Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife Chapter 148

Chapter 148: A Talent for Making Silver

Yu Yi had never seen Steward Qin wear such an expression before. Curiosity stirred in him despite himself. “Steward Qin, what exactly happened?”

Steward Qin swept him an irritated glance. Then, as though a little spirit had returned to him, he asked, “After you gave both letters to His Highness, what expression did he have?”

“His Highness’s expression?” Yu Yi scratched his head and thought hard for quite a while. “You have served His Highness for so many years. Has his face not always been cold and indifferent? What expression could there be?”

Steward Qin had been full of expectation, but at that answer, his patience vanished. He waved him off in frustration. “Get out. You and that boy Yu Heng are the same—useless all day long.”

“Who says so? Steward Cheng even praised me before.”

“That was because his old eyes have grown dim. Move aside. Do not stand here. Looking at you vexes me.”

Yu Yi rubbed his nose and headed straight for the kitchen. He had heard there was still quite a bit of ginger tea there. He had to hurry and taste it. These days, traveling back and forth between Jiling City and Yuexi, he had only heard of ginger tea but had never actually seen what it was. His curiosity had nearly climbed into his throat. Now, at last, he had a chance to behold its true appearance.

Steward Qin sighed for a long while. In the end, he could only shake his head and murmur, “This cannot be rushed. It cannot be rushed. This matter must be considered slowly.”

For the next stretch of time, Mu Yunyao fell completely quiet, devoting herself to embroidering the New Year’s gift prepared for the Emperor. The sheets of paper collected from various regions, each written with the words fortune, longevity, peace, and health, had already filled several large boxes. Even with Mu Yunyao’s careful mind, it took a great deal of effort to sort them all. Once that was done, however, the embroidery progressed much faster.

One day, Mu Yunyao had just finished breakfast when Jin Lan came in to report, “Miss, Steward Qin has arrived.”

“Invite him in.”

The weather had grown colder. Steward Qin had changed into a thicker-lined robe and wore a brownish-blue cap. With a smile on his face, he looked especially gentle. “Greetings, Miss Mu.”

“There is no need for such courtesy, Steward Qin. Please sit. Jin Lan, serve tea.”

Once the tea was brought in, Steward Qin took a sip and could not help praising it. “Clearly it is the same water and the same tea, yet somehow the tea here at Miss Mu’s side tastes especially fine.”

Mu Yunyao laughed lightly. “Then another day, I shall certainly have to reward Jin Lan. Her tea-brewing skill has improved.”

“She ought indeed to be rewarded.” Steward Qin looked at Jin Lan, who now moved forward and withdrew with proper bearing, and could not help sighing inwardly. Miss Mu’s way of training people was something others truly could not match. Half a year ago, he had seen what Jin Lan looked like when she had first arrived here. Compared with now, she was practically a different person.

Jin Lan quickly curtsied at the side. “Many thanks, Miss. Many thanks, Steward Qin. I shall certainly work even harder in the future.” After speaking, seeing that Steward Qin only smiled without saying anything more, she raised her eyes toward Mu Yunyao. When Mu Yunyao gave a slight nod, Jin Lan curtsied again and withdrew.

Only then did Steward Qin bring up the matter at hand. “Miss Mu, the last batch of ginger tea we sent over was of great help to His Highness. Therefore, I was thinking of preparing another batch and sending it over.”

“Steward Qin should also have seen that I am presently busy embroidering the New Year’s gift for the Emperor. My energy is truly limited, and I cannot attend to everything. As for frying and preparing the ginger tea, please handle it yourself.” The first time she had sent Yue Wang ginger tea, it had been a favor. If she sent more after that, it would be silver—white, shining silver. The money she had on hand was meant for important matters; naturally, she could not spend it all on Yue Wang.

Steward Qin could not guess what calculations lay in Mu Yunyao’s heart. Seeing that she declined directly, he did not think much of it. “Since that is the case, I shall handle it myself. I only need to borrow one person from Miss Mu.”

“Borrow someone? Steward Qin means Qi Ming, the one who helped purchase grain last time?”

“Precisely. This time, the amount of ginger tea to be sent will be larger, so the grain to be purchased will also be greater. I would like him to help share some of the work.”

“That is no problem. I will have Liu Liang notify him and ask him to go directly to Steward Qin.”

“Good. Many thanks, Miss Mu. There is also one more matter. Now that the weather is growing colder, the number of guests at Buxian Tower has decreased somewhat. I was thinking—should we perhaps renovate Jinxiu Garden a little and add curtains and draperies?”

Mu Yunyao came to herself. “These days, I have been so busy with the embroidery in my hands that I nearly forgot this matter. Starting tomorrow, Jinxiu Garden will close for three days. We will rearrange the scenery in the garden.”

“Is three days not too short?” With such haste, could it be completed?

“Steward Qin may rest assured. When Jinxiu Garden’s scenery was first repaired and arranged, I had already carefully considered how to block the wind in winter. The curtains and draperies were also prepared earlier. Now we need only have people hang them up. It will not delay us for long.”

“That is excellent. Miss Mu’s thoughts are meticulous indeed. It is truly admirable.” Steward Qin knew Mu Yunyao was pressed for time. After saying a few more words reminding her to take care of her health, he rose and took his leave.

After Mu Yunyao told Liu Liang about the matter, she put it entirely out of her mind. More than ten days later, Steward Qin came to thank her, saying that Qi Ming had handled matters thoroughly. The grain he purchased was of excellent quality, and the price was ten percent lower than that of other grain merchants. Steward Qin praised him for nearly a quarter of an hour, and before leaving, he even left a red envelope behind, hoping Mu Yunyao would pass it to Qi Ming.

After he left, Mu Yunyao was just about to have Jin Lan call Liu Liang when Liu Liang walked in carrying a box.

“Liu Liang, you came at just the right time. Steward Qin just sent over a red envelope, saying he wished to thank Qi Ming for handling things so well. Find some time to pass it to him.”

After Liu Liang finished saluting and rose, his expression was somewhat stiff as he presented the box to Mu Yunyao.

Remembering Steward Qin’s long string of praise, Mu Yunyao still had a smile on her face. “What is this?” As she spoke, she opened the box, and the smile on her face suddenly paused.

Inside the box lay a neat stack of banknotes. She picked them up and roughly counted them. There were at least twenty thousand taels.

“Where did so much silver come from?”

“Reporting to Master, Qi Ming earned it.”

Mu Yunyao was genuinely astonished. “He earned it?” Her first thought was that Qi Ming had secretly skimmed from the money Steward Qin had given him to purchase grain. Yet when she thought of Steward Qin’s praise just now, she felt that it should not be so. After all, Steward Qin was not someone easily fooled. The quality and price of grain were things that could least withstand deception.

Liu Liang nodded. “Back then, when he followed your instructions and went to collect grain, he heard what the grain would be used for and bought extra. Now, he sold the grain he had stored to Steward Qin.”

When she had sent Qi Ming to buy grain, the autumn harvest had just passed, and the price of newly harvested grain had been much lower. Now winter had arrived, and the price had naturally risen. The more than twenty thousand taels of silver came from that difference.

Mu Yunyao’s thoughts turned. Once she understood the key point, she could not help laughing softly. “This Qi Ming is truly a talent. Another day, bring him to me. I want to see what such a clever person looks like.”

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