Chapter 62 Utterly Different

  I didn't notice that the hairpin and Jade Guanyin also had a problem. She opened her mouth slowly, with a clear and crisp voice that was beyond her age, "As the saying goes, outsiders watch the excitement, insiders watch the door."

  The old master of the big cabinet has a wealth of experience and is well-versed in his craft. I wonder if you can tell where this hairpin and jade Guanyin were made just by looking at them."

  The shopkeeper pondered and said: "It's almost as good as the real thing, I think it was made by Silver Building on Back Street..."

  What is called the back street, is in Baozhi Hutong, not far from Baolin Hutong. There are also gold and silver jewelry and antique calligraphy and painting shops along the whole street, just like Baolin Hutong. The difference is that they specialize in high-end counterfeits...

  It was just a matter of ten or twenty taels of silver, how did it pull out high imitation... Shen Muqing looked at the butterfly hairpin in the hands of the shopkeeper and slightly frowned.

  "Miss Shen has something to say," said the shopkeeper in a low voice, "our Wanbao shop is too big and attracts attention. The people on the back street are always eyeing our goods. For a family like yours, it's still okay to say, but some families don't even care about dignity. They order a set from us, take it away and have someone else make a copy...". As he spoke, he glanced at Shen Muqing's expression with the corner of his eye.

  The words of the shopkeeper entered Shen Muqing's ears one by one, stirring up a stormy sea in her heart, with countless fragments fluttering about in her mind.

  "It's said that the Liang family has been altering their jewelry more often than buying new ones in recent years, far less than when Old Master Hou was still around...". The shopkeeper looked at the innocent-looking face in front of him, with a hint of implication. "If it weren't for Madame Liang sending her personal maid, Lei Mama, this time, Wanbaozhai might not have taken on this job... A total of twelve taels of silver, without even asking for labor costs..."

  Wanbaozhai once gave Shen's family a set of red lacquerware, and just the labor cost was twenty taels...

  "Far Marquis's family is a hundred-year-old aristocratic family, I don't know how many good things they have. If you don't take them out and change them, will they just be left in the box to get moldy?"

  The shopkeeper smiled and said: "That's also true. Nowadays, only families like the Nanjiangs, who have a large piece of land with South Pearl, and the Huangtous, who have a large piece of land with Golden Steel, still exist!"

  He already knew about this place and brought me here to buy jewelry. Anyway, I have to buy something.

  Under the guidance of Da Zhanggui, the people from Wanbaozhai brought in some new-style decorative items for Shen Muqing to choose from. Among them was a pair of ruby lantern earrings.

  Made of yellow gold, a round lantern was forged. Inside, a bright red gemstone the size of a grain of rice. Like a burning candle flame. The bottom of the lantern hangs with long flowing tassels. Colorful and very festive.

  Shen Muqing chose a gold-inlaid coral bat-shaped hairpin and a gold-inlaid pearl crab hairpin, both of which symbolize good fortune and longevity. She prepared to give them to Li Shi.

  The shopkeeper smiled and said: "Miss, pick something suitable for yourself! Although the mistress likes these things when she sees them, I'm afraid it's even more heart-wrenching!"

  Not bad, every time Li brought her to Wanbaozhai, she would take care of her first and then buy what she wanted.

  Thinking of these feelings made her a bit downhearted. Looking at the lantern earrings, they suddenly seemed more to her liking. She simply took the pair of earrings.

  The shopkeeper saw that she had made her selection, and personally took a small red lacquer box with gold trim to pack it for her. Someone outside knocked gently on the door. The shopkeeper frowned and said in a low voice, "What is it?"

  A young servant came in, first saluted Shen Muqing, then whispered something in the ear of the head shopkeeper.

  "...Xiao family's seventh young master... Pang the steward... has come in person..." The words floated into Shen Muqing's upright ears, disjointed and intermittent.

