Mistakenly Treated The Princess As A Concubine - Chapter 29

Wen Zhuojin arranged the matters of the shop and, recalling that the beautiful elder sister wanted to eat Phoenix Pastries, hurried to the Qingji Pastry Shop on Shangren Road.

Due to frequent bouts of her addiction in a short period, the beautiful elder sister’s appetite had diminished, and her body appeared increasingly frail.

If she could get the Phoenix Pastries, perhaps it would cheer her up, or at least help her eat a little more.

When Wen Zhuojin arrived at the pastry shop, she saw the same clerk and shopkeeper as last time.

“I’m certain I bought the Phoenix Pastries here before. They even had a phoenix pattern on them. If you don’t know, perhaps your master does. Please, I ask that you inquire. No matter the cost, I must buy those pastries.”

This time, Wen Zhuojin explained in detail, but the shopkeeper still couldn’t recall and suggested asking someone else.

The shopkeeper looked a bit troubled, but his expression changed when Wen Zhuojin discreetly slipped him some silver, breaking into a smile.

“Alright, I’ll ask my master. However, my master is often busy with official duties, so I’m not sure if he’ll be available today. Miss, perhaps you could return tomorrow? If we do have the Phoenix Pastries, I’ll make sure to prepare them for you!”

The shopkeeper said this with a smile.

Wen Zhuojin looked at the sky, realizing it was getting late, and decided to give up for the day.

After Wen Zhuojin left, the shopkeeper weighed the silver in his hand, gave some instructions to the clerk, and then left the shop, heading towards the nearby Qing Residence.

Inside the Qing Residence, the Hanlin Academy editor, Qing Chenning, the top scholar with a distinctive fragrance of special ointment that Wen Zhuojin had noticed before, was sitting at a desk writing a letter. His expression appeared extremely serious.

Halfway through writing the letter, he crumpled it up and threw it into the incense burner, starting again.

When a servant came to report, Qing Chenning ignored him, continuing until the letter was completed.

“What is it?” He asked in a low voice while blowing on the inked words.

“Master, the shopkeeper Zhao from the pastry shop says someone came to buy Phoenix Pastries and claimed to have bought them here before, with a phoenix mark on them. The shopkeeper said they don’t have any, but the person insisted and asked for you to be consulted,” the servant reported.

“Quickly, call the shopkeeper in to speak!” Qing Chenning’s hand holding the rice paper shook, and he raised his eyes, his gaze filled with surprise.

Meanwhile, the shopkeeper, upon seeing Qing Chenning, had no idea that Wen Zhuojin had already arrived at Wujiao Alley.

Wen Zhuojin, carrying some purchased incense materials, also had several other items in hand.

With extra silver on hand and the shop reopening the next day to earn more, she couldn’t resist buying something for Yan Qinglan.

By the time she returned to Wujiao Alley, her hands were filled with packaged Wu Mei candy, sesame candy, pine nut candy, rock candy, preserved fruits, and more.

Wen Zhuojin, fearing that Yan Qinglan might experience another relapse of her addiction in a short period, rushed back and found that Yan Qinglan’s condition was still manageable, though she appeared listless. She ate even less during feeding time and seemed to resist the medicine.

“Sister, be good and drink one more sip. I’ll give you a piece of candy.” Wen Zhuojin coaxed softly.

Yan Qinglan couldn’t see her, but she could hear the voice, still as sweet and gentle as ever.

Was this really all an act?

After learning that Wen Zhuojin was a named disciple of Jiang Xiao, Yan Qinglan’s trust in her had crumbled, leaving her in disbelief.

How could it be? Was it all fake again?

There were so many people in this world who knew how to pretend.

And she, she was always so easily deceived.

Yan Qinglan’s heart hardened once again, like solid ice.

Wen Zhuojin, undeterred, continued to gently coax her.

Yan Qinglan didn’t want to be bothered, so she drank the medicine and was fed some candy.

After every dose of medicine, the candy had a different flavor.

“Hehe, sister, this is Wu Mei candy.”

“This is preserved fruit.”

“Which one do you like?”

Wen Zhuojin tried to make Yan Qinglan smile, but noticed that Yan Qinglan’s expression grew more and more fatigued.

Yan Qinglan realized she was starting to waver again.

The different sweet tastes in her mouth, many of which she was trying for the first time, made her feel something she hadn’t before.

For the first time, someone was going to such lengths to make her drink the medicine.

She also realized, she actually had a sweet tooth.

“Sister, do you feel unwell? Tell me where it hurts,” Wen Zhuojin asked softly after finishing the medicine.

“Ah Zhuo, are you really preparing the antidote? Can it be faster?” Yan Qinglan whispered.

She wanted to question her, but what would it change after exposing the truth?

The injury to her ankle, along with her frequent relapses, had left her unable to move freely.

She still needed to rest and wait for the right opportunity to leave.

“It’s really true. Sister, I know you’re suffering. I’ll make it faster,” Wen Zhuojin assured her.

Wen Zhuojin knew that Yan Qinglan was in agony, and her own heart ached as well.

