Jiang Yanxi was stunned by the slap, and the palace servant who was supporting Jiang Yanxi also looked terrified.
Before she could stand firm, the eldest princess slapped her again. This time, Jiang Yanxi was really slapped to the ground, and a strand of her high bun fell down.
The eldest princess' eyes were like cold blades. She was a true darling of heaven and had stood at the pinnacle of power all her life. When that disdainful gaze came over, Jiang Yanxi felt that it was even more oppressive than Feng Shiyan's.
She sat on the ground, covering her swollen face, without saying a word. She lowered her eyelids to hide all the emotions in her eyes. She was like a dying little flower blooming in late autumn, fragile yet strong.
"The Queen Mother just passed away, and you dare to show off in front of the Queen? You really forgot that even if a pheasant is decorated with phoenix feathers, it is still a pheasant!"
"Your Majesty's first child is gone, even the lives of the entire Jiang family cannot make up for it!"
The eldest princess thought of the child in the queen's belly that she had not been able to save after all, and her face became increasingly gloomy. Looking at the woman who was sitting on the ground with a look of misery and innocence written all over her face, she ordered her attendants: "Take her to Kunning Palace to make amends to the queen!"
The maid beside her was about to take action.
"stop-"
A deep shout came from a distance, and Feng Shiyan, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, strode over.
Seeing Jiang Yanxi sitting on the ground with five bright red finger marks on half of her face, Feng Shiyan said nothing, but first said to the eldest princess: "Aunt."
The eldest princess sneered: "The emperor is not going to Kunning Palace at this time. Is he here to punish the culprit who caused the queen to have a miscarriage?"
Feng Shiyan said: "The Gao family has committed the great crime of treason and collusion. The people of the world cannot tolerate this. If Gao's daughter becomes the queen, the Daxuan Kingdom will be unstable."
The corners of the eldest princess' beautiful lips curled up: "Your Majesty, are you going to depose the queen?"
Feng Shiyan was talking about the situation in the court, but after all, they were cousins who grew up together and had his children. Now that the Queen Mother had just passed away and Queen Gao had a miscarriage and was in a coma, he was already thinking about deposing her. Even the Grand Princess, who was used to the intrigues in the deep palace, felt a little sad for Queen Gao at this moment.
Feng Shiyan heard the mockery in the words of the Grand Princess, and after a moment of silence, he said, "The entire Gao family was executed, but I spared her life because of our relationship as husband and wife."
"The Gao family's crime is unforgivable. I will not plead for the Queen. Today I only ask you, this bitch provoked the Queen with her vicious words and caused her to have a miscarriage. How should Your Majesty punish her?" The eldest princess pointed at Jiang Yanxi, but her sharp eyes were fixed on Feng Shiyan.
Jiang Yanxi remained silent, as if she was leaving it to fate.
The eldest princess narrowed her beautiful eyes. She had been through so many people and things in her life. Just looking at Jiang Yanxi's attitude, she knew that she clearly believed that Feng Shiyan would not touch her and she was fearless.
As expected, Feng Shiyan glanced at Jiang Yanxi and said, "Concubine Xi committed an offense against her superiors, and indeed she should be punished, but the Queen had a miscarriage because she fell down while shoving with a guard. I have ordered the guard to be beaten to death. Concubine Xi's mistake in words will be punished by confinement for three months."
As soon as these words came out, the eldest princess laughed out of anger, "Emperor, I am making this clear today. If you still insist on not changing your ways, you will be ruined by this woman sooner or later!"
After saying this, he just turned around and left, obviously very angry.
After the Grand Princess left, Feng Shiyan and Jiang Yanxi, one standing and the other half sitting, were both silent.
After a while, Feng Shiyan leaned over to hug Jiang Yanxi, but Jiang Yanxi waved his hand away and yelled with red eyes: "Don't touch me!"
The palace maids all shuddered, fearing that Jiang Yanxi's actions would anger Feng Shiyan.
Feng Shiyan's handsome face indeed turned gloomy, but when he saw Jiang Yanxi's painful expression as she was helped to stand up by the palace servants and did not dare to touch the ground with one foot, his expression instantly eased. She sprained her ankle when she fell.
He forcefully embraced Jiang Yanxi, ignoring her punches and kicks, and carried her back to the Cangjiao Palace.
"Feng Shiyan, you are a lunatic!"
"Let me go! Let me go!"
"Disgusting! I'm disgusting! I'm so disgusted by you touching me!"
