Marrying a royal playboy and becoming a glamorous matriarch

Looking at the groceries, Madam Cui smiled and praised Wei Qingrou: "It's all thanks to meeting such a kind-hearted person like you today that they were able to go home earlier."

Wei Qingrou revealed a faint smile, deliberately tilted her head, and gave a sly smile.

"Actually, there's a general store in my dowry shop. These things can be sold there, not entirely for charity."

Upon hearing Wei Qingrou mention that she owned a general store, Madam Cui couldn't help but show a curious expression.

"You actually have a general store?"

For daughters of ordinary noble families, dowry shops usually consist of silk shops or fabric workshops; this was the first time she had ever heard of opening a general store.

Her dowry was arranged in the same way, with jewelry and embroidery shops specially set up for her to make it easier to move to Kyoto.

With a smile, Madam Cui asked, "Is running a general store easy? What do you mainly sell?"

Wei Qingrou didn't hide anything and said in detail, "The things inside are not limited to any particular kind. There are everyday items as well as many novelties collected from various places."

"Where should we search?" Madam Cui's eyes lit up.

"My grocery store supports a group of traveling merchants who travel all over the country, collecting goods from various places, mainly for their novelty."

"However, we also have everyday items that we use, such as medicinal herbs and leather goods, which can be sold in the general store."

Da Cui nodded knowingly and tentatively asked, "Do you have charcoal in your general store?"

Wei Qingrou smiled and said, "Of course we do. The weather in the capital is cold, so we need to prepare these things in advance. Even if we can't sell them, they're still very convenient for our own use."

The Cui family is currently worried about the charcoal issue.

With the weather freezing cold, the price of charcoal outside has skyrocketed. The money that could originally buy three cartloads of charcoal can now only buy one.

If we follow the princess's advice and spend lavishly on charcoal, the household expenses will certainly be insufficient, and then it will all be her fault for being incompetent in managing the household.

Seeing that Wei Qingrou had charcoal in her general store, Madam Cui quickly asked, "How much charcoal do you have, little sister? Could you spare some for me?"

Wei Qingrou thought for a moment, remembering that there was quite a lot of charcoal stored up when she checked the accounts earlier, so she asked Madam Cui, "I wonder how many cartloads Sister Cui would like?"

The eldest daughter of the Cui family looked troubled and hesitated to speak rashly.

“Our household has high consumption, I wonder how much my sister can spare.”

Wei Qingrou said with a smile, "Sure, just say the word."

Lady Cui tentatively asked, "How about ten cartloads?"

Wei Qingrou nodded without hesitation.

Seeing her so generous, Madam Cui thought she was deliberately hoarding goods to sell at high prices, and worried that her budget wouldn't be enough, so she hesitated.

He tentatively asked, "How much does a cartload of charcoal cost at your family's house, sister?"

Wei Qingrou replied truthfully, "The best silver thread charcoal costs twenty taels per cart, while ordinary red silk charcoal costs fifteen taels. I wonder which type you prefer, sister?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Cui's eyes lit up instantly.

This price is incredibly reasonable!

She had previously sent someone to inquire at the shop, and the silver thread charcoal in the shops outside was already selling for fifty taels, and even the ordinary red charcoal was selling for thirty taels.

Unexpectedly, Wei Qingrou offered her such a fair price.

Madam Cui became excited and affectionately took Wei Qingrou's hand.

"Good sister, your price is fair. How many truckloads can you spare for me?"

Wei Qingrou smiled faintly: "Twenty carts are no problem, but perhaps you won't need that many, sister?"

Madam Cui smiled broadly: "Yes, yes, send them all over."

Wei Qingrou was surprised to have closed a big deal today, and she immediately became happy.

"Don't worry, sister. I'll deliver the charcoal to your residence tomorrow. I promise it won't delay your business."

The eldest son of the Cui family breathed a sigh of relief, having resolved a major concern, and his mood brightened considerably.

At this moment, her gaze toward Wei Qingrou became even more gentle and friendly.

Fortunately, this timely help came and solved her immediate problem.

On that day, the eldest princess was in a bad mood and did not return to her princess residence. Instead, she went to the Prince Dun's residence with the princess consort.

The eldest princess was in low spirits, and the Princess Consort of Prince Dun stayed with her the whole time, unable to leave.

Seeing this situation, Wei Qingrou immediately directed her servants to make arrangements after arriving home.

After tidying up the side room and lighting the underfloor heating to make it warm and cozy, they went to invite the Princess and Princess Consort Dun to rest.

Seeing that the room was tidy and orderly, Princess Dun looked at Wei Qingrou with great satisfaction and said gently, "Good child, you've worked hard. Go and rest."

Seeing that everything was ready, Wei Qingrou took her leave.

After a long day, Qin Pingan and Wei Qingrou were both exhausted. After washing up, they went to sleep.

Early the next morning, the princess's maid came to call Wei Qingrou.

Normally, Wei Qingrou could be exempted from paying her respects.

But the princess suddenly came to call me today, there must be something wrong.

Wei Qingrou didn't dare to delay, so she quickly washed up and rushed to the North Courtyard.

As soon as Wei Qingrou entered the room, she saw that the Eldest Princess and the Princess Consort of Prince Dun were already up.

The princess slept well through the night and is in a better mood today.

Thinking back to the room where he slept yesterday, with its fresh scent of grass and flowers and thoughtful touches everywhere, he couldn't help but look at Wei Qingrou with admiration.

"Su Jing, you've married a good wife. She's not only beautiful and obedient, but also considerate in every way."

Princess Dun smiled broadly and said with a boastful look, "That's not all, she's also extremely particular about food. I heard she likes vegetarian food, so today, I'll have her prepare a meal for you."

After saying that, Princess Consort Dun secretly gave Wei Qingrou a wink.

Wei Qingrou understood immediately and quickly said, "Vegetarian dishes are extremely nourishing. Your daughter-in-law will go and prepare them right away. I will certainly not disappoint Mother and Aunt."

Although it was early in the morning, preparing vegetarian food was not difficult.

Because Prince Dun was usually in poor health and ate a light diet, the household had long been experienced in preparing vegetarian meals.

In addition, Wei Qingrou had done a lot of research on the vegetarian dishes for the tofu shop, so she was now very good at organizing them.

Soon, she prepared a vegetarian meal and carried it to the main hall of the north courtyard.

The princess originally had no appetite, but seeing the exquisite vegetarian dishes, she became eager to try them.

On the table were stir-fried seasonal vegetables, mushroom and tofu soup, cold bitter melon salad, stir-fried shredded vegetables, and a jade tofu roll made with tender tofu and fresh vegetables. Every dish was a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.

The vegetarian meal pleased the princess greatly, and she couldn't help but look at Wei Qingrou with even greater admiration.

They really do have some skills.

Yesterday, the princess assumed that the pastries she made in the palace were a special skill she learned in her youth, and that this was just a common way for young ladies of noble families to raise their status.

You only need to know one specialty dish, and that's enough to capture the essence of it.