Chapter 109 The Crown Prince is Not the Elder Brother
Mu Xi was too lazy to explain and had no energy to deal with it, so she left Mu Xun outside the door and closed the door.
Before he could even lie down on the bed, he heard Yan Shu's voice outside, jokingly saying to Mu Xun, "Oh dear, the young master's health is really as good as the rumors say. But why do you serve your own brother like you're serving a queen on a stage? Besides, you don't usually address each other as brothers, so isn't it too formal for you to call him 'young master' like that..."
"Your mouth will be sealed shut sooner or later..." The voice faded into the distance, and Mu Xi could no longer hear what Mu Xun said next.
However, after Yan Shu's reminder, Mu Xi realized that, since some time ago, Mu Xun no longer called her "elder brother" in private or in public, but only "prince".
Mu Xi was thinking about this question in a daze, and then she drifted off to sleep again.
When he opened his eyes again, Cao Pan'er was calling softly by his bedside: "Young Master... Young Master? The head of the Qi family you wanted to see has arrived."
"Oh? What time is it now?" Mu Xi felt a little better after waking up and propped herself up halfway.
“It’s past noon.” Cao Pan’er served a bowl of light yellow soup at the right time. “There’s really nothing else here. The only thing I can think of is the honey that I brought for the Second Young Master. Please use it to moisten your throat for now.”
Mu Xi had just woken up and was covered in a thin layer of sweat, but her throat was dry and sore. She took a few small sips and then, remembering that Qi Yingyu was still outside, she instructed, "Go and ask Boss Qi to wait a moment, then help me wash up before I go see her."
"Yes." Cao Pan'er got up and left.
Then, Bao Fan brought in a pot of hot water.
Mu Xi got out of bed with her stiff body moving, and Cao Pan'er turned around to help Mu Xi wash and groom herself again.
Finally, Mu Xi glanced at herself in the bronze mirror a few times and felt that she was passable, at least her illness was concealed, before she got up and went out.
As soon as she stepped outside, Qi Yingyu stood in the shadow of the carriage, like an even more rounded smiling Buddha.
Upon seeing Mu Xi emerge, he immediately stepped forward to greet her: "Hahaha, greetings, Your Highness! It's been so many days since I last saw you, Your Highness must have missed me terribly, hahaha..."
Mu Xi was already immune to Qi Yingyu's "hahaha" and pointed to a sloping hill south of the work shed: "Boss Qi, let's go over there to talk, and you can also take a look at the Qifeng Terrace under construction."
Qi Yingyu readily agreed: "Hahaha...that's definitely a good idea."
The two climbed the earthen slope one after the other, which gave them a perfect view of the construction site, which was bustling with activity day and night.
Mu Xi stood atop the earthen slope, facing the wind. She waved her hand, signaling Cao Pan'er and the guards who had followed her to step back, leaving Qi Yingyu alone to talk.
As soon as Qi Yingyu caught up, she held up a hand with five fingers: "Hahaha...Young Master, is fifty thousand taels enough?"
"Do you know why I asked you to come here?" Mu Xi knew without asking, but was somewhat surprised by Qi Yingyu's directness.
Qi Yingyu stood below Mu Xi, looking down at her: "Hahaha... I heard a few days ago that Qifeng Terrace caught fire, and today the young master specially summoned me here. What could it be for?"
Even though Qi Yingyu pointed it out, Mu Xi still had to start by making empty promises: "Boss Qi, do you still remember the original intention of our alliance?"
"Hahaha... Of course, I've been waiting all along! It's just that there have been many rumors about the young master these days, but I haven't been summoned by him, hahaha..." Qi Yingyu said "hahaha" but there was not much joy in her eyes.
Mu Xi raised her hand and pointed diagonally forward: "Boss Qi, can you see those tortoise-shell-shaped mountains?"
"Huh?" Qi Yingyu hadn't expected Mu Xi to avoid mentioning money. She looked in the direction Mu Xi was pointing. "Hahaha, Your Highness has a good eye! That mountain is called Turtleback Mountain, isn't it? The Bin River flows on one side of Turtleback Mountain, and the Cui River flows on the other, connecting all directions. It's indeed a good place to build Qifeng Terrace, hahaha..."
Mu Xi then asked, "Did Boss Qi see any boats coming and going on the Bin River?"
With the naked eye, the two people standing in this position could not actually see the surface of the Bin River.
Qi Yingyu, unaware of the purpose of these words, said: "Hahaha...where two rivers meet, there must be a constant flow of boats, hahaha..."
"I wonder if any of these are Mr. Qi's ships?" Mu Xi asked, laying the groundwork step by step.
"Ah, hahaha..." Qi Yingyu wasn't stupid either. She laughed out loud but her heart was pounding, fearing that Mu Xi wanted her fleet.
Mu Xi wasn't going to let Qi Yingyu guess: "Since Boss Qi already has merchant ships, would you like to expand the scale further?"
"What does the young master mean..." Qi Yingyu still couldn't figure out what Mu Xi was up to, and even forgot to say "hahaha".
Mu Xi felt the sun hitting her face after standing there for a while, so she covered her face with her sleeve: "There is a dock near Qifengtai on the Binhe River. No matter who operated it before, I want you to take it over before Qifengtai is built."
"Take over Lantai Wharf?" Qi Yingyu was quite surprised. "What does the young master want that wharf for? Hahaha..."
Mu Xi did not answer, but only gave instructions: "Not only the dock, but also the ships coming and going. After you get the dock, you can control the entry and exit of ships of all sizes. I want you to guarantee that before and after the completion of Qifengtai, only merchant ships that you know well will come and go there, and no other people will come and go."
"Hahaha..." Qi Yingyu laughed, but her expression grew increasingly troubled. "Your Highness, Lantai Wharf isn't something you can just buy off like that. This area around Dongshan is supposedly all under the control of Grand Minister Tao. But if we can really buy it, the issue of ships won't be a problem, hahaha..."
"Tao Jin from the Sikong Mansion?" Mu Xi immediately pictured Tao Jin's broad-browed, wide-eyed, round face. "What if I asked you to negotiate with him in my name and force him to buy it?"
Qi Yingyu stroked her smiling Buddha-like plump chin: "Hahaha... This servant doesn't know why Your Highness insists on Lantai Wharf, but in this servant's opinion, if Your Highness needs it temporarily, it would be better to rent rather than buy. Doing business with Grand Minister Tao is even more difficult than doing business with the Grand Minister's mansion, hahaha..."
"Rent?" Mu Xi suddenly had an idea. She had only said "buy" because she hadn't thought of this other option. "Your idea is good. Let's 'rent' then. We can start renting now. Renting for a month or two should be enough."
"Hahaha...The young master rented the dock for this Qifeng Terrace?" Qi Yingyu could only guess blindly, unable to get an answer.
Mu Xi was still focused on her own idea: "Renting a dock would be better. That way you don't have to use my name, and it's easier to come up with a pretext, like you need it for your business, so you can rent the dock and clear out the boats on the surrounding river. Oh, and I also need you to find a huge rock, the bigger the better, the kind that can sink to the bottom of the river but can still be salvaged..."
Qi Yingyu's smiling face was now sweating and her makeup was ruined from not getting an answer. She even forgot to laugh properly: "What exactly does the young master want me to do?"
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