The Citizens Aren’t Buying? I Will Sell to the Emperor
Shrieks in the middle of the night were most horrifying. With both of them also having a guilty conscience, this shriek scared them witless. Yi Lin immediately said: “Could it be that it was discovered?”
Chen Yu immediately stood up and pulled Yi Lin towards the outside.
Just as the two pushed open the door of the temple, they saw Xing’er hastily running towards them. Seeing Chen Yu, she did not have time to salute, as she quickly said: “A corpse was found at the bottom of a well in the small garden. Someone recognized it as fourth young miss’ personal servant, Pei’er.”
Saying this, she looked towards Yi Lin. She clearly remembered that fourth young miss had arrived with a maidservant.
Chen Yu glared at her then quietly asked Xing’er: “Who discovered it?”
“It was Li Xiang.” Xing’er said, “She is a strong but stupid girl who was brought in at the beginning of Winter. She was in charge of cleaning up the yard. This servant already sent someone to detain her, but Li Xiang was scared completely witless. She is spouting nothing but nonsense.”
“Young miss.” Yi Lin was a little scared, “It was all because this servant was inept. Would young miss please provide a punishment.”
“What is the point of saying such things now!” Chen Yu settled her mind and said to Xing’er: “This matter absolutely must not be circulated. Give everyone who heard Li Xiang’s nonsense money to shut their mouths.” She then said to Yi Lin: “Send Li Xiang out of the manor first thing tomorrow morning. The further she is sent away the better. It would be best to send her out of the capital.”
“Yes.” Yi Lin hurriedly nodded and complied.
“As for the corpse in the well…”
“Young miss, let’s fill up the well!” Xing’er came up with an idea, “If it can’t be filled, just seal it. Say that the well is dried up, so the well will no longer be used from today onward.”
Yi Lin pondered a little then said, “How about digging up the corpse and burying it? That Pei’er desperately chased me around during the day and fell into the well on her own.”
Xing’er was quite smart and immediately understood that Yi Lin was giving herself an excuse, thus she quickly nodded and agreed, saying: “That’s right. There is a lot of snow next to the well, and it’s very slippery. It just happened that the opening of the well is lower, so falling down is quite expected. It’s nothing too serious. It’s nothing more than a careless servant. Eldest young miss, there is no need to take it to heart.”
Yi Lin felt that Xing’er was truly very promising. Presently, Chen Yu was lacking personal servants. Very often, there were too many things for her to handle alone. Xing’er had also been with the madam in Jin Yu courtyard, and she was very reliable.
Thus she gave Chen Yu a look, and Chen Yu immediately understood what she meant. Without saying whether or not she lacked personal servants, Xing’er had helped her with these sorts of matters. With this sort of servant, there were two options, one was to kill her and the other was to continue using her.
Pondering a little, she looked at Xing’er solemnly then said: “You did very well today. As a servant working for her master, I am very satisfied. From this day on, you will remain at my side. Allow Yi Lin to train you. Learn well from her. So long as you work hard, I will not mistreat you.”
Xing’er was waiting for these words from Chen Yu, as she immediately broke into a smile and knelt: “Eldest young miss, do not worry. This servant will definitely do her best to take care of you. I definitely will not betray you.”
Chen Yu nodded, “Very good.”
Yi Lin quickly went over to help her up then said: “Xing’er, in the future, we will both be eldest young miss’ people. Regardless of what you do, you must always think of eldest young miss. Do you understand?”
“This servant understands. In the future, I hope sister Yi Lin will provide additional teaching.” Xing’er was truly sweet with her words, and her mind was quite nimble. Immediately after being taken in by Chen Yu, she began to handle important matters, “This servant will immediately go find people to fill the well.” After saying this, she turned and ran off.
Yi Lin watched the departing girl’s figure and said: “I hope that she will be useful. Young miss has many helpers at her side.”
Chen Yu glared at Yi Lin, “You have the nerve to say that! You were clumsy with your work. Next time this happens, I will not protect you.”
