Chapter 35 The Prince Calls Her When He Has a Headache
Li Ruanruan looked at Ye Qiaoqiao. She lowered her head and was silent for a while. Then she said, "I, I'm afraid of him too."
Ye Qiaoqiao looked as if the sky had fallen: "What should I do?"
Li Ruanruan fiddled with her fingers: "You don't know..."
Li Ruanruan clutched her handkerchief awkwardly before continuing, "He likes to bully me. If I go and negotiate, I won't gain any benefits, and I might even have to pay him back."
Ye Qiaoqiao's eyes widened: "No way, big brother shouldn't be that kind of person."
Li Ruanruan toyed with her handkerchief, her fingers gripping it tighter as she spoke, "I used to take his clothes and alter them into Su embroidery to sell. I had three taels of silver on me, and he stole it all."
Ye Qiaoqiao was so shocked that the handkerchief in her hand dropped to the ground: "Three taels of gold?"
Li Ruanruan whispered: "Three taels of silver."
"ah?"
"ah??"
Ye Qiaoqiao leaned back against the carriage, feeling hopeless. "Brother, are you so short of money now? Maybe you're in debt. I heard the men are drinking out and like to gamble or something."
"I don't know...it seems like he's quite short of money."
Ye Qiaoqiao cheered up and said, "Then let's not cooperate with him. If your pillow talk doesn't work, find someone else to do it."
Li Ruanruan didn't understand: "Change...someone?"
"Yes, if the son is not capable, then replace the father."
Perhaps thinking this was too vulgar, Ye Qiaoqiao coughed and said, "My mother is quite good at coaxing father, and he's a very generous man. Besides, if the Suzhou embroidery shop succeeds, it will bring honor to father, so I think he'll be willing to give it."
Li Ruanruan: “........”
Ye Qiaoqiao clapped her hands and said, "It's settled. I'll discuss it with mother when I get home."
Li Ruanruan nodded: "It would be better to ask the Marquis to provide some capable people."
The carriage stopped in front of the Marquis's Mansion, and Li Runrun and Ye Qiaoqiao got out.
Ye Qiaoqiao went back to discuss with her mother, while Li Runrun ran back with the lotus leaf chicken she had just bought on the street.
The family had a very full meal in the evening, and Li Runrun was very happy.
My younger brother said that the pants were a little short. He was at the age of growing up and was almost as tall as a pear.
Li Runrun lit a dim oil lamp at night and found a piece of cloth to mend a piece of her brother's pants. She had good craftsmanship and the mending was very beautiful.
Nanny Song seemed to be busy with her son's marriage and was nowhere to be seen.
It was a rare moment of relaxation. In the morning, Li Runrun helped her father wash the chamber pot. In the afternoon, she sometimes embroidered and chatted with Ye Qiaoqiao, and sometimes helped her father with some gardening work.
My younger brother has also returned to work. He is cheerful every day and the manager no longer bothers him.
A few days later, Ye Qiaoqiao happily told Li Ruanruan, "Father gave me a five-hundred-liang silver note."
Li Ruanruan's eyes lit up: "Five hundred taels, now I don't have to worry about opening a shop, the Marquis is really generous."
She had never seen so much money before, five hundred taels, Aunt Zhang was really powerful.
She couldn't get any money from the prince, he would only ask for her money.
She took the scar removal medicine given by the prince to the pharmacy and wanted to sell a box. The pharmacy said that the medicine inside was precious and they were afraid that she had stolen it and would implicate them, so they dared not buy it.
I didn't sell it for a single penny and kept it for myself. It turned out to be quite useful. After the scar faded, it wasn't ugly at all. My skin will heal in a couple of days and I'm afraid it will be the same as before.
Ye Qiaoqiao began to frown again. "But mother said that the servants in the mansion are all under her control, and most of them are her spies. You know, it's difficult for concubines and mistresses to get along well. Mother said that the only exception is the East Courtyard of the Crown Prince. She asked me to come to you to find a solution. See if you can ask the Crown Prince for a nanny. The nannies there are very capable and will definitely be able to keep the shopkeeper in check."
Li Ruanruan was distracted and the needle pricked her hand. She bit her finger and said, "If the prince comes to me, I will try to ask him for it."
"So soft, I knew you were the best."
"It's not certain yet, so don't be too happy too soon."
Li Runrun was embroidering while thinking that it was not certain whether the prince would meet her or not.
Ye Qiaoqiao pulled out a brand new account book and angrily told Li Ruanruan, "This is the new account book from the shop's accountant. My mother and I looked at it, and it's rife with holes. Besides the unpaid wages, they also owe the workers for repairs. It's a total of 120 taels. I don't think the shopkeeper is short of money, so how could he have such a huge hole?"
"Let me see."
Li Ruanruan took the account book and looked at it carefully. Then she thought, "They must have falsified the accounts. They must have embezzled the money."
"So what should we do? If we want to take over the shop, should we fill this hole first?"
"Don't fill them up yet. These greedy people can never be fed and will never be satisfied. Leave them alone until we find someone who can take care of them. Once we find someone, we will naturally make them spit out everything they have eaten."
“What if we can’t find anyone?”
"Then give up this shop. Another one might be useful. Start small first, then expand once you've made some money. Take it one step at a time. People need to be flexible and adaptable."
Li Ruanruan smiled gently, "Since we can't solve the problem with that shop, let's just throw this hot potato away. That way, the future will become brighter. At worst, we can rent a shop. Five hundred taels should be enough."
Ye Qiaoqiao burst out laughing: "Ruanruan still has a way."
The two continued embroidering for a while, and Li Runrun pointed out some areas to her.
Seeing that it was getting late, Li Runrun prepared to go back and cook for her father and brother.
The Marquis’ Mansion also provides meals, but the food served to the lower-ranking servants is not even as good as pig food. If you want to eat something good, you still have to cook for yourself.
As soon as the porridge on Li Ruanruan's stove boiled, Li Da came in happily and took the wooden spoon from her hand: "Ruanruan, the prince's people are here to invite you. Stop cooking and dress up and go over."
Li Runrun looked down at her coarse cloth clothes, thought for a while, pulled the curtain, and changed into the decent emerald green dress that the prince gave her. She sewed up the places that were torn by the prince last time.
It was too cold and there was no hot water. She thought the prince would not do that every night, so she did not take a bath. She took a bath the day before yesterday because the weather was warm.
But she still applied some ointment, which was chrysanthemum ointment she made herself.
It may not be as pleasant as the scent of other flowers, but it is the best she can prepare. Now is the season when chrysanthemums are in full bloom in the garden of the Marquis' Mansion.
When she followed Lida to tidy up the garden that day, she cut a lot of them and brought them back.
Li Ruanruan packed up and went out, she saw Haitang holding a lantern. Seeing her, her expression was a little solemn: "The prince said he has a severe headache and asked you to go and rub it for him."
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