After saying that, he ran away.
The carefree and unrestrained Fifth Prince of the Great Jin Dynasty was too young to understand these naive matters before he arrived in the Southern Jin Dynasty, and thus had no opportunity to learn about them.
He regretted saying those words as soon as he finished speaking.
He knew that Xia Ning was the daughter of the Minister of the Southern Jin Dynasty and was going back to the capital tomorrow. Perhaps their fate would only be this one meeting.
He said such things, but didn't have the chance to take responsibility for his words. Isn't that just being a scoundrel?
So Shen Ye ran away.
Shen Jiahao's laughter continued to echo from behind. Shen Ye glared at him fiercely: "What are you laughing at? Some people are already eighteen and still haven't found a love interest!"
Shen Jiahao: "..."
Shen Ye tilted his head back and rode away quickly.
Belatedly realizing what was happening, Shen Jiahao angrily shouted, "You brat!"
*
At the entrance of the county magistrate's office, Shen Laosan waited with several children, his worry palpable.
With such a big thing happening yesterday, how could they not be anxious?
Even Shen Jiawen rushed over from the village of Juren to personally check on Lili's safety.
Shen Jialu paced back and forth, from morning till now, without stopping, which annoyed the group of people.
"Second brother, stop swaying, it's making you feel uncomfortable."
"I'm just worried about Lili."
"What's there to worry about? My sister is no ordinary person. What could possibly happen to her? Besides, His Highness already sent someone to let us know she's safe last night."
Shen Jialu glanced at Shen Jialuo, too lazy to expose him.
I wonder who was standing at the door waiting yesterday, almost going to steal a horse from the stable.
"Alright, alright, stop talking. Look, isn't that Chen Ye and Big Brother?"
The group immediately fell silent and rushed forward, each one more eager than the last.
Before Lili's feet even touched the ground, several people rushed in with questions, so much so that they didn't even notice the little figure that had appeared behind Lili.
Lili spun around in place three times before her brothers believed she was alright.
"Let me introduce you, this is Gu Ziqi." Lili gently pulled Gu Ziqi forward a little so that everyone could see him clearly.
Gu Ziqi was a little shy. When facing people other than Lili, he remained reserved and somewhat silent.
Several people circled around Gu Ziqi, and the more they looked at him, the more familiar he seemed.
Shen Jialu scratched his chin: "Hiss... this little brat, why does he look a bit like... no, no, it's not that he looks like someone, it's just, it's just..."
"Your demeanor is very similar to His Highness the Crown Prince, isn't it?" Lili smiled.
"Yes!" Shen Jialu grabbed the child and gave him a good squeeze. "What an expensive kid! He's obviously not ordinary!"
Shen Jiaqing laughed and said, "Second Brother, you're here again. Are you trying to build up your future guests?"
Shen Jialu had already discussed the general plan with Qi Zheng. With the Qi family's resources, it wouldn't be difficult to implement.
With Shen Jialu's ingenious ideas, the two had already established a general framework.
Shen Jialu is full of energy, especially with Lili's support. He is eager to show his skills and has been going out of the academy to socialize every day after school.
It was called socializing, but it was really just about "unintentionally" getting to know the sons of wealthy families, especially the children of merchants.
In Shen Jialu's words, this is laying the foundation for the future; these are all potential customers.
Shen Jialu shoved Shen Jiaqing aside, grinned, and asked Gu Ziqi in a friendly manner, "Kid, which family's young master are you? You came back with Lili, but I've never seen you in Liucheng before. Could you be from the prefectural city?"
Gu Ziqi looked up at Lili, who chuckled and patted his head reassuringly, signaling him to answer without worry.
This little trick made Shen Jialuo incredibly jealous. As a ten-year-old child, he was at the age where he should be a troublemaker, while Gu Ziqi was well-behaved and obedient, completely different from him. But Lili really fell for it.
Shen Jialu pouted and pulled Gu Ziqi away: "How old are you and still so clingy? A real man should learn to be independent from a young age, you know?"
Gu Ziqi pushed him away somewhat unhappily and replied aloofly, "My name is Gu Ziqi."
"Gu Ziqi?" Shen Jiaqing thought for a moment. "That name sounds familiar."
"How could I not be familiar with him? He's His Highness the Crown Prince's cousin." Shen Jiahao had arranged for someone to tie up the horse and then came over to reveal the mystery.
"His Highness the Crown Prince's cousin?"
Gu Ziqi nodded aloofly.
