Opening an antique shop and getting rich through all the worlds

Chapter 112

The autumn wind carried a chill as it blew across the lake shore, light rippling on the water’s surface.

After a long moment, Xu Jiayan let out a soft sigh, his voice tinged with helplessness. “I understand.”

Shen You politely nodded, the two of them maintaining a courteous distance between them.

“We’ve reached the parking lot.” She said, glancing toward her car as a reminder.

Xu Jiayan seemed to hesitate, as if wanting to say something, but in the end he simply bid farewell as usual, saying they should send safety messages in the group chat once they got home.

His gaze followed Shen You’s car as it slowly pulled away, only then did he press the gas pedal.

He had originally thought that Shen You was keeping her distance and maintaining proper boundaries because she was concerned about his family background, never taking a step forward.

But she had said it was because she herself didn’t have those kinds of feelings.

Xu Jiayan’s hands gripped the steering wheel, unconsciously tightening as a bitter feeling rose in his heart.

He thought again of Shen You in the restoration workshop, her face full of concentration, holding ancient artifacts that had oxidized and faded with age. She was so vivid and alive that even the maple leaves falling outside the window seemed to lose their color.

After such a direct and firm rejection, did he still have a chance?

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Shen You had received another large batch of goods, ordering pure cotton thermal socks and buying some cheap knitted gloves online.

In ancient times, wealthy families didn’t need to do manual labor. They had all kinds of exquisite hand warmers and gloves made of leather or brocade.

Common people couldn’t afford such things, but the knitted gloves she had prepared cost only 2 yuan wholesale. Even selling them for a few wen wouldn’t result in a loss.

This was mainly because Liu Zheng had come to ask if there were any other items that common people who worked outdoors in winter could afford.

So Shen You had wholesaled a few hundred pairs to try out.

As for socks, ancient times lacked elastic fabric, while nobles wore comfortable foot coverings, what commoners used wasn’t as good as the 9.9 yuan “buy-one-get-three-free” thermal socks that were warm and comfortable.

Her wholesale price was even cheaper.

Shen You had also ordered some items through a foreign trade company that would be useful in the [Lan City] dimension.

The company handled all the accounting documentation for her. She would review it and pay after confirming everything was correct.

The wages and dividends on the company’s side were naturally paid from the funds she had transferred.

Shen You had specifically told them that all taxes that should be paid must be paid.

She didn’t want to get into trouble and be investigated.

Qi Hang had just sent a message: “Sis, you’re really something. The factories have been so competitive these past couple years, and business hasn’t been good, but you’ve managed to revive several factories over there.”

Some people he knew also said that foreign trade wasn’t as profitable as it used to be, yet Miss Shen was doing remarkably well.

Maintaining this major client meant future orders would be guaranteed!

Shen You exchanged a few polite words, thinking to herself: Others did foreign trade with other countries, but she was doing interdimensional trade.

With so many people in the Great Qi needing winter clothing, of course business was booming.

Following that was a message from Mrs. Gu, saying her friend really liked the fabric from last time and had already bought it all, and several wealthy ladies were asking when new materials would arrive.

Shen You thought for a moment and replied that they were still weaving on the other side.

This was indeed true. While she was methodically handling work on this side, her business partner in the other dimension was also busy.

Ever since that batch of goods had been sold to the wealthy merchants in the trading houses, they had transported the items to other prefectures.

Within three days, all the thermal clothing and down jackets had been completely sold out.

Because His Highness the Crown Prince had dedicated all the credit to the Emperor, the court had issued a death order strictly prohibiting price gouging and hoarding goods for profit. Doing so would be destroying the Emperor’s merit, and such intentions were punishable by death.

With the Emperor’s merit at stake, who would dare to openly cause trouble?

Actually, it wasn’t just Prince Cheng who had investigated the source of the Western Region goods. The Emperor had also personally sent people to investigate.

Such a large business would be more reassuring if kept under his own control.

Before the dispatched investigators could discover anything, the National Preceptor sat in his high position and stated with a half-smile that he was the one cooperating with the Western Region merchants.

“Do you still want to continue the investigation?”

Hearing this question, the old Emperor immediately recalled all his trusted subordinates and said happily, “Having the National Preceptor here is Great Qi’s fortune.”

How could the old Emperor fail to understand the meaning behind those words?

The National Preceptor was no ordinary person. The true origin of these Western Region goods was not something to be investigated too deeply.

If the people could survive, the Great Qi dynasty would be stable, and now the common folk were all praising his merit.

If he went too far and angered the National Preceptor, that would definitely not be a result he wanted to see.

When others heard about this, they simply thought this National Preceptor of mysterious origins, who was suspected of bewitching the Emperor with strange words to gain power, could actually accomplish real things.

But when the news reached Li Heng’s ears, it was a different matter entirely. He knew who the ‘Western Region merchant’ was.

Last time he had blocked Prince Cheng’s scheme, and this time he was taking responsibility before the Emperor. If he had nothing to do with this matter, why would he act this way?

Could it be that he knew Miss Shen?

He believed that this person, who had never shown respect even before his father the Emperor, couldn’t possibly be helping him because he thought highly of him.

Standing outside the palace hall, Li Heng maintained perfect posture, his ornate robes lending him an air of imperial nobility against the palace walls that seemed somewhat dim after the recent rain.

Yet when he faced the approaching man, even his bearing couldn’t overshadow the casual elegance in the other’s languid movements.

That face was too beautiful, almost inhuman. It was more like something carved from white porcelain.

No wonder so many noble ladies in the capital wanted to marry into his family, and even the Imperial Consort’s maternal relatives had tried to place people with him.

However, whether they had good intentions or wanted to gather information, none had managed to enter his residence.

As the two figures passed each other, Li Heng turned slightly and spoke:

“Does the National Preceptor know the Western Region merchant?”

His tone was casual, but his eyes carried a probing look.

“Does the National Preceptor also know the truth about those goods transported to Great Qi?”

He was saying that he was the one behind the winter clothing business that had come from the Liu family and trading houses.

Those items had been given to him by Shen You.

If he knew Shen You, he should know this, and thinking of this, Li Heng felt a trace of secret joy.

Wen Zhi naturally understood what Li Heng meant. Wasn’t he hinting at his own connection to Shen You?

He raised his eyes and glanced at Li Heng, a mysterious smile playing at his lips, his voice carrying a hint of coldness:

“What, wasn’t I clear enough?”

Without giving a direct answer, his facial expression revealed nothing.

Li Heng understood that this was an admission. The other party knew about his probing and could easily cover it up if he wanted to.

He had no intention of hiding anything, but in just these few exchanges, a hint of tension had already emerged between the two men.

The dragon-carved stone sculpture between them, dampened by rain, seemed to be touched by the chill as well.

Wen Zhi took the oil-paper umbrella handed to him by his attendant and walked away.

Li Heng’s gaze grew more focused. He had never received news of the National Preceptor visiting Bluestone Lane.

He had thought that in Great Qi, he was the person most closely connected to Miss Shen.

This person’s background was unknown, and all those in the know remained tight-lipped about him. Such an identity did indeed have similarities to Miss Shen’s miraculous shop in certain aspects.

Had they known each other for a long time? And what was their relationship?

He thought again of the lantern treasured in Miss Shen’s shop, and of that temple fair day.

Miss Shen had glass lamps that could light up without candles. How much more precious they were than bamboo lanterns.

Thinking of this, his whole body involuntarily stiffened.

How could Li Heng have known that Shen You collected lanterns simply because they were handmade traditional crafts that were exquisitely made and worth collecting?