As he spoke, he raised his glass to Bai Nuo.
With such a person by his side, Bai Nuo felt embarrassed to be impolite or make her think that his behavior was pretentious, so he brought out all the etiquette he had learned in elementary school.
Fortunately, my mother had foresight and put a lot of effort into cultivating her into a well-bred young lady, and now all of that is coming in handy.
Zhang Jingwen secretly observed Bai Nuo, and became even more curious after seeing that her behavior and mannerisms did not resemble those of a village girl. After taking a sip of tea, Zhang Jingwen put down the teacup and began to speak casually, "Miss Bai, what do you think of my tea?"
Bai Nuo really didn't know much about tea, so he told the truth, "I don't know much about tea, but it tastes pretty good."
"This is Biluochun tea, made from the tenderest buds of the tea tree. It takes tens of thousands of buds to make one pound of tea. If Miss Bai likes it, I'll give you some."
Bai Nuo smiled and declined, "I'm just a country bumpkin and don't know anything about tea. I'm afraid I'll waste your tea, Miss. Thank you for your kindness."
“In that case, I won’t force you…” Zhang Jingwen said with a smile, not minding, and then quietly began to sip her tea.
Zhang Jingwen remained silent, and Bai Nuo, feeling embarrassed to speak, also pretended to be deep in thought.
Fortunately, Quanjulou itself wasn't far away, and we arrived quickly by carriage.
"Miss, we've arrived..." Zhang Jingwen's maid's voice rang out from outside. Zhang Jingwen and Bai Nuo got off the carriage one after the other and went into Quanjulou. As soon as they entered, a waiter came and led them to the private room that Zhang Jingwen had reserved.
"Miss Bai, these gifts are a token of our first meeting. Please accept them!" As soon as she entered the private room and sat down, Zhang Jingwen gestured to the servant beside her to place the items on the table.
After the maids and servants had all left, Zhang Jingwen spoke with a smile.
“Miss Zhang, this isn’t the first time we’ve met. I saw you at San Niang’s Cloth Shop last time.” Bai Nuo wouldn’t accept something without having done it right.
"So it seems I'm really destined to meet Miss Bai," Zhang Jingwen said with a smile. "It's all because of the special circumstances back then; otherwise, I should have invited Miss Bai to a meal."
hehe.
Bai Nuo simply gave Zhang Jingwen a smile. She really couldn't understand why Zhang Jingwen had called her over. What did she mean by fate? It was clearly Zhang Jingwen who had taken the initiative to find her, wasn't it? Otherwise, where would they get so much "fate" from?
"Miss Bai doesn't seem surprised at all that I know your name?" Zhang Jingwen couldn't help but ask, seeing that Bai Nuo always acted as if she wouldn't ask why he had come to her unless she told him.
“Miss Zhang comes from a wealthy and powerful family, so it’s not difficult for her to find out who I am,” Bai Nuo said with a smile. “I’m just a commoner from the countryside, so it’s not hard for me to find out about my background.”
“That’s right!” Zhang Jingwen admitted frankly. “I’ve investigated you. I not only know your name, but also who’s in your family. I also know that you took the beaded bracelet I bought the other day to see Li Jinyu.”
Zhang Jingwen was able to find out what was going on inside the county magistrate's office; the Zhang family really has some tricks up their sleeves.
Bai Nuo waited quietly for Zhang Jingwen to continue.
"I've called Miss Bai here today mainly because I have a favor to ask," Zhang Jingwen said.
"Please speak!"
"To be honest, my father thought the beads I bought that day were very valuable and wanted to snatch them from Third Sister's Cloth Shop, but he was too late and the treasure fell into the hands of that ignorant woman, Li Jinyu. But today you gave those beads to Li Jinyu. Our Zhang family wants to cooperate with you."
"Cooperation?" Bai Nuo looked at Zhang Jingwen with a puzzled expression. "I'm sorry, Ms. Zhang, I don't quite understand what you mean."
"What I mean is, if you help our Zhang family find these kinds of beads, or rather, these kinds of beaded bracelets, our Zhang family will pay you. Miss Bai, I know you're not very well-off, but if you cooperate with us, whether it's my carriage outside or a big house, you can have as much as you want, and you'll never have to worry about money again."
The implication was clear: Bai Nuo possessed those beads, and quite a lot of them.
"Why does Miss Zhang think I must have that pearl?" She had done her research before making the pearl bracelet. No one in this world should recognize pearls. Why is Zhang Jingwen so sure?
“We’re not sure either, but we’ve analyzed it. In the entire Great Zhou, you’re the only one who should have that kind of bead. Li Jinyu has been searching for that bead for a long time, and no one has brought it out. You’re the first one.”
It turns out that the one who stood out was the one who caused the trouble.
"Miss Zhang, you've misunderstood. I really don't have that pearl. The one I gave to Miss Li was something I acquired by chance," Bai Nuo said calmly. The pearl was originally something she planned to use to make money; she would never give it to Zhang Jingwen.
As for Zhang Jingwen's talk of cooperation, Bai Nuo didn't believe a word of it; he was more inclined to believe in betraying those who had helped him.
"What about Jiang San Niang's side?" Seeing that Bai Nuo still refused to cooperate, Zhang Jingwen's smile immediately turned cold. "Miss Bai, we are imperial merchants, the most prestigious type of merchant. You are also a businesswoman. Don't you want to go further?"
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