Chapter 78 Baby, you are a bit overbearing
Li Chu only found out later that Rong Yin took Zong Zhengxiao to Qingqiu Pavilion to find Ning Yue on his birthday.
Since then, he sent people to keep an eye on Qingqiu Pavilion and discovered that Rong Yin went there several times later.
Every time Rong Yin went to Qingqiu Pavilion, he would look for Ningyue. They would either just chat or share with her the songs he had thought of that were suitable for her.
After all, outside the palace, Rong Yin seemed to be more familiar with Ning Yue. The two were soulmates and friends, and they had the same ideas, so they could talk to each other.
Ning Yue never accepted money from Rong Yin. On the contrary, every time Rong Yin came, Ning Yue would treat Rong Yin with good tea and delicious food, and would even turn down other guests' invitations for him.
The boss of Qingqiu Pavilion also supported Ningyue's approach, because the boss later found out that Rongyin was the owner of a bakery and a milk tea shop.
Everyone in the capital knew that these two stores were related to the emperor. It would only benefit the boss if Ning Yue could get to know such a powerful person.
Moreover, Rong Yin never came empty-handed, always carrying bread or milk tea, and occasionally he would share some with the boss and the people around Ning Yue, so everyone in Qingqiu Pavilion welcomed his arrival.
With the songs shared by Rong Yin, Ning Yue, who was originally one of the top performers in Qingqiu Pavilion, became even more famous. Soon she became the most popular person in the pavilion. Countless dignitaries asked her to accompany them every day. Some of them were even willing to pay a higher price just to see Ning Yue and listen to her sing a song.
There was one time in particular when a familiar guest of Ningyue was about to celebrate his birthday. This guest had a certain status in the court and belonged to the neutral faction. He usually behaved very properly and politely to Ningyue, and never relied on his status to say anything inappropriate to Ningyue or take any action against her.
He had helped Ning Yue out of trouble before, so Ning Yue was grateful to him. Knowing that he wanted to eat the cream cake from Yunduo Bakery for his birthday, but had no chance to make a reservation, Ning Yue took out the coupon that Rong Yin gave her and bravely sent her confidant to the bakery to ask if he could get a reservation.
It happened that Lu'e was in the store at that time. She knew that Rong Yin and Ning Yue had a good relationship, so she decided to reserve the reservation quota for her.
After returning to the palace, Lu'e told Rong Yin about this, and Rong Yin agreed.
The guest had never expected that Ning Yue and Rong Yin had such a good relationship. The spot that he had tried his best to get was obtained by Ning Yue with just one word.
Ning Yue herself was also surprised. She had just been trying it out, but she didn't expect it to actually succeed.
However, Ning Yue did not dare to take credit for herself, and quickly attributed all the credit to Rong Yin, because Rong Yin had a relationship with the emperor, and the emperor was fighting fiercely with the aristocratic families.
If a neutral guest like this could have a little more favor towards Rong Yin and the emperor, even if it doesn't seem to have any effect now, but if something unexpected happens in the future, this little favor may become the key to determining victory or defeat.
The news that Ning Yue had gotten a reservation for the cream cake spread quickly, and more people asked for her to accompany them.
This made Ning Yue extremely panic-sticken, and she quickly explained to others that it was just an accident that she got the quota that time, and that she would never apply for reservations for anyone again.
Therefore, if the customer who ordered her just wants her to help him get a quota, it is better not to come, so as not to waste his time.
However, even though Ningyue said this, the number of customers ordering from her still remained high.
After meeting Ning Yue, they did not mention the cake at all. They continued to ask her to recite poems and compose compositions, play the zither and listen to music. They thought that if they became familiar with Ning Yue, they might be able to gain Ning Yue's gratitude like the adult before them and get a reservation.
Therefore, recently, all of Ningyue's guests have been like humble gentlemen, respectful and polite to her.
Those who want the quota treat Ningyue well, naturally they want to win her favor. Those who are not interested in the quota also treat Ningyue well, because if they make Ningyue unhappy, those who want the quota will come out to deal with them in order to gain Ningyue's gratitude.