“This servant knows her mistake.” Yi Lin said this and knelt, “Would young miss please forgive this servant this time.”
Chen Yu heaved a sigh. Yi Lin was the most beneficial person at her side. When it came to punishing this servant, she truly was not very willing. “Forget it.” She reached out and helped Yi Lin up. When handling servants, one often had to give both the carrot and the stick, especially with the closest ones because she knew the most secrets. “Go get some money and accompany Xing’er in settling down the people who saw the corpse. Remember, you absolutely must make sure that they shut their mouths. Also, those that fill the well will be given a bit more. Also give Xing’er a little more. We are still counting on her to help us in the future.”
“This servant understands.” Yi Lin thought quickly then added: “I will burn some joss paper at the well, later on, to keep it from becoming haunted.”
“Do as you see fit.” Chen Yu did not want to say anything further. Turning around, she returned to the temple.
At this time in Tong Sheng pavilion, Feng Yu Heng had not yet slept. She was currently practising her martial arts in the yard.
The month at the military camp had allowed her to recover some of the abilities she had from her previous life, allowing her to improve her situation. Not only had her physique improved, even her qing gong had improved.
Huang Quan was at her side and training with her. The two would occasionally adjust their technique and would occasionally spare, but it was very carefree.
When they finally stopped, Feng Yu Heng reminded Huang Quan: “You need to find someone to pay attention to the situation in Yu Lan courtyard. Han shi’s fetus needs to steadily develop. We can not allow anyone to take action.
Huang Quan had a cruel smile on her face, saying: “Young miss wishes to see the excitement afterward?”
She nodded, “Of course. Things will only be interesting after the child is born. Feng Jin Yuan will only look good once the green hat is on his head. To be harmed in such a dubious way by others, wouldn’t that make Han shi even more pitiful?”
“Yes.” Huang Quan nodded, “Young miss, do not worry. This servant will definitely keep a close eye on it. Right, young miss, you said last time that you wanted more maidservants capable of martial arts in the manor. This servant pondered long and hard, but aside from borrowing some from the palace, we can only go search in Jiang Hu. But the people of Jiang Hu will be a bit lacking in terms of behavior. Young miss, do you want his Highness to pick some from the palace?”
Feng Yu Heng suddenly recalled the female hidden guard in imperial concubine Yun’s palace, so she asked Huang Quan: “Where did imperial concubine Yun’s people come from?”
Huang Quan said: “Those were all trained from a young age. This servant and Wang Chuan are both the same. But learning martial arts is not something that can be done overnight. If young miss has this sort of idea, I fear that it’s too late.”
“I know.” Feng Yu Heng was a little helpless, “But I don’t want to take any more from the palace. What should we do?”
Huang Quan did not know what to do either. The two sat in the yard supporting their chins and thinking. Thinking long and hard, Huang Quan actually managed to think of something “A few years ago, I once heard someone speak about this. In a slave market, some servants who have been through special training can occasionally be bought. Skilled slaves can be purchased. There are some that are specially trained to take care of men that can be bought. There are some who had skilled in zither, chess, painting and calligraphy, and there are also some who have been taught martial arts from a young age. The cost of such a slave is very high, and they are not for sale to the public. One must first greet the merchant before a meeting can be scheduled.”
Feng Yu Heng facepalmed, “Why is it like buying food.”
“But this is just buying food.” Huang Quan sighed with emotion, “How can people who have been sent to a slave merchant be well off. The slave merchants don’t even see them as human. Just like Qing Yu, she was previously the young miss of a large family. After meeting with ruin, what of it? Her ability to manage money was not something that was noticed by a slave merchant. Otherwise, who knows how much she could have sold for.”
Upon hearing mention of Qing Yu, Feng Yu Heng finally became interested, “If we can find a few more like Qing Yu, that would be great. Get this matter done. Pick some who know some martial arts and clarify their past history. Absolutely do not allow someone with ill intentions to sneak in through the cracks.”
Huang Quan nodded, “This servant has remembered. This time, I will definitely investigate their family trees back eight generations. Only if they have completely passed will they be brought to young miss.”
