After the milk ball arrived, the father who had no heirs had a string of good luck.

"Princess, rest assured, this old servant will definitely bring it back!" Rong Momo said solemnly, and even gestured for Situ Qiang to enter.

Situ Qiang gave her a venomous look, then turned and left.

After she left, the passersby outside also dispersed.

Consort Li silently gave Tang Rui a thumbs up: "Rui Rui, so cool!"

She still wanted to protect her own, but Tang Rui didn't give her a chance to show it at all!

"It's only because you're here, Aunt Li, that I, a mere child, feel confident!" Tang Rui instantly reverted to her innocent expression, scratching the back of her head somewhat embarrassed, a stark contrast to her serious demeanor just moments before.

Madam Li tapped her little head: "You silly girl, sometimes I really doubt your age. You don't look like a child at all."

"I'm a genuine five-year-old cutie, okay? It's all thanks to you stepmothers for teaching me so well. Great teachers produce great students..." Don't doubt it, we're still a good mother and daughter, okay?

Tang Rui smiled foolishly and looked at the shopkeeper and the waiter.

The shopkeeper and the waiter shuddered and stood up straight instantly.

Tang Rui's response was simple and direct: "Give me the account books!"

"Yes, yes..." The shopkeeper quickly fetched the account book and respectfully handed it to her.

Tang Rui initially thought that the shopkeeper was a treacherous and corrupt man.

Surprisingly, his accounts were spotless, with not a single item embezzled.

After Tang Rui finished reading, she closed the ledger and put it aside, staring intently at the shopkeeper, making him feel uneasy all over.

The shopkeeper was almost in tears: "Princess, is there anything else you can do? Just give the order, and I will do it."

Tang Rui tapped the ledger, her face expressionless, and said, "Fake accounts?"

"I'm innocent!" Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately knelt down, tears streaming down his face. "I wouldn't dare! The one you just chased away... oh dear... I don't dare offend her. Every time she takes something, I pay for it with my own money. But I really don't have much money. If you don't believe me, look at the back; I still owe 1,059 taels of silver. I've written it all down there."

Tang Rui glanced at him suspiciously, then picked up the ledger again and flipped to the last page.

Really!

I remember exactly how many taels I paid back each day.

The shopkeeper was still crying: "I'm just an ordinary person, but that person is from the imperial family! Over the years, to pay off these debts, my family has become destitute, even my wife ran away, and we're so poor we can barely afford to eat. But, sob sob sob... that person is getting more and more unreasonable, and my monthly allowance is really not enough to pay it off! Sob sob sob..."

The waiter, feeling a pang of pity, mustered his courage and said, "Princess, please understand. The manager just asked me to leave to protect you! Over the years, that woman has had conflicts with other customers here, and everyone who offends her gets punished. There was even a young lady who, because she and that woman both wanted the same box of face powder, refused to give it up, so that woman had her outer garments stripped off and thrown out… The manager was afraid you, being so young, would suffer the same fate!"

Tang Rui: "..."

She thought it was a case of a large store bullying its owner.

I never imagined I was powerless to control my own destiny?

But thinking about it, it makes sense. How could a mere shopkeeper dare to offend the Crown Prince's daughter?

Not to mention that this shop used to be in Qin Zhirou's hands, and it was originally the property of the Crown Prince's Palace, belonging to Situ Qiang herself.

How could the shopkeeper possibly dare to embezzle the Crown Prince's money?

In Situ Qiang's opinion, she probably thought that any bullying of the shopkeeper was just giving him face.

The supreme imperial power of ancient times...

Ugh…

Tang Rui's expression softened: "You two get up first!"

"Thank you, Princess! Thank you, Princess!" The waiter helped the shopkeeper to his feet.

Tang Rui then asked, "What is your surname, shopkeeper?"

The shopkeeper, trembling with fear, replied, "No, no, my surname is Deng."

"Alright, Manager Deng!" Tang Rui said, "This princess will not wrong any innocent person. After this princess investigates and finds that what you said is true, you don't need to continue repaying those silver coins. As for the silver coins you repaid before, this princess will also make up for them. From now on, you will still be the manager of Shuyu Pavilion. As long as you stay true to your principles and do your job well for this princess, this princess will not treat you unfairly."

"Thank you... thank you, Princess, thank you so much, Princess..." Manager Deng's eyes reddened upon hearing this, and she turned away to secretly wipe her tears.

They're all daughters of emperors' sons, so why is there such a big difference between them?

No wonder this lady can be a princess; it seems His Majesty is well aware of the situation.

"Alright, alright, shopkeeper, stop crying. Quickly bring out all the good stuff in the shop. Don't worry, this concubine will pay for it." Concubine Li couldn't hold back any longer and said cheerfully, waving her fan.

"Yes, yes, sir, I'll go get it right away!"

Manager Deng was relieved of a worry, walked with a brisk pace, and his complexion visibly improved.

Tang Rui also gave Da Ge a wink.

Da Ge immediately understood and went to check whether what Manager Deng said was true or false.

Before long, the waiter invited Tang Rui and Consort Li to the side room and showed them many nice things.

Among them was the Assassin's Flower Juice Rouge that Situ Qiang wanted to take.

Tang Rui took a sniff and understood.

What assassin flower? This is just the scent of roses!

However, in the history of China, the ancients also called roses assassins, because the flower has thorns!

Tang Rui picked up the box of "Assassin" rouge: "Manager Deng, you said this flower comes from the Southern Barbarians?"

Shopkeeper Deng nodded: "The Southern Barbarians are located by the sea, with a spring-like climate all year round and beautiful scenery. Before their kingdom was destroyed, I heard that the Southern Barbarian Queen often sent people out to sea to search for the mainland and trade with those Semu people, so the Southern Barbarians' trade was very developed back then. What a pity..."

At this point, Manager Deng sighed and continued, "The Southern Barbarians only focus on commerce and ignore agriculture and animal husbandry. Perhaps because they are women, their army is not strong enough, otherwise they would not have been destroyed by the Northern Barbarians."

Colorful person?

Those are just foreigners!

I never imagined there were foreigners in this world!

Tang Rui became interested upon hearing this: "How does Manager Deng know all this?"

Even she, who is half a southerner, doesn't know!

Shopkeeper Deng chuckled, "When I was young, I was a traveling peddler. My hometown is on the border between the Great Xia and the Southern Barbarians, so that's how I know all this. Back then... the Southern Barbarians had very advanced seafaring, and I was fortunate enough to go to sea with my father once, where I saw the Semu people with my own eyes. You wouldn't believe it, Princess, those people looked really strange. Some had yellow hair, some had white hair, and some had red hair. Their eyes were all different colors, and they had many strange plants that they said were edible. Unfortunately, the Southern Barbarians didn't value agriculture, so nobody wanted the seeds they provided."

Consort Li clicked her tongue in amazement: "Hair and eyes of such vibrant colors? Are there really people like that in the world?"

Shopkeeper Deng nodded with a smile: "Yes, that's right. Not only that, those Semu people, regardless of gender, are taller and bigger than us, and they also have their own language."