This madam is quite good at making herself look good.

Jing Zhe smiled and said, "Madam is too kind. I am just an ordinary commoner. How could I be a noble member of the royal family?"

Seeing that the madam did not believe him, he added, "Besides, it takes almost ten days to walk from Jingzhou to Yongzhou. Even if you bring ice, it will melt into water by the time you get here."

The madam thought about it and realized it made sense. She looked at the ice in the porcelain jar again. Apart from the surface showing signs of melting because the lid had just been opened, the bottom was perfectly intact, unlike ice that had been transported from afar.

She then exclaimed in surprise, "If you are not from the royal family, how is this ice made? As far as I know, only the royal family in An Kingdom knows the art of making ice in the summer!"

Jing Zhe waved his hand, "Madam is mistaken. It's not that the royal family knows how to make ice in the summer; they just know how to store it!"

"Storage?"

The madam looked bewildered.

Jing Zhe explained, "During the harsh winter, palace guards would dig through rivers to collect ice and store it in specially made ice cellars for six months, only to retrieve it when the weather warms up. So the ice used by the royal family isn't specially made; it's just for storage!"

I had learned about Jing Zhe when I was reading the book before.

Before the use of saltpeter to make ice, this was indeed how the royal family obtained ice in the summer. Only the royal family could use this method because they could spend the time and manpower to build such a huge ice cellar, something that others simply could not do.

After listening, the madam clicked her tongue in amazement: "I've learned a lot! Young Master Kun knows so much!"

Looking at the madam's adoring expression, Jing Zhe felt a bit nauseous, thinking to himself, "You're not a young girl, how disgusting is this?"

He coughed lightly twice. "It's because my elders participated in the construction of an ice cellar in their early years. Later, when they returned to their hometown, they also built a small ice cellar. The ice was taken from that ice cellar, so I know about it."

The madam nodded repeatedly, then looked at the porcelain jar again, her eyes flickering, lost in thought.

"If I were to supply ice to Chunshui Pavilion, what would you say, Madam?"

Now that things were out in the open, Jing Zhe stopped hiding anything.

But the madam was uncharacteristically different. Gone was her earlier expectant look. With her chin slightly raised, she said lazily, "Young Master Kun, this ice is indeed good, but look, we didn't have any ice before, and we still managed, didn't we?"

"Does Madam no longer want it?"

Jing Zhe wasn't sure what she meant, so he asked tentatively.

"Hehe, if the price is right, it's not impossible."

The madam chuckled twice, "If it's too expensive, I'll have to reluctantly part with it!"

"..."

After all that, it turned out to be about haggling.

“Things are valued for their rarity. As Madam just mentioned, this summer ice is a royal delicacy, priceless and unavailable to the public. Everyone desires it but cannot obtain it. So, the price of this ice—one tael of silver for such a jar shouldn't be too much, right?”

This porcelain jar weighs about four or five pounds. The price is indeed a bit expensive for Xun Chang's family, but those who come to Chunshuilou are all people who are not short of money. Jing Zhe had already investigated and found that this price was not expensive for them.

"One tael of silver?"

The madam muttered something, but didn't say whether she agreed or not; her attitude was completely different from before.

Based on Jing Zhe's behavior last night and now, she has figured out that the handsome young man across from her is genuinely short of money.

Since that's the case, she has room to negotiate, so she deliberately stalls for a while to lower the price.

The madam's attitude infuriated Jing Zhe. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a seductive voice coming from upstairs, clear and pleasant, as if it were ringing in his ear.

"Since Young Master Kun has come to the building, why not come upstairs for a chat?"

Jing Zhe looked up and saw a woman standing on the empty platform, staring intently at him.

She wore a snow-white chiffon tassel dress, her eyes were like water, her face was as pink as the sunset, her lips were red and her teeth were white, and she was exquisitely beautiful.

Having traveled to this era, Jing Zhe had never seen anything more beautiful than Lu Li, and this girl Wan'er was just as stunning, perfectly matching her reputation as the top courtesan.

Having seen Lu Li so often, Jing Zhe had developed some resistance to beauties of the same caliber, but he was still slightly stunned when he first saw Wan'er.

I always feel a sense of déjà vu deep within my soul.

The women on the platform probably shared the same thought, their eyes slightly glazed over, a strange feeling creeping into their hearts.

"Yesterday I wanted to invite you upstairs to appreciate poetry, but you declined, which I deeply regret. Now that you have some free time, please don't refuse again."

Wan'er bent down, her voice soft and charming.

Jing Zhe wanted to refuse, but the words that came out of his mouth were just one word.

"good."

The simpleton was shocked and hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Young master, it's dangerous!"

"Get the hell out of here!"

"Young master, I don't have any girls. Only fat guys have girls!"

"..."

Jing Zhe was speechless. He pushed him away, pointed to the bright sunshine outside the door, and said fiercely, "What danger could there be in broad daylight? If you're worried, you can come upstairs with me!"

Without waiting for him, she went upstairs.

Yeah, it's broad daylight, doesn't seem like the time for that.

Hanhan scratched his head, hesitated for a moment, and finally followed.

The madam stared at the two men's retreating figures and said with a smile, "Young Master Kun, go ahead. We can discuss the ice-selling matter later!"

...

Jing Zhe went upstairs and was led into the house, with his bodyguard Hanhan by his side at all times.

A censer of incense burned on the table, its smoke curling upwards and its fragrance filling the air.

The room wasn't big, but it was clean and tidy, with the bed neatly folded and two bundles on it.

Jing Zhe asked curiously, "Miss Wan'er, are you... leaving?"

Wan'er didn't shy away from the topic. She poured him a cup of tea and said slowly, "Wan'er is not from Yongzhou. I'm just passing through and resting here. I've rested enough, so I'm preparing to set off again."

Jing Zhe nodded but didn't press the matter further; they were just strangers who had met by chance, and there was no point in saying more.

Wan'er, however, chose a different topic.

"The poem that you wrote last night was beautiful in its language and profound in its meaning. I pondered it several times and couldn't sleep all night."

Jing Zhe quickly exchanged a few polite words...

————