Jiang Yanxi was more hysterical than ever before. The palace servants along the way kept their heads down as much as possible and dared not even breathe.
Feng Shiyan turned a deaf ear to it until he entered the Cangjiao Palace and grabbed Jiang Yanxi's neck and pinned her down on the couch. Then he sneered with bloodshot eyes, "Is this the first day you knew I was a lunatic?"
"Disgusting? You lived in the same room with Lu Linyuan in Xizhou. Didn't you feel disgusted when you did those things?" He punched the low table at the edge of the collapse heavily, and the low table turned into a pile of broken wood in an instant.
He no longer concealed the jealousy and resentment in his heart, and he was like a mad beast whose mate had been coveted by someone.
Jiang Yanxi said coldly: "Feng Shiyan, don't think that everyone is as dirty as you! He is different from you! He never forces me to do anything!"
Feng Shiyan held her tightly with one hand, untied the tie of her clothes with the other, and covered her softness with his big palm. His movements were so ambiguous, but his words were chilling. "Jiang Yanxi, sometimes I really want to cut you open from here to see if you have a heart or not!"
"Lu Linyuan won't force you, because he's a coward, he doesn't dare! If he had a sense of responsibility, would he have engaged your sister? If he could protect you, would he have let you be framed and almost lose your innocence?"
Jiang Yanxi closed her eyes in pain, tears falling from the corners of her eyes into her temples.
She knew everything Feng Shiyan said, but she just kept numbing herself from thinking about it.
Seeing Jiang Yanxi so sad, the fire burning in Feng Shiyan's heart turned into an unknown dull pain. He loosened the hand that was locking her throat, lay aside, looked at the golden gauze tent with branch patterns and smiled bitterly: "Jiang Yanxi, no matter how much you hate me, you should spend your life with me like this. It's better to torture each other than to break your heart, right?"
Jiang Yanxi closed her eyes and cried, refusing to say a word.
Feng Shiyan said to himself: "I would rather believe that you are jealous of what you said to the Queen..."
"Feng Shiyan." Jiang Yanxi interrupted him: "I just want revenge. If the child is gone, the queen will be in pain, and you won't be better off either."
At this moment, she suddenly felt that it would be good to anger Feng Shiyan and die in his hands.
This shameful background, this miserable life, this blood feud that has fallen on her shoulders since she was born... She doesn't want to face any of it.
She hated the Feng family. If it weren't for their evil ambitions to rebel, would she have grown up as a concubine's daughter, being bullied
She should have been born into a wealthy family. As long as Da Qi was still around, she would never have had to endure all the suffering she endured!
The Grand Princess was domineering in front of her, but wasn’t the Grand Princess’s dignity snatched away from her
Why did the Grand Princess humiliate her
Every quarter of an hour she stayed in the palace, the hatred in her heart grew deeper.
The most ironic thing in the world is that the person who treats her well unconditionally and is willing to fight the whole world for her is the enemy she has to kill.
Jiang Yanxi really felt tired. From her youthful dream of joining the Lu family and becoming the mistress of the Lu family, to her entanglement with Feng Shiyan after entering the palace, she had been struggling but had never been able to break free. Now she was exhausted.
Feng Shiyan didn't say anything for a long time after hearing her words. Just when Jiang Yanxi thought he might not have heard her, Feng Shiyan put his hand on her belly and said in a tone she couldn't understand: "Jiang Yanxi, then you have to compensate me with a child."
When the clouds cleared and the rain stopped, Feng Shiyan still held Jiang Yanxi tightly and did not let go, as if he wanted to rub her into his bones and blood through this hug.
His body was sticky with sweat, but his eyes were silent: "Jiang Yanxi, don't think about leaving me, you are the only one I have, and I will never let you go."
He said this in a very light tone, but Jiang Yanxi couldn't help but shiver.
Although her appearance was not outstanding, her snowy and smooth skin was really attractive. Feng Shiyan caressed her for a while, turned his head and kissed her face, which was swollen from being beaten by the Grand Princess. He clamped her chin with one hand and kissed her fiercely again...
He held her waist with one hand and moved violently.
It seemed that only by getting more pleasure from her could he soothe the burning pain in his heart.
The chief eunuch stood at the entrance of the inner hall, listening to the voices coming from inside, anxious and anxious. After hesitating for a moment, he still knocked on the door and said, "Your Majesty, the people from the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory are already waiting in the Imperial Study."
