Chapter 46 Meeting a Beautiful Woman on a Festive Day
Ruyi Embroidery Building has grown from nothing. The shop is not big, but Shen You has completely taken control of all the properties under her name. She has also learned a lot from Uncle Fang and Granny Zhao, and knows how to manage the properties and accounts.
Therefore, although Ruyi Embroidery Building has only just opened today, every expense, whether it was for decoration or purchasing various items, has been clearly listed.
This includes the needles and threads needed for embroidery. Moreover, to ensure quality, Ruyi Embroidery House uses dozens of different sizes of embroidery needles, and the silk threads are all the best selected.
By simply comparing the accounts and finding the merchants who sourced the goods from the embroidery shop, and then comparing them with the needlework of the sachet in the old woman's hand, the truth would be immediately apparent.
Shen You had just sent someone to tell Bao Yunxiu about this method, so Bao Yunxiu was very confident when she invited the Jingzhao Prefecture officials in.
She went straight into the inner room and took out the purchase ledgers from the previous period. "Sir, these are the purchase records of our shop for the past few days."
As Bao Yunxiu spoke, she turned to the pages in the ledger that recorded the purchase of embroidery needles and silk threads. "The shops that supply our embroidery shop are all in the East Market. You can ask them to come and confirm directly, sir."
After carefully reviewing the contents of the account book, the constable from the Jingzhao Prefecture gave a wink to his colleague beside him. The other person immediately understood, turned around, and left to find the suppliers.
Before long, the person came looking for them.
The crowd outside Ruyi Embroidery Building was still packed in layers. The old women were quiet for a while, but when they saw the official come out, they immediately started wailing again.
"Sir! You must do us justice!"
"These unscrupulous shops should be driven out of Lin'an City!"
"My lord..."
"Enough!" the bailiff said impatiently, glancing at her. "You're wailing like you're in mourning."
"Bring me the sachet."
The old woman obediently handed the sachet to the official. When she saw another constable bring two people from elsewhere, her eyelids twitched violently, and an ominous premonition welled up in her heart.
When she looked up to find the middle-aged man in the crowd, he had already disappeared.
The old women exchanged glances, and one of them spoke up, about to take over the matter with a laugh, when the merchant brought by the constable had already recognized her.
"Replying to this official, the silk thread for the sachet is indeed from my shop, but this green thread is not. This thread is thicker and the workmanship is rough. Ruyi Embroidery Shop only buys fine silk thread from me, not this kind."
“Sir, these embroidery needles are not the same ones that our shop sells to Ruyi Embroidery Shop.”
"This...this..."
The old women looked at each other, speechless, unable to utter a single word in their defense.
"Isn't this a frame-up?"
"Fortunately, the officials arrived in time, otherwise Ruyi Embroidery Pavilion would have been in trouble today."
"I knew the patterns on the Ruyi Embroidery Building were very intricate, how could such a careless thing happen?"
"Wow, does this style really look that good?"
"That's right. Putting aside everything else, when it comes to the skill of picking embroidery, you men are definitely not as good as us women."
"Then I'll have to go in later and pick out a sachet for my wife to take back."
"......"
The surrounding people were buzzing with discussion, which had shifted from the incident to the embroidery styles and patterns of Ruyi Embroidery House, and they seemed ready to go into the store to make some purchases at any moment.
"You insolent commoners! Take them back to the government office!"
"yes."
The truth had come to light, and the constables escorted the old women back to the Jingzhao Prefecture to be flogged.
The area in front of Ruyi Embroidery Building was still bustling, but this time, there were no troublemakers.
This little incident did not affect the business of the embroidery shop; in fact, even more customers entered the shop than before.
——
In a private room on the second floor of Bilu Pavilion, Mu Geng, seeing that the farce had finally come to an end, looked up at Chu Xiao and said, "My lord, you knew all along that Miss Shen was prepared and had a plan, didn't you?"
Chu Xiao didn't answer. He turned around and sat down on the low couch, his gaze still fixed on the half-closed window on the second floor of the Ruyi Embroidery Building across the street.
"Is the food ready?"
Hearing his question, Mu Geng stopped dwelling on the previous question and said, "It's ready, and it should have been sent up to the second floor by now."
"Hmm," Chu Xiao nodded slightly, about to say something, when there was a knock on the door.
The door opened, and there stood Cui Yang.
"My lord, His Majesty requests your presence in the palace to discuss the matter of suppressing bandits in the suburbs."
Since it was time to discuss serious matters, Chu Xiao did not stay there any longer. He got up and left Bilu Pavilion.
Meanwhile, in a private room on the second floor of Ruyi Embroidery Building, Zifang entered carrying two food boxes.
Shen You asked in surprise, "The food was bought back so quickly?"
Wisteria shook her head, "It wasn't bought by this servant."
"Who are those?" Shen You's gaze fell on the two food boxes and saw the logo of Dongshi Shidingfang.
"The person who delivered it didn't say, but judging from his clothes, he seems to be a servant from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion," Zi Teng glanced at Chen You and asked, "Miss, should we keep this food?"
Wisteria and Green Ivy knew the relationship between their daughter and the Duke of Zhenguo.
After leaving the small courtyard that night, Shen You's mood was clearly off, and the two hadn't seen each other for several days, so Zi Teng was a little undecided.
Shen You didn't answer, but said, "Go to Shi Ding Fang again and order more food according to the number of embroiderers and servants in the embroidery building."
Wisteria replied, "Yes, miss, we have them all."
"The Duke of Zhenguo not only sent these two boxes, but also Miss Yunxiu and the others received them all."