“Un.” Hearing that such a servant could be found, Feng Yu Heng was a little happy; however, she also recalled a matter: “That’s right. Continue to investigate the things that dead imperial concubine enjoyed. After you have acquired some information, find a way to leak them to Feng Fen Dai. Have her do her best to learn them.”
“Why?” Huang Quan was puzzled, “If fourth young miss learns all of them, wouldn’t his Highness the fifth prince treat her even better?”
“So what if his Highness the fifth prince treats her well? Think about it. If the Emperor sees her dancing some day, what would happen?”
Huang Quan’s eyes lit up, “That would be entertaining! This situation is becoming more and more muddled. I trust that it will not take long before all of the prince’s thoughts will be exposed.”
This was what Feng Yu Heng had been planning for. The Emperor teamed up with Xuan Tian Ming and her to apply pressure to the third prince, Xuan Tian Ye. First, it was to recall the troops he had amassed to the North. Second, they hoped to attract more of his attention towards the eldest prince, giving him an enemy to focus on, in hopes that he would cause less trouble in his spare time. At the same time, she took the initiative to spread rumors that Xuan Tian Ming’s legs could not be healed. This allowed the princes who still believed that he could not a full recovery then ascend to the position of crown prince to completely stop investigating him. This gave Xuan Tian Ming some more room to do the things he needed to do.
Just the battle between the eldest prince and the third prince was not enough. She had to muddy the waters even further to hide Xuan Tian Ming’s situation. His Highness the fifth prince was just simply someone who was unlucky and was dragged into these waters. As for who would be next, she had to carefully think about it.
The next day, Feng Yu Heng brought Huang Quan over to Hundred Herb Hall. Wearing a set of male clothes, she once again used the identity of Le Wu You to see patients.
Wang Lin had not seen Feng Yu Heng for over a month, so he kept circling around Feng Yu Heng in a rush.
Feng Yu Heng knew what he meant and helplessly had Huang Quan hand over two boxes to him, “This time, it’s not just medical pills. There are also some medical tablets. The effects and usage are already written down. Remember, the medical pills will remain the same price as before, and the medical tablets will be ten times their cost.”
“What?” Wang Lin was completely dazed, “Ten times? Boss are you…” He wanted to say, boss are you crazy? But he did not dare, “Isn’t ten times too high? Right now, the cost of medical pills is already very high.”
“Isn’t that still running out of supply?”
Wang Lin nodded, “That is true. After the appearance of medical pills, those from families with a bit of wealth no longer want to drink the bitter medical soups, so even if it is a bit more expensive, supplies still run out around the middle of the month.”
“Then don’t worry and sell it!” Feng Yu Heng told him, “Although the effect of these tablets is roughly the same as medical pills, they act much faster. Medical pills can treat an illness completely in ten days, but these tablets are effective after just two. The price is cheaper than it is expensive, even at ten times the cost.”
Wang Lin was still a little worried, “What if nobody buys it?”
“If nobody buys it, just give it back to me. I will go sell it to the Emperor.”
Wang Lin nearly passed out. His boss was really domineering!
“Then this lowly one will go place them in the front for now.” Wang Lin no longer said anything else, as he received the boxes from Huang Quan and went to work.
Huang Quan asked Feng Yu Heng: “Young miss, now that we have medical pills and medical tablets, will the medicinal herbs for medical soups see a decrease in sales?”
“How could that be possible.” Feng Yu Heng shook her head, “Those that are able to spend large amounts of money are few. Moreover, there are some people who are accustomed to medical soups. They will struggle to accept these new items. If you don’t believe me, go up to the front and ask, has the demand for medicinal herbs has decreased?”
Huang Quan truly went to ask. When she returned, she told Feng Yu Heng: “Young miss was correct. The demand for medicinal herbs truly is not any lower than it was before.”
While the two were chatting, Wang Lin came over once more and said to Feng Yu Heng with a smile: “Boss, this lowly one has an idea and would like to hear your opinion.”