Jing Zhe returned in less than an hour, but he was alone. When he saw Qin Yining, he first bowed and then whispered to her, "Princess Consort, this subordinate has found Head Shopkeeper Xia. However, Head Shopkeeper Xia seems to be ill and is unwilling to see any guests. This subordinate passed on the message and came back to report. "
Qin Yining's beautiful brows furrowed.
This matter was not right.
When Qin Yining went to the capital of Da Zhou that day, she brought along her most trusted Master Zhong because she wanted to develop the situation in the north. In the south, all of her farmlands, shops, as well as the caravan and caogang that transported grain and goods were already established. As long as the situation was stable, there was no need to develop. Moreover, the south was their base of operations after all, and Duchess Ding was looking after it. Therefore, Master Zhong recommended his most trusted assistant shopkeeper to Qin Yining to take over the matters in the south.
Head Shopkeeper Xia was over forty years old and was at the age when men were the strongest and most stable. Qin Yining had always trusted him.
Who would have thought that something like this would happen when she came today?
Head Shopkeeper Xia was not someone who did not know etiquette. It did not make sense that the shopkeeper under her would pretend not to know when she, as the owner, returned to the old capital in such a grandiose manner. Not only did he not take the initiative to greet her, but he also did not come when she sent someone to invite him.
If Head Shopkeeper Xia was truly ill and could not get out of bed, then it would be fine. However, if he was not, then this matter would not be easy to deal with.
"When you arrived, did anything strange happen in Head Shopkeeper Xia's home?"
Jing Zhe thought carefully.
He shook his head and said, "Head Shopkeeper Xia's servants did not have any abnormalities on their faces. There also did not seem to be anything wrong in the house. Presumably, nothing major had happened."
"I understand. Thank you for making this trip. You can go and rest." Qin Yining nodded and politely thanked Jing Zhe.
Jing Zhe was overwhelmed by the favor and repeatedly waved his hand, saying, "Working for Princess Consort is this subordinate's duty. Princess Consort, there is no need to be so courteous with this subordinate. This subordinate will take his leave."
Jing Zhe bowed and slowly retreated. Qin Yining couldn't help but chuckle when he saw how respectful he was.
However, after laughing, Qin Yining fell into deep thought again.
Shopkeeper Xia's situation was indeed suspicious.
This made Qin Yining think of Pang Xiao. Deng Minchang, who was supposed to visit Pang Xiao, did not appear. Instead, Pang Xiao had to rush to the barracks to check on the situation. Moreover, he did not know what the situation was like.
It seemed that after the Yuchi Yan and Gu Shixiong returned to the south, the people who originally belonged to Dayan no longer recognized themselves as Da Zhou people.
This was understandable. After all, how long has it been since the fall of the Dayan Dynasty? In everyone's memories, the Yan dynasty was the country that they recognized. Even if the emperor was muddle-headed and tyrannical, it could not erase the status of the Yan dynasty in the hearts of the people. Only people like her, who were in a position where they had no choice, would force themselves to not make decisions based on emotions and rationally analyze the situation.
Qin Yining rubbed between his brows and leaned against the soft pillow to rest with his eyes closed.
Perhaps it was because she had stayed by Pang Xiao's side while she was pregnant and had been protected too well. When she had to think and plan again, she felt uncomfortable.
In fact, if she didn't do anything and just stayed at home to take care of the children, it would be fine. Pang Xiao was a capable and responsible person. He would definitely handle everything properly and wouldn't let her suffer. It would be fine as long as she didn't cause trouble and didn't drag Pang Xiao down.
But she did not want to be a burden. She wanted to be a person who could stand side by side with Pang Xiao, not a person who hid behind Pang Xiao. If she really became like that, she would become the same as other women. What reason would Pang Xiao have to treat her wholeheartedly?
Qin Yining never felt that the other party needed to be focused on him when it came to matters of the heart. Relationships needed to be managed, and marriage needed to be managed even more. It did not mean that one could do whatever they wanted without restraint when they had love.
On the contrary, it was precisely because of love that one needed to carefully protect oneself, perfect oneself, and work hard.
Besides, in order to give Brother Zhao and Brother Han an extra layer of protection, Qin Yining could not let himself relax.
Thinking of this, Qin Yining suddenly sat up straight, her eyes bursting with sharpness. Her entire spirit was different from before.
No, she could not let herself get used to relying on Pang Xiao. She had to be independent. It was not that she did not believe in Pang Xiao, but she had to be like her grandmother. Even if she was one person, she could support the entire family. That way, she would have more confidence to survive.
"Wang Fei, Master Zhong is here," Xian Yun called in a low voice from outside the door.
"Quickly invite him in." Qin Yining stood and walked to the main room used for receiving guests. Just as he sat down, the dark green bamboo curtain was lifted. A gust of cold wind blew in. Master Zhong ducked into the room.
"Wang Fei."
Master Zhong bowed.
"No need to be so courteous, please sit down." Qin Yining smiled as he ordered the servants to prepare tea. He then asked, "How are the matters of the fields being handled?"
Ji Yun carried a black tray with two beams into the room. She placed two white porcelain bowls on the square table next to Qin Yining and Master Zhong's hands. Then she bowed and retreated.
Head shopkeeper Zhong nodded his head in greeting. When there was no one else in the room, he said in a low voice: "Wang fei, to tell you the truth, I didn't have a good time visiting the other estates, so I didn't look carefully at the other ten or so estates and our shops. I hurriedly came back to report to you. I was afraid of startling the snake. "
Qin Yining nodded in understanding and said, "It seems that there is a problem here. My side also did not go smoothly. The news that Wang Ye and I came should not be a secret. But Head Shopkeeper Xia did not come. I sent people to find him, but Head Shopkeeper Xia said he was sick and did not want to see us. I already had my suspicions. I did not think that it would be the same on your side. "
Master Zhong shook his head with some self-blame. "This matter was my negligence. At the time, I felt that the south was stable enough to be our support. After handing it to Head Shopkeeper Xia, I did not manage it. I only wanted to go to Jing with Wang Fei to settle down, expand, and buy a family business. I neglected the matters of the south."
"This is not your fault."
Qin Yining comforted, "I know you did your best. Also, we are all in the capital of Da Zhou. The distance from here is really high and far. That's right, I told you to inform Head Shopkeeper Xia to report the situation in the city to me on the road. Did you inform him? "
Master Zhong nodded and said, "I ordered people to send the letter as fast as possible."
Qin Yining smiled thoughtfully. His fingers curled his long hair as he said, "This is interesting. After Master Zhong left the group, I did not receive a single letter, nor did anyone send a message. Clearly, Head Shopkeeper Xia has ignored my orders. "
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
