Chapter 91 Abandonment
"certainly."
Shen Yuanzhu said, "The essence of business lies in understanding people's hearts, not in distinguishing the superiority or inferiority of things."
"Ordinary people can only see the drawbacks of faded red silk, but you can find a way to transform it into 'faded rouge cloth'."
"Literati and scholars have always enjoyed dabbling in elegance; once a vulgar object is given an elegant name, it is no longer a vulgar object."
Looking at the alluring and beautiful women dancing gracefully on the bamboo raft adorned with flowers, Shen Yuanzhu smiled brightly: "This rouge cloth will surely become a coveted item in Suzhou within three days."
"Those things you have could fetch a lot of silver."
Suzhou Prefecture has no shortage of wealthy playboys, but rare and novel items are hard to find.
This rouge cloth won't circulate for long, but clearing out Xie Qi's red silk won't be a problem.
Upon hearing this, Xie Qi's eyes were tinged with a shimmering crimson.
He coughed lightly and said, "This batch of silver doesn't need to be handed over to the public. If I get it, I'll give it all to you."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yuanzhu smiled and her round eyes curved into crescent moons.
"Really? I love money the most."
Xie Qi nodded: "Of course it's true."
The two of them sat in the Drunken Spring Pavilion for most of the day, and sure enough, they heard many people asking where they could buy rouge cloth.
Xie Qi ignored what Xie San Niang said and directly announced his name. When someone heard that the second young master of the Xie family was at Zui Chun Lou, a hearty man came forward to offer him a toast.
In Suzhou Prefecture, the Xie family was considered a prominent family, but few people had heard of the second young master.
When they learned that Xie Qi and Xie Xuchuan were twin brothers, everyone who came to offer a toast was quite surprised.
After listening to comments for most of the day about how Xie Xuchuan didn't look like him, how they weren't twins, and how Xie Xuchuan had the air of the third master of the Xie family, Shen Yuanzhu couldn't help but feel strange.
However, since this matter had nothing to do with money, she didn't want to waste her energy on it and quickly put it aside.
When the two returned to the Xie family, the price of the rouge cloth had tripled.
Even so, many people still sought out Xie Qi to place their bets.
"Half of that batch of red silk was sold today alone, and it will all be available tomorrow."
Xie Qi handed the box containing the deposit to Shen Yuanzhu and said, "These are for you, for household use."
Shen Yuanzhu took it, her eyes sparkling with joy.
Xie Qi couldn't help but laugh at her appearance and forcefully stuffed the pearl into Chen Yuanzhu's hand.
That night, Xie Qi heard Shen Yuanzhu fiddling with an abacus for most of the night in her canopy bed.
The next morning, he still wanted to go to Zuichunlou, but Wei Hu stopped him.
Seeing Wei Hu's strange expression, Xie Qi said, "Let's talk outside."
As soon as he left the Xie family, Wei Hu said, "I investigated carefully as you instructed. Jiang Wan was pregnant for a few days and said she went to her maternal uncle's house. As for Xie Xuchuan..."
Wei Hu scratched his head: "He was busy with his trip to Huizhou during that time. Since it was his first time running a business, the Xie family was in a state of chaos."
"He spends all his time either in the shop or out buying things for his business trips. I've never heard of him being away from home or going out of town to see Miss Jiang."
Jiang Wansu is not at the Jiang family home; perhaps she has gone to meet a man in secret.
Xie Xuchuan was busy with the Chamber of Commerce during the day, and when he returned in the evening, he still had to appease Xie Sanniang and Hua Nanzhi...
Xie Qi frowned slightly, as if he was thinking about something.
He always felt that Xie Xuchuan's attitude towards Jiang Wansu, and Jiang Wansu's attitude towards him, was very illogical...
Thinking of this, Xie Qi raised an eyebrow.
He had an idea in his mind, but as soon as it surfaced, he felt it was too shocking.
They remained silent the whole way until they arrived at Zuichunlou, when Xie Qi suddenly asked, "Have you seen Cui Yulin during this time?"
"Huh?"
