This trip out for Shen Xiling was somewhat sudden. Since arriving at Fenghe Garden, she had never gone out by herself. Qi Ying naturally hadn’t been thoughtful enough to prepare a carriage for her in advance, so the matter of transportation became a problem.
Shuipei had originally wanted to use this as a reason to persuade her miss to return to the courtyard, but at this critical moment, they unexpectedly encountered Liuzi from the gatehouse coming to meddle.
This fellow was quite shrewd. As soon as he saw Shen Xiling walking to the gate, he came over to curry favor, grinning as he asked: “Does Miss need a carriage?”
Speaking of it, Liuzi had quite a history with Shen Xiling. When she first came to Fenghe Garden with Bai Song, she had knelt in the snow at the gate for half the night. It was Liuzi who discovered her unconscious in the snow drift. Later, on New Year’s Eve, he was also the one sent to the main house to report to Second Young Master Qi. He had even called a doctor for her and changed her brazier.
He had watched this miss rise from the mud to the clouds with his own eyes. Initially, the Second Young Master wouldn’t even let her through the door, but now she lived in her own separate courtyard in Fenghe Garden, much favored by the Second Young Master. Who knew what greater fortune might await her in the future?
Liuzi felt that blessings were something that those who encountered them could share. Since he had come across this opportunity, he was inclined to benefit from it. Seeing that Shen Xiling had no carriage available, he took it upon himself to prepare one for her, and despite Sister Shuipei’s unfriendly glare, he volunteered to drive for Shen Xiling.
Shen Xiling was naturally grateful and thanked Liuzi. Liuzi scratched his head honestly, repeatedly saying it wasn’t necessary, then drove the carriage following Manager Ding’s carriage all the way toward Shunnan Street.
Jiankang City covered a vast area—forty li in each direction of east, west, south, and north—with Shitou City, Xizhou City, Baixia City, Dongfu City, and Southern Langya Commandery City surrounding it, earning the reputation as the most prosperous place under heaven. From Xuanyang Gate to Zhuque Gate, government offices and temples were scattered like stars along both sides of the imperial road. The residences and mansions of nobles clustered along the imperial road and by the Qinhuai River. As for Shunnan Street, where Manager Ding was taking Shen Xiling, it was located in the southwestern corner of the city, quite some distance from this golden corridor.
This area wasn’t a residential district for the prominent and noble, but it excelled in being populous and lively. Jiankang City had four major markets, with one large market nearby, plus dozens of smaller markets. Every day, merchants and pedestrians came and went in great numbers, so much so that once the carriage entered Shunnan Street, it had to slow down considerably.
Shen Xiling sat in the carriage with great curiosity, pushing the window open a crack to peer outside. She saw shops lining the street and vendors calling out their wares along the roadside—very bustling and lively.
Speaking of it, she hadn’t seen such scenes for quite some time.
Although born among the common people, she had been staying within the Qi family mansion recently, not leaving for several months. She was very familiar with such places, but the difference from the past was that when she was young, going out meant either accompanying her mother to pawn shops or going to medicine halls to fetch medicine or see doctors for her mother. Now she would have a shop on such a bustling street—something she had never dared to imagine before.
Zijun laughed and said: “Look how our miss’s eyes are shining. This is the first time I’ve seen anyone who loves money more than I do.”
The several maids huddled together laughing, making Shen Xiling blush a bit. Just then Liuzi stopped the carriage, saying they had arrived. Shuipei and the others got out first, helping Shen Xiling down.
Upon alighting, they indeed saw a cloth shop. It wasn’t large in scale, and the storefront wasn’t very prominent either. It looked like it had some years to it, but at first glance it appeared very tidy. Shen Xiling had seen many such shops in her childhood, and seeing it again now gave her a feeling as if a lifetime had passed.
When she got out of the carriage, Manager Ding had already alighted first and was waiting at the entrance with another lean, middle-aged man. Seeing her get down, he smiled and introduced the man beside him: “This is Manager Lu, who has been running this cloth shop for over ten years.”
