Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 49

On the day the medicine shop opened, Ye Jiao got up very early.

Qi Yun was already awake and had thought he could spend some intimate time with his wife, but Ye Jiao got up in a rush, so Qi Yun also got dressed and rose.

"Husband, sleep a little more." Ye Jiao reached out, wanting to push him back down onto the bed.

If it were any other time, Qi Yun would have already laid back down and pulled Ye Jiao down with him, lingering a bit before getting up.

But today was different. Qi Yun stood up and gently kissed the woman's forehead, saying: "Aren't you going to see the medicine shop opening? I'll get up early too, so I can help you choose clothes and draw your eyebrows."

Hearing this, Ye Jiao first smiled and licked Qi Yun's lower lip, then let go of him: "I'll go get hot water. Don't go out casually. The morning weather is cold, you need to be careful."

Qi Yun nodded in agreement and got his fur coat to wrap her up before letting her go out.

Although this fur coat was in a men's style, it was extremely effective at blocking the sharp cold morning wind. Since it was in their own courtyard anyway, the fur coat could wrap Ye Jiao up completely. She often wore it out like this in the mornings.

Hot water was being heated in the small kitchen. Little Su heard the movement and had it ready. When Ye Jiao arrived, the basin already contained water at the right temperature.

Ye Jiao reached out to test it, then smiled at Little Su: "We'll be busy today. You should go eat something first."

Little Su responded and helped Ye Jiao carry the water over, but immediately returned to the small kitchen to watch the meat buns in the steamer until they were done before going to eat.

Ye Jiao and Qi Yun finished washing up together. She neatly arranged her hair into a bun herself and pinned it with a jade hairpin, then obediently sat in the chair and lifted her face toward Qi Yun.

Qi Yun picked up the eyebrow stone, placed his other hand under Ye Jiao's chin to lift it slightly, and concentrated on drawing two dark eyebrows for her.

Ye Jiao used to always close her eyes, afraid that staring at Qi Yun would make him nervous and draw crooked lines. But now that Qi Yun was skilled at it, Ye Jiao kept her eyes open to look at him.

Qi Yun liked looking at her, Little Ginseng knew this, but Ye Jiao also quite liked looking at him.

Especially when Qi Yun was concentrating on something, whether checking accounts or drawing eyebrows, when this person was focused, he looked very handsome.

Qi Yun felt Ye Jiao looking at him and couldn't help pausing his hand, smiling: "What is Jiao Niang looking at?"

Ye Jiao didn't move, afraid of ruining her eyebrows. Her soft lips barely moved: "Looking at you."

Qi Yun drew the other side for her, his voice slow: "What did you see?"

"Husband's eyes are beautiful, they seem to shine."

Qi Yun knew Ye Jiao was praising him but still smiled and teased her: "Shining? Only cat eyes shine."

This was originally just a joke, but Ye Jiao answered very seriously: "Cats aren't as good-looking as you, really."

Little Ginseng swore that forget cats, among all the spirits she had seen take form and all the people she had encountered, her husband was the most handsome.

Thinking of this, Ye Jiao couldn't help pursing her lips in a smile.

Qi Yun put away the eyebrow stone and was examining whether both sides were even, but when Ye Jiao smiled, her eyes curved, making it impossible to tell.

The man found it amusing and gently pinched her face with his hand. Feeling the nice texture, he pinched a couple more times, saying: "What are you smiling about now?"

Ye Jiao turned her head, pressing her face into his palm, and said with a smile: "Being able to marry you is really wonderful."

Hearing this, Qi Yun couldn't help bending down to embrace her with his hand, looking down at Ye Jiao and saying softly: "Being able to marry you is what's truly wonderful."

For a moment, they gazed at each other and smiled, as close as glue, which left Little Su at the door unsure whether to enter or retreat. She could only exchange glances with Tie Zi, who was standing stiffly there too, and they tacitly decided not to go in for now.

If they disturbed them, the young mistress would be fine, but that ill-tempered Second Young Master might set his sights on Little Black again.

Their Second Young Master was only gentle in front of the Second Young Mistress. He never had tender thoughts toward anyone else. Little Su still wanted the bald rooster to live a few more days.

Sometimes having masters who were too sweet could be quite troubling for the servants.

After finishing breakfast, Ye Jiao prepared to take Little Su to the medicine shop.

Qi Yun didn't say whether he was going or not, only telling Ye Jiao not to worry about him. If he really went, there would naturally be people following him.

When Ye Jiao got in the carriage, she instructed the driver: "Take me there first, then come back and wait to pick up my husband."

Little Su heard this and asked quietly: "Second Young Mistress, Second Young Master didn't say he was coming. What if we want to come back? Second Young Master instructed me before leaving to arrange a good carriage to take you."

