Joy of Life: Starting by clinging to the eldest princess's coattails!

The walls of the three wards were not much shorter than the city walls, and were made of solid blue bricks.

Eight guards stood at the entrance of the gate, dressed in uniform blue short shirts, their eyes wary.

Seeing the two men being escorted by government officials, the captain of the guard stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Gentlemen, this is a sensitive area of ​​the workshop. We don't know..."

Zhao Bantou flashed his waist badge: "By order of the Prefect, I am here to escort Lord Wu from the capital to inspect the three major districts."

"From Kyoto?" The captain of the guards' gaze fell on Wu Feng, his expression changing slightly. He quickly bowed. "Is he an official sent by Her Highness the Princess?"

Wu Feng nodded: "It's me."

Without asking any further questions, the captain of the guard immediately turned and waved, "Open the door quickly!"

The heavy iron-clad wooden door creaked open to both sides.

Shortly after Wu Feng and his group stepped into Jia Fang.

Several people who looked like managers hurriedly came out of a shed to greet them. When they saw Wu Feng and the constables behind him, their expressions changed subtly.

finally come.

The person who can decide the future of the three major workshops.

Wu Feng glanced at them and got straight to the point: "Have you all received the imperial decree? From now on, the three major districts will be taken over by Her Highness the Eldest Princess."

The leader was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his early forties, with a capable face and a calm gaze.

He bowed respectfully and said, "The three major districts have indeed received the imperial decree. However... the affairs of the three major districts are of great importance. I wonder if you have any proof of the decree?"

Wu Feng looked at the person who spoke: "What's your name? What's your position in Jiafang? What are your responsibilities?"

The middle-aged man replied, "I am Wang Ganju, the treasurer of Jiafang."

"What did you say your name was?" Wu Feng asked instinctively, a hint of surprise in his voice.

Everyone present was stunned for a moment, even Shuying cast a questioning glance at them.

Wang Ganju, however, remained calm and repeated, "My name is Wang Ganju."

Wu Feng also realized that he had overreacted.

He composed himself and nodded:

"Treasurer Wang, is that right? Please send someone to Wards B and C to invite the two treasurers and the main stewards over. I will read the decree aloud in public."

"Yes, sir." Wang Ganju bowed and replied, then instructed a young steward beside him to fetch someone.

Before long, people from both Yifang and Bingfang arrived.

Three treasurers and eighteen managers gathered in the open space in front of Jiafang, all their eyes fixed on Wu Feng.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wu Feng took out the imperial edict from his bosom, unfolded it, and read it aloud.

Everyone knelt down immediately upon seeing the imperial edict.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The three major workshops of Suzhou are of vital importance to the nation, and the goods they produce are crucial to military and national affairs. Therefore, by special decree, all matters concerning the three major workshops and related businesses shall be under the jurisdiction and supervision of Princess Li Yunrui. The treasurers, craftsmen, and managers of each workshop must diligently perform their duties and act in accordance with the Princess's orders without fail. This is the imperial decree."

After Wu Feng finished reading the imperial edict, he rolled it up.

The three treasurers and several managers exchanged glances, their expressions complex.

With the imperial edict already presented, there's no room for negotiation on this matter.

"The three workshops obey the decree," all the treasurers and stewards responded in unison.

Wu Feng knew they might not be convinced, but what they wanted right now was this official title.

He came to the Three Great Wards today to tell everyone that from now on, the Three Great Wards will be under the protection of the Eldest Princess.

Anyone who harbors any wicked thoughts will be going against Her Highness the Eldest Princess.

"Take me around to the different neighborhoods," Wu Feng said to the three treasurers.

The three exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.

Wang Ganju and others led Wu Feng into the work shed.

Jiafang mainly produces household items, such as soap, perfume, sugar, and glassware.

The artisans on the assembly line were skilled and efficient. When they saw the treasurer bring in a stranger, they only looked up at him briefly before continuing their work.

Yi Fang was responsible for silk, weaving and dyeing, and casting various agricultural ironware, and the air was filled with the smell of dye and rust.

Bingfang was the most heavily guarded. Wu Feng only glanced at it from the entrance, where he could vaguely see the outlines of ship models, crossbows, and other objects.