The group erupted in a commotion, craning their necks to look behind them, but they still couldn't see Gu Ziyi.
"And what about His Highness the Crown Prince?"
They were more concerned about where Gu Ziyi was than Gu Ziqi.
After all, they had heard the gist of what happened yesterday and were very curious, eager to find out the truth from the person involved.
After exchanging a few words of sweet talk, Yang and Shen Laosan, seeing that the children were still having a lively discussion, could only helplessly interrupt them.
"Alright, alright, come inside and let's talk." Shen Laosan beckoned a servant over, "Go back to Xinghua Village and tell the old lady about the situation here, so they don't worry."
The servant left to carry out the order, and only then did Lili realize that the events of yesterday had reached her grandparents' ears.
That makes sense, since Shen Jiawen is already here.
Lili was tired yesterday, so after everyone went back, they didn't ask her too many questions so as not to disturb her rest.
Madam Yang arranged for Gu Ziqi to stay in Lili's courtyard, so Gu Ziqi immediately clung to her after Lili finished washing up.
Just as Lili asked Huang Ying to bring lotus seed soup from the small kitchen, Gu Ziqi eagerly sat next to her, making her laugh.
“Our Ziqi is quite the little glutton, isn’t he? He came right after smelling the aroma.”
Gu Ziqi swung her legs: "No, Ziqi just came to see Sister Lili."
Lili chuckled, took two small porcelain bowls, and divided out a pot of lotus seed soup.
"Ziqi, will you find it difficult to stay in Nanlin County?"
"No, I won't feel uncomfortable with Sister Lili around."
Lili paused, Gu Ziqi's gaze was innocent and direct. After thinking for a long time, Lili still hesitated before saying, "Ziqi, you..."
After hesitating for a moment, Lili shut her mouth and handed him the lotus seed soup with a smile: "Are you hungry? I saw that you didn't eat much this morning, so quickly drink some lotus seed soup to fill your stomach."
Gu Ziqi was puzzled for a moment. He could sense that his sister had wanted to ask him something.
However, since his sister didn't ask, he didn't dwell on it and obediently started drinking the lotus seed soup.
Lili sipped her lotus seed soup, stirring it slowly with a porcelain spoon, revealing her inner hesitation.
She really wanted to ask Gu Ziqi why he wanted to stay so much. Was it because he liked her?
But that doesn't seem to be enough of a reason. To put it bluntly, Lili has had too many accolades in her life, and there are far too many people who like her.
Moreover, she could feel that she felt differently towards Gu Ziqi, not just because she had met Gu Ziqi when he was a baby, but because there must be some other reason.
A kind of... strange and complicated bond.
Um……
Lili scratched her chin. According to the plot of the novel, this kind of bond is either from past lives or from blood ties.
It's obvious that this world isn't a fantasy romance story. So, could it be...?
Lili then recalled that when she first arrived here, she was being wrapped in a blanket and thrown into the water by two old women.
No way, the world is a huge stage, could she really be related to Gu Ziqi?
"Wait, His Highness is his cousin, so I... I don't have to call His Highness cousin too, do I?"
Lili's expression gradually froze, and the porcelain spoon fell into the bowl with a "thud," hitting the bowl's side.
Gu Ziqi looked up, confused. "Sister, what's wrong?"
Lili stared at him for a while with a complicated expression, then forced a smile: "It's nothing, I just suddenly realized the true meaning of life."
Gu Ziqi tilted his head in confusion.
Lili sighed deeply, thought about it, and decided to put all these guesses out of her mind.
It's all fake, all fake.
It's all just speculation, hmm.
Pear can't eat lotus seed soup anymore.
They're done eating their own melons.
Lili called Huang Ying: "Huang Ying, go and call my second brother over? Hmm, let's meet at the door. I'll wait for him there and have him come over directly."
"Yes, Miss."
After mentally preparing herself, Lili instructed Gu Ziqi to finish all the lotus seed soup before leaving alone.
Lili strolled to the door, her mood having improved considerably.
Shen Jialu was already waiting at the door, leaning against the stone lion and leisurely observing the people coming and going.
Lili smiled and quietly patted his shoulder: "Second brother, what are you doing?"
"Hey, Lili, look."
Shen Jialu pulled Lili over and pointed to the jewelry shop on the street: "Look, that's the biggest jewelry shop in Liucheng, right?"
Lili nodded: "Mhm."
That shop was right next to the county magistrate's office, so you can imagine how good the location was and how much foot traffic it had.
