"What nonsense are you talking about!"
Xu Yan nudged Chuanrui, who slapped his forehead. He had been so focused on his daughter that he had only thought about seizing the title and had accidentally slipped up.
Chuanrui quickly explained, "It's not about stripping you of your title. Your mother and I have been busy with business these past few days."
Chuanwen didn't believe it and looked at his troublesome parents with suspicion. The two had no choice but to explain the whole story.
Yueya, who lives next door to them in Qingshui Village, is a skilled embroiderer. Xu Yan's handkerchief was embroidered by Yueya, and at the last banquet, she caught the eye of Lady Yang from the Hanlin Academy. Xu Yan immediately saw a business opportunity.
These past few days, she's been getting along really well with those ladies, trying to sell them Yueya's embroidery skills. Besides handkerchiefs, she also makes clothes. Although there aren't any finished clothes to show, she and Chuanwu have Chuanwu recall the patterns Yueya has made on the clothes and draw a few designs. The ladies love them at first sight.
"They haven't seen Yueya's embroidery skills, so they dare not place any more orders."
Xu Yan regretfully took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, but there was no need to be discouraged. She had observed Yue's embroidery skills these past few days, and they were no less impressive than those in the capital. If it weren't for the quality of their fabrics, the clothes Yue made would actually look better. After this order, they would definitely place another, and the orders would certainly increase.
Chuanwen glanced at the order book, which was a finger's thickness, in his father's hand, and clicked his tongue, "Isn't this a lot?"
"Mother, are you trying to work Yue-jie to death?"
Xu Yan poked her daughter's head with her finger. She had just praised her daughter for being smart, but now she was acting stupid.
"You don't need to worry about that. I guarantee it won't tire out your sister Yue, and it will even help her make a lot of money."
Xu Yan was in a good mood, but Chuan Wen, who had been poked on the head, wasn't so happy. [Mother, why are you saying that in such a harsh tone?]
What the hell? Talking nonsense again.
Chuanrui and Xu Yan selectively ignored some of the things their daughter couldn't understand. After checking that her injuries were minor and nothing serious, one handed her a cane, and the other told Xiao Bi to help her back. Then they slammed the door shut.
“Daughter, your father has to rush back to Qingshui Village to deliver orders tomorrow, so I need to go to bed early. You should go back to bed early too. When I come back, I'll bring you Er Gou's specialty braised pork.”
The old man yawned and mumbled his words, but Chuanwen only heard the words "Ergou's braised pork" and his eyes lit up instantly.
Then his mother's voice came out, "Also, I've taken the gold from your box first. When you make money, I'll give you a share of the profits."
For the sake of the braised pork, Chuanwen banged on the door repeatedly. Xu Yan, who had already taken off half of her coat, had to put it back on and come to open the door.
"Mom, come here, I have a surprise for you."
Chuanwen spoke mysteriously, and Xu Yan, not understanding what he meant, was then pulled by Chuanwen to the storeroom in Chuanwen's courtyard next door.
When the warehouse door was opened, it was crammed full: there were red corals half a person's height, jade ruyi scepters as long as an arm, and boxes upon boxes of brocade, pearls, and jewelry.
"My mother, my grandmother, my cotton-padded trousers and cotton-padded jacket... my father, my grandfather, my sleeves are half wet... my heart, my lungs, I'm so scared I almost have no stomach left!"
Xu Yan stared in disbelief and immediately launched into an impromptu freestyle, leaving Chuan Wen utterly defeated. She finally understood where her linguistic talent came from.
"Girl, did you go to commit robbery?"
As Xu Yan stroked the precious items, she regretted that her daughter hadn't taken her along on the robbery; if she had gone with her, they would definitely have stolen even more.
Chuanwen smiled brightly, "These were given to me by Princess Baohui, Mother, you can have them all."
Xu Yan paused in her caressing gesture, looked at her daughter, thought for a moment, and then readily accepted the fact that Princess Bao Hui had given her daughter so many wonderful things, after all, her daughter had saved Princess Chaoyang. Then she hugged her daughter and showered her with kisses.
"My daughter, I will definitely earn a fortune for you and make sure you live a life no worse than this Marquis's mansion!"
Xu Yan was so moved that she almost cried. Her daughter was so good to her, saying she wanted to give her all these good things.
Chuanwen nodded emphatically, his mouth practically watering.
[If Mother expands the business, Yuejie might come to the capital, and Ergou might come with her. That way, I can eat Ergou's braised pork anytime.]
Xu Yan: ...My worthless tears were ultimately wasted.
Two days passed uneventfully, with a light drizzle falling again. The weather had turned quite cold, almost like winter was approaching, and people were wearing padded jackets.
After weeping behind closed doors for several days, the Princess of Chaoyang finally emerged from her seclusion, her carriage heading towards the outskirts of the city.
She had once lit a lamp of fate for herself and Zhou Yong at Famen Temple outside the city, but now that their love had faded, she naturally wanted to go to Famen Temple to blow out that lamp.
However, when the carriage was traveling through the woods outside the city, a person suddenly ran out of the woods and jumped onto the carriage without thinking twice.
Princess Chaoyang was terrified and about to scream, but when she saw the other person's handsome and dashing face, her scream froze in her throat.
"Run!"
The man's low but undeniable voice rang out, and Chaoyang suddenly came to his senses. Only then did he notice that there was an arrow stuck in the man's shoulder, and the carriage was filled with the smell of blood. His handsome and heroic face was deathly pale, but his eyes were exceptionally dark and resolute.
When Chaoyang was stared at by those eyes, his heart skipped a beat and his legs jumped up.
"Princess, are you alright?"
The coachman had just steadied the frightened horse and was anxiously asking questions from outside. Just as he was about to lift the curtain, Chaoyang's voice came from inside.
"I'm fine, get out of here quickly."
Although the coachman was puzzled, he could tell from the sound that Princess Chaoyang didn't seem to be in any trouble, so he quickly pulled up the maid who had fallen off the carriage and spurred the horse to leave.
Not long after the county magistrate's carriage left, another carriage came clattering by.
The Third Prince was inside the carriage. He was not in a good mood at the moment; his long, dark eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his deep, dark eyes were deep in thought.
His mother held a lowly position in the harem. From the time he was old enough to understand, they were bullied by all sorts of people. Other concubines, princes and princesses, and even eunuchs and palace maids were all high and mighty to them.
He still remembers the eunuchs spitting on his food, the palace maids pointing at him and calling him a bastard without any restraint, the other princes beating him, the princesses making the palace servants force him to kneel down and ride on their backs, and the scene of his mother drowning in the lotus pond while trying to get medicine for him when he had a high fever.
He was humiliated, he was forced to lose his loved ones, he hated it, and he was even more unwilling to accept it. He also wanted to be a superior person!
Since he was ten years old and was taken in by Consort Shu, he hadn't felt this stifled in many years.
And the one who caused this situation is that country girl who suddenly appeared out of nowhere!
The Third Prince's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a dangerous glint.
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