shop
After browsing through several shops and watching the grand procession of the City God on the street, they went to Kangping Tower, chose a quiet little room, and ordered Weizhou's specialty dishes. Lu Tongxue was already in high spirits, and Mu Qing also felt relaxed. After enjoying their meal, the two put down their chopsticks and chatted casually when they heard someone knocking on the door.
The woman who came was named Du Jiniang, the daughter of the owner of Kangpinglou Restaurant. She was about the same age as Mu Qing and they met while borrowing an umbrella to avoid the rain.
She was plump and adorned with a gold hairpin and a pearl-embroidered dress. She was radiant as soon as she entered the room and said with a smile, "It's been so long since I've seen Miss Lu. I've missed you terribly. When I first heard that Miss Lu had come, I thought you were teasing me. But when I saw the Lu family's carriages and horses, I knew it was true."
"It's been a while, Miss Ji seems to have lost some weight. Come and sit down." Mu Qing beckoned to her.
Du Jiniang sat down at the table and learned that the other person sitting with her was also a young lady from the Lu family, so she immediately greeted her warmly.
Lu Tongxue responded sparsely. At first glance, she didn't have much of a good impression of this girl, who was covered in jewels. Upon hearing that she was the daughter of a merchant, she felt even more contemptuous. She just watched coldly as the girl chatted happily with her cousin.
"You should have told me when you arrived; this dish could have been made even better."
Du Jiniang pointed to the dishes in front of her.
The dishes on the table were almost all empty, except for the meat-stuffed gluten balls, which were mostly left.
Mu Qing felt a little apologetic. "The taste is a little different from usual, but it's still soft, sticky, and delicious. We didn't finish it because we ate a lot of snacks on our way to the temple fair, and we were too full to eat anymore."
Du Jiniang shook her head. "You don't know, but when we at Kangpinglou make this glutinous rice ball, we use a broth made from wild mushrooms to simmer it, giving it a unique and delicious flavor."
“Previously, villagers from the foot of Tianci Mountain would send us wild mushrooms, but a few days ago, for some reason, wild animals attacked and caused the villagers to move away, cutting off the supply of wild mushrooms. We haven’t found a stable source of supply to replace them, so it’s difficult for this meatball to maintain its original flavor.”
“But you are my honored guest, and they actually sent over food that doesn’t taste right. I’ll definitely have to talk to them about it later.”
Kangpinglou was originally a small restaurant, but in recent years its business has grown bigger and bigger, becoming a famous local establishment, thanks in large part to Du Jiniang, who loves to dabble in food and drink. As a result, Du Jiniang manages the household affairs and accounts and is quite influential.
Hearing her say this, Mu Qing had no doubt. It was true that there were wild animals on Tianci Mountain, and if one occasionally ran down the mountain, the villagers always had ways to deal with it. Why move them all away? Did the young prince discover something there a while ago?
Her expression darkened slightly as she asked, "The villagers at the foot of Tianci Mountain have all moved away. Where did they go?"
"Some returned to their ancestral homes, while others seemed to have moved to the south. In any case, they were moved away by the government and are now far away."
Du Jiniang knew that Miss Lu had been found from Tianci Mountain, but she only brought it up to get closer to her and didn't want to upset her, so she changed the subject.
"Miss Lu, are you aware that Treasure Pavilion has just received a new batch of goods?"
"Is that so?" Mu Qing asked absentmindedly.
Du Jiniang smiled charmingly, her eyes filled with tender warmth. "I've heard about it for a while, but I haven't gone yet. I was hoping you could go with me. You have a good eye, so why don't you help me take a look at the Treasure Pavilion later?"
The Treasure Pavilion specializes in gold, silver, and gemstone artifacts and jewelry. It is not far from Kangping Tower and is only one street away from the City God Temple. The street was packed with people, and vehicles could not pass. So the group walked there.