"Spring Orchid has a carriage there. We can trouble them to make the trip. I don't trust ordinary carriages. Our own blocks the wind better and has coverings on the sides too. Husband's health is most important." After Ye Jiao finished speaking, she got into the carriage with Little Su's help.

Since Ye Jiao had spoken, Little Su felt at ease.

After all, Second Young Master listened most to Second Young Mistress.

The food box Little Su carried contained hot meat buns, sized to be eaten in two bites. The dough was soft and the meat filling was firm, without too much oil that might stain clothes, but they were very fragrant.

Ye Jiao ate two in a row, then picked up another and stuffed it into Little Su's hands. Savoring the taste, she couldn't help asking: "What kind of meat is this?"

Little Su took it and replied with a smile: "It's donkey meat. Our courtyard got a piece, and Young Master instructed to use part of it to make filling for Second Young Mistress, and save the rest to make hot pot tonight."

Hearing this, Ye Jiao nodded repeatedly and contentedly stuffed another one in her mouth.

When they arrived at the Qi family medicine shop, it wasn't yet the auspicious opening time, but there was already quite a bit of excitement in the courtyard.

Many invited merchant family members had arrived early. Dong Shi was naturally good at socializing and was like a fish in water among these ladies.

Seeing Ye Jiao's carriage arrive, Dong Shi hurried to greet her.

As soon as Ye Jiao got out of the carriage, Dong Shi took her hand. Ye Jiao looked up at her and couldn't help smiling: "Spring Orchid, you're dressed especially beautifully today."

Everyone liked to hear compliments, especially since Ye Jiao never lied. Dong Shi immediately smiled brightly: "Today is the shop's reopening, so wearing bright colors is also auspicious."

Qi Yun had said the same thing to Ye Jiao this morning, which is why Little Ginseng had chosen a light brown outfit that matched well with Dong's crabapple red.

When the two entered the back residence, they saw quite a few people already sitting in the main hall.

Ye Jiao didn't recognize most of them, but she didn't need to greet anyone specifically, because all along the way, people proactively spoke to her.

Usually, exchanges between women in the back residence were mostly determined by their husbands' relationships.

Dong Shi could invite them mostly not because of her own reputation, but because this medicine shop was the Qi family medicine shop.

Perhaps a few months ago, the Qi family didn't have such influence, but now the Qi family had suddenly become the most sought-after merchants in town. Not to mention that the Qi family wine shop almost dominated half the town's business, just this medicine shop being able to swallow up the shops on both sides showed extraordinary means.

Moreover, the Sun family money house had sent congratulatory gifts early, with very obvious intentions to curry favor. Others naturally followed suit.

Before Ye Jiao arrived, they already knew that Second Young Master Qi's wife was coming.

Although there were still questions about whether Second Young Master Qi was really dying, when it came to business, the Qi family was currently in demand, so others naturally wanted to be more friendly. Even if they couldn't form an alliance, they should at least make good connections. Having more friends was better than having more enemies.

So before Ye Jiao even appeared, she had already been praised, and as soon as she arrived, she faced smiling faces.

This person praised Ye Jiao's hairpin as beautiful, that person complimented Ye Jiao's makeup as pretty.

The words were all very pleasant, and anyone with the heart to praise could find different ways to do it.

Dong Shi actively helped Ye Jiao, so she wouldn't be lost trying to recognize people. But Ye Jiao was quite comfortable. In her heart, she had no burden of needing to help her husband by trying to socialize with people. Qi Yun had always told her not to worry about anything and just have fun. Ye Jiao was treating this as entertainment.

But she naturally had a beautiful face like a lotus flower, and her clothing and accessories were carefully chosen by Mother Liu, naturally carrying an air of nobility that was immediately noticeable.

These merchant wives were also experienced in reading people. Seeing Ye Jiao like this actually made them think more highly of her, and their smiles became more genuine.

When Ye Jiao sat down, she discovered someone familiar beside her.

"Is that you?" Ye Jiao looked at the gentle woman with some surprise. She clearly remembered this person was the wife of that young master from the gambling stall.

Meng smiled at her and said: "Madam Qi, we meet again."

Dong Shi sat on Ye Jiao's other side and said softly: "She's the proprietress of the newly opened Meng family medicine shop in the city."

Being able to open a medicine shop in the city usually meant being either wealthy or noble. Perhaps to Prince Duan Chu Chengyun it was just a matter of putting up money for a storefront, but for ordinary people, being able to put up that much money was not normal.

This time for the medicine shop opening, Meng had come to offer congratulations, and Dong Shi naturally welcomed her with a smile.

Ye Jiao smiled at her: "Just call me Jiao Niang."

Meng nodded gently: "Jiao Niang, my small name is Huilou. Call me Hui Niang."

