On the fifth day that Chu Yao's sweet water shop opened, although the business was not as busy as the previous three days, the coming and going of customers was steady.
However, the shop next door to her has also been taken over. It has been undergoing renovation and decoration in the past two days. Qiu He went over to take a look and came back with a worried look on his face: "Cousin, why do I look at the shop next door as if it is making sweet water?" Business?"
Chu Yao was also a little worried, but since it was someone else's shop, he could do whatever business he wanted, and he couldn't stop it.
"Let's take a look." She said helplessly.
Within a few days, the shop next door hung up a sign, set up a formation, beat gongs and shouted: "Our sweet water shop is open for business, and all sweet water is free to taste today!"
Since no money is required, people naturally flock to the place.
There was a noisy crowd next door, and there was not a single customer in Chu Yao's shop.
As the sun faded and the twilight gradually settled, Qiu He stared at the ingredients and sweet water in the kitchen with a heartbroken look on his face: All day today, their shop only sold three bowls, and the people lining up next door were really thirsty. Came here to buy it.
There was still a lot of sweet water left, so Chu Yao made two jars and kept them, one jar for Hong Shan and one jar for Su Nian, and the rest was thrown away together with Qiu He.
"Let's prepare less tomorrow. The shop next door is deliberately crowding us. I'm afraid business won't be very good in the next few days..."
Sure enough, as Chu Yao said, the shop next door has many varieties. Free refills today, small gifts tomorrow, and half price the next day. There are always fresh ways to attract customers. However, Chu Yao's business here is getting worse and worse, almost a whole day. I can't wait for a single customer every day.
The opponent was obviously prepared, but Chu Yao did not have enough capital to fight against him, so he could only let the opponent suppress him.
Qiu He was in a low mood and sat in the shop with Chu Yao, speechless.
Chu Yao couldn't think of a solution. She began to suspect that she was not suitable for business at all. Her colleagues only used some tricks, but she was completely defeated. She really thought that doing business was too simple.
The neighbor next door was obviously a veteran in business. Chu Yao simply broke the jar and gave up trying to compete with him. He restored all the sweet water cakes in the shop to their original prices, and in order to maintain capital, he only sold a few sweet water dishes and a few flavors of desserts every day. If he couldn't sell them, he would Eat it yourself and close early when it’s sold out.
Because there were few customers, the shop seemed spacious and clean. Young ladies who were out shopping together did not want to go to the next door to be crowded, so they came to her shop. Several young ladies ordered different sweet water desserts and chatted and laughed happily. , just sit for an hour or two.
Chu Yao and Qiu He didn't chase people away. They were busy researching new sweet water cakes in the back kitchen. If they thought they were delicious, they would bring them out to the guests for tasting. In this way, they gradually gained a reputation, and the guests spread the word by word of mouth. Friends guide friends, the small sweet water shop always has two or three tables of customers at any time. Although the surplus is not much, at least you can see some copper every day.
The shop next door still had many varieties and an endless stream of customers, but Chu Yao remained unmoved and Ansheng lived with the meager revenue of his own shop.
On this day, a little girl wearing a thistle pink dress came to the shop, with her hair in a cloud-like bun and crescent-shaped hairpins on both sides. She jumped in like a little rabbit and ran straight to Chu Yao. He held her arms and called her "Sister" eagerly.
Chu Yao didn't recognize her at first sight, but after another look, she recognized that the girl in front of her with a face as round as a silver plate was Zhiye.
She and Zhiye haven't seen each other for more than two months, and this little girl has actually gained weight.
"Zhiye, you are finally back!" During this time, Chu Yao was not only thinking about her, but also thinking about her son.
When someone from the capital took Brother Ming away, Chu Yao was worried and asked Zhiye to take care of him for a few days. Unexpectedly, Chu Yao's heart was uneasy for a long time as soon as Ye left. Now that Zhi Ye is back, Chu Yao can finally feel at ease looking at her rosy complexion and lively demeanor.
"Look, this little face is getting fat. I think you're living a good life there, right?" Chu Yao pinched the soft flesh on Zhi Ye's face. Not only was she fatter, but she was also much whiter and tenderer.
Zhiye held her face and smiled sheepishly: "It's all my fault for being greedy. I've never seen so many delicious foods. I eat a lot at every meal..."
"It's a blessing to be able to eat. You'll look better if you're fatter," Chu Yao pulled her to sit down. "This trip has been hard on you, but why did you stay there for so long? Is there something that delayed you?"
Zhiye nodded: "Brother Ming fell ill after he went there, and he hasn't recovered yet. His Majesty...he asked me to come back and tell my sister that he wanted her to take care of Brother Ming for a while..."
"Brother Ming is sick?" Chu Yao became anxious upon hearing this, "What's wrong with you? Is it serious?"
"Sister, don't worry, it's not serious, it's just acclimatization," Zhiye said, "My nanny and I also suffered from this disease when we first entered the capital. It's just that we adults can drink the medicine, but Brother Ming is too young and refuses to drink it. Medicine, so I have been sick intermittently..."
His son had been ill for so long before he told her that he probably didn't like to see her again, so he thought of her now that he had no other choice.
However, she had no intention of caring about his attitude at the moment. It made her heartbroken to hear that Brother Ming had been ill for so long: "I'm going to pack my things right now, and let's set off as soon as possible."
She temporarily handed over the Tianshui shop to Qiu He and Zhiye, left some money for them, and told them not to be impatient and just keep the shop at ease. They would temporarily help take care of their mother these days, and she would soon Will be back.
Then I went back to the new house to talk to my mother, and after simply packing up a few changes of clothes, I found a few jars from home, took a bus to the yard of the old house, dug two jars of soil, and called the water seller to fill them. Three jars full of water.
