Just as they were enjoying themselves, the two saw Lei Nianren on the street, accompanied by a pretty woman.
Lei Nianren also saw them, smiled at them, or rather, smiled at Wen Xue, before entering Tianxin Tower.
The woman beside Lei Nianren also looked over at them following Lei Nianren's gaze. Upon closer inspection, she recognized her as Zhou Shuqin, Wen Xue's playmate from her time in Jiangnan.
When the two looked at each other, surprise flashed in their eyes. Then Zhou Shuqin smiled at Wen Xue and quickly followed Lei Nianren into Tianxin Tower.
Chuanwen took a bite of the pudding-like dessert, looked at Wenxue, and asked, "Your friend?"
“A good friend!” Wenxue corrected Chuanwen, and recalling the past, a knowing smile unconsciously appeared on her face. “Her name is Zhou Shuqin. We’ve been friends since we were little. Shuqin was so good to me. She would always save the best food for me. When we were little, I was often punished by my mother for not being allowed to eat because I couldn’t practice my sword well. Every time, Shuqin would secretly bring me food!”
As Wen Xue talked, she became more and more excited to meet Zhou Shuqin. She hadn't seen her since she came to the capital four years ago!
Knock knock knock!
At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the private room. Wen Xue glanced at Chuan Wen, and after receiving Chuan Wen's permission, she quickly went to open the door. Then, ignoring Lei Nianren at the door, she welcomed Zhou Shuqin, who was behind him, in.
"Shuqin, what are you doing here?"
Wenxue pulled Zhou Shuqin to sit down, her face full of excitement and joy at seeing her long-lost friend.
Zhou Shuqin, however, was much calmer than Wen Xue, and smiled like a lady without showing her teeth. "I heard that there are many new and interesting things in the capital, as well as a magical railway, so I came to see what's so special."
As Zhou Shuqin spoke, she glanced at Chuanwen a few times, concealing her amazement. Seeing how familiar Chuanwen seemed with Lei Nianren, her amazement turned into curiosity and wariness.
Wen Xue was completely unaware of the various emotions in Zhou Shuqin's eyes. Seeing her looking at the document, she introduced her, "This is the second young lady of the Marquis of Changxing's mansion. She's incredibly capable. All these novelties in the capital, including that railway, were built by her and her team!"
Wen Xue said proudly, but Zhou Shuqin frowned in confusion and looked at Chuan Wen, "I heard that the person leading everyone in the Women's Academy to do research is indeed surnamed Chuan, but she is Chuan Yu, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Changxing. This, Second Miss... I have never heard of her."
Zhou Shuqin's voice was gentle, making it difficult for anyone to detect any disdain or contempt in her words. At least, Wen Xue didn't hear it and thought she was just curious.
However, the shrewd Chuanwen couldn't see through anything. From the very beginning, she had clearly seen through Zhou Shuqin's amazement and wariness towards her. At this moment, she smiled, interrupting Wenxue's attempt to explain, and asked, "Miss Zhou, have you ever heard of Snow White?"
Zhou Shuqin was taken aback. Seeing Chuanwen's innocent and harmless smile, she figured he probably wasn't implying anything, so she honestly shook her head.
Not only did she shake her head, but Wen Xue and Lei Nianren also became curious.
"What about the seven dwarfs?"
Chuanwen asked again, and Zhou Shuqin thought for a moment and still shook her head.
"What about the magic mirror?"
Chuanwen asked again, and Zhou Shuqin looked at Wenxue, then at Lei Nianren, and shook her head again.
Chuanwen sighed, "There are so many things Miss Zhou hasn't heard of."
Zhou Shuqin was stunned for a moment before realizing that the other person was mocking her, and her face instantly darkened.
Lei Nianren suppressed a laugh, while Wen Xue coughed awkwardly, thinking that Wen must have been disgusted by Zhou Shuqin's words, but Zhou Shuqin didn't mean anything by it.
Wen Xue quickly said to Zhou Shuqin, "You've just arrived in the capital, so it's normal that you don't know many things. You'll understand once you stay here for a while longer."
Chuanwen often slacked off, and he rarely appeared in public when he was doing research, so even people in the capital without some status didn't know that Chuanwen existed.
Chuanwen's lack of fame was partly due to his own actions and partly due to the emperor's deliberate concealment. Therefore, only court officials and their families knew of Chuanwen's true abilities.
Zhou Shuqin's family had influence in the south and no imperial backing, so naturally they didn't know who Chuanwen was.
Her trip to Beijing was not only to broaden her horizons, but also to follow her father and see if they could sponsor something like the Lei family's train sponsorship.
Therefore, before coming to Beijing, they knew the family members of every high-ranking official and noble family very well.
The Marquis of Changxing's mansion does indeed have two daughters. One is the eldest daughter of the main wife and the director of the research institute, the one who leads the research on railways. The other must be the one in front of us, but she is the daughter of someone who did not inherit the power of the marquis and was brought back from the countryside!
Zhou Shuqin already despised her status; she was just a peasant, and even if she rose to prominence, she would never become a phoenix.
Originally, out of respect for Wen Xue, she could have given this country bumpkin a friendly look, but now that Chuan Wen was mocking and ridiculing her, she didn't give him a single kind glance.
If she didn't have to maintain a ladylike image in front of Lei Nianren, she would have definitely seized the opportunity to ridicule him.
"By the way, Xue'er, what are you doing in the capital?"
Zhou Shuqin ignored Chuanwen, took Wenxue's hand, and asked with great concern.
Ignored, Chuanwen didn't mind. He just sat down to eat snacks and drink tea, and casually dug up any dirt on the guy.
"After I left home, I came to the capital to find my uncle..."
Wen Xue and Zhou Shuqin started catching up, leaving Lei Nianren and Chuanwen out in the cold. However, Zhou Shuqin's gaze kept falling on Lei Nianren, while Wen Xue was much more focused and didn't notice Zhou Shuqin's intentional or unintentional glances at Lei Nianren.
Lei Nianren had previously invested all his resources in the railway, so after this train was completed, the imperial court not only entrusted the Lei family with the interior decoration of the train, such as tablecloths, curtains, snacks, and meals, but also gave Lei Nianren a position in the railway bureau.
Although this position held little real power and was more of an honorary title, it did mean the Lei family was now officially employed by the government. This marked a significant leap from the lowly merchant class to the scholar class, and played a crucial role in establishing the Lei family's foothold in the capital.
Now that Lei Nianren had acquired a rank, he could hear Chuanwen's thoughts. So when Chuanwen dug up Zhou Shuqin's dirty secrets, he immediately spat out a mouthful of tea!
Zhou Shuqin stole a belt from Lei Nianren and wore it around her waist every night before going to bed!
"What's wrong? Are you alright?"
Zhou Shuqin kept a close eye on Lei Nianren. When she saw him spit out a mouthful of tea as if he had been startled, she quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe the tea stains from his mouth and chest.
However, Lei Nianren didn't want to be touched by her, so he kept backing away.
Wen Xue was a little stunned by what she saw. Her mind was still replaying Chuan Wen's thoughts from earlier, and she was filled with disbelief. Why would Shu Qin steal Lei Nianren's belt and wear it on herself? Didn't she hate Lei Nianren?
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