Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

It’s really no secret, but…

In less than an hour, Quan Shuyu came back. The first thing he said was, "Young Master favors one over the other. He gives advice to Master Qi, but not to me. Master Qi is very busy in charge of Huimin Pharmacy, but I have to check the treasury, the grain warehouse, and various shops. I am even busier than Master Qi."

Chan Yi smiled, took her arm, pushed her to sit on the chair, and said with a smile: "I knew you would come back after hearing the news, so I stopped the master for you and didn't let her go out."

Quan Shuyu looked at Chen Shao: "Where are you going, sir?"

"She said she wanted to go and see those manors." Chan Yi handed her her handkerchief and poured her a cup of tea. "After handing those manors over to Liu Deming and his men, she only asked about them once or twice. She wanted to go and see how they were being handled. You know the young master's temper. He would leave if he said he would. I had to use the excuse that I got up too late today and had to go back after visiting only a few villages to temporarily dissuade her from thinking of this."

Chen Shao was reviewing the confessions of the wealthy families and scholars he had interrogated some time ago. When he heard her words, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "I was wondering why you had to wait until tomorrow. It turns out you were waiting for me here."

Then he said to Quan Shuyu, "I saw that although you are busy every day, you are busy in an orderly manner. I thought you didn't need help, so I didn't interfere."

Chan Yi sat down next to Quan Shuyu, took her hand and stretched it to Chen Shao: "She is not busy at all, she just sees that you are busy every day and doesn't want to trouble you with her own affairs. Look at her hands, they are so thin from running around lately that they are just skin and bones."

Quan Shuyu was really embarrassed, so he pulled his hand back, pulled down his sleeve to cover it, and said, "I was busy, but not to this extent."

Chan Yi pinched her lightly: "I'm speaking for you. It's fine if you don't cooperate with me, but why do you want to ruin my show?"

"I was wrong." Quan Shuyu held her hand and apologized with a smile.

Chan Yi deliberately said with a straight face, "How much is a mistake worth? If you want to admit your mistake, you must show sincerity."

Quan Shuyu cooperated and said, "Then tell me, what does it mean to be sincere?"

Chan Yi crossed her arms over her chest and thought seriously for a while before she said, "This is not the first time you have ruined my reputation. You must treat me to a meal at Juxianlou before I will forgive you."

Quan Shuyu was so embarrassed that he asked, "Can we change the place?"

Chan Yi simply said, "No."

Quan Shuyu sighed, "Okay then."

Chen Shao shook his head and waited for the two to stop laughing before asking, "Tell me, what shops do you have now?"

Quan Shuyu immediately stopped smiling and listed a lot of things like iron shops, ceramic shops, hardware shops, cotton spinning shops, shoe shops, umbrella shops, cloth shops, embroidery shops, candy shops, cake shops, etc. And how many shops of each type there were, how many were from the Wen family, how many were from the Zhu family, how many were from the Gu family... Not to mention that Chen Shao didn't remember a few, even Chan Yi couldn't help but exclaimed: "So many shops, how did you remember them all?"

"Every day a shopkeeper comes to see me, and every time he comes, I have to look through his shop. I look so many times and naturally remember everything." Quan Shuyu answered her and continued to answer Chen Shao, "For similar shops, I asked each of them to pick a representative to come to the prefectural government tomorrow. I estimated that there will be about 700 to 800 people. Therefore, I have to borrow the lobby from you, young master."

Chen Shao nodded in agreement and then asked, "With so many people coming at once and talking so much, can we come to a conclusion?"

Quan Shuyu shook his head: "I was also reckless. I should have asked the young master before making a decision."

"I'm not being reckless. I'm just worried that someone might take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble." After thinking for a moment, Chen Shao asked, "How many days do you plan to let them discuss it?"

"One day will definitely not yield any results," Quan Shuyu said thoughtfully, "I plan to let them discuss for three days. If they can't come to a conclusion in three days, I will let them go back and discuss on their own. When they are almost done, they can write up a plan and hand it over to me, and I will give it to you for your review."

Chen Shao thought about it and said to Chan Yi, "Tell General Li Xiao to transfer thirty Yulin Guards to her tomorrow."

After Chan Yi agreed, Chen Shaocai said to Quan Shuyu, "Seven or eight hundred people is not a small number. Did you let them discuss it together, or did you make other arrangements?"

"I plan to let iron shops discuss with each other, and embroidery shops discuss with each other." Quan Shuyu said frankly, "Strictly speaking, I am not asking them to come and discuss with me, but to provide them with a venue so that they can discuss on their own. It would be best if they can come up with an answer through discussion. If they can't, then we can pool our wisdom and choose a feasible method to implement first. If there are any problems later, we can slowly rectify them."

Quan Shuyu also knew that she was a little too hasty, but she really had no other choice. From the few words that Chen Shao occasionally revealed, she could foresee that there would be many places to spend money in the future, especially with the bottomless pit of soldiers at the border. Therefore, the sooner the shops were integrated, the sooner they could make money. She didn't want to be unable to take out money when Chen Shao needed it.

Chen Shao understood her thoughts to some extent, but did not interfere. After thinking for a moment, he suggested: "Since you have arranged for them to come to discuss tomorrow, then let's arrange it this way and see the results of their discussion first."

Chan Yi glanced at Quan Shuyu and asked helpfully, "Sir, can't you just make a decision?"

Chen Shao looked at the two of them and said helplessly, "I can give advice to Master Qi because I have a certain understanding of medicine shops. As for the shops that Shuyu just mentioned, so far, I only know what they do. I don't know how they are run specifically. How can you ask me to give advice? Moreover, I have a certain understanding of medicine shops, which is also based on the overall understanding. As for the situation in Hongyuan County, I have to wait until the shopkeepers of the medicine shops come over the day after tomorrow to discuss together and make a decision."

Chan Yi smiled and said, "I thought you could handle anything easily."

Quan Shuyu nodded in agreement.

Chen Shao laughed: "I am also an ordinary person."

Chan Yi immediately said, "Young Master is extraordinary in my heart."

Quan Shuyu echoed: "In my heart, she is not ordinary either."

Chen Shao shook his head and said in agreement: "You are all extraordinary in my heart, especially Shuyu. Your excellence has far exceeded my expectations."

Quan Shuyu did not expect Chen Shao to praise her so directly, and her face turned red instantly.

Chan Yi grabbed her hand and said, "Shu Yu is really amazing. I can't imagine what would have happened to us if we hadn't kept her and all these tasks were piled on me and Fu Jiu."

Quan Shuyu's face turned even redder: "I just did my part."

"Yes, you only did your part," Chan Yi joked, "but the more you did, the better you did it."

Listening to the two people's laughter, Chen Shao felt a little guilty and disappointed. She originally wanted to entrust the construction of the women's academy to Quan Shuyu, but now it seems that she has to find someone else.