Mistakenly Treated The Princess As A Concubine - Chapter 35

Yan Qinglan turned over a few times, hearing a sound from outside.

“Madam, you’re not asleep yet, are you? This servant doesn’t know what you wish for, but my young lady is truly sincere towards you. You shouldn’t make her sad.”

The voice of Jin Rui came from outside.

Yan Qinglan listened to the maid’s words, thinking about how she had just heard Wen Zhuojin stumble and speak with a crying tone outside.

What was she upset about?

It was only because she had complied with her wishes, allowing her to redeem another beauty.

She only said that getting close to her wasn’t her intention…

Could it be that she misunderstood her again?

But those were her own words!

The noise outside stopped, and Jin Rui didn’t say much more. She simply expressed her dissatisfaction before leaving.

Yan Qinglan tossed and turned for a while, and gradually, her consciousness began to fade.

But she didn’t fall into a deep sleep, as Wen Zhuojin’s voice kept repeating in her mind.

Her emotions also fluctuated.

How could a young girl who wasn’t even yet twenty, who had been with her for less than a month, feel this way?

Perhaps it was because she had suffered many betrayals. After finally starting to trust someone again, only for it to happen once more…

Yan Qinglan didn’t quite understand, and she was somewhat annoyed with herself.

These emotions made her sleep even more restlessly than usual.

Wen Zhuojin spent the whole night making incense and testing medicines, not resting.

As dawn approached, feeling dizzy, she realized the entire night had passed.

Beside her, Jin Rui was grinding incense materials for her, unable to hold on and had fallen asleep on the side.

Wen Zhuojin called out to Jin Rui to wake her.

“Today, you go to the shop to check on things. If there’s nothing urgent, come back and rest. I will visit the Marquis’s residence, then head to the bookstore,” Wen Zhuojin said while packing her things.

“Miss knows to let me rest, but doesn’t rest herself,” Jin Rui looked at Wen Zhuojin and said.

“Alright, I’ll rest. Just don’t report me to Nanny Jiang,” Wen Zhuojin smiled and replied.

After working all night, Wen Zhuojin was finally a little calmer.

But the tasks still needed to be done.

Wen Zhuojin packed up and was about to leave when she glanced at the inner room. She paused, then walked in to take a look.

Yan Qinglan was asleep, not having any symptoms of her addiction. Her body was curled up, her small form wrapped in the blanket, her black hair scattered outside, and her brows furrowed. She didn’t look very comfortable.

“What are you troubled about? Always grabbing at people like that, not knowing how painful it is to be grabbed,” Wen Zhuojin whispered, pressing her fingers gently to Yan Qinglan’s furrowed brow.

Wen Zhuojin then remembered the lion cat she had raised for a long time before it ran away.

If she wanted to leave, no matter how well she was treated, perhaps she would still want to go.

Yan Qinglan’s sleep was shallow. When her brow was pressed, she woke up. Hearing the sound, she knew Wen Zhuojin was beside her.

The warmth of the fingers touching her made Yan Qinglan’s forehead tingle. She turned her head to avoid it.

Wen Zhuojin’s hand lingered above for a few breaths before retracting.

She knew that once Yan Qinglan woke up, she wouldn’t be as obedient.

“When the poison from the incense is gone and you’re feeling better, if you still don’t like me, I won’t force you to stay,” Wen Zhuojin whispered.

Yan Qinglan’s body stiffened, and she soon heard the rustling sound, followed by the sound of the door closing.

Wen Zhuojin had left.

That was for the best. She would eventually leave sooner or later.

How could she possibly stay?

Those thoughts were indeed quite laughable.

Yan Qinglan thought this, but she didn’t feel any sense of relief.

Wen Zhuojin’s voice just now felt as though something had been extinguished.

It was even more unsettling than the heartbreaking cries from yesterday.

Once Wen Zhuojin left the inner room, she headed back to the Marquis’s residence.

As Wen Zhuojin’s status rose, unless necessary, she avoided seeing visitors, and no one dared to force their way in.

So, these days, Wen Zhuojin had been quite at ease.

But she still didn’t feel very comfortable and thought about returning to the Marquis’s residence to hear Nanny Jiang’s scolding and have a familiar meal.