Even the boss couldn't help but that the guests at Qingqiu Pavilion have been sigh so polite recently, which is simply a rare sight that only happens once in a century.
Knowing that Rong Yin was coming that day, Ning Yue set aside half a day in advance and waited for him to come early.
When Rong Yin came, she brought some biscuits, which she distributed familiar to the boss and a few servants, and then left a palm-sized cream cake for Ning Yue.
It's not that he is stingy, but Ningyue's job requires her to maintain a slim figure. Cream cake is easy to make you fat, so Ningyue dares to eat a little bit every once in a while, and then she has to go on a diet to offset the calories brought by her gluttony.
Seeing Rong Yin coming in, Ning Yue waved happily: "Come on, I have practiced the song you taught me last time, and I will sing it to you later."
"Okay, but you should eat some cake first to replenish your energy." Rong Yin shook the bag in his hand at Ning Yue.
Ning Yue's eyes lit up instantly when she knew exactly what was inside. She loved sweet things the most, especially the snacks and milk tea bought from Rong Yin's store.
Rong Yin said, "The jam we used this time is wild berry. We no longer have the cherry jam you like."
Ning Yue picked up the fork, scooped out a large piece and stuffed it into her mouth. As she became more familiar with Rong Yin, she no longer had to act like a lady all the time and could be more casual and free.
Strictly speaking, she is only nineteen years old this year. In modern times, she is still a carefree female college student, at the age of being lively and cheerful.
However, because she lives in this era and has this identity, in order to survive better, she can only suppress her nature and be a gentle lady liked by the world.
While she was eating, Rong Yin sat opposite her, drinking fruit tea and teasing her: "I heard that Miss Ningyue has been very busy recently. You have to queue up to see you. I thought I wouldn't be able to see you today."
Rong Yin was actually praising Ning Yue for her popularity in a disguised way. For their profession, being left out in the cold is actually no different from slow death.
Ning Yue swallowed the cake in her mouth, wiped the corners of her mouth and said, "This is all thanks to you, Master Rong. If you hadn't generously given me a reservation, they wouldn't have come to me."
Rong Yin flattered back: "It is because of your ability that you can keep the guests."
After eating the cake, Ning Yue drank some tea to neutralize the sweetness in her mouth, and then she sang the song that Rong Yin had taught her by playing the guqin.
When she finished singing, Rong Yin immediately applauded: "You sang much better than me. You are really suitable for this song."
Ning Yue was very happy to receive Rong Yin's recognition, "Thank you, Boss Rong, for the compliment."
Afterwards, the two sat together drinking tea and chatting, talking about what had happened to them recently. Ning Yue mentioned that she had seen the girl from the He family when she was invited to perform at a banquet hosted by a young man some time ago.
Congratulations...
Hearing these two words, Rong Yin was stunned for a few seconds before he remembered that this was once a prominent family in the capital, on par with the Cui, Chen and Li families. In the end, they were confiscated and beheaded by Zong Zhengxiao for participating in treason.
The young men of the He family were exiled, and the women were sent to the Jiaofangsi, a place similar to an official brothel.
The wives of the housekeepers, who were once high and mighty, were reduced to prostitutes. This punishment was cruel, but precisely because of its cruelty, it could intimidate the court officials and prevent them from abusing their power to make mistakes.
Ning Yue continued, "I have never met the girls from the He family before, and I am not familiar with the people from the Jiaofang Bureau. The only reason I know their identities is because those young men at the banquet told me."
It turned out that at the banquet that day, the young masters invited the girls from Qingqiu Pavilion to play music and dance, and also asked for several girls from the Jiaofangsi to accompany them.
Qingqiu Pavilion only sells art and not bodies. In addition, Ningyue is very popular in the capital now, so those young masters dare not and did not do anything to them. They just let them perform.
But the girls from the Jiaofangsi were different. They were embraced by the young masters and behaved in an unruly manner in public. They also forced the girls to drink. If anyone was choked by the drink or got drunk, the young masters would burst into laughter.
Ning Yue could see that most of the girls were reluctant, but had no choice.
One of the most beautiful girls was asked to hold the wine in her mouth and feed it to several men at the same time. The girl refused and was slapped in the face by the young man who made the request.
