Like Yunmo, Shen Qinghe, who was far away in the capital, was also impatient with the aristocratic formalities.
In a small courtyard in the capital, Shen Qinghe idly did her needlework. The embroidery needle in her hand seemed to possess a mind of its own, carrying a hint of murderous intent. After pricking her hand countless times, she angrily put down the handkerchief.
When Shen Qingshuang finished her shift, this was the scene she saw. She wanted to laugh but was afraid of upsetting her sister, so she couldn't help but cough lightly.
"If you can't be patient, why force yourself?"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Shen Qinghe couldn't help but complain, "Noble ladies are skilled in needlework, music, calligraphy, and painting; they can always excel in at least one of these. If I can't do anything, I'll only embarrass my brother."
Shen Qingshuang's smile vanished, and he frowned as he asked, "Did the princess say something to you again?"
Shen Qinghe shook her head, suppressing her grievances. She couldn't ruin the relationship between the princess and her brother. The princess was actually a very nice person; she just wanted to integrate herself into that circle.
Shen Qingshuang knew his younger sister's temperament all too well. He grew increasingly dissatisfied with the princess. Back then, he had achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations and caught the eye of Princess Xinyue. The Prince of An's mansion intended to take him as a son-in-law, which was originally a beautiful story.
He didn't mind that the princess was a bit willful, but Shen Qingshuang couldn't tolerate that the princess and even the entire Prince An's Mansion looked down on her family from the bottom of their hearts.
"Don't worry about her. Just do what you want. Don't worry, your brother's reputation isn't earned by making his sister suffer."
Seeing that her brother's tone was genuine, Shen Qinghe was deeply moved. These past few days in the capital had felt like a dream, as if everything that had happened at the inn was just that—a dream. But the change in her expression reminded her that it wasn't fake; that inn was real.
"Brother, the inn I mentioned before is real, and Grandma can vouch for it. Why don't you believe me?" Shen Qinghe complained, missing her innkeeper sister.
Shen Qingshuang shook his head. How could he believe in a place like the Immortal Inn? But his younger sister was indeed no longer as dark-skinned as before. Although she wasn't exactly fair-skinned, she was no different from an ordinary young lady.
It's probably because the so-called cosmetics were so effective that my sister and grandmother mistook them for magical items.
Shen Qinghe could tell from her brother's expression that he thought she was talking nonsense again. She felt a little annoyed and wondered when she would have another chance to see the shop manager.
At that moment, she never expected that the opportunity would come so quickly!
The newly appointed third-ranked scholar, Shen Qingshuang, has refused the marriage proposal from the Prince of An's mansion, which has recently become the talk of the town. Everyone shakes their heads in regret, thinking that the third-ranked scholar is simply ungrateful.
If this young scholar could gain entry into the Prince An's household, his future would be limitless. But his forceful refusal to marry has severely offended the Prince An's family!
As everyone had guessed, Prince An was so enraged upon learning the news that he smashed many things. Princess Xinyue was filled with hatred; she, a princess of noble birth, was fortunate to have taken a liking to that peasant boy, yet he dared to disrespect her.
Soon, Shen Qingshuang, whose career was originally very promising, was exiled to Yang County for making a mistake similar to stepping into the gate with her left foot first. She went from being a sixth-rank Hanlin scholar to a seventh-rank county magistrate in a remote place.
This series of events took only a few days. After Shen Qingshuang left the capital to take up her post, everyone was quickly attracted to other new things, and very few people paid attention to a mere Hanlin scholar.
This does not include He Yanran.
"It's changed again, this shouldn't be happening!" He Yanran felt even more flustered upon hearing this news.
In his previous life, Shen Qingshuang never left the capital; instead, he became the consort of Princess Xinyue. However, the two became estranged shortly after their marriage. Later, for some unknown reason, Princess Xinyue moved back to her residence and began to keep male concubines without restraint. Meanwhile, this talented scholar, who had been ranked third in the imperial examinations, never achieved his former glory and remained unsuccessful.
When He Yanran first heard the news, she felt sorry for Shen Qingshuang for a long time. She hadn't forgotten Shen Qingshuang's former glory as the third-ranked scholar. She never expected that Shen Qingshuang would end up like her, experiencing great joy and sorrow in her life. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
But now that Shen Qingshuang has left the capital and deviated from the path of her previous life, can the prophecy she gained still be trusted?
He Yanran didn't know that the reason Shen Qingshuang endured in her previous life was simply to climb higher so that her younger sister could suffer less because of the power of the Prince of An's mansion.
In this life, Shen Qinghe met An Ge and wouldn't become the laughingstock of the noble ladies like in her previous life, so Shen Qingshuang naturally had fewer worries. At the same time, Princess Xinyue's disdain became more apparent, which is why Shen Qingshuang refused the marriage despite her career aspirations.
On the way to Yang County, the Shen family was not as heartbroken as one might imagine. In fact, their time in the capital had been extremely unpleasant.
Especially for Mother Shen, losing such a noble daughter-in-law as the princess actually brought her a sense of relief, though she felt sorry for her son's promising future.
Unlike her mother's regret, Shen Qinghe, after a period of sadness, felt rather cheerful. Yang County belonged to the fiefdom of Prince Duan, so wouldn't she be able to see her shopkeeper sister again?
An Ge, who was on Shen Qinghe's mind, was in a meeting at the moment. She sat at the head of the table with an expression that said, "Why do I have to have a meeting?" and exuded a strong sense of resentment.
Hu Jiu suppressed a laugh, recalling An Ge's utterly dejected expression when he suggested holding weekly meetings.
He could certainly let An Ge be a hands-off manager who didn't have to worry about anything, but that wouldn't be good for the store manager. Especially with the increase in employees, establishing the store manager's absolute control couldn't be taken lightly.
As the owner of the inn, An Ge can get along well with the staff, but only if everyone recognizes and respects her.
In fact, An Ge felt uncomfortable just thinking about the long meetings that were inevitable every time she finished get off work or had a break in her previous life.
Looking at the growing team, An Ge felt a sense of accomplishment. The team was no longer just a struggling group of four, but was gradually growing in size, and the inn's operations were becoming more clearly defined.
The person in charge of customer management was a woman in her early thirties with neat short hair and a dashing appearance. When Chang Jin came to apply for the job, An Ge appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly she was drooling over the handsome woman quite a bit.
Chang Jin's world is similar to An Ge's previous life, roughly equivalent to a parallel universe, only with some deviations in the course of history. She was originally a senior hotel manager who came to An Ge's world after receiving matching information from the recruitment system.
The inn has added another chef. Although Chef Sun can theoretically work without sleep, he still struggles to keep up at mealtimes, and besides, An Ge has never treated him and Aunt Dan like robots, setting them a normal work schedule.
The new chef, Wei, was quite portly, but that didn't stop him from showing off his skills in the kitchen. An Ge had initially worried that Chef Sun and Wei wouldn't get along, but to her surprise, the two were surprisingly harmonious and even seemed to appreciate each other.
According to Chef Sun, Chef Wei's skill level is already that of a senior chef according to their evaluation criteria, which will greatly help him get promoted to senior chef.
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