Poor Lady Chapter 9: It’s him
"Ping'er, where did this bowl of crystal lotus seed soup come from?" Qi Surong called Ping'er, pointing to the cup on the table.
Ping'er said: "Could it be that the madam prepared it for the young lady? The maidservant didn't see it when she came to clean the room in the morning."
It is indeed possible, Qi's mother used to make lotus seed soup for her often. Qi Surong looked at the translucent lotus seed soup, and couldn't help but take a sip, a coolness pierced through his heart, and the heat disappeared immediately.
"Well, it tastes really good." Qi Surong drank a few more sips contentedly, and said casually, "Ping'er, those two bottles of silt removing ointment last time worked well, where did you buy them?"
"Remove the silt cream? What remove the silt cream? The slaves don't know." Ping'er looked puzzled.
Qi Surong paused, turned around and walked towards the cabinet, took out two small porcelain bottles from the drawer, and handed them to Ping'er: "Didn't you give this to me?"
Ping'er shook his head: "No, I have never seen these two bottles before."
Qi Surong frowned, only Ping'er knew about her injury, it was impossible for her mother to secretly prepare ointment for her without saying a word. So who sent this ointment? And this cup of lotus seed soup is probably not what she guessed before, it was prepared by her mother.
During the meal, Qi Surong talked about the lotus seed soup.
Qi's mother said: "If you are really greedy, then ask the servants to buy some ingredients, and mother will cook for you."
"No, my daughter is just talking casually, let's talk about it later when the family has more money." Sure enough, it wasn't her mother. Looking around, everyone at the table looked normal, obviously it had nothing to do with them.
Could it be that someone wants to play tricks on her secretly? Qi Surong's face changed slightly, and then he denied this guess. Whether it's the ointment before or the lotus seed soup I just drank, there is no problem. This person should have good intentions.
So, who could it be?
Qi Surong was thinking about this question until after the meal. This person seems to be very aware of her every move, isn't he always spying on her secretly?
Qi Surong couldn't help but look out of the window, only seeing an empty yard and mottled tree shadows.
In her memory, there was one person who would do such a thing. He looks cold, but has a soft heart. It's a pity that she didn't know how to cherish before, and she was prejudiced from the beginning, so that she almost turned against each other in the end.
According to the time, there is still a month or two before meeting him, so it shouldn't be him...
Qi Surong shook his head, and decided not to think about it for the time being. Tomorrow is the opening day of Yunrong Xiuzhuang, and there are still many things that need to be taken care of.
Both her and her mother are not suitable to come out, so they can only arrange two maids to take care of the shop. But after all, the maid couldn't hold on to the situation, so Qi Surong thought twice and decided to invite his father's concubine Qin Xiang to participate in the management. This woman has followed Qi's family since the accident in her last life. He has been sharing weal and woe with the Qi family until he was driven away by his father whose personality changed drastically.
Qin Xiang is the only concubine among her father's concubines, Qi Surong is the only woman who does not have a bad feeling, her life experience is enough for her to understand her personality.
Qi Surong originally wanted to find an opportunity to send all his father's concubines away, but now that he thinks about it carefully, as long as they don't cause trouble, the Qi family is not too tolerant of them. No matter how disgusted she was, these concubines were also father's women. Even if you want to send it away, it is up to your father to decide. Leaving aside their identities, it is very rare to be able to share the joys and sorrows.
Qin Xiang happily agreed to Qi Surong's request, and was even flattered. With Miss Qi's personality, it's hard to believe that she would entrust such an important matter to a concubine.
Qi Surong said: "Qin Xiang, I hand over the management of the store to you, not because I recognize your status in the Qi family. I hope you can seize this opportunity, get rid of the lowly status, and set up another female household in the future."
"What?" Qin Xiang was slightly taken aback.
Qi Surong looked at her seriously, and continued: "I don't care how much affection you have for my father, but my father definitely doesn't love you. He likes beauty, but he has a very heavy background. In his heart, you are just A kind of pastime, only my mother is his wife. You are not even qualified to bear children for him, do you really want to live with my father without children?"
Qin Xiang showed a bit of bitterness on his face, but he said nothing.
Qi Surong said again: "A woman's fate is often involuntary, but if there is another better way to live, why not try it?"
"Do you want me to leave your father?"
Qi Surong smiled and said calmly: "Yes."
Qin Xiang didn't expect her to answer so simply. After thinking for a while, he asked again: "What if I don't want to leave?"
"The Qi family will not treat anyone who is loyal to the Qi family. It is your own choice if you don't want to leave, and I will not make it difficult for you. If you change your mind, you can always find another way out. The premise Yes, you can't do anything that will damage the reputation and interests of the Qi family."
"Are you serious?"
"Once a word is spoken, it is hard to follow."
"Okay, I understand." Qin Xiang said solemnly, "Don't worry, I will definitely take care of Yunrong Xiuzhuang."
"Wait and see."
On the opening day, Yunrong Xiuzhuang was decorated with lights and festoons, and firecrackers were fired, making it very lively.
This shop is rented in the name of a merchant, so most people think that the owner behind the scenes is that merchant.
Qi Surong wore a gauze hat and sat in the tea house opposite Yunrong Xiuzhuang, watching the opening ceremony.
Qin Xiang used to be a singing girl, she was good at dancing with long sleeves, and she was generous, which earned Xiu Zhuang a lot of face.
The opening process went very smoothly, Qi Surong felt relieved, and said to Ping'er who was beside him: "Okay, let's go back."
