"Someone from Jiangnan?"
The Imperial Dowager Consort Beiyu looked at the innkeeper, her expression becoming somewhat complicated.
People from Jiangnan. And it's that prestigious Shen Family again—they're the first to come looking for me?
"Yes, Your Highness," the proprietress said cautiously, observing the other's expression. "This is a rare opportunity. I don't think it's fake. They're very generous, offering warm jade that even the palace can't afford. Look at the quality; it's definitely not the kind of stuff those peddlers bring out."
The Imperial Dowager Consort Beiyu touched the high-quality warm jade and was clearly very satisfied.
The warm jade seems to have been made for the nobles of the Northern Wasteland. It is exquisitely designed and, more importantly, practical. Wearing it on one's person, one can wear beautiful clothes even in the coldest weather. It is simply a weapon of choice for noblewomen. The inferior goods that the proprietress mentioned earlier are now things that noblewomen from all walks of life are fighting over.
Anyone can imagine how terrifying the profits would be here if a large family could provide a large quantity of high-quality goods.
But the key question is, how did such a good thing happen to me?
She was indeed from the Beiyu Family, but her status in the palace wasn't high. The Northern Yan Kingdom liked to imitate the culture of the Central Plains, and the imperial palace also had four Noble Consorts. She had been in the palace for six years and had barely managed to get the position of Noble Consort thanks to her family's influence. But after six years in the palace, a Noble Consort who hadn't produced any offspring, no matter how powerful her family was, had limited status. Now that the new emperor had ascended the throne, she had nothing to show for it and was just a marginal figure.
She was self-aware enough to know her place, so she didn't dare to compete with others for many things. Even when she opened a business to earn extra money, she only dared to have her former maid open it in a location on the outskirts of Northern Wolf City. Did she not know the details beforehand when the Shen Family, a business of such importance, approached her?
"Your Majesty?" the proprietress asked cautiously, "Would you like me to arrange a meeting?"
The Empress Dowager stroked the warm jade, and finally nodded. "Let's meet. It's not easy for men from outside the palace to enter, and I haven't been home to see my mother in a long time."
"Alright, alright," the proprietress quickly replied, "I'll arrange it right away."
The Imperial Dowager Consort Beiyu nodded, and after the other party withdrew, she fell into deep thought again.
These are turbulent times, and the situation is unpredictable. Suddenly, for some unknown reason, the emperor announced that he would submit to Jiangnan. What's more, many powerful families did not object, and the emperor just let the matter go through so naturally. It's truly baffling.
The emperor ascended the throne at a young age, and with a young ruler, the country was in turmoil. The power of the various families was relatively even, and no single minister could control the government. However, it was clearly impossible for the young emperor to make such a major decision on his own. She herself came from a prominent family and understood politics to some extent. For such a big idea to pass, at least 70% of the prominent families would need to support the emperor.
It might not even have anything to do with the emperor; it could just be a decision made by the extended family, with the emperor merely acting as the stamping machine.
This suggests that Jiangnan must have long had close ties with various powerful families. Under such circumstances, why would a prominent Jiangnan family like the Shen Family family, wanting to do business here, not go directly to the Beiyu Family, but instead come to us?
She always felt that these pieces of warm jade weren't so easy to handle.
The inn's proprietress was once the personal maid of the Imperial Dowager Consort Beiyu. She was later sent to marry a foreign affairs steward who managed many of the Imperial Concubine's shops, serving as his informant. The inn on the edge was a new addition later.
Her dead husband died young, which caused a lot of things to fall on her shoulders. Naturally, the Empress Dowager had to find another manager to continue managing her shop, and this inn was a way of compensating her for it later.
But the location was too remote, and business was indeed not good. Her life was far worse than that of the other maids and sisters. Now that she finally had a chance to become rich, how could she let it go? She hurriedly went back to plead on behalf of her Empress Dowager, saying that she wanted to go back to her parents' home for a few days.
The old lady of the Beiyu Family also felt sorry for her daughter. She married into the palace in the prime of her life, but she never expected that the emperor would be so incompetent. He died of exhaustion in just a few years, leaving her daughter with no descendants to rely on. She was stuck in the palace in this limbo, unable to remarry. What a miserable child she was.
