Chapter 45 Shen Nanzi surprised Xie Yan

Chapter 45 Shen Nanzi surprised Xie Yan

Xie Yan, Shen Nanzi, and Xiao Wan went to the accounting office at the back.

Lin Ruyi and Xue Qingning, the brother and sister, were left in the shop.

Xue Qingning picked up the pipa, and Lin Ruyi picked up the zither.

"Second Imperial Consort, are you going to play the pipa at the Emperor's birthday banquet?"

Lin Ruyi's fingers traced the zither selection, and before Xue Qingning could answer, she asked again, "I wonder what Princess Jing has prepared?"

"She doesn't seem to have any talent, but she has Prince Jing backing her up."

"Unlike the Second Princess and I, if we want our children to have a chance to shine in the future, we can only rely on ourselves and work hard to learn a skill."

"In this world where men are in power, life is really difficult, especially for women without husbands!"

"Isn't your lord still alive?" Xue Qingning picked up a black lacquered pipa inlaid with mother-of-pearl and plucked a string.

The sound entered my ears, melodious and lingering.

Lin Ruyi smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes; it was like the wind dissolving. "Lying paralyzed in bed all day, what difference is there between you and a dead person!"

Xue Qingning played another note, "Didn't they say a few days ago that your lord was terminally ill?"

Lin Ruyi sighed, her words filled with disappointment, "It seems the King of Hell has forgotten him and brought him back to life."

"Being alive is better than being dead! Who cares about an orphan and a widow?" Xue Qingning smiled faintly.

Lin Ruyi stared at the door behind her. "Who is that woman? Why does she know Prince Jing?"

"Women of brothels".

Lin Ruyi was surprised, "Princess Jing didn't kill her, and even made her the manager?"

Xue Qingning remained silent, looking quite dejected.

"How interesting!" Lin Ruyi stroked the zither in her hand and gestured for the waiter to deliver it to the Marquis's residence.

"Second Imperial Consort, please take your time choosing. I will go first."

Xue Qingning remained silent, focusing intently on choosing the pipa.

...

Inside the accounting office, Xie Yan stood with his hands behind his back by the window, sizing up Xiao Wan.

She stood by the door furthest from him, seemingly worried that Shen Nanzi might misunderstand her.

Her eyes were lowered, staring at the ground. She was no longer the girl who used to play the pipa on stage until her fingernails were worn out.

There was an added sense of stability and composure.

Even after confirming that she was still alive, my feelings were still complicated.

He looked at her hair, which was pulled up in a bun, and asked, "You're married?"

Xiao Wan's face was filled with happiness. "Yes! I've already had two children."

"It is... somewhat surprising!" Xie Yan muttered to himself. An old friend who had died many years ago had actually gotten married and had children right under his nose.

Shen Nanzi found a stool, sat down leisurely, and, feeling really bored, looked at her fingers. She really liked the nail polish she had done this time.

It has fine gold powder on it, making it sparkle and very beautiful.

"Then why did you leave the words 'Save me' on the wall in the first place?" Xie Yan thought she had died because of this and couldn't find her.

"Someone wanted to kill Xiaowan at the time, and I wrote this in desperation, hoping that Your Highness could save me." Xiaowan looked at Shen Nanzi with a hint of relief on her face.

"When I thought I was going to die, it was Princess Jing who saved Xiao Wan."

She looked at Xie Yan and said, "So, Xiao Wan's life also belongs to Princess Jing."

Xie Yan looked up and glanced at Shen Nanzi, who was idly playing with her nails.

She was really... Xie Yan wanted to laugh speechlessly, not knowing how to describe her composure, as if this matter had nothing to do with her.

"Is it possible that the person who killed you was someone she hired to impersonate you?"

“Xie Yan,” Shen Nanzi, who had been bored to the side, immediately looked up, her beautiful eyes wide, and retorted, “You often say that I make malicious assumptions, but aren’t you the same way?”

