This was the third courtyard Meng Zhao had visited today. After looking at them all, she noticed that the layouts of the courtyards in the capital were basically the same, probably to maintain order and adherence to rules. Even the height and size of the houses were not significantly different; only the flowers and plants in the courtyards varied. However, if she were to move in, she would rearrange everything according to her own preferences, so the quality wasn't that important.
Therefore, Meng Zhao valued the age of the house, its location, and its safety more, so he asked, "What kind of people live around this courtyard?"
The broker, with a smile on his face, quickly replied, "Your Highness, the people living here are all respectable families, mostly minor officials or merchants who do business in the surrounding area. They are all law-abiding citizens, so if you stay here, you will have no worries."
Having just arrived in the capital, she naturally needed to find a stable place to stay. After a moment's thought, she asked, "Has anything happened in this courtyard? Like... a murder, or something haunted?"
Upon hearing this, the broker quickly waved his hand, "Madam, you're joking! This courtyard is spotless and has never had any bad luck. The previous owner was an old scholar who retired to his hometown due to old age, which is why he sold the courtyard. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask around; everyone in the neighborhood knows about it."
Seeing his sincere expression, Meng Zhao nodded and asked, "How much does this courtyard cost?"
Seeing that she was interested, the broker's smile widened, and he rubbed his hands together, saying, "This courtyard is in a good location, well-maintained by the previous owner, and the garden is beautiful. The price is 1,200 taels of silver. What do you think?"
Meng Zhao considered the situation for a moment and felt there was still room for negotiation. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard a commotion outside the courtyard, as if people were arguing. She frowned and turned to look at the broker: "What's going on?"
The broker's expression changed, and he quickly explained, "Uh, my lady, please don't be offended. This... this is probably just the couple next door arguing. Everyone has their ups and downs in life. It's just a coincidence, a coincidence."
She stood in the courtyard and listened carefully. She could hear the argument in the neighboring courtyard clearly. Although she was not afraid of trouble, she did not want to live in a place full of trouble. Meng Zhao pondered for a moment and said lightly, "I have looked at three courtyards today and I am a little tired. How about we look at the rest tomorrow? I can also go back and think about it."
Seeing her indifferent expression, the broker became anxious and quickly stepped forward, saying, "If you feel the price is not right, we can discuss it further."
Meng Zhao shook his head. "Let me take a look at a few more before we talk. This is such a big matter, I should think about it."
Seeing her resolute expression, the broker could no longer persuade her and could only send Meng Zhao away first.
After observing the courtyards for a few more days, Meng Zhao stopped going out and instead sent Huang Cui and the others to investigate the surrounding area of those courtyards to see if it matched what the broker had said.
Huang Cui and the others accepted the order, each pocketing some silver, and went their separate ways. They first went to a nearby real estate agency, pretending to be interested in buying a courtyard house, and inquired about the prices of similar houses around those courtyard houses.
Then, he walked around the neighborhood near those courtyards a few times, carefully observing the surrounding environment, seeing which neighborhoods it was adjacent to, and whether there were any bustling markets or shops nearby.
Finally, I sat down at one of the stalls around the courtyard, ordered a bowl of noodles, and chatted with the stall owner while eating. I pretended to be casual, but subtly inquired about the situation in the courtyard, trying to dig out some secrets that the brokers had not mentioned.
Three days later, Meng Zhao looked at the intelligence they had gathered, his brows furrowing more and more as he read, until he almost laughed in anger.
The three-courtyard house that the broker described as a bargain—a large, new house—originally belonged to a corrupt official who had just been dismissed before the Lunar New Year and beheaded at the market a month earlier.
There were rumors that he buried the stolen money in his house. In the period immediately after the incident, countless people had sneaked into that yard. No wonder she noticed that the garden was full of potholes when she went to check it out.
When he asked why the three-courtyard house was cheaper than the two-courtyard house, the broker gave evasive answers, saying something like, "I guarantee no one has ever died here." So, if someone dies outside, it doesn't count as a death, right?
Then there are those two-courtyard houses. The courtyard itself is fine, but the couple next door argues every three days and has minor fights every two days. When the neighbors couldn't help but try to mediate, the couple immediately got into a fight and beat up the neighbor who tried to mediate, and the matter even ended up in court.
After reading them all, Meng Zhao realized that, regardless of whether it was ancient or modern times, real estate agents rarely told the truth.
Seeing her worried face, Huang Cui said, "Manager, the last courtyard we looked at was quite nice. It was the right size, the background was clean, and the decorations were very elegant. It's just a bit pricey, but we haven't started bargaining yet. If we can get it down by one or two hundred taels, it will be about what we're looking for."
Meng Zhao hesitated after hearing this. Originally, she didn't want to see the courtyard, but the broker said it was very good, so she came to take a look. The courtyard was indeed nice, but the only problem was that it was too close to the Shen family, on the same street, which was really inconvenient.
After thinking for a moment, Meng Zhao said, "Su Meng, go to the brokerage tomorrow and discuss the price. If you can buy it for 1,000 taels, then come back to me."
While she had Su Meng negotiate the price, she also looked at two other courtyards, because she felt that the price was impossible to negotiate down, since the original asking price for those courtyards was 1,400 taels. However, when she got home the next day, Su Meng excitedly told her, "Manager, we got it! The broker said he can sell it to us for 1,000 taels!"
Even if Meng Zhao had some initial hesitation, he couldn't find fault with it now. Such a low price and such a good location were indeed rare. So he could only sigh and make an appointment with the broker to go to the yamen the next day to complete the contract.
After the formalities were completed, Meng Zhao had Huang Cui and the others hire several servants to clean the courtyard from the inside out, and then, according to the size of the gate, expedited the order of a custom-made plaque to hang up.
She herself wrote a detailed invitation and prepared a generous gift, intending to send it over two days later on the occasion of the birthday celebration of the wife of Vice Minister Song of the Ministry of Revenue.
Song Shilang was Song Wanyin's father. Song Wanyin and Meng Zhao were not only good friends but also business partners. Song Wanyin had mentioned Meng Zhao to her mother in a letter home. Therefore, Meng Zhao felt that as a junior, since he had come to the capital, he should go and greet him and show him courtesy.
It just so happens that Madam Song's birthday is in two days. Many people will surely come to give gifts. She can take this opportunity to send her gifts over and avoid the embarrassment of having to visit in person and being told that she doesn't know her.
However, if Madam Song still remembers her and wants to reply, she should at least have her own courtyard. It wouldn't be appropriate to send her to the Shen family. This is one of the reasons why she is in a hurry to buy the courtyard.
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