Chapter 250 Kneeling
Shen Yuanzhu lowered her eyes, her thoughts coinciding with Xie Qi's.
The two exchanged a glance, their hearts filled with growing uncertainty.
They were just ordinary people and didn't know much. The successive closures of local shops in the capital made them sense something unusual.
Xie Qi said, "I'll go ask my father-in-law."
After saying that, he stood up, and as his hands touched the edge of the door, Shen Yuanzhu suddenly said, "Thank you, Qi."
Xie Qi turned around and saw her standing there in silence for a long time.
After a long pause, Shen Yuanzhu finally spoke: "The scale pattern dye is polished with scale glue, so it will have a strange luster under the sunlight."
"However, scale is sensitive to high heat. If it is exposed to high temperatures, such as boiling water, the scale will fall off and become dull and lackluster."
Xie Qi was taken aback, but immediately understood what she meant.
"I know what to do."
Xie Qi tightened his grip on the door and stepped out of the room with a slightly serious expression.
Yuan Xu was still organizing sample fabrics at the guild hall and had not left. When Xie Qi went to look for him, Yuan Xu was standing by the window, seemingly lost in thought.
Behind him were the textile and dyeing bureau officials and people from the inner court.
Two groups of people dressed differently gathered inside the house, busy yet quiet.
Watching the people coming and going, Xie Qi approached and asked the young eunuch to find Eunuch Yuan.
"Hey, you've actually gotten a decent look today."
Yuan Xu turned around and saw Xie Qi dressed neatly, his face no longer showing any signs of dejection, but rather a vibrant and energetic appearance. He couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.
"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Father-in-law."
Xie Qi looked at Yuan Xu, then glanced at the person beside him, and said with a smile, "My wife is grateful for your care along the way, and asked me to come and thank you."
He shook the food box in his hand; it was the very one that Butler Liang had sent over.
"Your wife..."
Yuan Xu glanced at him and snorted coldly.
Upon hearing his words, everyone in the room looked up at Xie Qi.
They all knew that yesterday, the father-in-law brought a henpecked younger relative to the capital.
He tormented me the whole way, and yesterday, as soon as I arrived, Yuan Xu started cursing me nonstop in the same guild hall.
During this time, he kept saying things like he was a coward and afraid of his wife, to the point that the people in the inner court were tired of hearing it.
Now that Xie Qi has come looking for them, they all secretly scrutinize him with great curiosity.
He scrutinized the man who was acting like he was going to die after being separated from a woman for a month.
Xie Qi pretended not to see it and simply said, "This is my wife's kind gesture; please accept it, sir."
"Just leave it there."
Yuan Xu pointed casually, but Xie Qi didn't listen. Instead, he carried the food box into the house.
Seeing this, Yuan Xu raised an eyebrow slightly, and then followed him inside.
There was no one in the room. Xie Qi placed the food box on the table and took out the food from it, arranging it on the table one by one.
After doing all that, he walked to a corner.
Although this room has an inner room, it is not well-concealed, with only a light-transmitting gauze curtain for privacy.
No one could see Xie Qi in the corner.
Yuan Xu ignored him and sat down at the table.
Upon seeing this, Xie Qi lifted his robe and knelt down.
Yuan Xu paused, but said nothing. He simply picked up a piece of pastry from the plate and put it in his mouth.
"It tastes good, it's authentic Beijing flavor."
Yuan Xu took a bite and praised it.
"My wife is grateful to my father-in-law for taking care of her all these years, so she specially asked me to come and thank you. To be honest, if it weren't for my father-in-law, I don't know where I would be fighting for food with stray dogs."
"I owe my success today entirely to you, Father-in-law."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Xu scoffed.
Xie Qi raised his head, looked at Yuan Xu, and pleaded in his eyes: "I am a lowly person, and I thought I would suffer and waste my whole life. I never thought that thanks to you, Father-in-law, I would be able to live a life with a wife and children."
