“Does anyone know the name of the woman who was acting all lovey-dovey with General Xiao? Where is she from?” Shang Changge asked.
She didn’t care about anything else. The only thing she cared about was whether her identity had been exposed.
Qingyao was equally concerned, so she had made sure to investigate thoroughly. She shook her head.
“All we know is that the girl called herself Jiaojiao. However, someone saw her and her maid coming out of Drunken Flower House, so people outside are now saying that she’s from a brothel.”
Shang Changge felt she had underestimated the public’s talent for gossip.
She and Xiao Ji had only stood together on the street for a short while, yet someone had remembered her appearance and even traced her back to Drunken Flower House.
As her slender, fair fingers stirred the water of the hot spring pool, she let out a sigh. There was a hint of annoyance in it, but even more amusement and interest.
“Getting involved with a courtesan… wouldn’t that make the general’s reputation even worse?”
Qingyao didn’t respond. Instead, she had a servant bring over a dry towel and began drying her mistress’s hair.
The young maid was still full of resentment.
She and her mistress had been happily shopping together when the general suddenly appeared and inserted himself into the situation.
Thankfully, her mistress had disguised herself with that sweet, coquettish persona and hadn’t been recognized.
If her identity had been exposed, things would have become troublesome.
After bathing, Shang Changge went to the study to review account books.
Over the past twenty-two years, whether the Original Shang Changge’s favored status had been genuine or merely for show, the rewards she received had been very real.
Putting everything else aside, she alone owned numerous shops of every variety.
Only Shang Changge and Qingyao were in the study.
Shang Changge was examining the accounts of a jewelry store called Huaguang Pavilion, while Qingyao organized and sorted the piles beside her.
Because the original owner of this body had never cared about such matters, there were an extraordinary number of account books waiting to be reviewed after Shang Changge ordered an audit.
The ledgers were stacked so high they resembled a small mountain.
Since there was no one else around, Qingyao asked the question she hadn’t been able to bring up at the bathhouse.
“When does Your Highness plan to visit Manniang again?”
The Lovesickness Poison afflicting Manniang was actually the same poison that Jing Xiuming had secretly mixed into Shang Changge’s medicine.
The only differences were the person who administered it and the method used.
Before leaving, Jing Xiuming had left behind the antidote formula, along with thirty pills he personally prepared.
One pill was to be taken whenever a headache attack occurred, with a maximum of two pills per day.
Once the headaches stopped entirely, the poison would be cured.
They had only given Manniang three pills.
Officially, it was called a trial treatment.
If Manniang didn’t believe them, she could try the medicine herself.
Once she experienced its effectiveness, she would naturally trust them.
Then they could return to Drunken Flower House and bring home the beautiful elder sister who, in the original novel, had belonged to the male protagonist’s camp, making her their own ally instead.
“No hurry,” Shang Changge replied.
The ones who needed the antidote weren’t them, so why should they be anxious?
It was the beautiful elder sister who should be anxious.
When the time came, Shang Changge wouldn’t need to say or do anything.
The beautiful woman would pack her little bundle and obediently follow her home.
That’s right.
She intended to have Manniang leave Drunken Flower House and work for her.
Pretty older sisters were wonderful.
Pretty older sisters who could use pipa music to trap people in nightmares were even more wonderful.
Talent was talent.
Why reject it when it was offered for free?
Only fools would do that.
And Shang Changge never considered herself a fool.
At the same time, in the residence of the Vice Minister of Revenue.
Several noble young ladies were gathered in Yun Xiangrong’s courtyard.
As they sipped tea, they chatted about the rumors surrounding Xiao Ji that had spread throughout the capital that day.
As the conversation continued, one young lady glanced quickly at Yun Xiangrong before covering her mouth with a handkerchief.
In a teasing tone, she boldly voiced a guess.
“Girls, do you think that Jiaojiao could actually be our princess?”
Everyone froze for a moment.
Soon, however, another young lady frowned and disagreed.
“That can’t be right. I’ve heard the rumors. This Jiaojiao girl acts coquettishly and speaks in a sweet, affected manner.”
“And she even shamelessly pressed herself against the Great General in public.”
“None of that resembles our princess’s usual behavior.”
After thinking about it, everyone agreed.
The princess had always considered herself superior to others and looked down on everyone around her.
Whenever she associated with them, she carried herself with all the pride and authority of the Eldest Princess.
When she looked at people, her eyes were filled with disdain and contempt.
As for speaking in a soft, coquettish voice?
That was even more impossible.
The topic failed to gain traction.
The young lady who had raised the suggestion could only laugh awkwardly and agree, no longer pressing the issue.
None of them were fools.
If she continued insisting on it, her intention to smear the princess’s reputation would become far too obvious.
Even if the emperor’s favor toward the princess wasn’t entirely sincere, as long as the Crown Prince remained the Crown Prince, and as long as the Empress’s family still held power, the princess was not someone they could casually gossip about or provoke.
At that moment, Yun Xiangrong spoke up at just the right time, breaking the subtle tension in the air.
“I heard that Huaguang Pavilion recently released several new jade bracelets and earrings. If everyone is free this afternoon, why not stay here for lunch? Afterward, we can go take a look together.”
The noble ladies were all intelligent and socially adept.
Wanting to give their hostess face, they immediately picked up the new topic and continued chatting about Huaguang Pavilion’s latest jewelry designs.