It was unusual for people to exchange small names on first meeting, but Meng wanted to make friends, and Ye Jiao didn't mind such things. They naturally switched to using each other's intimate names.

Dong Shi was the host today and had many things to keep her busy, so she couldn't always stay by Ye Jiao's side.

Little Ginseng didn't want to interfere with her business, so after chatting with Dong Shi for a few sentences, she smiled and let her go take care of other people.

Ye Jiao focused on picking up pastries from the table and slowly putting them in her mouth.

Meng watched her eat with such concentration and smiled.

She had grown up in the capital since childhood. When she was an unmarried lady, her father was the current Prime Minister. After marrying, her husband was Prince Duan. She had basically gone from one deep residence to another large courtyard and had seen countless back residence intrigues.

Meng was intelligent with high skills and clear judgment, which is how she secured her position beside Prince Duan. Similarly, Meng had eyes that could read people. Although she hadn't talked much with Ye Jiao, she could tell this girl was quite innocent.

Previously, her ability to let her prince get that fan showed she was purely good-natured.

The more scheming a person was, the more they liked being with straightforward people. Meng was just like this.

She poured tea for Ye Jiao and handed it over, making the maid following her eyes go wide.

Their princess consort, besides pouring tea for the prince, when had she ever done this for anyone else?

But Meng didn't think anything of it. She looked at Ye Jiao with a smile: "Jiao Niang, I think your hairpin is very beautiful."

Usually, exchanges between back residence women often used jewelry and accessories as conversation starters.

But Little Ginseng had no knowledge about such things: "It was given by my husband. His taste is never wrong."

Meng heard her praising Qi Yun and couldn't help looking outside.

The reason she came today, besides wanting to go out for a stroll, was also because Meng knew that the Jiao Niang before her was Ye Ping Rong's sister.

Ye Ping Rong was very talented. Meng had heard her father Prime Minister Meng personally say that this Ye Ping Rong was brave in battle, and the general leading the troops praised him highly. His path to promotion was basically paved.

The reason he was assigned to serve beside Prince Duan as a commander was actually because the emperor wanted to cultivate his third son Chu Chengyun and help him find someone who could be a trusted aide.

Chu Chengyun currently had no intention of competing for the throne and naturally wouldn't take these things to heart. But as his princess consort, Meng had to consider more.

If Chu Chengyun was wholeheartedly determined to be a carefree prince, Meng was willing to accompany him around the world.

But if one day Chu Chengyun wanted to compete for the throne, Meng also had to consider carefully for him.

Since Ye Ping Rong was a chosen trusted aide, Meng naturally had to give him some benefits to secure his loyalty.

Previously giving him the Ye family address, and now bringing him to see his little sister, were both benefits Meng granted in Chu Chengyun's name.

But according to the information Meng had received, Ye Jiao was carried into the Qi family as a fortune-bringing bride, so her days must be difficult.

But now listening, how could this not sound like difficult days?

Ye Jiao finished eating one pastry and didn't reach for more. After all, today was mainly for conversation, and pastries were secondary. Although they tasted fine, they were a bit hard after cooling.

Having gotten used to eating hot pastries at the Qi family, suddenly having to eat these somewhat hard ones was indeed uncomfortable.

Little Ginseng, whose palate had been spoiled, wiped her hands with a handkerchief, picked up her teacup for a sip, then naturally lifted the teapot to refill her own cup and also poured new tea for Meng.

At this time, someone smiled at Ye Jiao: "Madam Qi has a proper appearance, and this lazy makeup is also beautiful. Those two distant mountain eyebrows are drawn extremely well."

Discussing makeup was often an easy way to get closer. Meng also thought Ye Jiao's eyebrows were well-drawn. She was also a woman, and loving beauty was natural, so she curiously asked: "Jiao Niang, what did you use to draw this? Blue pigment or spiral shell pigment?"

Ye Jiao blinked and said with a smile: "I don't know what was used. My husband usually draws my eyebrows for me. I'll ask him when I go back."

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

It wasn't that they were jealous of Ye Jiao. Other people's marital harmony had nothing to do with them. It was just that they all had a competitive mindset and were inwardly grumbling that their own husbands weren't as considerate, thinking they should have a good talk with them when they got home.

Meng didn't speak, just felt that rumors couldn't be completely trusted.

The prince has never drawn eyebrows for me...

At this time in the front courtyard, the various wealthy merchants didn't yet know their wives were mentally grumbling about them. They all smiled and greeted each other, looking harmonious.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves came from outside.

Medicine shop manager Fang Li walked to the door and immediately saw a tall, large man leading a horse.

Fang Li didn't recognize him and thought about maintaining harmony for profit, so he stepped forward and bowed: "Sir, are you looking for someone?"

Ye Ping Rong bowed back: "I'm a guard from the Meng family medicine shop in the city, looking for my master."