Upon hearing that her daughter wanted to come back and stay for a few days, she immediately thought that her daughter must not be able to stand the coldness of the palace. She quickly agreed and urged the children of the Beiyu Family to submit a memorial to the emperor, saying that the Dowager Consort was unwell and would return to the Beiyu Family for a while.
The Beiyu Family was one of the three great priestly families, so they naturally had that much face. The Heavenly Palace, the Empress issued an edict ordering the Dowager Consort Beiyu to return home to recuperate.
The Dowager Princess, who hadn't returned to the Beiyu Family for a long time, was also very happy. When she was a young woman, she thought about getting married every day, but now she missed the Heavenly Capital when she was a young girl.
She talked to her mother all night, but she didn't forget the important matter. Early the next morning, led by her maid, she met the two so-called members of the Shen Family.
"So it's the famous Seventh Master Shen! My apologies for not recognizing you."
As a concubine, she did not act arrogantly. The Seventh Master of the Shen Family was a famous figure a hundred years ago. Even the late emperor had to call him a senior. For him to come and talk business with her now was a great condescension.
"Your Highness is too kind," Shen Qi said with a slight smile.
The Imperial Consort Beiyu was a path they stumbled upon by chance, but it turned out to be a pretty good one.
People you know well, like the Beiyu Family's child studying in Jiangnan, are most likely under surveillance. On the contrary, the Dowager Consort Beiyu, who is not of high status but is in the palace, is a much better option.
"The innkeeper must have already told Her Highness the details, right?"
"I have said that," the Empress Dowager hesitated for a moment, then said, "But I still find it a bit strange. With your influence, if you just showed your name, there would be plenty of people in the Northern Yan Kingdom who would want to cooperate with you. Why would you choose someone as weak and alone as me?"
"The Dowager Consort is a smart woman, and she should know why we came to you, right?" Chen Qing said with a smile.
Looking at Chen Qing, the Empress Dowager observed his casual demeanor towards Shen Qi and roughly guessed that this man's identity was certainly not simple. Not daring to be rude, she directly asked, "I presume you want to obtain some information from me?"
"The Dowager Consort is indeed clever." Shen Qi nodded in satisfaction.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's feelings became even more complicated. In fact, she had been feeling uneasy for the past few days. Suddenly, some missionaries arrived out of nowhere, the emperor suddenly announced the conquest of Jiangnan, and then the emperor suddenly stopped holding court for ten days. All of this made her feel that something major had happened.
Unfortunately, she was of low status and had no right to know what happened.
"Perhaps the seniors have approached the wrong person." The Empress Dowager shook her head. "I may not know what the seniors want."
"It's alright, Your Highness. Please tell us what you know. We certainly won't let you come all this way for nothing. Besides, Your Highness, you've come out, so you probably don't want to be kept in the dark, right?"
The Empress Dowager looked up at Chen Qing, who was speaking, and gently clenched her fingers.
She truly didn't want to be kept in the dark any longer. She had once been kept in the dark when she married a nearly exhausted emperor, becoming a living widow. Now, she was even less willing to be kept in the dark, lest one day she die without even knowing how.
What do the seniors want to know?
"We would like to know if anything strange happened before His Majesty announced his allegiance to Jiangnan?"
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager glanced at the two of them and thought to herself: The Emperor's announcement of surrendering to Jiangnan is indeed not without reason.
But what's with the Shen Family's tone? Don't they know anything?
After hesitating for a moment, he still told the truth, "I don't know much. I only know that in those few days, the heads of the major families all came to the palace one after another and had a detailed talk with His Majesty. In just three days, it seems that His Majesty met with all the major families."
"Oh?" Chen Qing and Shen Qi narrowed their eyes slightly, roughly guessing what was going on.
"Then what?"
"Then His Majesty announced the submission to Jiangnan, and no one in the court objected, which was truly strange."
Chen Qing and Shen Qi nodded slightly; that was most likely what they were thinking.
"However, after that, the heads of the major families, as well as His Majesty, all secluded themselves at home and never went out."
"Staying indoors?" Chen Qing looked at the other person. "Everyone?"