"Also, after you left, Consort Xiao returned, and the Crown Prince hasn't been out much since. I found that strange, so I had someone investigate, and they found that he wasn't at the Crown Prince's residence."
After finishing his family matters, Lin Chenglie got down to business, whispering something in Lin Yuxin's ear.
Lin Yuxin frowned upon hearing this, and her face turned cold.
"Consort Xiao is back? Do you know why she came back?"
"We don't know yet, but she hasn't done anything since she came back. She goes to pay her respects to the Empress every day and then goes back. She's completely different from before."
Lin Chenglie said in a low voice that ever since he learned that the fate of his family was related to the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince, he had begun to investigate the two of them, intentionally or unintentionally.
The sixth prince has now been demoted, but there is still a crown prince who is eyeing the throne. For the sake of his mother and younger brother, he has to be on guard.
He went to his maternal grandfather and asked for some men to keep an eye on the crown prince. Unexpectedly, they found out that he had disguised himself as a eunuch and left the palace!
"Something's definitely up to no good. You said the Crown Prince left the palace? Do you know where he went?"
Lin Yuxin pondered for a moment, then sensed something was wrong and asked again.
"He disguised himself as a eunuch when he left the mansion. If my men hadn't known the Crown Prince, probably no one would have recognized him. My men watched them head south."
Lin Chenglie also frowned as he spoke.
[If the Crown Prince leaves the palace without anyone knowing, then the one in the palace is an imposter. What is the Crown Prince's purpose in using this "golden cicada shedding its shell" tactic? What exactly is in the South?]
Lin Yuxin's eyes flickered as she listened to Lin Chenglie's words, trying to recall what major events had occurred in the South in the book.
[South...South...That's right, the plague! A plague broke out in Lijiang City in the south next April. The Crown Prince was ordered to go there with the imperial physicians. After a month, he cured the plague and was loved by the people. At that time, he was the most popular candidate to succeed to the throne. But that plague will last for another six months. Why is he going there now?]
"Brother, send someone to follow the Crown Prince and see who he's been in contact with. If there's any news, have the Zhao family's secret guards send me a message."
Lin Yuxin sensed something was wrong, so she spoke seriously to her older brother.
"Yes! Big brother understands!"
Lin Chenglie nodded with a serious expression.
If the Crown Prince is connected to the plague, then we must investigate him thoroughly.
The two siblings chatted for a while longer, had lunch, and Lin Chenglie gave a few instructions before bidding farewell to his sister and leading a group of people toward Quyan County.
Lin Yuxin looked reluctantly in the direction her elder brother had left, and it took her a while before returning to the government office.
Back in her room, Lin Yuxin took out the letter her older brother had given her before he left; it was written by her mother.
Lin Yuxin opened it, slowly read through it, and then the tears in her eyes could no longer be held back and flowed down.
My mother's letters were all about good news, with no bad news. She also gave me some advice and expressed her concerns, and mentioned some interesting things that happened in Beijing.
Lin Yuxin put the letter away, wiped away her tears. She missed her mother a little and needed to finish things here as soon as possible so she could go back.
In the following days, Lin Yuxin began working like crazy.
She first made plans for the entire city. Due to the drought, even in the prefectural city, many people had fled or sought refuge elsewhere.
Many houses became vacant.
Lin Yuxin took back all the unoccupied shops and houses and registered them.
Next, she found a street with an excellent location and planned out all the shops. For shops with owners, Lin Yuxin signed contracts with them. The shops belonged to them, and the money they earned belonged to them, but they had to operate the shops according to her requirements.
Lin Yuxin sells or leases the shops that are not owned by anyone. In addition to the above conditions, she has to pay 20% tax on the profits.
At first, no one came to inquire, because people were struggling to even feed themselves, let alone have the money to open a shop, especially since they had to hand over a portion of their earnings.
Lin Yuxin wasn't in a hurry. She planned out the shops that already had owners first, and once she made money, people would naturally come to buy them.
"I've gathered you all here today to discuss the future plans for Chunxi Street and the future development of your shops."
Lin Yuxin sat up and looked at the seven or eight merchants sitting there awkwardly below. She spoke first in a low voice.
The merchants below exchanged glances, their eyes filled with helplessness. They had no idea what kind of trouble the princess was up to. Ever since she announced the city-wide renovations, they had been filled with confusion and unease.
How else can the northern city be changed? That's why we called them over today. I wonder what the princess wants to say?
I just hope they won't make things difficult for these merchants. I'm afraid they're just making excuses to ask for money, but they don't have any extra money to hand over right now!
"What does the princess intend to do?"
Mr. Cao, the owner of the tavern, glanced at the others and hesitated before asking.
They were doing well running their shop when suddenly the princess announced some kind of reform, wanting to give their entire street a fresh new look.
But she wants them to follow her instructions! Can't she really sell things in a fancy way? He certainly doesn't believe it.
“I know about the things you sell. Take the wine that Boss Cao sells, for example. You have twelve kinds of wine, all of which are grain wines or fruit wines, such as plum wine.”
"I can give you some new wine recipes. Once you've brewed them, as long as your products are plentiful and unique, they'll naturally sell."
Lin Yuxin briefly explained her idea. She didn't necessarily want to interfere in other people's business; she just wanted to plan ahead and start by creating a commercial street.
"Is what the princess said true?"
Boss Cao looked at Lin Yuxin suspiciously. He was a little skeptical. Wasn't she asking them for money? Besides, this princess looked like a delicate girl. Could she really have a new wine recipe? And it seemed like she was giving it away for free?
However, the wine recipe was indeed troubling him. The wines in his tavern were all his family's heirlooms, and apart from Daughter's Red and Scholar's Wine, which sold relatively well, the others did not sell well.
Adding to the woes, the drought over the past six months has made business even worse. He had been planning to close his shop and leave Beicheng, but things only improved after the princess arrived.
"Of course it's true. I have three wine recipes here. Take them and try brewing them when you get back. If you have any questions, you can come to me."
Lin Yuxin smiled faintly and handed over three wine recipes that she had written overnight.
"Thank you, Princess!"
Although Boss Cao did not believe that the princess could write out the wine recipe, he still stepped forward and took the recipe with both hands. He looked down and examined it carefully and found that there were indeed three wine recipes. He just didn't know how the wine would taste.
Lin Yuxin didn't care whether he believed it or not; once the wine was researched, he would naturally know whether it tasted good or not.
Lin Yuxin then turned to the next restaurant owner, Mr. Wang, and said:
"Mr. Wang, I know your restaurant is doing okay, but it's not exactly thriving. The main problem is that you don't come up with any new dishes. It's always the same few things, and people are getting tired of them."
"I'll give you the same new recipe. Have the chef make it, and then sell it according to my method. I guarantee it will sell well."
When Boss Wang heard that the princess also wanted to give him recipes, his eyes lit up. He was happier than anyone else to have new dishes, and besides, the princess was from the capital, so she must be tired of eating good food.
Even a small amount of what they reveal would be enough to feed ordinary people.
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