Upon thinking of the awkward feelings Jie Jing'an brought her, she was furious, and what's more, she couldn't show it!
"Young Master Ouyang, I'll visit you another day. I'm leaving now!" Qin Yun said, turning to leave!
Jie Jing'an let out a cold snort. "Hmph, so stingy. I don't know what she's always angry at this prince for! Such a shrew!"
Ouyang Siqing frowned. "Second Prince, how can you speak of Young Master Qin like that!"
For some reason, upon hearing Jie Jing'an speak ill of Qin Yun, Ouyang Siqing reflexively retorted!
"Siqing, what's wrong with you today? Why are you speaking up for that brat?" Jie Jing'an stroked his chin, looking at Ouyang Siqing thoughtfully!
"I just feel that comparing Young Master Qin to a shrew is rather inappropriate!"
Jie Jing'an waved his hand. "Let's not talk about that brat. This prince is troubled lately!"
"What troubles the Second Prince?"
Jie Jing'an reclined on the rosewood chair, his legs casually resting on the wooden table!
"Aren't you asking the obvious?"
Hearing this, Ouyang Siqing quickly thought of something!
"Second Prince, are you still thinking about that woman you met briefly?" Ouyang Siqing shook his head, finding the matter inappropriate.
Who would be smitten with someone after just one meeting!
"These past few days, for some reason, none of the people I sent out have been able to find out that woman's identity!" Jie Jing'an sighed incessantly. "That woman has vanished into thin air, not a trace of her!"
Jie Jing'an put his legs down and approached Ouyang Siqing. "Tell me, can a living person just evaporate!"
Ouyang Siqing sat up straight and said sternly, "Perhaps that woman has left the capital! After all, she is not from the capital!"
Upon hearing this, Jie Jing'an became even more confused. "I've had people guarding the city gates, and no one saw her leave. It's truly strange! If she didn't leave the city and isn't in the capital, could it be... she's a ghost?"
Ouyang Siqing chuckled. "Second Prince, you do like to joke. There are no ghosts or gods in this world; those are just tricks to fool children!"
Unexpectedly! Jie Jing'an said with a crestfallen face, "But what can I do? This prince feels like he's lost the love of his life! I finally met a woman who made my heart flutter, and she's disappeared without a word before we could even get acquainted!"
"Wuwuwu, Siqing, please think of a way for me! This prince misses her so much, I must marry her as my princess!"
Seeing Jie Jing'an acting like a troublesome child, Ouyang Siqing shook his head helplessly.
"If it's fate, you will meet again. Why should the Second Prince be so sad?"
"What's yours will never be lost; what isn't yours, no matter how much you crave, is useless!"
Jie Jing'an nodded in agreement. "You're right. This prince believes that fate is predestined. Since we met, that woman must be my future princess!"
Where did this confidence come from?
Ouyang Siqing said no more, feeling that talking further was useless!
Meanwhile!
Qin Yun took a carriage to a suburban residence!
Upon arriving at the residence, Qin Yun went directly to the storage room!
Seeing that all the wines from the three Qin Ji Wine Houses were there, Qin Yun nodded with satisfaction.
Each house had about ten account books, plus the account books from the Qin Mansion's inner chambers, totaling over forty volumes!
Qin Yun took out the account book from Qin Ji Wine House No. 1 and began to examine it. Casually browsing the accounts from the past two days, Qin Yun discovered something was wrong!
She had extensively purchased Gui Xiang and Qiu Xiang, but these two fruit wines were not recorded.
Qin Yun then flipped through the account books of Qin Ji Wine House No. 2 and No. 3!
The results were the same!
There were no records of large purchases of Gui Xiang and Qiu Xiang!
There were only some less expensive wines!
Qin Yun held her forehead!
How much money had the second branch secretly amassed over the years?
No wonder the Qin Mansion's expenses were so tight, and their lives were still so difficult!
Furthermore, she needed to thoroughly investigate the other wine houses in the capital!
If her guess was correct!
Ming Yue Wine House must have been opened with money earned from Qin Ji Wine House!
What about the other wine houses in the capital?
Thinking of these possibilities, Qin Yun could not sit still!
However, it was not yet time to resist. She needed to find more evidence!
Currently, she had neither excess money nor an official post, making things difficult!
Qin Yun silently reminded herself that there was no need to rush!
First, she needed to find evidence.
Once she made money and entered the court as an official, she could deal with the second branch as she pleased; everything would be within her grasp!
Putting the account books back into the chest, Qin Yun left the storage room!
At this moment, Qingshan had returned with a lot of medicinal herbs!
"Master, these are the things you wanted!"
Qin Yun nodded. "Alright, you may leave now. Do not come in without my permission!"
"Yes, Master!"
Qingshan left the room, closing the door for Qin Yun!
Qin Yun first opened the first batch of medicine!
She prepared all the medicinal ingredients and then mixed them for firing.
Several hours later, the results of the first batch of medicinal ingredients were out!
Looking at the small pills, Qin Yun felt a bit uneasy!
She silently wondered, did she really have to do this?
But if she didn't, what if she was exposed later?
She couldn't let the Qin Mansion face trouble again. The Xiang family was a precedent.
Qin Yun closed her eyes slightly, then put the pill in her hand into her mouth and swallowed it!
After the time it takes to steep a cup of tea!
Qin Yun felt a sore throat, as if countless ants were gnawing at her!
She became increasingly painful, unable to stand, and slumped onto the wooden table, writhing in agony.
"Ah..." Qin Yun couldn't bear it and cried out in pain!
Outside the door!
Hong Fu wanted to go into the room to check, but Qingshan stopped her.
"What are you doing? Didn't you hear Master in so much pain?" Hong Fu glared at Qingshan.
"Even if you go in, you won't be able to help Master; you'll only cause trouble!" Qingshan said coldly.
"What nonsense are you talking about? What if Master is in danger?"
"Master is more sensible than you and won't be in danger! If you go in now, not only will you not be able to help Master, but you will also embarrass her!"
Hong Fu wanted to say more, but the sounds of agony from inside the room stopped.
The two dared not speak further, only waiting silently.
Half an hour later!
Qin Yun opened the door and walked out!
"Master, are you alright?" Hong Fu asked nervously.
Qin Yun smiled; her body was unharmed, as if nothing had happened just moments ago!
"I'm fine, I was just doing something that needed to be done!"
Hong Fu looked Qin Yun up and down, finding nothing amiss.
She then glanced at Qingshan beside her and asked softly, "Did you notice anything?"
Qingshan said coldly, "It's the Adam's apple!"
Adam's apple?
Hong Fu looked at Qin Yun's neck!
Indeed, there was an Adam's apple, though not very prominent. If one looked closely... there really was one!
Qin Yun was very satisfied with the results of her efforts; it was just a bit painful during the transformation process!
"Very good. Even you can see it, which means it's very successful!"
"Master, what is the other batch of medicinal ingredients for?" Hong Fu was like a curious baby, feeling as if she had discovered something rare!