When they arrived at the back garden, the leading maid arranged for Shi Qingluo and Xi Rong to sit in the front.
The other ladies were stunned when they came in and saw it.
The position of the flower-viewing banquet was still very particular. The closer to the main seat, the more it represents a simple identity, or highly valued by the host family.
No one has any objection to Xi Rong sitting in the front.
But a county magistrate’s wife sitting in the front, and this makes people a little confused.
But no matter what they think in their hearts, no one raises any questions.
Prince Jin was like a local emperor on the northern border, and the more favored Concubine Hua was almost equivalent to the more favored concubine in the harem.
So no one would be stupid enough to question and offend Concubine Hua.
After about an incense stick of time, a woman dressed in luxurious clothes walked in.
All the ladies present stood up and greeted with a smile: “Greetings, Concubine Hua!”
Shi Qingluo and Xi Rong also stood up and greeted the crowd.
Concubine Hua smiled and asked everyone to sit down. When she passed by some ladies, she would stop and say a few words.
Shi Qingluo saw that Concubine Hua’s appearance was indeed 60% similar to that of the Empress.
But the two gave people completely different feelings.
The Empress gave people a feeling of elegance and dignity.
Concubine Hua was bright and versatile, a bit like Wang Xifeng in the Red Mansion.
Seeing Concubine Hua getting along well with the ladies, Shi Qingluo felt that Prince Jin praised her so much, not only because he wanted to annoy the Emperor, Empress, and Eldest Prince in the capital, but also because of Concubine Hua’s social skills.
After all, the diplomacy of ladies was quite important.
Concubine Hua walked up from the back and stopped at the position of Shi Qingluo and the others.
She looked at Xi Rong with a smile on her face: “Marquis, it is a great honor for you to come to my flower-viewing banquet today!”
It was the first time that Xi Rong met Concubine Hua. Because Shi Qingluo reminded her before she came, she didn’t lose her composure.
She grew up in the palace, and the Empress treated her very well, almost like a daughter.
So when she saw Concubine Hua who looked like the Empress, she felt a little uncomfortable.
She secretly cursed Prince Jin for being a bad person.
She smiled faintly and said: “Concubine Hua is too polite.”
Concubine Hua didn’t care about Xi Rong’s attitude. She always knew that she looked like the Empress and Xi Rong was raised by the Empress Dowager and the Empress.
It was normal to feel uncomfortable when seeing her.
So she was just being polite and doing her best to be a good host to Xi Rong.
After all, her target was not Xi Rong.
Concubine Hua turned her eyes to Shi Qingluo and was surprised.
Wasn’t it said that Shi Qingluo was just a mountain village woman?
Looking at her appearance and temperament, she was not like that at all. She was not suppressed by the Marquis of Zhennan who grew up in the palace, but stands out.
She smiled and said: “This must be Madam Shi.”
Shi Qingluo smiled: “I am.”
Concubine Hua reached out and held Shi Qingluo’s hand intimately, “I heard that Madam Shi offered high-yield seeds, and made so many good things, and you also have an Old Immortal Master, so I thought you must be a fairy-like figure.”
“Today I saw that it was true. I felt close to you and liked you as soon as I saw you.”
Shi Qingluo found that Concubine Hua was not only good at socializing but also humbled herself to win people over.
She was not disgusting, after all, who doesn’t like to hear nice words?
Of course, Shi Qingluo didn’t relax her vigilance.
She smiled and said: “Concubine Hua, you are too kind.”
Concubine Hua chuckled and said: “You deserve it.”
Shi Qingluo thought to herself that she was worthy of being the woman of Prince Jin. Prince Jin said the same thing that day.
She smiled and didn’t respond.
Concubine Hua chatted with Shi Qingluo in a friendly manner for a few more words, then she let go of her hand and sat in the main seat.
Now, everyone knew Shi Qingluo’s identity.
It turned out that she was not only the wife of the county magistrate but also the mountain village woman who donated seeds.
But she didn’t look like a mountain village woman. Those who didn’t know her would think she was the lady of some noble family.
Smart people also knew why Concubine Hua was so close and polite to Shi Qingluo. After all, it was said that this person was the disciple of some old immortal priest and had many ways to make money in her mind.
It seemed that she was the one that Prince Jin wanted to win over.
No wonder they felt that this flower-viewing banquet was a bit strange. How could Concubine Hua even invite the wives of the county magistrates of various counties?
It turned out that she was here for Shi Qingluo.
They had different ideas about Shi Qingluo in their hearts. Although they still looked down on her identity, they would not offend her.
Some ladies who didn’t know the intricacies of this matter despised Shi Qingluo’s status, while envying her for catching the eye of Concubine Hua at once.
Especially the wives of the other county magistrates who were attending such a flower-viewing banquet for the first time, their sour water kept coming up.
Everyone drank tea first, and then Concubine Hua stood up and asked everyone to go to the flower-viewing banquet together.
She also walked to Shi Qingluo and chatted with him.
In the beginning, she introduced Beicheng to Shi Qingluo and Xi Rong, as well as some local customs and habits.
From time to time, she asked about the capital and Nanxi County.
She was very good at chatting, and the topics she found were easy to make people feel involved.
As they chatted, Concubine Hua smiled and said to Shi Qingluo: “I’ve always heard that you have a lot of ideas. I also want to make some money recently. Can you give me some ideas?”
Shi Qingluo sighed again. No wonder, Concubine Hua was favored by Prince Jin. This was completely in line with Prince Jin’s style of doing things.
Shi Qingluo didn’t refuse, but asked: “What does Concubine Hua want to do?”
Concubine Hua shook her head: “I don’t know about this.”
Shi Qingluo asked again: “Do you have any shops under your name now?”
Concubine Hua smiled and said truthfully: “There is an embroidery workshop, a paper workshop, and a restaurant.”
Her family background was not good. She was brought back from a small town by Prince Jin and was penniless at the time.
These shops were opened by her savings over the years.
The real housekeeper power of the palace was in the hands of the princess. Although she was favored and looked glorious, she was almost the only one who attended the entertainment of the palace, but it also cost a lot, and she often had to use the income of her own shops.
The prince asked her to test Shi Qingluo as soon as they met, which was exactly what she wanted.
If Shi Qingluo could help her come up with some money-making ideas, she would certainly be happy.
Her identity was just a daughter from a small merchant family, and she had seen all kinds of people around Prince Jin over the years, so she didn’t look down on Shi Qingluo because of her identity as a village woman.
On the contrary, because the prince valued her, she would also value her very much.
Shi Qingluo smiled and said: “I am not good at embroidery, but I have a recipe for improving paper and some recipes for cooking, which may help Concubine Hua.”
Papermaking has never been taken out to open a workshop to manufacture and sell it on a large scale, because it would damage the interests of those big papermaking families.
Her husband was a scholar before, and now he was only a county magistrate. His status has not reached a certain level. If the hatred is too great, it will be easy to capsize if he is targeted by the big families.
She had thought about what to do to show her favor to Prince Jin before, and after much thought, she decided to take the lead by improving the recipe for papermaking.
When Prince Jin reduces the cost of paper, the selling price will naturally drop.
At that time, the price of paper in Daliang will be impacted, affecting the interests of the noble families behind the expensive paper, and Prince Jin will also be standing at the forefront to attract the hatred of those noble families.
For the sake of money, Prince Jin will naturally not care about being targeted, and may even fight back, which is probably what the Emperor would like to see.
So let Prince Jin attract hatred and let Prince Jin take the blame, and she just needs to follow behind Prince Jin and drink some soup.
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