I am the champion of palace intrigue, and even the proud prince bows his head in submission.

Chapter 566 Xie Jue's Storyline: Departing Tonight

“Jue-ge’er, the things you sent over, though valuable, are just things that money can buy.”

Xie Jue looked up at his father, his brows still furrowed with confusion.

Xie Yanli continued, "Wanzhi is the daughter of the Eldest Princess. She has been pampered since childhood. How could she lack these things?"

"If you really want to coax her, why not do something yourself? That would better show your sincerity."

Xie Jue was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes suddenly brightened.

"Thank you, Father. I know what to do!"

Xie Yanli returned to the main house, where Qin Jiuwei was leaning against the couch reading a book. When she saw him come in, she looked up and smiled.

"Is the matter resolved?"

Xie Yanli walked over, sat down beside her, reached out and pulled her into his arms, and whispered, "Not necessarily, let's see when he understands."

Qin Jiuwei sighed softly and closed the book in her hands.

“Jue’er has been immersed in abacus accounting since he was a child. He knew how to calculate interest when he was five years old, and he dared to negotiate prices with people by himself when he was seven. He was happy doing it, so we couldn’t stop him.”

“Over the years, he has focused all his attention on money and accounts. Apart from the shop, he knows very little about other things, and he is somewhat reckless in his actions.”

Xie Yanli listened and chuckled, "Well, it's alright to understand later. As long as it's sincere, what does it matter if it's late?"

In the following days, Fuyu Tower gradually returned to normal.

Those shops that copied their milk tea initially attracted a group of curious customers because of their low prices, but were quickly overwhelmed by negative reviews.

The milk was thin and the sugar was bland, resulting in a tasteless beverage. After one serving, no one came back.

The people of the capital aren't stupid. Rather than spending money on a cup of awful milk tea, they'd rather save up a few coins and go to Fuyulou to buy an authentic cup of milk tea.

Xie Jue entrusted Lu Xinghe with the entire task of developing new products.

She is indeed capable; she not only came up with several new recipes but also tried pairing tea drinks with snacks, which made them sell better and better.

Seeing that she was efficient in her work, Xie Jue not only gave her more authority in developing new products.

He himself would spend half a day each day handling the accounts of Fuyulou and two or three hours overseeing the operations of more than a hundred other shops.

Apart from that, he seemed to have vanished from the capital, and no one could find him.

When the shopkeeper needed to consult someone but couldn't find him, Changqing remained calm, always saying, "Young Master is busy and will be back later."

No one knew where Xie Jue had gone except Chang Qing.

In a secluded room deep within the Prince's Mansion, at Tinghe Pavilion.

The door creaked open, and Changqing poked his head in, holding a brocade box containing several carefully selected raw stones of red agate, tourmaline, and amber.

On a low table inside the room were many delicate tools and semi-finished silver wire.

Xie Jue was engrossed in the task, his expression focused, using tweezers to hold the fine hairpin core and carefully fixing the delicate inlaid stone groove.

Hearing the noise, he looked up and saw it was Changqing. He then urged in a low voice, "Quickly, bring the gemstone."

Changqing strode forward and handed over the brocade box, but a glance out of the corner of his eye caused him to suddenly exclaim in surprise.

"Young Master, your hand is bleeding!"

Xie Jue looked down and saw that his fingertip had been cut by the silver thread, and blood had stained his knuckles.

Changqing immediately took out a handkerchief from his pocket, squatted down and bandaged his wound, saying, "It's just jewelry, why not just buy the best and send it over? Why bother making it yourself?"

Xie Jue clenched her fingers. "It's different."

After bandaging the hairpin, he picked up his tools again and continued polishing the silver petals on the end of the hairpin.

The eldest princess's mansion.

Gao Wanzhi sat on the soft couch, her fingers weaving through an unfinished iris handkerchief.

A maidservant adjusted the shawl on her shoulders and casually said, "We haven't seen Young Master Xie for the past few days. We don't know where he's gone, and he hasn't sent anything over either."

Gao Wanzhi paused in her hand movements and looked up at her.

The maid immediately fell silent, not daring to say another word.

Gao Wanzhi lowered her eyes and placed another needle. "Where he goes is his business. What does it have to do with us?"

I guess they gave up when they realized they couldn't coax him.

Xie Jue has never been very patient with her, and she's gotten used to it.

Two days later, at Tinghe Pavilion.

Xie Jue was sitting at the table, carefully securing the last silver leaf with gold thread.

The hairpin is already taking shape, with a delicate little bell hanging from its end. It will be complete once it has the red agate that he personally selected.

Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the door, and then Changqing hurriedly pushed the door open and entered.

"Young Master! Something has happened in the south!"

"The entire ship carrying rouge and spices from Fuzhou to Beijing was hijacked. The person holding the goods has disappeared, the account books have been burned, and even the mole at the dock has vanished."

Changqing gritted his teeth: "These people probably came prepared. My subordinates found out that it was a joint operation by the Zhao family and several old rivals in the Chamber of Commerce. They started planning a month in advance. None of our people escaped, and the people at the Fuzhou branch are now in a state of panic."

"The managers of the branches in various places are also very frightened. There must be many Zhao family spies among our people, otherwise the whole ship wouldn't have been hijacked this time. The managers say they will only continue to discuss things after seeing you in person. They don't trust anyone right now."

After hearing this, Xie Jue remained silent for a long time.

He glanced down at the hairpin on the table, his gaze deepening.

"I understand," he said calmly. "Go and prepare the boat and the people. We'll set off tonight."

After giving his instructions, Xie Jue walked to the table, picked up his brush, and began to write.

After writing it, he sealed the letter, pressed the wax seal on it, and handed it to Changqing.

"Send it to the Princess's residence first thing tomorrow morning. Whether she accepts it or not, make sure to hand it to her personal maid personally."

"Understood, I will certainly handle it properly."

The next morning.

A carved carriage drove out of the mansion, and Gao Wanzhi sat in the carriage, changing her clothes in preparation for today's flower viewing banquet.

Almost simultaneously, a fast horse galloped from the street corner; it was Changqing.

As he turned into the alley, he brushed past Gao Wanzhi's carriage.

One on horseback and one on a bicycle, they missed each other.

Luoyingtai.

The noble ladies gathered in twos and threes by the stone steps, chatting and laughing.

As Gao Wanzhi stepped onto the steps, she immediately attracted everyone's attention. The noble ladies bowed and greeted her in unison, "Princess Anhe."

She smiled and nodded as always, her demeanor poised and graceful.

On the east side of the stage, a noblewoman was chatting and laughing with several people. When she saw Gao Wanzhi, she quickly put down her teacup and waved to her.

"Wanzhi, come here quickly, we've been waiting for you all day." Madam Jiang smiled warmly, her eyes full of affection.

Gao Wanzhi walked over gracefully and said, "Greetings, Madam. I'm sorry I'm late."