Chapter 366 The Young Lady is Not Alone
With Prince Fu joining, official trade between Dayu and the border city proceeded much more smoothly.
Prince Fu has been in business for many years, and all he thinks about is making money. He is more experienced than Shen Qingming in both his methods and his psychological manipulation of others.
He knew that Emperor Xiao Wu did this to increase tax revenue.
The Great Yu region is vast, and every year there are always places that suffer from natural disasters or man-made calamities, which the imperial court spends a considerable amount of money on each year.
Therefore, the more money the Ministry of Revenue has, the better.
In addition, it can also prepare for a future battle with the Northern Hu.
Therefore, Prince Fu worked very hard.
He even made a special trip to the palace for this matter.
He said that although he was old, he would still do his best to serve His Majesty.
While praising Prince Fu's abilities, Emperor Xiao Wu, disregarding Prince Fu's refusals, bestowed upon Prince Fu's youngest son the title of Earl of Fu'an and appointed him as Vice Minister of Revenue...
Finally, Prince Fu left the palace, wiping away tears of joy.
From then on, Prince Fu devoted himself wholeheartedly to helping Shen Qingming handle border trade and matters related to gambling dens and brothels...
Because Shen Qingming was specifically in charge of border trade and merchant affairs, Shangguan Jin and Chang Shenggong were the behind-the-scenes nobles of Boss Ye's caravan.
Shangguan Jin and Madam Huangfu discussed it.
From then on, neither of their households wanted any of the money from Boss Ye's caravan.
Let Boss Ye unite with a few more small merchant groups to expand his trading business a bit more.
Finally, I managed to get a spot as a royal merchant from Shen Qingming.
Boss Ye was overjoyed and immediately donated a large sum of money to the Ministry of Revenue.
The Ye family are now imperial merchants...
I'm no longer one of those insignificant people in other people's eyes...
Emperor Xiao Wu took one look and thought, "Not bad, this Boss Ye is quite sensible." He immediately wrote another calligraphy piece for Boss Ye.
A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings!
When Boss Ye received the calligraphy from Shangguan Jin, he was trembling all over.
This must be framed and hung in the largest hall of the ancestral home.
This is the glory of the Ye family...
Shangguan Jin glanced at the calligraphy discreetly.
Well, it's so-so, above average. If it weren't for the imperial nephew's private seal, it would only fetch tens of thousands of dollars at Christie's auction later...
......
Finally, Shen Qingming had something he wanted to do, and he started working from early morning to late at night, just like Shen Qingjun used to.
Shangguan Jin then looked at her youngest son, Shen Qingrui...
Aside from paying respects to An Jinxue and having meals, he stayed in his room all day and never came out.
Shangguan Jin secretly went over to take a look.
Shen Qingrui's room was filled with all sorts of ingenious gadgets: windmills that moved without wind, all kinds of Luban locks, and even some of the toys that jugglers used. Shen Qingrui treasured them all and kept them in his room.
Shangguan Jin didn't care.
Let the youngest son do whatever he wants!
At worst, she could wait until he was a little older and then ask her nephew, the emperor, to put her youngest son in the Ministry of Works so he could earn a living.
There is also Shen Qingyu, who is already fourteen years old.
Unlike other young ladies who do embroidery, painting, or go out to social events with the women in their families.
She spent every day practicing martial arts at the training ground of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.
Now he can perform a set of marksmanship quite well.
At first, Old Madam Shen was a little worried; the young lady of the Duke's mansion was now more fierce than a man...
"Mother, none of the children in the Shen family are ordinary; they will all be successful in the future."
"Perhaps Yu'er will be the first female general of Dayu in the future!" Shangguan Jin comforted Madam Shen.
When Madam Shen heard this, she also thought it made sense.
The Shen family produces no ordinary people.
When my son joined the army, many people said that generals were all born into noble families.
It's not something a peasant woman like her could raise.
And what was the result?
Didn't her son still become the commander of the Weiyuan Army, the God of War of the North, and the Duke of Dingguo of Dayu?
So, in the Shen family, nothing is impossible...
......
That day, Shangguan Jin and Qian Qingqing looked at the Dragon Boat Festival gifts they were preparing to send to various prefectures.
"Jun-ge should be back before the Dragon Boat Festival."
Two days ago, a guard came back on horseback with news that the imperial envoy's carriage had arrived in Tongzhou.
"I reckon it'll only take three to five days," Shangguan Jin said to Qian Qingqing with a smile.
Qian Qingqing's eyes lit up, and she nodded with a blush.
Before they knew it, the couple had been separated for more than half a year.
Fortunately, the Suzhou affairs were handled relatively smoothly, more than two months ahead of schedule.
"Don't worry, Mother, your daughter-in-law will make all the preparations." Qian Qingqing said softly.
Shangguan Jin smiled and was about to say a few more words when she saw Dongmai walking over, looking preoccupied.
“Miss…” Dongmai opened her mouth.
"What's wrong? Did you lose your purse while you were out? You look so preoccupied," Shangguan Jin asked with a smile.
Dongmai opened her mouth, but still couldn't say a word.
Upon seeing this, Shangguan Jin knew that she must have something she couldn't say in public.
"Let's go! I have two new flower patterns, can you take a look at them for me?"
Yu-jie'er is going through a lot of shoes lately, so I'll make her a couple more pairs.
As she spoke, Shangguan Jin took Dongmai's hand and led her back to her own courtyard.
As soon as she sat down, Shangguan Jin looked at Dongmai, who still looked conflicted.
"What is it? Speak!"
This time, Dongmai didn't hesitate and, just like before, dragged a small embroidered stool and sat down next to Shangguan Jin.
“Miss, I just went outside to buy your favorite snacks and saw our young lady.”
"Don't you see Sister Yue every day? What's wrong? Is there anything strange?" Shangguan Jin found it odd.
“Our young lady isn’t alone,” Dongmai continued.
“If she were alone with another person, then there would be trouble in our household!” Shangguan Jin was even more puzzled.
"No! Miss, you don't understand what I mean."
"What I mean is that Miss didn't go out alone; she was with someone else," Dongmai explained hastily.
"Who is it?" Shangguan Jin asked, even more curious.
Shen Qingyue is very solitary; the kind of close female friend others talk about, she only has Hua Wanli.
But Hua Wanli took the child to Jiangnan last month and said she wouldn't be back until next month.
“It’s Young Master Lian Qianli,” Dongmai said in a low voice.
Shangguan Jin...
"They... Sister Yao goes to Chunbuwan Teahouse every day, so it's normal for her to appear with Young Master Lian!" Shangguan Jin said subconsciously.
Winter wheat hurriedly shook its head.
"Miss, this time is different. The two of them are not on Spring Festival Gala."
It's a jewelry shop located outside.
Our young lady always spoke to Young Master Lian with a smile.
"And the way Young Master Lian looks at our young lady... it's just like the way the Duke looked at you back then." Dongmai's voice trailed off.
Shangguan Jin...
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