Sure enough, as soon as she returned, she was surrounded by Nanny Jiang, who brought her various dishes.

“Miss, you’re out in public like this. How are you going to arrange your marriage in the future? Although the marriage is being handled by the Heavenly Goddess, what if the other party minds these things?”

“The second young miss’s wedding date is set for February. They are quite anxious, but what was taken by force will always be taken by force. If the young miss becomes a registered disciple of Heavenly Xuan Palace soon, that would be good,” Nanny Jiang chattered on about Wen Zhuojin’s marriage.

Most women of Wen Zhuojin’s age were already married.

Wen Zhuojin smiled, casually brushing off the conversation as usual.

“There have been quite a few invitations these days. The young miss should take a look and decide which ones to attend,” Nanny Jiang continued, handing Wen Zhuojin a stack of invitations.

Wen Zhuojin examined them carefully, finding over ten invitations.

There were various banquets and poetry gatherings, all opportunities for her incense shop to gain more recognition, so of course, she would go.

Wen Zhuojin thought for a moment and chose a few.

After breakfast, as Wen Zhuojin exited through the front door, she ran into Wen Heming.

At this moment, Wen Heming seemed a little more familiar with Wen Zhuojin than he had been when her uncle was around.

“Father, are you going out as well? I was just about to find you. Could you ask the accounts room to give me five hundred taels of silver? The Princess of Anqing wants a type of incense, and the agarwood used in it needs to be of the best quality. The incense shop’s prices are too high,” Wen Zhuojin greeted Wen Heming respectfully before saying.

Wen Heming’s attitude told Wen Zhuojin everything she needed to know.

So when asking for money, she was confident in her request.

Before Wen Heming could say what he intended to ask, he heard Wen Zhuojin’s words. His expression darkened for a moment, but then he smiled again.

“The heir of the Prince of Anqing is not yet married. Alright, alright! I’ll have the steward give you the silver,” Wen Heming said.

Wen Zhuojin thanked him.

She wasn’t sure how many times she could ask for silver before it became too obvious.

She’d ask as many times as she could.

“Ah Zhuo, I heard you bought a few women from the Imperial Music Bureau. A young lady doing such things isn’t quite proper. Let this one go, but don’t do it again next time,” Wen Heming said as he handed the silver note to Wen Zhuojin.

Wen Zhuojin didn’t pay much attention to Wen Heming’s words. She wasn’t in a good mood, but receiving some silver made her feel a bit better.

She obediently responded to Wen Heming a few times and then excused herself, heading to the bookstore.

Yesterday, she had experimented with several types of incense materials that could be used in writing paper and ink, and even added some to the inkstone.

Wen Zhuojin arrived at the bookstore and saw the newly made incense paper and ink sticks. The finished products looked good. Wen Zhuojin made a few improvements and instructed them to continue making more, building up some stock. In a few days, the shop could open for business.

“Miss Min, have you attended many poetry gatherings? I’ve never been to one, and I’m not sure if there are any concerns or rules. What do you do at a poetry gathering? I plan to bring the incense paper and ink I made,” Wen Zhuojin thought about bringing these items to the poetry gathering, but with no experience, she asked Min Xiwen for advice.

“Miss Wen, there’s no need to call me ‘Miss.’ Just call me Xiwen,” Min Xiwen, a talented woman who had attended many poetry gatherings, began explaining to Wen Zhuojin. “This invitation was sent by Madam Ming Shu. When she holds a poetry gathering, it usually goes like this…”

“If Miss Wen doesn’t mind, I could accompany you,” Min Xiwen added after a while. “If you need to compose poetry, I can offer some suggestions.”

“There might be some familiar people there, and my attitude towards you in public won’t be very pleasant. Would you mind?” Wen Zhuojin paused and asked.

“Miss Wen, if you consider me an enemy, of course, you’d want to show me off at this moment. Otherwise, it would raise suspicions,” Min Xiwen replied with a faint smile.

“…Alright, Sister Xiwen, then I’ll trouble you,” Wen Zhuojin nodded, feeling a great increase in her fondness for Min Xiwen.

