"So that's how it is. The young master is so lively and cute." Mrs. Hu praised him and then suggested, "Since the young master is dirty, why don't you come to my house to rest? We can also ask the palace doctor to diagnose the young master in case he gets sick from playing too much."
Xu Shichu was about to refuse, but after hearing her next sentence, he hesitated. Xiao Zhaozhao was still a child after all. She played too crazy today and was sweating. She didn't change her clothes in time, so she might really get sick.
A child's illness is no small matter, and it would be inconvenient for him to stay in the inn, so she thought about it and agreed to Mrs. Hu's enthusiastic invitation.
As they walked down the mountain, Mrs. Wen finally couldn't help but ask:
"Madam Luo, why don't you open a branch of Zui Xiang Ge in Jiangnan? We have a lot of rich people here, and Zui Xiang Ge will definitely do good business here!"
"Yes, yes. Usually, if we want the incense from Zuixiang Pavilion, we either have to buy it from the merchants at a high price, or send people to buy it from the capital city thousands of miles away. It's not convenient. Madam Luo, why don't you open a branch here?" The other ladies requested.
Xu Shichu was a little surprised. It seemed that these people recognized his identity. No wonder the ladies who had been so arrogant and slightly disdainful of him before were now so enthusiastic towards him.
"We don't have such plans for the moment. After all, the incense in Zuixiang Pavilion is all fine quality, and the raw materials are carefully selected. The production has not been able to be increased. The demand in Beijing alone cannot meet the supply, so we have to open branches in other places when we run out of stock." Xu Shichu said with a smile.
…
Because she had been recognized as the prime minister's wife, Xu Shichu was warmly welcomed in Wen'an Mansion. The wives of officials and wealthy businessmen sent her invitations one after another, or found ways to visit her.
Xu Shichu was a little annoyed by the disturbance and left Wen'an Mansion.
Fuhaotang's charity is still going on. Although there are many trivial matters, the people she invites to help are all relatively capable and worldly-wise. Therefore, the benefits can always be delivered to women and children, and are not snatched away by men.
Xu Shichu inspected the Fuhao Halls scattered across the country and put forward several targeted suggestions, allowing rural women to do needlework to earn money to subsidize their lives and improve their status at home. It is a truth that the economic base determines the superstructure. If they can earn money for themselves, then they can at least survive.
While she and Du Zhao were enjoying themselves in their happy life, Luo Changqing missed her more and more in the capital.
Not to mention that she had been away for so long, the champagne fruit she planted became famous because of the Marquis of Zhen'an, and it made people from all walks of life in the capital city concerned and curious. But she was smart and simply left the capital and hid away.
But Luo Changqing couldn't hide, so he became the one who was harassed. Not only did his colleagues and subordinates come to him to inquire about the details of the fruit, even the empress dowager and concubines in the palace were curious about it. The emperor couldn't stand the women's gossip, so he specially asked Luo Changqing to go to the palace to explain.
Luo Changqing couldn't hide, so he had to open Xu Shichu's courtyard door and picked a basket of champagne fruit and sent it into the palace.
As for the others? Luo Changqing ignored them. After all, Xu Shichu didn't have many shampoo fruits. He couldn't just give them away when someone asked for them, right? He had already violated Xu Shichu's rights by picking them privately and sending them to the palace. If he picked them all, wouldn't Xu Shichu make trouble with him when he came back
He even had to write a special letter to Xu Shichu to explain and apologize for this. Even when his daughter came to his house to ask for some, he refused.
After Xu Shichu learned about this from the letter, he did not blame Luo Changqing. After all, she had left the capital, and she could not eat any fruit no matter how many there were. She let the servants who stayed in the capital to take care of the flowers, plants and trees deal with the ripe fruits themselves.
However, she was still grateful that Luo Changqing could explain this to her specifically, after all, she felt respected.
Some men who are too patriarchal regard their wives as their own property. Naturally, they think their wives' things belong to them as well and they can use them however they want. After using them privately, not only will they not explain or apologize to their wives, but they will even think that their wives are honored by their use of things.
Therefore, Luo Changqing was already a good man by doing this, and Xu Shichu's impression of him improved a lot - of course, this was probably also due to a little bit of guilt he felt after throwing the mess to him to deal with.
Compared to Luo Changqing, Xu Shichu seemed a little heartless as she had been away for such a long time without sending any letter back.
This time she received another letter from Luo Changqing. As she expected, he was still urging her to return to Beijing, saying that the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching and he wanted her to come back to preside over various affairs in the mansion.
Xu Shichu had been having fun outside for a few months. She thought that summer would come after the Dragon Boat Festival, and the weather would be too hot. It would be too painful to run around outside. It would be more suitable for her to rest and cool down at home. So she wrote back to Luo Changqing saying that she would return to Beijing before the Dragon Boat Festival.
After receiving the reply, Luo Changqing somehow felt so moved that he cried with joy. He was full of anticipation and felt full of energy to go to the palace to deal with all kinds of complicated and annoying things. Even his steps became more vigorous and his spirit was different.
"Prime Minister Luo is so happy today, did something good happen to him?" Marquis Zhen'an couldn't help but ask with some jealousy when he saw Luo Changqing, who was elegant and handsome, as young as a man in his twenties, completely different from his previous gloomy look.
Luo Changqing smiled slightly and said, "It's not a happy event, it's just that my wife is going back to Beijing."
Speaking of Madam Luo, the Marquis of Zhen'an immediately recalled the anecdote of himself "sweating" at the beginning of the year that was spread all over the capital. The veins on his forehead couldn't help but twitch a few times, and he looked at Luo Changqing even more displeased:
"Really? I saw you walk briskly after learning that Madam Luo was coming back. You must have missed Madam Luo very much, right? Well, Madam Luo is the same. She has been gone for such a long time, leaving you alone in the capital. How lonely it must be. Unlike my wife, who stays in the mansion all day and clings to me so much. Not to mention leaving me for a few months, she can't stand not seeing me for a day..."
Luo Changqing glanced at him and said lightly, "No wonder, the scratches on your neck by your nails are all new."
Upon hearing this, the Marquis of Zhen'an immediately covered his neck with his hands, looked around, and said in a way that made things more obvious: "Well, don't think too much, this new wound of mine was caused by a cat scratch."
Seeing that he was trying to cover up his mistake, Luo Changqing chuckled and said, "You are a very strange cat. You don't have claws, but human fingers. I was wrong just now. The wound on your neck is not a scratch from a nail, but a fingerprint."
The Marquis of Zhen'an glared at him, knowing that he had been fooled by Luo Changqing. He said angrily, "You are such a cunning and treacherous black-hearted person. No wonder your wife doesn't want you anymore. You haven't come back for several months. You deserve to be alone without a wife to love you!"