"You!"
For Ji Xiulan, being called a "village girl" was demeaning beyond measure. Yet she had never expected herself to be insulted by a courtesan today!
Ji Xiulan retorted, "No matter what, I am far better than you. A promiscuous woman who’s been slept with by countless men. How despicable!"
Yi Ling casually picked up a tea cup, placed it to her lips, and took a slight sip. The taste was displeasing; her brows furrowed. Putting the cup down, she said softly, "This tea, though a premium Biluochun, is a stale batch from last year really. It leaves a terrible taste. In the future, don’t quality-compromise by sending such goods here."
She was addressing these words to her maid.
The little maid reluctantly complied. Initially, the maids in Sun Yaowen’s courtyard didn’t pay much attention to Yi Ling. But now that the fifth young master was fond of Aunt Yun, and the rumors were that she would soon be elevated to the status of an honored concubine, how dare they slacken?
"This servant will replace it immediately." Said the little maid, picking up the tea cup and leaving the room.
Yi Ling, dabbing the corner of her mouth elegantly with her handkerchief, then looked at Ji Xiulan and said, smiling sardonically, "From my arrival here, my lifestyle has actually been less satisfying than before. I have never consumed stale tea, let alone worn clothes made of anything other than silk or cloud brocade. As for pastries, I only eat the ones from Cai Xiangji."
Speaking languidly, Yi Ling lifted the corners of her lips in a smirk. "So, you see, I am different from you. A country woman who has been reared on rough grains and wild vegetables. Our outlooks are dissimilar. Why do you seek trouble for yourself and humiliate yourself?"
"You!" Ji Xiulan glared at her fiercely, gritting her teeth with an cold smile, "Who do you think you are? Sun Yaowen hasn’t even touched you yet, hasn’t he? Because he thinks you’re dirty!"
"Of what consequence is it to you whether he has touched me or not?" Yi Ling had lost all patience; she had no interest in sparring words with this woman.
"Whether it is of consequence or not, it’s still too early for you to tell." Ji Xiulan sneered, held her head high, and turned to leave.
She had come energetically to confront Sun Yaowen on having heard that he had recently been attentive to Yi Ling, which inflamed her jealousy. To her dismay, Sun Yaowen wasn’t present, so she wanted to confront this brazen mean person instead.
Who knew it would end up leaving her frazzled instead?
After Ji Xiulan had left, Yi Ling narrowed her eyes, sensing something amiss. Why would the concubine of the old master suddenly come to cause her trouble? Such women as Ji Xiulan weren’t worth her attention. The old master’s death was imminent, and then the madam wouldn’t tolerate concubines who bore no children. Ji Xiulan would, likely, be the first to be dismissed.
Observing Ji Xiulan’s arrogance, Yi Ling surmised it concealed a hidden motive.
Recalling her behaviour from just a while ago, it seemed to bear a touch of jealousy.
Having grown up amidst debauchery, Yi Ling had a deeper understanding of such matters than the bystanders. Could Ji Xiulan’s hostility towards her have been prompted by... Sun Yaowen?
Thinking about the last sentence Ji Xiulan had said before she left, Yi Ling immediately understood.
Ji Xiulan probably hadn’t realised that, intending to humiliate Yi Ling or giving her a taste of her own medicine, she inadvertently gave away her own misgiving.
Yi Ling lifted her lips and chuckled, "So it’s like that."
Just then, the little maid outside came in to report, "Aunt Yun, the young master is back."
Yi Ling quickly regained her composure.
"The young master is back?" Yi Ling answered with a smile.
"Yes, I’ve done as you asked. Sold off Yihong Courtyard, along with the brothel and the girls, for a total of five thousand taels of silver, taking a loss in the process," complained Sun Yaowen, disgruntled.
Had it not been an emergency sale, would it have been sold for such a meager amount?
Yi Ling calmly responded, "Young Master, saying so isn’t right. That you could make a clear profit of five thousand taels is commendable."
Otherwise, had they not taken this opportunity to secretly sell, they wouldn’t have even gotten the five thousand taels.
Sun Yaowen knew this, so he held Yi Ling’s hand and laughed, "You’re smarter."
Yi Ling leisurely seated herself on his lap and said with a light laugh, "This is just chump change. Young master, you cannot be contented with just this."
"Of course not! I will take your advice!" Sun Yaowen hastily replied.
That’s what Yi Ling wanted. Sun Yaowen, an incompetent man who craves a good life, could do so only by listening to her. It was easier to manipulate such fools.
"I’ve taken care of Madam Zhao and the boy who went to report to the officials. Now we only have one major problem left – the old master..."
Sun Yaowen frowned, "What can we do? I can’t meddle in my grandfather’s affairs!"
Yi Ling looked at him, amused: "Young Master, have you forgotten? Isn’t there a woman favored by the Old Master right by your side?"
Sun Yaowen was startled and muttered in disbelief, "You, you, you..." How did you know?
Yi Ling, seemingly lost in her own thoughts, said, "Aunt Ji was here looking for the young master a while ago. Your dear friend’s true feelings for you, young master, are evident. It would be a pity if you didn’t take advantage of such a wonderful chess piece."
Sun Yaowen’s eyes lit up as if he had understood something: "Okay!"
——
The large plot of land that Xin He bought was perfectly placed for her to boost her economic development plan; the place was right in the middle of Lian’an Town and would be quite convenient for further expansion. Right now, she planned to establish her first business plan right here!
"This is the place, Young Master. What do you think?"
The horse carriage halted before a three-storied building. Xin He peeked out, revealed a pleasant smile, and jumped off the carriage, "Not bad at all."
"Originally, it was a property of the Sun family but was sneakily sold at a low price sometime back. It previously ran as a tea house. The interior decoration is quite elegant, so we do not need to work much on it."
Xin He went in to take a look and nodded, "Indeed, it’s nice. There’s a lot of open space inside. It’s also convenient for our layout plan. This place will work!"
"The business you plan to start here, have you thought of a name for it yet? The opening day is just half a month away. We have to decide on the name and order the sign in advance."
Xin He grinned, "Let’s call it the Winding Pavilion."
"Winding?" Xiaoyu laughed, "Young master always comes up with creative names."
"You see, a unique name will pique people’s curiosity and naturally draw more attention. Thus, let’s finalize this name. Have you arranged everything on the Embroidery Woman’s side?"
"Young Master, rest assured. I have recruited fifty embroidery women from all over the city a few days earlier and set up a separate workshop. The costumes designed by the young master have already been begun. In addition to the embroidery women, another 30-40 skilled craftsmen have been hired to create jewelry. They are working according to the design drafts provided by the young master. There’s nothing difficult about it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
