Xin He said gravely, "Your guess isn’t without reason. This grape wine is indeed from the Western Regions, where ordinary people don’t know how to produce it. Only a few who know are in the Royal Palace, specializing in producing grape wine for the palace. This person, who understands the methods of producing grape wine, undoubtedly has a connection to the palace there. It would require substantial influence to invite someone from another kingdom’s palace to come here, implying that this individual holds immense power."
Fuquan promptly responded, "You’re right, miss. So what should we do next?"
Xin He touched her chin thoughtfully, "I don’t know much about Concubine Shen or what is going on in the Shen family."
"The Shen family is one of the aristocratic families that rose to prominence after the New Emperor ascended to the throne. This is mainly due to Concubine Shen being greatly favored in the Imperial Court. When one person gets ahead, everyone else follows. Many members of the Shen family have received official positions, and some even hold real power. Therefore, the Shen family is considered one of the top noble families in the capital city."
Xin He responded coldly, "No matter whether the Shen family is responsible for this or not, we can’t just sit and wait for our doom. Power holds little weight in business affairs; the key factor is ultimately market demand. If they found a way to exploit the grape wine, I certainly have other methods!"
"What do you mean?" Upon hearing Xin He’s words, Fuquan guessed that she probably had a plan in mind. His eyes lit up.
Xin He stood up and walked out, "If they only know how to make grape wine, we can launch a whole new series of fruit wines. Apple wine, waxberry wine, hawthorn wine: Who could say we cannot outshine them?"
Fuquan hurriedly asked, "Can we really do that?"
Xin He snorted, "Compete with me? Let’s go to the winery right now and start production as soon as possible." In the small Qinghe shop, the most profitable is the grape wine business. If the grape wine business is stolen, it will be a massive setback. Let alone losing half of the business, even a 10% loss is intolerable.
"Right, miss!"
Xin He had previously planned to introduce new products, but given the popularity of grape wine was not declining, she thought she could wait a little while longer to avoid overshadowing the existing product. However, it seemed there was no need to wait any longer.
Similar to apple wine, the most crucial ingredient used during the brewing process is brandy. Although there is no brandy in this age, it is essentially no different from grape wine. The process involves transforming low-alcohol grape wine into high-alcohol liquor.
She simply refused to believe that a mere barbarian could outdo her on all counts!
Shulan had already prepared the horse carriage and was waiting outside.
As Xin He got on the carriage, she said, "You don’t have to follow. I will return on my own in the evening."
Shulan anxiously replied, "But what if Lord Marquis asks about your whereabouts... "
Xin He stated firmly, "If you are with me, you are my person and should follow my orders, not Lord Marquis’s."
Shulan was momentarily taken aback but complied, "Yes, ma’am."
Just as Fuquan was about to leave in the horse carriage, Li Saner rushed over, "Miss, there’s trouble! Someone is creating a ruckus in front of our shop!"
Xin He’s face darkened, "Who dares to defy us so blatantly!?"
"I’m not sure, but it looks like they might be from the Barbarian Winery!"
Xin He declared coldly, "Let’s go!"
Li Saner quickly jumped onto the carriage sitting next to Fuquan, who was piloting the vehicle. Fuquan cajoled the horses, and the carriage sped away.
By the time Xin He arrived, a crowd had already gathered around the entrance of the shop, causing a noisy commotion.
"Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on? Is there any trouble with this Qinghe shop?"
"You don’t know? The owner of this Qinghe shop is accused of stealing trade secrets. Now her day of reckoning has arrived, and she’s finished now!"
"So you mean, their technique for making grape wine is stolen? I had no idea about this, how can you be sure?"
"Have you not heard? This grape wine is from the Western Regions. Very few people have the knowledge to make it, so how could someone from our Daqian Dynasty know the technique?"
Hearing the crowd’s whispers, Xin He’s face grew grimmer.
Fuquan and Li Saner quickly created a path in the crowd, "Make way, make way. Our boss is here!"
At this news, the crowd immediately parted to make way, their curiosity piqued by the owner.
The rumor was that the owner of this Qinghe shop was a woman, but most people had never had a chance to see her. They had generally assumed she was an old widow who had inherited her late husband’s business, not realizing that the owner was actually a young girl in her teens.
And the young girl was not just any girl but an incredibly beautiful one...
Some in the crowd marveled, "Such a beautiful girl. She should be marrying a good husband and leading a domestic life instead of exposing herself out in public. It’s not decent."
Others retorted, "Do you have any idea how much money this Qinghe shop makes? Even the most aristocratic husband probably couldn’t make this much money in his lifetime. She has even supplied wine to the palace!"
Someone snickered, "So what? How does that matter? If she’s a thief, she’s a thief. Today she’s been caught red-handed. She will lose face, and with time won’t be able to find a husband."
With an icy expression, Xin He scanned the chattering crowd, her eyes sharp and imposing. The few men who had been gossiping about her were taken aback, fell silent, and even looked a bit scared. They were intimidated by the glare of the young girl they had been underestimating. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
Xin He walked into the shop through the path made by the crowd, her expression cold but confident. Her voice was clear and melodious but carried an underlying chill. "I’ve heard that someone is picking a fight at my shop. I find it increasingly strange. Is someone brazen enough to cause such a ruckus under the Emperor’s nose? One might think they are not respecting the Emperor!"
At her words, the faces of the men creating the commotion at the entrance of the shop changed. This girl wouldn’t be easy to deal with. She had immediately labeled them as defying the Emperor, a hat they couldn’t wear and neither could the people backing them!
"What nonsense are you spouting!? You do something as low as theft and now you want to absolve yourself of guilt? We have come here today to seek justice! This grape wine is the exclusive property of our Wusun Royal Family! How could a person from Daqian understand how to make it? It’s clear you learnt it by theft! Our master was fuming when he learnt about this. You have some nerve continuing your business!"
The agitators were all burly men with full beards. One would recognize they were from the Hu Ren tribe at a glance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
