The cruel little princess

Prince Jin couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache as he listened to Shen Youyou's words. So many things still needed to be taken care of, and yet she had already prepared everything. It was conceivable that before this, she had been working like a fire, alone, with countless things waiting to be completed. However, he was busy with government affairs during the day, and the old man secretly gave him many memorials to review, so he simply couldn't spare the time to help her. So, he could only carefully remember everything she had just mentioned, planning to check tomorrow to see if there was anything he could do for her, and to assist her with all his strength, so that she wouldn't be too busy to eat or drink.

Prince Jin gently placed his arm around her slender waist, feeling it barely fit in his hand, seemingly thinner, which filled him with pity. He gently picked up Shen Youyou and laid her gently on the bed. He then expertly removed her shoes and socks and covered her with a blanket, saying softly, "Go to sleep, Youyou. I'll be with you on the Luohan couch in the outer room."

Shen Youyou slightly opened her cherry-like mouth, yawned, and replied lazily: "I have already prepared the incense you want. It is in the glass bottle in Duobao Pavilion. You can get it yourself!" After that, she closed her eyes quietly and fell into a sweet dream again.

His Royal Highness Prince Jin stared at her sweet sleeping face, unable to regain consciousness for a long time. When the cock crowed at dawn, His Royal Highness Prince Jin immediately opened his eyes, stood up from the Arhat couch, skillfully arranged the bedding, picked up the food box that had been packed long ago, and took the same spices that she had carefully prepared for him, and then left Shen Youyou's boudoir without anyone noticing.

Shen Youyou, worried about her shop, had also risen early, still dressed in a neat man's outfit. She handed the medicinal diet recipe she had already compiled to An Er, asking him to help find someone to print a few more copies. She wanted to print about thirty or forty copies and place them in the shop, so that customers could easily understand and order. She instructed An Er to take the recipe back as soon as he had carved the samples, as she had another use for it.

An Er stepped forward to take the recipe but did not leave immediately. Instead, he hesitated and said, "Miss."

Then he bowed and said respectfully, "The prince has ordered his subordinates to invite the best painters in the palace, and they are waiting in the shop now. Miss, please go over first and tell the painters which main medicinal foods need to be painted on the wall. Those painters will definitely be able to finish it within a day. After completion, they can help you draw recipes. The prince said that printed recipes are not as vivid and beautiful as the ones drawn directly by the palace painters. At that time, the small advertisements that you mentioned will be fully handled by the painters. As for Chunmanlou, please make a rule, and I will go to the brothel owner Aunt Mei to discuss this business. After you have explained it in the shop, I will follow up on the rest. It will definitely not delay the progress of your shop opening. In the next period of time, you only need to train the cooks who prepare the medicinal foods." An Er succinctly stated what the prince had told him to do.

Shen Youyou was also moved when she heard this. People who are truly good to you don’t just say it, but they take your affairs to heart in every detail and try every possible way to solve them for you!

"Then let's go to the shop first! Don't keep the painters waiting for too long. As for Chunmanlou, I'll go there by myself. There's not much to do." Shen Youyou said, and jumped into the air, mounted his horse, and left the general's mansion with An Er.

When Shen Youyou arrived at the shop, she greeted all the painters and then got straight to the point. She opened the recipes she had prepared and explained the dozen or so medicinal foods that she was promoting to the painters one by one, and also introduced their effects in detail. Then she told them the general locations to be painted. She thought about it and realized that the pillars on the third and second floors also lacked some colors. She might as well not bother two people at once and let these painters do it for her! So she asked which painter was best at figure painting, and then said, "This time, in addition to drawing the medicinal food recipes, we also need to paint some figure paintings on the pillars on the third and second floors. I wonder which painter is best at figure painting?"

At this moment, a painter named Ma stepped forward with a confident smile on his face. He said, "My Lord, I am a humble official, but I am best at portraiture!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Youyou's eyes lit up, and she immediately said, "Okay, Painter Ma, please follow me!" She then led Painter Ma to the second-floor staircase. Once there, she pointed at the surrounding pillars and explained, "On the second-floor pillars, half will be painted with elegant gentlemen, and the other half will be painted with heroic young men. And on the third-floor pillars, half will be painted with gentle and delicate girls, and the other half will be painted with fair-skinned, beautiful women. I wonder if Painter Ma thinks he's up to the task?"

Painter Ma listened to Shen Youyou's words, carefully observed the surroundings, then carefully considered her request. Finally, he asked, "County Lady, do you mean to paint two handsome young men, one civil and one military, on the second-floor pillars, and a beautiful young woman and a dignified and elegant lady on the third-floor pillars?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Youyou thought that this horse painter was quite clever. He immediately understood her intention, so she smiled and nodded, replying, "Yeah, that's about it!"

"Well then, please allow my Excellency two days to finish painting all these pillars!" Painter Ma proudly promised that it could be completed within two days.

"Okay, then I'll trouble Painter Ma." Shen Youyou thanked him.

Shen Youyou then discussed the topic of herbal recipes. The ten or so artists only needed to draw three or five recipes each. Then, regarding the small advertisements, Shen Youyou decided to focus on selling herbal recipes for men to strengthen their essence, kidneys, and constitution, for women to beautify and nourish their skin, for children to nourish their spleen, stomach, and lungs, and for the elderly to relieve constipation, soothe the liver, and regulate qi. The main selling point was a menu of herbal recipes suitable for all ages and genders, available for everyone to purchase! The small advertisements randomly selected a few recipes from the menu and told the artists to draw each recipe separately after they had finished drawing it. Each recipe should be drawn on a piece of paper of the same size, one per recipe, and then distributed on the streets to promote it. With that, the artists understood the meaning of the small advertisements: advertising, advertising, to spread the word! You get it!

After arranging the painters in the shop, the future supervision of the progress will be handed over to An Er.

Shen Youyou came to Chunmanlou again. Because she was dressed as a man today, as soon as she entered the door, she was stopped by Aunt Mei who came after hearing the news.

"Young Master! You are here! I, Aunt Mei, have been looking forward to seeing you for many days! Hahaha!" Aunt Mei laughed heartily, "Young Master, please come this way!" Aunt Mei gestured for her to go into the side room to talk to her about something.

Shen Youyou and An Er followed Aunt Mei to a brightly lit room. Aunt Mei didn't waste any time saying, "Young Master... Oh, look at my mouth! Miss, I didn't even have time to thank you last time. You immediately helped me clear the Fifth Prince's name. Otherwise, our little Chun Man Lou wouldn't be able to withstand the wrath of the imperial family!" As she spoke, Aunt Mei revealed that she had long known about Shen Youyou's disguise. It was true. Aunt Mei's eyes, which had seen countless people, would probably be able to see through any disguise!

However, Aunt Mei is also a knowledgeable and sensible person. Since the other party chooses to dress up as a man, she must have her own concerns, so Aunt Mei continued, "Miss, please rest assured. I will keep your visit to my Chunmanlou a secret! But this..." Aunt Mei pushed over a mahogany box that had been placed on the table. She gently opened it, revealing twenty neatly stacked gold ingots inside, each weighing ten taels.

"Miss, thank you very much for your help last time. This small gift is not a token of my respect. I also know that you are not short of these gold and silver items, but this is all I can give you! I hope you can accept it, which will be regarded as a token of my gratitude!" Aunt Mei said it sincerely and insisted on giving the gift.

Shen Youyou thought to herself: Only Aunt Mei could say something like, "I'm so poor that I only have money left."