The young master even scolded her: "Do you think you are still the daughter of the He family? Why are you pretending to be noble in front of me? I gave you money, so you have to do whatever I ask you to do? If you are so unconvinced, you should have told your father not to rebel in the first place!"
It was only after hearing what he said that Ning Yue found out that there was a girl from the He family at the banquet.
The girl from the He family was a hot-tempered woman. She did not beg for forgiveness in order to get out of the situation. She just covered her face and glared at the young man who scolded her fiercely, as if she was looking at the murderer of her father.
The young man seemed to be angry by her look, and he yelled at her a few more times, and even pretended to hit her.
Upon seeing this, several other young masters rushed over to pull him back, saying that it was a great day and he shouldn't make such a scene.
Out of sympathy, Ning Yue, relying on the little face she had in front of this group of playboys, also stepped forward to offer some advice.
Afterwards, those young masters restrained themselves a bit and were no longer as reckless as before, and the girl from the He family was taken away early.
Ning Yue looked at Rong Yin and said, "Boss Rong, do you know who is hosting the banquet?"
Rong Yin shook his head: "I don't know."
Ning Yue said: "The host of the banquet that day was named Chen, and there were also young masters from the Cui family and other small families at the banquet. It was the young master of the Chen family who attacked the young lady from the He family."
Rong Yin was surprised: "They were once accomplices, right? It's fine that they didn't help the He family when they were defeated, but now they are adding insult to injury and humiliating the women of the He family."
Ning Yue nodded, perhaps because she felt the same way, she even uttered a curse word: "It is indeed an act worse than that of an animal."
Rong Yin and Ning Yue didn't know that before forcing the He family to take the blame, the other families said that as long as the He family took all the blame, they would not bully the surviving descendants of the He family and might even take better care of them.
Who would have thought that once the leader of the He family died, their true nature would be immediately exposed.
In fact, the head of the He family had anticipated such a development a long time ago, but if he saw this in his grave, he would probably feel regretful.
He regretted offending Zong Zheng Xiao without knowing the consequences, and regretted dancing with the wolves. In the end, his family was destroyed, and his descendants were bullied by his former accomplices.
Ning Yue then continued, "After I came back, I asked someone to go to the Jiaofangsi to inquire about the news. It is said that after the He family girl entered the Jiaofangsi, Cui Chen and several other young masters became frequent customers of the He family girl. Not only did they not take care of them out of old friendship, but they repeatedly bullied them. I heard that they forced two girls from the He family to hang themselves. It was really too much."
Hearing this, Rong Yin suddenly thought of a question: "Among the group of people you mentioned who humiliated the He family girl, are there no people from the Li family? Before Li Ao died, he was a thug who bullied men and women. How could he not have participated in these things?"
"That's what I'm curious about." Ning Yue said, "Li Ao has been hanging out at the brothel Nanfeng Pavilion for many years. After the He family got into trouble, he rarely went to the Jiaofangsi. When he did, he avoided Miss He. And people who have inquired about the news said that Young Master Li once wanted to help Miss He, but Miss He was angry because other families looked on indifferently at the He family's situation and did not accept his help. Later, Young Master Li seemed to have not appeared in the Jiaofangsi."
Rong Yin became interested: "This is strange. They are allies, so they should act in unison. Why do some of them keep bullying the He family, while others help them?"
Ning Yue guessed: "Maybe it's because of different personalities?"
Rong Yin touched his chin and said, "It doesn't seem that simple."
After returning to the palace, Rong Yin told Zong Zhengxiao about this.
Ever since the He family was defeated, Zong Zhengxiao has never paid any attention to their subsequent experiences. If Rong Yin hadn't come back today and mentioned the He family, Zong Zhengxiao would have almost forgotten about this family.
After hearing the completely different actions of the Li family and the He and Chen families, Zong Zhengxiao said meaningfully: "Interesting, I will ask someone to check it out."
Rong Yin joked, "Maybe there will be a surprise."
Zong Zhengxiao held Rong Yin in his arms and sighed, "Thanks to you, Ayin, otherwise I wouldn't have noticed these anomalies."
Rong Yin hugged his neck and said, "Just verbal thanks? Why don't you do something practical?"
