Yue Rongheng sat casually, glancing at her with his phoenix eyes, but said nothing.
"..."
Qin Sheng felt a little uneasy.
This person was seven years older than her. When she was little, she thought of him as her older brother, but as she grew up, she always felt that... he seemed to be someone from her elder family.
"Why did Your Highness come to Ningzhou?" Qin Sheng asked.
"It's official business. Lord Qin learned that I was coming to Ningzhou and wrote a letter asking me to bring it to you on my way."
It's not entirely untrue. For the past two years, Ningzhou's tax revenue has been somewhat unclear, and there are several bandit groups in the mountains behind Ningzhou whose identities seem rather suspicious.
"So it's business." Qin Sheng nodded, picked up the teapot on the table, poured a cup of tea, and handed it over.
Marquis Wuping is practically the "local emperor" of Ningzhou Prefecture. It's quite normal for Yue Rongheng to go to Marquis Wuping's residence first when he comes here to handle official business.
Yue Rongheng asked, "I heard you opened a pastry shop here. How's it going? Is everything alright?"
Qin Sheng nodded: "It's great. The pastry shop business is on track. I'm thinking of acquiring some more shops."
Once she left the inner quarters, she discovered that doing business was actually much simpler than managing the inner quarters.
Looking into her beautiful eyes, Yue Rongheng unconsciously smiled and said, "It's good to have drive, but doing business isn't something you can achieve overnight. Take it slow."
"If you need any help, just ask Magistrate Hou for assistance; he's one of my men."
Qin Sheng was a little touched and nodded, thinking she would agree first.
Before long, the carriage arrived at the Qin residence. Qin Sheng got off the carriage and realized that Yuan Xiuwen and Xiao Yuehai were not with them and did not know where they had gone.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for bringing me back."
Qin Sheng said, "Since Your Highness has come on official business, please go and attend to it. I'll speak to you another day—"
No rush.
Yue Rongheng smiled slightly, "Since we're already at the door, it's not too much to ask me to come in for a cup of tea, is it?"
"...Huh?" Qin Sheng was a little stunned.
He nodded immediately, "Of course, as long as Your Highness doesn't mind that the tea here isn't as good as the tea in the palace."
The Qin family mansion was not large, and the number of people living there was not many, but the interior was decorated with great elegance.
Qin Sheng led the way, taking Yue Rongheng to the hall and instructing people to make tea and bring snacks.
Yue Rongheng indeed took out a letter, "This is a letter that Lord Qin asked me to deliver to you."
There really is a letter?
Qin Sheng quickly took the letter with both hands and eagerly opened it. The letter was in her mother Madam Qin's handwriting.
In the letter, her mother said that she and her father were doing well and that she didn't need to worry, but her mother still asked in detail about her situation here.
At the end, the mother mentioned that the regent was about to marry the queen.
It is said that the girl was incredibly audacious. Because she did not want to marry the regent, she packed her things and eloped with her sweetheart.
Upon seeing this, Qin Sheng subconsciously looked up at Yue Rongheng.
He was drinking tea when he noticed her gaze and raised an eyebrow slightly. Qin Sheng quickly looked away.
She continued reading the letter.
The letter was a bit long. As Qin Sheng read it, she could almost feel her mother's emotions while writing it.
By the time I finished reading the letter, the tea had long since gone cold.
Qin Sheng felt a little sad.
Suddenly, a white handkerchief appeared before me, with a faint scent of ink.
Yue Rongheng said, "If you want to cry, then cry. If you miss your family, then go back. Who dares to say anything?"
"Thank you, Your Highness." Qin Sheng took his handkerchief and wiped her eyes. After calming down for a while, she said, "I came to Ningzhou not entirely because I was afraid of gossip, but because I wanted to see if I could do something else on my own. No one says that a woman has to cry every day after a divorce. I want to do something meaningful so that when I earn more money in the future, I can help other vulnerable people in need."
Her words surprised Yue Rongheng somewhat.
He said, "Your magnanimity is already quite remarkable. Your parents are well in the capital, and there's no need to worry too much about the border. This war has dragged on for so long, and the Western Rong are clearly losing. Your brother's reputation as the 'Little War God' has already terrified the Western Rong people."
Qin Sheng nodded, "Once my brother returns from the border, Mother can finally choose a suitable girl for him to marry without worry."
Qin Sheng was also worried about her brother's marriage.
She was always worried that her divorce might affect her brother's marriage prospects.
Yue Rongheng said, "Now that you have accomplished your great deeds, it is time to get married and have children to continue your family line."
If it comes to getting married and having children to continue the family line, it seems he should be in a hurry, he's already twenty-five, Qin Sheng thought to himself.
However, Qin Sheng certainly wouldn't dare say these words aloud.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for delivering the letter for my parents on your way, and also for earlier..."
After a pause, Qin Sheng said, "On my way here, I was blocked by a group of thugs. Later, a group of men in black came to my rescue. The guards said that those men in black looked like assassins. They should be His Highness's men, right?"
Yue Rongheng did not deny it, "Then you should have guessed who had someone intercept you halfway, right?"
"..."
Qin Sheng had already guessed it.
It's just that Old Madam Yin was resentful that Yin Wenxiao had given her 15,000 taels of alimony, so she wanted to take it back.
But since those people were all dead, Qin Sheng didn't want to pursue the matter any further.
However, she was genuinely grateful to Yue Rongheng, saying, "Speaking of which, Sheng already owes Your Highness several favors. If Your Highness doesn't mind, I—"
Why don't you cook me a meal?
Qin Sheng thought that she still had a few valuable items in her small storeroom that she could show off, and planned to take out two of them to repay his kindness.
Who knows---
"...Cooking?" Qin Sheng swallowed subconsciously. "But I'm not very good at cooking, and I'm afraid what I make will be..."
It's definitely not tasty. What if the food isn't cooked thoroughly? It could cause food poisoning, right?
"Afraid I won't be able to eat it?" Yue Rongheng raised an eyebrow slightly. "No, there was a time when I was young when I even ate spoiled food."
He was already extremely handsome, and for some reason, this slight raising of his eyebrows made Qin Sheng's heartstrings flutter.
But she quickly came to her senses. What had he just said?
When was my childhood? Qin Sheng thought back carefully to her childhood, but she had no memory of it at all.
"Oh." She nodded, her voice a little muffled.
The two talked for a while longer. Yue Rongheng only told her to cook a meal to repay him, but did not say when.
Time passed by unnoticed.
Yue Rongheng still had things to do, but before leaving, he asked, "What exactly happened at the Marquis of Wuping's residence today?"
His excuse of feeling unwell did not fool him.
Qiao'er happened to come in and tidy up, and couldn't help but say, "It's still that..."
"Didn't you say you were going to learn how to make steamed cakes from the kitchen mom? Hurry up and go!" Qin Sheng urged her on.
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