The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Prime Minister Feng lost a bet, and the emperor demanded that he accept his defeat.

So even though his leg was still injured and he couldn't walk, he ordered his servants to carry him to the carriage early in the morning, not daring to slack off in the slightest, after all, the emperor's order was hard to disobey.

The carriage slowly traveled along Xuanwu Street.

As agreed, Prime Minister Feng shouted out the window, "Miss Su is mighty! Miss Su is mighty—"

Many people followed the carriage to watch the spectacle.

"Who's in the carriage? I think he was shouting 'Miss Su is mighty!'"

"The person in the carriage is no ordinary person; he is our current prime minister. And the Miss Su whom he praised as mighty is even more extraordinary, having single-handedly defended Huainan."

"I heard that Prime Minister Feng made a bet with Miss Su and lost, which is why he shouted in the street that Miss Su is mighty."

Upon hearing the murmurs of the crowd, Prime Minister Feng's face flushed crimson with shame, but he still had to keep shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Miss Su is awesome! Miss Su is awesome—"

He quickly shouted himself hoarse, his voice growing softer and softer.

As Prime Minister Feng continued shouting, he suddenly realized something.

Many people on the street, regardless of gender, were wearing red clothes.

That's not right. Not many people wore red yesterday.

The carriage soon passed by Wang's Cloth Shop, the largest cloth shop in the capital, which was also owned by the royal merchant Wang family.

Prime Minister Feng discovered that there were huge crowds outside the cloth shop, all queuing up to buy red cloth.

"Shopkeeper, I want to buy the kind of red cloth that Miss Su wears."

The shopkeeper shook his head. "I'm sorry, the bright red dress Miss Su is wearing is very rare, and we don't sell it here."

"Then, shopkeeper, give me another piece of red cloth, something very similar to the red that Miss Su is wearing."

Prime Minister Feng was furious. Just because that little girl wore red to the capital, the whole city was now scrambling for red cloth.

What kind of nonsense is this?! It's utterly absurd!

Wait, he suddenly spotted two familiar figures – his wife and daughter.

Prime Minister Feng was so angry that he banged on the window. Miss Su was really something, she even managed to seduce his wife and daughter, who came to queue up to buy red cloth.

That's outrageous! The Prime Minister's residence has so many servants, couldn't they have just sent one to buy it? Why did they have to come in person and make a fool of themselves!

The middle-aged owner of Wang's Cloth Shop was in a very good mood.

As the manager, he receives a year-end bonus, so the better the business, the more money he will receive.

The middle-aged shopkeeper couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "The Third Young Master is truly amazing! He cleared out more than half of the massive inventory in just one morning!"

Previously, the Third Young Master bought a large amount of red cloth and was scolded by the head of the family. Unexpectedly, red cloth is now in short supply.

Although the price of red fabric in all the fabric shops in the capital has doubled, it is still in short supply.

No wonder the Third Young Master was able to win the position of the next head of the Wang family; he truly has foresight.

Once the Third Young Master succeeds as the head of the family, the Wang family, the imperial merchant family, will surely rise to a new level.

Wang Qian, the third young master who was highly praised by the shopkeeper, was sitting outside the cloth shop gate, leisurely drinking tea.

He admired his own judgment.

He went to Qinghe County this time and set off back to Beijing with Miss Su.

He specially donated three thousand taels of silver to Miss Su in exchange for information on what color clothes she should wear when she went to the capital.

This news alone made him a fortune.

Wang Qian had long anticipated that the color worn by Miss Su would be a hit, so he made arrangements in advance, purchasing a large amount of red cloth along the way.

After all, the legend of Miss Su had spread throughout the capital, and everyone, young and old, wanted to see Miss Su in person.

Moreover, Wang Qian secretly sent people to promote Miss Su, all for the sake of the current effect.

His strategy of hoarding red cloth succeeded again.

Anything that involves Miss Su becomes incredibly easy to succeed at.

Oh dear, I'll inevitably be praised by my father, the head of the family, again.

Wang Qian has become arrogant.

Not only was Prime Minister Feng annoyed by Wang's Cloth Shop, but Fang Cheng was also very annoyed.

He came out very early in the morning.

It turned out that just because that girl wore red when she entered the capital, red became the most popular color in the city, and everyone was scrambling to buy red fabric.

Damn it! He admits that girl has a huge influence in Qinghe County, but this is the capital! This is the first time that girl has appeared in the capital. Why is she so popular?

Fang Cheng was so angry that his face turned a deep liver color.

Hearing that a new imperial edict had been posted, he hurried toward the place where it was posted.

Fang Cheng was very determined to become an official, and he would go out every day to look at the imperial edict.

