A few days later, Zhuang Qiao'e bought a shop for Qi Surong. It was located in the north of the market, close to the inner city, and the location was very good.
This shop mainly customizes clothes for wealthy families. It only accepts two or three orders a month. It usually sells some small accessories such as silk flowers, hairpins, earrings, bracelets, and incense fans. Among them, silk flowers, damask flowers and other headdresses are the lowest cost. They are all made by Qi Surong using leftover materials collected from silk and satin shops. Although they are not expensive, they are better than ingenuity.
The Queen's birthday banquet was less than 20 days away. In addition to helping Zhuang Qiao'e sew the dress, Qi Surong also had to prepare enough goods for the store. She was extremely busy every day. Fortunately, Qi's mother and maid helped, otherwise she would not have been able to complete it alone.
"Madam, Miss, the plaque for the new shop has been delivered." the housekeeper reported.
Qi's mother and Qi Surong came to the living room together and saw a red plaque inlaid with gold erected on a chair, which read: Yunrong Xiuzhuang.
Qi Surong looked at it carefully and asked, "Mom, what do you think?"
"Well, it's pretty good." Qi's mother nodded and smiled.
So Qi Surong paid the remaining balance, covered the plaque with red cloth, and asked the housekeeper to take it to the new shop.
"Rong'er, when do you plan to open the business?" Qi's mother asked.
"The day before the Queen's birthday party."
In the next half month, Qi Surong did not go out again, nor did she think about Luo Yanyi again. But she didn't want to, but they were always thinking about her.
Luo Yanyi was very angry when she went home that day. She felt that she had lost face in front of Qi Surong, and she was so scared that she backed away with just a few words. It was really intolerable. She thought about it and decided to discuss it with other friends. No matter what, she just didn't want Qi Surong to have an easy time. She wanted to take back all the shame she had once ridiculed.
"Actually, it's not difficult to deal with her." Liu Qian'er, the daughter of the Taiwei, said lazily, "The Qi family has no power or wealth now. We can make her family restless by using small means."
"Oh? What's your plan? Can you tell me?" Luo Yanyi asked impatiently.
"You should all have heard that General Qi Shuo has been in a state of despair since he lost his official position and lost his title. He neither found anyone to help rehabilitate the Qi family nor took care of the family business. He had nothing to do all day long. Apart from drinking, listening to music and playing chess, he Besides, her biggest hobby is beauty, which is also famous in the capital."
"so what?"
Liu Qian'er smiled, stood up, and said softly: "We can do this..."
Several people gathered together to calculate, occasionally letting out small laughs.
On the other side, Qi Surong's dress for Zhuang Qiao'e has been completed. She decided to go to the Song Mansion in person. If there was anything inappropriate, she could modify it nearby.
Someone sent a greeting note, and Zhuang Qiao'e invited her to come to his house for a chat in the afternoon.
When Zhuang Qiao'e saw the new clothes, she was really overjoyed. Both the style and the novelty were far beyond her expectations.
"Aunt Qiao, do you think there is anything else that needs to be modified?" Qi Surong said.
"No, very good." Zhuang Qiao'e said with satisfaction, "Thank you for your hard work."
"This is what it should be." Qi Surong said with a smile, "Whether Yunrong Xiuzhuang can open up a market in the capital depends on Aunt Qiao."
Zhuang Qiao'e frowned and said hesitantly: "There are countless dignitaries attending the birthday banquet this time. I'm just a fifth-grade lady, so no one may notice them then."
"Don't worry about this. Those noble people pay the most attention to fashionable clothing. As soon as you show up, you will definitely attract their attention."
Zhuang Qiao'e pursed her lips and smiled, and then said: "Today is the fifth day of May. There are only six days until the birthday party. How is your store going?"
"We're almost ready, thanks to Aunt Qiao's great help." Qi Surong poured a cup of tea for her and raised the glass, "Surong will substitute tea for wine, and I'd like to toast Aunt Qiao."
Zhuang Qiao'e didn't hesitate and had a drink with her.
Qi Surong put down the tea cup and was about to say something when his face suddenly changed slightly and he asked aloud: "Today is the fifth day of May?"
"Are you too busy? Today is of course the fifth day of May."
"The fifth day of May?" Qi Surong muttered to himself, something seemed to flash through his mind, and he felt very uneasy.
"What's wrong?" Zhuang Qiao'e asked.
Qi Surong stood up suddenly and said apologetically: "Aunt Qiao, I suddenly remembered that I still have something urgent to do, so I'm going to leave first."
With that said, he rushed off without even having time to pack his things.
"Hey, why are you in such a hurry? Money for clothes..."
"Let's talk about it next time."
Qi Surong left the Song Mansion in a hurry and ran straight towards Jinghu Lake. Ping'er behind him almost didn't catch up.
The reason why she was so anxious was because she remembered something that happened in her previous life.
It was on the fifth day of May that year that my father was accused of molesting the daughter of the Zhang family, and Zhang Yuanwai took him to court. Although the matter was finally settled under the mediation of some people, my father's reputation plummeted and he once again became the laughing stock of the capital. My father is such a face-saving person, and this incident has become a stain on his life.
