Li Zhiyin waved his folding fan.
"This luminous pearl is of excellent quality."
"Even someone of such noble status as the Imperial Concubine, who has seen treasures from all over the world, has never seen such a bead."
"The Empress Dowager's birthday is approaching."
"Is Your Highness thinking that if you could find the owner of this luminous pearl and find one of even better quality to present to the Empress Dowager as a birthday gift, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?"
"If this succeeds, the entire Jiangnan region will benefit along with the county magistrate."
His smile was meaningful.
The magistrate felt somewhat relieved.
It turns out it was a good thing.
Shen Zhiyi is the biggest merchant here.
Not only did he have a wide business and pay taxes diligently, but he also frequently provided relief to the people, which greatly reduced his burden.
Therefore, he was willing to speak up for her.
"Your Excellency, this luminous pearl comes from the head of the Shen family, Shen Zhiyi."
"If she can truly produce an even better luminous pearl to please the Imperial Concubine and the Empress Dowager, I will be happy for her."
"I certainly won't steal her credit."
Li Zhiyin closed his folding fan, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.
"So it was her."
"I've heard that it's truly remarkable that she, a woman, could hold her own against Li Xianchuan in the business world."
"I really want to meet this extraordinary woman from Jiangnan."
He slightly curled the corners of his lips.
*
Night fell, and the mansion was shrouded in darkness.
The full moon shines brightly.
Shen Zhiyi was deep in sleep.
She dreamed that she was stroking the tail of a fish.
But the fish seemed to be extremely uncomfortable from her touching, and its whole body turned bright red.
As she touched it, the fish blew bubbles at her.
What it spits out are all crystal-clear, perfectly round shark pearls.
Each one felt real as it hit her face, as if venting an unfulfilled desire.
Then, as if it couldn't bear it, it swam over with a mournful tone and licked her face with its tongue.
But Shen Zhiyi stared wide-eyed in horror.
How can fish have tongues?
She cried out and woke up with a start!
She subconsciously reached out and touched her face.
There was no wet, sticky saliva.
There was no pain from being hit by a heavy object.
She then patted her chest and let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Qingyuan?"
Shen Zhiyi glanced at her empty side, saw no one, and called out in confusion.
No one answered.
She threw back the covers, got out of bed, walked to the cold spring, and looked inside—
It was completely empty.
She looked up again at the moon outside the window, her eyebrows furrowing.
Where did you go so late at night?
She wrapped herself in a cloak, pushed open the door with some confusion, and walked out.
When they got close to the small kitchen, they heard a faint sound coming from inside.
She stopped, turned around, and pushed open the door.
A figure in a white robe suddenly turned around.
Qingyuan squatted on the ground, his face still damp with water, his hands behind his back, his expression stiff as he met her gaze.
"What are you doing?" Shen Zhiyi approached, frowning as she stared at his wet eyelashes.
Qingyuan remained silent for a long time.
Suddenly, a sharp slapping sound came from behind him.
It looked like something jumped down.
Qingyuan moved his arm, but still couldn't grab it.
A fish fell to the ground with a plop.
It even flapped its wings twice.
Shen Zhiyi's peach blossom eyes widened as she stared at the dead fish eyes on the ground.
She slowly shifted her gaze and met Qingyuan's eyes.
Stealing fish to eat in the middle of the night?
Qingyuan turned his face away, his thin lips pressed tightly together, and his ears turned suspiciously red.
Shen Zhiyi: ...
"You...are you hungry?" she asked in surprise.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com