After bidding farewell to a few of the young ladies, Shen Yunshu prepared to board her family’s carriage and return home.
“Little Sister Yunshu.”
Just as she was about to step inside, she heard her name. Turning back, she saw the Crown Prince walking toward her.
“Little Sister Yunshu,” he said gently. “Le’an told me that you design hairpins for young ladies yourself, even drawing the patterns personally. I wonder—do you also know how to make other small items?”
Shen Yunshu looked at him in surprise. “Crown Prince Brother is interested in things meant for young ladies?”
The Crown Prince smiled faintly. “I am, actually. A few days ago, Father Emperor entrusted me with managing several of the imperial shops. The intention is for me to learn, to better understand the lives of ordinary people—so that I won’t grow into a prince detached from the mortal world. But I think that merely sitting as a figurehead and staring at account books every day doesn’t truly count as understanding the people. If I’m to gain experience, I might as well accomplish something real.”
“Does Crown Prince Brother mean… engaging in commerce?”
“Yes—commerce!” the Crown Prince said brightly. “And not just dabbling. I intend to become a great merchant, wealthy enough to dominate an entire region.”
He blinked playfully at Shen Yunshu, then continued with a grin, “I once reviewed the palace procurement records. Aside from the Imperial Kitchen, the next largest expense comes from the consorts’ clothing and jewelry. Different outfits require different sachets, silk scarves, round fans, and hairpins—none of it can be careless. So I believe that doing business centered on young ladies should be relatively profitable.”
Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, commerce traditionally ranked lowest. In many dynasties, merchants sat firmly at the bottom of society’s hierarchy.
But in the Yan Dynasty, merchants enjoyed comparatively high status—higher than in most eras. This was because the founding emperor, though he had won the realm on horseback, could not have waged wars without silver. Weapons, horses, grain—none of it came cheaply.
His success had depended heavily on the support of an immensely wealthy merchant brother behind him.
That said, while common folk did not scorn merchants, some self-proclaimed lofty scholars—those who believed pursuing gold and silver was vulgar—still harbored prejudice.
Shen Yunshu had not expected that the Crown Prince, who looked every bit the model Confucian gentleman, would be so open-minded about commerce. He read widely but was not enslaved by books. From what she could see, Emperor Ming had done a fine job cultivating him toward becoming a benevolent ruler.
“What Crown Prince Brother says is true,” Shen Yunshu replied. “In this world, the most profitable trades fall into just a few categories. First, food—after all, people live by eating. Second, young ladies—most love beauty, and clothing and adornment are indispensable. Third, children—because they grow so quickly, and what they need changes by the day, the month, and the season.”
The Crown Prince looked at her with clear admiration, though something more complicated flickered in his eyes.
“Little Sister Yunshu is indeed clever. I knew I was right to seek your counsel. In that case, I hope you’ll be willing to help me.”
Shen Yunshu nodded. “If Crown Prince Brother has need, I will of course do my utmost. That said, my knowledge is shallow—I can only speak in theory and have no real experience in trade. I may not be of much help. But if you need me to draw designs for hairpins or other small items for young ladies, that I can certainly do.
“I’ll return home later and organize some of the sketches I drew recently out of boredom, then send them to the Eastern Palace for Crown Prince Brother to see if they’re of any use.”
“There’s no need to send someone,” the Crown Prince said. “I’d trouble you instead to bring them personally tomorrow at midday to Zhenxiu Pavilion. There are a few other matters I’d like to discuss with you.”
Shen Yunshu paused, momentarily startled. After a brief hesitation, she put on a polite, official smile and bowed.
“In that case, Yunshu will arrive on time tomorrow.”
The Crown Prince nodded, watching as Shen Yunshu boarded the carriage of the Prince of Zhenbei’s residence and departed through the palace gates.
Mo Sheng, standing beside him, looked puzzled. “Your Highness, why did you invite County Princess Yunshu? Didn’t His Majesty once say that the Shen family would not form marriage ties with the imperial house? The other princes’ plans are doomed to fail. And from what I can tell, though County Princess Yunshu is young, she’s quite sharp—not someone easily misled.”
Mo Sheng had initially assumed that, seeing how the princes had shown interest in Yunshu at the banquet, his own lord was considering courting her for the Shen family’s future support.
But the more he thought about it, the less it seemed likely.
He knew the Crown Prince’s temperament well. He valued loyalty and righteousness. If another prince truly proved more capable and His Majesty chose to replace the heir, the Crown Prince would accept it without resentment.
“The agreement that Shen daughters do not marry into the imperial family is an unspoken understanding between the Shen clan and the royal house,” the Crown Prince said calmly, as if reading Mo Sheng’s thoughts. “I have no such intentions. Their hopes are nothing more than water carried in a bamboo basket.”
His expression grew complicated, his tone light yet tinged with self-mockery.
“It’s not that I don’t trust her. It’s just that lately, when I wake from dreams at midnight, I sometimes feel unsettled. I want to talk to someone—to ease the doubts in my heart.”
“…This subordinate hasn’t heard that County Princess Yunshu can interpret dreams,” Mo Sheng said cautiously.
The Crown Prince shook his head and sighed. “Whether she can or not—we won’t know unless we try.”
Mo Sheng’s brows knitted tightly.
Ever since His Highness recovered from that severe chill, he’d seemed somewhat… off. Could this be an aftereffect of divine dream-intervention?
He’d said it before—using immortal methods on a mortal body was bound to leave consequences! Fever was one thing, but muddled thinking too? He’d have to keep a closer eye on His Highness from now on.
“The sun has already set. If we linger, the air will turn cold,” Mo Sheng said softly. “You previously sent Si Wen to investigate the Second Prince—there should be results by now. Perhaps we should return to the Eastern Palace first.”
The Crown Prince withdrew his gaze from where the Zhenbei Prince’s carriage had long vanished.
“…Very well. We’ll speak of it tomorrow.”
…
Inside the carriage, Linlang looked at Shen Yunshu with concern. “County Princess, is His Highness truly going into business? If this fails, the ministers backing the other princes will surely seize on it and make a fuss. Do we really want to get involved? I’m afraid it might implicate you.”
Shen Yunshu gazed through the gap in the curtain at the palace road outside. The breeze brushed past, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
“The Shen family has always been loyal to the throne. Now that my brothers serve as the Crown Prince’s companions in study, the Prince of Zhenbei’s residence is already firmly placed on the Crown Prince’s side. Even if I didn’t help him today, I wouldn’t earn a single kind word from the others.
“Besides, it’s nothing more than the sour talk of pedantic, impoverished men. If the Crown Prince doesn’t care, why should I?”
Which official household didn’t secretly run some business to support their family?
Those who claimed to be incorruptible might have nothing under their own names—but their wives’ lands and shops were hardly few. They called it dowry, but it was nothing more than deceiving themselves.
People rush through life for nothing more than a few taels of broken silver. Just because they’ve read a few lines from the sages, do they really think they’ve become immortals who survive on dew alone?