Donating money for the southern flood relief and finding temporary employment for the homeless.
Through her charitable efforts, she opened the door to collaboration with the imperial family, adding a layer of prestige to her business.
The Empress Dowager smiled warmly and praised repeatedly, "Excellent! Though you are a woman, you possess a compassionate heart that seeks to aid the suffering. Attendants, We shall bestow upon Shopkeeper Ye a handwritten scroll."
Nanny Qian brought forth the prepared brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
The Empress Dowager, hailing from a noble family, was naturally skilled in calligraphy. With a grand sweep of her brush, she wrote eight large characters: "Utmost Sincerity and Benevolence, Loyalty and Righteousness for the Nation."
Nanny Qian handed the Empress Dowager’s inscribed scroll to Ye Qiushuang.
Ye Qiushuang held the scroll reverently and knelt once more in gratitude. She then returned to her seat, clutching the Empress Dowager’s personal calligraphy.
Her heart raced with excitement.
Once back at the shop, Ye Qiushuang would follow Shen Wei’s instructions—framing the Empress Dowager’s scroll and hanging it prominently on the central wall. Copies would also be made and displayed in every branch of the business across the Great Qing Kingdom.
From then on, Shen Wei’s enterprise officially forged ties with the imperial family, soaring to new heights under the royal favor.
Seated at the banquet, Shen Wei sipped her sweet plum tea with satisfaction. If her commercial expansion plans proceeded smoothly—starting with textiles and grains before branching into other industries—she would undoubtedly become the wealthiest merchant in the Great Qing Kingdom within a decade, amassing riches rivaling the state treasury.
With wealth in hand, she feared nothing.
After presenting her tribute, Ye Qiushuang quietly returned to her seat. As the banquet progressed, the atmosphere grew lively.
When it was time for entertainment, musicians and dancers took the stage.
Shen Wei held her celadon teacup, her gaze drifting toward Concubine Lu Xuan beside her. Lu Xuan had remained unusually subdued that evening, abstaining from wine and seemingly unwilling to announce her pregnancy.
Perhaps she intended to wait until the pregnancy was more stable before making it public?
Shen Wei took another sip of tea. Fortunately, she had prepared in advance. Just as she was about to send Cai Lian to summon Doctor Mo, a delicate fragrance wafted through the air.
She looked up to see a graceful young woman in elegant palace attire, her face veiled in pale purple silk, enter the hall carrying an ancient guqin.
Shen Wei had reviewed the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet arrangements with the Ministry of Rites beforehand. According to the schedule, after the guests presented their tributes, court musicians were supposed to perform dances. Why had a young maiden suddenly appeared?
She gritted her teeth discreetly.
The Ministry of Rites was indeed a tangled web of influence—not just the imperial family but also several powerful noble families had meddled, altering the Empress Dowager’s banquet program without authorization.
Under the soft glow of the palace lanterns, the young woman approached, curtsying gracefully before the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
A eunuch brought a table and stool, and the young woman in purple sat down gracefully. Her slender fingers glided over the strings, filling the hall with ethereal melodies.
The music was exquisite, its enchanting notes lingering in the air like celestial harmonies.
Not only was the music beautiful, but the maiden’s figure was also as supple as a willow. Even behind the purple veil, it was clear she was extraordinarily lovely.
After enjoying the performance for a while, Cai Ping approached to refill Shen Wei’s tea, whispering quickly, "Mistress, that is Tantai Yinxue from the Tantai Family’s second branch. She is eighteen, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and renowned for her beauty."
Shen Wei sipped her tea silently.
So, the Tantai Family had abandoned their foolish Empress and were now scheming to send a new contender into the palace to vie for favor.
Tantai Yinxue, eighteen and talented in both arts and intellect, was likely no fool. Li Yuanjing, eager to extract the last remnants of value from the Tantai Family, would probably accept her to lull them into complacency.
Shen Wei cared little about whom Li Yuanjing bedded or which women he took as concubines.
Her only concern was the potential threat Tantai Yinxue posed.
Having learned from past mistakes, the Tantai Family would surely send someone sharper than the Empress this time. Shen Wei needed to crush Tantai Yinxue before she could rise.
Her thoughts raced. Shen Wei feigned a headache, rubbing her temples as she instructed Cai Ping, "I feel a bit dizzy. Bring me the detoxifying tonic."
Cai Ping understood immediately. "At once, mistress."
In the hall, Tantai Yinxue finished her performance.
The Empress Dowager nodded faintly, offering lukewarm praise. "Your skill is commendable. A reward for you."
Tantai Yinxue removed her purple veil, revealing a face as fair as jade, peach-blossom eyes, and a crimson beauty mark between her brows—strikingly beautiful.
A noblewoman in the audience recognized her and gasped, "Isn’t that Tantai Yinxue? Why is she here?"
Once, the greatest beauty of Yanjing City had been Consort Mei, Liu Ruyan.
After Liu Ruyan married and left the palace, Tantai Yinxue’s reputation had gradually risen.
Tantai Yinxue curtsied again, her lovely eyes fixed on the Emperor behind the beaded curtain. Softly, she said, "This humble maiden, Tantai Yinxue, pays respects to His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. Having grown up in the inner chambers, I have long admired His Majesty’s noble bearing and the Empress Dowager’s boundless kindness. I seek no reward."
Madam Tantai, seated among the nobility, rose shakily with her cane and bowed. "My granddaughter has adored His Majesty since childhood, vowing to marry none but him. With the Empress ailing and unable to attend to His Majesty, if it pleases you, this old woman would gladly send her to serve in the palace."
Tantai Yinxue’s cheeks flushed pink as she stole another glance at the Emperor before lowering her eyes demurely.
A maiden’s heart could not be hidden.
The guests exchanged silent glances, each harboring their own thoughts.
Lu Xuan observed coldly, scrutinizing Tantai Yinxue and plotting how to suppress her. Consort Mei, Liu Ruyan, sipped her tea calmly, her expression indifferent.
Plump Zhang Miaoyu nibbled on fruit, her large eyes fixed longingly on the candied fruits on Shen Wei’s table, wondering how to politely ask for them.
Zhang Miaoyu couldn’t care less about the Tantai girl. No matter how beautiful a woman was, once she entered the palace, she’d soon become just like the others—except, of course, for Sister Shen Wei.
Concubine Lan seethed inwardly. What was the Tantai Family playing at? One Empress wasn’t enough—now they wanted to send another woman into the palace?
That fox-like Tantai Yinxue would surely win favor if she entered. Concubine Lan’s heart burned with jealousy, wishing she could claw the girl’s face to shreds.
Silence hung heavy in the hall.
From his elevated seat, Li Yuanjing’s gaze darkened. The Tantai Family refused to accept defeat. With the Empress fallen, they still sought to maintain their facade of glory by sending a new pawn into the palace.
But the Tantai Family, though diminished, still held some value. Li Yuanjing decided to allow Tantai Yinxue into the palace—for now.
Just as he opened his mouth to confer upon her the title of Noble Lady, he heard a faint, stifled cough—Shen Wei’s voice. His peripheral vision caught her delicate form, one hand pressed to her chest in a pitiful display of weakness as she sipped bitter medicine from a bowl.
Shen Wei resembled a tender cabbage in the wind—small, fragile, and utterly helpless.
Li Yuanjing: ...
Suddenly, he felt very guilty.
