eurekapd Chapter 183 Meeting
Chapter 183 Meeting
Xue Jing was startled by Chen Xiuying's words and staggered. He widened his eyes and asked again, "Who are you talking about?"
Chen Xiuying stared at Xue Jing and said word by word: "You, boss."
"Is it necessary to see?"
"I have a reason to see you."
Xue Jing wiped the sweat from his head and said, "Let me think about it."
Chen Xiuying didn't say anything more. "Okay, think about it slowly. I'll keep the mirror here. If you don't agree, you can return it to me."
Hearing about the mirror, Xue Jing didn't hesitate. He clenched the box tightly and said firmly, "I'll think of a way!"
-
Palace
The palace maid Zhihua was walking on the palace road with a music score in her hand. A little palace maid holding a lantern passed by her and slipped a note into Zhihua's hand.
Zhihua's expression remained unchanged. She clutched the note tightly and continued walking towards Kunning Palace. She didn't open her palm until she reached the inner hall and saw Aunt Fangruo. "Aunt, there's a message from outside the palace."
Nanny Fangruo took the note and the music score from Zhihua's hand before saying, "I understand. Go down."
Zhi Huafu bowed, said "yes" and left.
Not long after, there was a noise in the bedroom, and Nanny Fangruo pushed open the door and walked in.
As she helped her master dress, she whispered, "Madam, I've found the music score for you."
Empress Cao seemed to have not slept well. She rubbed her neck with her slender hands and said softly, "Fangruo, what did Zhihua say just now?"
Seeing this, Fang Ruo hurriedly walked behind the Queen and gently massaged her neck while replying, "There's a message coming in from outside."
When Empress Cao heard the news, she immediately perked up, and the discomfort in her neck seemed to have subsided a lot. She stretched out her hand and said to Fang Ruo, "Let me take a look."
Fang Ruo put the note into the Queen's hand as she was told. Queen Cao unfolded the note and read it, frowning slightly.
Seeing this, Nanny Fangruo asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, what happened?" Empress Cao sighed softly, "This matter is a bit tricky. I'm afraid I'll have to intervene personally."
Nanny Fangruo said hurriedly, "Your Majesty is worth a fortune. You'd better be cautious about this matter." Empress Cao shook her head, "I know what's going on."
-
Meanwhile, Xue Jing had been tossing and turning since handing over the letter. He wasn't sure if his master would agree. If not, the fat piece of meat that was about to be in his mouth would be gone.
But if I agreed, it would be too difficult for me, as the master, to leave the palace once. Even he only communicated with me through letters.
As a result, at noon the next day after he handed over the letter, when he came back from lunch, he saw another letter on the table.
When I opened the letter, there were only four words inside: "Tianfu Pavilion Wei."
When Xue Jing saw the words above, he felt relieved and his master agreed to meet him.
Tianfu refers to the Tianfu Festival. The sixth day of the sixth lunar month in Donghua Kingdom is called the "Tianfu Festival", also known as the "Scripture Translation Festival" and "Aunt's Festival". The main activities are "returning to the mother's home" and "drying the insects". Drying the insects here refers to preventing books from getting moldy and insect-infested, and they need to be taken out to dry on that day.
The pavilion is the master's only shop with a pavilion, the full name is Xunbao Pavilion, which deals in antiques. Xunbao Pavilion has a lot of traffic, and most of them are wealthy families, and there are often female relatives coming and going, so meeting there is not conspicuous.
Wei is the Wei hour.
The four words translate to: The master agrees to meet, the time is wei 10:00 on Tianfu Festival, meet at Xunbao Pavilion.
Xue Jing's hands trembled with excitement as he carefully folded the letter and put it in his arms. He then went to Sijiao Hutong and told Chen Xiuying not to go anywhere on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month but to wait at home. He would send someone to pick her up.
What could Chen Xiuying say? It was the end of May and only a few days away from the sixth day of June. She could just wait.
I guess by the time she gets there, she'll be almost done with her work.
These days, she first helped her parents move, then helped her master move, then her elder sister-in-law and younger brother's wife move, plus a bunch of things to do on the farm, she was so busy that she was running around.
Zhou Dajiang was also quite busy. After helping his eldest and third brothers, he also helped Zhang Dazhuang and Zhou Dong move. Over the past two days, while the women were tidying up the house, the men from the "Japanese Suppression Group" had gathered at the home of the Tian carpenter brothers, helping them install windows, doors, and cabinets. They were trying to get the Tian brothers to move in as soon as possible.
Amidst all this busyness, the Tianfu Festival finally arrived.
That day, Xue Jing arrived at Xunbao Pavilion early to wait.
Soon, a low-key yet exquisite carriage slowly approached. The curtains parted, and Empress Cao, dressed in men's clothing yet still elegant, stepped out, supported by Zhihua. She glanced around, and upon seeing Xue Jing, she gave a slight nod.
Several people arrived at the inner chamber of Xunbao Pavilion. Zhihua fetched a cup of tea from somewhere and placed it on the table. Empress Cao took a sip and said, "Tell me, what is it that you wish to see me?"
Xue Jing bowed respectfully and handed Zhihua the sample gift box that Chen Xiuying had brought earlier, saying, "Your Majesty, this is the product brought by Madam Zhou, who has been cooperating with us. Please take a look first."
Zhihua opened the gift box, took out something from it and handed it to Queen Cao.
When Shopkeeper Xue saw that Zhihua had taken out glass, he quickly explained, "Madam, this thing you see that looks like colored glaze is called glass. It was accidentally made by the wife of the Zhou family. This glass is not only smooth and transparent, but can also be made into mirrors and windows. According to Madam Zhou, it can also be made into glasses and cups."
After hearing what he said, Empress Cao also became interested. She took the glass in her hand and looked at it from front to back. It was indeed as Manager Xue said, smooth and transparent. When she held it in her palm, the palm lines were clearly visible.
Seeing that the queen liked it, Zhihua handed over another wooden product.
Empress Cao took the wooden handle and asked, "What is this?"
Seeing that Empress Cao was also looking at it from the back like himself, Shopkeeper Xue reminded her, "You just need to turn over the handle and you will know."
Empress Cao listened to him and turned the wooden handle over. She saw a woman with slightly frowned eyebrows looking at her in the glass-like mirror. The knowledgeable Empress Cao did not say anything. Instead, Zhihua behind her accidentally said, "It's too clear!"
Empress Cao also agreed with this statement. She could see every detail of herself in the mirror, even the hairs on her temples were clear.
She nodded with satisfaction, "Not bad! I wonder what other requests the Zhou family's wife has made?"
Xue Jing was secretly happy. The boss was worthy of being the boss. He grasped the key point at once.
"The other party said that he wants to meet with you to discuss in detail."