"You... are really Madame Hou? Are you really here to buy tofu?" Zhang's wife finally spoke up again, her tone still laced with a few threads of doubt.

  Qin Miao smiled and nodded. Zhang Shu pulled Zhang Niang aside: "I think the lady really likes your tofu. Think about it, if you get an order from the Hou Mansion, you won't have to worry about those small businesses in the future. Besides, think about Quan'er."

  Zhang's wife pursed her lips and said nothing, but Eldest Sister knew she had agreed.

  "It's our honor that the lady likes our tofu. We'll definitely deliver it to your house in the future. As for the price..." Zhang's wife swallowed her saliva and asked tentatively: "We usually sell it to our neighbors for three cents a catty, but since you have a big business with us, we won't be greedy, how about two and a half cents?"

  "This sister looks like a honest person, I don't want to take advantage of the Zhang family either. How about this, I'll give you five cents per catty. The only condition is that it must be fresh. Can you do it?"

  Aunt Zhang's eyes widened in shock as the price doubled, her mouth agape for a long time before she could close it. And Zhang's wife, who had been quietly standing behind her, was also shocked beyond words.

  "Alright, alright... We will definitely deliver on time every day and guarantee freshness." Zhang Shu busily responded and poked her own little daughter. "Ahlian, our good days are coming!"

  Qin Miao smiled and drank water, thinking to herself for a moment. Today will be the end of it, but later on, she still needs to put in some more effort.

  Mrs. Zhang and her sister-in-law respectfully sent Qin Miao and others to the door, and did not forget to send their own homemade almond tofu pudding. "Madam, take it home and add some ice cubes and honey, it's refreshing and delicious."

  Qin Miao smiled and responded: "Sister Zhang is really good at doing business, next time if I get addicted to your family's tofu again, I might have to ask you to deliver it."

  "If the lady loves to eat, we can deliver!" Zhang Shu stood excitedly by the side of the carriage, rubbing her hands together, wishing she could get Qin Miao to agree right away. However, until the carriage left, she didn't get a response from Qin Miao.

  The horse carriage ran slowly on the stone road of the main street, leaving marks. Qin Miao lifted up the curtain to look back and saw that Zhang's wife was still standing at the door with a puzzled face. Qin Miao smiled at her before letting Zi Xuan put down the curtain.

  Upon arriving at the governor's gate, Cheng Ying stepped forward and asked, "Madam, why didn't you directly state your purpose today?"

  Qin Miao smiled and said: "You also saw that the woman is very vigilant towards people from Xiangyang, especially those from high-ranking families. It seems that past events have hurt her deeply. And it's absolutely worse than what happened to Tao Yao. Look at her face again, those scars are quite old, if not for those scars, she would be a stunning beauty... Her past is like those scars, unwilling to be exposed again. So, I can only wait a little longer."

  "Turn back to Zhang's house and send over the tofu, let the cooks in your front yard make some too, don't waste my good intentions. Haha!" Qin Miao said as she pulled Zi Xuan away to the rear mansion.

  She had been out for most of the day, and when she returned to the mansion it was already noon. She simply ate some lunch, and after the meal, she also tasted a bowl of almond tofu from Zhang's family, which was smooth and delicious. She ordered someone to leave a bowl, and the rest were distributed to the big and small stewards in the mansion to taste the freshness.

  After lunch, I took a nap for a while and then busied myself with finishing the account books sent from the shop. It's also fate, our clothing store is called Qingfeng Shop, and the town where Zhang's wife lives is called Qingfeng Town.

  She was lost in thought when Xiaoyu rushed into the mansion, sweating profusely from the intense heat.

  "Goodness gracious, it's scorching hot!" Little Jade, who was younger than Qin Miao and had been spoiled by her since childhood, plopped herself down across from Qin Miao, slumping forward with a languid expression: "Miss, do you have any fruit ice? Give me a bowl, I'm dying of heat. This Wu Yang is even hotter than our Hangzhou."

  "Don't come crying to me again, go find your family's young master to cry to." Qin Miao tapped her head with a brush and continued writing.

  Xiao Yu Lu was obviously embarrassed and stuttered: "How did you know? I didn't think it was that obvious..."

  Qin Miao gave her a slanted glance: "You're practically clinging to him, it's so obvious..."

  "Ah......ah......what to do. He must have known, you can see it too! He...he won't think I'm too forward, will he......" Should have been more reserved from the start......

  Qin Miao didn't intend to bother with her, and instead had a maid standing outside bring in a bowl of fruit ice.

  "Here, eat." Qin Miao handed the ice bowl to Xiaoyu. She saw that the girl was unapologetically devouring the ice cubes with big mouthfuls.

  "Miss, guess who I bumped into in the shop today?" Yulu said with a scoop in her hand and a gossipy tone. "You're definitely not going to guess!"

  "You came all the way here in this hot weather just to chat with me?"

  Yu Lu blinked her eyes and said coquettishly: "That's not true! You don't know, I was behind the curtain and heard it, almost dropping my jaw in shock."

  She took another bite of the crushed ice, crunching away. Qin Miao impatiently smiled: "If you have something to say, say it quickly, if not, finish eating and get out."

  "Alright, alright, I'll tell you. You see, I saw Xiangxiang."

  It's been a long time since this name echoed in my ears. Since that one meeting at the mansion, Xie Lin had directly settled the matter and hadn't mentioned it again afterwards.

  Xin Xiang appeared in his own store, which made Qin Miao inexplicably vigilant.

  "Is she looking for trouble?" This was the only reason Qin Miao could think of. Zhen Xiang had always felt that she was not worthy of being the wife of Hou Ye, so she had evil intentions and often provoked others. It's unlikely that everyone would be driven out, but she still stirred up trouble.

  "It seems like she doesn't know that Qingfeng Pu is under your name. She brought a few people with her, probably to make clothes."

  Qin Miao slightly furrowed her brow, could it be that she was just overthinking.

  "This doesn't count for anything. What surprised me the most is that everyone around her calls her Fifth Madam." Yulü finished eating the ice bowl, savored it with a smack of her lips, and then leaned in mysteriously: "Miss, at her age being called madam means she's married. But what's strange is why they call her Fifth Madam? Could it be that she's from someone's fifth household?"

  Get married? Or be a mistress?

  Actually, Yulu only thought of one layer, and another possible layer is not the first wife, but the fifth concubine.

  No matter what, Xiangxiang got married, but why is it so quiet on that side of the village?

  Qin Miao had actually known for a long time that the person who was in a romantic relationship with Xingxiang was Po Feng, Shuo's trusted personal attendant. However, after several instances of following and investigating, Qin Miao found out that Po Feng simply loved Xingxiang sincerely and did not intentionally deceive them as a couple. Therefore, until now, Qin Miao had never mentioned this to Shuo at all.

  I thought that after Jinxiang left the mansion, Baofeng would likely take her in and care for her. After all, she's a weak woman who can't live well without a man. Considering Baofeng's infatuation, perhaps this would be the best place for Jinxiang to settle down and rely on.

  But she got married!!!