At the same time as they turned around, Gu Jinyun brought the servants to the gate of Xiuzhuang, looked up at the plaque, paused for a moment on the word "Yunrong", and then walked into the shop.
As soon as he stepped in, Qi Surong came out from the teahouse, and the two passed by.
"Surong, it's a good start today, and Xiuzhuang has made a big deal." Qin Xiang said with a slightly excited expression when he returned home in the evening.
"Big business?" Qi Surong was a little strange. Before Xiuzhuang's reputation was spread, what kind of big business could it receive? On the day of the opening, all the top products had discounts, at most they sold a few more trinkets.
Qin Xiang said with a smile: "There is a son who bought all the silk flowers and embroidered handkerchiefs in the shop at one go."
"What?" Qi Surong was slightly surprised. Silk flowers have the lowest cost and the largest quantity, while embroidered handkerchiefs are the most expensive items. Buying them all costs at least a hundred taels of silver.
"Did you take that person's name down?" she asked.
Qin Xiang shook his head and said regretfully: "He was taciturn. From entering the store to completing the transaction, he only said three sentences in total, 'I want to buy all the silk flowers and embroidered handkerchiefs in the store' 'How much' 'Six, pay Money', and then left, I didn't even have a chance to talk."
Six sons? Qi Surong's heart trembled, and he asked: "What does he look like?"
Qin Xiang thought for a while, and replied: "About twenty-one or twelve years old, tall, with a stern face, and a little scary eyes, ah, by the way, there is a red mole on his right ear lobe."
It's him! It was Gu Jinyun, her husband from the previous life, the one she loved the most and the one she didn't want to see now.
Qi Surong clutched her chest, emotions of excitement, joy, pain, and regret came one after another.
"Surong, what's the matter? Do you know him?"
"No, I don't know you." Qi Surong closed his eyes, and the fingers in his sleeves trembled slightly. If possible, she hoped that she would never know him in this life. She didn't want to go through the pain once, and she didn't want him and his family to go through it again. Yes, just pretend you don’t know each other.
Qin Xiang gave her a strange look, then took out the account book and said, "This is today's transaction account, please check it."
Qi Surong glanced at her casually, and said to her: "Just check the accounts once a month, and you don't have to report to me every day."
"Okay." Qin Xiang put away the ledger without being pretentious.
Qi Su tolerated it for a while, and finally asked again: "Did the young master you mentioned earlier buy so many things as soon as he entered the store?"
"That's not true. He also walked around the store and focused on a few of the more exquisite accessories. I thought he would buy those accessories, but unexpectedly he bought silk flowers and embroidered handkerchiefs."
Because silk flowers and embroidered handkerchiefs can make her earn the most!
At this moment, Qi Surong is almost sure that Gu Jinyun has seen her and is still paying attention to her secretly. Helping her in this subtle way is really his usual style. Qi Surong was secretly amused, her heart was both sweet and bitter. From this point of view, the two bottles of ointment and the cup of lotus seed soup were probably also sent by him.
He is very familiar with breaking into private houses, even if she is his fiancée, she can't come and go at will, right?
Qi Surong began to quickly think about whether she had done any embarrassing things recently, such as forcibly bathing her younger brother, wearing a bellyband and wielding a pen on the table, lying on the couch to mix the fragrance and color... Uh, not all of them will be seen have you gone?
Qi Surong suddenly felt like her demeanor was ruined... But when and where did he meet her?
Thoughts were chaotic, sleepless all night, but Qi Surong had to get up early. Today is the Queen's birthday banquet, she has to go to the Song Mansion to comb Aunt Qiao's hair.
Her tailor-made service for Zhuang Qiao'e, including dresses, shoes, jewelry, spices, makeup, etc., requires her to help her personally.
One more thing, which she didn't tell Aunt Qiao, is that her embroidery threads are all evenly dyed with special spices. The pattern embroidered with this kind of embroidery thread will have a faint fragrance, which is very interesting, and the so-called fragrance of sleeves is nothing more than that.
After finishing making up for Zhuang Qiao'e, Qi Surong helped her into the carriage and watched her go away.
"Miss, if there is nothing wrong with the Qi family, you should also dress up and go to the palace to attend the birthday banquet now." Ping'er said a little angrily
Qi Surong smiled: "Have I attended too few banquets in the palace? I'm tired of it."
"Tired of it? I don't believe it." Ping'er said proudly, "At which banquet, the lady was not the crown of beauty, the stars and the moon? Others can't compare with the lady."
Qi Surong restrained her smile, yes, what she used to enjoy the most was the feeling of being aloof and sought after by others. Don't know how to be humble, don't know how to be tactful, don't know how to be kind to others, so that you offend too many people.
Most of the suffering she suffered in the previous life was her own fault.
"Okay, what's the point of bringing up the past? Your lady and I can still live happily even if we wear coarse linen clothes." Qi Surong faced the sunshine and smiled with relief.
"Slaves are not worth it because of Miss?" Ping'er muttered.
"Let's go, let's go home, we still have a lot of things to do." Qi Surong thought for a while and said, "I did a big deal yesterday, so I'm going to buy some good food today and have a good meal at home." pause."
"Miss, are you going to buy vegetables?" Ping'er looked surprised.
"Yeah."
"Don't, just let Ping'er go, how can miss go to that kind of place? It's too dirty."
"That's enough, I'm long-winded." Qi Surong ignored her and walked straight to the market.
Dirty? How could she still be afraid of getting dirty?
The dirtiest thing in the world is the human heart, and the most beautiful is also the human heart.