual, he continued, "There have been some rumors recently. It is said that the young master and the young lady are... your children with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It is also said that you disappeared recently and fell off a cliff with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The young master and the young lady were taken to the palace, and they did not want you to continue raising them..."

Su Zhiruan's origins have always been rather mysterious. The housekeeper here was newly hired by her and was not from Sujia Village. When they heard these gossips, they thought they were just rumors.

Uncle Wang carefully glanced at Su Zhiruan's expression again, but found that she was not angry at all, but looked very calm.

"It's not really a rumor. Most of it is true." Su Zhiruan nodded and admitted it.

The old butler had never thought that this was true. He exclaimed in surprise, and then he looked shocked. "You mean, the young master and the young lady are the children of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"It's his. During the days he disappeared, I did fall off a cliff with the prince, and Zhezhi and Zheye were brought back to the palace." Su Zhiruan watched Wang Bo almost faint. She reflected on whether there was anything wrong with what she said. Seeing that he was just simply shocked, she added, "But the last sentence may be a rumor. Since I can bring Zhezhi and Zheye back, your majesty and the queen should still rest assured that I will raise the child."

Uncle Wang opened his mouth so wide that he didn't even care about etiquette and just stood there blankly.

"At that time... the prince invited you to discuss the matters of imperial business..." Uncle Wang recalled that the prince had asked Su Zhiruan to meet him before, and he thought it was to discuss official matters.

Su Zhiruan was silent for a moment, and the scene at that time emerged in his mind: the hot spring, the shaking bed curtains, and the long night...

"That was indeed a matter of the Royal Merchants," Su Zhiruan made herself look serious and changed the subject calmly, "Is there anything else going on these days?"

"The shopkeeper at the entrance of East Street has come to see you, and the shopkeeper of the jewelry store in the west of the city has also come. He wants you to go to the store to have a look." Uncle Wang remembered what these shopkeepers had said, "And the annual account books of Keman Restaurant and Fugui Clothing Store have all been delivered to your study, as well as the gifts and letters sent from Yuannan City, the new silk fabrics and account books sent from Jiangnan Prefecture, and those sent from the Western Regions..."

Su Zhiruan felt a headache after hearing this. After her business grew, she was even busier than the emperor every year at the end of the year. Sometimes she could work non-stop for a month. "I see. Let's prepare the car first. We'll go to East Street and West City Jewelry to have a look later."

"Yes." Uncle Wang went down to prepare the carriage and horses.

She went to the backyard to see Zhezhi and Zheye. They seemed to be tired from crying and had fallen asleep, sleeping in a slumber. Su Zhiruan covered them with a quilt and left the backyard quietly.

After getting on the carriage, she first came to the boutique at the corner of East Street in Beijing.

There had never been such a thing as a boutique in the capital before. When she realized this vacancy, she set about opening a boutique. The items on display were dazzling and varied, and they were all precious trinkets collected from various provinces and the Western Regions. If customers wanted to give gifts, they could pack them on the spot.

Most of the people who hang out here are girls. They like to look at this and that. A few friends will also choose this place to hang out.

Su Zhiruan's carriage stopped at the side door, and the shopkeeper immediately came out to greet her, "Ruan Ruan! You're finally here!"

The owner of the boutique is the uncle who lives next door to Su Zhiruan in Sujia Village. The uncle is an optimistic person, cheerful all day long, and can also make some simple and exquisite wood carvings. It is most suitable for him to stay in the boutique. After Su Zhiruan opened this store, he suggested that the uncle come here to be the owner.

"Long time no see, uncle." She got out of the car with a smile and followed the uncle into the boutique.

"It's been a long time indeed," the uncle sighed, "I haven't seen you since you came back to the capital from Jiangnan Prefecture. Counting the time, it's been almost a year."

"How's the store?" Su Zhiruan walked in from the side door. Seeing that the boutique was crowded, she smiled and joked, "There are so many people. Uncle is doing well."

The uncle was delighted by the compliment and scratched his head, "Not bad, not bad."

At this time, the waiter came here anxiously, "Boss, there are customers in the backyard."

"You go ahead, I'll take a look here," Su Zhiruan waved his hand, "There are only women here, I'll go in and take a look to see if there's anything I like."

"Okay, Ruan Ruan, take your time to look at it." Seeing that she said this, the uncle followed the waiter to meet the merchant.

Su Zhiruan walked into the store.

The boutique is very large and carries a lot of goods, most of which are not common in the capital. It is not easy for other merchants to copy her and open a store like this. After all, the supply channel is a problem. There are very few people like her who can get rare goods from various states, so Su Zhiruan's store is the only one in the capital.

Just as she was idly looking at the teacup, the sound of three or four girls talking in low voices came into her ears.

"Have you heard? It is said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is going to marry a Crown Princess."

"Who hasn't heard about it? It was all over the place a while ago. His Highness didn't marry a noble lady. It was said that he married a woman with a child."

"Ah? With a child? You must have heard it wrong, how is it possible? Your Highness, with a body worth millions, did not choose the daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion, but chose a woman with a child instead?"

"I don't know, I don't know. I just heard that the woman was a vixen, her name was Su something, anyway, she was not a good person. It was said that the Prime Minister's daughter was so angry that she smashed a box of vases and cursed all day long!"

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"Forget it, forget it. The daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion didn't marry the Crown Prince, so we, the daughters of minor officials, shouldn't have any wild thoughts."

…

Su Zhiruan was mixed in the crowd. After listening to two sentences, she realized that the woman with a child they were talking about was probably her.

"You're not angry."

A female voice came from behind her.

Su Zhiruan looked back and saw that it was Erya from Su Village. She was the first person she saw when she came to this world. She was a little surprised, "It turned out to be you."

"It's me," Arya became calmer, her brows revealing a peaceful temperament, "They should be talking about you, I didn't expect you to not be angry."

Su Zhiruan smiled and spread her hands. "It's okay. After all, not everyone can hear others talking about them behind their backs."

Arya also laughed.

They had conflicts in their early years, but later, with experience and growth, Erya found her ideal person, got married, and is now the mother of two children.

The three or four girls were chatting, and a few girls passing by heard the topic of conversation and joined in out of curiosity.