After the prince's wedding, the capital was quiet for a while, and in the blink of an eye it entered May.
Luo Ran's two pawn shops are already on track.
Fu Shikun was the one in charge. Because he usually liked to study and had previous connections, he quickly established a foothold in the capital and gained a lot of profits.
Although the pawn shop where Huang Jie works is not as prosperous as Fu Shikun's, it can be said to have come back to life compared to the previous silk and satin shop. What's more, with Shen Yuzhi's secret help, it will soon start to make profits.
On this day, Luo Ran went to the Shen family, and Shen Yuzhi happened to be there. The two talked about the recent business of the pawn shop. Shen Yuzhi changed the subject and said: "The cabinet affairs have basically been decided, and father's official position remains unchanged."
Luo Ran nodded: "Well, I have already heard from the prince. My uncle originally wanted to withdraw from the cabinet, but the emperor did not agree. I didn't expect Mr. Xu to become the crown prince."
Shen Yuzhi gave her a strange look.
Luo Ran saw this and asked, "Why is my cousin looking at me like this?"
Shen Yu knew: "I thought you told him..."
Luo Ran shook his head: "At first, I thought he was secretly helping to separate my uncle from the prince's party. But later I asked him and he said it was the emperor's intention."
Shen Yuzhi thought for a while and said, "It seems that the emperor values the prince more than we thought."
It's a good thing and it's not a good thing.
Luo Ran understood his cousin's worries, but as long as imperial power was involved, their planning and calculations seemed insignificant.
Shen Yuzhi glanced at her and said, "It seems that the Fu family made the right bet this time. Xu Bangda single-handedly led Song Qingyou. I heard that Xu Bangda has handed over the information and Song Qingyou has been promoted to cabinet minister."
"So fast?"
Luo Ran was a little surprised by this.
According to convention, even if he is the top pick, he has to practice in one position for at least three years. How long has Song Qingyou been here?
Thinking of his cousin who was more talented than Song Qingyou, Luo Ran felt a little regretful: "Has my cousin ever regretted his original choice?"
If I hadn't reminded him of the relationship between the Shen family and the prince, Xu Bangda's position would have belonged to his uncle now, and his cousin wouldn't have chosen a place like Dali Temple. Maybe it would have been a double cabinet now.
Shen Yuzhi shook his head indifferently: "It's a blessing in disguise. It's only in front of you."
After coming out of Shen's house, Luo Ran was still thinking about what his cousin said. The carriage stopped halfway and heard Chun Yu say from outside: "Princess, this is Mr. Song."
Luo Ran raised her eyebrows. She didn't expect that she really couldn't talk about people behind their backs. As soon as she finished talking to her cousin, she turned around and met him.
"Your Majesty, please see the princess."
Across the car curtain, Song Qingyou bowed his hands in salute.
In the carriage, Luo Ran nodded slightly: "Sir Song."
Song Qingyou clenched her fists under her sleeves, and her voice was as usual: "Where are you going, princess?"
Luo Ran said: "If you have nothing to do, just take a stroll. If Mr. Song has nothing to do, I still have something to do, Chunyu..."
"princess!"
Song Qingyou suddenly raised his voice.
Luo Ran said nothing.
Song Qingyou took a breath and said, "Next month is the day when Wei Chen will get married. Will the princess come?"
Luo Ran then remembered that Fu Mingzhu and Song Qingyou had just gotten engaged two months ago.
Perhaps he wanted to take advantage of the fact that the filial piety period had not passed a hundred days and get married as soon as possible. Otherwise, we have to wait until the three-year period of filial piety expires. By then, Fu Mingzhu would be almost 20 years old, and the Song family could not wait that long.
Song Qingyou waited for a while, and when he saw that Luo Ran didn't make a sound, his face suddenly lost color. Fortunately, Luo Ran's voice soon came from the carriage:
"Uncle and Aunt Song have been in Beijing for a long time, and I haven't visited them yet."
Song Qingyou's face was filled with joy and he said hurriedly: "My mother always talks about you. I haven't seen you for a long time and I really miss you."