Zong Zhengxiao touched his forehead and asked with a smile: "What kind of reward does A Yin want?"
"I haven't thought about it yet." Rong Yin said, "But you have to promise me that if I ask you for something in the future, you must agree to it."
Zong Zhengxiao said, "Baby, you are being a bit overbearing, aren't you? What if I can't fulfill your request?"
Rong Yin pretended to be angry: "Anyway, I won't ask you to catch the moon in the sky or catch turtles in the sea. It is definitely within your ability."
Seeing that he was still hesitating, Rong Yin pouted: "You don't even agree to this, do you not love me anymore? You are really a bad man."
As he said this, he made a move to push Zong Zheng Xiao away. Zong Zheng Xiao quickly hugged him and said, "Okay, okay, I can't say anything more than you. I promise you, I promise you."
Rong Yin laughed again: "That's about right."
After finishing the topic, Zong Zhengxiao picked up a booklet next to him and showed it to Rong Yin: "Here, take a look at the revenue from toilet paper in the past three months."
Toilet paper went on sale at the beginning of this year. Like bread and milk tea, it was the first time the product appeared. It was not only novel but also cheap. In addition, with the low-priced rice paper as a foundation, people trusted the products they produced, so the initial business was very good.
In less than two days, customers who experienced the benefits of toilet paper returned to repurchase and recommended it to their friends and family who had not yet purchased it.
The market for toilet paper was suddenly opened up, and business was booming.
Not only ordinary people like to use this, but also those rich and powerful people like to use it. After all, everyone has a butt, and no matter how cheap the cloth is, it is not as cheap as toilet paper. Since there are better alternatives, why waste the money to buy cloth?
Because paper has a long shelf life, everyone likes to buy and stockpile it. They thought the inventory would be enough to last for a while, but it ran out in less than half a month.
The performance in recent months is still good. Rong Yin took a casual look and closed the account book.
He turned around and asked Zong Zhengxiao: "There should be no problem with opening up the market, right?"
Zong Zhengxiao said, "No problem. Two years ago, the business of Ji's ice shop started from the capital and gradually expanded. Later, the rice paper was sold all over the country. This time, we don't even need to ship the toilet paper out ourselves. Those merchants are very sharp-eyed. They know that this stuff has high profits and is easy to sell. They have signed contracts with us and bought the goods from us and shipped them to other places for sale."
Rong Yin frowned: "They must want a lot of goods, right? Can we get them out here in time?"
"Originally, we couldn't get out, but later the Ministry of Industry expanded the papermaking workshop and hired a group of workers who signed a life contract to do the work. This not only ensured the shipment volume, but also prevented the papermaking method from being leaked. Now there are many people in the capital who are jealous of us, so we have to be extra careful."
These jealous people are naturally those aristocratic families.
Rong Yin said with a smile: "Of course they want to learn how to make money. Didn't the Chen family open a milk tea shop before? They took away a lot of my business."
This happened at the end of last year.
It is not easy to learn how to make bread biscuits, but you can basically guess the ingredients of milk tea after seeing and tasting them. Rong Yin has never thought of running an exclusive business. The opening of Chen's milk tea shop was within his expectations. If it wasn't his, then it would be someone else's.
The overall pricing of Chen’s milk tea shop was lower than that of Rong Yin’s milk tea shop, and during the opening period, it was constantly doing promotions, which attracted most of Rong Yin’s customers away.
Lu'e, who was in charge of the milk tea shop at the time, was almost crying, but Rong Yin comforted her, saying that competition is inevitable in doing business and she just needs to keep a calm mind.
To be honest, Rong Yin felt that it was a bit slow for them to open a new milk tea shop after his own had been opened for such a long time.
Chen's milk tea shop was indeed successful for a while, but later on, due to several incidents of customers suffering from diarrhea after drinking his milk tea, and also because someone revealed that his fruit tea used stale fruits and that the kitchen hygiene was extremely poor, business began to decline.
Many people lamented that Chen's milk tea actually doesn't taste as good as Rong Yin's. They just bought it because it was cheap. But they didn't expect that cheap products are not good. The little money saved is not enough to buy medicine.
