Watching Tang Youyou finish her business at hand, she then returned to the store.
Rong Jiangyu was stunned for a moment, then started to absent - mindedly pick at the food in his bowl. After all, he hadn't eaten for a long time.
"Your Highness, eat slowly. There's still some time."
As the words fell, a woman walked over from afar. She approached Rong Jiangyu slowly in a delicate and coquettish manner. Her green dress fluttered slightly in the gentle breeze, and her steps were as graceful as a lotus blooming with each step.
In others' eyes, this woman was a peerless beauty, but in Rong Jiangyu's eyes, she was just of ordinary appearance.
The woman spoke very gently, not like the rude and impetuous way she had argued with Tang Youyou before.
"May Your Highness the Han King be blessed."
Seeing that Rong Jiangyu didn't respond at all, the woman frowned and looked at Buren who was eating. Her watery eyes were full of annoyance.
She was a princess of a country. Even a king was nothing in her eyes. If it weren't for his good looks, she wouldn't have bothered to talk to him.
Buren couldn't bear to see his sister being ignored, so he introduced her.
"Your Highness, this is my younger sister. Her name is An Suzhi."
Hearing this, Rong Jiangyu put down his chopsticks and just glanced at her indifferently. "In that case, I'm grateful to the princess for coming from afar to pick me up."
There was no trace of respect in his words, but Buren secretly signaled An Suzhi, warning her not to make a scene.
This avoided a clash between the two.
After a while, they got the carriage ready for their journey. The human - skin masks from the Western Regions were the best. They put on the masks, made all the necessary preparations, and then set off on their journey.
...
Meanwhile, in the Rouge Workshop, Tang Youyou was deep in thought. She had only been on the run for a few days, but there were more and more troops on the Chang'an Street.
It seemed that Rong Xun had discovered the fact that she had escaped.
"Kang Fuhai, do you think the emperor will send people to hunt us down this time?"
Kang Fuhai pondered for a moment and then shook his head. "This servant thinks that the emperor never intended to harm the Empress in the first place. When the Empress went out, the emperor was sleepless and had no appetite every day. He didn't seem like someone who wanted to take your life, let alone send people to hunt you down."
"If the emperor is looking for you this time, he may be a bit angry, but how did the emperor know that a concubine was missing from the Cold Palace?"
"In the Cold Palace, many times, even if a queen mother died, no one would know. But why was it that as soon as the Empress left, someone noticed?"
Having said this much, Tang Youyou naturally understood the reason.
"Let's just wait like this. Maybe the emperor will give up looking for people after searching for a while."
Thinking of this, she looked at the people coming and going in the store. There were half as many as before.
This was understandable. After all, cosmetics were not daily necessities. It was okay to buy them after they were used up. If she wanted a long - term business, focusing only on this one item was not enough.
Her eyes unconsciously fell on the Wangchun Tower diagonally opposite. The Wangchun Tower was a place of debauchery. The people who went there were either rich or noble, but most of them were vulgar. This made many people look down on the place.
But if she could change the situation and set up a clean and entertaining dining place, would these people...
Before she knew it, Tang Youyou immediately went back to the street.
On the street, people were bustling around. Everyone seemed to be looking for a place to rest, but they all shook their heads and left when they saw the place of debauchery.
This proved that her conjecture was correct.
On every street corner, every store was booming. Except for the store of the former owner of the Rouge Workshop, which was deserted, there seemed to be no store with poor business.
Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers completely disrupted Tang Youyou's train of thought.
The name of this store was: Zuixian Tower.
As the name suggests, the Zuixian Tower was a place of debauchery that was looked down upon by people. However, the difference here was that they only welcomed poetry lovers.
Who were poetry lovers? They were the gentlemen who were good at poetry. And what did it mean to be good at poetry? It meant the talents who liked to create poems.
This store had been open for more than a decade.
The most special thing here was the Zuixian Brew in the restaurant.
The Zuixian Brew was a kind of wine. Only one jar was produced every four years. The wine was mellow and fragrant. Just taking a sip of the wine would make people feel like they were in a fairyland.
Many people came here from afar. In order to win this jar of wine, they studied hard, became well - versed in knowledge, and tried their best to be the champion of the poetry competition that was held once every four years.
So, in this place, poetry creation was more of a place that scholars yearned for. This was the biggest difference between the Zuixian Tower and the Wangchun Tower.
It was also rumored that in the Zuixian Tower, one could smell a faint aroma of wine and some ink fragrance everywhere. The elegant and refined spirit of scholars was fully demonstrated here.
And today was the once - every - four - years poetry competition.
Tang Youyou strode into the restaurant and saw Xiao Sanniang warmly greeting the guests inside.
Xiao Sanniang took a fancy to Tang Youyou at a glance. She walked slowly. The purple hairpin on her head didn't shake at all. She walked very gracefully. Her good looks didn't show that she was already in her thirties.
She was wearing a purple dress that fluttered gently as she quickened her steps. She was so elegant and charming.
"Young master, you have a very handsome appearance."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately cast their eyes on Tang Youyou.
Tang Youyou was not flustered at all. She calmly performed the courtesy of a gentleman. Her gentle and jade - like image stirred the hearts of the women to the extreme.
She said respectfully, "I've long heard that Madam Xiao is elegant, magnanimous, and extremely beautiful, which has attracted the attention of many people. Now that I see you in person, I find that the rumors are too modest."
Obviously, her words immediately made Xiao Sanniang blush.
Xiao Sanniang waved the handkerchief in her hand, looked at Tang Youyou with a beaming smile, sized her up, and then led her to the first - floor lobby while explaining.
"Young master, you're being too polite. I'm just a middle - aged woman in my thirties. I can't bear such praise. As for the poetry competition, it's just to fulfill my husband's wish."
Tang Youyou followed Xiao Sanniang's words and asked, "Oh? What do you mean by that?"
Xiao Sanniang was a bit proud. When she spoke, her eyes were full of doting.
"My husband just likes these kinds of poems. He uses the Zuixian Brew as an incentive to attract talented scholars from all over the world to compose a poem and fulfill his wish."
Hearing this, Tang Youyou nodded silently and didn't ask any more private questions.