Wu Feng walked and looked around, secretly surprised.

The scale and technology of the three workshops far exceeded his expectations; they even had small trains used for transportation within the workshops.

The business left behind by Ye Qingmei is indeed a golden goose.

After the tour, Wu Feng said to the three treasurers:

"You can proceed with production as normal from now on. Her Highness the Princess will send someone to take over as soon as possible. I will come and explain the details to you then."

The three treasurers bowed and said, "Understood."

Wu Feng did not linger any longer and left the three wards with Shu Ying and the yamen runners.

After they had gone far away, the three treasurers and several managers gathered in the room where Wang Ganju usually conducted his business.

Wang Ganju closed the door and whispered:

"The Princess's people have arrived, and the imperial decree has been issued. Next, we need to coordinate with Qingyutang so that both sides can work together to deal with this."

The treasurer of Yifang was a tall, thin man surnamed Chen. He frowned and said:

"Treasurer Wang, once the Princess's people arrive, we old folks... I'm afraid our days will be numbered."

"Let's take it one step at a time," Wang Ganju said calmly. "Let's get past this hurdle first. The Ming and Cui families probably won't let this go easily."

The people inside fell silent.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Wu Feng returned to Suzhou at Shenshi (3-5 PM).

He sent Zhao Bantou and the constables back to the government office to report, while he and Shuying returned to the inn.

As soon as I entered the inn's lobby, the innkeeper came up to me and said cautiously:

"Sir, two groups of people visited this afternoon, leaving visiting cards and gifts, inviting you to tonight's banquet."

Wu Feng took the visiting card and glanced at it.

One of the invitations was jointly signed by the Ming family, the Cui family, and Prefect Xie Yu.

The other was a joint banquet hosted by the Su family, the Gu family, and several small and medium-sized distributors from the three major workshops.

"What about the gift?" Wu Feng asked.

"It's already been delivered to your room."

Wu Feng nodded and said to the shopkeeper:

"Please convey to both families that I have just arrived in Suzhou and am exhausted from the journey, so I cannot attend the banquet tonight. I appreciate your understanding."

Is he being so perfunctory because he's just a nobody with no status?

"Yes, yes," the shopkeeper quickly replied.

Wu Feng and Shu Ying went upstairs to the second floor. Pushing open the door, they saw two exquisite wooden boxes on the table.

Shuying closed the door, and Wufeng walked to the table and opened the wooden box.

The first box contained a set of crystal-clear glass teaware, and the second box contained a set of glass bowls and cups.

Wu Feng's face immediately revealed undisguised disgust.

Shuying saw it clearly and wondered why Wu Feng looked down on these two sets of glass artifacts, each worth no less than a thousand taels of silver.

Wu Feng closed the box and muttered, "Do they really think I'm a country bumpkin..."

He turned to Shuying: "That's enough for today. Go back and rest. We'll discuss the rest when His Highness's men arrive."

"Yes." Shuying clasped her hands in a fist salute and left the room. She also had other missions in Suzhou.

After Shuying left, Wu Feng had hot water brought to him.

After taking a shower, he sat down in front of the mirror and took out his makeup kit from his inventory.

Tonight, he has to go to Qingyutang to see the managers.

Wu Feng looked in the mirror and began to carefully draw.

He used foundation to even out his skin tone, an eyebrow pencil to outline his brows, and eyeliner to deepen his features... He wanted to transform himself into the likeness of Ye Qingmei.

I wonder what kind of expression those shopkeepers will have when they see this face.

Gradually.

The figure in the mirror gradually changed, and a sense of composure and aloofness appeared in the delicate features.

He finished applying the last bit of decoration and quietly examined it.

It's fairly similar.

At least at first glance, it can fool people.

As darkness fell outside the window, the lights of Suzhou gradually came on.

Wu Feng changed into a plain white dress, stood up, and twirled in front of the mirror.

Her skirt swayed slightly.

At this moment, he seemed to have truly become that woman from the temple, who had once made the entire Qing Kingdom take notice.

"Ye Qingmei..." Wu Feng murmured the name, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

Tonight, go and meet those you left behind in your own image.