Today I discovered that the imperial court has introduced a new policy allowing officials to purchase official positions with silver.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Fang Cheng clenched his fists, his heart filled with restless anticipation.

He is only a Xiucai (a scholar who has passed the county-level imperial examination) now; he still needs to pass the Juren (a higher-level imperial examination) before he can participate in the Gongshi (another higher-level imperial examination).

This would be a long process, but he couldn't wait any longer and was eager to become an official.

Now, as long as you donate 80,000 taels of silver to the imperial court, you can get a civil post as a county magistrate without having to take an exam.

Eighty thousand taels is not much at all. A prefect can earn one hundred thousand taels of silver a year. Once he becomes an official, he can earn back eighty thousand taels of silver in one or two years at most.

Several poor scholars stood before the imperial edict, sighing and lamenting.

Someone spotted Fang Cheng and noticed that he was dressed very richly, in brocade, and with a jade hairpin in his hair.

He looks like a young master from a wealthy family.

"This young master clearly comes from a wealthy and powerful family; perhaps he should consider buying an official position."

"Young master, you have an extraordinary appearance and are sure to achieve great things in the future. Don't forget to help us when the time comes."

Fang Cheng chatted with a few poor scholars for a while, and was flattered by them, which satisfied his vanity.

He was able to dress well entirely thanks to the Luo family.

Because he was very good at flattering, Vice Minister Luo was quite generous with his food, clothing, and other necessities.

Fang Cheng became even more eager after hearing the flattery from several scholars.

With his talent and intelligence, if he were to become an official, he would undoubtedly rise to the rank of one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers in the future.

The fact that the imperial court allowed him to purchase an official position was a very good opportunity for him.

After reading the imperial edict, Fang Cheng hurriedly returned to the Luo residence, intending to raise money.

Luo Mingfang had been diligently studying painting since early morning because she was jealous of Su Qianqian's genius as a painter and wanted to surpass Su Qianqian in painting.

But she has absolutely no talent.

So I got annoyed while drawing and just threw my paintbrush on the ground.

She had just stepped out of Fanghua Garden, where she lived, when she ran into Fang Cheng.

"Brother Fang, what are you doing here?"

Luo Mingfang blushed: Brother Fang must have been standing outside the gate of Fanghua Garden for a long time, right? Could he be waiting for her here on purpose?

Their eyes met, locked in a passionate exchange.

"Mingfang, the imperial court has allowed the purchase of official positions again. I'm planning to raise some money. Could you ask your grandfather to help me raise some as well?"

Luo Mingfang nodded, "Brother Fang, you have great ambitions. It's a real pity you're not an official. Come on, I'll take you to see my grandfather right now."

Luo Mingfang has reached marriageable age, but wealthy and powerful families all dislike her because her father is not a biological son of the Luo family, so no good family is willing to marry her.

She didn't want to marry into a merchant's family.

Therefore, Fang Cheng is currently ranked first among her candidates.

Luo Mingfang was overjoyed by the news Fang Cheng brought back. If Fang Cheng obtained an official position, she could become an official's wife.

She was even more anxious than Fang Cheng, and immediately took him to the study in the Luo residence, where they met Minister Luo.

Scholars are not required to kneel before officials, but Fang Cheng always put on a very respectful posture, humbly kneeling and bowing whenever he saw Vice Minister Luo.

"I have met Minister Luo."

Vice Minister Luo was very pleased with Fang Cheng; no one was more respectful to him than Fang Cheng.

Moreover, through their time together, he discovered that Fang Cheng was very talented and resourceful, a promising candidate for officialdom.

In the future, he might pass the imperial examination with flying colors, which could become an asset to him.

"Get up quickly, no need for formalities."

Luo Mingfang personally delivered the lotus seed porridge from the kitchen to Vice Minister Luo.

"Grandfather, I got up early to cook this for you. Please taste it and see how it is."

Luo Mingfang lied; she did not personally cook the lotus seeds.

But she knew that Vice Minister Luo would not pursue the matter.

Luo Mingfang was always good at manipulating people's hearts, which is why she was able to win the favor of Minister Luo and receive several times more silver each month than her two legitimate daughters, Luo Mingzhen and Luo Mingxi.

Minister Luo took a bite of the lotus seed porridge. It was very soft and glutinous, and it would take at least two hours of simmering to achieve such a good texture.

He grew up in Sicheng, where lotus roots are widely grown, so lotus seed porridge was Luo Shilang's favorite food since childhood.

"Fang, you're so thoughtful."

Elders all like obedient juniors, and Vice Minister Luo was no exception.

He looked pleased, feeling that Mingfang was so considerate, unlike that aggressive girl from Qinghe County.