After a pause, he added, "The Grand Princess is here too."
A quarter of an hour later, Feng Shiyan walked out of the inner hall. The corner of his eye seemed to be scratched by a sharp object like a nail, which made his already handsome face look a little more evil. There seemed to be faint scratches under his collar.
The little palace maid who came into the hall to deliver hot water only dared to take a quick glance, then quickly lowered her head, her face blushing deeply.
"Serve Concubine Xi well." Feng Shiyan only left this sentence and hurried to the imperial study.
Jiang Yanxi was lying on the bed wrapped in quilt, staring blankly at the ceiling, one hand on her abdomen, not knowing what she was thinking.
"Your Majesty, it's time to take a bath." The palace maid came over and called her softly.
Jiang Yanxi then casually put on a robe and stood up. When she entered the bathtub, she ordered her attendants: "Everyone, please leave. I want to be alone for a while."
All the maids withdrew except for one with the most ordinary appearance. She took out a small medicine bottle and handed it to her, lowering her voice and saying, "Princess, this is contraceptive medicine."
After saying just this one sentence, the little palace maid also withdrew.
Jiang Yanxi looked at the medicine bottle in her hand, with an expression that seemed to be neither crying nor laughing on her face.
Anyone who can call her princess must be from the previous dynasty.
***
When Empress Gao woke up, she felt a dull pain in her lower abdomen. She touched her belly and found that her bulging abdomen had flattened. Her already pale face lost all color. "Where's my child?"
The palace maid who took care of her personally didn't dare to speak, but just sobbed.
Empress Gao opened her mouth, but was unable to utter a sound due to extreme grief. After a moment, she burst into heart-wrenching tears, her voice so shrill that it could be heard throughout the Kunning Palace.
When the palace servants passing by heard the mournful cries coming from Kunning Palace, they would stop and look back. After a moment, they would go about their own business, either with compassion or numbness.
In this gorgeous yet cold palace, the queen of a country who was once high and mighty ended up like this, let alone the palace maids and eunuchs who were as insignificant as ants
When the imperial edict to depose the empress was issued, the palace maids and eunuchs in Kunning Palace had already found their own ways out.
It was common to flatter the powerful and bully the weak in this palace full of intrigues. After the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict finished reading it, he said arrogantly with his eyelids drooping: "Your Majesty, you should move to the cold palace as soon as possible. The Kunning Palace will be locked tomorrow."
Empress Gao had just lost her child and was already weak. Then the Queen Mother passed away. She felt as if all her energy had been drained out of her. She could only spit in hatred: "What a coward!"
The eunuch delivering the imperial edict sneered, "The Gao family has fallen, the Queen Mother has passed away, and His Majesty has already deposed you. Do you still think you are the once glorious and arrogant Queen?"
The maid who was left to take care of the queen knelt down in front of the eunuch and cried, "Eunuch, please be kind and tell His Majesty that the queen is still in the period of confinement. Please let her finish the period of confinement before going to the cold palace for the sake of the queen mother..."
The eunuch kicked the maid away and patted the hem of his robe as if he had touched something dirty: "The little bitch wants to harm our family! Who dares to plead for the Gao family now?"
The eunuch sneered and left with a few young eunuchs.
The eldest palace maid cried and fell in front of the bed: "My queen, what should I do..."
"Now, in order to protect himself, he pushed the Gao family out to pay for the crime and sat on the throne that the Gao family earned for him. He wants to kill me together with that bitch, so I will drag him to death with me!" The Queen Gao's hands pinched the corner of the quilt with too much force, and her knuckles turned white: "Go to the other palace tonight to find the eunuch Feng who poured the night fragrance..."
The Queen's face turned stern. When the Queen had previously plotted against Concubine Xi and Fan Shengnian, she had cooperated with the King of Liaonan. That eunuch Feng was the last secret stake planted by the King of Liaonan in the imperial palace.
Because Eunuch Feng held the queen's handle, the queen did not dare to touch him. The eunuch hid himself very well, and Feng Shiyan did not find out. In the past, the queen was terrified, fearing that Eunuch Feng would threaten her to do something, but she did not expect that now, she would be the first to beg for help.
****
Western state.
The reception room of Ruyi Building was filled with all the prominent merchants from Xizhou.