Lili often goes to that store; it's close by and has a lot of stuff.
"Lili, you often go there too, right?"
"Um... what's wrong, Second Brother?"
Lili was a little confused.
"Are jewelry shops mostly frequented by young girls like you?"
"Yes, girls would all like that, right? Jewelry, clothes, rouge and powder—these are all girls' favorites," Lili said with a smile, winking at Shen Jialu. "What's wrong, Second Brother? Could it be that you...?"
"What are you thinking about?" Shen Jialu flicked his forehead. "I was thinking that these places are where girls go, there are hardly any men there, right?"
Lili nodded.
What does the lack of men indicate?
Lili shook her head.
"It's good for passing on messages! Think about it, although there are female guards, female retainers, female assassins, female spies and all sorts of things nowadays, they are a very small minority. Overall, men still make up the majority, right? In this situation, if we take over places like jewelry shops and cosmetic shops, openly do business and trade, and secretly use them as our base, wouldn't that be very profitable?"
Lili's eyes widened, and she suddenly realized.
She knows this plot very well; many old time-travel novels are written like this!
"Second brother, you're so smart! You even know that you need to mix No. 9 steel reinforcement concrete into the spaghetti!"
Shen Jialu asked in confusion, "What is that?"
Lili waved her hand with a grin: "No, Second Brother, please continue."
Shen Jialu coughed and began to explain his insights in detail.
This idea has some feasibility, but it also presents some risks and challenges.
From an advantage perspective: open business transactions can provide reasonable cover for the base and are less likely to arouse excessive suspicion.
Jewelry and cosmetic shops cater to a wide range of customers and have frequent interactions, making it a good place to gather various kinds of information.
Moreover, most of them were women. Although women were not involved in politics, in reality, those ladies and young women knew just as much as the men in the family.
"Think about it, doesn't Uncle San sometimes talk to us about politics? Maybe it's not a serious discussion, but we still get some news, right?"
"Yes, that makes sense. Yesterday at the Hollyhock Banquet, I also heard many young ladies discussing things in the capital. They said things like, 'I heard that the old master of a certain family was actually the teacher of some official in the capital,' or 'It seems that a newly appointed scholar has a wife from his hometown,' and so on."
"Right?"
Shen Jiahao smiled and then asked a few more questions.
Running a business requires professional knowledge and experience. If you are not familiar with the jewelry and cosmetics industry, you may face the risk of poor management.
This may attract the attention and suppression of competitors, and we need to deal with various challenges brought about by business competition.
If discovered by the enemy, the stronghold may be exposed, endangering the safety of the entire organization.
Therefore, before deciding to take over a jewelry shop and a cosmetics shop as a base, it is necessary to fully weigh the pros and cons and make detailed plans and preparations.
Shen Jiahao wasn't afraid of poor management or anything like that.
Putting aside his confidence in himself, as long as Lili is there, this problem won't exist.
The main problem now is that jewelry shops and cosmetic shops are generally long-lasting businesses, and consequently, to take over such a shop, you need a lot of money...
"Hehehe, Lili, how about you lend your second brother some money?" Shen Jiahao made a money gesture. "Your second brother is a bit strapped for cash right now. Let alone buying a shop, it will take a long time to save up for even a piece of jewelry."
Lili blinked. If the God of Fortune says he has no money, isn't that the same as the God of Wealth saying he has no fortune?
Moreover, after the Shen family's financial situation improved, the monthly allowances for the children also increased significantly. In addition, with the red envelopes given during festivals, she remembered that Shen Jialu should have a considerable amount of savings.
Seeing Lili's confusion, Shen Jialu said, "All that money has been lent out. I have a classmate who said he wanted to make some money, so I lent him the money without asking any questions."
"Second brother, don't let yourself get scammed."
"How could that be? Who is your second brother, Wei!"
Lili thought about it and realized that she should worry about herself rather than Shen Jialu when it came to money.
So Lili didn't think much of it.
"What a coincidence."
Lili smiled and took out a stack of land deeds: "His Highness has already acquired quite a few shops, just waiting for us to take them over!"
"ah?"
Shen Jialu took the stack of papers and flipped through them one by one; they were indeed land deeds.
They were mostly jewelry shops, cosmetic shops, and a few clothing shops, scattered throughout various counties, with the majority located in Nanlin County.
"A...a stack?"
Shen Jialu rubbed his eyes. In his hand was a thick stack of papers. These were land deeds, not blank sheets of paper!
A whole stack of them?
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