Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 54

Volume 3: Courtly Winds and Clouds, Each Finds Their Place

The Amorous Doctor and Her Stunning Wife

Changsheng Valley is located on the border between Huachen Kingdom and Yanxue Kingdom. Most women there retain the customs of Yanxue Kingdom and do not apply rouge.

Moreover, Feng Ruoqing had been devoted solely to medicine since childhood, and wasn’t interested in any of these applied things. Su Yi also felt embarrassed to force her. However, Feng Ruoqing felt she was living in the Su family, and Su Yi gave her a monthly allowance and provided her with food and drink, so she also felt embarrassed to do nothing when Su Yi needed help. Thus, she asked Su Yi what help she could offer.

            

Coincidentally, it snowed heavily those few days, and Su Yi was unwell but insisted on going out. Feng Ruoqing was afraid something would happen to her halfway, so she followed her out. Strolling on the street was truly boring. Su Yi, who was in a wheelchair, occasionally asked Feng Ruoqing some medical knowledge. Feng Ruoqing lowered her head to listen. Once or twice was fine, but after several times, in the eyes of others, it looked like the two of them were rubbing ears and temples, behaving intimately.

Su Yi’s appearance was outstanding, and she applied rouge all day. When talking to Feng Ruoqing, her eyes and brows curved in a smile. As the saying goes, “a woman adorns herself for her admirer”​¹. To those who didn’t know the situation, it indeed seemed like there was something going on between the two of them.

Feng Ruoqing accompanied Su Yi for seven or eight consecutive days. When Yiyun Tower finally took the bait, she noticed that when she entered and left the Su Manor, the maids’ eyes looking at her had changed somewhat.

            

At first, they were polite and treated her as a guest, but later they fawned over her. Someone even accidentally let slip and called her “Little Mistress”.

According to the customs of Yanxue Kingdom, this address is generally given to the master’s female favorite.

Feng Ruoqing felt as if she had been struck by lightning on the spot and was speechless.

            

She sent someone outside to inquire, and stories like 《The Amorous Doctor and Her Stunning Wife》, 《A Few Things​² About the Marquis Manor Beauty and Her Personal Doctor》, 《The Romantic Doctor and the Beautiful Young Lady》, 《The Marquis Manor Young Lady Fell in Love With Me》, etc., etc., emerged endlessly and spread among the populace.

With the invention of printing, poor scholars who failed the exams could also write stories to make a living. Because the lives of high officials and noble lords were far from ordinary people, ordinary people were particularly curious about their lives. These noble secrets were the most liked. After some busybody​³ inquired about this news, they immediately took her and Su Yi as the prototypes and created a story.

The sickly, stunningly beautiful young lady of the Marquis Manor and the ordinary doctor of unknown origin gave people too much room for imagination, so this story exploded in popularity. The person who wrote the book made a fortune​⁴. The rest competed to imitate. After the first one appeared, soon there was a second, and a third. Then, throughout the entire Jingdu, stories based on her and Su Yi as prototypes circulated. Among them, 《The Amorous Doctor and Her Stunning Wife》 had the best sales. After all, who wouldn’t want a beautiful and wealthy young lady from a Marquis Manor to be devotedly in love with them?

            

Feng Ruoqing saw this story in a bookshop and felt completely disturbed. This was because the book’s descriptions were very hot and explicit​⁵. Inside, she and Su Yi were already involved in a murky relationship, and had secretly “moved the great weapons of war”​⁶ on the couch several hundred times.

Feng Ruoqing felt her reputation had been harmed.

Maybe from now on she would have to spend her time clarifying these rumors.

            

So the look in her eyes when she looked at Su Yi was particularly resentful.

Being complained about by so many people, Su Yi was also very innocent. She covered her face, “I know you’ve suffered, but I’m also a victim, okay? I was taken by my mother and grandmother to be questioned for several shichen​⁷. I’m miserable too!”