After preparing a few more items, Wen Zhuojin took Min Xiwen to Madam Ming Shu’s residence where the poetry gathering would be held.

Wen Zhuojin rarely attended gatherings with noblewomen, and she had never been to a poetry gathering before. With Min Xiwen by her side, she felt much more at ease.

She wasn’t here to showcase her talents; her main goal was to promote her incense paper and ink. The four treasures of the study were all packed in a large wooden box, which Min Xiwen carried for her.

Due to the incense competition and her incense shop, Wen Zhuojin had gained some fame among the noblewomen in recent days. At the poetry gathering, many people came over to greet her.

Wen Zhuojin focused on making money, putting effort into socializing, and temporarily pushed down her bad mood.

Qing Chenning, in the men’s section, noticed Wen Zhuojin and Min Xiwen attending the event together and looked displeased.

Usually, the main star of poetry gatherings, the celebrated young woman praised by everyone, but now Min Xiwen stood beside Wen Zhuojin, dressed as a maid, doing whatever Wen Zhuojin told her to do.

Had she really been bought back to serve as a maid?

During the poetry session, Wen Zhuojin asked Min Xiwen to open the wooden box she had brought. The room immediately filled with a pleasant fragrance.

At present, xuan paper and ink sticks were not specially scented, so their smell wasn’t very pleasant.

The pale pink incense paper that Wen Zhuojin took out had a floral and herbal scent. When the ink was ground, its fragrance mixed with a woody aroma. As the little poem was passed around for everyone to read, the guests couldn’t stop admiring it.

The content of the poem wasn’t closely examined; they were simply admiring the fragrant paper over and over.

“Miss Wen, where is this made? It’s so elegant.”

As soon as someone asked, Wen Zhuojin smiled and began her introduction.

“My humble shop has a bookstore where this is made. We have different colors and scents of incense paper, and also incense ink… This particular one is the peach blossom paper, and the other one is the wash flower paper… The ink is made from agarwood, and it includes…”

Qing Chenning, listening to Wen Zhuojin’s introduction about the bookstore, was momentarily stunned.

Originally, Qing Chenning had thought Wen Zhuojin opened the bookstore for Min Xiwen, but she hadn’t expected her to be involved in such operations.

Wen Zhuojin had already opened an incense shop, and the business seemed to be doing well. Now she was opening a bookstore too. No one found it strange, and they were simply eager to place orders for the incense paper and ink they liked.

At this poetry gathering, Wen Zhuojin had successfully taken several orders from noblewomen.

“I heard Miss Wen redeemed more than ten women from the Imperial Music Bureau. We were all quite surprised. If it were a man, the reputation of a lecher would be unavoidable, but if it’s Miss Wen, it must be a case of recognizing talent.”

“Miss Wen, how much did you spend to redeem Min Xiwen? Could you consider selling her to me? I will pay double the price. If I were to make her a concubine for my good-for-nothing son, it might help him improve.”

The conversation was going smoothly at first, but when a few others spoke to Wen Zhuojin, the topic changed.

Opening a bookstore and giving each type of incense paper and ink an elegant name made it appear as though Min Xiwen had been the one in charge after being redeemed.

There were many who wanted to redeem Min Xiwen in the past, but they were all refused by the officials of the Imperial Music Bureau.

Now, seeing that Wen Zhuojin not only redeemed the women but also had such an influence, some of their minds began to stir, thinking of using Wen Zhuojin to sell the women back.

“Everyone, please remain calm. Let me vent my frustration first, and then we can talk.” Wen Zhuojin, of course, would not sell Min Xiwen. After responding to a few people, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

From their words, Wen Zhuojin realized something serious.

If a man were involved, his reputation would be tarnished as a lecher, and those with sons were even considering buying Min Xiwen back as a concubine!

These people didn’t know about her preference for women. They thought she was simply “venting” by redeeming Min Xiwen, but the beauty understood!

Wen Zhuojin suddenly remembered that ever since the beauty had asked her yesterday if she had redeemed any women from the Imperial Music Bureau, her words had been laced with hidden barbs.

What was supposed to happen after the poetry gathering didn’t matter anymore. Wen Zhuojin hurriedly left with Min Xiwen.