After helping Yan Qinglan wash up and settle her for bed, Wen Zhuojin hurried to the incense-making room, continuing to test the fragrance toxins and adjust the formulas for the medicinal incense.

The incense poison spread through the air, wasting quite a bit.

To make the effect quicker and more effective, Wen Zhuojin thought for a moment, then cleared out a cabinet. She took the incense burner into the cabinet, closed the door, and let herself be enveloped by the incense poison. She waited until the little bit of incense poison she had separated had completely burned away and been absorbed before coming out to prepare the medicinal incense.

The effect of the incense poison made Wen Zhuojin feel uneasy, and she couldn’t help but long for Yan Qinglan.

Moreover, because the cabinet was sealed, Wen Zhuojin kept her eyes open while being affected by the incense, which caused her eyes to become dry, painful, and blurry.

As the symptoms resembled Yan Qinglan’s, Wen Zhuojin felt more determined than ever.

The incense made this batch of medicinal incense even more targeted for Yan Qinglan’s treatment.

That day, Wen Zhuojin experimented with four types of medicinal incense and found one formula that seemed to have a good effect on the eyes, which made her very happy.

Finally, there was some progress.

After working late into the night, Wen Zhuojin stopped when Jin Rui knocked on the door.

“The young lady’s condition has relapsed,” Jin Rui said urgently.

Wen Zhuojin hurried to the inner room to find Yan Qinglan.

The situation was similar to the previous times.

Yan Qinglan appeared very weak, and during the relapse, she looked even more pitiful.

Wen Zhuojin hurried to her side, lifting Yan Qinglan in her arms, helping her through this relapse.

In her hazy state, Yan Qinglan seemed to turn into a clingy kitten.

The woman’s body was soft and cold. Once held, she seemed unsatisfied and rubbed her face from Wen Zhuojin’s chest to her neck.

The uncomfortable soft moans made Wen Zhuojin’s face flush and her heart race.

Wen Zhuojin’s body stiffened.

She felt even harder to control herself.

Yan Qinglan was like a mischievous spirit, testing the limits of the scholar.

“Shh, sister, be good, don’t move. If you don’t want to speak, just listen to me. Let’s talk for a bit, it’ll pass soon,” Wen Zhuojin said, holding her in place with a hand and speaking in a hoarse voice.

Wen Zhuojin was talking randomly to distract herself, focusing mostly on resisting her own urges, not noticing that while Yan Qinglan was rubbing against her, she had taken a dagger from her waist.

Yan Qinglan quietly hid the dagger.

She wasn’t pretending to get close to Wen Zhuojin; it was simply that she couldn’t control the desire to be close to her.

The little rascal who had swollen lips from kissing her before, now when she took the initiative to get close, had become stiff and unresponsive, her body rigid.

In the end, Wen Zhuojin even restrained her from moving, rambling nonsense in her ear.

Yan Qinglan had achieved her goal and was now lying on Wen Zhuojin’s shoulder, panting.

The closer she got to Wen Zhuojin, the easier it seemed for her addiction symptoms to pass.

If this was specifically designed for her, it was more successful than any previous times.

When Yan Qinglan’s symptoms passed, the sky was just starting to lighten.

Wen Zhuojin cleaned Yan Qinglan up, but she didn’t have time to sleep before hurrying back to the Marquis’ residence.

Wen Zhuojin needed to leave the Marquis’ residence to go to the shop for the grand opening, so she had to return to the residence first.

Her eyes were already dry and painful from being exposed to the incense poison, and with no sleep, they felt even worse.

The shop opening was an important event, and Wen Zhuojin had to muster her energy.

When she left the Qinfang Pavilion, freshly groomed, Wen Zhuojin encountered Wen Heming.

“Where are you going, Azhuo?” Wen Heming asked, his tone considerably more polite than usual.

“Father, the incense shop I’m opening is having its grand opening today, I’m going to check on it,” Wen Zhuojin replied.

Wen Heming hadn’t known about Wen Zhuojin opening the shop, and he was quite surprised to hear this.

“Why are you going to check on it? Just leave the shop to the shopkeeper,” Wen Heming said.

How could the legitimate daughter of the Marquis’ residence be going out to run a small shop?

What would happen if, in the future, she married into the royal family or noble clans? How would this reflect on the family’s reputation?

“Father, if it’s the princess’s people, the second miss of the prime minister, or the wife of the prince, shouldn’t we just let the shopkeeper take care of them properly?” Wen Zhuojin said, ignoring Wen Heming’s words.

Wen Heming was momentarily stunned, unable to refute, and could only send a carriage to take Wen Zhuojin.

After thinking about it, he realized that it was actually a good thing if those people came to Wen Zhuojin’s shop and became friendly with her.

By the time Wen Zhuojin rushed to the incense shop, there were already several carriages parked outside.

Wen Zhuojin hadn’t exaggerated to Wen Heming—the people coming were indeed either rich or noble, all of whom had received the information from Wen Zhuojin at the last incense competition.

Rather than sending a steward or a maid to buy the incense, these people had come in person, likely to pick the incense they liked.

