The legitimate daughter returns to the capital and embarks on a splendid life, tearing apart the fak

Hearing Yunxiu's words, Yunjin's smile remained unchanged, and she said sarcastically, "So in eldest sister's eyes, doing business is a lowly profession. Eldest sister's words have truly taught me a lesson."

She took two steps forward, still smiling, but her voice turned cold. "There is one thing I don't understand, eldest sister. Everything you wear, everything you adorn yourself with, and everything you spend on daily expenses, comes from the shops under our mother's name."

The eldest sister spends the money she earned from business while simultaneously looking down on commerce as a lowly profession. If word gets out, people will think our Yun family's young lady is a hypocrite, eating from the bowl and then cursing her mother.

Yunxiu's expression changed drastically, and she opened her mouth to retort, but Yunjin didn't give her a chance to speak: "Furthermore, at least half of the tax revenue of the Great Zhou treasury comes from merchants in various places. According to what you're saying, elder sister, wouldn't all these merchants be considered low-class?"

"In that case, why don't you ask His Majesty to abolish all merchants in the land, forbidding everyone from engaging in commerce? From now on, if you want to wear fine silks and satins, you can go to the fields to plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms yourself; if you want to eat rice and noodles, you can go to the fields to dig them yourself; if you want to use rouge and face powder, you can crush flower petals yourself. Does that sound good, eldest sister?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a low murmur arose from the surroundings.

The faces of several female merchants were already quite unpleasant. A middle-aged woman in a royal blue silk blouse was the first to lose her temper and coldly snorted:

"Miss Yun, what an arrogant tone. Without us merchants, would you have woven your own clothes? Would the jewels in your hair have fallen from the sky? Would you have grown the rice and noodles you eat yourself? Is this how daughters of officials treat others?"

A younger woman next to her chimed in, "That's right. What's wrong with being a merchant? We work from dawn till dusk to earn money, to feed our families, to provide convenience for the people, and to pay taxes to the court. How have we become the lowest of the low? And yet, a young lady from an official family who hasn't even married yet looks down on us like this."

Lan Qi strolled over at this moment and said unhurriedly, "So, Miss looks down on me, her uncle who is a businessman, so much? Very well, from now on, I won't send any of my low-class, filthy things to Miss, so as not to offend her eyes."

After he finished speaking, he sighed heavily, looking heartbroken.

Yunxiu was stunned, not expecting Lanqi to say such a thing in public.

Although she looked down on Lan Qi's status as a merchant, Lan Qi was generous and always sent gifts to the Yun family during festivals, never shortchanging her.

She gritted her teeth and explained in a low voice, "Uncle, you've misunderstood. Xiu'er didn't mean it that way. I just felt... that my sister shouldn't show her face in public, not that I looked down on merchants."

Liu Zhixue quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, smiling apologetically, "Please don't misunderstand. Our eldest young lady has no intention of looking down on you. She just feels sorry for the second young lady and thinks that it's not appropriate for an unmarried girl like the county princess to show her face in public."

Yun Jin feigned sudden realization, then looked puzzled: "But elder sister, today is the opening of Jinlanfang, and all the ladies and young women are here to show their support. If I, as the owner, don't come out to greet them, but instead hide away and refuse to see anyone, wouldn't that be impolite?"

These words left Yunxiu speechless, her face turning pale and then red.

People around chuckled softly, and several ladies who were acquainted with Chu Wanqing chimed in, saying, "The county princess is right. Today is the grand opening of this shop, so how can the owner not show up?"

"Exactly. Those old rules also depend on the occasion. If this counts as showing one's face in public, then which ladies in the capital would dare to come out and manage their shops or check accounts?"

Seeing that things were not going well, Liu Zhixue gently tugged at Yunxiu's sleeve and whispered, "Miss, weren't you going out to pick out two hairpins today? Second Miss has a lot of guests here, so why don't we come another day?"

Having found a way out, Yunxiu suppressed her embarrassment and forced a smile, saying to Yunjin, "Second sister is busy here, so I won't bother you any longer. I'll come to congratulate you another day."

With that, she and Liu Zhixue turned around and walked quickly outside.

Yun Jin watched her retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said coolly, "Take care, elder sister. Come again another day. I'm afraid I won't be able to personally greet you then. After all, in elder sister's eyes, it would be a disgrace to His Highness Prince Yu for a woman to show her face in public."

Yunxiu's steps froze abruptly. Just as she was about to quicken her pace, a clear male voice suddenly came from behind her: "It's alright. I'm not afraid of you showing your face in public, nor do I think doing business is shameful. Whatever you want to do, I will support you."

Yunxiu recognized Xiao Jingyan's voice. She stumbled and was helped up by Liu Zhixue, and hurriedly got into the carriage.

She gritted her teeth and shouted at the driver, "Go! Back to the manor!"

The sound of the carriage wheels gradually faded away as it rolled over the bluestone road.

Yun Jin turned around and saw Xiao Jingyan standing behind her with his hands behind his back, looking at her with a half-smile.

The morning light fell on his dark cloak, making him appear noble and upright.

He lowered his head slightly and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "How about I publicly back you up once again today?"

Yun Jin smiled and said softly, "Then thank you very much, Your Highness."

……

Sitting in the carriage, after traveling some distance, Yunxiu finally couldn't help but grit her teeth and say, "Yun Jin... she's relying on Prince Yu's power to humiliate me in public. I can't swallow this!"

Liu Zhixue sat beside her and gently advised, "Xiu'er, you shouldn't have confronted her directly today. That shop belongs to her, and she invited so many women to support her. By saying in public that she was showing her face in public, you offended all the merchants and ladies in the room. She was just looking for an opportunity to win people over, and you've given her that opportunity to speak out."

Yunxiu was even more furious upon hearing this: "So I'm just going to stand by and watch her be so smug? She's just a wild girl from the countryside, and now she's a county princess, owns a shop, and has even gotten close to Prince Yu. Me..."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Liu Zhixue gently pressed down on the back of her hand, her tone deep and unsettling. "Even if Prince Yu protects her, can he protect her forever? The more glamorous she becomes, the more likely she is to become careless. Don't worry, she'll have her day."

Yunxiu's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly asked, "Mother, do you have some ideas?"

(I have something to do today and can only update one chapter. I apologize for the absence.)