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墨書 Inktalez
Qin Yaru did not wish to see the two of them, but the teahouse was quite large. She was not the kind of woman who could go unnoticed. Whether in the same room or walking through a crowd, it was likely that others would notice her first.
Chen Wenyue entered the teahouse and immediately focused on Qin Yaru.
After all, more than half of the staff in the teahouse were looking at her, while the remaining half were sneaking glances.
Qin Yaru did not shy away or show any unusual reaction. Instead, it was Chen Wenyue who suddenly felt her pupils constrict and her body stiffen for a moment. Instinctively, she wrapped her arm around Gentle Blue's waist and pushed her back slightly.
Gentle Blue Princess was taken aback and softly said, “Wang Wu?”
Chen Wenyue snapped back to reality, making an effort to soften her stiff expression. She said, “Gentle Blue, I’m a bit tired and want to rest for a while. You can go with Wu Guan Shi and pick two at random; it doesn’t need to be too troublesome.”
Gentle Blue Princess seemed completely unaware of anything amiss. Her gaze flickered, and she smiled mischievously: “Then I’ll take charge. If the ones I choose aren’t good-looking, don’t blame me.”
Her voice was crisp and pleasant, so much so that even Qin Yaru felt a tingle in her heart. She couldn’t help but sigh; in her previous life, she had known that even without stunning beauty, Gentle Blue Princess could easily overshadow the most beautiful women beneath her.
After all, men looked beyond just appearances.
Gentle Blue had clearly made arrangements beforehand. After exchanging a few words with a staff member at the entrance, a plump middle-aged man and a woman in her fifties came out to greet her respectfully and led her to the backyard.
Meanwhile, Chen Wenyue walked straight up to Qin Yaru.
Once a loving couple, they were now not only strangers but had nearly become enemies.
Chen Wenyue's gaze was sharp enough to be considered venomous, yet it carried an unexpressed restraint: “Why have you come to Kaifeng?” A simple question laced with an underlying coldness.
“What? Has that Marquis not had enough fun and decided to keep you hidden away?”
Qin Yaru exhaled. She did not want to meet this person either, but since they had crossed paths, there was no need to avoid it. She curled her lips into a casual smile and replied, “Wang Wu, I remember that you are supposed to take the palace examination next February. Do you really want to discuss grievances here? If you truly want this reputation of abandoning your wife before achieving success, I don’t mind.”
Chen Wenyue's face paled slightly as her gaze flickered. After a long pause, she frowned: “When did you become so sharp-tongued? If I weren’t so familiar with you, I might think you were someone else in disguise.”
Chen Wulang had a good appearance. Now that he wasn't drinking and hadn't been troubled by Pang Yuanying, he was clear-headed. Just now, seeing Qin Yaru might have stirred up some unpleasant memories for him. After exchanging a few words, he calmed down, sighed, and said, "Qin Yaru, you should honestly leave Kaifeng and not linger here. Otherwise, don't blame me for not considering our past as a couple."
Qin Yaru sneered, "Don't use the word 'couple'; it makes me feel sick."
Perhaps accustomed to being provoked, Chen Wenyue was no longer angry at this moment. He returned to his usual nonchalant demeanor and shrugged casually. "As the saying goes, a day as a couple means a hundred days of kindness. We are not just a couple for a day. Although we are already divorced, I am not heartless towards you. These words are for your own good. The water in Kaifeng is too murky; as a woman, staying here will only bring you trouble. Even if you don't think of yourself, you should consider Da Lang..."
"Qin Yaru, I'm hungry."
Qin Yaru came back to her senses and saw Gao Feng and Da Lang both holding their stomachs with the same pitiful expression directed at her.
Unable to help but laugh, Qin Yaru didn't cook but went out to find someone to help. Before long, a table full of food was set up. Gao Feng didn't stand on ceremony and took Da Lang to the backyard for a hot bath to wash off the sweat before happily sitting down to eat together.
While stuffing bread into his mouth, he mumbled, "I noticed that many of the books in your Nangyun Study are not available on the market; there are even quite a few royal collections?"
Qin Yaru nodded and smiled, "I encountered some benefactors. There are books from Chongwen Academy and Longtu Pavilion here; it's difficult for ordinary people to borrow them."
She was able to successfully establish the Nangyun Study not only thanks to Bai Yunsheng and Zhan Yu but also due to the assistance of the Gentle Blue Princess.
That day when she unintentionally met Chen Wenyue, although Qin Yaru verbally sparred with him without suffering major losses, upon reflection, she couldn't help but smile bitterly. She felt uneasy; after all, Chen Wenyue was now associated with Xiangyang Wang, who was a high-ranking prince. If he truly wanted to settle scores with her, it wouldn't be difficult at all!
Qin Yaru had always been cautious. Since it was already destined that she would offend Xiangyang Wang, she refused to sit idly by. Thus, disregarding her reluctance to trouble Bai Yunsheng, she followed the message he left behind and took the token to find Bai Yunsheng.
Unfortunately, Young Master Bai happened to have important matters that required him to leave the capital at that time. If Qin Yaru delayed another day in finding him, he would probably be miles away.
With no other choice, this Bai surname Husband who valued promises would not abandon Qin Yaru. He simply took her to Zhan Yu's place and entrusted her to Zhan Yu.
