"To Crescent Moon City?"
Qin Sheng suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and stood up abruptly: "Have the Western Rong people attacked again?"
"no."
Yue Rongheng said, "Now that I've left the capital, I thought I'd take the opportunity to visit Crescent Moon City."
"Also---" Yue Rongheng glanced at her, "My men rescued a girl outside Ningzhou Prefecture, and they say she's here to find you."
"Looking for me?"
Qin Sheng was slightly surprised, then realized something and asked incredulously, "Is it Yu Rou?"
"Hmm? I think that's what it's called," he said.
Qin Sheng suddenly realized that the story of rescuing a girl outside Ningzhou Prefecture must mean that he had brought Yu Rou to Ningzhou early in the morning.
Was it because you were afraid she would overthink it? That's why you waited until now to tell her.
Qin Sheng sighed inwardly. In this way, she was probably indebted to him again, and she didn't know when she would be able to repay him.
He swallowed back the words of thanks.
Qin Sheng then asked, "When will Your Highness go to Crescent Moon City? I—"
She was about to offer to see him off when she heard him say, "I'm leaving the city late tonight, so there's no need for that. Use your time to practice your cooking; don't forget you still owe me a meal."
"..."
“And also,” he suddenly picked up the storybook she hadn’t finished reading, “I’ll take this with me too, to read on the way.”
Qin Sheng was taken aback, and her face immediately flushed again.
She had already read most of the storybook; it told the tale of a fox spirit who had cultivated herself into human form and was seeking to repay a scholar's kindness.
It's fine for a young lady to watch, but there are some explicit scenes... It's not appropriate for a grown man to watch this, is it?
Yue Rongheng is gone.
This man...
Qin Sheng stood alone in the courtyard, subconsciously biting her lip. How could he know what she was thinking?
She was just thinking of ways to get someone to inquire about Yu Rou's whereabouts when he sent her over a few days later.
Qin Sheng kept reminding herself not to rely too much on others, especially... Yue Rongheng.
But for some reason, no matter what happens, I always seem to think of him unconsciously.
For example, offering incense at Daji Temple today.
Even when praying to Buddha to bless his family, he thought of him.
Although it was later discovered that she had mistakenly prayed to Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, who grants children.
...
Yue Rongheng left. The official explanation was that the matter of Ningzhou Prefecture's tax revenue had been sorted out, and he had returned to the capital.
Ningzhou Prefecture was peaceful and calm.
But Qin Sheng had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
She called Yu Fu over and asked, "Ningzhou is so wealthy, do you know roughly how much tax revenue, big and small, is reported each year?"
"That's a lot."
Yu Fu said, "Ningzhou is famous for its tea. The largest tea garden in Daxiang is located in Ningzhou Prefecture. Every year, the tea tax alone amounts to at least tens of thousands of taels of silver."
This doesn't even include the others.
Ningzhou is most famous for its tea and embroidery, and these two items were presented as tribute to the imperial palace every year by Ningzhou Prefecture.
However, if that's the case, then the annual tax revenue of Ningzhou Prefecture is enormous.
Has Yue Rongheng figured everything out?
Qin Sheng had her doubts, but such matters were beyond her control. After inquiring about the situation, she dismissed Yu Fu.
...
In early April, Qin Sheng opened her second shop in Ningzhou Prefecture, which was an embroidery shop.
While the shop was being renovated, Yu Rou had already embroidered many novel patterns, all of which were the most popular styles in the capital.
Qin Sheng also started embroidering.
She embroidered several sachets, each decorated with pine and bamboo leaves, and one even had a tiger's head embroidered on it.
Qiao'er asked with a smile, "Who is this embroidered for, madam? These patterns look like they're for a man."
Qin Sheng casually replied, "For my brother."
"Young Master?"
Qiao'er suddenly burst into laughter, "Our young master has never used such an elegant thing as a purse since he was a child. In my opinion, you should give it to the Regent."
"..."
Qin Sheng almost pricked her hand.
She looked down at the purses she had embroidered following Yu Rou's instructions, then spat at Qiao'er, "Talking nonsense all day long."
Yu Rou also smiled and said, "But the Regent is a good man. Didn't you say you owe him a favor? It's not impossible to repay it with a purse."
Actually, she had some vague suspicions in her mind.
The Yin family mansion had fallen into ruin, and she, along with most of the servants, was sold off. Those who were lucky enough were sold to good families and were able to remain servants.
Bad luck---
Yu Rou remembered that day.
If it weren't for the Regent's men coming and buying her, she might have ended up in a brothel by now.
Later, the Regent asked her if she would be willing to go to Ningzhou Prefecture to help Lady Qin.
Yu Rou was naturally willing. She nodded, knelt down to thank the Regent for his kindness, and couldn't help but ask him why he had helped her.
The regent naturally did not answer.
Later, on the way to Ningzhou, Yu Rou saw the Regent Prince absentmindedly holding a handkerchief several times.
She recognized that handkerchief.
The handkerchief was embroidered with the character 'sheng'. Yu Rou remembered that when Qin Sheng was still the wife of the Marquis of Pingyin, every handkerchief she used had the character 'sheng' embroidered on it.
She vaguely guessed some of the Regent's feelings for Qin Sheng.
At first, I just thought it was shocking, but as I thought about it, I seemed to vaguely understand something.
"Where would you give a purse as a way of returning a favor?" Qin Sheng said, holding the tiger-head purse she had just embroidered. "Besides, he probably doesn't need these things."
Before Yu Rou could say anything more, Awei suddenly rushed in, panting, "It's terrible, my wife! Someone's causing trouble at the pastry shop!"
"make trouble?"
Qin Sheng jumped to his feet. "What's going on?"
Awei said urgently, "They say someone ate some of the pastries we sold and is suffering from severe stomach pain. They're yelling at our shop entrance demanding compensation!"
"What?!"
Qiao'er also stood up: "How is that possible! Our shop uses fresh ingredients every day for its pastries, how could they possibly cause stomach pain!"
Several possibilities flashed through Qin Sheng's mind quickly. She said to Awei, "I'll go to the shop and check it out right now!"
The Qin residence was not far from Qin's Pastry Shop; it would take about half an incense stick's time to get there by carriage.
When Qin Sheng rushed over, a large crowd had already gathered in front of the shop to watch the spectacle.
"Shady merchants! Everyone, look! Their pastries are unsanitary; eating them will kill you!"
"Yes, look at my brother! He got a stomachache after eating their osmanthus cake! Look how much pain he's in!"
The man lying on the ground was wearing coarse cloth clothes, clutching his stomach and groaning. His face was pale and his forehead was covered in sweat.
"You swindler! Where's your boss? Tell her to come out!"
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