On the fifth day of the sixth lunar month, Qin Xiaozhou went to Chen Haiping to settle the May braised meat profit share. The weather was hot, and cicadas were chirping loudly, making everyone on the street drowsy.
A few men who were casually eating in the shop were in high spirits. "Miss Zhu seems to be eighteen this year. She should be of marriageable age. I wonder if she has the fate to be married into my family."
Others teased, "Brother Liu, are you planning to marry a demon in place of your third brother?"
The man called Boss Liu picked his teeth and grinned, "Whether he's a demon or not, he's still a rich guy."
One person pondered, "Her marriage may not be in our county. I heard that she is registered in Wanzhou. It's just that she pays higher taxes in our county, so the magistrate doesn't restrict her stay for the sake of tax revenue."
Boss Liu frowned. "Is that so?"
The Liu family was also wealthy. Although they didn't own as much land and houses as the Shen family, they operated half of the rice and grain stores in the county. They were a family that even Magistrate Sun had to give some face to. He wanted to secretly arrange for Zhu Xian to be married to his third son, which would make the Liu family the richest family in the county in no time. But now, things were a bit difficult.
Bystanders chuckled and teased, "That woman surnamed Zhu is always traveling around, never settling down. Who knows if she's a virgin? Boss Liu, don't ruin your third son's life."
"Exactly, exactly. She's a shrew. She's always running around and has no manners at all. Marrying a woman like that would be the worst thing that ever happened to you."
Amidst the chatter of voices, Qin Xiaozhou stood at the shop entrance, feeling a chill run down her spine. Zhu Xian was the most powerful person in the county's shipping industry, and despite her high achievements, these people only cared about her reputation and her womanly appearance. "You lot don't need to be so worried," Qin Xiaozhou said. "A woman like Miss Zhu is not someone you can marry."
Old Liu chuckled, "Who do we have here? It's Manager Qin. You women are so strange. Why don't you just stay in the backyard, where everything is done for you? Why do you have to come out and cause trouble and get scorned? In the end, you still have to have children and be a good wife and mother."
The others chimed in, "Haha, if you don't know how to enjoy a good life, you're destined to be a laborer."
Chen Haiping came out to greet him, "Manager Qin, why did you come in person? I was just about to send someone over this afternoon. I heard you were sick for a few days, but you seem to be much better now?"
Chen Haiping was only thinking about getting the person inside as quickly as possible, so that no trouble would arise in the lobby.
Qin Xiaozhou looked at the group coldly, then sneered casually, "You're all nothing special."
After saying that, he followed Chen Haiping upstairs.
The men behind her, unable to bear being humiliated, immediately bristled. "What are you? You bitches, get down here! I'm going to show you what a man is today! Your husband is such a coward, he can't even control a woman..."
"Bang—" The man who had just been yelling was kicked away. Lu Yunfeng stood coldly at the store entrance, "My wife's affairs are none of your business."
Liu Laoda and his men were startled by the way Lu Yunfeng kicked them. They rarely saw such a tall and strong man, who was a full half a head taller than them, and they didn't dare to speak for a moment.
Qin Xiaozhou watched the farce from upstairs, but still followed Chen Haiping to collect her share of the silver, and then went downstairs to the Zhu residence.
Zhu Xian took in eight embroiderers, and Qin Xiaozhou felt she had to repay that kindness. As soon as she entered the Zhu residence, Zhu Xian waited for her in the flower hall with a half-smile. "I heard that you had a conflict with someone at the restaurant because of me."
These people have so many informants! Sure enough, anyone who can gain a foothold in the county town is no ordinary person.
Qin Xiaozhou asked with great interest, "If I were to claim credit for this, would Miss Zhu reward me?"
"Hahahaha!" Zhu Xian laughed loudly, "You are indeed interesting. It's rare to see someone as interesting as you. Naturally, you should be rewarded. Now, tell me, what do you want?"
Qin Xiaozhou went straight to the point, "I want to know the fate of Princess Chaoyang from the previous dynasty."
Zhu Xian paused, then squinted at Qin Xiaozhou.
Qin Xiaozhou's heart pounded like a drum, filled with both nervousness and anticipation.
She went to bookstores, but the history books in the county were incomplete. Among the few available books, there was no mention of Princess Chaoyang from the previous dynasty, nor was there any mention of Shangguan Qianhua, the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family. She then found a book of poetry containing a poem that, according to Shangguan Qianrong, should have been written by the Prime Minister's daughter. However, the author's name in the book was listed as anonymous!
If Shangguan Qianrong wasn't lying, then everyone was deliberately trying to erase the existence of those two exceptionally talented women.
They wouldn't even dare put their names on paper!
After a long pause, Zhu Xian finally spoke, "Princess Chaoyang is dead. She died thirty-eight years ago at the Meridian Gate. She was skinned alive and tortured naked. It is said that the torture lasted for three days before she finally breathed her last."
Qin Xiaozhou's blood froze, and it took him a long time to find his voice, "How, how could this be? Doesn't she have a million soldiers under her command?"
Zhu Xian toyed with her teacup. "But she is, after all, a woman, and her strategist is Chu Huaiqing, who was once known as the number one young master in the capital. Everyone thought it was because of Chu Huaiqing that Princess Chaoyang was able to rise up from the border to the capital and kill all the royal family members at the time. Victory was in sight. Those people originally supported Chaoyang only because she was a princess, so that they could use the name of a royal princess to cover up the fact that they had started a rebellion. Now that their goal has been achieved, what's the point of keeping her alive? Of course, they should kill her. Do you really think you can allow a woman to become emperor?"
"Hiss—" Qin Xiaozhou could no longer control herself and spat out a mouthful of blood, but this time she didn't collapse. Her bloodshot eyes were wide open. "And then?"
Lu Yunfeng, who was originally mindful of the rule that men were not allowed to enter the flower hall, waited outside and saw Qin Xiaozhou's condition. He no longer cared about the separation between men and women with Zhu Xian, rushed in and hugged Qin Xiaozhou, saying, "I'll take you to find a doctor."
"No." Qin Xiaozhou's throat tasted metallic. "I need to hear the whole thing, otherwise, it won't be cured."
She just wanted to know the ending; now she also wanted to know Chu Huaiqing's fate.
Zhu Xian's expression changed. "Why are you doing this?"
She had investigated Qin Xiaozhou's ancestors for three generations, and they were all natives of Fenggu County. They would never have any connection with those figures from the previous dynasty thousands of miles away. She sighed, "Well, Chu Huaiqing was also a talented and capable man. I heard that after he killed Princess Chaoyang, he also killed his fiancée. However, at that time, all the members of the royal family were killed, and it was not legitimate for anyone to rule the world. Suddenly, people all around were ambitious and fell into a chaotic war of division and strife. This war lasted for more than 20 years until the current emperor unified the world. Chu Huaiqing was poisoned by his wife in the third year after he killed the princess. The wife who killed him was my maternal grandfather's sister. I should call her my great-aunt."
Yes, Zhu Xian's mother's surname is Cui. The Cui family is a thousand-year-old clan, truly living up to its reputation.
Qin Xiaozhou smiled, feeling only sadness. But when she looked up and saw Zhu Xian, she suddenly felt something was different. She suddenly felt relieved. What did it matter if she went south on the road she was going to take? She wasn't alone. Wasn't there a companion in front of her?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
