When the waiter saw Anle in the wheelchair, he stuttered and recognized her as the eldest princess.
Seeing that the princess was not accompanied by the maids, eunuchs, and guards from the previous day, the waiter suddenly realized: Could this be the incognito visit in the opera? He immediately stood in awe and said respectfully, "Three distinguished guests, please come in."
While instructing the boy to inform Miss Zhen that a distinguished guest had arrived, the waiter also called a female waiter in blue to help him entertain the guest.
"Please follow me to the private room in the back hall."
Facing the eldest princess, the female waiter's smile was a little restrained. She took the initiative to help push Anle's wheelchair and led the three of them to the private room in the back hall of the shop. At the same time, she looked at Chu Yi and Gu Yanfei calmly, guessing the identities of these two people.
The silver shop was in good order. Ordinary customers viewed jewelry in the front hall, regular customers and distinguished guests could go to the private rooms in the back hall, and there was also a special place on the second floor for entertaining female guests.
The female waiter led the way for them and introduced the silver shop to them. Soon, she led the three people to the private room in the back hall.
There are windows on three walls of the private room, which is brightly lit. There is a complete set of rosewood tables and chairs, coffee tables, and high-legged flower tables, all of which are spotless and elegant. There are also four flower and bird paintings representing spring, summer, autumn, and winter hanging on the wall. The flowers and birds are painted vividly and come alive on the paper.
Seeing Anle and Gu Yanfei looking at each other for a few more times, the female waiter said with some pride: "This was painted by our girl."
"This parrot is really well painted!" An Le pointed to the colorful parrot in one of the paintings and told Gu Yanfei, "Sister, my father... also raised a parrot like this."
"Excuse me." A crisp female voice said with a smile, "For us jewelry makers, learning to paint flowers and birds is a basic skill."
A girl wearing a blue jacket with a vase and eight treasures pattern and a gold and jade headpiece hurried towards Anle and Gu Yanfei.
She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a pretty face and a thin figure. Her quick and decisive steps showed her a shrewd and capable temperament.
While she was speaking, a maid promptly brought in tea and snacks, and several female waitresses respectfully brought in several trays.
The trays were all covered with red velvet and placed with pieces of pure gold jewelry. The first tray had a ruby headpiece, the second tray had a lapis lazuli headpiece, and the rest had pearl headpieces, gold-inlaid jade headpieces, red coral headpieces, and so on.
There were all kinds of jewelry, including hairpins, step-shaking ornaments, earrings, rings, necklaces, hairpins, etc. At first glance, the jewels were so dazzling that Anle was dazzled.
Anle took a jade hairpin from the tray and looked at it, then asked casually, "Miss Zhen, how is the Peony Distraction that I mentioned last time?"
"It's almost done, with just a little finishing touch. I wanted to wait until it was completely done before showing it to Your Highness." Miss Zhen replied gracefully and told the female servant to fetch the peony.
Soon, the waitress brought a new tray, on which was placed a gold filigree carved heart with South pearls and peony and phoenix patterns, the South pearls sparkling with a lustrous luster.
"Sister, does it look good?" An Le grabbed Gu Yanfei's wrist and smiled brightly, "I came up with this distraction trick. Tell Miss Zhen, and Miss Zhen will draw a blueprint for me on the spot. The real thing is even better than the blueprint."
"It looks good." Gu Yanfei praised with a smile, "Miss Zhen's craftsmanship is really good."
This Miss Zhen was graceful and dignified in her dealings, smart and capable, and she knew how to use new jewelry to lure the princess back. She was able to advance and retreat, and was able to read people's expressions.
What did her senior sister say back then? If you don’t have ten thousand tricks, you can’t care about so many things!
"Thank you for the compliment, young lady." Miss Zhen smiled even more brightly, pointing at the gold filigree inlaid with southern pearls and peony phoenix pattern and said distractedly, "It is your highness's ingenuity. I painted this phoenix pattern based on the pattern on your highness's skirt that day."
"Now all that's missing is the bead in the phoenix's mouth and the stamen of the peony flower."
"I have also designed matching bracelets and a gold necklace, but they are not ready yet. Wait three days and the whole set of headwear will be ready. Your Highness can send someone to pick it up."
The more Miss Zhen spoke, the happier Anle became. He couldn't let go of the red gold distraction in his hand.
"Your Highness, would you like to try it on?" Miss Zhen suggested, observing his expression. "It's also a good opportunity to see if there's anything that needs to be altered."
Anle nodded and smiled at Gu Yanfei coquettishly, "Sister, put it on for me."
Gu Yanfei naturally agreed, and the intimacy and familiarity between the two of them came out naturally.
Miss Zhen watched with a smile on her face, wondering if this unknown girl was a princess from the royal family. After all, everyone knew that the emperor had only one daughter, the eldest princess.
Gu Yanfei carefully put the red gold ring on Anle's head, then picked up a mercury mirror on the table and asked her to look in the mirror.
The ten-year-old girl was at the age where she loved beauty. She supported Chi Jinxin and turned to look at Chu Yi, wanting to ask him if he looked good.