Since Brother Ming was not accustomed to the local environment, she took the "acclimatic environment" of her hometown with her, which might help.
After loading the five jars onto the carriage, it was Shen time in the afternoon. Chu Yao bought a few pancakes to eat on the road, and then rushed to the capital.
Suizhou City is next to the capital, and the journey is not far. They arrived at the outskirts of Beijing when it got dark. They just calculated the time and feared that they would not be able to enter the imperial city. There was a curfew in the imperial city after dark, so they had to stay in an inn. One night, wait for the city gate to open tomorrow before entering the city.
Hong Shan also came with her and told her to lock the doors and windows at night, and he would stand guard outside and call him if anything happened.
Nothing happened all night. Chu Yao was thinking about her child. Although she went to bed late at night, she woke up very early. It was almost dawn outside, so she got dressed and went to the window to wake up. In the hazy morning light, the backyard of the inn was already busy in an orderly manner. Some people were sweeping, some were chopping firewood, and some were throwing fodder into the stable...
My thoughts were complicated last night, thinking that this time I would inevitably encounter Pei Zhan when I went to the palace to visit the children. Now that their identities are very different, how should I behave in front of him when they meet?
Thinking about it today, what I was thinking about last night was just a fuss. I am no different from those busy people in the backyard. I am just an ordinary citizen among all living beings. I just need to do what I should do. Why do I want to do so much?
After having breakfast at the inn, the carriage rushed towards the imperial city.
It took about half an hour to pass through the outer city. After entering the inner city, it took another two or three journeys to reach the imperial city.
But something happened to the carriage at this moment.
The two horses that were harnessing the carriage suddenly went wild and uncontrollably, running rampant on the street. The guard driving the carriage whipped the whip louder and louder, but still could not stop the horses.
In the carriage, the carriage swayed with great force and threw Chu Yao to the floor. Chu Yao immediately hugged her head, but her body hit the opposite seat board hard...
None of the five jars on the seat board were spared. They either hit Chu Yao's body or fell directly to the floor. The broken jars were thrown around in the carriage together with Chu Yao, and the water and soil stirred up. Together they turned into mud, and the fragments of the jar punctured her arms, back and legs...
Someone inserted a crossbar into the wheels. The carriage stopped unexpectedly, the door opened, and the embarrassed Chu Yao was thrown out of the carriage and rolled to the ground.
This fall was heavier than before. Chu Yao's eyes darkened and she almost fainted.
"Ms. Chu, be careful!" Hong Shan dropped the crossbar in his hand, ran towards her, hugged her and rolled on the spot, helping her avoid a cold arrow.
The phoenix feather arrow clanked into the ground beside Chu Yao, and the tail feathers trembled, proving that the arrow was extremely powerful. If it was shot, the consequences would be disastrous.
Without waiting for Chu Yao to get scared, Hong Shan took her and immediately hid in the shop closest to them.
The carriage crashed into many things on the street. Fortunately, it was still early and there were not many pedestrians, so no innocent people were hurt. One of the two accompanying guards was entangled and demanded compensation for the damaged items, while the other rushed away, probably to move reinforcements.
"At the foot of the imperial city, are there still bad guys who dare to harm people so blatantly?" Chu Yao was now covered in mud and water, and her bun was loose and messy. She wanted to straighten her bun, but when she raised her arms a little, she got involved. The injury on his back also hurts terribly, and he didn't know if one of his ribs was broken.
Hong Shan's expression was solemn: "It's no accident that those two horses went crazy, and someone wanted to stab someone in the back. Madam Chu, it seems that someone doesn't want you to come here..."
"You came for me..." She just wanted to see her son, but she never expected to suffer such a disaster. Chu Yao didn't dare to move rashly anymore. She huddled up in pain and leaned against the corner of the table to endure it silently, thinking about who might want to harm her.
Seeing that she was in severe pain, Hong Shan asked the shopkeeper to help call the doctor. But the shopkeeper was timid and didn't dare to go out. He was showing kindness by allowing them to hide here. Hong Shan was not embarrassed and couldn't leave Chu Yao's side. He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely.
Chu Yao endured the pain and comforted him: "It's okay, it's all skin injuries..."
The pain made time slow down. Chu Yao felt that a long time had passed, but she didn't wait for reinforcements to come. When she asked Hong Shan, it turned out that only two quarters of an hour had passed.
Finally, the sound of horse hooves came from outside. The wheels rolled over the green bricks. The sound of the wheels was heard from a distance, like thunder passing by. It was steady and powerful, and you knew it was not an ordinary carriage.
Chu Yao turned her head and looked at the door. Not long after, two jujube horses with black manes and black tails came riding on the wind. A rich and luxurious carriage stopped in front of the door. The door opened immediately and someone jumped out of the car. .
He was dressed in a simple and elegant mountain-colored wide-sleeved robe, with a silk waistband decorated with a hollow jade pendant with auspicious patterns. There was only a crested white jade hairpin in his hair, which made his face look like moist jade, which was indescribably precious.
It's Pei Zhan, he actually... came in person.
Chu Yao had previously thought that she would definitely meet Pei Zhan, but she did not expect to meet him under such circumstances.
He was dressed in simple and elegant clothes and was spotless, but he was covered in mud and was in a miserable state.
She instinctively turned her face back and buried it in her arms. She heard Hong Shan report to him respectfully: "Ms. Chu fell from the carriage. She has external injuries on her body. I don't know if her bones and heart were injured..."
The next moment, Chu Yao suddenly jumped into the air and was picked up from behind.
"Ah!" She moaned in pain, "It hurts..."
"Bear with me for a while." He frowned, as if he was extremely disgusted, and even hugged her at a distance. After all, she was indeed too dirty. It was more like carrying than hugging...
Chu Yao was carried into the carriage by him.