Although my father was very beautiful, he never molested women from good families. Even most of his concubines were romantic women. What's more, the daughter of the Zhang family is a young lady from a wealthy family, and her father will never be rude to others. After asking later, I found out that my father was swimming in the lake with some new friends. Someone told him that sitting in the pavilion in front of him was the recently famous Mei Ji, who had outstanding appearance and talents. My father was naturally moved and wanted to pay him a visit.
One person made a bet with him. As long as he could get the favor of this beautiful lady and take any jewelry from her, he would treat her to drinking good wine for a month. My father agreed immediately and entered the pavilion without doubting that he was there. At first, we just played chess to make friends, but we had a lot of fun talking. But this woman is not a prostitute, but a daughter of a wealthy family. However, her father regarded her as a romantic woman. Her behavior was casual and her tone was ambiguous. In the end, he even wanted to take away the jewelry from her body. As you can imagine, she was regarded as a prodigal son. The servants of the rich daughter of the Zhang family swarmed over and wanted to teach their father a lesson, but they were beaten back by his father, who was highly skilled in martial arts, and finally went to court.
In court, my father told the truth, but the person he bet with had long since disappeared, and there was no witness, so he could only bear the blame.
Qi Surong almost forgot about this incident, because there were so many troubles that happened to the Qi family in the previous life, and there was almost no peace for a moment. The reason why my father often goes out is to relieve his depression, but he doesn't want to fall into someone else's trap.
Qi Surong was not entirely sure that this incident would happen as she remembered, but just in case, she still had to confirm it in person before resting her mind.
When he ran near Jinghu Lake, Qi Surong happened to see his father walking into the pavilion and talking to the daughter of the Zhang family.
You still have time! She took a deep breath, straightened her appearance, and slowly walked over there.
"... I am quite good at chess. I wonder if I would be lucky enough to play against the lady?" Qi's father asked.
Before the daughter of the Zhang family could reply, she heard a voice coming from outside the pavilion: "It would be inappropriate for a young lady to play chess with a man. How about a little girl playing chess with the young lady?"
"Rong'er?" Qi's father couldn't help but froze when he saw his daughter.
Qi Surong gave her father an imperceptible wink, and then continued to say to the daughter of the Zhang family: "This is the father of the little girl. He loves playing chess so much that he has forgotten the difference between men and women. Please don't blame me."
The daughter of the Zhang family is also a chess lover, otherwise she would not go to this pleasant lakeside to study chess skills. After hearing what Qi Surong said, she really didn't blame her. She stood up and smiled and said, "I wonder what you two call me?"
"We are playing chess today to meet friends, and we meet by chance. Why should we care about our names?" Qi Surong waved her hand, "Miss, please."
The daughter of the Zhang family returned the gift with a smile and sat down.
Qi's father was not a stupid person. Seeing his daughter's attitude towards this young lady, he had some doubts and speculations in his heart. He turned back and looked into the distance. The man he had bet with had disappeared.
He had no choice but to temporarily suppress his doubts, sit quietly and watch the chess game.
Qi Surong's chess skills were outstanding among the ladies, and the daughter of the Zhang family was also good at it. The two of them went back and forth and were equally matched.
"The girl is very good at chess, and the little girl is willing to be defeated." The daughter of the Zhang family said with a smile.
"Young lady, it's just a fluke that you are praised too much." Qi Surong responded humbly, without any of the arrogance that he had in the past.
Qi's father seemed to not recognize her. For the first time, he discovered that his daughter could be so elegant, intelligent, and unparalleled once she lost all her energy.
The daughter of the Zhang family obviously also has a good impression of her, and said sincerely: "I wonder if there will be a chance to play chess with the girl next time?"
Qi Surong thought for a while and said with a smile: "How about we come here to get together on the fifteenth day of every month?"
Although this daughter of the Zhang family was not from an official family, she had a rich family fortune and a gentle and calm personality, which made her very worthy of friendship. Of course, the premise is that she doesn't care about the Qi family's downfall.
Qi Surong and his daughter said goodbye to the daughter of the Zhang family and returned home. Qi's father immediately asked about the matter.
Qi Surong replied: "I undoubtedly heard that someone was planning to frame dad, so I immediately rushed over to check the situation. The young lady I met today was not a romantic woman, but a daughter of a wealthy family. If dad is rude to others, the consequences will be disastrous."
Father Qi's eyes were full of anger, he punched the table and shouted: "Who has such ulterior motives? Do you have to feel that killing is absolutely impossible?"
"Dad, don't be angry." Qi Surong poured him a cup of tea and consoled him, "My daughter believes that the Qi family's downfall is only temporary. As long as our family is well, everything can start over again."
Father Qi gritted his teeth and said, "I really don't know how long I have to endure this?"
"Dad, don't be anxious, and don't trust others anymore. Stay in a corner for the time being and wait for the opportunity."
Qi Surong returned to her room a little tired, and after hastily freshening up, she prepared to go to sleep.
"Miss, are you okay? Do you want my servant to rub your shoulders?" Ping'er asked while making the bed.
"No need, you should go to rest early." Qi Surong threw herself on the bed and shouted under the quilt, "I really want to eat crystal lotus seed soup!" But she can't afford it now!
“…”
In the afternoon of the next day, Qi Surong came back from outside and found a blue and white cup in the room. When she opened it, it was the crystal lotus seed soup that she had been craving for a long time...