Shen Xiling greeted this manager, then heard Manager Ding introduce Shen Xiling to Manager Lu: “This is Miss Fang, whom I mentioned to you before. She’ll be the new owner from now on.”
Manager Lu was short in stature, wearing rough cloth garments, with very prominent cheekbones. He was quite polite to Shen Xiling, and after greeting her, he asked: “How is Second Young Master doing in all respects?”
Shen Xiling pursed her lips, feeling this manager’s question was somewhat abrupt, but she also understood that as a young girl, she naturally wouldn’t command much respect. The reason this manager could come out to greet her was fundamentally because of Qi Ying’s face, so asking such a question was reasonable.
She thought for a moment and answered: “All is well.”
Manager Lu seemed to want to probe further about matters concerning Second Young Master Qi, but Manager Ding quietly held him back, smiling: “Second Young Master’s affairs aren’t for you to inquire about. Just handle Miss Fang’s matters well, and naturally you won’t lack for benefits.”
Though said with a smile, the meaning was quite pointed. Manager Lu’s face showed some embarrassment, and he could only respond submissively, smiling apologetically as he said to Shen Xiling: “Miss Fang, please come in and take a look.”
Shen Xiling nodded and, accompanied by Manager Ding and Manager Lu, entered the shop with her three maids.
Once inside, she saw that the shop was much larger than it appeared from the storefront. Various fabrics of different patterns and materials were neatly arranged on the counters. Shen Xiling took a rough look around and saw the quality was decent and prices reasonable, but there weren’t many customers in the shop—only three or four scattered about.
The shop also had two other workers, a man and a woman. According to Manager Lu, they were a young married couple. Though neither was from Jiankang originally, they had both been working in the shop for nearly three years. The husband was surnamed Song, called Song Haotang, who managed fabric dyeing; the wife was surnamed Meng, called Meng Yingying, who supervised several young girls in weaving. Both looked honest and dependable, and Shen Xiling greeted them both.
Shen Xiling entered the back courtyard and saw the weaving girls all at work, with several large dyeing vats placed in the courtyard’s open space. She then went around to the warehouse and saw numerous goods stacked in corners gathering dust—a staggering amount.
As she walked and observed, Manager Lu constantly explained the shop’s operations to her. He didn’t go into great detail, but overall it seemed the shop wasn’t losing money, though it only made modest profits. After deducting workers’ wages, rent, material costs, and various backlog and losses, there was roughly less than ten taels of income per month. During poor months, there would even be losses, and calculating the full year, the earned silver would basically be zeroed out with little remaining.
After completing her tour and returning to the main hall, Manager Lu went behind the counter to retrieve thick account books half as tall as a person, new and old stacked together. He said to Shen Xiling: “I received word a few days ago that a new owner would be taking over this shop, so I prepared these years’ detailed account books early. Every transaction is recorded clearly within. Miss can take them back to examine slowly, and if there’s anything you want to inquire about, you can call me over to explain anytime.”
Manager Ding had been following and observing but hadn’t spoken or interjected. Seeing these account books as tall as herself, Shen Xiling was somewhat bewildered and could only nod in agreement, unable to say anything else.
Manager Ding smiled at this point. Seeing the day growing late and having seen enough of the shop, he said to Shen Xiling: “Miss is probably tired too. Why don’t we stop here for today? After you’ve become familiar with the account books, you can call him over to discuss future matters.”
Having seen many new things today, Shen Xiling’s mind was indeed in a muddle, and staying here longer would be useless. Hearing Manager Ding say this, she nodded as well.
Shuipei, who had been following alongside, seeing this situation, sent Zijun to the carriage to call Liuzi in. Several people together moved the half-person-tall account books onto the carriage, then took their leave with Manager Lu and the Song couple seeing them off, heading back to the mansion.
