Is it too late to prevent Jiang Huai from recognizing this adoptive mother?
The items that can be sent to the palace are all top-quality, elegant, and classy, which is not something a merchant girl from the countryside can handle!
I won't do it!
Absolutely not!
Jiang Shan shook his head like a rattle drum!
“Princess, Sister Liyang, for Jianghuai’s sake, you can’t harm me! First, I have no money and can’t afford the tribute! Second, I have no power and can’t find any valuable items! Third, I’m also inexperienced. If I send you something that looks like a fish eye but isn’t a pearl, you’ll lose not only face but also your reputation! So, I can’t do this!”
Li Yang glared at her and pointed wildly at the menu, "Are these expensive? I saw them downstairs before, each one only costs a few taels of silver. Even if you send a whole cartload over, how much could it cost you? You're so stingy, and you won't admit it!"
Jiang Shan choked for a moment, "Is this all you're sending to the palace?"
"What do you know!" Li Yang laughed smugly. "Those women in the palace think they're eating the finest delicacies, but they don't know anything about real food! Crabs bigger than basins—they've never even seen one, let alone eaten one! Such tender and succulent crab meat, prepared in so many different ways, will make them drool!"
This is nothing! I haven't even had time to offer you the top-quality abalone and sea urchin yet!
Jiang Shan silently complained in his heart for a while, but didn't dare to refute it anymore.
According to Li Yang, all she wanted was something new. The women in the most luxurious besieged city of Qing Kingdom had limited experience; what could she possibly know about a shrimp ball with such a grandiose name?
That's it!
Seeing that Jiang Shan had tacitly agreed, Li Yang happily gave her two bolts of cloth to send her away.
The next morning, Rong Yue weighed herself and found that she had lost two pounds!
"Mother! Mother!" Rong Yue ran happily to show off to her mother.
Li Yang was also very happy. The mother and son jumped and laughed for a while. Just as they were about to go to Jiang's private restaurant for breakfast, An Jing came to report that the Prefect of Yuzhou, along with the Vice Prefect and other officials, had come to pay their respects to the Grand Princess.
Li Yang's trip to Yuzhou was not incognito; he was accompanied by the Grand Princess's personal guards and the Rongguo Duke's mansion's soldiers, making his travels highly publicized.
The princess's procession attracted the attention of the government as soon as it arrived in Yuzhou yesterday, but because Li Yang's purpose was too clear and the commotion was too great, the government did not dare to provoke her.
After waiting a day, the situation became clearer, and those who were going to participate naturally started to do so.
Prefect Leng knew the cause and effect, but he wisely refrained from expressing his opinion.
It wasn't until the prefectural magistrate had repeatedly nagged him that he finally came to pay his respects with officials of all ranks, but Fu Qiyuan was not among them.
Fu Qiyuan has taken leave!
The reason is unknown!
Prefect Pei felt like he had eight hundred cat claws scratching at his heart, causing him immense pain. He didn't know what had happened at Jiang's Private Kitchen; the things he had hoped for hadn't happened, and Fu Qiyuan hadn't shown up either, making him extremely uneasy.
That's why he encouraged the Prefect to come and pay his respects to the Grand Princess and Prince Rong early this morning, in order to find out what was going on.
Li Yang was very accommodating; he not only met with these officials but also had a cup of tea with them.
After finishing his tea, Li Yang prepared to see his guests off.
Prefect Leng, being quite pragmatic, stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "This humble official has prepared a banquet at the government office and would like to invite the Grand Princess and the Heir Apparent tonight..."
Before he could finish speaking, Magistrate Pei slammed his elbow into him, causing Prefect Leng to stumble.
With a forced smile, Magistrate Pei interjected, "Jiang Family Private Kitchen is the most distinctive restaurant in Yuzhou. Why don't we hold a banquet at Jiang Family to entertain the Grand Princess and the Crown Prince?"
Li Yang glanced at Prefect Pei with a half-smile and said arrogantly, "I appreciate the good intentions of Prefect Leng and Prefect Pei, but I suppose you two are unaware that Prince Rong has an imperial decree ordering him to lose weight?"
Ordered to lose weight?
Prefect Leng's expression changed drastically, and he glared fiercely at Magistrate Pei.
Magistrate Pei's eyes flickered slightly, and he lowered his head at the opportune moment to conceal his inner emotions.
The news that Rong Yue had been ordered to lose weight did not spread widely. Only officials of the third rank or above in the capital and nobles in the palace knew about it. Even if it did spread, it was limited to Shangjing and Jiangling. It was impossible for everyone to know.
It's understandable that Prefect Leng didn't know, but Magistrate Pei's reaction was rather unusual.
Li Yang stood up and said calmly, "The Jiang family's act of entertaining Prince Rong for a meal should have been a heinous crime, but unexpectedly, after eating the Jiang family's weight-loss meal, the prince actually lost a few pounds. So, I bestowed a favor upon him and adopted the Jiang family's son as my godson. It's quite an interesting story. Alright, you may all leave. The prince and I are going to have breakfast at the Jiang family's private kitchen!"
Li Yang's words struck Prefect Pei like a bolt from the blue, leaving him frozen in place.
Jiang was not convicted?
Jiang's son even benefited from the misfortune by recognizing the Grand Princess as his godmother.
how so!
Jiang Shan was unaware that Li Yang's well-intentioned attempt to protect him had inadvertently exposed Jiang Huai to the Pei family.
Jiang Huai rarely appears at the shop; most of the time he's at the bamboo hut or the Jiang residence. He always comes to the shop around mealtimes, and people who don't know him might mistake him for a child brought by a customer.
The shop assistants knew the owner had a child, but they rarely saw him. Jiang Shan usually interacted with the child in his office.
The fundamental reason is that Jiang Shan doesn't want Jiang Huai to be exposed to outsiders; she doesn't want outsiders to know that Jiang Huai is a child without a father.
Even though Jiang Huai took it upon herself to acknowledge Fu Qiyuan as her father, he was still not her biological son, and she couldn't get past her conscience.
So when An Jing told Jiang Shan that Pei Guangji already knew that Li Yang had recognized Jiang Huai as his adopted son, Jiang Shan dropped the teacup in his hand and it shattered on the ground.
But soon, she comforted herself: "It's okay, I'm not afraid! If the Pei family is not afraid of offending the Grand Princess and insists on a head-on confrontation, I do have a way out!"
She looked at her "way out," her eyes filled with undisguised panic and confusion.
Fu Qiyuan put his arm around her shoulder and said in a deep voice, "I've said it before, no matter when or where, you and Huai'er are the people I want to protect with my life. The Pei family really wants to deal with me, not you!"
Jiang Shan shook his head, met Fu Qiyuan's gaze, and said, "The Pei family may not be targeting me and Jiang Huai, but your mother is targeting me! I only need one promise from you: no matter when, where, or who it is, you cannot separate me and Jiang Huai!"
Fu Qiyuan smiled faintly, clasping one hand tightly with Jiang Shan's, and said, "The Pei family is nothing, and the Cheng family is even less so. If you are willing, I can resign from my post now and take you and Huai'er to live in seclusion. We will go to Fu Family Village in Qingcheng Mountain. You and Huai'er will definitely enjoy life there."
Jiang Shan took a deep breath, feeling slightly relieved.
She won't leave easily; she still has duties to fulfill and wishes to keep, but she will do her best to protect everything she cares about, and she will fight for them to the very end!
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