Wei Hu exclaimed in surprise, "That's right! They used to be so close, practically inseparable, but Cui Yulin didn't even show up for Xie Xuchuan's wedding. Where did he go?"
Xie Xuchuan and Cui Yulin have been inseparable since childhood. Cui Yulin is even better at being a lackey than him, and he is extremely attentive to Xie Xuchuan.
He had previously felt sorry for his master, Xie Xuchuan, who had a close twin brother but preferred the servant's son.
"Why did you suddenly ask about him, Master?"
Xie Qi lowered his eyes: "There are some things that Xie Xuchuan can only do for him."
Having said that, Xie Qi stepped through the door and casually tossed out a sentence: "Go ask Cui Cheng where Cui Yulin is now, when he left, and when..."
After a pause, Xie Qi shook his head.
If what he thinks is true, Cui Yulin probably won't be coming back.
Cui Cheng was in the Xie family's loom room, so this matter was easy to handle. After Xie Qi returned from Zuichunlou, Wei Hu came to report.
"I asked Steward Cui, and he said that Xie Xuchuan took Cui Yulin to Huizhou. Now that there is something going on in Huizhou, Xie Xuchuan has left him there."
"What's strange is that Manager Cui went to see Xie Xuchuan several times, wanting to deliver a message to Cui Yulin, but he never saw him."
Xie Qi unconsciously touched the old scar on his fingertip, and after a long while said, "I understand. Don't mention this to any third party."
"I understand."
Wei Hu was confused. He felt that something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was. Seeing that his master seemed confident, he stopped talking and went to do other things.
Xie Qi, on the other hand, had a very somber expression and sat in the room for a long time without saying a word.
Seeing that he wasn't in a good mood, Shen Yuanzhu asked, "What's wrong? Are the rouge cloths not selling well?"
"No, there aren't many rouge cloths left. The price today is five times higher than yesterday, and they've all been sold out."
After saying that, Xie Qi looked up at her and saw that Shen Yuanzhu nodded and continued to fiddle with the dowry book. He couldn't help but pick at the embroidery on his clothes, feeling annoyed.
If she knew...
Shen Yuanzhu heard a thud behind her, but when she turned around, the person was gone...
"master!"
Pushing open the door of Jiucaiju, the room was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
When Wei Hu saw Xie Qi sitting alone in the middle of the room, carrying an oil lamp, he couldn't help but sigh.
"The second young mistress said you went out before dinner. I went to the gatekeeper to ask, and the gatekeeper said you came back today and haven't gone out since. I've been looking for you for a long time, but I didn't expect you to be here."
Jiucaiju has been uninhabited for many days, and now it has a faint musty smell. The smell is not strong, but it is as if it has been pickled and cannot be shaken off.
Xie Qi used to hate this smell the most, but for some reason, he felt somewhat at ease today.
He seemed to belong in a place like this, dark, damp, without a single star, and without any starlight to shine upon him.
Wei Hu placed the oil lamp on the table; the dim candlelight seemed particularly glaring at this moment.
Xie Qi raised his hand and extended two fingers to directly pick up the wick.
With a sizzling sound, the air was filled with the unpleasant smell of burning flesh. Wei Hu stood aside without making a sound.
These days, when his master is in a bad mood, he acts like this. It makes him sad, but there's nothing he can do about it.
After thinking for a moment, Wei Hu said, "Master, you have an injury on your hand. If the Second Young Mistress sees it, she will feel sorry for you."
Between my index and middle fingers, layers of blisters have formed.
Xie Qi lowered his head and, using the faint moonlight, fiercely pinched it. Clear red blood flowed down his fingertips, and a layer of flesh mixed with blood peeled off the tips of his two fingers.
Only when the excruciating pain shot through Xie Qi's body did a hint of relief appear on his face.
No, it won't.
She wouldn't feel sorry for him. If she knew why Xie Xuchuan married Jiang Wansu, she would regret marrying him.
He will be like his grandmother, mother, father, and all the Xie family members...
Abandon him and choose Xie Xuchuan.
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