Mu Qianqian bowed her head guiltily. “I got the wrong information. The information that Duke Anyuan loved Qian Shi is not true. That’s why I was kicked out of Duke Anyuan’s mansion.

  “Your Highness, please rest assured. I will definitely seize Jewelry Pavilion for your use.”


  Prince Huai had interrogated the previous owner of the shop, and he said that Qiao Jinniang bought his store. But Prince Huai didn’t believe that Jewelry Pavilion was run by Qiao Jinniang who was only a woman and he also didn’t believe it would be the property of Duke Anyuan either.

  Although Duke Anyuan had some shops, with his military power, if he opened a store like Jewelry Pavilion that could make so much money, was he not afraid of being suspected by the Emperor?

  When he went to inquire about it, it turned out that Jewelry Pavilion was rented to Manager Lin by Qiao Jinniang.

  The illicit salt dealing in the Southwest had been completely destroyed, and that waste, Prince Mediocre, had also been useless.

  However, he still had to keep a low profile and hide his ambition, and didn’t dare to reveal any of his real thoughts even to Li Lingling.

  Otherwise, how could he hide from the Queen and the Crown Prince?

  Jewelry Pavilion was literally a cash cow. If he could take Jewelry Pavilion as his own, he would have more capital to strive for the throne.

  Mu Qianqian touched her lower abdomen. “Your Highness, our child kicked me again today!”


  Prince Huai touched Mu Qianqian’s belly. This was his only heir. In order not to be suspected by his father, he had this child when he was nearly thirty. And the Crown Prince, who just turned 20, already had a three-year-old son.

  Qiao Jinniang disguised herself and met the so-called Miss Mu in Jewelry Pavilion, but she didn’t expect her to be an acquaintance.

  Wasn’t Miss Mu the woman her father brought back to the Duke Mansion that day?

  She looked as fragile as Qian Shi before. But today, the cowardice on her had all gone and she became the kind of self-reliant woman that Qiao Jinniang liked. Judging from the size of her belly, it seemed that she was about to give birth soon.

  “I didn’t expect the owner of Jewelry Pavilion to be a girl. What should I call you?” Mu Qianqian said graciously. Qiao Jinniang changed her voice and said, “My surname is Jing.”


  “Miss Jing, it must not be very convenient for you, a girl, to do business in Chang’an, right? Especially since there are more and more dignitaries and nobles coming to patronize your store. If you don’t have a big tree to rely on, I’m afraid your business can’t last long in Chang’an.”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “What do you want to say, Miss Mu?”


  Mu Qian smiled and said, “My brother and Duke Anyuan have been friends for many years, so I want to make a deal with Miss Jing.

  “You might as well sell this shop to me for 100,000 taels of silver. Duke Anyuan will definitely be glad if he knows it!”


  Qiao Jinniang smiled. Duke Anyuan? Are you serious?

  Duke Anyuan was in the belief that it was Mu Qianqian who caused Zheng Xiao divorced him, so he didn’t even allow anyone to mention the word “Mu” in the Duke Mansion. He regretted bringing Mu Qianqian to the Duke Mansion very much, so how could he possibly help Mu Qianqian?

  J

  So why did Mu Qianqian say this?

  If she wanted to marry Duke Anyuan for money and status and deliberately imitated Concubine Qian, then why didn’t she have an abortion to get rid of the child before entering the Duke Mansion?

  Moreover, the daughter of a convicted official from the Southwest came all the way to Chang’an and became an official prostitute, which was suspicious.

  Even if she was kicked out of the Duke Mansion, she didn’t have an abortion?

  Besides, as an official prostitute, where did she get the 100,000 taels of silver?

  “It turns out that Miss Mu knows Duke Anyuan.” Qiao Jinniang continued, “But this Jewelry Pavilion is like my baby, so I don’t want to sell it.

  “But I can let your master become a shareholder. Can I talk to your master?”


  Mu Qian smiled and said, “Miss Jing, didn’t I say it? My brother and Duke Anyuan are good friends. You know who my master is.”