  It seems that Xiao Que has smashed someone's ceramic screen, and Pang De Bao came to make amends. But I don't know who this "personally came" refers to. Is it Xiao Sa or the person they invited to make amends?

  The shopkeeper had already smiled and apologized to Shen Muqing, saying: "The apprentices in the store are not worthy of your attention, I shouldn't have come out. Miss Shen, please forgive me, I'll go take a look and be right back!"

  Shen Muqing nodded with a smile, and the big shopkeeper said many apologetic words before leaving Da Zhuang behind to accompany Shen Muqing.

  "I don't know how things are going next door?" Shen Muqing picked up the teacup and took a sip, smiling casually, "You'll still have to trouble your boss."

  "Today is different from the past." The second shopkeeper smiled and accompanied him, "In the past, our Wanbaozhai mainly did business with old customers. Since the opening of the sea ban in Shunkang three years ago, the barbarians from the south have all rushed to Kyoto, and the land price of Baizhifang has tripled. Our business is getting more and more unstable."

  Serene and quiet, with a subtle smile.

  The sea ban has been lifted for over a decade, and the coastal areas of Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang have given rise to a large number of wealthy merchants who have made their fortunes from shipping and dockyards. These people, having made their money, all flocked to buy properties in Baizhifang, outside the capital city. Due to the temperature difference between north and south, when summer arrived, these southern merchants would bring their families to the capital for a short stay. As the leading jeweler in the capital, Wanbaozhai was naturally a must-visit destination for them to buy some items to show off back home. These merchant wives were different from those of official families; having husbands who engaged in overseas trade, they had some vision and were not afraid to lose face by haggling with Wanbaozhai's shopkeepers, and they held large sums of money, making the shopkeepers' heads ache... This was also one of the important reasons for the rise of Houjie. It was precisely because of this reason that in recent years, the families of officials in the capital had begun to avoid visiting Wanbaozhai during the summer months without being asked to do so.

  The two sighed a few words about the impermanence of things, and Shen Muqing poured tea.

  The two shopkeepers took advantage of the opportunity to stand up and bid farewell.

  After seeing off the second master, Shen Muqing held in her hand the butterfly hairpin that the big master had given her, which would tremble with even the slightest movement, and played with it for a long time without speaking.

  Ying Fen carefully served by his side. After a small pot of tea was poured out, Shen Mu

  She had a hint of leaving, and she quietly reminded Shen Muqing: "Miss, I'll go take a look at the back street..."

  Shen Mu Qing softly said "oh" as if she was in a trance, stood up and sat back down: "No need. Knowing the origin of this hairpin is enough."

  Ying saw her looking distracted and thought about the subtlety of this ornament, not daring to speak more, standing lightly by her side.

  After a long while, Mu Qing suddenly beckoned to a nearby little maid: "Go and see if your head housekeeper is busy or not. If he's not busy, ask him to come over here and say I still have something to consult with him about. If he's busy, tell him it's no rush on my end and he can come after he finishes what he's doing."

  The little maid hurriedly curtsied and went away.

  "Miss, what else do you want to ask? The shopkeeper has already made it very clear. If we keep asking back and forth, won't that make the shopkeeper suspicious?"

  Shen Muqing merely grunted and didn't respond to Ying Fen's words.

  Before long, Xiao Huan led Da Zhanggui over.

  "Miss Shen, please forgive me!" The shopkeeper bowed repeatedly, "Is there anything else you'd like to ask our humble household?"

  "Goodness!" Shen Muqing stood up "My memory, I just remembered it a moment ago, but now that the shopkeeper asked me, I suddenly can't think of it!"

  Everyone in the house was stunned.

  Shen Muqing had already called out to Ying Fen: "Go and instruct them to prepare the sedan chair. I should also head back now. There's still a huge pile of things waiting for me at home!"

  The sudden and unexpected movement of the British made him pause for a moment before responding.

  The shopkeeper smiled and said: "This is also a common occurrence. If Miss Shen remembers, send someone to ask me and I will definitely go there to inform her."