Upon hearing this, Shen You paused slightly in her holding of the cup, as if pondering for a moment, before saying, "Put it down, you two should eat some too."
"Thank you, young lady!" Green Ivy was delighted to have something to eat and quickly stepped forward to help Wisteria serve the dishes.
Hearing her cheerful voice, Shen You looked up and smiled slightly. "If you were a few years younger, I might be able to trick you away with just a piece of osmanthus candy."
“Miss…” Green Ivy pouted, “This servant just didn’t want to waste these delicious foods.”
"Besides, it seems that the Duke of Zhenguo isn't so hateful after all..."
She spoke the last sentence very softly.
But there were only the three of them in the room, and they were so close together, how could Shen You not have heard what she said?
When Chu Xiao was mentioned, her expression remained unchanged, still smiling gently.
A table full of dishes was laid out, all of which were Shen You's favorites.
She paused slightly as she picked up her chopsticks, a subtle unease stirring within her.
I never knew that Chu Xiao would know what I liked to eat.
Could it just be a coincidence?
Shen You stared at them for a few seconds before inviting them to sit down and eat together.
Wisteria and Green Ivy could also tell that the table was full of their daughter's favorite dishes.
The two exchanged a glance and sat down in silence.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the soft clinking of a small porcelain spoon against the rim of a bowl.
No one spoke.
In a short while.
Shen You lowered her eyes and said softly, "Tell me in detail, why do you feel he's not so hateful anymore?"
She spoke very softly and gently, without even raising her head.
But both the wisteria and the green ivy knew who she was asking.
Green Ivy quickly put down her chopsticks and bowl. "Miss, please don't be sad. I won't mention him again..."
Seeing her like this, Shen You found it somewhat amusing. "I'm not sad, I'm just curious."
I'm curious why Green Ivy's opinion of Chu Xiao has changed.
Wisteria and Ivy had accompanied her to Qingxi Town, and they both knew about her enthusiasm and embarrassment when she faced Wei Cheng.
For a long time, the wisteria and the green ivy hated him to the core.
Even after they learned that Wei Cheng was Chu Xiao, the two of them still didn't treat Chu Xiao well.
"Because it's been a long time since anyone has protected a young lady like this," Green Ivy said, seeing that she really didn't care.
"At the flower-viewing banquet at the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, Wang Meng dared to look at the girls with those kinds of eyes, and the Duke immediately had one of his eyes gouged out."
"Also, Shen Linhui caused the girl to be slapped, and the next night one of his legs was crippled."
"I've only ever seen the old lady do such protection before."
After Shen You was born, her biological mother suffered from exhaustion during childbirth and needed constant medication. Not long after, she passed away.
Later, when Chen Qiurong entered the mansion, Old Madam Shen knew that she was resourceful and was afraid of Shen You, so she directly took Shen You to her own courtyard to raise her.
After Madam Shen passed away, no one protected Shen You like that anymore.
Chu Xiao was the first.
As Green Ivy spoke, she glanced up at Shen You's expression.
Then you could see that the chopsticks she had been holding had loosened their grip.
His eyes were lowered, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
After a moment, she raised her eyes, smiled gently, and said, "After the meal, have someone send some exquisite and fine embroidery patterns to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Just say that Ruyi Embroidery House can customize them for free."
Consider it a way of returning the favor for the meal he ate today.
After she finished speaking, the wisteria and the green ivy exchanged a glance and replied, "Yes."
——
Ruyi Embroidery Building's business was even better than Shen You had imagined. The unexpected event on the first day of its opening inadvertently made the embroidery building famous.
After all, who doesn't love a good show? The news spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys in no time.
As a result, many people know that a new embroidery shop has opened in the East Market. The patterns are exquisite, the embroidery is superb, and the materials are of the highest quality.
For several days in a row, long queues formed in front of Ruyi Embroidery Building.
Until the Mid-Autumn Festival arrives—
The Mid-Autumn Festival is all about family reunion and joy. Shen You asked Bao Yunxiu to post a notice that the embroidery shop would close early so that everyone could go home and reunite with their families.
It was late afternoon, at the back gate of the embroidered tower.
A girl dressed in a moon-white dress stepped onto the carriage using a stool, and the wheels rolled on, heading towards the Chengde Marquis's residence.
However, when the carriage reached Ande Ward, it suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Shen You asked in a low voice.
"Miss Shen, please forgive my abruptness. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Would you be so kind as to invite me to enjoy the lanterns with you tonight?"
The one who answered Shen You was not the groom, but Yao Yiqian.
Shen You lifted the curtain of the carriage window and looked at him, somewhat surprised, "Young Master Yao?"
Yao Yiqian was very polite and bowed to her, saying, "Miss Shen, I apologize for my rudeness."
He wanted to invite her to enjoy the lanterns together during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and he also had some things he wanted to tell her, but he had come to the Shen residence several times in the past few days, and Shen You was not there each time.
Left with no other choice, we had to wait here.
However, knowing he had to consider the girl's reputation, he didn't make a big fuss about it.
Sitting in the carriage, Shen You smiled gently and replied softly, "Mid-Autumn Festival is an important holiday. Young Master Yao, do you have time for this?"
Yao Yiqian was taken aback for a moment before realizing what he had said. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it through. I forgot that Miss Shen needs to spend time with her family."
"In that case, let's do it another day..."
“No need to reschedule,” Shen You said with a smile, “we’ll meet at the lantern festival after dinner.” She had a good impression of him and didn’t intend to refuse him.
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