She was surrounded by guards on all sides, with several strong female servants and maids protecting her. Du Jiniang walked among them wearing a veiled hat that she didn't usually wear. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how different the wealthy families were. She also recalled the gossip that the Lu family was usually very low-key, and that they were only paying special attention to their ostentatious displays of wealth because they had lost their daughter.
Having grown up in the streets, she was adept at reading people's expressions. Noticing that the other Miss Lu didn't like her, she only talked to Mu Qing, exchanging many amusing jokes along the way.
Mu Qing gradually felt at ease. When he arrived at the Treasure Pavilion, his steps were light. Seeing that there were quite a few guests in the pavilion, he took two guards and his personal maid inside, leaving the rest of his entourage to wander around on their own.
The waiter in the pavilion greeted the guests and led the group to a private room upstairs.
The private room was spacious, with several flower and bird paintings hanging on the walls. The furnishings were all exquisite, and the chairs and tables were made of sandalwood, with a faint sandalwood fragrance in the air.
As soon as Mu Qing took his seat, with Lu Tongxue and Du Jiniang each sitting on one side, a guard outside the door asked if they wanted to wait a little longer or let the young man in, since the maids in the pavilion were not available at the moment.
Since he needed to go to Yiye Residence at Shenshi (3-5 PM) and it was not advisable to delay, Mu Qing chose the latter.
To everyone's surprise, the young waiter was only eleven or twelve years old, wearing a black hat, with delicate features, and handed over a folded roster with both hands.
"This is a newly released catalog of treasures. Please take a look, esteemed guests."
Seeing his serious expression, everyone in the room burst out laughing.
"You're so young, how come you're working as a shop assistant?" Mu Qing asked with a smile.
“I can recognize objects, do accounting, and I’m good at dealing with people, so of course I can be a shop assistant,” the young shop assistant said eloquently.
Lu Tongxue and Du Jiniang also asked him a few questions, such as his name, age, how long he had been in the Treasure Pavilion, and why they had never seen him before. The young shop assistant, who called himself Yuanbao, answered all of them and then earnestly urged them to look at the list.
The catalog lists a variety of gold, silver and gemstone artifacts in small regular script, with simple illustrations next to the names. Each item is rich and exquisite, and the dimensions are indicated. Many items are marked as custom-made only.
Mu Qing ordered a silver headdress inlaid with jade, and Lu Tongxue followed suit and also ordered a silver ornament.
Du Jinniang not only selected several styles to order, but also looked through the jewelry page again and again, specifically asking to buy several pieces of existing jewelry.
Before long, the young shop assistant brought out the existing jewelry, showed it to the customers, and answered their questions fluently.
Finally, he turned the abacus, "These items total two hundred and ninety-five taels of silver, but since Madam Du is a regular customer, we can make it two hundred and sixty taels. Two hundred and sixty is an auspicious number..."
Before he could finish speaking, Du Jiniang coldly said, "Such a small discount? You're really no good as a child."
"This discount isn't small," the young waiter said, perking up and preparing to negotiate the price.
But Du Jiniang stopped him: "You don't need to say anything more. Call Boss Lin over. Otherwise, I won't buy it."
Seeing the young waiter walk out with a sullen face, Lu Tongxue said coldly, "He's so young and already distrusted, how pathetic."
Du Jiniang understood the implication and said to Mu Qing, "Compared to last time, this price is indeed wrong, isn't it?"
Mu Qing hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Last time, Mr. Lin gave me a 50% discount for some strange reason, which was unusually enthusiastic.
The rather unusual Mr. Lin arrived quickly; before he even showed himself, his cheerful voice drifted in through the door.
"As I said before, Ms. Lu should have informed me before coming with her friends."
The waiter argued, "But the master is entertaining the young prince, I..."
"Can't I see Miss Lu?" Prince Xiao Yu asked, sounding puzzled.
The customs of this dynasty are not conservative; it is not mandatory for betrothed men and women to meet before marriage, especially since the young prince is not one to be bound by formalities.
Mu Qing certainly wouldn't let anyone stop him from being outside.