Despite Young Master Bai often finding Zhan Yu displeasing and frequently causing him trouble—sometimes even pushing Zhan Yu to the brink of bloodshed—when it came time for help, he could only think of this 'enemy' first.
This trust turned out to be well-placed.
Zhan Yu was clearly more thoughtful and meticulous than Bai Yunsheng. Upon hearing that Qin Yaru wanted to buy a house, he quickly inquired and found out that a criminal official's residence was up for sale.
Generally, when Official Authorities sell the belongings of criminal officials, they are sold at a discount, and many items are quite cheap, which attracts many wealthy merchants. Although some people feel it is taboo since these items were used by criminals and bringing them home is considered unlucky, most people find it worthwhile as long as the quality is good and the price is low.
If it were Qin Yaru, she probably wouldn't even know when items would be sold, let alone buy anything. However, with Zhan Yu taking action, it was entirely different. He purchased a residence worth at least fifty thousand taels or even more for just eighteen thousand taels. The location was extremely advantageous, situated right above Yujie.
The environment was pleasant and bustling with people, many of whom were scholars. This place perfectly matched Qin Yaru's preferences, to the extent that even if she spent most of her family assets, she still felt it was worth it.
However, this meant that if she didn't quickly find a way to earn money, Young Lady Qin would soon struggle to pay her Lady-in-Waiting's wages.
With finances tight, Qin Yaru even considered renting out the front yard of the residence. A large house with a garden in Kaifeng could fetch at least ten taels of rent per month.
But after thinking it over, she found it troublesome since very few people rented short-term; usually, leases were calculated annually, which meant a long commitment.
Just as Qin Yaru was worrying about money, an incident occurred—Gentle Blue Princess was injured.
While Gentle Blue Princess was out shopping with her Lady-in-Waiting, a woman suddenly rushed over and splashed a basin of scalding hot water all over her.
Although the Lady-in-Waiting was alert and pushed her mistress away in time, Gentle Blue Princess still suffered burns on her arm. If not for the timely treatment from the physician, she would have been left with very noticeable scars.
With the Princess being attacked in public, Kaifeng Prefecture naturally had to intervene and investigate. As they looked into the matter, they eventually traced it back to Qin Yaru.
Since Chen Wenyue had divorced Qin Yaru and now his relationship with Gentle Blue Princess was an open secret among those who needed to know, it was no surprise that Qin Yaru became a suspect in the eyes of Kaifeng Prefecture officials.
Chen Wenyue was so furious that his eyes turned red; he came directly to confront her. If he weren't concerned about his reputation and worried about how this might affect his career, things could have escalated further.
Qin Yaru even prepared herself for the possibility of having to go to court.
If a woman ends up in court, regardless of whether she is guilty or innocent, her reputation is irrevocably damaged. However, Qin Yaru wasn't too worried; after all, she didn't plan on remarrying and didn't need to worry about having a difficult life in her husband's family. While she wanted to maintain a good reputation, she wasn't afraid of having a slightly tarnished one either.
However, it was unexpected that just a few days later, the situation took a turn. Our Gentle Blue Princess was not speaking nonsense with her eyes wide open; she had accidentally burned herself.
This matter could have gone unaddressed since the victim did not wish to pursue it, and the people of Kaifeng Prefecture were happy to avoid trouble. However, Qin Yaru couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration in her heart, even more uncomfortable than her previous experience in court.
If she had gone to court, at least she could have defended herself. But now, with the Gentle Blue Princess making such a scene, it made her appear magnanimous and merciful. Such a noble Princess, yet she didn't even care that someone had hurt her. What a broad-minded person; perhaps no one would believe that Qin Yaru was innocent. After all, if Gentle Blue wanted to frame her, why would she let go so easily instead of pursuing the matter relentlessly?
After feeling stifled for a while, Qin Yaru once again sensed the formidable combat power of the Gentle Blue Princess. It was definitely lethal in an invisible way, something that ordinary people could not compare to.
However, she only felt a bit frustrated. After all, even for the sake of Chen Wenyue, the Gentle Blue Princess would not make this matter widely known at such a time. At most, it would leave her with a 'cruel' impression in the minds of some higher-ups, which was not a big deal.
Moreover, our Qin Young Lady was indeed quite lucky; this commotion caused by the Gentle Blue Princess led her to encounter a benefactor.
That benefactor was none other than Yan Yan, the Wife who had been rescued by Zhan Yu and had served as a Lady-in-Waiting in Ji Ren Tang. Initially, Yan Yan did not know that Qin Yaru had arrived in the capital. Perhaps because Zhan Yu was a man, it was inappropriate for him to maintain too much contact with a Wife. However, after hearing the gossip about the Gentle Blue Princess, she immediately recognized that this was her close friend from Jiunzhou.
Although Yan Yan did not mention her background, it was likely that her status was not low. Just because Qin Yaru wanted to establish a place for scholars in Kaifeng City to study, the next day she sent over a large number of books. While they were not ancient rare editions, they were certainly not something one could easily find on the market.
“Yan Yan?” Upon hearing Qin Yaru mention this name, Gao Feng suddenly felt it sounded familiar. After thinking for a moment but failing to recall, he dismissed it from his mind and frowned. “That so-called Gentle Blue Princess actually dared to let you suffer grievances; what audacity! We have never gotten along with that Xiangyang Wang, so let's start by reclaiming some interest from his daughter.”
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