High-class Spring Joy

The largest cloth shop in Bianjing City was called Jinxiu, which was also the largest cloth shop in the country. It sold a wide variety of fabrics and silk threads, from cheap and simple to precious and expensive, and had the most complete range of colors and styles.

If it's not here, then Qingyuan really has no other choice.

When Qingyuan arrived at the entrance of Jinxiu, she went straight in without hesitation.

However, in the brief moment she appeared, she was spotted by Zheji on the second floor.

The servant next to him reported, "Second Master, these are the financial records and ledgers of Jinxiu Manor for the past six months. I have carefully verified them one by one. Please take a look, Second Master."

"Put it down." The words were in response to the servant, but Zheji's gaze remained fixed on the entrance of Jinxiu. What was this Qingyuan girl doing at the cloth shop?

Should we tell the master?

Zheji made his decision almost instantly and gave the order to the servant.

-

Jinxiuzhuang offers a wide variety of services and has dedicated servants to explain things to customers.

Qingyuan didn't look for the servant, but went directly to the shopkeeper and asked him directly if they had the fabric she needed. She didn't have any extra time to waste.

She had to do it as quickly as possible.

"Oh my, young lady, you probably can't find more than a few pieces of this kind of fabric in the entire city of Bianjing, right? But you've come to the right place. Apart from Hongxiu Manor, which might have a few, the rest are probably only available at Jinxiu Manor."

The shopkeeper replied.

Qingyuan was overjoyed: "May I ask, shopkeeper, what is the price?"

"That fabric is precious and requires a lot of skill to weave. Even the best weavers in Bianjing City, ten of them combined, can only produce one bolt a month. The raw materials are also extremely rare and hard to find, so the price is exceptionally high."

As he spoke, the shopkeeper opened his palm and spread his five fingers toward Qingyuan.

"Five taels? Okay, I'll take it."

As soon as Qingyuan finished speaking, she heard the shopkeeper say irritably, "It's fifty taels, miss."

Fifty taels?! Are you robbing me?!

Even if she finishes the embroidery on time, she'll only earn a deposit, but she has no other choice now, otherwise she wouldn't even get the deposit.

Even with that thought, Qingyuan still felt a pang of heartache: "Shopkeeper, could you give me a slightly lower price? I don't need a whole horse, I just need half a horse, half a horse is enough!"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper sized Qingyuan up and down. Seeing her striking appearance yet simple attire, he concluded she couldn't be from a wealthy family. His eyes flashed with disdain: "Girl, do you even have any money? You were the one who said you wanted to buy fabric, and now you're complaining about the price. If you don't have money, you should buy something cheaper now and not stand here obstructing our business!"

"Shopkeeper, I'll buy it, I'll definitely buy it. But I really don't need a whole bolt. Could you do me a favor and offer twenty-five taels for half a bolt?"

Qingyuan was shrewd and calculating; that half a bolt of embroidered mandarin ducks playing in the water was more than enough.

The shopkeeper waved his hand impatiently: "Alright, alright, she can't afford it. Someone, throw her out!"

Just as she finished speaking, two servants rushed over from the side. Qingyuan was about to step back to speak when she saw the two servants actually standing in front of the shopkeeper, one on each side of him.

Then came a male voice she had never heard before—

"You should be kicked out! When has Jinxiu Manor ever treated its citizens and customers so harshly?! Effective today, you are dismissed!"

Qingyuan looked up and saw the broken halberd she had once seen in the Crimson Cloud Garden.

Before she could speak, Zheji took the cloth from the servant and handed it to Qingyuan.

"A broken-halberd guard? This..." Qingyuan was somewhat taken aback.

"The shopkeeper was really wrong just now. Consider this compensation from Jinxiu Manor. There's no need for you to pay, please accept it."

Explanation of "折戟" (zhé jǐ).

"But...this is too expensive."

"It was the young master's wish, and I was just following orders." Zheji said, "The young master said that the honey that the young lady made that day was delicious and he liked it very much. If the young lady has time, please make some more and send them to Chixia Garden."

"Alright, alright, if you like it, then I'm relieved. I will definitely do it."

Upon hearing this, Qingyuan felt relieved and hurried back to the Zhenguo Marquis's residence with the cloth in her arms.

After she left, Zheji looked up at the building.

-

evening.

Crimson Cloud Garden.

Before Chu Jingxian lay piles of letters. The downside of having such a large and extensive business was that he had to deal with reports from all over the country every day.

Chen Sha was reading to him, and as he listened, he gave his decision, which Chen Sha then wrote down.

As soon as Zheji entered, Chu Jingxian raised his hand, signaling Chensha to stop: "Did you give it to her?"

"I relayed your words to Miss Qingyuan without missing a single one. Miss Qingyuan seemed very happy and said that as long as you like it, I will definitely send more to Chixia Garden."

Zheji replied, continuing, "But I noticed that Miss Qingyuan seemed quite anxious. I remembered Chensha mentioning that the young master had taken Miss Qingyuan to Hongxiu Manor last time, so I went there to inquire. I learned from the manager that Miss Qingyuan seemed to have encountered some difficulties. I dare to guess that she might be short of money? Originally, I thought that since Miss Qingyuan has always been deeply devoted to the Fifth Young Master, she wouldn't do such a thing. But if she is truly short of money for some reason, then it's quite possible that she would go to jail for the young master for money…"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Chu Jingxian's fingertips, which were lightly tapping on the table, stopped:

"You mean, you also suspect her?"

Zheji pursed his lips: "This subordinate trusts your intuition, young master."

"Intuition... is just intuition; you need to find some real evidence to confirm it."

After Chu Jingxian finished speaking, he pondered for a moment: "Chen Sha, go and ask the maid who lives in the same place as her... Never mind, Zhe Ji, you go, but remember not to give yourself away."

Chen Sha was completely bewildered: "No, young master, I can go too!! Why won't you let me go?"

Zheji patted him on the shoulder, "Because you have something more important to do, read the letter to the young master."

Chen Sha thought to himself, "That makes sense."

-

When Zheji arrived, before even entering the maid's courtyard, he saw a young maid, about sixteen or seventeen years old, anxiously pacing back and forth at the gate, her face filled with worry.

He stepped forward and asked, "I am Zheji, the Third Young Master's bodyguard. May I ask if you could help me find someone in the courtyard? Her name is Hongdou?"

"Red Bean, Red Bean, I am Red Bean!!" Red Bean said hurriedly, then realized what she meant and looked up as if she had seen a savior: "You are the Third Young Master's guard, you are a guard of Crimson Cloud Garden, then you must be a kind and compassionate person!"

Zheji couldn't understand why Hongdou could draw such a conclusion about him, a complete stranger, on their first meeting.

Warm-hearted and kind-hearted?

Oh.

Hongdou only remembered that her sister had said that the cloak that sheltered her from the wind that day was given by the Third Young Master, that the Third Young Master appeared when she was in danger, and that the Third Young Master helped her find the purse. She had long since categorized the Third Young Master and the people around him as good people.

"Broken-halberd Guard, I beg you, could you please help me find my sister? She left the manor this morning, but she hasn't returned yet. It's been almost half a day. Last time, she was followed, and I'm so afraid something has happened to her!"

Hongdou was so worried that her eyes welled up with tears.

"broken!"

Upon hearing this, Zheji immediately realized that Qingyuan had been walking towards the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion. It would take at most an hour to walk from Jinxiu Manor to the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion, so how could she not have arrived yet?

Something must have happened!

After saying that, Zheji rushed back to Chixia Garden.

Upon hearing this, Chu Jingxian waved his hand and said, "Give the order: everyone, find Qingyuan!"