She waved her hand, “As the saying goes, ‘those who achieve great things don’t bother with minor details’. These are just rumors, don’t take them to heart. Just look at the results. Look, we can pull one hundred taels of silver from Yiyun Tower every day. It’s like putting the enemy’s money into our own pockets. A little sacrifice isn’t a big deal, right?”

            

Saying this, she looked at Ji Qingchi, “Ninth Highness, what do you say?”

The female protagonist was a palace-type female protagonist who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals; she would definitely understand her.

Ji Qingchi, “……”

            

Ji Qingchi felt a slight ache in her teeth. When Su Yi looked over, she forced herself to maintain a smile, “Mm… Miss Su is right.”

Su Yi couldn’t stand the resentful looks from the people around her and quickly begged for mercy, “Look, even the Ninth Highness said so. Everyone, my dear sisters, spare me! Today I’ll treat everyone to hot pot, how about it?”

Hot pot was something she made when she felt greedy for food during the heavy snow. This book’s setting is very chaotic, so Yanxue Kingdom is rich in resources. At this time, they surprisingly already had seasonings that only existed during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It’s just that the variety of vegetables was small. Those vegetables and fruits were difficult to store in winter and expensive, so ordinary people couldn’t afford to eat them. Su Yi didn’t sell them in restaurants, only had blacksmiths make pot models according to her design for her own family to eat and drink.

            

The people in the manor, from her great-grandmother down to the maids and servants, all liked eating this. Hearing Su Yi say this, they all unanimously shut up and smiles appeared on their faces.

Yan Can repeatedly urged, “Alright, Miss, we forgive you. Let’s go eat quickly.”

Su Yi, “……”

            

It’s hard not to suspect that this group of you was just doing it for the food, that’s why you complained about me so much!

Without delay, she took the people to a private room in the restaurant, sent someone back to the Marquis Manor to fetch the pot, and asked the restaurant manager to borrow charcoal fire. The group settled down and ate hot pot while grilling meat.

Yan Can and Gancao drooled at the fragrant food. Ji Qingchi looked at something she had never seen before, curious, “What is this?”

            

Su Yi enthusiastically introduced the food that modern people flock to​⁸. After having someone bring fruit wine and pouring a cup, she lightly sipped a small mouthful, narrowed her eyes, “Ah, life is like this, what more could one ask for?”

Her expression was exactly like a lazy cat. Ji Qingchi watched blankly, holding the wine in her hand, and forgot to drink.

Feng Ruoqing sat beside them and took in the two people’s expressions, calmly picking up a piece of boiled cabbage and putting it in her bowl.

            

She felt the stories in the bookshop were written incorrectly; they should have written 《The Infatuated Imperial Princess and Her Stunning Wife》 instead.

“Your Highness.” After taking a small sip of wine, Su Yi felt alive again. She couldn’t eat much of these things, so she only ate a little, then put down her chopsticks, “I heard Your Highness has been preparing for the palace banquet?”

“Yes.” Ji Qingchi recovered her composure, subtly using drinking to cover up her loss of composure. “It’s about seventy to eighty percent ready.”

            

“Then, Your Highness, can this grilled meat hot pot and our restaurant’s wine be used at the banquet?”

Although grilled meat hot pot in later generations is not on the menu for entertaining guests and isn’t considered a high-class thing, in Yanxue Kingdom, this method of cooking food is, after all, new. She believed those high officials and noble lords would definitely like it.

And then, by currying favor with the Emperor and promoting these things a bit, wouldn’t she be able to earn more money then?

            

Ji Qingchi pondered for a moment, feeling that her Imperial Mother might not like Su Yi’s food, but having eaten palace food for a long time, it had become tiresome. This thing was indeed new and could indeed be presented to let Imperial Mother relieve her boredom.

So she nodded, “You may.”

Su Yi smiled and said, “Thank you, Your Highness. There’s one more thing. Your humble servant would like to borrow people from Your Highness.”

            

She paused, then added, “Borrow many women.”

Ji Qingchi, “!”

