Chapter 113: Chapter 113: It’s You
"Hmph! That old geezer, despite my visit bearing generous gifts yesterday and using kind words to persuade him, he didn’t even say a word and picked up a stool to throw me out!"
Early in the morning, Manager Zhang vented his frustration to Cai Youliang.
Cai Youliang maintained a sullen expression, silent, lost in his thoughts.
Seeing no response despite speaking for a long time, Manager Zhang couldn’t help but ask, "Why aren’t you speaking?"
Cai Youliang blinked twice, speaking slowly, "I understand his temper, he won’t be easily bribed."
Otherwise, why would he have stolen the book and left back then? Wasn’t it because the other party was stubborn?
"What should we do then? The boss has already spoken, if we fail, we’ll lose our job," Manager Zhang said worriedly.
He was very reluctant to lose this job; not only was he a shopkeeper, but the pay was high, and at his age, where else could he find such an easy, well-paying job?
Cai Youliang, however, didn’t have such worries. As long as he could still write stories, the boss wouldn’t abandon him.
Still, his heart couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
"Right now, there’s a special buzz about ’Journey to the West.’ Everyone who’s read it only has good things to say. If we can persuade Manager Wu by next month and get ’Journey to the West’ sold in our store, the sales will undoubtedly be phenomenal," Manager Zhang said eagerly.
These days, he secretly observed the business at Ten Thousand Books Bookstore and found that out of ten people who entered, nine left with a book. Ten Thousand Books Bookstore must be making a fortune.
"Bribery won’t work; I’ll think of another way," Cai Youliang said.
Manager Zhang’s heart instantly felt at ease; this young man was full of ideas, perhaps he really could persuade Manager Wu.
Meanwhile, in Pei Mansion, a few young ladies were chatting and talking somehow about roasting meat at night.
Third Miss frowned slightly, "Eating roasted meat in the hot summer, be careful of getting heat rash."
"What’s the problem? Just drink some iced tea to cool down. I hardly get to come here, so if I don’t do something fun, wouldn’t it be a wasted trip?" Fang Yuan said.
Cheng Ru laughed and said, "I don’t mind either way, but where would be appropriate for roasting meat?"
"The hill in Second Brother’s courtyard is the best place for roasting meat; the breeze is cool, and we can admire the moon. However, he’s a neat freak and doesn’t like too many people on his turf," Fang Yuan said hesitantly.
Cheng Ru covered her mouth lightly with a handkerchief and giggled, "That’s not difficult. If you can persuade Fulan to agree, the matter is half done."
Upon hearing this, nobody refuted, indicating they all thought the same in their hearts.
Fang Yuan was not convinced, "Can’t I ask Second Brother myself? Why do I need to talk to her?"
Third Miss detected Fang Yuan’s dislike for Fulan in her words and couldn’t help but reprimand, "What did Fulan do to upset you for you to reject her like this?"
Fang Yuan fell silent.
Third Miss, however, understood Fang Yuan’s sentiments; it was merely because in the past, Second Brother treated her the best, caring for her like a real sister, surpassing even the other sisters in the mansion.
Now, someone has appeared who took away Second Brother’s attention, making her come second, naturally leaving her unhappy.
But in truth, the girls of the Pei Family were Second Brother’s real sisters, and they never rejected her despite Second Brother’s favoritism towards her.
Fang Yuan evidently understood this, hence she remained silent too, as otherwise, she’d appear too petty.
Being the trueborn daughter of the second branch, Third Miss was nothing short of composed and well-mannered, and genuinely treated Fang Yuan as a sister, thus continued, "Don’t fret over trivial matters; now we’re all grown up, we should know some boundaries. After all, Second Brother is a man, whom he favors is his business, not ours to interfere."
"Moreover, Fulan handles things impeccably, and you’ll find she has no faults with more interaction. She just had bad luck, ending up as a maid. Otherwise, she could surpass you and me if born into a prominent family."
Fang Yuan was surprised, "Third Sister, you hold such a high opinion of her?"
Third Miss said, "Naturally, because she’s good, I speak highly of her. Have you ever seen me randomly praise someone? Besides, what kind of person is Second Brother? Would he easily favor someone? Surely, that person has something exceptional about them."
Fang Yuan was truly impressed by Third Sister’s composure, "I concede to you, your reasoning is impeccable. Though, I fear my perception of her may take time to change; only time reveals a person’s heart."
Miss Cheng gently fanned herself with a palm leaf fan, smiling, "Yuan, too, is a person of temperament, so naturally if you’re a person of temperament, the task of persuading the Princely Heir falls on you. If you can’t, you might try my suggested method."
Fang Yuan stood up, full of spirit, "I can definitely do it!"
However, the plan to roast meat never came to fruition.
It wasn’t that Heir Pei disagreed; they simply never had a chance to bring it up.
The Emperor issued a decree, sending Heir Pei out of the city for a mission, departure time uncertain, and he was to set out immediately.
As Qu Fulan packed Heir Pei’s things, he adjusted his cuffs and instructed her, "After I leave, you oversee the old madam. Ignore others. As for business matters, if anyone causes trouble, deploy the four guards directly."
Qu Fulan didn’t expect him to still remember to arrange matters for her at such a time, feeling grateful.
At times, she felt that although her fate was unfavorable, her luck was still pretty good.
At least in both lives, she encountered conscientious bosses.
She said at once.
"You can rest assured, Princely Heir, with the old madam and Second Madam managing the house, there won’t be any chaos. As for business matters, I have things figured out." Qu Fulan handed the bundle to Heir Pei, "Princely Heir, take care of yourself."
Though unsure what the mission was, if the Emperor was in such a hurry to send someone, it couldn’t be simple, possibly even dangerous.
Pei Ji’an hadn’t expected her to be so perceptive as to notice even this.
Meanwhile, others were still in a dazed state due to the suddenness of the situation, continually asking what the mission was, if there was danger, when he’d return, and so on.
Though motivated out of concern, they asked inappropriate questions, losing composure from worry.
Qu Fulan stood behind them, looking composed.
The old madam was similar; despite worrying, she always appeared calm to reassure him for his journey.
Prince Xiao was also leaving.
Just as Prince Xiao left, someone approached Ji Nishang to inform her of the matter she wished to know.
"You’re saying Cousin has been seeking someone while Aunt opposes it. Why?"
The person softly explained something, and Ji Nishang slightly furrowed her elegant brows.
A fiancée?
The woman in the portrait in Cousin’s study?
That day, Qu Fulan rode a carriage toward "Flower Garden Ode," when suddenly a child dashed out midway. Fortunately, Shi Yi pulled on the reins in time, averting a disaster.
Meanwhile, the carriage behind couldn’t halt and crashed into Qu Fulan’s carriage, akin to a rear-end collision in ancient times, causing quite a jolt as Qu Fulan was still inside.
Immediately, she stepped off to settle the matter.
The owner of the carriage behind had already come to apologize personally.
"It was my carriage driver who lost focus, it’s really..."
Unexpectedly, it was a young lady.
Douya saw this from the side and suddenly muttered, "Why is it her?"
Qu Fulan was about to ask who it was.
Ji Nishang’s maid Chun Chan also spoke, "It’s you?"
Yet Ji Nishang ignored her maid’s words, her eyes fixed on Qu Fulan, too shocked to continue her sentence.