The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 12 Ask the world, what is love
The pawnbroking business is a legal business that allows for lending and borrowing, without the worry of goods being overstocked and depreciating, making it Shang Mingshu's favorite business.

Unfortunately, her family business is not here, and her business connections are all based on tea, so she can only specialize in this business.

"Very good, very good." Wu Daozhen was particularly impressed by Shang Mingshu at the moment. Unfortunately, he only had one son. His grandson was already at the age of learning. His nephews and nephews were somewhat bright, but they were not worthy of Shang Jinliang's daughter. "Third Lady, please call me Fourth Uncle. If you are in trouble in the future, Fourth Uncle will not stand idly by."

The merchants in Huizhou Prefecture value their promises, trust and friendship.

Today, Wu Daozhen's words made Shang Mingshu smile brightly. She picked up the teacup and said, "I'll use tea instead of wine. Thank you, Fourth Uncle."

The Wu family could seize the opportunity without Wu Daozhen being there, but since this was like adding insult to injury to the person they hated so much, Wu Daozhen had to step in personally. He drank a cup of tea and left with a smile on his face.

Shang Mingshu walked Wu Daozhen to the stairs, and happened to meet Cheng She's eyes in the opposite room. Across the U-shaped corridor, Shang Mingshu nodded and greeted him.

After all, he was a benefactor. If Cheng She hadn't helped her that day, both she and Wang Po would have been injured.

Before Cheng She could respond, someone came into the room and closed the door.

Shang Mingshu, in a good mood, didn't care. She turned around and went back to the house, waiting for her next appointment.

The patrol officers outside the street rushed to maintain order. The show had ended, and rumors about Fang Degui continued to spread.

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Yuanyuan arrived with Jinshu: "Shushu, sorry to have kept you waiting."

"You made me wait so long, this is my punishment." Shang Mingshu said in an intimate tone.

Lin Yuanyuan took a flat wooden gift box from Jinshu's hand and handed it to Shang Mingshu: "I prepared this as an apology."

Shang Mingshu took it without hesitation and opened the wooden box. A round fan in the shape of a banana leaf lay quietly inside. The fan ribs and frame were made of her favorite sandalwood, and there were exquisite carvings on the edges. The fan cover was made of her favorite kesi silk, woven with her favorite pearl orchid flower.

"Look at the other side." Lin Yuanyuan's eyes were full of mystery and expectation.

The fan flipped between Shang Mingshu's fingers. The other side also had jewel orchid flowers, but a different color.

"Yuanyuan, your skills are truly superb!" Shang Mingshu couldn't let it go and touched the patterns on the fan with her softest fingertips.

"Seeing that you like it so much, all my efforts are worth it." Lin Yuanyuan was happy.

She likes kesi craftsmanship. Her mother is from Jiangnan and her father is the head of the Lin silk shop.

"I like it. I like it more than ever." Shang Mingshu didn't know when she started to love holding a fan. Except in winter, she almost never put the fan down. Lin Yuanyuan was her handkerchief friend and was good at it, so she specially made a round fan for her as a gift.

After admiring it for a while, Shang Mingshu put the fan back and said, "Yuanyuan, why are you so anxious to see me but not to come to my house?"

"My father doesn't allow me to look for you." Lin Yuanyuan was very angry when she mentioned this.

Lin's father admires Shang Mingshu, but he does not allow his daughter to become Shang Mingshu. He has long seen that Shang Mingshu is not as obedient and docile as she appears. Shang Jinliang has been deceived and still praises Shang Mingshu's gentleness everywhere.

He was afraid that Lin Yuanyuan would learn Shang Mingshu's tricks and disobey him in the future.

"My uncle is angry with me because he didn't make any money from me." Shang Mingshu knew the reason but couldn't say it.

Lin Yuanyuan believed it, but she supported Shang Mingshu: "He is incompetent." Shang Mingshu couldn't help laughing and opened the food box she brought out: "I made some cakes for you."

