Why?
Mu Qingren couldn't quite understand.
"Because I know her!"
Wang Yingqiu's answer surprised Mu Qingren even more.
Wang Yingqiu was Jing Zhe's first woman in the true sense, and she had spent quite a while in Jingzhou, so she was very familiar with several women in the city, including Zhang Xiaoyu.
Although Zhang Xiaoyu and Jing Zhe's relationship was not nearly as close when they left Jingzhou, Wang Yingqiu had already foreseen this situation.
If it were just an ordinary relationship, would Jing Zhe feel comfortable entrusting such a large business like Wenxiangju to her?
Based on this alone, Zhang Xiaoyu's identity is quite reasonable.
"You know her? Who is she?"
Of all the women Jing Zhe has been with, Mu Qingren has spent the shortest time with him, only during the period in Jinxi. Apart from Wang Yingqiu, Qiu Qianqian, and the two sisters Qingqiu and Pei Yunxi, he has never seen any other women.
That's why she was curious.
"Her name is Zhang Xiaoyu."
"Zhang Xiaoyu from Zhang Family Cloth Shop and Wenxiangju?"
"Yes, it's her!"
"..."
Upon receiving Wang Yingqiu's affirmative answer, Mu Qingren immediately felt relieved.
Although she had never met any other women, Wang Yingqiu had introduced her to other women of Jing Zhe's, including Zhang Xiaoyu and Zhu Xinning.
Mu Qingren had only heard the name but couldn't place it. Now, after hearing Wang Yingqiu's explanation, she immediately understood.
If it were Zhang Xiaoyu… it wouldn’t seem so painful…
In fact, Zhang Xiaoyu had known him longer than he had, so what reason or right did he have to be angry with her? If anyone should be angry, it should be her who was angry with him!
So Mu Qingren began to think again: Zhang Xiaoyu has come, and he is deliberately hiding his identity in Juxianlou. Is he going to set his sights on Juxianlou again?
After all, Zhang Xiaoyu is a businesswoman who is very good at business. She also had plans to open branches of Wenxiangju and Zhangjiajiufang across the country. This connection makes it all work.
Then Mu Qingren nudged Wang Yingqiu and gestured towards Jing Zhe with her lip, saying, "I wonder what kind of mischief your man is up to again!"
Wang Yingqiu chuckled: "What, isn't my man your man too? Besides, even if he's having an idea, it's not a bad idea, it's just a good one!"
"Yes, he's my man too!"
Mu Qingren nodded like a simpleton and said, "Since he's my man, he came to my place without telling me. When he tries to do something naughty, I'll make things difficult for him!"
"Yeah?"
"What, don't you want to make things difficult for him?"
"I'm too busy thinking about him to make things difficult for him."
"..."
"Master, I hope you remember what you said. When the time comes, you can make things difficult for him, so you won't have to fight me for it!"
"Yingqiu, since you've put it that way, it seems like it wouldn't be right for me to make things difficult for him! So I've decided not to make things difficult for him!"
"..."
...
No one noticed Mu Qingren and Wang Yingqiu's hushed conversation, because everyone was listening carefully to Manager Hu's introduction, mainly about the prizes for this poetry gathering.
Previously, whether it was the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering or the Lantern Festival Poetry Gathering, the talented person who won first place did not receive any prizes, but only a title.
However, because of the bet between Manager Hu and Jing Zhe, Manager Hu was quite excited and promised to reward anyone who could write a poem better than Jing Zhe with a thousand taels of silver!
This immediately caused a huge uproar among the crowd, because these scholars had never seen a thousand-tael silver note in their entire lives!
As the saying goes, a great reward will surely bring forth brave men. With this thousand taels of silver as a lure, the enthusiasm of all the scholars was ignited, and the atmosphere in the hall was instantly brought to a climax.
Only the Crown Prince of Yu had a slight complaint: in order to stand out at this poetry gathering, he went to Jinxi to buy a poem, determined to win the Lantern Festival Poetry Gathering, which is why he dared to make a bet with Jing Zhe!
But Manager Hu's actions clearly show that he doesn't trust him!
Manager Hu noticed this and immediately explained with a smile, "Young Master, it's double insurance!"
The Crown Prince of Yu scoffed, "Double insurance? Look at his foolish appearance, does he look like he can write good poetry? I'm afraid many scholars here can write better poems than him. What, are you going to give each of them a thousand taels of silver?"
Manager Hu was taken aback, clearly having forgotten to consider this.
He immediately announced loudly, "Everyone, I didn't explain the rules very clearly just now, so let me add a point. If the number of people who write poems exceeds his, then we'll have a time contest; the first person to write a poem will receive the reward!"
"Whoosh!"
The crowd was noisy, but there were few objections.
After all, everyone knows that if there are too many people, Juxianlou cannot afford to pay that much silver. This rule shows Juxianlou's sincerity.
However, the next competition will not only be about the quality of the poems, but also about the time it takes to write them. But for some people who have already prepared their poems in advance, this is too easy...
"Manager Hu, from what you just said, did you make a bet with him?"
At this moment, Mu Qingren asked curiously.
"Yes, Pavilion Master Mu!"
Manager Hu replied, "Let's make a bet. If his poems are better than anyone else's, then I'll give him this Juxianlou restaurant! But if someone's poems are better than his, then that person has to pay me back 12,500 taels of silver!"
"..."
Sure enough, he was eyeing Juxianlou! Mu Qingren glanced at Manager Hu and silently mourned for him for a few seconds.
Anyone targeted by Jing Zhe is unlikely to survive!
However, Wang Yingqiu raised a question: "Manager Hu, this bet you made seems a bit unfair to this young master! There are so many talented people in this hall, and this young master is just one person. How could he possibly be better than everyone else?"
Manager Hu was secretly overjoyed, but he remained calm and said in a deep voice, "Master Wang, that's not true! It would indeed be unfair to compare an ordinary person with everyone else. But this young master is no ordinary person! He is a master of quick poetry, and he was the one who proposed this bet first. I was merely forced to accept it!"
Manager Hu spoke as if he were very wronged, and deliberately exaggerated Jing Zhe's abilities.
"A master of fast poetry?"
Wang Yingqiu asked in confusion.
"Hehe, Master Wang is right. I am indeed a master of quick poetry. I can write poems and songs with ease. So, if nothing unexpected happens, this Juxianlou will be mine in a little while! At that time, I hope that Pavilion Master Mu and Wang Yingqiu will grace our Juxianlou with their presence!"
Jing Zhe patted his chest and spoke boastfully, as if he had already won.
Shopkeeper Hu, barely suppressing his disdain, corrected him, "It's 'pick,' not 'stick'!"
"..."
————
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