The next morning, Qin Xiaozhou brought the clothes to the Shen residence. Shen Panyun and Zhao Hanping had also bought a lot of clothes that day. These clothes were all light and thin summer styles. Since they were finished, they should be sent to people as soon as possible to avoid delays. If the styles were copied by the embroiderers in other residences, the novelty would be gone.
Shen Panyun personally entertained Qin Xiaozhou, saying, "Manager Qin, please notify me as soon as you have a new style of clothing."
Qin Xiaozhou smiled and agreed. After drinking a cup of tea, she was about to take her leave when a maid came in and said that Old Madam Shen had invited her.
Shen Panyun was startled. She took out her own money and pulled her grandmother's personal maid aside to ask, "Good sister, is there something wrong with Grandmother?"
The maid was a first-class lady-in-waiting to Madam Shen. She was quite humble. "Madam Shen heard about the embroidery selection event that Manager Qin held yesterday, so she ordered me to invite the manager, but she didn't say what it was about."
Shen Panyun was somewhat worried. She and her mother were not favored by the emperor, and she was afraid that they might inadvertently annoy her grandmother. Moreover, Qin Xiaozhou had come to deliver clothes to her today, and she would feel bad if her grandmother made things difficult for her because of her.
Qin Xiaozhou suppressed his annoyance and followed the female historian through the corridor into a secluded courtyard. The courtyard was quiet and elegant with a pond and lotus flowers. After walking along the bluestone path, he could see a noble old woman in the distance through the open latticed window, with three young maids serving her.
Upon entering the room, Shen Panyun bowed respectfully, while Qin Xiaozhou stood below her to greet her, remaining neither humble nor arrogant.
After a long silence, Madam Shen finally spoke, "Sit."
Qin Xiaozhou sat down and picked up his teacup to drink tea.
Shangguan Qianrong made no attempt to hide her observation of Qin Xiaozhou, and the unwavering determination that emanated from his very bones made her pause slightly. "How's the tea?"
Qin Xiaozhou didn't know much about tea, only that black tea was commonly used to make milk tea, just ordinary black tea, nothing fancy: "The tea is too bitter, I don't like it."
Shen Panyun was shocked, but she dared not speak. Shangguan Qianrong, however, smiled and said, "Yes, tea is bitter, but as the saying goes, good medicine tastes bitter."
Qin Xiaozhou suggested, "Then add sugar that won't dilute the medicinal taste. Brown sugar, white sugar, or maltose are all options. If all else fails, just add a few slices of licorice."
"Hahahaha." Shangguan Qianrong threw her head back and laughed, then looked at Qin Xiaozhou, "So alike."
What does it resemble? Or who does it resemble? Qin Xiaozhou didn't want to ask further and simply put the tea back on the table.
Shangguan Qianrong spoke again, "I heard that you opened a shop where only women are allowed to enter? Yesterday you were also selecting embroiderers to open an embroidery pavilion in the western suburbs? And that embroidery pavilion is also only for women?"
Qin Xiaozhou nodded, "Yes."
Shangguan Qianrong turned to look out the window. "Will you also open a girls' school in the future?"
Qin Xiaozhou was taken aback and suddenly looked up.
Ignoring the reactions of everyone in the room, Shangguan Qianrong stared blankly at the crape myrtle tree outside the window. "She once said she wanted to open a girls' school so that all women in the world could have access to education. She said she wanted to liberate women so that they could leave their homes openly, walk on the streets, and go to every corner of the world. She also said she wanted to open up the imperial examination system based on gender so that women could also become officials..."
Qin Xiaozhou's eyes widened, her heart pounding uncontrollably in her chest. An answer seemed to be on the verge of being revealed, but she wasn't sure. She could only stare straight at the elderly woman with graying temples in front of her.
Shangguan Qianrong seemed to be immersed in her own memories, and an unusual light appeared on her face. "She was originally the stupid eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion. After falling into the water, she woke up with a clear mind and amazing talent. She could speak eloquently and was skilled in making soap and rouge. She could also offer advice on controlling floods and quelling plagues. She quickly gained the favor of the first young master, and she also fell in love with that handsome young master. However, many noble ladies in the capital liked such a young master, and even princesses like her were also interested in him. Whenever there was a banquet, some noble ladies would make things difficult for her. She always managed to deal with it with ease, and her reputation became more and more renowned."
Qin Xiaozhou's eyebrows twitched uncontrollably, and her tense body suddenly relaxed, as if the breath that was supporting her had also dissipated. Whether it was disappointment or feeling that it was just as expected, she was somewhat disheartened.
Shangguan Qianrong suddenly turned her head, and seeing Qin Xiaozhou's expression, she guessed what was going on. She smiled, with an indescribable meaning, and continued, "And every time she returned from a banquet, she never mentioned the trouble caused by those women. One day, at a grand banquet in the palace, she met Princess Chaoyang."
Qin Xiaozhou couldn't help but get distracted, her mind wandering uncontrollably. She imagined the princess making things difficult, jealousy and rivalry, and then the young master loving the Prime Minister's daughter so much that he refused to submit to authority and openly opposed the princess. She imagined all the women who opposed the Prime Minister's daughter getting slapped in the face.
That's really boring.
The modern person who transmigrated into the body of the Prime Minister's daughter follows a formulaic transmigration story: she transforms from a fool into a woman of extraordinary talent, wins the affections of the most handsome young man, and together they slap down the villains and eventually live happily ever after with children.
However, Qin Xiaozhou still felt a strange sense of closeness in her heart. After all, they were from the same place. Although decades had passed, she and that time-traveling senior both knew the old lady Shen in front of them, didn't they?
If that time-traveling predecessor were still alive, we might have a chance to meet again. However, she is of noble status. What if she is a person with ill intentions and uses her status as the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family to kill me, so as to avoid exposing that the poems she speaks eloquently are plagiarized?
Qin Xiaozhou tensed up, thinking it best not to reveal her transmigrated identity, lest she get herself into trouble.
Shangguan Qianrong looked at the distant sky through the crape myrtle flowers, and said in a soft voice, "She said that the court was corrupt, the princes were cruel in their struggle for the throne and only had underhanded schemes and tricks, and the country would not last long. She said that the corrupt and stupid should be eliminated, the wise should be established, and women could also become emperors. She assisted Princess Chaoyang."
Qin Xiaozhou was startled. She sat up straight, held her breath, and listened carefully, afraid of missing a single word.
Shangguan Qianrong seemed to see the young lady of the Prime Minister's mansion in the distance, and couldn't help but smile, her face gentle and full of admiration, "The princess and she cherished each other. When the princess put on her armor and went to the northwest to fight for the country, she stayed in the capital to earn money to provide military supplies and provisions for the front line. Later, the Prime Minister's mansion was accused of treason and its property was confiscated. She escaped and went to the northwest to find Princess Chaoyang. The two of them fought their way from the border to the capital under the pretext of purging the court of corrupt officials, quelling the war and purging the court."
"And then?" Qin Xiaozhou asked eagerly, his blood boiling. What happened next?
But!
Qin Xiaozhou's head buzzed!
The current emperor is a man!
The outcome was predictable.
But Qin Xiaozhou really wanted to know how those two exceptionally talented women ultimately failed!
Shangguan Qianrong's expression changed drastically, her face contorted, her eyes filled with venom, and she gritted her teeth as she said, "Later, that young master killed her with his own hands."
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