"The others have no motive." For some reason, seeing her acting like a fighting cock, Xie Yan felt that the two of them had returned to a normal way of getting along, and he was actually somewhat... satisfied.

Shen Nanzi sneered, grinning speechlessly, "If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. Think whatever you want, it's not me anyway."

Xiao Wan quickly explained, "It really wasn't Princess Jing, because that person really wanted to kill me. Princess Jing even got stabbed while trying to save me."

Shen Nanzi lifted her sleeve, revealing a faint scar about a finger's length on her snow-white arm.

Xie Yan remembered the scar; when they were in bed together, her arm was right in front of him, and it was hard not to notice it.

He casually asked her about it, and she said she got burned while making him hibiscus cake.

This liar never tells a single truth.

The person in question had clearly forgotten the lie he told, and raised an eyebrow at him, saying, "Look, this is the evidence of my heroic rescue of the damsel in distress."

Xie Yan was so angry he almost laughed. This woman would stop at nothing to have him all to herself.

All sorts of lies come out of their mouths easily.

He also took Xiao Wan under his command and made her his manager.

Xie Yan didn't know how to view Shen Nanzi. Now that Bitao and Xiaowan were both safe and sound, she still had someone on her mind.

"What about Susu? Is Susu still alive?"

Shen Nanzi turned her head away. This jerk, he hasn't forgotten any of his three female confidantes.

Xiao Wan gazed at the two of them, knowing full well that Shen Nanzi would never admit it, and she understood that Princess Jing truly loved Prince Jing.

He then took it upon himself to say, "Sister Su is also alive. Princess Jing followed her wish and returned to her hometown thousands of miles away. She has already married and had children."

Xie Yan was overjoyed. "Really?"

Xiao Wan nodded: "Princess Jing gave her a sum of money, and Sister Su Su used that money to buy two shops in her hometown. Now she is living a very good life."

"I still correspond with her, Your Highness. Would you like to see them?"

Xie Yan nodded. It was a life at stake, and he needed to make sure she was really still alive.

"Okay, I'll go get it now." Xiao Wan turned and left.

With the door closed, only the two people remained in the accounting room, and silence fell upon them.

Xie Yan turned around and looked out the window.

The backyard was right outside the window of the accounting office, and it was extremely large, unlike the desolate and bleak front yard.

The backyard was bustling with activity as craftsmen packed musical instruments. Once an instrument was packed, someone would carry it out.

Looking into the distance, there seemed to be another passageway behind, and you could vaguely see horse-drawn carriages parked there to load goods.

"What's going on?" Xie Yan seemed to understand something.

Shen Nanzi sat in the chair, not even bothering to lift her head. "It's exactly what you see! Business is booming."

Why is it so deserted up ahead?

Shen Nanzi pursed her lips, looking like she didn't want to speak but had to.

“When I first took over, the music store was profitable every year, but for such a prime location, those profits seemed unprofitable.”

"Later, when you needed money, I sold the least profitable one."

“I lost my shop, but I still need to make a living! So I moved here.”

"As you can see, there aren't many people here, so I changed my business model."

Xie Yan listened quietly.

Shen Nanzi said, "It used to be sold in retail, but later it was sold in bulk directly to musical instrument shops. It's that simple."

"This is a product display area, making it convenient for shop owners to choose."

"They don't come often, and besides, we offer free new product launches."

“They don’t need to come here; only some new customers come to take a look occasionally.”

After Shen Nanzi explained it this way, Xie Yan understood.

No wonder she was so arrogant earlier and refused to hand it over.

"Xie Yan, have you checked the accounts of the Prince Jing's residence? Go take a look when you have time!"

You'll know whether Shen Nanzi is good at making a living just by looking at him.

The money earned from just this one shop is enough to make people envious.

She was involved in other aspects as well, but those were all expansions of her dowry and had nothing to do with the Prince Jing's mansion.