The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

The two of them climbed up the stairs.

A waiter in a grey shorts came over quickly, and while bowing, he looked them over from the corner of his eye. "Madam, please come inside for tea."

The way he led the way was respectful but not flattering, showing that he had been strictly trained.

The moment An Lingrong stepped over the threshold, a ray of morning sunlight slanted through the gate and fell on the hem of her skirt. The seemingly plain fabric suddenly emitted a colorful glow, just like the morning glow reflecting on the snow.

The waiter's pupils suddenly shrank. This was clearly the finest floating brocade! Looking at the maid beside her, she was also wearing the finest fabric.

It seems that this person is of high status!

He forced himself to remain calm, and while serving tea he quietly made a gesture to the inner room. The other waiter immediately understood and ran quickly to the backyard.

The store is elegantly decorated, with various embroidery pieces neatly displayed on the nanmu counter, including brocade handkerchiefs with peony flowers, sachets with butterfly-loving flowers, and screens with landscapes and figures... The stitches are fine and even, and the colors are elegant and refined, and my mother's embroidery style can be seen everywhere.

Soon, a middle-aged man in a light blue robe with floral patterns came quickly.

He glanced at An Lingrong and immediately became more cautious, clasping his fists and bowing, "Greetings, Madam. What would you like to see? Would you like to call the female shopkeeper to serve you?"

"No need to bother." An Lingrong smiled faintly. "I've noticed that the embroidery in your shop has quite a Jiangnan style. May I ask, shopkeeper, which embroiderer created this?"

"Madam, you have a good eye. Our shop specially hired an embroidery master from Jiangnan. All the embroidery here is done by her and the embroiderers."

"Oh, may I see you?"

"You've come at an unfortunate time. The chef is busy today and isn't in the shop. Why don't you leave your address? I'll send someone to deliver the invitation when the chef returns."

An Lingrong was stunned when she heard this, and then she suddenly realized that Mrs. Shen knew that she had left the palace, and she would definitely tell her mother. Her mother must have gone to the Shen Mansion to wait for her.

"No need, I was just asking casually."

After saying that, he went with Liu Zhu to look at the clothes and jewelry on the counter.

The shopkeeper followed and introduced.

Just as I was looking at a handkerchief decorated with gorgeous flowers, I suddenly heard a commotion outside the store.

The shopkeeper apologized and walked towards the door of the store.

An Lingrong always loved to watch the fun, so she also pulled Liu Zhu to the door.

I saw a woman with gray hair on her temples slumped on a bluestone slab, her coarse clothes were patched with patches, and she was holding two pieces of plain cloth tightly in her arms.

The shopkeeper asked the clerk beside him, "Chang Lin, what's going on?"

The clerk named Chang Lin wiped his sweat and said, "Boss, this sister-in-law came to hand in some cloth. Aunt Liu, who is in charge of the inspection, said that the cloth was too loose and couldn't be accepted according to the rules. She insisted on seeing you. I told her that you were entertaining guests in the front hall and asked her to wait a moment. Then she ran to the front door!"

The shopkeeper took the cloth and carefully examined it. It was indeed sparse in warp and weft. "Sister Wang, this is more than once or twice that you've delivered cloth to my Zhou Family Silk Shop. You should know the acceptance criteria, right?"

The woman suddenly fell to her knees and begged, "Boss, my husband is too ill to get out of bed, and we're relying on these two bolts of cloth to buy medicine! I know the weaving is not good, but there's no lamp oil at night, and my eyes really can't see clearly. Please be kind and accept it for now!"

The shopkeeper looked hesitant: "It's easy for me to accept these two pieces of cloth from you today, but if others follow suit tomorrow, then I will accept them or not. This is my business, and I have to be responsible for my boss."

Hearing this, the light in the woman's eyes suddenly went out. She staggered, picked up the cloth, and walked away.

The crowd of onlookers dispersed with sighs, leaving only a young man in a dark red brocade robe standing there, waving a Xiangfei bamboo folding fan.

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly when he saw the man and stepped forward: "Third Young Master, why are you here?"

"I was shopping and saw that it was lively here, so I came to take a look."

The shopkeeper recounted what had happened.

After listening to the whole story, he closed his fan and tapped it three times on his palm: "Send someone to follow and take a look. If it's true..."

He took out a silver ingot from his purse and said, "Just say it's a prepayment for next time." Then he said seriously, "But tell her that we won't accept inferior goods."

"Yes."

The shopkeeper responded and called a waiter to arrange the matter.

The man then walked into the store, fanning himself.

An Lingrong nodded secretly. This man looked like a playboy, but he was quite reliable in his work.

Hey, that’s not right. The shopkeeper calls him the Third Young Master.

This is the Shen family's property. The third young master of the Shen family is the younger brother who is about to turn thirty and has not yet married and is the closest to Shen Meizhuang!

An Lingrong became interested and looked at it carefully.

I saw that the Third Young Master Shen was half a head taller than an ordinary man. His dark red brocade robe made his skin look like jade. The plum blossom branches embroidered with silver thread on the hem appeared and disappeared with his movements. The mutton-fat jade pendant hanging around his waist was transparent and warm, and it was obvious that it was made of top-quality Hetian seed material.

Looking up, the face was handsome, but there was a hint of cynicism and frivolity between his eyebrows.

Shen Yunfei noticed the gaze and turned around to see a beautiful lady. He immediately became alert and quickly put away his folding fan. He put his left hand behind his back, held the fan in his right hand, threw it up and then caught it again.

"whispering sound!"

An Lingrong rolled her eyes and continued to choose jewelry with Liu Zhu.

Although these jewelries were not as luxurious and exquisite as those in the palace, they were simple and lovely. The two of them selected a few hairpins, paid the bill and walked out of the store.

Shen Yunfei stayed for a while, felt a little bored and prepared to go home.

He was humming an unknown tune as he walked. When he turned a corner, he heard the maidservant beside the woman asking for the direction of the Shen Mansion.

He was a little curious and walked over to her: "Are you going to the Shen Mansion?"

An Lingrong looked at him with a half-smile: "What does it have to do with you?"

"I know the way."

An Lingrong thought for a moment. She had been wandering around for so long, and her mother and Madam Shen must be getting impatient. So she said, "Thank you for your help!"

Shen Yunfei waved his hand casually: "Let's go!"

Turning the corner of the alley, a forbidding mansion loomed in the distance. Its blue-brick, black-tiled walls stretched for several feet. In front of the gate, a pair of white marble lions gleamed in the sunlight. Carved horse posts flanked the gate. Looking up, the characters "Shen Mansion" were written in a flamboyant style.

An Lingrong turned her head and said calmly, "Thank you!"

"You are welcome!"

Shen Yunfei did not reveal his identity and stood behind a willow tree, watching them.

Liu Zhu took a few steps forward and knocked on the corner door next to him. Immediately, a gatekeeper opened the door a crack.

"Excuse me, please inform me that a lady named An wants to see Madam Shen."

As he spoke, he handed over a piece of silver.

The servant glanced at the two of them and pushed the silver back: "Please wait a moment, I will go and inform them."

With that, he ran in.

An Lingrong was looking around the Shen Mansion with great interest when she suddenly heard a muffled "creak" sound - the vermilion lacquered door that usually only welcomed distinguished guests slowly opened.