There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 411 A Little Tempted

"Although Changning has always maintained a distant attitude towards Young Master Ruan, her concern is genuine," Li Shuchen analyzed.

"She probably didn't even realize it herself," Gu Ziying said.

"I'm a little tempted," Ye Bingli concluded.

"What were you three whispering about behind my back?" Princess Changning asked, turning around.

"I'm just praising your beauty. You're getting prettier and prettier," Li Shuchen said with a smile.

"That's right, I've grown up and am naturally more beautiful than before," Princess Changning said proudly.

By the time they set up camp at dusk, everyone was exhausted.

We only covered half the planned distance today, but everyone was too exhausted to speak.

The tenth prince sat down on the ground, too exhausted to even complain that "the ground is too hard."

Ruan Jingshang tirelessly prepared dinner, his culinary skills having improved considerably in just a few days.

Although it was a simple meal, hot soup and hot bread were a luxury in the desolate mountains.

"If you don't mind, please join us for a meal," Ruan Jingshang said, gesturing to the girls. He then specially served the first bowl of hot soup and naturally placed it in front of Princess Changning, saying, "Your Highness has had a long day."

Princess Changning looked at the steaming bowl of soup, then at Ruan Jingshang's still bandaged hand, and this time she didn't refuse: "Thank you for your trouble."

When she took the soup, her finger accidentally touched his, and they both paused for a moment.

Ruan Jingshang's ears turned slightly red, while Princess Changning lowered her eyes and quietly drank her soup.

Li Shuchen witnessed the whole thing and quickly covered her face with a bowl. She absolutely couldn't let Changning see her secretly laughing this time.

Gu Ziying added a spoonful of porridge to Li Shuchen's bowl, "Drink up, it'll get cold soon. What are you doing holding the bowl like that?"

"Oh, okay, Ziying, I was just spacing out," Li Shuchen laughed, then lowered her head and took a big gulp of porridge.

Ye Bingli sipped her porridge slowly, smiling gently.

When Liang Yuying returned, she saw this heartwarming scene, which warmed her heart and seemed to dispel the chill of her patrol. She sat down and lowered her head to drink her porridge.

After the meal, everyone sat around the campfire.

Liang Yuying wiped her sword and listened intently to the sounds around her.

Ye Bingli held her zither, but didn't play it; she just stared blankly at the leaping flames.

Gu Ziying was mending a worn-out cloak under the lamp, the needle and thread moving nimbly in her hands.

Li Shuchen leaned against Wan Bai, yawning, and fiddled with a strangely shaped stone he had picked up.

Ruan Jingshang suddenly spoke up: "Let me tell you all a joke? I've heard quite a few while traveling all over the country."

"Speak quickly!" The tenth prince was the first to respond.

He was incredibly bored; there was no one to yell at, no one to hit, and no one to tease.

The campfire crackled, illuminating Ruan Jingshang's radiant face.

He cleared his throat, crossed one leg, and looked like a storyteller about to begin his tale.

"Alright! Then I'll tell you a true story—about a 'losing deal' I did years ago!"

His eyes crinkled into a smile, and he began to tell his story.

"Back then, I had just taken over the family business. I was young and ambitious, and I took five carriages full of silk northwards."

"I passed by a village called 'Qingshuiwa'. Wow, that place really lived up to its name. Apart from the clear water, there was nothing else there. It was obviously not a place that sold silk."

He mimicked his own disgusted expression from back then, frowning and pouting, perfectly capturing the look.

"But my old shopkeeper insisted that business can't be based on appearances alone; you have to 'build a connection.' Fine, let's build a connection then. The villagers surrounded the carriage, touching it but not buying. The one leading them was an old man surnamed Zhao, whose eyes were very bright. He asked..."

"Young man, which type of satin is the strongest?"

Ruan Jingshang paused deliberately at this point, took a sip of water, and whetted the appetite of the Tenth Prince and the others.

"I pointed to a dark blue horse and said, 'This one is durable.' Guess what the old man said?"

He lowered his voice, mimicking the old man's slow, deliberate tone: "They're not durable. Here, the wind is like a knife, the sand like a file. When a daughter gets married, her dowry clothes are worn out in just three years."

He shrugged, recreating the helplessness he felt at the time.

"When I heard that, I knew the deal was definitely off. I was about to say a few polite words and leave when the old man spoke up again: 'But you're an honest man, you don't cheat people. I have something here, do you think you can exchange it for something else?'"

Ruan Jingshang's eyes lit up

"His son brought over an old earthenware jar, half-filled with dark, unremarkable... dirt! I immediately thought to myself, is this old man just making fun of me?"

He feigned the polite demeanor he had displayed while suppressing his doubts, which made the guards chuckle.

"The old man grabbed a handful of 'soil,' mixed it with water, rubbed it between his fingers, and guess what happened?"

He dramatically raised his voice, “On those fingers, a layer of extremely fine and lustrous color shimmered! Crimson gold, crab blue, gull blue… it shimmered in different ways under the sunlight! He said it was ‘five-colored moisture’ that had been buried under the riverbed for who knows how many years, a secret pigment recipe passed down from their ancestors. The cloth dyed with it was so bright that it looked alive, and it became brighter the more it was washed, and the wind and sand couldn’t bleed the color at all!”

Ruan Jingshang slapped his thigh: "I thought about it and realized that I brought five cartloads of silk, but this secret recipe might only exist in one vat in the whole world! So I gritted my teeth and used three cartloads of the best silk to exchange for his half vat of 'soil' and the old recipe!"

Li Shuchen listened intently and quickly asked, "And the result? Did you make a profit?"

"earn?"

Ruan Jingshang laughed heartily, revealing his smugness.

"I sold the remaining two cartloads of silk at cost price, brought the formula back, and asked the master craftsman to experiment repeatedly. The first batch of fabric dyed with that 'five-color moisture' was snapped up by several embroidery masters from Jiangnan before it even hit the market! The price? It increased by this much!"

He held up two fingers and flipped them over twice.

"more importantly"

His tone softened, and firelight flickered in his eyes.

“The villagers of Qingshuiwa used those silks to make the most decent and durable wedding dresses for the girls. Before the New Year, Grandpa Zhao even sent a message through someone, saying that the village was doing much better by selling ‘five-colored dye’ and helping us with the initial dyeing. You tell me, didn’t this business seem like a joke at first?”

Everyone smiled knowingly.

Ruan Jingshang concluded with a smile

"So, sometimes when you feel like you've hit a dead end and stumble upon a 'losing deal,' there might just be a turning point inside. Keep your eyes open and your mind focused. In all the comings and goings, opportunities don't always come out of nowhere; they're hidden in some 'clear water puddle' that you wouldn't normally look at!"

After he finished speaking, he smiled and looked around at everyone.

In the firelight, even Princess Changning, who had been playing with her hairpin with her head down, stopped what she was doing at some point. Her eyes seemed to be deep in thought, and a very faint smile appeared on her lips.

The campfire crackled, and the night was gentle.

The firelight reflected in her eyes, softening her usual haughtiness and making her appear gentler.

“Ruan Jingshang,” she suddenly asked, “what is the most dangerous thing you have encountered while traveling around the world?”

Ruan Jingshang was surprised that she would ask him this on her own initiative, and he paused for a moment before speaking.

"The most dangerous time... wasn't encountering bandits, nor was it a natural disaster. It was once in the borderlands when my team got lost, and we were running out of water and food. At that moment, I thought, even if I die, I have to get my men out of here."

His tone was relaxed, but everyone sensed the danger lurking beneath.

"What happened next?" Li Shuchen pressed.