In these times, there was nothing common folk revered more than a scholar.
Should a family succeed in producing one, it would be announced with drums and gongs, spreading word across ten li in every direction.
The temporary workers on the estate might not understand the full meaning of printing, but they certainly knew what books were.
And now, a group of women—mere women—were to be allowed access to something as precious as that?
They were so shocked that they even forgot to fear Yun Shu's imperial identity. One by one, they began to speak up in urgency.
"Your Highness, must they be women? Could not men apply instead?"
"Your Highness, my son is fourteen this year. The entire village praises his cleverness. He is sure to be more capable than any woman."
"Your Highness..."
"Enough!"
Though Yun Shu did not always carry the manner of a ruler, that did not mean she lacked a temper.
"Is it you who commands this estate, or is it me? I said women only. Understood?"
"Spare us, Your Highness!"
At once, they all dropped to the ground again, silent as stone.
But Yun Shu no longer bothered with them. She rose, her voice still tinged with coldness.
"Mammy Liu, I will leave the matter of hiring the women to you for the next few days."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Mammy Liu lowered herself in a respectful curtsy. Of the two attendants the Emperor had assigned to Yun Shu, one was Eunuch Wang, the other was Mammy Liu.
In her days within the palace, Mammy Liu had overseen dozens of palace maids with flawless efficiency.
Now that she was to manage a mere handful of female workers, it would be less a task and more a peaceful retirement.
Yun Chuhuan, walking behind Yun Shu, clicked his tongue in amusement. As they passed the very laborer who had insisted that men would do better than women, he sneakily kicked at the man's shin and whispered:
"I say anything like that to Fifth Sister and I get scolded. You're pretty brave."
The laborer instantly broke into a cold sweat.
"Tch, why so timid now?"
Casting a look of disdain at the man now shivering in fright, Yun Chuhuan strutted off in triumph, catching up to Yun Shu's figure up ahead.
"Fifth Sister, where are we going now?"
"To eat," Yun Shu replied, lifting the curtain to the carriage. "Aren't you hungry?"
"Starving!" Delighted that their tour of the broken-down estate was finally over, Yun Chu Huan perked up at once.
"Where are we eating? Fu Man Lou or Qing Feng Pavilion? Fu Man Lou's lion's head meatballs are delicious, but Qing Feng Pavilion makes a better steamed fish!"
"Neither."
Yun Shu smiled mischievously, keeping him guessing.
"Today, we're eating something you haven't had before."
Something he hadn't had before?
Yun Chu Huan's eyes lit up at once. His first thought was that his Fifth Sister had concocted some new delicacy again.
And that, to him, would surely surpass anything Fu Man Lou or Qing Feng Pavilion could offer.
With his heart full of eager anticipation, Yun Chu Huan endured the rest of the bumpy carriage ride back to the city without a single complaint.
Even when the carriage stopped at the gates of the Tang Residence, he still believed they were just borrowing the kitchen.
Alas, reality proved otherwise.
Every dish in the luncheon was prepared by the Tang family's own cooks. Though the food was pleasant enough, it was comprised of ordinary dishes. Compared to the refined creations of the palace's imperial chefs, it was sorely lacking.
Having set his expectations far too high, Yun Chu Huan now sat with a plain vegetable leaf in his mouth, barely chewing. He looked at Yun Shu as though she had just betrayed the heavens themselves.
"Fifth Sister, you lied to me."
"Where did I lie?" Yun Shu said, entirely unbothered, calmly lifting a bite of tender, boneless fish belly to her lips. "Have you ever eaten a meal from the Tang Residence before?"
Yun Chuhuan blinked. "?"
He wanted to argue that this was not what he had expected at all.
But Yun Shu had only said she would take him to eat something he hadn't eaten before. That much was true. It was he who had misunderstood.
The Sixth Prince, still only eight years old, had yet to encounter anyone in his life who dared to fool him like this. He was entirely at a loss on how to react.
It was Tang Muzhi, dining quietly with them, who finally let the corners of his lips curl in a faint smile.
Still, having been raised with strict rules about silence at meals, he refrained from speaking until Yun Shu and Yun Chuhuan had finished. Only then did he finally speak in his warm and steady voice.
"Your Highness mentioned earlier that there was an urgent matter to discuss. Might I inquire what that matter is?"
"It concerns my cousin."
Yun Shu propped her chin up on one hand, smiling as she replied.
"Tell me, Cousin, are you good at acting?"
"...Acting?"
The term was not hard to understand.
Tang Muzhi hesitated slightly.
"And what role does Your Highness wish for me to play?"
"Someone completely in the dark."
Yun Shu no longer danced around the point. She looked him in the eye and said:
"If you happen to have time these next few days, do visit the Cao Residence more often, especially when that man, Cao Wenbin, is present.
That man puts on the face of a devoted lover. If you visit while he is there, he will naturally try to show how considerate he is toward Cousin.
I need you to observe his behavior and report everything to Eunuch Wang."
Tang Muzhi asked, "And Eunuch Wang is?"
"Eunuch Wang is someone Father Emperor assigned to me. He will be assisting in collecting information throughout the capital."
Once Capital Weekly was officially published, Tang Muzhi would naturally understand more. There was no need to explain in detail just yet.
Instead, Yun Shu raised another urgent matter.
"Speaking of collecting information, Cousin, does the Tang family have any shops in the capital?"
"We do… though only a few small ones."
In these times, the salaries of court officials might sound impressive, but when one accounted for the upkeep of a large estate, daily household expenses, and the cost of maintaining servants, the income was often barely enough.
Not to mention the social obligations—banquets, weddings, birthdays—where one could hardly show up empty-handed.
There were too many places where money vanished.
Therefore, most officials' households also operated shops or businesses to bring in additional income.
The Tang family was no exception.
However, their estate was not wealthy. Tang Muzhi's grandfather had risen from humble beginnings, earning a position through the imperial examinations. Their family fortune had only begun to grow in this generation.
Yet they had inherited a legacy of honesty and frugality. Three generations of such values had left them with only two small shops in the capital, just enough to maintain the estate's daily operations.
Unsure what Yun Shu was getting at, Tang Muzhi hesitated before replying.
"We have one small bookstore and a modest clothing shop."
"A bookstore and a clothing shop? Perfect!"
The former could be used to sell Capital Weekly in the future, while the latter was already closely tied to commoners.
Both were precisely the sort of allies Yun Shu needed right now.
A win-win situation indeed.