What’s this? The women in the Su Manor aren’t enough for Su Yi to mess with, is that it?

            

Her expression was uncertain. After a while, she said subtly, “What does Miss Su want to do?”

Su Yi said sincerely, “The cloth used in the clothing shop isn’t enough. I want to buy cloth.”

“What does this have to do with the women you’re borrowing?”

            

“Naturally, it has something to do with it.”

Su Yi slowly explained to her.

Didn’t that clothing shop competing with her sell cloth at a low price? Well then, she won’t be polite. She’ll have a bunch of people go buy cloth and then secretly transport that cloth to her own shop to be used as raw materials.

            

Buy that cloth at a low price, then make that cloth into clothes and sell them. It’s a sure-profit business, isn’t it?

As for where so many people would come from?

In Yanxue Kingdom, women can be the head of the family. The words of the head of the family dare not be disobeyed.

            

Doesn’t Ji Qingchi have barracks under her command? So many soldiers, it’s impossible that every person doesn’t have a family. She’ll have those soldiers and their families secretly go to that shop to buy cloth and then secretly transfer it to her shop.

The old ones buy one chi​⁹ of cloth, the young ones buy one cun​¹⁰ of cloth. Accumulating little by little makes a lot. They can also buy quite a bit of cloth, enough to get through quite a few days.

This method was indeed unexpected. Su Yi really has many clever ideas​¹¹.

            

Ji Qingchi looked at her and smiled, “Miss Su is truly exceptionally intelligent. This Palace agree. When This Palace go back, I’ll have the deputy general make a plan to have those soldiers take turns going back to visit relatives and secretly help Miss Su buy cloth along the way.”

Su Yi also felt she was clever, but she still remembered to be humble. “Just so-so. However, this is just a temporary measure. If this commoner’s​¹² shop wants to stay open long-term, I’m afraid we’ll have to beg that son of the Minister of Revenue to show mercy.”

The Pingyang Marquis’s noble rank is high, but the real power in her hands is not much. Ordinarily, she is only responsible for etiquette and sacrifices inside and outside the palace. While the power of the Ministers of the Six Ministries​¹³ is only below the Chancellor​¹⁴, the Minister of Revenue, Cui Luo​¹⁵, has been diligent and conscientious for decades, and her reputation in the court and among the populace is very high.

            

Compared to the Pingyang Marquis Manor, which just had the scandal involving Su Tianci, the Minister of Revenue’s manor is clean and innocent. Some time ago, the Minister’s concubine-born daughter was even abducted, and the Emperor was particularly sympathetic. No matter what, the Minister of Revenue stands on the high ground of public opinion. The Pingyang Marquis facing her is also a step shorter​¹⁶.

Therefore, relying on the Pingyang Marquis’s prestige is also not feasible. Their family is now a paper tiger​¹⁷. Ordinary people see their power as great, but in reality, when facing truly powerful high officials, they can only tuck their tails between their legs and behave.

“Sigh.” Thinking of these things, Su Yi sighed, “Having power is truly good.”

            

Ji Qingchi glanced at her, “Miss Su also wants to be an official?”

“No, no, no, this commoner is weak and cannot be an official.” Su Yi quickly waved her hand, “It’s just a lament that the Minister’s son could push us to this extent just by relying on his mother. It’s just an expression of feeling.”

Ji Qingchi thought of the spies hidden in the court, and said in a deep voice, “With great power, doing things is indeed easy. At this palace banquet, This Palace is afraid someone will cause trouble relying on the power in their hands. This Palace have made quite a few preparations in advance, but This Palace still feel uneasy inside.”

            

Speaking of the palace banquet, Su Yi remembered the actual purpose of this palace banquet: the Emperor was going to select official consorts for several Imperial Princesses.

Recently her guts were particularly big; she even dared to tease the female protagonist. Therefore, as soon as Ji Qingchi finished speaking, she gave her a teasing smile, “Which family’s young master has Ninth Highness taken a fancy to?”

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