Would she be willing to marry Pei Zhao?
Chang Lin was dumbfounded.
Why would Third Master ask him this question? Could it be that he had suffered setbacks with Miss Xi and wanted to make up for it through him?
But if he were a woman, he would also care deeply about marital harmony. Third Master was indeed of noble status and handsome in appearance, but if he were lacking in that department, it still wouldn’t be advisable to marry him.
Chang Lin pondered this seriously, completely unaware that Pei Zhao’s face had darkened like charcoal.
“Deduct half a month’s wages.”
“Third Master…”
Chang Lin was on the verge of tears. He hadn’t said or done anything—why should Third Master deduct his wages? He still needed to save up to marry a wife!
Pei Zhao remained cold and unmoved, directly closing the door and shooing him out.
For the first time, the ever-proud and self-assured Third Master of the Pei family felt a lack of confidence.
Were all those women who had wanted to marry him in the past just pretending? Otherwise, why would both Xi Ning and Chang Lin look down on him?
Pei Zhao frowned, encountering the first real dilemma of his life.
……
Due to Princess Changle’s commotion here, Xi’s Shop’s business had also been affected.
Especially those who had sided with Princess Changle and slandered Xi Ning were now afraid of incurring Pei Zhao’s wrath and dared not return.
Nanny Su looked at the empty shop, her face etched with worry, as if a few more wrinkles had appeared.
“Miss, what should we do? If no one comes, our business won’t survive.”
Apart from a few regular customers, hardly anyone dared to step inside now.
Compared to Nanny Su’s anxiety, Xi Ning remained calm.
She flipped through the account book. Over the past two months, Xi’s Shop had earned thirty taels of silver. After deducting costs, the net profit was around twenty taels.
No wonder it was said that the food industry was highly profitable. With culinary recipes far surpassing those of this era, she had no worries about making money.
As long as she could continuously offer novel and delicious foods, the lost customers would eventually return.
Moreover, Xi Ning now had more important matters to attend to.
The vegetables she had planted had ripened.
Nanny Su and Ren Dong had already tasted spinach and lettuce, but they had never eaten tomatoes or chili peppers before.
No, it wasn’t just that they hadn’t eaten them—they had never even seen them before.
In the vegetable patch she had cultivated in the courtyard, the branches of the tomato and chili pepper plants were laden with green and red fruits.
Xi Ning’s seeds had been specially improved. Without the use of fertilizers or pesticides, each fruit grew plump and vibrant.
Ren Dong watched as her mistress picked a few, washed them in well water, and handed them over.
“Try them.”
Xi Ning took a bite first. The tomato was fleshy and juicy, with a sweet and tangy flavor that accidentally dripped onto her hand.
She squinted her eyes, savoring the taste as if it were a heavenly delicacy.
Seeing her like this, Ren Dong couldn’t resist her craving and quickly took one, putting it into her mouth.
“Mmm! So delicious, even better than the fruits Third Master sent over last time.”
She took a big bite and was instantly captivated by the tomato’s texture.
The best fruits Ren Dong had ever tasted were the loquats and cherries Pei Zhao had sent over with Chang Lin last time, but these tomatoes were even more delicious than those.
However, as soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly remembered something and hesitated, unsure whether to swallow the tomato in her mouth or not.
“Miss, I didn’t… I didn’t mean to bring up Third Master on purpose…”
Last time, when Pei Zhao had stood up for Xi Ning, she and Nanny Su had thought he had fallen for their mistress and would take her into his household.
But who would have thought the two of them would end up at odds?Xi Ning had told them that Pei Zhao would not be coming again. Though the two didn’t know what had happened, they knew their young lady had been upset for many days.
Just as the tomatoes and chili peppers had finally ripened and her mood had lightened a bit, she had to go and mention Pei Zhao again.
Ren Dong wore a pained expression, wishing she could slap herself.
Seeing her trembling with fear, Xi Ning found it amusing. It seemed her sulking over the past few days had frightened them.
“It’s fine. He’s not some monster—what’s wrong with mentioning him a couple of times?”
Xi Ning bit fiercely into a tomato, clearly treating it as if it were Pei Zhao.
With no hope of obtaining her deed of sale, she would likely remain a servant or a mistress for the rest of her life. She had cursed Pei Zhao for days, and now she finally felt a little better.
Still, life had to go on. Even without her deed of sale, she needed to save more money for herself.
Xi Ning instructed Ren Dong and Nanny Su to harvest all the ripe tomatoes and chili peppers, as she planned to introduce new dishes.
Aside from those in the courtyard, the vegetables and crops planted on the estate had also ripened.
When she bought the estate, it was already March, too late to plant wheat, and there wasn’t much extra land available anyway.
Though wheat couldn’t be planted, she could grow corn and vegetables.
Corn was a crop that could be harvested twice a year—once in spring and again after the wheat harvest. Moreover, corn was high-yielding, serving both as a staple food and as fodder for livestock with its stalks, making it a lifesaver during famine years.
She left plenty of seeds with Old Man Liu, instructing him to plant more on the estate.
In addition to corn, she also had Old Man Liu plant sweet potatoes and potatoes—crops not yet known in the Zhou Dynasty. Old Man Liu didn’t know where his young lady had obtained the seeds, but he wisely refrained from asking.
These nobles all had their secrets. Miss Xi had kindly bought them all, and their duty was to remain loyal to her.
By the end of June, the estate had delivered ripe corn and chili peppers, and Xi Ning had finalized her new dishes.
…
Eastern Palace.
Crown Prince Zhou Yi summoned his trusted aides to the main hall. Pei Zhao and Shen Ji stood together, with Shen Ji leaning close to Pei Zhao, hiding his face behind his wide sleeve as he whispered.
“Third Brother, why has the Crown Prince called us here? Has Prince Xian caused trouble again?”
He had spent these days indulging in food, drink, and entertainment, paying no attention to court affairs. He was, after all, a playboy. If not for his father siding with the Crown Prince and the Shen family lacking anyone else to assist the heir apparent, he wouldn’t have been needed at all.
Shen Ji had little patience for such matters and usually relied on Pei Zhao for explanations.
Pei Zhao had some idea, but with many people in the hall, even their whispers could be overheard.
Pei Zhao’s expression darkened as he pushed Shen Ji aside to stand properly.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“…Fine.”
Shen Ji sighed helplessly, straightened his robes, and returned to his position.
The Crown Prince soon emerged.
Slightly older than Prince Xian, he had a scholarly yet regal appearance.
Seeing his trusted aides assembled, he smiled warmly and said, “My esteemed ministers, please be seated. I’ve called you here today to discuss the floods in the south.”
“Floods in the south?”
As soon as the Crown Prince spoke, a murmur spread through the hall.
Some were well-informed, while others, like Shen Ji, were hearing about it for the first time.
With the natural and man-made disasters of recent years, the people of Zhou were already struggling. Now, floods in the south—the ministers dared not imagine the consequences.If the flood disaster is severe and the people are displaced, the world will likely fall into chaos.
“Esteemed ministers, do you have any solutions?”
The Crown Prince, wholeheartedly devoted to the people, though competing with Prince Xian for the throne, is clearly a benevolent ruler with the people in his heart.