Chapter 45 Princess of Jinnan
The next day, Pu Qiongzhi sent another invitation to Princess Roujia.
Unexpectedly, this time, Ding Momo came directly after receiving the post.
"Where are those pots of flowers? Are they doing well after not seeing them for two days?" This was the first question she asked after getting off the carriage.
Pu Qiongzhi was originally thinking about how to greet people, but this saved her a lot of effort.
"Don't worry, my lady. I'm honest in my business dealings! As for the specific details, please come in first—"
"Wait a moment!" Roujia waved her hand and raised her arm to help the people in the carriage.
A woman with thick eyebrows, big eyes and a broad face walked down from the carriage.
"This princess has come uninvited. Is Wen Shuan okay with that?"
She said so, but she walked in without any courtesy.
Pu Qiongzhi came to her senses and greeted him with a smile.
"Princess Jinnan is a welcome guest. Please come in."
This person was originally the aunt of Princess Roujia, the younger sister of the former Princess of Jinnan, and the current second wife of the Prince of Jinnan.
Unlike the Princess of Southern Jin, this girl was born in the countryside and has a strong personality.
"I heard from Momo that you have top-quality orchids here. This princess would also like to see some of them!"
As she spoke, her bright eyes fixed on Pu Qiongzhi.
Pu Qiongzhi was not afraid of her.
However, if it is to face the Princess of Jinnan, the way of discussing this business is different.
Ding Momo is not involved in the issue of stance. To put it bluntly, she is just a child.
There is nothing wrong with the child borrowing orchids to honor his grandmother on a whim.
For the sake of the Empress Dowager, the censors would not say anything.
However, if it was Princess Jinnan who came forward, the nature of this would be completely different.
She represented the Jinnan Prince's Mansion, and if the deal couldn't be concluded, the Gongning Earl's Mansion would be the first to suffer.
Pu Qiongzhi's smile remained on her face, but her heart was in a state of confusion.
I just don’t know if Princess Jinnan did this intentionally or unintentionally?
Originally, he wanted to use Princess Roujia to gain a good reputation in front of the Queen Mother, but now he has no choice but to make a fortune.
Walking all the way to the inner hall, Chunjing personally served tea to the two of them.
Ding Momo looked at Pu Qiongzhi sitting on the side with a gentle and innocent appearance, and secretly criticized this woman for being very scheming.
She felt that she was easily fooled, so she specifically asked the elders in her family to make the decision for her.
Pu Qiongzhi saw that the Princess of Southern Jin drank two sips of tea and put it aside, and she thought that she simply didn't like the tea.
"Mrs. Wen Shu'an, let's not waste each other's time and get straight to the point. Where are the flowers?" Princess Cui of Jinnan was so focused on the orchids at the moment that she had no mood to drink tea.
She is a rough person and probably can't get used to drinking such bitter tea. She just pretends to drink it on weekdays.
Pu Qiongzhi didn't keep anyone in suspense and directly asked someone to move the flowers up.
Cui stood up and looked at the flower from left to right. After a while, she sat down and clapped her hands, saying, "Oh! It's really good! I just wonder how much Wen Shu'an wants for it?"
"The princess is well-versed in flowers. These are all famous species, priceless in the market." Pu Qiongzhi smiled. "Business is business, and I can't be too polite with you."
Cui listened for a long time but didn't understand what she meant. She asked again, "How much is it?"
"This number is neither more nor less." Pu Qiongzhi stretched out a hand and pointed a number.
Cui looked at it, frowned, and hesitated for a while, "Eighty thousand taels..."
She looked at the flowers again and gritted her teeth, "Okay! We want all these pots in the Jinnan Palace! And you can give me one pot!"
As she spoke, she pointed casually to a pot of Eighteen Scholars blooming in the corner.
Pu Qiongzhi glanced back, nodded, and smiled like a fox with narrowed eyes, "Of course it is good."
"For a customer as forthright as the princess, I naturally want to send her flowers. Don't worry, I'll have them delivered to your house in the next two days."
Pu Qiongzhi said this very politely. Ding Momo on the side couldn't help but curl her lips, looking down on her fawning behavior of a petty man.
"Okay. We'll settle the deal then!"
After Cui finished speaking, she sat back in her seat and drank the tea in the cup in one gulp.
“…” Cui hesitated and looked at Pu Qiongzhi.
Is it because you're dissatisfied with the price? Or is there something else you want to talk about?
Pu Qiongzhi didn't understand what was going on, so she smiled back and gestured to Chunjing to add more tea.
"I heard from Momo that the chef in your house is very good..." Cui spoke again, but talked about another thing.
Pu Qiongzhi paused and took the initiative to invite the other party to stay for dinner, "If Princess is free, you can stay at home for dinner. I should have invited you a long time ago..."
But before she could finish her words, Cui shook her head and said, "No. How much silver can you sell the cook in your house for?"
"?" Pu Qiongzhi was a little surprised. Was he targeting her Granny Qian?
Her gaze involuntarily shifted to Princess Roujia, and when she saw her unnaturally avoiding her gaze, she was convinced that this was serious.
When she comes to someone else's house for a meal, she has to take their chef home as well. The key point is that Princess Jinnan actually personally lobbys for her. It's no wonder that Princess Roujia trusts this person so much.
"I'm truly sorry, but this cook in our house...is not a servant of the Earl of Gongning's mansion. Granny Qian is a cook who came with me from my mother's family. She was originally my mother's dowry nanny. Her family also suffered a disaster back then, so she had no choice but to temporarily sell herself to my family."
"But later on, Granny Zeni was really capable and redeemed her indenture within two years. Now she's a free man."
"Then why is she still cooking for you?" Ding Momo showed an expression of disbelief, a little unconvinced. "Are you reluctant to part with your cook? How much money do you want? Tell me! Why make up such a lie to deceive us?"
"My princess, you've really wronged me." Pu Qiongzhi smiled bitterly. "Now Granny Qian is indeed free, but she has been taking care of me since I was very young. She deserves to be called my elder, so the relationship is naturally different."
"Besides, I am weak and have always relied on Granny Qian for care and treatment, so I cannot do without someone."
"Fortunately, I still have some wealth, and now I have paid a high price to hire Granny Qian to continue to stay and cook."
"But I feel embarrassed to trouble her. She only needs to prepare three meals a day for me. If she wants more, such as the banquet for the princess a while ago, I have to pay more."
Pu Qiongzhi did not lie. Granny Qian's monthly salary was a full five hundred taels of silver.
Even the imperial chef in the palace could be hired with such a high monthly salary.
However, Pu Qiongzhi's father said that if she wanted to spend the money, she could spend it.
Her words were sincere, kind and polite.
Since she said so, Princess Jinnan and Princess Roujia naturally felt embarrassed to force her to take the person, so they had to leave in embarrassment.
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