As a result, customers of Rong Yin milk tea shop returned again, and Rong Yin struck while the iron was hot and opened another branch, and business immediately became popular again.
Lu'e was no longer gloomy all day long. She thought about strictly managing hygiene and taste issues every day. She must not do things like the Chen family and drive away customers.
Chen's milk tea shop also made rectifications later. Not only did it publicly apologize and pay medical expenses, it also fired the employees involved and held promotional activities for several days in a row, which did win back some customers. Although it did not go bankrupt, its business was far from that of Rong Yin's shop.
Zong Zhengxiao followed suit and talked about another matter: "The toilet paper business is booming, and it has really made the noble families angry. A few days ago, during the morning court session, they even stood up and said that I was the emperor and should not do business and compete with the people for profits."
Rong Yin was curious and asked him, "Then what did you say?"
Zong Zheng Xiao coughed lightly and immediately began to perform, "I asked him, who are the people he is talking about? Is it the Chen family whose ice cream market I took away, or the Cui family whose paper market I took away, or the competitors of milk tea, bread and toilet paper that don't exist at all? My dear, you can't throw the blame of your own poor business on me and the people."
"Pfft." Rong Yin laughed out loud: "You can't be more tactful and just mock them directly."
Rong Yin thought that Zong Zhengxiao was just trying to please him, saying that those businesses were under other people's names and could not be considered his businesses, so there was no point in talking about him competing with the people for profits.
This is what Zong Zhengxiao did before because he was jealous of the aristocratic families.
Unexpectedly, this time Zong Zheng Xiao didn't even pretend and told them clearly, I just want to steal your business, what can you do to me?
Arrogant, really arrogant.
Zong Zhengxiao laughed and said, "I have disliked them for a long time. Now I can be proud of myself for once."
Rong Yin asked, "You didn't make them angry to death, did you?"
Zong Zhengxiao said, "No, it was just that the man who came out to question me almost fainted, and was helped back by his accomplices."
"Hahahahaha, no, I want to laugh when I think of that kind of picture."
Zong Zhengxiao: "Laugh, laugh, it's really funny."
Hearing this, Rong Yin laughed even louder.
Rong Yin was having a good time here, but he didn't know that Ning Yue welcomed an old guest the day after he left. It was none other than the young master Li, Li Chu, whom they had discussed the day before.
In fact, after Ning Yue told Rong Yin and Zong Zhengxiao to be careful of Young Master Li, Li Chu also came to Qingqiu Pavilion several times, and he always ordered Ning Yue.
Ning Yue initially thought that he knew what she had said to Rong Yin, and she was trembling with fear throughout the entire process of accompanying him because she was extremely afraid of Li Chu.
Ever since she realized that Li Chu was the culprit who killed Li Ao, her fear of Li Chu became even deeper.
He had the patience to plan for more than ten years just to kill his own brother. Such deep thoughts and cruel means are bound to shock people.
However, the few times Li Chu came, he just asked Ning Yue to play the zither and sing for him, or play a few games of chess with him as usual, and he did not mention Rong Yin.
But Ning Yue never dared to relax until Li Chu came this time. Ning Yue's body sensed something before her mind did. She felt that Li Chu's intention this time was not simple.
Sure enough, the first thing he said after arriving was: "Ms. Ningyue is really popular recently. If I order you once, not only will I have to pay extra, but I will also have to wait in line."
Ning Yue swallowed nervously, bowed, and said, "I am not talented, and I am grateful to you all for your support. Otherwise, I would not be where I am today."
Li Chu smiled, tapped his folding fan lightly on his palm, and said, "Ningyue, the group of masters you mentioned should not include me. After all, I can't be of much help to you, unlike that..."
He had a hint in his mind, but he didn't say it. After noticing Ning Yue's expression changed, he suddenly changed the subject, "Don't stand, sit down. I came here today just to listen to you playing the zither, Ning Yue."
Ning Yue breathed a relief as she sat on the piano stool. She thought, it seems that Li Chu is not going to ask about Rong Yin today?
Who knew that the next second, Li Chu said: "Ningyue, just play the song "Huanxisha" that Boss Rong gave you."
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