Yuan Xu paused in his snacking, looking at Xie Qi with a half-smile.
After a long silence, he said, "You've got some good taste, you've married a good wife."
He had known Yuan Xu for a long time. Yuan Xu was not a soft-hearted person, but he was by no means ruthless or heartless.
Often, it's just that life is tough, and there's no way to avoid doing the dirty and tiring work.
So when Xie Qi heard Yuan Xu say that he had some insight, he knew that this was an implication from the other party.
There have been real problems with this election.
Xie Qi raised both hands above his head and kowtowed to Yuan Xu.
Although he and Shen Yuanzhu loved money, they did not want to get involved in court affairs.
Ordinary people only want to earn some spare change to live comfortably; they simply cannot support any other ambitions.
The moment he saw Yuan Xu today, he felt something was even more off.
Normally, Yuan Xu would have ridiculed him upon seeing him kneel, or even kicked him a couple of times, but this action...
It's clearly a matter of language inconvenience.
Xie Qi's heart sank, and he kowtowed to Yuan Xu again.
Then he got up and went to Yuan Xu's side to help him serve the food.
As he lowered his head, Xie Qi whispered, "The scale-patterned dye and the crown of heroes boiled together are now useless."
Yuan Xu looked up and glared at him angrily.
Xie Qi looked at him, his eyes full of pleading.
"..."
Yuan Xu raised his leg and kicked Xie Qi in the knee. "Get lost, I hate seeing you."
Xie Qi said, "I haven't brought the lady here yet..."
"roll."
Xie Qi's hand tightened, and he left awkwardly carrying the empty food box.
As soon as he left, a pale-faced man with a long beard approached Yuan Xu.
Upon seeing this, the man smiled and teased, "Is this the one that your father-in-law personally brought to the capital?"
Yuan Xu said irritably, "When I was in Suzhou Prefecture, I thought it was quite handy to use, but who knew... it was actually a completely useless thing."
"I originally intended to keep him by my side and train him a bit, so he could do some chores for me in the future..."
As he spoke, a mocking smile appeared on Yuan Xu's face.
The man said, "I heard he was so worried about his wife that he was practically dying the whole way?"
Yuan Xu sighed, then chuckled.
Seeing this, the man shook his head and said, "No guts."
"yes."
Yuan Xu said, "He's not very promising."
The two exchanged a smile and stopped talking about Xie Qi.
Xie Qi left, but immediately returned to the house.
Shen Yuanzhu was still sitting at the table when she saw him return and quickly got up.
What did your father-in-law say?
Xie Qi said, "This imperial merchant election should have been taken over by Prince Jing's people. It's inconvenient for you to speak, so please be vague."
“But Yuanzhu, something’s not right.”
After saying that, Xie Qi went forward to pack Shen Yuanzhu's luggage.
"I don't know what happened in the capital, but something that could make the major shops in the capital retreat is definitely not something that you and I can escape unscathed."
"You go back to Suzhou Prefecture with Luo Shi and Wei Hu now. Yun Zheng and I will..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yuanzhu stepped forward and pressed Xie Qi's hand: "Let the wet nurse take Yun Zheng and Wei Hu away, the two of us will stay."
"No, you..."
Shen Yuanzhu said, "There's no need to say more. I'm not the type to back down when faced with a problem."
“Besides, you just visited the father-in-law, and if I leave immediately, wouldn’t that be betraying him? Moreover, in public, I am the owner and you are the father-in-law’s attendant. If anyone should leave, it should be you who leaves and I who stay.”
Xie Qi shook his head, wanting to persuade her again, but Shen Yuanzhu said, "The first company to withdraw is reasonable and justified. The second company to withdraw will anger the person behind it, but they won't make a big fuss about it. But if the third company withdraws, they might be dragged out as an example to warn the others."
Shen Yuanzhu smiled, her eyes filled with tenderness and fearlessness.
"My wife and I are together, what are you afraid of?"
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