"When?"
Shulan quickly replied: "Seven days from now."
"Hmm, I got it. You tell father that I will attend this banquet. Remember to investigate the matter of Miss Ah Lian thoroughly."
"Yes." Shulan bowed slightly and then exited the room.
Only after seeing Shulan’s figure disappear did Ji Xinhe turn to Xiaoyu, who was silently standing at one side. She gave a slight smile, noting that this maiden kept her calm well.
She abruptly promoted Xiaoyu from a janitor to a maid in her own room, and then moved her up to first-rank maid. Forget about others, but Shulan probably would not be too comfortable with this. And thus, she gave Shulan more special treatment.
Additionally, it was to test Xiaoyu’s character.
After all, climbing too quickly can easily result in arrogance due to pampering.
Yet now it seemed that she had over-worried. Xiaoyu was calm and steady. Even when not asked anything, she did not try to show off. Instead, she just quietly stayed where she was, appearing quite behaved.
"How has Lady Hou been these few days? Is she comfortable in the courtyard?" mentioned Xin He casually.
Xiaoyu served her a bowl of ice and placed it on the table in front of her, gently fanning her and creating a refreshing cool breeze.
"There is no movement from Lady Hou. I have kept a close watch these few days. Probably because she is under house arrest, she is behaving honestly. Despite Lord Marquis taking no strict actions against her after that incident, he still bears a grudge in his heart. Lady Hou naturally wouldn’t dare to act boldly if she wants to make amends." Xiaoyu replied.
"Hmm, it’s best if she remains quiet. However..." Ji Xinhe paused before continuing, "...keep a close watch. Especially if she gets in contact with outsiders again, you must report to me immediately."
Strictly judging from the Black Bear Incident alone, someone was surely helping Lady Sun from behind!
As for the identity of this person, that remained unknown.
Xiaoyu’s gaze turned slightly serious: "Yes."
——
Yueke Lai had been closed for several days already.
Yuchi Gong’s mood was becoming increasingly irascible these days. Early one morning, he smashed a fine set of tea cups: "What’s the situation at the winery? It’s been several days! The first batch of wine still didn’t come out. What are you lot good for?"
The servant was trembling on his knees, "Lord, it’s not that we are slack, but making grape wine follows a process. It takes at least half a month. If we rush it, the wine won’t be mellow. Wouldn’t that ruin our reputation? If the lord honestly sells such low-quality wine, wouldn’t that give Ji Xinhe more reason to gloat?"
Yuchi Gong was almost faint with anger: "Get out! Get out! I don’t want to see your useless faces!"
The servant couldn’t have been happier and hurriedly ran out.
But not long after the servant left, another set of footsteps entered.
Without even seeing who was coming, Yuchi Gong yelled: "I said get out!"
"Who did you ask to get out?"
Yuchi Gong jumped at the words. He was scared witless and turned around with a forced smile on his face: "So, it’s Lord Shen who has graced us with his presence. What brings Lord Shen to my humble shop today?"
Lord Shen stared at him gravely: "Why do you think I came? Think about what you have done!"
Yuchi Gong hastily replied: "It was just an accident..."
"Accident?" The expression on Lord Shen’s face grew colder and colder: "You are telling me now it was an accident? I told you to run down the Qinghe shop, but you ended up crippling yourself. Now you want to fob me off by calling it an accident?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
"I, I certainly dare not!" Yuchi Gong hurriedly spoke, "Lord Shen doesn’t know, that Ji Xinhe, she is really cunning and unmerciful. She’s difficult to deal with! I didn’t know at first that she is such a figure, otherwise, it wouldn’t have turned out this way."
Lord Shen snorted, "You’re inept, that’s all. What’s with all these excuses? I invited you to the capital city specifically to deal with Ji Xinhe, but I didn’t expect you to be so incompetent that you can’t even handle a mere woman!"
Yuchi Gong’s face was full of shame, but he didn’t dare to say out loud that this woman was no ordinary woman!
"Why should Lord Shen spend so much effort on targeting Ji Xinhe? If Lord Shen just wants to remove Mu Xiang, knowing that Ji Xinhe is the Mu Xiang’s favored one, why not just directly seize Marquis Mu Houchu’s weakness? Why should there be such superfluous action?"
"What do you understand?" Lord Shen replied coldly, "This woman can be his weakness, but she can also be his powerful aid. I’m keeping her to seize Marquis Mu Houchu at the right time, not for her to become an aid to Marquis Mu Houchu!"
"She’s just a businesswoman. Now she’s just operating a small business. What’s there to be afraid of?" Yuchi Gong replied with an appeasing smile.
Lord Shen sneered, "Do you think she is as useless as you? If you don’t strangle her now while she’s still small, when will you have another chance? Look at your situation now, you can’t even manage to deal with her. Do you think you will be able to do anything in the future?"
The more Yuchi Gong thought about it, the more frightened he became. Not to mention the orders of Lord Shen, if Ji Xinhe could really develop Qinghe to completely overshadow Yueke Lai, then his Yuchi Family’s centuries-old craftsmanship would surely be doomed.
"Lord Shen, rest assured, I will definitely live up to your expectations!" Yuchi Gong hurriedly pledged.
But Lord Shen was indifferent. "Do you think at this point, I have any expectations for you?"
Yuchi Gong turned pale. Did Lord Shen’s words indicate that he intended to abandon him?
"Lord Shen... I..."
Lord Shen snorted: "You just lie low for a few days. I’ll talk to you when I need you. You can’t even suppress the attention Ji Xinhe is getting. What use are you to me?"
With that, he flicked his sleeve and left directly.
Yuchi Gong’s face became increasingly somber. Without the support of the Shen Family, wouldn’t his situation become more and more difficult?
Did Lord Shen suddenly abandon him because he was truly disappointed, or did he find another way?
Regardless of the reason, from Yuchi Gong’s perspective, undoubtedly this was devastating news.
——
Inside Le Yuanhou Mansion.
"Eldest Miss, I especially went to inspect today. That Ah Lian is originally named Fang Cao. She was sold to the brothel at the tender age of eight. Because of her outstanding looks, she was treated as a precious gem by the madam of the brothel, and was trained in the four arts of qin (a string musical instrument), chess, calligraphy, and painting. Although she is known as the number one courtesan in the capital city, she is also worthy of the title of the number one talented woman." Shulan explained in detail.
Xin He suddenly remembered. When she first arrived in the capital, Chen Yining had been vying for the reputation of being the number one talented woman. What an irony!
Shulan continued: "She began to see clients when she was sixteen, and her first night was called at a sky-high price! In the Oiran competition of that year, she won easily, and even now, at twenty-five, she is still the Oiran every year, her name even more famous."
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