Strategy

Strategy

Just when she thought she had passed this hurdle, she was stopped again. Jiang Chaoyu had no choice but to make a last-ditch effort, but she said in a low voice, "I am ugly and I am afraid of startling Your Highness."

Hearing her say that, Zeng Chenhua became even more curious. "It's alright, just raise your head and let me take a look."

Hearing this, Jiang Chaoyu was at a loss for words and had no choice but to steel herself and look Zeng Chenhua in the eye.

The moment Jiang Chaoyu looked up, her eyes were as dull as a dead fish, devoid of any emotion. Zeng Chenhua always felt that those eyes were extremely familiar, but when he tried to match them in his mind, he could never remember anyone. Yet, he also felt that no one he knew had such eyes.

Thinking it over, I gave up. "Let's go out."

She thought she would be recognized, but she didn't expect that her appearance would successfully deceive Zeng Chenhua. She was so happy that her eyes lit up for a moment, but she was afraid that she would get too carried away. She quickly regained her composure and replied softly, "Thank you, Your Highness."

After leaving the study, he walked quickly. He hadn't noticed any useful clues earlier. He had spent half a day at the Second Prince's residence but hadn't found any useful information. It seemed he would have to observe further.

While Jiang Chaoyu was still thinking about how to find clues, Zeng Chenhua had already noticed something was wrong. He felt something was off when he looked at the eyes, and now that he thought about it...

When he first looked directly at the maid, her lifeless eyes revealed nothing. But after he told her to leave, the sudden brightness in her eyes made Zeng Chenhua belatedly realize who she was.

No wonder he seemed somewhat familiar; it turns out that person was Jiang Chaoyu, the second young lady of the Jiang family.

"Find that maid from earlier!" Zeng Chenhua thought that Jiang Chaoyu must have come for the dock matter, so he directly ordered Yun Qi outside to find Jiang Chaoyu. However, when Yun Qi returned to report, he said that she was no longer in the mansion.

After failing to find any clues from Zeng Chenhua, Jiang Chaoyu returned to the Crescent Moon Gate, completely unaware that she had been exposed.

When they returned to the Crescent Moon Gate, they only saw Xu Ninghui there, so they asked, "Are you alone? Where is Yuanxiu?"

When Xu Ninghui saw Jiang Chaoyu's changed appearance, he was startled and asked her in return, "Who are you, and how did you get into the Crescent Moon Gate?"

Disciples of the Crescent Moon Sect all wear sect badges, which are symbols of their identity.

If you want to enter the main hall of the Crescent Moon Gate, you must have an identification badge.

However, Xu Ninghui found the man's appearance somewhat strange, and since she had never seen him before at the Crescent Moon Gate, she was quite suspicious.

Seeing Xu Ninghui's scrutinizing gaze, Jiang Chaoyu realized that she still looked the same as she did at the Second Prince's residence, as if she hadn't taken the pill to restore her appearance.

So he took out a pill from his sleeve, ate it casually, and suddenly his appearance changed.

Xu Ninghui saw that the person in front of her had changed from one appearance to another, becoming Senior Sister Jiang Chaoyu.

Startled, she exclaimed, "Senior Sister!" Xu Ninghui was overjoyed.

"It's so late, why aren't you resting yet?" Jiang Chaoyu came to find Li Yuanxiu, but only saw Xu Ninghui.

Looking around, I didn't see anyone else.

Xu Ninghui scratched the back of his head, hesitant, wondering whether he should speak up.

Seeing this, Jiang Chaoyu knew that Xu Ninghui was hiding a secret from her, noticing Xu Ninghui's guilty expression. "Alright, just tell me, what is it?"

Jiang Chaoyu sat down next to Xu Ninghui, picked up the tea on the table, and began to drink. To be honest, Uncle Leng was not only skilled in poisons, but also in making this tea. Every time she came, she would crave a sip of this tea.

Xu Ninghui glanced around and, finding no one else, said with relief, "Didn't a Mr. Zhao want to ask my senior uncle for a favor before?"

Hearing this, Jiang Chaoyu understood and looked at Xu Ninghui, "So Yuanxiu went to be the manager."

Seeing that Jiang Chaoyu already knew, Xu Ninghui nodded.

"Where?" Jiang Chaoyu put down her teacup and stood up.

She was very curious as to why Li Yuanxiu had suddenly accepted this task.

"Shijin Manor in the east of the city is opening today." After saying the location, Xu Ninghui continued, "Senior Sister, can I go with you?" Seeing that Jiang Chaoyu was already planning to go, he offered to go with her.

Since Xu Ninghui wanted to go, Jiang Chaoyu didn't stop him, and simply said, "Let's go."

In the dead of night, with only a few people on the street, it felt rather deserted.

Seeing that there weren't many people around, Jiang Chaoyu strolled along the street with Xu Ninghui. The evening breeze gently caressed the hem of Jiang Chaoyu's skirt, swaying with her walk.

Jiang Chaoyu took another disguise pill, reverting to her previous appearance. After all, her identity as the second young lady of the Prime Minister's mansion was now known to others, which was troublesome. As for Xu Ninghui, no one knew where he came from. If they saw him, they would simply mistake him for some young master from another family.

At this moment, Li Yuanxiu took a disguise pill and transformed into someone else to become the shopkeeper.

Today is her first day as manager, and she needs to take care of many things in the store.

Jiang Chaoyu and Xu Ninghui went to Li Yuanxiu's shop, but after looking around, they couldn't find Li Yuanxiu. They only saw the shopkeeper greeting customers.

Since she hadn't seen anyone, Jiang Chaoyu thought she should just go back, but the shopkeeper called her back just as she turned around.

