Leng Ruoli felt a little embarrassed that he agreed so readily.
"Uncle Yu, if you're too busy, you can refuse too?"
"Oh, Lier! You think too little of your Uncle Yu's capabilities. Your Uncle Yu used to have many shops in the capital, and even in the Southern Zhao Kingdom and the Northern Chen Kingdom. It was only after your mother passed away that Uncle Yu lost the will to manage them, so he closed those shops. These two shops are nothing in my eyes."
To make Leng Ruoli believe him, Zhou Baiyu immediately recounted his past great deeds, a proud smile on his face.
"Alright, then Lier will entrust these two shops to Uncle Yu for a while."
"Oh, why are you being so polite with Uncle Yu?"
After that, the three of them changed the topic and chatted for a while.
Zhou Baiyu then instructed two of his shop assistants to buy food from the restaurant opposite and bring it back for a meal. The Cold King and his consort, along with Zhou Baiyu, had a simple lunch on the second-floor balcony of the Moon Beauty shop.
After having lunch with Zhou Baiyu, Leng Ruoli went to the Jinxiu Pavilion ready-to-wear store. She held a small meeting with the store's employees, informing them that she would be leaving the capital for a while, urging them to work hard and take care of themselves, and assuring them that she, Leng Ruoli, would never mistreat them. Then, after arranging some matters with Shi Zhenhe, she and Jun Mohan left the Jinxiu Pavilion.
Next, the two went to the Anjitang Medical Hall. The number of people seeking treatment at Anjitang today was not as large as usual, so Leng Ruoli left her senior apprentice in the clinic hall to see patients, while the rest were called to the rest room for study.
Leng Ruoli took this opportunity to give them a refresher on some frequently used medical knowledge that she had previously imparted. Everyone listened very attentively.
Finally, Leng Ruoli informed them of her upcoming long journey, asking Chu Miaoling and Chu Mingxuan to manage the medical hall for a period.
"Consort, please rest assured. I, Chu Mingxuan, consider Anjitang my life. I will not let anyone have the opportunity to harm Anjitang," Chu Mingxuan vowed, patting his chest.
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruoli's eyes curved into a gentle smile. "Thank you, Mingxuan. And thank you all for your support of me, Leng Ruoli…"
Afterward, Leng Ruoli went to the Western Pharmacy and took out a large quantity of medicines from her space to replenish the pharmacy. The same applied to the Chinese medicine pharmacy. Leng Ruoli promptly replenished many commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs, but she added precious medicinal materials based on demand.
After arranging matters at the medical hall, she and Jun Mohan went to the streets to purchase a large amount of food, clothing, and various daily necessities. Leng Ruoli bought the most food. She and Jun Mohan practically bought out several streets, delighting the merchants in the capital.
The vendors of chicken, duck, fish, and meat, who had never seen anyone buy as much as they did in a lifetime, were naturally overjoyed.
Leng Ruoli also bought a lot of rice and flour and stored them in the collection room within her space. They would be taking many people with them this time, and food was absolutely essential. Fortunately, her portable space was spacious enough, so even if she bought more, it wouldn't be crowded, nor would the items spoil or go bad.
As for clothing, her space's dressing room had several large wardrobes filled with clothes, both ancient and modern. Jun Mohan had fewer clothes, but that was fine. Once they returned to the Cold King's mansion, she would pick out a few more ordinary outfits for him and put them in her space's dressing room for backup…
Thus, after buying food and clothing, Leng Ruoli paid the silver and had the shop owners deliver everything to the Cold King's mansion. The merchants were all overjoyed upon hearing that they were to deliver goods to the Cold King's mansion.
Because they were all very curious about the Cold King's mansion, they were eager to see it…
Little did they know that as they delivered the goods to the gate of the Cold King's mansion, the butler of the Cold King's mansion had already instructed the servants to receive their items.
Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan returned from the streets in the evening. The goods they had bought on the street that day had already been delivered to the Cold King's mansion by the merchants.
Moreover, these merchants were very honest, not shortchanging them or delivering inferior quality goods.
Looking at the mountains of items before her, Leng Ruoli waved her sleeve and stored everything in the storage room within her space. She could also instantly categorize and arrange these items neatly.
Subsequently, Leng Ruoli pulled Jun Mohan into the space to select a few gifts, preparing to visit the Xia family the next day.
"Jun Mohan, what gifts do you think we should bring when we visit my maternal grandparents' home this time?"
"Hmm… Grandfather usually enjoys calligraphy, so you can give him a set of the Four Treasures of the Study. Grandmother, Eldest Aunt, and Second Aunt are women, so you can give them some beauty and health-preserving items. As for Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, and Eldest Cousin, they like cleanliness and neatness, so you can give them an electric shaver, and prepare a few extra packs of batteries for them…"
Jun Mohan offered Leng Ruoli some suggestions.
Leng Ruoli was very pleased with his suggestions and immediately adopted them, preparing the gifts for the Xia family.
The next morning, the sun was bright, and a gentle breeze was blowing, making one feel very comfortable.
The Cold King and his consort, as usual, completed their morning exercises, returned to their space to wash their hair, bathe, and freshen up, change into clean clothes, get dressed neatly, tie up their hair, and then come out for a simple breakfast.
After breakfast, the two carried their gifts and boarded their private carriage. With a "clip-clop, clip-clop" sound, they smoothly arrived at the entrance of the Xia mansion.
The two young guards at the Xia mansion's gate recognized the Cold King's carriage and guessed who the visitors were. One of the guards smiled and walked towards their carriage, while the other hurried into the mansion to notify the master.
Not long after, Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan had just alighted from the carriage and were picking up their gifts from the carriage when her Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt came out to greet them at the main entrance.
"Lier, come in quickly. Let Eldest Aunt have a good look at you."
Eldest Aunt Jiang was very excited upon seeing Leng Ruoli. She reached out and touched Leng Ruoli's fair, tender goose-egg-shaped face, then touched her again. After confirming she was not injured, she let out a sigh of relief.
Then, as the four walked into the mansion, they spoke.
"We heard the day before yesterday that someone in the palace was plotting to usurp the throne, and you two were also in the palace. Your grandmother and I were worried sick. If your grandfather hadn't stopped us from bringing people into the palace to help, your aunt, your two uncles, and your Eldest Cousin all would have rushed into the imperial palace to rescue you. Fortunately, you resolved the matter later…"
Jiang Shi still felt a lingering fear as she recounted these events.