The sound of drums in the front yard was heard, and under the dark trees in the back yard, the moonlight shone through the gaps in the leaves. Qingyu shook the fan by the stove and fanned out the billowing smoke. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she frowned and looked at Shen Moci next to her.

After coming back in the afternoon, Shen Moci called her here alone, and the two of them set up a charcoal stove to burn a fire, and added the piles of hibiscus they bought into water to boil, and kept practicing into a pure white and delicate powder at the bottom of the pot. The powder is poured into the stone and ground finely, then evenly applied to the crescent-colored hem of the dance skirt.

She didn't understand why before, until the warm pot banquet in the front yard started, and the laughter of the dancing girl came from time to time, and she still didn't understand something.

"Auntie...... Childe, that's almost enough, right? ”

Although she hadn't heard Master Kukai's words in the morning, just looking at Shen Moci's reaction, she also knew that it was not a good thing.

"It's almost."

Shen Moci got up, and before Qingyu could put her mind at ease, she continued: "I'll go to the front first, boil this pot and send it to the kitchen, and ask the mother-in-law on the stove to add it to the warm pot broth." ”

I also have to add it to the food, and now Qingyu is extremely sure that this is a harmful thing.

"Girl, this ...... Something is not good. ”

"Huh?"

In order to protect herself and her sister Qingshuang's glory and wealth, Qingyu betrayed Shen Moci. Even if the reason is very good, she still has a trace of guilt towards Shen Moci in her private heart. When Shen Moci returned to her ancestral home the day before yesterday, she took the initiative to ask to follow, in addition to continuing to monitor on the orders of the little marquis, in fact, she didn't think about it in her private heart, if the girl could sincerely repent, no matter how hard the ancestral house was, she would do her best to serve her comfortably.

But she just wanted to go all the way to the dark, and seeing that she was going to harm people again, the trace of unbearability in her heart finally made her unable to speak.

"Girl, beg you to be a slave, don't continue to make mistakes, stop it."

"You're telling me to stop?"

Shen Moci, who was in a hurry to the front yard, stopped and looked at her with deep eyes.

Facing her gaze, Qingyu closed her eyes and persuaded: "Although the situation is difficult now, with your talents, appearance and family background, as long as you are down-to-earth, you will definitely get better and better in the future." ”

How long has it been since no one cared so much about her? Since she was a child, her aunt taught her to behave well in front of her mother-in-law, try her best to please her father, and help her compete for favor; Daddy, who seems to be good to her, just takes a fancy to her business talents; Needless to say, the grandmother has always regarded her concubine as a kitten and a puppy, and she was happy and teased twice; The elder brother even regarded her, the sister who meddled in the family business first, as a beast of prey, and never had a good face.

They either took advantage of her or hated her, and no one ever thought about her from her standpoint, and no one ever cared about her and believed in her just because of her.

The genuine concern she had been longing for now came out of the mouth of this maid.

"Shall you stop there? It's too late, it's already too late. ”

Tears rolled down the corners of her eyes, Daddy had already given her to King Ping last night, and which good family would want her in the future.

A slight soreness came from the root of his thigh, and his slightly shaken heart instantly became cold and hard. She is just a concubine, and even if she is safe and stable, she will not be able to marry any good family. Married to the inconspicuous son of a merchant's family, confined to the back house all his life, fighting with his mother-in-law and the powerful clan woman all day long for small things as big as sesame mung beans, all kinds of maids and mothers-in-law went into battle, fighting chickens and dogs?

No! How could she be willing!

Although she doesn't have a good life as Hu Yao, she has a smarter mind than most people, and she must live better than Hu Yao!

"It's not too late, girl, let's throw this hibiscus powder out, shall we?"

The hibiscus in the pot has already dried up, and Qingyu is about to walk into the woods when she gets up.

"Who told you to fall? Send it to the kitchen. ”

"But this is something harmful!" Qingyu's eyes widened in the moonlight, her voice was full of urgency, but her heart couldn't stop sinking. If she guessed correctly, the girl was going to go all the way to the dark.

"What about harming people? Which of the silk merchants in front of him can guarantee that he has not harmed anyone? ”

Shen Moci looked excited, seeing Qingyu's face showing surprise, thinking of her loyalty and thoughtfulness, she slowly softened her voice.

"I have followed my father to the Shen family's shop since I was eight years old, and I have been doing business for half a year when I am so old, and I see things better than you. Qingyu, the essence of doing business is to snatch the silver from other people's purses and enrich their own purses. There is so much silver in the whole world, everyone wants to get it, and someone has to pay for it, not to mention the means, isn't it harmful to let people pay for silver? ”

Qingyu always felt that something was wrong, but the logic of these words was too strict, and she couldn't think of anything to refute for a while.

"But it's not the same as hurting people's lives."

