Xiu Yuan took a different approach: "When I secretly went to the brothel with Your Highness before, I saw that the girls there dressed even more scantily. If we start with the red-light district, it would be more easily accepted by people."
"After bras become known, in order to win their husbands' hearts, women will secretly come to buy them. Slowly, it will spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and eventually catch on like wildfire."
After listening quietly to his suggestion, Qi Huan shook her head.
"My original intention was to encourage women to confidently embrace themselves and display their beauty, not to use these garments as tools to please men."
"Instead, let's put the bra issue on hold for now and first promote the ruqun dress. This will attract customers who are more open to new things. Then, based on their conversations and behavior, we can selectively choose clients and invite them to private rooms to discreetly market the underwear."
"Since underwear is worn underneath, we'll sell it more discretely at first, trying our best to avoid the eyes of conservative people. Later, when underwear becomes widespread and popular, it will be too late for them to stop it..."
"Miss Qi is right."
Xiu Yuan noted down her ideas and began to refine them.
His Highness had said that he could only agree with Miss Qi, never refuse. Do what can be done, and report what can't be done to him, and he would handle it. In short, he should strive to fulfill every wish of Miss Qi.
Just as he was about to put in a good word for His Highness, he suddenly heard Qi Huan ask, "Did you just say that Shu took you to a brothel?"
"..."
Xiu Yuan suddenly felt that perhaps he shouldn't have such a loose tongue.
How could he have said such a thing?
If this reached His Highness's ears, he feared His Highness might twist his head off and use it as a kickball.
He tried to explain: "Miss Qi, His Highness went to the brothel on official business."
"Oh~" Qi Huan drawled out the sound.
"Miss Qi, please don't misunderstand. His Highness was there to deal with the courtesan..."
In his urgency, Xiu Yuan suddenly began to hiccup, breaking his sentence at a crucial point.
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and every time he opened his mouth, it was just "Hic~"
The more anxious he became, the louder his hiccups grew.
Qi Huan lowered her eyes, thinking to herself: Wasn't it Li Yuanxiu who dealt with the courtesan?
What did Shu have to do with this?
Her frowning, contemplative look made Xiu Yuan even more flustered.
Xiu Yuan hurriedly gulped down some tea, trying to suppress his hiccups.
However, as it was getting late, Qi Huan stood up to take her leave.
Watching her retreating figure, Xiu Yuan felt like crying.
That night, he went to the Duke of An Manor with a sense of doom, and said to Li Shuchen: "Your Highness, I have failed you!"
"I told Miss Qi that you dealt with the courtesan!"
Li Shuchen was stunned for a moment, his eyes suddenly turning cold, and his usually impassive face was filled with anger.
The look of wanting to stab someone can't be hidden.
Xiu Yuan shuddered, feeling as if His Highness wanted to "deal with" him - in the sense of flaying him alive.
Ignoring him, Li Shuchen wished he could grow wings and fly to explain everything clearly to his Huan.
When he urgently snuck into Qinghuan Court, he found Qi Huan sound asleep.
"..."
Not wanting to wake her, Li Shuchen turned his wheelchair and went to the writing desk. He lit a candle and picked up a brush to write a letter.
The flickering candlelight cast his profile in light and shadow. Li Shuchen gripped the brush tightly, feeling a vague sense of unease.
Learning about his connection with the courtesan, Huan seemed completely unconcerned?
When Qi Huan was awakened by the bright light, this was the scene she saw: a man with an imposing back, writing a couple of words now and then, occasionally letting out a soft sigh, looking just like a sulky little wife.
She let out a soft laugh.
Hearing the sound, Li Shuchen turned around.
Qi Huan opened her arms to him: "Shu, come here for a hug."
Li Shuchen turned his wheelchair a few times, but finding it too slow, he simply stood up and walked to her bedside.
Compared to the soft fragrance in his arms, the slight pain when walking was nothing.
"Why did you suddenly come? And why didn't you wake me when you arrived?"
"Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
"Didn't I just ask you? I even asked two questions."
"..."
Li Shuchen pressed his lips together, staring at her, and reminded her concisely: "The courtesan."
"Oh..." Qi Huan yawned and asked curiously: "Is the courtesan beautiful?"
"..."
Li Shuchen's eyes darkened as he pressed her down beneath him: "Why aren't you jealous?"
"I don't like Li Yuanxiu, so why should I be jealous?"
Li Shuchen paused: "You know?"
"Yes, I know. The whole capital is buzzing with the news that Li Yuanxiu slept with the courtesan. Although Xiu Yuan said you also went to see the courtesan, I thought you might have gone to set him up, not to compete with him for a beauty, right?"
"I trust you more than you might imagine, because I know what kind of person you are, Shu."
Li Shuchen's emotions were instantly soothed, and his eyes and brows were filled with a smile.
"When I learned that Li Yuanxiu wanted to take you as a concubine, I was very angry. Moreover, his secret engagement to the eldest granddaughter of the Minister of Personnel would strengthen the power of the Prince of Shun's faction. My relationship with the Prince of Shun's faction is irreconcilable, so I secretly instigated Liu Heng to ruin Li Yuanxiu's engagement."
"Liu Heng has feelings for Zhuang Jingxian, so he devised this scheme. Although it was crude, it was very effective. However, what he prepared for Li Yuanxiu wasn't a courtesan, but a 'female impersonator' with a venereal disease."
"Li Yuanxiu is different from the Prince of Shun. He has done quite well in handling the epidemic in Yunzhou and has done a lot for the people both openly and secretly. He doesn't deserve to die. As it happened, I was dealing with some matters near the Intoxicated Flower House, so I secretly switched the courtesan who was selling her first night with him."
More importantly, if Li Yuanxiu died, all his properties would go to the Prince of Shun. Without Li Yuanxiu's restraint, the Prince of Shun could use this money to do more things and strengthen his power.
This was something Li Shuchen didn't want to see. For various reasons, he had spared Li Yuanxiu's life.
As he fell silent, Qi Huan looked at his perfect jawline and her thoughts began to wander: "If you were drugged with an aphrodisiac, would you be like Li Yuanxiu..."
"No."
"I'm not a beast. I wouldn't succumb to instinct."
"But if my Huan were by my side, I would be worse than a beast, like this..."
Qi Huan suddenly felt a chill as her clothes were untied.
"I'm on my period..."
Li Shuchen's chest rumbled with two muffled laughs, and he pinched her as punishment: "Little liar."
Huan's periods were always very regular, coming in the middle of the month, and now it was the end of the month.
However, he did restrain himself in the end.
He helped her put her undergarments back on, tucked her in properly, and followed all her wishes.
"Huan, sweet dreams."
With a gentle kiss on her forehead, Li Shuchen rose and walked towards his wheelchair, extinguishing the candle.
On his way back, the cold wind blowing against his face dispersed the heat from his body.
The wind blew and blew until dawn.
The next day, the weather was bright and clear.
After finishing her breakfast, Qi Huan began to memorize medical books when suddenly, after a long time, the system's voice sounded.
"Host, the bathhouse you designed earlier has been completed and is officially put into use today. From now on, the people of Mo County will be able to enjoy warm baths in winter. The host has made a significant contribution."
"The design of the fire wall will be passed down from generation to generation, benefiting the Mo County area for hundreds of years. The host is rewarded with 10,000 points!"
"The host's current balance is 71,000."
Although she had left Mo County, some of her good deeds left there, such as free vouchers for noodles, monthly alms-giving at the beginning of each month, the continuous popularization of heated kang beds, etc., were still constantly adding points for her.
After the New Year, when her shop opens and starts making money, she will continue to give back to society, and then she'll be able to earn even more points!
Qi Huan was full of fighting spirit and in a joyful mood as she welcomed her third New Year since her transmigration.
