Yan Qingqing's expression improved a bit after the crazy woman left. She hadn't checked the almanac before going out today; she should have gone to the Chamber of Commerce instead.
The shop assistant glanced at Yan Qingqing and asked cautiously, "Madam, would you still like this hair ornament?"
Yan Qingqing replied matter-of-factly, "Sure, I've already picked it out, why wouldn't I want it? But I'd like to ask you something, young man."
The young shop assistant thought the order was about to slip away, but to his surprise, Yan Qingqing still wanted it. He happily replied, "Madam, please ask. If I know the answer, I will tell you the truth."
Yan Qingqing asked, "Who was that crazy woman just now? To be honest, I don't know her either. Why was she so hostile towards me?"
The young shop assistant recognized the woman; she occasionally bought jewelry from their Treasure Pavilion. He whispered, "That young lady's surname is Chen. She's the sister-in-law of the Magistrate. She's quite the businesswoman."
Yan Qingqing frowned. When had she offended the magistrate? But when the shop assistant mentioned that the woman's surname was Chen, Yan Qingqing suddenly remembered Chen Ji, who had poisoned her chickens and ducks. Could it be that this woman was from the Chen family?
But this woman looked to be in her twenties, so why was the young waiter still calling her Miss Chen? Could there be some gossip involved? Thinking of this, Yan Qingqing became interested. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory.
So he coughed and asked, "I see she's not young, and she's wearing a lady's hairstyle, so why do you call her Miss Chen?"
The young waiter seemed somewhat embarrassed, as if he didn't know where to begin. Yan Qingqing wasn't in a hurry, and the waiter thought for a moment before whispering, "This Miss Chen's family is in business. Her older sister married the Magistrate. Although she's a concubine, she has a lot of influence in the Magistrate's residence. Moreover, the Chen family is wealthy from their business and I've heard they've given the Magistrate a lot of money."
Therefore, Miss Chen was especially favored. In addition, with her son by her side, even the wife of the magistrate had to give her some leeway. However, Miss Chen the second married a merchant surnamed He. It was said that the marriage was arranged since childhood. But Miss Chen the second was proud and looked down on the man surnamed He. In addition, the He family had gradually declined in recent years, so Miss Chen the second looked down on her man even more.
I heard she's been living in the Magistrate's mansion ever since, refusing to even go home. She's tried to get a divorce several times, but the He family absolutely refuses, so things are at a standstill. This Second Miss Chen hates being called Madam He the most.
The young waiter told Yan Qingqing the truth about what he knew. Yan Qingqing was now 80% sure that this Miss Chen was related to the Chen family in Chengyang County, and they were equally disgusting.
However, this also involves a junior official, and Yan Qingqing knows the power of pillow talk, so she has to be on guard.
However, Yan Qingqing showed no sign of it on her face and said to the shop assistant, "I'll take this hair ornament. Do you have any other head ornaments suitable for young girls?"
The young shopkeeper was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly brought out two or three more trays. Yan Qingqing finally chose a red gold filigree plum blossom hairpin, a sapphire blue kingfisher feather hairpin, a ruby gold and silver ruyi headdress, and a purple jade gold hairpin. She also bought five jade pendants with jasper wisteria flowers.
Actually, Yan Qingqing would prefer to buy pure gold jewelry, but either the designs were too ugly or the craftsmanship was subpar. Yan Qingqing thought that if all else failed, she could draw the designs herself and have a craftsman make a few pieces as dowries for her children.
When the shop assistant saw that Yan Qingqing had bought so many things, his mouth was practically stretched to the back of his ears with joy.
Seeing that it was almost done, Yan Qingqing asked the young man to calculate the bill. After the young man clattered away on the abacus for a while, he said with a smile, "It's a total of 1,320 taels. Madam, you have ordered a lot of things, so I'll give you a special box for storing jewelry. Also, I'll tell our manager to give you a silver bracelet with the auspicious symbols of fortune, prosperity, and longevity."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Thank you very much, young man."
The young shop assistant was even happier to hear this. Not only would he get a lot of commission from this deal, but more importantly, Yan Qingqing was always gentle and polite, unlike some wealthy women who bossed them around. So he was willing to try to get more benefits for Yan Qingqing.
After the shop assistant handed the box containing the jewelry to Yan Qingqing, Yan Qingqing gave him a 1,400 tael silver note. Then the shop assistant handed Yan Qingqing the loose change.
After leaving the Treasure Pavilion, Yan Qingqing sighed that it was good to be rich. She wanted to explore some more, but she had more important things to do right now, so she took A-Da to the inn where they were staying.
As soon as she returned to the inn, the waiter greeted her and said, "Oh, Madam, you're finally back."
Yan Qingqing looked at him with suspicion, and the waiter quickly continued, "Several groups of people have come looking for you today."
Yan Qingqing was even more puzzled. She didn't know anyone in the prefectural city, so who would be looking for her? She asked, "Where is she?"
The waiter said, "They booked a room here and told you to let them know when you get back. Do you want me to go and invite them over now?"
Yan Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "I'm a little tired from shopping today. I'll go rest for a while. Bring them to me in half an hour." After saying that, she handed the waiter a silver ingot.
The waiter said happily, "Don't worry, Madam, I will definitely take care of it."
Yan Qingqing returned to her room and told A'da to go and rest as well. She then closed the door.
Then she knocked on the table three times. Xiao Mochen had told her that if she needed those two people to do anything, she should knock on the table three times. Sure enough, as soon as Yan Qingqing finished knocking, a man in black climbed in through the window. The man said respectfully, "Greetings, Madam. What are your orders?"
Yan Qingqing glanced at him. The young man was quite good-looking, but wearing night clothes in broad daylight was really something else. So she asked, "What's your name?"
The man in black replied, "Your subordinate is Shadow Six."
Yan Qingqing: ......
Yan Qingqing sighed; she seemed afraid others wouldn't know he was a shadow guard.
Yan Qingqing then asked, "You should have people in the prefectural city too, right?"
The man paused for a moment. This was originally a secret, but considering his master's attitude towards Yan Qingqing, he nodded.
"Then help me investigate someone."
[Whom does Madam wish to investigate?]
[The Assistant Prefect of Xuancheng Prefecture.]
"Alright, I'll take care of it right away." With that, Shadow Six turned to leave.
[Focus your investigation on his concubine surnamed Chen, and her younger sister, Miss Chen Er. I suspect that Magistrate Shen has an improper relationship with his sister-in-law.]
Ying Liu stumbled. "Madam, are you trying to investigate Chen Tongzhi? Or are you trying to dig up his gossip?"
Yan Qingqing had no idea that this accidental turn of events had saved her life.
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