When Wen Zhuojin entered the shop, she instructed Jin Rui to burn the Hundred Flowers Incense, instantly filling the shop both inside and out with the scent of flowers.

Wen Zhuojin mainly introduced the incense products to the people who came, and if they wanted to buy something, they were to speak with the shopkeeper.

Wen Zhuojin set high prices for her incense, roughly comparable to the prices of official shops.

The Hundred Flowers Incense made from bamboo strips was single-use and priced at ten taels of silver per piece. The Hundred Flowers Incense made from agarwood lasted longer and used more precious materials, priced at four hundred taels of silver per piece.

Among the visitors, some tried to leverage their connections to get something for free, but they didn’t expect Wen Zhuojin to turn into a businesswoman so quickly.

Fortunately, many of the people had substantial family wealth and a love for incense, so despite the high prices, some bought them.

However, the shop’s stock didn’t last long.

Soon, all the incense was sold out.

Wen Zhuojin could only record the incense they wanted to buy and promised to have them ready the next day.

After counting the over ten thousand taels of silver notes she earned, Wen Zhuojin couldn’t even feel happy and quickly focused on listing the incense materials she needed to purchase based on the orders she received. She then took people to buy the materials and arranged for the production of incense.

After a hectic day, Wen Zhuojin only realized it was almost dark when she finished her tasks.

As she hurried to Wujiao Alley, she remembered the Phoenix Pastries she had ordered for Yan Qinglan and wondered if the shopkeeper had heard about it. She decided to stop by and check.

“Ah, I really owe you an apology. It turns out that the Phoenix Pastry was sold for a while, but it was too expensive to continue selling. The Phoenix pattern was actually drawn by our master. Do you think it looks like this?” The shopkeeper said with a smile when they saw Wen Zhuojin.

“Thank you for your trouble. How much silver is it?” Wen Zhuojin glanced at the pastry the shopkeeper handed her. The golden pastry had a red phoenix with wings spread wide, drawn in just a few strokes. It looked vivid and lifelike, and the craftsmanship was quite good. Although it was hard to tell if it was genuine, it seemed like the Phoenix Pastry Yan Qinglan had mentioned.

“99 taels for nine pieces, just to bring some luck,” the shopkeeper said with a grin.

Wen Zhuojin paused slightly. The price of this pastry was almost as much as her incense profits. Thankfully, she had silver now.

Wen Zhuojin paid the silver, took a box of Phoenix Pastries, and boarded the carriage to head to Wujiao Alley.

As Wen Zhuojin left, she didn’t notice a carriage quietly following her.

There were people watching at Wujiao Alley. If anything happened, they would call Wen Zhuojin.

Having had no news all day, Wen Zhuojin was still a bit worried. When she arrived, she saw Yan Qinglan slowly eating porridge.

Yan Qinglan was holding a spoon wrapped in cloth to eat the porridge, which didn’t seem very convenient. When Wen Zhuojin arrived, she immediately took over and began feeding her.

After a few spoonfuls, Yan Qinglan lost her appetite and stopped eating.

Wen Zhuojin then took out the Phoenix Pastries she bought and offered one to Yan Qinglan’s lips.

“Try this, Sister,” Wen Zhuojin said, watching Yan Qinglan with some anticipation.

Yan Qinglan opened her mouth and took a small bite, her expression froze.

“Sister, do you recognize it? This is the Phoenix Pastry I bought for you. The shopkeeper found the scholar who was a top scorer and found out they had sold it before. There’s a real phoenix pattern on it. A box has nine pieces and costs ninety-nine taels of silver. Is it the same as the one you bought?” Wen Zhuojin said to Yan Qinglan.

Yan Qinglan’s lips trembled for a moment, and after swallowing the bite of Phoenix Pastry, she nodded.

Wen Zhuojin had really gone to find Qing Chenning!

The Phoenix Pastry made by Qing Chenning’s own hands, with nine pieces per box and costing ninety-nine taels of silver, matched up with an accidental conversation she once had with Qing Chenning!

Had Qing Chenning noticed?

If Wen Zhuojin was a confidante of Jiang Xiao, and Jiang Xiao knew she was here, how could he not be alert?

Before, Qing Chenning had been one of her people, and many knew about it.

If Wen Zhuojin was innocent, and Qing Chenning had betrayed her, then this was how she could find herself.

Yan Qinglan couldn’t trust anyone now.

As she was contemplating, Wen Zhuojin fed her a few more bites of Phoenix Pastry, then gave her medicine, helped her wash up, and got her to lie down.

After Wen Zhuojin left, Yan Qinglan reached for the hidden dagger and gripped it tightly in her hand.

Yan Qinglan waited for a while, letting her body digest the food and gather some strength. Then, with a trembling voice, she called out to the maid outside to bring Wen Zhuojin to her.

Wen Zhuojin had just ignited some incense, her eyes sore and blurry, and her emotions were intensifying. She was preparing to use some medicinal incense when the maid rushed in to inform her that Yan Qinglan was experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

Wen Zhuojin didn’t have time to worry about the incense anymore and hurriedly rushed to check on Yan Qinglan.