The Eldest Princess' Substitute Husband (Transmigration) - Chapter 34

“The Consort brought back a girl?”

*******

The room was silent for a long time. No one spoke again.

Song Jinsheng lowered her eyes, her gaze unfocused, staring at the corner of the window. She let Wei Luoyi’s piercing gaze stab at the side of her face without looking back at her.

But after a while, Song Jinsheng started to feel a little awkward.

She slightly frowned, turning her head uncomfortably to look up at Wei Luoyi. Their eyes met, and Wei Luoyi’s gaze was as cool and deep as water. Song Jinsheng was about to speak, but she heard Wei Luoyi say first, “Alright, what the Consort said is reasonable.”

“The Consort has been much more disciplined these past few days than before. It’s good that it will continue this way in the future.”

Her tone was calm, but not cold. It was so calm that it seemed to… hold a hint of unspoken frustration.

Song Jinsheng wasn’t stupid. She could naturally hear it. But her words were so abrupt that she didn’t know how to respond. She could only frown, her expression stunned and complicated, as she watched Wei Luoyi push the door open and leave.

The heavy sound of the door closing pulled Song Jinsheng back to her senses. She looked away and couldn’t help but look out the window, watching Wei Luoyi’s retreating back on the corridor. Perhaps she was walking fast, as her moon-white dress billowed behind her in the wind.

A fleeting feeling of bitterness and disappointment flashed through her heart.

Song Jinsheng closed the window and sighed silently.

After a night of life-and-death memories from her dream and the recent confrontation, Song Jinsheng had no appetite for breakfast. She only had a servant help her with her ablutions and washing her face before she started choosing her traveling clothes from the wardrobe.

She casually flipped through her clothes and took out the black robe she had worn before.

This robe had been in the wardrobe ever since she wore it once. Since people in this era didn’t have irons, the sleeves and waist still had some wrinkles when she unfolded it.

Song Jinsheng spread the robe on the bed and smoothed it out. But when her gaze scanned the inside of the collar, she stopped.

She frowned, picked up a corner of the collar, and looked closely, only to see what the two small words embroidered with pearlescent thread were.

Zhaoyang.

This was Wei Luoyi’s title…

So, was this robe embroidered by Wei Luoyi herself?

But looking at her… she didn’t seem like the type to do needlework…

But thinking about it that way, the embroidery on the front of the robe was indeed a bit crude… Oh… no wonder…

No wonder this robe was placed in the innermost part of the wardrobe… So it has a special meaning… Thinking about the original owner’s past, witnessing her loved ones being killed by enemy soldiers, she must have hated Wei Luoyi. This robe… it was probably hidden so deep because she never wanted to see it.

Just as she was lost in thought, a system notification interrupted Song Jinsheng’s thoughts.

System: Notification: Congratulations, Host, on obtaining a clue item: Profound Gold Robe x1. Side quest progress increased by 5%. Current side quest progress is 20%.

Song Jinsheng held the Profound Gold Robe in her hand, her face filled with confusion.

How is this robe related to the side quest? Isn’t the side quest about finding the real reason for the original owner’s death…?

******

Today was the first day of the trial run for the shop. It was fair to say that besides being excited, Song Jinsheng was also a little nervous.

Even though people in this era had never tasted bubble tea and would find it new, what if they didn’t like the taste? What would she do if no one bought it?

She would suffer a huge loss. How would she ever pay back the few hundred taels of silver she owed Wei Luoyi?

The thought made Song Jinsheng regret it. She suddenly felt a little silly for having so confidently insisted that she would pay her back. Wei Luoyi wasn’t short on money anyway, so why was she being so stubborn and trying to save face…

Overwhelmed with thoughts, Song Jinsheng couldn’t help but let out a soft “tsk” and a long sigh, which made Guzi, who was standing beside her, a little confused.

“What’s wrong, Master? Did these ingredients not turn out well?”

Guzi was staring at the pile of strange ingredients on the table. There were black round pearls, small white gelatinous cubes, and… a big basin of yellowish-brown tea…

He had made all of them according to the recipe Song Jinsheng had given him. He didn’t know what they were; he had never seen any of these things before.