So, there were three more people in the cubicle, and the young waiter followed Boss Lin in like a little tail.
Lu Tongxue was not quite used to this situation.
Neither the mustachioed Boss Lin nor the elegantly dressed young prince should have sat in a circle chatting with them. Especially that merchant's daughter, Du Jiniang, who shamelessly haggled with Boss Lin. Thinking about how she had come shopping with her, Lu Tongxue was thankful she was wearing a veiled hat, otherwise she would have been mortified.
"Same as last time, 50% off?" Du Jiniang laughed like a silver bell. "I knew Boss Lin's prices were the most considerate."
Mu Qing sensed something was wrong. Last time, Boss Lin claimed they were the 999th customer and enthusiastically offered a 50% discount, which was different from when they themselves requested a 50% discount.
Seeing the young waiter's expression as if he had seen a ghost, Mu Qing couldn't help but ask, "Boss Lin, won't you lose money doing this?"
Mr. Lin was about forty years old, with a thin, round face and a small mustache. He smiled rather slyly. “With Miss Lu’s concern, it’s not a loss.”
This is blatant harassment! Lu Tongxue said angrily, "Boss Lin, you're getting on in years, you should have some self-respect."
"What do you mean?" Boss Lin looked puzzled, glanced at the figure whose face was obscured by a veil, and asked Mu Qing, "Who is she?"
"She is my younger sister."
Mu Qing agreed verbally, but her mind was still in turmoil. If Boss Lin was going to lose money, she certainly couldn't accept a 50% discount, but she couldn't ask Du Jiniang to accept it as well.
"My sister? Is she also your mother's daughter?" Boss Lin stroked his mustache suspiciously.
“He, he…” Lu Tongxue pointed at Boss Lin at Mu Qing, too angry to speak. This man ignored her and even kept mentioning her mother. He was so disrespectful.
Mu Qing, unsure of her agitation, pulled her hand back to calm her down, saying, "To be precise, she's my cousin. Does Boss Lin know my mother?"
Mr. Lin coughed lightly, it was unclear whether he was admitting or denying it.
Xiao Yu chuckled from the side, "Boss Lin has some connection with the Marquis of Anguo's mansion."
The third wife came from the Marquis of Anguo's mansion, but Mu Qing never heard her mention anyone from the mansion who had gone out to do business.
Mu Qing tentatively asked, "Then how should I address Boss Lin?"
Mr. Lin laughed and said, "Just call me Mr. Lin."
Du Jiniang also laughed and said, "I remember that the Third Madam's surname is Lin, so I guessed it wasn't by chance; she must be at least a distant relative. Miss Lu, going out more often has its advantages; hasn't this led to recognizing another relative?"
Are they relatives of Lu Qingxue? Mu Qing thought, so it's because of her again.
“There are plenty of people with the surname Lin in the world.” Lu Tongxue had no liking for Boss Lin and didn’t take Du Jiniang’s words seriously. “I’ve never heard of anyone in the Marquis’s mansion abandoning their status as a prince or nobleman to engage in business.”
Mr. Lin smiled faintly, stroking his chin, and said, "Of course I can't be compared to such a noble family. It's the prince who's flattering me."
Xiao Yu waved his hand, "I was just saying."
Mu Qing was speechless for a moment, "...How can you say such things?"
Xiao Yu winked at her, "I just love talking nonsense with you."
"Oh dear, how can anyone bear to hear this?" Du Jiniang chuckled as she stood up. "I think I should go now, lest I spoil the mood here." With that, she thanked Mu Qing and Boss Lin, bid farewell to everyone, and then asked the young shop assistant to pack up the jewelry and take it downstairs to the counter to settle the bill.
Lu Tongxue was extremely embarrassed. Du Jiniang said that staying here would spoil the mood, and Boss Lin also made an excuse to leave. She didn't know where to go. She stayed there anxiously for a while. After listening to her cousin and the young prince chat for a few words, they mentioned that it was almost Shenshi and they should go to Yiyeju. Only then did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
