Help! The Frosty Noble's Son Is in Love With Me!-Chapter 318: Are You Angry?

Qu Fulan was momentarily unsure of how to respond.

If she were to say she suspected there was more to the case, what would be her grounds for suspicion?

She certainly couldn’t say she read it in a novel, could she?

The key issue was that even the novel didn’t explain clearly, which left her unsure about how to approach it—she just wanted to take a look at the records and might gain some inspiration.

While she hesitated on how to answer, he spoke again, "You suspect there is more to this case—what do you know?"

"I don’t know anything, otherwise I wouldn’t want to look. If you feel it’s difficult, just forget it." After she spoke, she closed her eyes.

Pei Ji’an’s low voice sounded in her ear, "Are you upset?"

"No."

He sighed lightly, "I didn’t say I wouldn’t let you see it."

She opened her eyes, "Can you really get it for me to look at?"

"Of course. Although it’s against the rules, letting you have a look shouldn’t be a problem." He pinched her cheek.

After all, it’s not a matter involving outsiders or a major case; it’s about his wife’s family, so he could certainly allow her to take a look—just make sure no one else finds out.

Even if it were other major cases, if she knew anything, she could also be involved, provided it was reported to the higher-ups.

Qu Fulan’s eyes immediately brightened but didn’t last long before she fell asleep.

This sleep was deeply restful again, during which she was woken up by him to eat something, then she continued sleeping.

There was a butler and several servants at the villa, but unless instructed, they all stayed far away.

The next day on the road back to Pei Mansion, Qu Fulan slept the whole way, finally restoring her energy completely.

After meeting with the matriarch and others, the matriarch even praised her rosy complexion and good spirits, leaving Qu Fulan unable to express the difficulty she had endured.

After leaving the matriarch’s room, even Ren Hua couldn’t help asking her about her recent skincare regimen.

"Your skin is delicate by nature, but now it’s glowing white like it could emit light, as if it could be pinched to produce water—did you discover some useful cosmetics?"

Women always care about their appearance, and Ren Hua also wanted her skin to keep improving.

Qu Fulan touched her face—was it really as exaggerated as they said? She herself hadn’t noticed much, "I haven’t used any cosmetics or powders lately; perhaps it’s the effect of soaking in the hot springs."

"Is that so? Then I should soak in them sometime too."

The two chatted awhile longer before Ren Hua remembered the matter of the amulet.

"This is one I requested for you—here you go." Qu Fulan accepted it and thanked her.

Some of the amulets from the temple, especially those enlightened through prayers for days, require sincere kneeling, and the master would enlighten them—Ren Hua certainly had been earnest.

Although it might not be much use to her, as she was already someone special, requiring Pei Ji’an’s jade to survive.

After parting ways with Ren Hua, Qu Fulan went back to look in the mirror, noticing her skin indeed seemed more fine than before, but apart from soaking in the hot springs, she really hadn’t done much skincare.

If soaking in hot springs really had a skincare effect, then in the future she’d soak frequently; if he was unavailable, she’d arrange to go with Ren Hua.

After fooling around at home for several days, when Qu Fulan went out to check the accounts, she found that not only were there no mistakes on Hao Qiancheng’s side, but he’d also discovered several flaws for her—it was clear this assistant had improved greatly, making future business dealings much easier.

For business people like them, training a manager is hard, but if you manage to do so, it saves a lot of effort—for instance, with Qu Fulan’s other businesses, or Pei Ji’an’s, it’s always the managers who keep things running smoothly; as long as you control the big picture, the rest can be trusted to the managers. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Qu Fulan later visited Mrs. Li and her cousin, who both expressed a desire to join her embroidery workshop—wanting to do something daily rather than being idle.

Qu Fulan did not refuse, as her embroidery workshop wasn’t some dark place overworking employees day and night. If they wanted to work, they could, as long as they worked within their capacity, which was certainly better than doing nothing.

Cousin Jinxiu was first surprised to see underwear.

Qu Fulan understood young girls’ psychology.

Girls of such age, still developing, especially needed well-fitting underwear.

She immediately gifted her a few pieces as a present and likewise gave some to Mrs. Li.

Naturally, they were reluctant to accept, but after much persuasion, Qu Fulan managed to get them to take them, their faces full of gratitude, eager to do something to repay her.

Finally, Qu Fulan showed them the contract—those entering the embroidery workshop followed a contractual procedure, with a base salary in the first month, and from the second month, pay increased based on capability—the more you work, the more you earn.

Mrs. Li and Jinxiu hesitated not a bit in signing—it was much better than their tea-picking wages.

Not only were the wages higher than in other places, but the benefits were also decent—the embroidery workshop gave gifts on holidays, sometimes a string of money with fruits, sometimes clothing—overall very humane.

In this era, a woman without a good background also needed to be self-sufficient to supplement the family income, but suitable jobs were few—once a job appeared with good pay and benefits, no woman who started wanted to leave, and some were even trying to place connections to get in.

Qu Fulan then visited the lingerie shop to check the sales.

With collaboration from several major merchants, lingerie was quickly becoming popular in Capital City.

Lingerie valued style and variety, also classified by type of people.

Now Qu Fulan had two shops—one was a store for wealthy ladies, following a high-end route, specifically tailoring for those madams and misses.

Another was a store for ordinary ladies and girls, less expensive and more affordable.

She intended to establish these two shops well first, and later expand to other places.

After reviewing her businesses, Qu Fulan went to "Flower Garden Ode."

She suddenly thought of a dish, wanting to add it to "Flower Garden Ode"’s menu—as long as new dishes were constantly introduced, the restaurant’s business would remain thriving.

"Take this blueprint and forge some pots like this."

The blueprint Qu Fulan provided depicted an iron griddle.

Manager Yu saw this type of pot for the first time—a square shape, flat-bottomed, with a lid. Although he was a bit curious, he immediately ordered it to be done.

Qu Fulan checked "Flower Garden Ode"’s accounts.

These days, "Flower Garden Ode" didn’t need storytelling to maintain thriving business every day—this was the result of effective early marketing.

It was about time to open another branch.

Good restaurant cuisine, coupled with effective marketing, naturally eliminated worries about lacking customers.

The logic also applied to bookstores—new books needed to appear constantly for good business.

Yet Manager Wu of Ten Thousand Books Bookstore was getting on with age, his strength limited, despite posting notices at the door to widely collect manuscripts at favorable prices—a gesture common among other bookstores as well, lacking uniqueness, hence attention remained low.

This wasn’t working; pondering over it, Qu Fulan thought of modern events like competitions and shifted tactics, saying.

"Let’s host an event inviting everyone to participate in a competition within a specific timeframe—from this month to next month’s end, submissions closing, then invite respected teachers or scholars for evaluations, determining the top ten—first prize being one hundred taels, second prize fifty taels, and so forth, ending with a grand award ceremony. Under such generous rewards, complemented by renowned teachers and scholars reviewing submissions, participants will strive wholeheartedly, thereby enhancing manuscript quality invisibly while boosting the bookstore’s reputation—a win-win situation."