"Junior brother!" Perhaps because Jiang Chaoyu had also taken the disguise pill, Li Yuanxiu did not recognize Jiang Chaoyu, but he did see Xu Ninghui standing next to him.

A person's appearance can change, but their voice cannot. Hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Chaoyu turned around and looked at the shopkeeper. The two recognized each other the moment their eyes met.

"Yuanxiu!" He greeted her as he approached. Seeing how busy she was, he asked, "We didn't recognize you at first. Is there anything my junior brother and I can help you with?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ninghui boasted about his arm, saying, "I'm the top dog, you know."

Xu Ninghui is a few years younger than Jiang Chaoyu and Li Yuanxiu. Sometimes Jiang Chaoyu feels like he is her younger brother.

Jiang Chaoyu patted Xu Ninghui's arm and teased him, "Yeah, he's the top dog."

Li Yuanxiu waved his hand, "Since you're here as a guest, there's no need for you to help. It's just that the shop is open today, so it's a bit busy."

When Jiang Chaoyu entered for the first time, all the silks were hanging up, making them easy to see at a glance.

I saw a piece of fabric nearby, a bright red color, perfect for a wedding dress. It felt soft to the touch and had a smooth, even surface, while the satin next to it was thick and had a glossy, smooth surface—truly fine material.

"This silk is quite nice; it feels smooth to the touch," he thought to himself.

Seeing that Jiang Chaoyu liked it, Li Yuanxiu joked with her, "This is the best silk in my shop. Today is the auspicious day for opening, so I can give you a discount."

Jiang Chaoyu smiled and responded to Li Yuanxiu, "Is that so? What percentage can you offer?"

Li Yuanxiu extended a finger, raised an eyebrow, and hinted at Jiang Chaoyu.

Jiang Chaoyu feigned surprise, then said happily, "Yicheng, shopkeeper, you're so generous! Please wrap it up for me."

The two started chatting and laughing when a real guest came in.

This person was tall and slender, with black hair flowing down his back, a straight nose, but sparse eyebrows and eyes. A servant stood beside him.

As soon as he entered, he began to ask, "Shopkeeper, I would like to have a wedding dress made for my wife. Is that possible?"

Upon seeing that a real business opportunity had arrived, Li Yuanxiu stopped joking with Jiang Chaoyu and readily agreed. "Sure, but I wonder which type the customer would like?"

The man pointed to the bolt of silk behind Jiang Chaoyu and asked her, "Miss, would you like that bolt of silk?"

Jiang Chaoyu followed the man's gaze to the silk behind him. She had touched it before and it was indeed a good batch of silk. She didn't expect that this customer would take a liking to it at a glance.

Perhaps he was blocking the way, so he moved a step to the side and said, "I'm just looking around. If the customer likes it, then please buy it."

The man said calmly, "Thank you."

Jiang Chaoyu had always thought this person was just an ordinary guest, but she never expected that he was Zeng Chenhua.

Zeng Chenhua had been wondering how Jiang Chaoyu had disguised herself, but then he remembered that the Crescent Moon Sect had a medical pavilion, so she must have taken a disguise pill. He then asked Yun Qi to bring her a disguise pill.

I came to this silk shop based on the information I had heard before, and I didn't expect to actually run into Jiang Chaoyu here.

Seeing that she still looked the same, he smiled. He took a liking to the bolt of silk behind her and pretended it was made for his wife.

Li Yuanxiu took a liking to this customer at first glance; he was a straightforward person. He said, "Our shop is newly opened, so we can offer customers a 50% discount."

Zeng Chenhua refused outright, "No need, whatever the price is, is fine."

He had his eye on the silk, but he needed to take the customer's measurements. Seeing that his wife wasn't with the customer, Li Yuanxiu was at a loss and said, "Clothes are easy to make, but we need to take your wife's measurements before we can begin."

Seeing this, Zeng Chenhua continued, "My wife has a scar on her face." As he said this, he looked at Jiang Chaoyu. As soon as he said this, Jiang Chaoyu felt the scar on her face instantly become hot.

After just one glance, Zeng Chenhua looked away. "But she is extremely beautiful. She always complains that she is ugly and doesn't want to go out. And since she lives alone, I was able to take advantage of her. I will write down the size for the shopkeeper."

Xu Ninghui listened from the side, then quietly approached Jiang Chaoyu and whispered in her ear, "Senior sister, when that person first spoke, I thought he was talking about you."

Jiang Chaoyu delivered an elbow strike directly at Xu Ninghui's face. The sudden pain almost caught Xu Ninghui off guard, causing him to cry out. His face contorted with rage, he gritted his teeth and said, "Senior sister, you're ruthless."

Hearing the sound, Jiang Chaoyu realized that she might have hit too hard, and said softly, "I'm sorry, but I've told you so many times, your senior sister is ticklish, and she was talking in my ear!"

Zeng Chenhua also noticed their actions, but remained silent. He wrote it down to Li Yuanxiu and then said, "Send it to Zhao Village outside the city in three days."

While Jiang Chaoyu was still talking to Xu Ninghui, she heard Zeng Chenhua mention Zhao Village and was reminded of the matter of Zhao Dongjia that she had been investigating.

Upon seeing this, Li Yuanxiu said, "Alright, take care, guest."

Upon hearing Zhao's name, Jiang Chaoyu couldn't sit still any longer. "Yuanxiu, why don't you let me deliver it then!"

After Zeng Chenhua walked away, he said directly to Yun Qi, "Tell the people at Zhao Village not to stop anyone from breaking in." Zeng Chenhua was very curious about what Jiang Chaoyu wanted to know.