Meanwhile, after leaving his government office today, Qi Ying received word from the main house servants that Old Madam Qi wanted to see him and had called him back for dinner.
Since returning to Jiankang from Nanling Commandery, due to various reasons, he still hadn’t seen his grandmother. After yesterday’s flower gathering incident, Qi Ying had expected to receive word from his grandmother soon, so receiving this message today wasn’t surprising. He only instructed Qing Zhu to send word to Fenghe Garden for Shen Xiling, saying he wouldn’t return for dinner tonight, then went back to the main house.
Arriving at Rongrui Hall, he found the old lady sitting on her bed eating fruit, her complexion quite good. At first glance, she showed no signs of illness, and upon seeing him, she began loudly berating the Sixth Princess for being arrogant, domineering, and shameless—her voice full of vigor.
Qi Ying sat quietly to one side listening without interjecting. When the old lady had tired herself with scolding, he handed his grandmother a cup of tea, saying: “Grandmother, please calm down and take care of your health.”
“How can I calm down!” Old Madam Qi slammed the table, her anger unabated. “What kind of household is the Fu family? What kind of background does Rong’er have? How dare she strike her! Such behavior—how is it different from a shrewish woman from the marketplace? If someone like her married into the family, there would never be peace in the household!”
After Old Madam Qi finished her spirited tirade, she turned to see her second grandson only listening without speaking, making her even more indignant as she continued angrily: “And that Fang family girl! How did she end up living in your villa? Didn’t I already send someone to send her away? Did she run to pester you again?”
Qi Ying was silent for a while, naturally not finding it difficult to guess who had brought this matter to the old lady’s attention. He hadn’t wanted his grandmother to know about Shen Xiling’s affairs, but now that she knew, he didn’t find it troublesome either. At this moment, hearing her words, his expression remained calm as he nodded and answered: “She is at the villa. Your grandson brought her there.”
Seeing her second grandson answer so straightforwardly without a trace of guilt or evasion, Old Madam Qi was actually taken aback, stunned for quite a while before reacting. She said “sinful” twice, then loudly declared: “You foolish child! That girl has improper intentions and harbors such feelings toward you, yet you still keep her by your side?”
Hearing these words, Qi Ying frowned and said: “Grandmother worries too much. Wenwen is just a child.”
Old Madam Qi snorted coldly and retorted: “A child? She’s already twelve years old! That night she slept wrapped in your clothes—her intentions couldn’t be clearer. Who couldn’t see it?”
These words left Qi Ying stunned.
He had previously promised Shen Xiling not to inquire about the reason for her punishment by his grandmother that day, and he had kept his word by not asking anyone about it since. As a result, he still knew nothing about the matter. Now, suddenly having it revealed by his grandmother, he was extremely surprised.
His clothes?
What clothes? The one he had left for her in the woods outside the city when he first met her?
…She had actually kept it.
With his grandmother sitting before him in an aggressive interrogative posture, Qi Ying still couldn’t help but let his mind wander, imagining the young girl sleeping wrapped in that garment. A strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart, leaving him momentarily at a loss.
At a loss.
For Second Young Master Qi, this was truly a very fresh sensation.
He had indeed known early on that Shen Xiling had some attachment to him. After all, her family had suddenly encountered great misfortune, and he was now the person closest to her. Children, naturally, would depend on him a bit more. He had guessed that in her heart she regarded him as a father or elder brother, which was why she was willing to be close to him, but he hadn’t expected that she would…
Second Young Master Qi excelled in all things and had been pursued since childhood. Countless noble young ladies liked him, and he had actually grown accustomed to such things, to the point where he felt nothing about it anymore. But suddenly realizing Shen Xiling’s feelings toward him, his heart truly felt a hint of something different. Of course, he had absolutely no improper thoughts toward her—it was just as if a kitten had gently scratched him with its small claws, giving him an indescribable sensation.
Author’s Note: He knows now