When Nian Gengyao received his sister's letter, he was sitting in his study enjoying tea.
Autumn is deepening outside the window, and a few withered yellow leaves are blown down by the wind and float on the windowsill.
He casually opened the envelope, his gaze sweeping over the contents of the letter, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
In the letter, the younger sister, Nian Xueyao, vehemently accused the emperor of bestowing the title of imperial merchant upon a Han Chinese woman and granting her a mansion called "Yunxiang Villa," her words filled with jealousy and unease.
She wrote: "Brother, the Emperor is now completely infatuated with that vixen and doesn't even want to step into the harem. If this continues, our Nian family's position may be in jeopardy!"
After reading it, Nian Gengyao scoffed, casually tossed the letter onto the table, and took a sip of his tea. "Making a mountain out of a molehill."
He muttered to himself, "The emperor is the emperor; having three thousand beauties in his harem is nothing unusual for him. If he were merely lustful, he would be even easier to manipulate."
Thinking of this, he suddenly had a ridiculous idea: if he were the emperor, he would probably indulge in even more extravagant pleasures than the emperor.
The thought flashed through his mind, but it made his heart skip a beat, and he almost dropped the teacup in his hand.
He quickly composed himself, shaking his head inwardly: "I must have lost my mind. How could I have such a rebellious thought?"
He took a deep breath, suppressed his unease, picked up his pen, dipped it in ink, and prepared to write back to comfort his sister.
With the pen nib hovering over the paper, he pondered for a moment and wrote:
"My dear sister Xueyao, I have read your letter. The Emperor is the supreme ruler, and there are reasons why he favors whom. You need not worry too much. In matters of the harem, one should be gentle and yielding. It is right to speak well of your brother to the Emperor. Enclosed are 50,000 taels of silver for your use. Please take good care of it."
After writing, he folded the letter and took out a stack of silver notes from the drawer. He carefully counted out 50,000 taels and put them into an envelope along with the letter. He then called his trusted servant: "Quickly send this letter to the palace and make sure to deliver it to the Imperial Concubine personally."
The servant obeyed and left. Nian Gengyao watched his retreating figure, a complex look flashing in his eyes.
He turned and walked to the window, gazing at the distant sky, and murmured, "This world, in the end, belongs to the emperor..."
---
Inside the Forbidden City, Consort Nian sat on a soft couch in Yikun Palace, holding her brother's reply in her hand, her expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.
She had thought her brother would stand with her against the common enemy, but to her surprise, his reply was so nonchalant, even suggesting that she "overcome strength with gentleness."
She sneered, crumpled the letter into a ball, and threw it on the ground.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" Emerald quickly knelt down and carefully picked up the letter.
"General Nian may have other intentions. Please don't get upset."
Nian Xueyao took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and said calmly, "Brother has been blinded by power and doesn't even care about my situation!"
She stood up, walked to the dressing table, looked at her still beautiful face in the bronze mirror, gritted her teeth and said, "I want to see who this Lin Yun really is!"
Seeing this, Jade suggested in a low voice, "Your Majesty, why don't we send someone to investigate the background of that 'Fragrance Villa'?"
A cold glint flashed in Nian Xueyao's eyes, and she nodded, saying, "Go and make the arrangements. Remember, keep it secret."
---
Yunxiang Courtyard.
Lin Yun was sitting in the hydroponic room, carefully observing the germination of the newly cultivated seeds.
The flowers were already in bloom and growing well. She was wondering whether to pick them and see if they would continue to grow.
At this moment, Xiao Tao hurriedly walked in and whispered, "Miss, Manager Chen is requesting an audience. He says there's been some trouble at the shop."
Lin Yun frowned slightly and put down the porcelain plate in her hand: "Let him in."
Manager Chen strode in, bowed solemnly, and said, “Miss, there have been some unfamiliar faces around the shop lately, always looking around suspiciously.”
Today, someone even pretended to be a customer, inquiring about your background and the shop's history. I suspect something is amiss, so I've come to report this.
Lin Yun pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you know who ordered it?"
Shopkeeper Chen shook his head: "Those people are cautious, and we haven't found out who's behind it yet. However, Guard Wang suspects... it might be related to the palace."
Lin Yun's eyes turned cold, and she said softly, "It seems someone is getting restless." She stood up and ordered, "Strengthen the security of the shop. If you find any more suspicious people, don't alert them. Just follow them secretly."
Manager Chen nodded in agreement and hurriedly left.
Xiao Tao looked at Lin Yun with worry: "Miss, could it be a concubine from the palace...?"
Looking back on that day, Xiao Tao understood; the Emperor was probably serious about her young mistress. Could the empresses possibly accept that?
Her young lady was just a commoner—oh, no, she's a royal merchant now—but compared to the empresses, it was like throwing an egg against a rock.
Others are one thing, but the most difficult to deal with is Consort Nian. I've heard that the other concubines come from ordinary families and probably wouldn't dare to cause any trouble under the Emperor's nose. As for Consort Nian...
Lin Yun smiled slightly and patted her hand: "It's alright, we'll deal with whatever comes our way."
----------
Manager Chen and Accountant Zhang, along with their staff, worked day and night to finish the shop's renovations.
That morning, Lin Yun arrived at the shop.
Upon entering, you are greeted by a refreshing woody scent.
The brand-new mahogany counter was polished to a shine, and the openwork patterns on the carved screen cast dappled shadows in the sunlight, making it look exceptionally elegant.
She nodded in satisfaction and said to Manager Chen, "Thank you for your hard work. This shop is even better than I expected."
Shopkeeper Chen smiled and said, "I'm glad you're satisfied, Miss. We can open for business once all the goods are on the shelves."
Just as Lin Yun was about to speak, she suddenly heard a commotion outside the door.
She turned her head and saw a finely dressed young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old stepping down from the carriage.
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