Song Jinsheng glanced at him and shook her head. “Nothing. Here, get a chair and sit down.”

With that, Song Jinsheng also dragged a chair behind her and sat down at the table. They were currently on the second floor of the shop. This was a place she had specifically designated for developing new products and resting. The first floor was where the customers would be served.

All the necessary materials for a bubble tea shop, such as plastic cups and straws, had already been ordered by Song Jinsheng online from the system.

She picked up a cup and used a small spoon to put the most basic toppings, like pearls and coconut jelly, into the cup. Then she poured in the bubble tea and ice. Finally, she covered the cup with a yellow paper lid, sealed it with tape, shook it well, and inserted a straw.

“Here, try it and see how it tastes.” Song Jinsheng smiled and handed him the cup of bubble tea.

“This…” Guzi took the cup, looking at it with a difficult expression.

“Master, what is this? Guzi has… never seen anything like it…”

Seeing his hesitation, Song Jinsheng couldn’t help but hold his hand and bring the straw directly to his mouth. She muttered softly, “It would be strange if you had…”

“This is bubble tea. It’s very delicious. Just try it.”

“Oh…”

Guzi pursed his lips. Seeing the look of anticipation in Song Jinsheng’s eyes, he took a deep breath and bit down on the straw with a slight frown.

At first, his eyebrows were still tightly furrowed, but a moment later, when the bubble tea entered his mouth, he immediately looked up, his eyes seeming to light up.

“How is it? Isn’t it delicious?” Song Jinsheng couldn’t wait for confirmation when she saw his reaction.

Guzi didn’t answer right away. He just widened his eyes, took another big gulp, and chewed on the soft, chewy pearls and the sweet, slightly tart coconut jelly. Then, he couldn’t help but nod in admiration. “This… this is truly like a magical elixir!”

After saying this, his eyes even looked a little teary. He stared at the cup of bubble tea in his hand in disbelief. “This is the best tea Guzi has ever had! It’s as sweet as honey water, yet it has the fresh fragrance of tea. And these little pearls, they looked so ordinary, but they’re so chewy… With all these ingredients, it’s simply… no, it’s a divine tea from a fairyland!”

Hearing this, Song Jinsheng’s heart was put at ease. But Guzi’s excitement was far beyond what she had expected, which made her raise an eyebrow and look at the cup of bubble tea in surprise.

She was a little embarrassed to admit that she had added too much syrup when she made this cup. It was probably a full-sugar version, which in her time would have gotten a bad review for being too sweet…

It must be that this bubble tea is truly a new thing for people in this era…

In a short while, Guzi had finished the entire cup of bubble tea. But he was still looking at the empty plastic cup with longing and couldn’t help but sigh, “Master, your ‘bubble tea’ is so refreshing. But Guzi has never had any fine tea, so I can’t really tell the difference… Oh, Master, have you let Her Highness taste it?”

Guzi’s sudden question made Song Jinsheng pause.

She suddenly remembered that she had once promised Wei Luoyi that the first cup of bubble tea she made would be for her to taste…

“Uh… she also said it was delicious.” Song Jinsheng looked away, forcing an awkward smile.

After some more small talk, Song Jinsheng taught Guzi how to make bubble tea. Guzi was a quick learner, and in a short while, the two of them had prepared twenty cups of pearl and coconut jelly bubble tea.

Song Jinsheng specifically chose noon, when the sun was at its peak, and the weather was hot and stuffy.

She and Guzi set up the twenty cups of bubble tea on the table in front of the shop. They hired a young man to loudly announce, “Hey! Come and see, everyone! Our new shop is having a trial run today! We have twenty cups of special bubble tea, cold and delicious! You can try it for free! First come, first served!”

“Come and see!”

Song Jinsheng shouldn’t be seen in public, so she and Guzi sat inside the shop. They watched the young man shout, and sure enough, a crowd of people gathered. But no one was in a hurry to taste it. They just looked at the cups of bubble tea, their faces filled with confusion, and whispered among themselves.