"Shushu is still good to me." Lin Yuanyuan was touched and couldn't wait to pick up some food and eat it. Her cheeks were bulging with food. She had a cute little round face and a plump figure, and she couldn't control her mouth. "Shushu, you don't know, my mother has been cutting back on my food rations because I've been visiting her lately. I wake up hungry every night."

"See each other?" Shang Mingshu couldn't help but ask, "Who did you see?"

Speaking of the person she was going to meet, Lin Yuanyuan threw the half-eaten cake back onto the plate, her face full of displeasure: "Shushu, my dad has gone crazy! He wants to marry me to Cheng Er!"

"The second master of the Cheng family, Cheng She?" Shang Mingshu raised her eyebrows, a little surprised.

"Yes, he has the worst reputation among all the merchants in the city. How many merchants hate him? I heard from my brother that Cheng Er was being hunted down every now and then. If I marry him, can I live a peaceful life?" Lin Yuanyuan disliked Cheng She.

Based on Shang Mingshu's understanding of Lin Yuanyuan, even if she disliked Cheng She, she shouldn't have a one-sided dislike for him: "Have you met him?"

"No, I'm in the middle of a fight. I don't want to go and see him." Lin Yuanyuan sat sideways with her arms folded, expressing her resistance.

Since I haven't met him, there can only be another possibility: "Do you have someone you like?"

Lin Yuanyuan's face flushed red, her eyes were evasive, and she was hesitant.

"Who is it?" Shang Mingshu only has this one close friend. She rarely treats people sincerely. Apart from Xiao Yu, there is only Lin Yuanyuan. Even towards Shang Wenshu and Shang Zishu, she has hidden plans.

Lin Yuanyuan's appearance made her feel depressed as if someone had cheated her out of her beloved thing.

Lin Yuanyuan's heart tightened when she keenly noticed the hidden anger under Shang Mingshu's calm face, but she wanted to share the joy deep in her heart with others so much, and Shang Mingshu was the only one she trusted and was willing to share with.

"It's Yao Zongsi."

"Yao Zongsi?" Shang Mingshu couldn't remember who it was for a moment.

"Yao Dalang of the Yao family medicine shop."

Shang Mingshu stood up suddenly and put her hand on Lin Yuanyuan's forehead: "You don't have a fever, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Who in Huizhou Prefecture didn't know about the eldest son of the Yao family's medicine shop? He had been born with a weak constitution, and even the Yao family couldn't cure him. His parents died young, and his grandmother took over the family. She raised Yao Zongtian, a strong and intelligent branch of the Yao family, in the Yao family early on.

"Shushu, I'm not fainting. I know Zong Si is weak, but I fell in love with him at first sight. I want to marry him. Can you help me?" Tears welled up in Lin Yuanyuan's eyes, filling her eye sockets. She grabbed Shang Mingshu's sleeve and shook her, begging.

"How can I help you?" Shang Mingshu's chest felt tight. "If Yao Zongsi were just an ordinary man, with a clean background and no serious faults, I could have him willingly marry into your family. But he doesn't have many years left to live. I'll help you fulfill your wish today, but once he's gone, you'll be left alone in the Yao family's den of danger. How will you survive?"

Shang Mingshu once met Yao Zongsi, a young man who could fall down at the slightest gust of wind, but who had an excessively beautiful face.

That androgynous face, coupled with his frail appearance, made it even more difficult to look away.

"Shushu, I know everything. I've forced myself to break off this bad relationship, but I can't do it..." Tears streamed down Lin Yuanyuan's plump cheeks as she choked with sobs. "I know my parents won't let me marry into the Yao family. I know the Yao family is in even worse trouble than yours. I also know I'm not as smart as you. If I marry into the Yao family, I'm afraid I'll be eaten alive by everyone else..."

I know everything, I really know everything, but I asked myself, if I give up on him now, will I regret it for the rest of my life? Just thinking about it makes my heart ache..."

(End of this chapter)