Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Mr. Hua and Prince Ding'an talked for a long time in the study before going back to their room to sleep. Mei'er didn't say anything more. She knew her own status. Anyway, she had said what needed to be said. The rest was up to Prince Ding'an to do.

Two days later, the noble lady, who was enjoying bird's nest at the inn, suddenly received an invitation.

She took it, sent the person away, and didn't open it to look at it. Instead, she handed it to Xia Yu, who was sitting opposite her dressed as a maid.

Xia Yu opened the invitation, glanced at it, scoffed, and threw it onto the table in front of her.

"Hmph, the Prince of Ding'an is hosting a banquet tonight and has invited you to attend."

"It's that easy to meet the real person?" The woman dressed as an older woman was somewhat incredulous; it seemed far too easy.

"No wine is good, no banquet is good! Be alert tonight and don't fall into any traps," Xia Yu reminded him after thinking for a moment.

"Yes, princess."

At dusk, a noblewoman rode in a carriage with a dozen or so maids and a red coral as tall as a person, parading through the city towards the residence of the Prince of Ding'an.

People on the street gave her a wide berth when they saw her out, and they all marveled at the sight of the giant red coral, which was as tall as a person. Coral is hard to come by, let alone one so big.

"We've really seen something amazing! Otherwise, we'd never see such a treasure in our entire lives!" The onlookers shook their heads and exclaimed in admiration as they watched the carriage carrying the red coral disappear into the distance.

Upon arriving at the gate, the maid handed over the invitation. The guard opened it, glanced at it, and immediately became respectful.

"Madam, please come in. I will show you the way."

"Hmm, not bad, reward him." The noble lady nodded in satisfaction at his polite manners and gave an order to the maid beside her.

The maidservant beside her deftly took out two gold leaves from her pocket and handed them over.

"Thank you for the reward, Madam! Thank you for the reward, Madam!" The guard who had led the way, seeing that this lady was indeed as rumored to enjoy giving out rewards, excitedly accepted the gold leaf handed to him by the maid with both hands. His attitude towards her became even more respectful.

The guard led them to the banquet courtyard. As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, they attracted everyone's attention, not only for her unparalleled pomp and circumstance but also for her attire.

Several wives of officials in the city, entrusted by the prince to properly entertain this distinguished lady, came forward to greet her upon her arrival.

"Madam, I am the wife of Commander Lu. We met once before at Cuihua Tower. Do you remember me?" Madam Lu greeted the noblewoman, who was still wearing a hat, with a warm smile.

“Of course I remember Madam Lu. My maid was too rude that day, and I apologize to Madam Lu.”

"Madam, you're too kind. There's no need for apologies. It was Madam who booked the entire Cuihua Restaurant that day, so it really wasn't appropriate for us to go in." Madam Lu finished speaking, glanced at the hat she was wearing, and then smiled.

"Madam, I'm still unsure how to address you."

My husband's surname is Wang.

“Madam Wang, now that we’re in this courtyard, and we’re all women, why don’t you take off your hats and relax a bit?” said a plump lady standing next to Madam Lu.

“Yes, now that we are all women, why don’t we take off these hats?” Madam Lu quickly chimed in, urging them on.

"Hmm, I'm so used to wearing it that I completely forgot about it for a moment." Madam Wang chuckled and gestured for her maid to remove the hat from her head.

Everyone had been wondering if she had some flaw in her appearance, which was why she always wore that suffocating hat. But the moment she took off the hat and looked up, the once lively courtyard fell silent.

From the moment she entered the courtyard, everyone there had been watching them. But when they saw her dazzling beauty beneath her hat, everyone fell silent.

Seeing the sudden silence in the courtyard, Madam Wang smiled gently, her lips pursed. But her smile made even the most vibrant flowers in the courtyard lose their luster.

"Madam Lu..." Madam Wang called softly.

Startled back to her senses by Madam Wang's voice, Madam Lu blushed slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Madam Wang is so beautiful that even we women were almost bewitched by her."

“What’s so good about that? You have to wear a hat every time you go out, otherwise…” Madam Wang shook her head and sighed, not finishing her sentence.

"Madam Wang, please come inside. Let me introduce you to the people who came today, and let everyone see you, such a beautiful and wealthy lady." Madam Lu said jokingly as she led Madam Wang inside.

It can be said that this banquet was entirely set up for Lady Wang. All the ladies who attended the banquet were very tactful in flattering her. The banquet lasted for more than an hour in a lively atmosphere before it ended. It can be said that both the host and guests were happy.

It wouldn't be appropriate to say that the guests and hosts had a great time, because none of them actually saw the host of the banquet, namely Prince Ding'an.

Back at the inn, Shen Twelve, disguised as the noblewoman Madam Wang, asked Xia Yu some strange questions.

"Princess, we haven't seen Prince Ding'an all night. What does it mean that he invited us to the banquet but didn't show up?"

“He has no female relatives in Dingcheng. How can a prince like him meet with us? Just wait and see. In a couple of days, he’ll definitely find a mistress for his household,” Xia Yu said, taking a bite of a grape from the fruit plate.

Actually, although Xia Yu and the others did not see Prince Ding'an, Prince Ding'an clearly saw Lady Wang's face from a place where they could not see.

"Sir, she said her husband's surname is Wang. I wonder if it's the Wang family from Jinling?"

"Judging from her lavish spending, she must be from the Wang family. I just wonder which member of the Wang family she is, and why she would come to Dingcheng during this time of war and chaos!" Mr. Hua stroked his beard, pondering.

"Send someone to Jinling to find out which member of the Wang family has run away, and whether their appearance and age match," the Prince of Ding'an suddenly said.

"Yes, I'll arrange it in a bit. But Your Highness, there's still no news about the dozen or so men I sent to Zhangjia Village. That's probably not a good thing!"

"..." The Prince of Ding'an felt a pang of heartache at the mention of the dozen or so people who had lost contact. He only had thirty such secret guards under his command, and now almost half of them were gone. It would take several years to train another wave, but he couldn't worry about those people now; if they were lost, so be it.