"What's the difference? After losing the game in the business field, the debts are piled up, and it is even more difficult to endure than to die directly. Don't think about it, I won't hurt their lives, but I just borrowed the name of the Shen family to get back something that belongs to me. ”

After a pause, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Without further ado, you send your things to the kitchen, and I'll go to the front."

"But ......" spelled the last trace of anticipation, Qingyu opened her mouth.

Before he could say the second word, he was pressed down by Shen Moci: "I am the master, now I order you to do this as a maid, go quickly!" ”

Shouting out the last two words, she hurried to the front yard with a cold face.

The banquet place in the front yard, the warm pot with Ah Furong, and the smiling dancing girl, the extravagance spreads to every corner of the room. After three rounds of drinking, the sights of the businessmen who came to the banquet began to blur. Heioh, who was at the head of the throne, let go of the boneless Maihime and staggered to his feet.

"Thank you for coming today, everyone said, who is the most beautiful in these young cities?"

"Of course it's Master Shen." Someone blurted out.

Most of the people who can come to the courtyard today are silk merchants who are good friends with the Shen family, and most people will agree.

"Wrong."

"Could it be that the nine-tailed fox who is desperate?" There was a burst of laughter from the side of the hot pot.

The laughter shook the dust on his face, and the face of the little marquis hidden in it changed slightly. Desperate, and what kind of tricks are behind, could it be that this is the reason why Hu Jiuling doesn't like him?

"It's the Hu family!" King Ping said categorically: "Although the Hu and Shen families have the same financial resources, and even the Shen family is slightly better, the name of the emperor alone is enough to make the Hu family dominate Qingcheng." ”

At the mention of the imperial merchants, many people stopped laughing. However, when the wine was up, more people were open-mouthed: "What about the imperial businessman, just such a girl, no matter how much she earns, she will not be able to change her surname in the future." ”

The audience despised Hu Jiuling, and Shen Jinshan felt comfortable in his heart, but he finally didn't forget to discuss something good with King Ping.

"In any case, the emperor will be glorified in the end. Your Highness is a noble man, and I don't know if there is a way, let me wait for such a great good thing. ”

"Ququ Hu's family, the name says that it is an imperial businessman, to put it bluntly, it is just a tribute to the royal family to make clothing materials. If there is a Hu family, of course, there can also be a second and a third family. Other kings don't dare to say that this king is accompanying his father in Luoyang, and now he needs exquisite silk. ”

Tribute silk to the Emperor? That's also an excellent errand!

The congregation was confused, and they couldn't think about the tense relationship between the emperor and the current emperor. They only thought that the Hu family would make so much money from this errand, and if they could get it, they would not be able to sleep in the golden house in the future. Heavy profits are ahead, and everyone looks at King Ping expectantly.

"The door of the palace is not easy to enter, from the guards to the palace maids and eunuchs, this king always needs to be rewarded with two silver taels."

Shen Jinshan hurriedly said: "Of course, you can't let His Royal Highness King Ping work in vain, and there will be no less filial piety." ”

After that, he praised to everyone: "You brothers don't know, His Royal Highness King Ping is from a precious concubine, and the foreign family is my Daxia Pavilion elder." The noble concubine Niangniang has been in the palace for more than 20 years, and now she lives in the palace closest to the Emperor Taishang, and is in charge of the six palaces, as if she is already the master of the harem. ”

Later, Shen Jinshan praised King Ping's family again, and praised the old man in the sky and the earth. When the dizzy businessmen heard such a flowery scene, their hearts became hot for a while.

"You should honor Your Highness."

"Your Highness, it is a lifelong honor to see such a noble person."

All kinds of beautiful words came, and they praised King Ping lightly, and almost left the business behind. Fortunately, Shen Jinshan was still sensible, and whispered a few words in front of King Ping, and then ordered someone to take out a bunch of deeds.

"You can't just talk about it, you have to show some sincerity. Everyone said how much to donate, and Shen helped write for the time being. And when it is done in the future, the amount of silver earned shall be divided according to the amount of silver that is given today. ”

Standing by the door, Shen Moci hid in the darkness, saw the merchants shouting out a small number, and then held the vermilion seal clay painting handed over by the dancing girl. The white paper, black letters, and red handprints were pressed, and they couldn't deny it when they woke up tomorrow.

Thinking about his previous agreement with King Ping, the silver he received this time was two or three or seven cents. Although she is only thirty percent, it will not be less according to this calculation.

Silently calculating a number, Shen Moci raised the corners of his lips. Thinking of Qingyu's concern, I can't use the soup base here anyway, so I just sell the girl's personal favor.

As soon as she lifted her legs, she heard a voice from above that she hadn't expected.

"His Royal Highness King Ping, this silver is really easy to come by."