Jiang Yanyi sat in the first seat, wearing a gold-threaded and white-patterned Epiphyllum brocade skirt, with hollow gold-threaded and colored glaze earrings hanging from her ears. Her face was only lightly made up, and her already bright facial features seemed like dusty gems that had been wiped clean of dirt, she was incredibly beautiful.
Several young gentlemen who came to the meeting on behalf of their families were stunned. When they were drinking tea, the tea spilled on their clothes and they jumped up because of the burn.
There were bursts of sneers in the room, and the young men who had made a fool of themselves also looked embarrassed.
But when Jiang Yanyi raised his eyes and looked around, the booing laughter instantly died down. The merchants who laughed the loudest were even embarrassed and felt very uncomfortable when they were caught by Jiang Yanyi's gaze.
After the room was completely quiet, Jiang Yanyi said, "The new pastry chef hired by Ruyi Tower came from the capital. He used to work in Prince Kang's mansion. He is good at making some palace snacks. This Phoenix Tail Pastry is his specialty. You may want to try it."
There was a low table placed between every two armchairs, on which was placed an exquisite white porcelain dessert plate with several brown cocktail-shaped pastries on it.
The bottom of the pastry is a semi-circular ball, with layers of crispy dough stacked on top. On the top are more than two inches high of intertwined golden crispy threads, which are translucent, like clouds and fog, and look delicate and beautiful.
It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and seemed to have the fresh taste of shrimp meat, which attracted the praise of wealthy businessmen.
After tasting the cakes, several senior officials looked at each other with shrewd expressions. After exchanging glances, one of them said, "Shopkeeper Chu called us all here today. Could it be that you only wanted us to taste the new cakes in your building?"
Jiang Yanyi's aura was no weaker than that of the old man. Although she was smiling, she still made people feel a little distant. She said, "I really don't plan to discuss business with you today."
As soon as these words came out, people couldn't help but whisper to each other.
Jiang Yanyi gathered them together, and most people thought that Jiang Yanyi agreed to join in opening another Ruyi Tower in Sishui City. Now that Jiang Yanyi said this, the group of businessmen were really confused.
Shopkeeper Xu asked directly: "What is the purpose of calling everyone here today?"
Jiang Yanyi asked, "Have you read the new notice posted by the government?"
Several perceptive old men quickly kept silent, leaving only the young men who had taken over the family business not long ago to ask, "See, isn't the government going to open a private school?"
Jiang Yanyi said: "Every penny you earn doing business in Xizhou is the hard-earned money of the people of Xizhou. Xizhou is poor and most of the people are illiterate. Now the prince sympathizes with the people and is willing to contribute part of the funds to build a school. We merchants should also do our best for the people of Xizhou."
She has said this much. If anyone here still doesn't understand, then there is no need to pursue a career in business.
A few old-timers were the first to object: "So you mean to make us pay again?"
"I donated half of my family fortune to raise funds for the war, and sold off several of my properties. Now, more than a dozen people in my family are starving. Shopkeeper Chu, even if the King of Liaonan holds a knife to our necks, I still can't come up with the money!"
A wealthy businessman with a big belly was about to leave the table: "I have something to do at home. Sorry, Shopkeeper Chu, I'll go first!"
After the first one, a bunch of people soon stood up and said they had something to do.
Huo Jianjia stopped the wealthy businessman who left his seat first at the door. She slammed the table with a stern face, and the solid wood broke into pieces.
This move successfully stunned the merchants present.
The fat rich businessman turned his head and looked at Jiang Yanyi, who was sitting at the first seat with a calm expression. His expression changed: "Manager Chu, what do you mean by this?"
Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, "Mr. Niu is already shouting that he wants to leave before all the dishes are served. That's your fault."
The wealthy businessmen looked at each other and finally had to give in and returned to their respective seats, but their faces looked very ugly.
Jiang Yanyi then ordered: "Serve the food."
Soon, the waiter came in with exquisite dishes. Faced with these delicious delicacies that usually had to be ordered by queuing up, the merchants had no appetite at all when they thought about how much they would have to spend to eat this meal, and almost no one started eating.
An old official said, "Boss Chu, it's not that we don't want to invest. You should know our financial situation. We don't have a Ruyi Building that can make a fortune every day. We have to think twice before spending a penny in business, let alone donating money. Aren't you forcing us into a desperate situation?"
"Yes, Shopkeeper Chu!"
There was an immediate chorus of agreement from the audience.
Jiang Yanyi did not answer them directly, nor did he reason with them.
No matter how much justice or reason you have, it is useless if you want a group of shrewd businessmen to pay you.
