Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife Chapter 149

Chapter 149: The Strangely Guileless Clever Man

Seeing that Mu Yunyao did not mean to blame him, Liu Liang’s whole body finally eased. “Yes, Master. You will not punish Qi Ming?”

“Why should I punish him? I would dearly like a few more people like him.” Mu Yunyao’s face was full of laughter. “Jin Lan, later, prepare a red envelope of five hundred taels as well. Have Liu Liang deliver it to Qi Ming together with Steward Qin’s.” Faults must be punished, but merit must also be rewarded. She could not allow capable people to feel chilled.

“Yes, Miss.”

After Liu Liang withdrew, Mu Yunyao continued with the embroidery in her hands and asked Jin Lan to count the banknotes.

“Miss, altogether there are twenty-one thousand two hundred taels.”

Mu Yunyao nodded. “Take it to Mother. If she asks where the banknotes came from, say they are profits from Buxian Tower sent over by Steward Qin.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Once Jin Lan had gone out, Mu Yunyao laughed softly. If the price difference alone had yielded more than twenty thousand taels, then this time, Steward Qin must have prepared no small amount of ginger tea.

That day, Mu Yunyao had just risen when she felt the air carried a sharper chill than before. When Jin Lan entered, there was a hint of excitement on her face. “Miss, it is snowing outside. Though there is only a thin layer, it is especially lovely.”

Mu Yunyao paused slightly. “Counting the days, is today not precisely Xiaoxue—Little Snow? It has answered the season rather well.”

“Yes. Just now, this servant met Si Qin and heard that Madam is preparing rice-flour dumplings. She said that after eating rice-flour dumplings, one will not be frozen by the cold. This servant is truly fortunate today.” Madam had never treated them as outsiders. Each time she prepared something delicious, she would have some set aside for them as well. It warmed their hearts beyond words.

Warmth gathered in Mu Yunyao’s smile. “Just as well. I have not eaten rice-flour dumplings in quite some time, and I am craving them. Later, go tell Mother that I want lotus root and fresh pork filling.” To her mother, troublesome requests were not to be feared. What she feared was making something that her daughter wouldn’t like. Therefore, Mu Yunyao never hesitated when making such requests.

“Yes, Miss.”

Mu Yunyao was in good spirits, and even her embroidery seemed to move faster beneath her fingers.

Meanwhile, in Jinxiu Garden next door, the guests who had come to drink tea were all sighing in wonder. The scenery of Jinxiu Garden had already been beautiful enough, but now every place set aside for guests to drink tea had either hanging curtains or standing screens.

According to the different views, the patterns on the curtains and screens were all distinct. They echoed the surrounding scenery, refined and flawless, blending into a seamless whole. Now, with a light fall of snow drifting down, the garden gained another layer of dreamlike beauty, enough to intoxicate the mind and make one reluctant to leave.

Once word spread, many people came to Jinxiu Garden to admire the scenery. In winter, most places had turned bleak and bare, leaving people with few destinations. Now that there was Jinxiu Garden, with its beautiful views and the imperial plaque bestowed by the Emperor, it naturally became the first choice for leisure.

Steward Qin counted the silver that had come in, and his admiration for Mu Yunyao deepened further. Previously, he had worried that once winter arrived, the number of guests at Buxian Tower would drop sharply. Yet now, not only had the guests not decreased, they had increased instead; business was even livelier than in summer. In addition, Qi Ming, who had helped purchase grain earlier, had saved him a considerable sum. Steward Qin immediately decided that when the New Year came, he would certainly prepare a large red envelope and send it to Miss Mu.

Mu Yunyao found time to meet Qi Ming. The man was tall and strongly built, with an honest, simple smile. After entering and paying his respects, even his smile carried a touch of bashfulness.

“No need for so much ceremony. Sit.” Mu Yunyao studied Qi Ming. The smile on his face was entirely sincere, and even his eyes carried a guileless honesty. Not the slightest trace of pretense could be seen. A person like this had either worked deception into his very bones—or else he truly was honest by nature.

“Many thanks, Miss.” Qi Ming sat down somewhat stiffly. A large, tall man, yet he occupied only half the chair, making him look faintly comical.

“I am rather curious. How did it occur to you to buy extra grain and store it?”

At the question, Qi Ming quickly stood. “Reporting to Miss, I heard that you were buying grain to send to Yuexi. I thought that perhaps you might send another batch later. If grain prices rose after some time, buying again would cost you far more silver. It would be better to buy and store it now. That way, we would save money and time. Even if Miss ended up not needing the grain, we could still keep it awhile and sell it once the price rose.”

“You considered the matter quite thoroughly.” No wonder Liu Liang had asked for extra silver during that period; it must have been for this. Mu Yunyao studied Qi Ming carefully. No flaw could be found in either his expression or his words. Looking at him, one could only feel that every word came from genuine sincerity, making the heart feel strangely soothed. “What plans do you have for the future?”

Qi Ming quickly nodded. “This servant follows Miss. Whatever you order me to do, I shall do.”

Mu Yunyao smiled. After considering for a moment, she said, “Earlier, I had an idea, but there were no people under me who knew how to do business, so I never put it into action. Now that you are here, the timing is right. I wish to open a Yibao Pavilion, specializing in jewelry, rouge, face powder, and the like. How would it be if you served as its shopkeeper?”

“If Miss orders this servant to be shopkeeper, this servant will be shopkeeper.” Qi Ming nodded at once, without the slightest hesitation.

“Then have you thought about what ought to be done to make Yibao Pavilion famous, to let it become a golden signboard like Niyun Pavilion?”

Qi Ming frowned and pondered for a moment, then reached up and scratched his head. “This servant has one idea, but it feels somewhat treasonous.”

“Say it.”

The smile on Mu Yunyao’s lips deepened. In such a short time, he already had an idea?

“The Niyun Pavilion Miss created can already be said to be famous far and near. If Yibao Pavilion is to become like Niyun Pavilion, then it can only step on Niyun Pavilion’s shoulders to climb upward.” Qi Ming carefully observed Mu Yunyao’s expression. Seeing that she was not angry, he let out a heavy breath of relief.

The smile at Mu Yunyao’s lips grew deeper still. “Explain carefully. How should Yibao Pavilion step on Niyun Pavilion’s shoulders to climb upward?”

“This servant has privately heard many people speak of Niyun Pavilion with jealousy. It is only because Niyun Pavilion bears a signboard personally bestowed by the Emperor that they dare not openly oppose it. If Yibao Pavilion dares to step forward, it will certainly receive secret support from many people. In this way, matters will become much smoother without anyone noticing. Later, once Niyun Pavilion opens throughout the entire Dali Dynasty, Yibao Pavilion can also bloom everywhere along with it.”

Mu Yunyao laughed, her eyes bright with unusual brilliance. “Good. Since that is so, go handle it. Report directly to Liu Liang how much silver you need, and I will have him give it to you.” She truly had not expected Qi Ming’s idea to coincide so perfectly with her own. Originally, she had planned to wait until several more Niyun Pavilions had opened before sparing the energy to establish Yibao Pavilion. Now, with him to help, there was no need to wait. In this way, she had taken another step closer to her goal.

Qi Ming had truly come at exactly the right time.

Qi Ming nodded. “Yes, Miss.”

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