"Wouldn't that be the same as paying taxes?"
"It's more cost-effective than paying high taxes. Being listed as an Imperial Merchant means you have the protection of officials, so ordinary people don't dare to cause trouble. Shops that aren't listed as Imperial Merchants don't get such good treatment. In the first two years of Si Yin Fang, almost all of our monthly profits went to taxes and the money of the wealthy merchants. Later, as Si Yin Fang gained fame, things started to get better with the protection of the powerful."
Shaoyao said it lightly, but Ye Qianning felt distressed when he heard it. It must have been very difficult for the two women to gain a foothold in the capital without relying on the snobbery of the Zhan and Gu families in the capital.
They could have lived the life they wanted, but for her, the concubines all ran around.
"Back then, all the money belonged to your father Gu. We lost so much money, but your father Gu didn't say a word. I used to dislike him, but later, seeing how generous he was, I thought he was a pretty good person."
“…”
"Siyinfang is said to be yours and it is well deserved."
The money was given by her father, but the shop is hers.
"Mine is naturally also my aunt's."
Shaoyao was stunned.
"Auntie, we are one family, and there is no distinction between you and me."
She had long regarded her aunt as a family member, just like her father.
Shaoyao's eyes immediately turned red. She had heard the term "family" before, but when she heard it from this girl's mouth, she felt a mixture of sadness and satisfaction.
That feeling went straight to the bottom of my heart, a little uncomfortable, but also very exciting.
"Yes, we are a family. We will all be fine from now on."
Shaoyao and Huaihua had imagined a grown-up girl before. They had seen many little girls growing up in the capital, each with different temperaments, but their temperaments when they were young were very different from their temperaments when they grew up.
They often wondered whether the little girl would disown them when she grew up. After all, they were just figures to Xiang Minghou.
Later, she received a letter from Bai Muxun, and she chatted with Huaihua for another night, but it always felt unreal.
Seeing it with her own eyes now made her feel the most unreal. She was so excited inside as if she was dreaming. The little girl was not unfamiliar with them, but was even more lovable than when she was a child.
A family, she treated them as a family...
Nothing is more precious than these three words!
The eight sisters grew up without a father or a mother, and they dared not live extravagantly.
She saw the little girl's serious look and the heartache she felt when she heard about the business just now. Shaoyao thought that even if she died now, she would feel that her life was worth it.
——
It was already noon when Ye Qianning came out of Siyinfang. The city was filled with red silk on Fuhua Street, and it looked very festive.
After leaving the flashy street, it is even more lively outside, and the most eye-catching thing is the red color.
Many people on the street were whispering about the red silk welcoming ceremony. Combined with the imperial edict posted at the city gate, everyone in the city knew that Marquis Xiang Ming would be entering the capital, and it seemed that the prince would be personally welcoming him into the city.
Just by imagining the scene, everyone knows that it must be spectacular and impressive.
Ye Qianning did not go directly to Loushan, but went to the general's mansion first.
The once majestic general's mansion was now somewhat dilapidated. The vermilion gate was closed and the plaque above was empty. Standing in front of the gate, she seemed to have returned to the scene when she was carried off the horse by Xiang Minghou.
After going up the stairs, I saw the vermilion door was locked with a huge padlock.
Ye Qianning stretched out his hand and pushed the door, and through the crack he could barely see the scene inside the courtyard. The courtyard was very clean and didn't look like no one lived there. Listening carefully, it seemed that there was indeed no one in the entire mansion.
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