Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

These thoughts flashed through Shen Wantang's mind in an instant, and she quickly forgot about Xiao Qingyuan.

She picked up a cloth bag that she had prepared long ago and handed it to Du Juan: "Ask someone to deliver this to my cousin, and also give him the banknote I gave you yesterday. Tell him that it's time to expand our shop."

Du Juan was still immersed in anger and grievance. When she heard Shen Wantang change the subject so quickly and with such a big span, she almost choked on her own saliva!

"Princess, why are you thinking about business all the time? Don't you want to win the heart of the prince? If you win the heart of the prince, you will have an endless supply of money in the future. Isn't this better than doing business? With your ability, this should not be difficult!"

"It's not difficult, but it's not necessary."

Shen Wantang looked at the bright sunshine outside, the luxurious decoration around her, and the brocade clothes on her body, and said with a smile: "Why do I need the prince's heart? His heart is not made of gold. I guess it is probably made of wood. So Chu Yanluo likes it, but I don't."

"Besides, it is not as reliable and secure to rely on a man to earn money as it is to rely on yourself to earn money. Chu Yanluo has won the heart of the prince, but do you think she has money to spend? She can't even afford a bowl of bird's nest soup. She doesn't even have money to hire a doctor for the bleeding after a miscarriage! The prince's heart is useless."

"Du Juan, remember, don't take men too seriously. Just coax them when you need to. They are actually very small-minded and easy to deceive. The most important thing is to seize the power of the housekeeper and be able to make money for yourself. Didn't you see that I have money? Even a proud and noble person like the prince has to smile and bow his head?"

"The way things are in this world is that women are not allowed to be officials or to show their faces in public, and women's abilities are stifled. Otherwise, men can't be the boss, and it's even more impossible for them to have concubines on the left and men on the right so confidently."

"So, there's no need to think too highly of them, and there's no need to waste time on them. Wouldn't it be better for me to use this time to make more money?"

Du Juan was stunned. She thought her master was crazy. Women were not allowed to show their faces in public. Wasn't that normal? It was natural for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Wasn't that right? It had been like this since ancient times!

If the master's words were to get out, I would probably be treated as a freak!

However, she inexplicably felt that what her master said made sense. At least, she felt that her master was much smarter and more capable than the prince. If her master were a man, he would definitely be made a marquis and a prime minister!

After Shen Wantang finished teaching the maid, she took out her book and continued to circle, dot, write and draw.

Dujuan was taught to read by her master, but she still could not understand her master's books, because her master never read casual books like storybooks, and she did not read "Instructions for Women" either. She only read books like "Wooden Structures", "Bridges", "Weaving" and so on.

The master has started drawing a bridge again. If you don’t know, you might think that she is not doing her job as the Crown Prince’s Consort anymore and is instead building bridges and roads!

But sometimes, the more you don’t understand something, the more you feel it is sacred and high-end.

The bright sunlight poured in through the gauze window, shining onto Shen Wantang's body, giving her a layer of light golden light.

Du Juan looked at her master in the circle of light, and a sincere admiration and devotion welled up in her heart. She didn't care what others thought, because she had made up her mind to follow Shen Wantang in this life.

She was afraid of disturbing Shen Wantang's painting of the bridge, so she quietly took out a box and put all the banknotes inside into the cloth bag Shen Wantang gave her.

The cloth bag was not empty. There were a lot of scraps of cloth in it, all of which were cut piece by piece from the large piece of cloth by Shen Wantang last night.

Dujuan tied the mouth of the cloth bag tightly, then went out with the bag.

All the banknotes and rags had to be handed over to the cousin. According to the instructions of the rags, the cousin would personally go to Jiangnan, place large orders and purchase goods, and then transport them back to the capital by water to earn money. At the end of the year, the two would share the profits, with Shen Wantang taking 70% and the cousin taking 30%.

However, the cousin was not so willing to help Shen Wantang from the beginning. It was Shen Wantang who proved her ability time and time again, proving that only the goods she selected could make money, and the goods selected by the cousin always lost money. Only then did the cousin obey her obediently and no longer had any objection to the profit sharing.

A few days later, my cousin sent someone to bring the message that he had bought several of the best shops in the capital and was preparing to set off for the south of the Yangtze River. When he returned, the shops would be open immediately and would monopolize all the fashionable patterns and materials.

Shen Wantang also specifically reported to her mother-in-law and went out with the maids and the nanny to see the shop that her cousin had bought.

They are indeed good locations, and there are famous rouge and powder shops and jewelry shops on both sides of the capital. After buying rouge and powder and jewelry, those ladies will naturally not miss the clothing shops, so their business will be particularly good.

Shen Wantang was very satisfied and in a good mood, so she took her maid and nanny to Qingyunlou, the largest restaurant in the capital, booked a private room and had lunch.

However, a snack in the restaurant caught her attention.

The name of the snack is fruit yogurt ice bowl, which is made of various fruits mixed with milk, honey, and some crushed ice.

You can choose fruit yogurt as you like, there are peach yogurt, grape yogurt, pear yogurt, etc. They taste sweet and sour, have a rich milky flavor, and are very refreshing. They are delicious food to relieve the heat in summer.

But the problem is, this snack shouldn’t appear at this time!

In the previous life, this snack did not appear until seven years later and was introduced by a foreign merchant.

But now, that foreign merchant has not even come to the capital!

Who taught the chef at Qingyunlou to make this snack? Shen Mingxuan?

Shen Wantang gave the waiter one or two ounces of silver and said, "Waiter, ask your manager to come over. I have something to ask you."

The waiter was so happy when he got the silver that he couldn't stop smiling: "Just wait, I'll go call the steward right away!"

The steward came very quickly. He had much sharper eyes than the waiter and recognized Nanny Chai beside Shen Wantang at a glance. The young woman who could be served by Nanny Chai was naturally the subject of discussion throughout the capital, Shen Wantang, the Crown Prince's Consort of the Ning Palace.

His face was full of smiles, and his tone was respectful: "I didn't know that the Crown Prince's wife had come. I hope you can forgive me for my negligence."

Shen Wantang didn't bother to talk too much with him. He pointed at the fruit yogurt bowl and asked, "I think this tastes very strange, but your restaurant didn't seem to have this snack before. When did you start having it?"

"The Crown Prince's Consort also likes to eat this? It's no wonder that the Crown Prince's Consort hasn't tried it before. This is a new little thing our restaurant has launched in the past few days. Everyone who has tried it says it's good!"

"Did your chef come up with this himself?"

"This... isn't the case. It was made with the guidance of an expert and after several experiments by the chef."

"What master?"