Thinking of Song Qingyou's mother, Luo Ran raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
That's a very shrewd woman. She was young at that time and her father was in a high position, so Mrs. Song was very kind to her every time she saw her. She had the illusion that her mother was just like Mrs. Song. She cared about whether you were eating well and wearing warm clothes. She was also willing to be close to Mrs. Song.
Until once, when I was about eleven or twelve years old, I went to a house as a guest and accidentally overheard Mrs. Song talking to other ladies.
The lady said: "Mrs. Song is so lucky. Your family Qingyou is good-looking and well-educated. If you marry the Marquis's daughter in the future, you will have a bright future."
I just heard Mrs. Song sneer: "A child without mother's guidance, if it were you, you wouldn't be able to help but say a few words of pity to the stray kittens and puppies on the roadside, wouldn't you?"
Later Luo Ran found out that the lady was the sister of the wife of the governor of Jiangnan.
There was also a daughter of about the same age as her in the Governor's Mansion, who had always been very kind to Song Qingyou.
Watching the carriage go away, the corners of Song Qingyou's mouth were still raised.
Shuangxi, the young man, spoke softly: "Sir..."
Song Qingyou looked away, a look of loneliness in his eyes.
Shuangxi hurriedly comforted her: "Sir, don't be sad. As the uncle of Duke Jingguo, you will have many opportunities to meet the princess."
"Double happiness! Stop talking nonsense!"
Song Qingyou shouted, but his eyes were shining.
After the master and servant left, two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance of the alley behind them.
Liu Zimo looked at Song Qingyou's back, then looked at the direction in which Prince Xuan's carriage was leaving, and asked the boy next to him: "When I came out in the morning, Meng'er said which shop did the bracelet she liked last time come from?"
Ah Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Second Master, the eldest lady should be talking about Linglong Pavilion."
She raised her head and glanced at the master secretly, then continued: "But the eldest lady said that Linglong Pavilion belongs to Princess Xuan. The bargaining failed last time and she couldn't go back without shame, so she wanted to invite you..."
Liu Zimo put one hand behind his back, stepped forward, and said calmly: "Let's go, I've been back in Beijing for so long, and I haven't given her a decent gift yet, so it's okay to go and have a look."
Ah Cheng: "Yes, Second Master."
As soon as Luo Ran arrived at Linglong Pavilion, he went directly to the second floor.
Shopkeeper Xu knew her habits. After bringing up the account books and tea, he went downstairs. As soon as he came downstairs, he met Liu Zimo who was coming in.
Seeing Liu Zimo dressed in dark brocade clothes, tall and tall, with a serious face, he looked like a man in a high position. He smiled hurriedly and stepped forward to greet him: "Sir, what do you want to see? This is women's jewelry, for men." It’s over there.”
He reached in and made a gesture of invitation.
Liu Zimo stood at the door and looked around, but did not see that figure. Instead, several women hurriedly moved away when they saw him coming in.
In order not to disturb the shop's business, Liu Zimo followed Shopkeeper Xu's guidance and walked to the inside separated by a screen. Here were jade crowns, hairpins, etc. for men.
Liu Zimo walked around, and Shopkeeper Xu also followed and introduced carefully.
Finally, Liu Zimo stopped in front of a topaz belt hook, picked it up and put it in his palm. The texture was warm and the carving was exquisite.
Shopkeeper Xu said with a smile: "You really have a good eye. This is what our boss just found. He ordered the craftsmen to carefully build it. Today is the first day to put it up."
In fact, Luo Ran drew a lot of the jewelry here by himself in his spare time, but in order to avoid trouble, he didn't tell anyone about it.
After listening to shopkeeper Xu's words, Liu Zimo took a closer look at the topaz belt hook in his hand. The lines were soft and the hook head was not a common beast, but a plant that looked like green pines, bamboos and cypresses.
In fact, this kind of thing is not suitable for a general like him, but is more suitable for a civil servant like Song Qingyou.
For some reason, the image of Song Qingyou wearing this jade belt hook suddenly appeared in Liu Zimo's mind, and his eyes darkened.