Seeing this, Song Jinsheng couldn’t help but take a deep breath. She nervously rubbed the cuff of her sleeve, carefully observing the expressions of the common people.

Finally, after a moment, an old man in ragged clothes with a sallow, skinny face walked over and picked up a cup without hesitation.

In an instant, he let out a loud cry, scaring the people beside him into taking a step back.

“This… this… there is such a tea in this world!! It’s truly wonderful!”

With that, he quickly grabbed another cup of bubble tea and scurried away from the crowd, as if he was afraid someone would steal it.

Hearing the words of the old man, a few more people became curious and picked up a cup to taste. Without exception, after they each took a sip, their eyes were filled with surprise, and they couldn’t stop praising it.

Soon after, all twenty cups were snatched up.

Some of the people who didn’t get to try it were anxious and asked the young man, “Hey, why are there only so many? How much is a cup? I’ll buy one!”

The young man was also taken aback by the crowd. He glanced back at Song Jinsheng, then cleared his throat and loudly said to the onlookers, “My master said that the shop isn’t officially open yet. This bubble tea was made by my master. There’s no other shop in the capital, or even the entire Southern Chi Kingdom, that sells it. Today’s twenty cups are a gift for all of you to try something new. If you like it, we hope you’ll come and support us on our official opening day!”

“Good! We’ll definitely come, we’ll definitely come! Remember to save a cup for me, and don’t make it so hard to get a taste like today!”

“Me too, me too! I’ve never had such a delicious tea before!”

“Hey, hey, and me, and me…”

The voices of the people mixed together. Seeing that the young man couldn’t handle it, Song Jinsheng gave a look to Guzi, who also went to help him.

After a while, they managed to convince the crowd to leave.

After cleaning up the shop, Song Jinsheng and Guzi went out onto the street, planning to go to a restaurant to order some good food to celebrate.

Guzi was walking behind Song Jinsheng, a smile on his face that hadn’t left since they left the shop. “Master, I never thought it would be so popular today! You don’t have to worry anymore. I told you this bubble tea would sell well.”

Song Jinsheng was in a great mood. Although she thought the same, she said modestly, “Ah, it’s too early to say. The price of our bubble tea won’t be low. We’ll have to wait until the official opening to see if people will buy it.”

With that, she smiled and glanced casually at a spot on the street. Not far away, she saw a girl kneeling in front of a wooden sign. She couldn’t read the words on the sign, but she could vaguely make out the girl’s face.

The girl looked to be no older than a teenager. Although her clothes were tattered and her face was stained with dirt, kneeling in the middle of the street like that naturally drew the attention of some passersby.

Song Jinsheng was one of them.

But she wasn’t surprised by the girl’s actions. It was because…

*******

The sky was gloomy, as if night was approaching.

In the Consort’s residence, Wei Luoyi was already having dinner in the main room.

Although she was having dinner, she had only tasted a bite of the exquisite dishes in front of her. Her expression was indifferent as she stared blankly at the food.

Just then, she saw Dongyang knock and enter. Wei Luoyi placed her chopsticks down and had the maid next to her clear the table of the dishes that looked untouched.

When only the two of them were left in the room, Wei Luoyi looked at her. “Has the Consort returned?”

Dongyang nodded. “Yes, she just returned not long ago and is now resting in her room. It’s just…”

Dongyang’s voice trailed off. She lowered her head and her eyes darted from side to side, as if she was trying to figure out how to speak.

Wei Luoyi’s gaze was fixed on her. She asked, “Just what?”

“Just… uh… when the Consort returned… she brought a girl with her… I heard that her clothes and face were very dirty. I don’t know why the Consort brought her back, but she told the servants to treat her well…”

At her words, the calmness on Wei Luoyi’s face finally showed a ripple. She frowned, as if trying to confirm, and muttered, seemingly to herself, “The Consort brought back a girl?”

******

[Author’s Note]

Wei Luoyi: It’s not enough that you attract all sorts of men, but now you’re even messing with young girls?

Song Jinsheng: I’ve been wronged!!! Your Highness, please let me explain…

(Crying and being dragged away by the Princess…)

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