After leaving the palace, Qin Shuying took the Marquis of Pingxi’s carriage back.
After all this commotion, she hadn’t even eaten lunch in the palace, so Qin Shuying was somewhat hungry. Since she hadn’t visited her shops in quite some time, Qin Shuying had the carriage go to one of them.
This was the teahouse under her name.
The brown sugar business had earned countless silver taels, but this thing was difficult to maintain as an exclusive business after all. Over time, many merchants had figured out the secrets involved, so by this spring, many merchants were competing with her for business.
However, because “Good Memory” had already established its reputation, it still held the advantage in competition.
Over the past year or so, her businesses included “Good Memory” and a series of shops radiating from “Good Memory,” such as tea leaves, silk, teahouses, restaurants, and so on. Under Mi Luo’s management, business was thriving and very smooth.
It had to be smooth—whenever incidents occurred during this period, Liang Zhe quickly resolved them.
This “Good Memory” restaurant was one of the relatively large-scale establishments among them, with two floors and an extraordinarily impressive exterior.
Qin Shuying walked in. Since her business empire was large, she only met with the head manager once every six months, so the ordinary assistant managers didn’t recognize her at all.
The head manager naturally wouldn’t be waiting in the front hall at all times. When Qin Shuying entered, the staff treated her as an ordinary customer and received her according to regulations.
When Qin Shuying entered the palace, she had brought Lu Ye, who had been waiting outside the palace the entire time Qin Shuying was inside.
At this moment, the scars on Lu Ye’s face inevitably attracted some people’s attention.
“Good Memory” catered to the middle class—clean and hygienic, maintained quite elegantly. Merchant families and many official households were very willing to dine here.
Generally speaking, most people were respectable.
But respectable people also had their sense of superiority. For instance, they would find Lu Ye unsightly and then privately gossip about it.
Princess Fu’an was dining with Yun Jingshu when she heard several people quietly discussing how an apparently very noble young lady had brought a maid with facial scars to dine. They really didn’t know what that young lady was thinking, actually employing such an unseemly servant.
Princess Fu’an listened and suddenly slammed down her chopsticks with a “snap,” covered her stomach, and rushed out from the inner table. She indeed saw Qin Shuying’s graceful silhouette heading upstairs to a private room.
Princess Fu’an, despite being six months pregnant, shouted loudly: “Qin Shuying!”
Qin Shuying stopped. This voice was unmistakably Princess Fu’an’s.
However, Princess Fu’an was now a commoner, while she held higher status. According to protocol, Princess Fu’an should bow to her. This… she really didn’t want to be that kind of arrogant person.
So Qin Shuying continued walking upstairs.
Seeing Qin Shuying ignore her presence, Princess Fu’an angrily stomped up the stairs after her: “Qin Shuying, I’m calling you! Stop right there!”
Qin Shuying didn’t want to argue with her in public, so without looking back, she went straight into a private room.
Princess Fu’an followed to the private room entrance, where Lu Ye blocked her: “Miss, what business do you have with our madam?”
Princess Fu’an recognized Lu Ye—this ugly, lowly girl who aided the wicked, with her eyes practically on top of her head. She deserved a beating!
Princess Fu’an swung her palm to slap her.
How could Lu Ye let her succeed?
When she was still a princess, she couldn’t do anything to their young lady, and now that she’d become a commoner, she still wanted to fight with the madam?
Lu Ye’s figure swayed, avoiding Princess Fu’an’s slap, then quickly spun around and stood at the doorway: “What crazy woman is this?”
Being cursed at by Lu Ye made Princess Fu’an so furious she was practically breathing fire: “You foul-mouthed wench, who are you talking about?! I’m hitting you, and you dare to dodge?”
Qin Shuying looked at the scene before her and frowned slightly.
What exactly had Princess Fu’an been fed growing up?
Previously, as a princess, she was rash and foolish. Now, demoted to commoner status, she still couldn’t read the situation or recognize her own position. Confronting such a person would simply lower her own standards.
Qin Shuying lost her appetite for eating and said to Lu Ye: “Lu Ye, let’s go.”
Princess Fu’an stood at the doorway supporting her waist, looking at Qin Shuying with a fierce expression: “Qin Shuying, are you afraid to see me, so you’re hiding from me? You shameless woman, married yet still seducing other people’s men!”
Lu Ye’s expression turned fierce as she roared: “Nonsense! What are you babbling about?!”
Lu Ye had been indulged by Qin Shuying to the point where her temper was quite formidable. This fierce outburst was so imposing that it scared Princess Fu’an into retreating several steps, only to realize she’d been intimidated by an ugly maid.
How outrageous!
Princess Fu’an pointed at Lu Ye: “You shameless woman, can’t you see I’m pregnant? You actually want to harm a pregnant woman, you murderous killer! What kind of master, what kind of servant—Qin Shuying seduces other people’s men, and you also…”
Before Princess Fu’an could finish speaking, she suddenly felt her body become light, then felt as if someone had lifted her up…
“What did you say? Say it again?”
A man’s ice-cold voice came from behind her.
Princess Fu’an’s feet left the ground, then she found herself carried to the window in a daze, her feet dangling in mid-air above the restaurant’s outer wall.
If the man holding her loosened his grip, she would fall from the second floor to the first floor and die horribly!
Princess Fu’an screamed in terror: “Put me down…”
The person behind her said ominously: “If you scream again, I’ll let go!”
Princess Fu’an held back and didn’t dare make a sound, but was scared out of her wits.
Below the outer wall was a river. If the man behind her exerted just a little force, she wouldn’t just fall to the ground when she dropped, but would roll into the river…
The person behind her said gloomily: “What did you just say?”
“I, I said Qin Shuying, she, she…”
“Speak!”
“I said she seduced my husband!”
“Hah! What kind of trash is your husband? Would Shuying even look at that weakling of yours? Even if Liu Junqing threw himself at her, Shuying wouldn’t be interested.”
Princess Fu’an knew who was behind her now—it was that damned Liang Zhe!
“Liang Zhe, you’re the weakling… Ah! No, no, I was wrong, I was wrong…”
Princess Fu’an heard the “ripping” sound of her collar fabric and immediately begged for mercy—dear heavens, that damned Liang Zhe was only holding onto a bit of her clothing. If he loosened his grip any more, she would fall down, fall down…
Liang Zhe snorted coldly: “Zhou Yun, do you think I don’t dare throw you out?”
Princess Fu’an—that is, Zhou Yun—pleaded: “Liang Zhe, I know you dare, you dare. I’ll never curse Qin Shuying again. Please spare me…”
Liang Zhe lifted with his hand, and Zhou Yun was pulled back inside. Liang Zhe threw her to the ground. Zhou Yun was pregnant after all, and began to feel some discomfort in her stomach.