  Mu Qianqian emphasized “Duke Anyuan”, trying to imply that Duke Anyuan was behind her.

  n

  V

  Qiao Jinniang said, “Miss Mu, to be frank, since I can run this shop in Chang’an, I’ve got some big names to rely on too.

  “To be honest, I also have a master behind me.

  “I came from the South, and my master’s family is very powerful in the South.

  “But his influence is mainly in the South, and this is Chang’an here.

  “So you don’t need to hide your background from me. I know about it.

  “It’s not easy for a convicted official’s daughter to come up with 100,000 taels of silver, isn’t it? And I know Duke Anyuan has already driven you out of the Duke Mansion…”


  Mu Qianqian pondered what Qiao Jinniang meant.

  Then she suddenly thought, was she talking about the Xie family in the South?

  His Highness happened to want to make friends with the Xie family. This was a good opportunity She immediately replied. “Then I’ll go back and ask my master.” After Mu Qianqian left, Qiao Jinniang ordered one of Lu Chen’s secret guards to follow her.

  The secret guard saw that Mu Qianqian entered a small house and didn’t come out again.

  Qiao Jinniang thought of a secret passage. It seemed that Mu Qianqian really had secrets.

  However, after waiting for Mu Qianqian for many days, she didn’t see Mu Qianqian coming again, so Qiao Jinniang didn’t take the matter to heart.

  It was the Laba Festival, and Qiao Jinniang cooked a lot of Laba porridge at home.

  She had the kitchen buy a lot of chickens, ducks and geese, and also collected all the chickens, ducks and geese raised in the manors.

  The whole yard was full of preserved chickens and ducks drying in the sun.

  The aroma of the preserved chickens and ducks wafted from Qiao Jinniang’s courtyard to the Princess Mansion across the street.

  Unable to resist the aroma, Princess Shoulan ordered Fulu to visit Qiao Jinniang and bring some chickens and ducks back along the way.

  Fulu walked into the Qiao Mansion opposite and exclaimed,

  “Qiao Jinniang, I’m afraid that all the chickens, ducks, fish and geese in Chang’an are in your courtyard, right? How can you get so many of them here?”


  Qiao Jinniang replied. “There are too many people coming and going in the backyards of Tasty Pavilion and Myriad Taste.

  In Lin’an, the preserved chickens being dried in the sun in the backyard of my restaurant was once poisoned by someone. “After that, I just sun-dried them in my own house.”


  “Fortunately, this house is large and there are few people living here, so I can sun-dry a lot of them here.

  “It’s just a pity that the sandstorm in Chang’an is too big, so I ask the maids to cover the chickens and ducks with gauze when the sandstorm is too big.”


  Fulu said, “Aren’t you afraid that you will smell like a preserved chicken?”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “Yes, especially at mid-night, I always want to eat preserved goods when I smell it.

  “Therefore, I always gain some weight at this time of the year. I dare not eat so much preserved food this year.” She didn’t want to go to the Shanggong Bureau to change the size of her wedding dresses, which would be very shameful.

  Besides, which woman didn’t want to be slimmer at her wedding?

  Fulu smiled. “Then can I take two away?”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “Sure. They’ll be done tomorrow after being exposed to the sun for another day. When that time comes, I will order someone to send two to your home.”


  In the Hall of Diligent Governance, Emperor Huilin was busy with the ratings of officials who returned to Chang’an to report on their work during the Chinese New Year.

  Smelling the smell on Duke Anyuan, Emperor Huilin asked, “Duke, what is that smell on

  you?”


  Duke Anyuan cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, my daughter has opened two restaurants, and now it’s the time when the preserved goods are launched to the market.

  “She is afraid that the preserved goods will be poisoned if she sun-dries them in her restaurants, so the house is full of the preserved goods…”


  Lu Chen said to Emperor Huilin, “Father, do you want to have a taste of it? “The seasoning was made from a secret recipe of Myriad Taste, and only Jinniang knows the recipe.

  “When I was in Lin’an, almost hundreds of preserved ducks and preserved geese were sold every day during the twelfth lunar month.”