She tilted her head to look at Shopkeeper Xu: "What do you think, Shopkeeper Xu?"
Shopkeeper Xu, who had been silent the whole time, said, "Sishui City is more prosperous than Xizhou, and the craze for antique soup has spread there. If we open another Ruyi Tower in Sishui City, it will be a sure win. Xu was born in Xizhou, so naturally he is willing to do something for the people of Xizhou, but he is really short of money."
"If Manager Chu agrees to open another Ruyi Building in Sishui City, we can more or less earn some begging money, which is enough for the whole family to eat and wear. It is reasonable for us to fund the construction of a private school."
He laid so much groundwork in these words just to tell the merchants present how much money they could make if they built a Ruyi Tower in Sishui City. At the same time, he wanted to use this to put pressure on Jiang Yanyi to agree.
When the merchants heard what he said, they knew that the government had expressed its position and that they would not be able to push it forward for long. They might as well take this opportunity to decide on the opening of Ruyi Tower in Sishui City, and they all agreed with Manager Xu.
Jiang Yanyi had anticipated such a situation before coming here, and everything was under control. She said calmly: "If you want to open Ruyi Tower in Sishui City, you can."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's face showed joy.
"But I have three requests." Jiang Yanyi added calmly.
Shopkeeper Xu hurriedly said, "Shopkeeper Chu, tell me what the three requirements are."
Jiang Yanyi said: "First, the recipe for the antique soup is mine. You can get the soup base you want from me, but I won't provide the recipe."
The reason why Ruyilou has grown to such a large scale today is definitely due to the excellent taste of the antique soup.
The merchants did not expect to get the prescription from Jiang Yanyi, so they all nodded.
Jiang Yanyi then continued, "Second, the Ruyi Building opened in Sishui City is divided into ten shares. I won't invest, but I want to take three shares."
"This... Shopkeeper Chu, you're asking for too much." Shopkeeper Xu was the first to refute.
Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, "The Ruyi Building you opened over there is exactly the same as my current Ruyi Building, from the decoration to the business model. You also rely on the reputation of my current Ruyi Building to attract customers. The model and reputation of this building are my investment. If Manager Xu feels that 30% of the shares is not appropriate, then let's take 40%."
"Three strands, just three strands." Mr. Niu, who was so fat that his eyes could not be seen, said hurriedly.
Shopkeeper Xu had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.
The people who have the most say here are Shopkeeper Xu and Mr. Niu. Now that they have both expressed their opinions, naturally no one else has any objections.
"As for the last one, if you only use the name of Ruyilou but sell dishes that are short of weight or inferior in quality, I have the right to take back the plaque of Ruyilou."
Jiang Yanyi took in everyone's expressions and said calmly, "You all have come this far in business, so you naturally understand that a long-term reputation is the key to a successful business. If the Ruyi Building in Sishui City is successful and well-known, we can open countless Ruyi Buildings in the future, and that's when we can make a lot of money."
After hearing these words, the resentment on the faces of the wealthy businessmen disappeared completely, and they nodded in response: "Shopkeeper Chu is right, we have to look at things in the long term."
The business of Ruyi Tower was settled, and the capital for building the school was also successfully mobilized. Jiang Yanyi asked Bing Shao to take out the shareholding agreement she had written in advance. Who would be the shareholders, how much each person contributed, and how much share they held were all clearly written in black and white. After signing and sealing the agreement, they would go to the government to file a case. Then, preparations for Ruyi Tower in Sishui City could begin in full swing.
***
After returning home from Ruyi Tower, Jiang Yanyi lazily lay down on the recliner.
Aunt Guo massaged Jiang Yanyi's shoulders and asked, "The boss is in a good mood today. I guess the talks with the people from the Chamber of Commerce went smoothly."
Huo Jianjia watched the whole scene from the sidelines. When she heard Aunt Guo's question, she was so excited: "Aunt, you don't know how powerful the boss is in front of those cunning merchants!"
Jiang Yanyi stuffed two pieces of water chestnut cake into his mouth to fill his stomach, gulped down a cup of tea, picked up the contract on the table and was about to leave again: "I'm going to the palace next door."
Aunt Guo called her over and said, "I made some crucian carp soup. Would you like to take a bowl?"
Jiang Yanyi refused bluntly: "The palace has everything, and there is no need for this bowl of soup."
She was going there to discuss serious matters, not to feed someone!