  Shen Mu Qing nodded hastily.

  The shopkeeper looked at her distracted appearance, accompanied by a few words, and personally sent Shen Muqing out of the Wanbao Zhai.

  Shen Mu Qing did not hurry to leave, instead pulling down the awning on his head and standing on the seventh level of the stairs outside Wan Bao Zhai, looking around in all directions.

  On both sides, the thick branches of the big trees have fallen off, revealing the bare brown twigs. Two or three horse-drawn carriages trotted slowly over the green stone bricks with a monotonous "clip-clop" sound.

  A chill wind blew by, and Shen Muqing couldn't help but shrink his neck.

  Ying Fen stood silently in front of the carriage, but was secretly puzzled: Was the young lady waiting for someone?

  She was guessing, and then she saw Shen Muqing suddenly running down the stairs.

  "Whoosh!" Shen Mu Qing looked at the tall and straight figure with surprise and delight.

  The figure beside the horse carriage in front of Qīng Fāng Zhāi slowly turned around towards her.

  The once bright eyes had become as dark and deep as an ancient well, the once handsome face now had a hard and cold quality to it, like marble.

  "What's wrong?" Shen Muqing's joy turned into confusion

  It's just been a month since we last met, but Xiao Sa seems like a completely different person.

  "What's going on?"

  "What's going on?" Xiao Sa's eyes slightly raised, and a familiar sarcasm flowed out of her eyes, "You're asking me what's going on?"

  Those sarcastic eyes had lost the intimacy of Shen's garden, replaced by an unapproachable coldness, distance and arrogance.

  Shen Mu's heart sank and he secretly thought "this is not good".

  "When the eldest daughter of Shen Ge's family, the chief assistant of the imperial court, actually cared about what happened to Xiao Sa?" His voice was dull and calm, as if talking about someone else's business. "What could happen to Xiao Sa? It's just that I was teased by the wealthy and powerful like a fool, but that's also because they looked up to me, I'm grateful and haven't had time to repay them yet, what could have happened?"

  That kind of deathly silence pierced Shen Muqing's heart.

  "It's not what you think," she explained hastily. "At the Medicine King Temple, I was afraid that if someone knew my true identity, it would be disadvantageous to me, so I didn't clarify things with you. Later, when we met in the garden, I told you my name was Shen Muqing, but you didn't pay attention at the time..."

  Xiao Xiao laughed: "So it's all my fault?"

  He smiled warmly and kindly, but Shen Muqing could sense the anger, pain, despair, and resentment hidden behind that smile.

  Xiao Xiao, still just a young eagle who has just left her parents' wings and is trying to fly, with a proud and arrogant personality.

  She thought of the smile on his face in Taihu Stone Road, like a sunny day breaking through the clouds, and the complete trust he showed in front of her without any reserve.

  Is it because of this that when one learns about their own identity from someone else's mouth, they can't tolerate and accept it even more?

  "No, no, no......" Shen Mu Qing hastily comforted him, "Listen to me..."

  The pink soft silk curtain hanging on the carriage was lifted with a "swish" sound, and a face that was both elegant and charming appeared: "Young master, it's so cold, let's hurry back!"

  The ruby-red silk thread of the phoenix mouth was tied with a treasure knot, flashing a piercing light that swept across Shen Muqing's calm eyes, causing her pupils to shrink and her words to condense in her throat.

  Xiao Xiao's face was expressionless as she turned and walked towards Tu Xiao Que.

  "Xiao Xiao!" Shen Muqing's voice suddenly became high-pitched and sharp, even she herself didn't expect it. "I really didn't mean to mislead you!"

  Xiao Xiao didn't even turn her head back.

  Looking at the tall and straight back view that was getting farther and farther away, Shen Muqing felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, a chill spreading from her fingertips to her heart, making her whole body stiffen and unable to move.

  She is very regretful.

  The thing I least wanted to happen has finally happened!

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  Chapter 62 Utterly Different