Chu Yi was also looking at jewelry. He picked up a red-gold flower from a tray. It was made in the shape of a water lily. The petals were as thin as foil and trembled, and the core was made of yellow agate. It was extremely exquisite.
He moved his hand slightly, and the layers of golden petals rustled and shone brightly.
The red-gold light made his eyes sparkle.
Anle had just uttered a word when he heard a strong male voice from the front hall outside: "Where's Ruzhu? Is her engagement letter ready?"
Anle blinked and looked at Miss Zhen. Remembering her name was Ruzhu, she asked curiously, "Are you getting married?"
"No." Zhen Ruzhu's smile faded and she shook her head slightly stiffly.
The waiter in the front hall said in an awkward voice: "Master, our girl wants to entertain the distinguished guests..."
"Forget it, I'll go find her myself." Master Zhen said in an unquestionable tone.
As they were talking, a man and a woman forcefully pushed the waiter into the back hall. The door curtain was roughly lifted up and then dropped down, shaking violently.
The middle-aged man who broke into the back hall was about forty years old. He was wearing a green robe, short and fat, with a pot belly. The woman was about the same age, with a bean-sized black mole on her philtrum and a somewhat mean face.
The woman's eyes fell on Zhen Ruzhu, and she looked her up and down with a bit of disdain, "Are you Zhen Ruzhu?"
As she spoke, her eyes swept over the gold and jade jewelry on the tray, and her eyes instantly lit up, with a greedy gleam in her eyes.
The woman raised her chin in a haughty manner, and without waiting for Zhen Ruzhu to reply, she flicked her handkerchief and said sharply, "She's a good match for my noble son, isn't she?"
Master Zhen walked to the center of the room with his head held high and pointed at the woman and introduced her, "Ruzhu, this is the matchmaker hired by the man, and also his cousin's mother-in-law. She is here to exchange the engagement letter."
"Hurry up and get the engagement letter."
Master Zhen gave orders to Zhen Ruju as a matter of course, his voice as loud as thunder, as if an elder was bossing the younger around.
Anle frowned unhappily. She hated noisy people the most.
Zhen Ruzhu lowered her voice and explained, "That's my uncle. He said that my life is too hard. I am unlucky to my father, mother, brothers and sisters..."
She ended her words with a faint sigh and said nothing more.
Gu Yanfei put down the mercury mirror in his hand and glanced at Zhen Ruzhu lightly.
This look was so penetrating and calm that it made Zhen Ruzhu's heart tremble. She felt as if she could not hide all her thoughts from the other party.
Zhen Ruzhu's eyes wandered for a moment, she bit her lower lip slightly, and lowered her head to avoid Gu Yanfei's gaze.
The eldest princess's visit to the shop today was something she had not expected, but she had known for a long time that her uncle would come. Yesterday, her uncle came and said that he had found a live-in son-in-law for her and asked her to prepare the engagement letter. He would come with the man's matchmaker to exchange the engagement letter today.
Therefore, when she saw the eldest princess coming incognito, she thought that her uncle had never met the eldest princess, so she had the idea of taking advantage of the situation. She instructed the servants in advance and deliberately allowed her uncle and the matchmaker to rush into the back hall.
Zhen Ruzhu took a deep breath, straightened her back, took a few steps forward, looked at Master Zhen, and said calmly, "Uncle, I said yesterday that I will not marry."
Master Zhen frowned, stood with his hands behind his back, and scolded: "Your father is so sick, and you are unlucky for both father and mother. I finally found you a son-in-law with a compatible horoscope to help you change your fate, and you are still throwing a tantrum!"
The woman was also unhappy and said, "My cousin is a handsome man who has studied for several years. If it weren't for your uncle's face, he would not be willing to marry into your family."
"The master said that when you get married soon, your father's illness will naturally be cured..."
"I have a father. It is not the business of my uncle who has divided the family property to decide my marriage." Zhen Ruzhu interrupted the woman coldly.
"Women have the most vicious hearts!" Master Zhen sighed and shook his head, "Your father is just too soft-hearted and spoiled you. He should have adopted a son a long time ago."
"A daughter will be a stranger sooner or later. Girls are outgoing, so only adopted sons can be relied on."
After a pause, Master Zhen's tone became tougher, and he said firmly: "This marriage was decided by the clan. If you dare to object, you will be expelled from the clan, so that you won't bring trouble to the clan."
Eliminate the clan?! Zhen Ruzhu's pupils shrank slightly, the color on her face faded, and her nails dug deeply into her soft palms.
The clan is the root of a person. Historically, anyone who was expelled from the clan must have committed a serious crime and would be expelled by the clan leader.
Once expelled from the clan, it means that this person has flaws in character. It is not easy for a woman to inherit a family business. If even the clan is gone, she and the Zhen's Silver Bank will not be able to gain a foothold in the capital in the future! For so many years, Dad has been dragging his feet and not adopting any sons or nephews from the clan, but he has not fallen out with the clan, and this is also for this reason.
(End of this chapter)
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