Chapter 219 Brother Bai is acting strangely
Furong said shyly, "I think it's okay. Hehehe, I didn't even notice. Southern fruits are very expensive in the north, especially in winter. Actually, they're not cheap now either. Before my family had this trouble, I especially loved eating bananas, lychees, longans, and mangoes. Every month, my fruit expenses alone amounted to more than ten taels of silver. Southern fruits are expensive because they're sold to rich people. They have money and aren't afraid of high prices."
"When does Your Highness plan to open it? The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, and it will get cold after that. I think it would be better to open it sooner rather than later."
Liu Ye was eager to open the shop as soon as possible: "I'll open it as soon as it's cleaned up, and then my friend can deliver the goods. However, I haven't decided who will manage the shop yet. It's best to have a woman to sell fruit. Xiao Chun and Xia Xia are both suitable. Xiao Chun is quick-witted, and Xia Xia is steady. One of them can be in charge of the accounts, and the other can be in charge of taking care of the business. I'll send a man to the shop to help them with moving and lifting things."
"Tomorrow is the fifth day of the eighth lunar month, right? It's a good day. Let's open tomorrow. Otherwise, if we keep delaying, we might not be able to go at all."
Furong exclaimed, "This is too fast! Princess, isn't it too rushed to open tomorrow? The fruit hasn't even been delivered yet!"
Liu Ye shook her finger and said with a smile, "The fruit has arrived. I will notify them to send it over immediately. Fu Rong, go back to the manor immediately and call Xiao Chun and Xiao Xia over. Tell them to take their luggage. They will be staying at the inn from now on. Also, pick one more guard from among the guards."
"Yes, this servant will go back now." As soon as Furong left, Liuye went to the backyard warehouse, flashed into her spatial dimension, and then flashed to the orchard. There were 100 baskets in the spatial dimension that she had bought last time, and finally she could use them.
With a single thought, she picked 20 baskets of apples, then five baskets of bananas, five baskets of mangoes, five baskets of lychees, five baskets of longans, one basket of cherries, ten baskets of peaches, and ten baskets of pears. Okay, that's enough. And even then, she's not sure if she can sell them all. The things in her space don't spoil easily. Even if she doesn't sell many in a day, they should last for a while.
Liu Ye flashed out of the space, waved her hand towards the warehouse, and took out all the fruit. She neatly stacked the baskets in the warehouse, and immediately the warehouse was filled with the fragrance of fruit, which smelled refreshing.
Afterwards, Furong returned with her people, and Liuye showed them the fruit in the warehouse: "This is the fruit that was just delivered. Xiaochun, Xiaxia, you will be in charge of the fruit shop from now on. Dazhuang will help you move things around, and you can ask him to do the heavy work."
"Dazhuang, go buy a string of firecrackers later. Set them off at the door first thing tomorrow morning, and then you can open for business. I'm not sure if I'll come, but you can open for business. Your monthly salary will be doubled."
Xiaochun, Xiaxia, and Dazhuang respectfully nodded and replied, "Yes, we will definitely manage the shop well."
Liu Ye stayed for a while longer before returning to the Princess's residence with Fu Rong. Bai Zilin returned from the palace after lunch. As soon as Liu Ye saw him, she hurriedly asked, "How was it? Did the Emperor not pursue the Zheng family's matter any further?"
Furong, being perceptive, retreated to the door. Bai Zilin pulled her hand and sat her down to the side, saying sarcastically, "The Emperor didn't pursue the matter, but the Empress Dowager is relentless. She insists that the Emperor catch the murderer who wiped out the entire Zheng family. The Emperor has entrusted this task to me, and I have to go out again in a bit."
Liu Ye whispered in Bai Zilin's ear, "Did you wipe out the entire Zheng family?"
Bai Zilin hesitated for a moment before saying, "I was involved, but I didn't do the massacre of the Zheng family; it was Prince Qing who led the men to do it."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye exclaimed, "You mean you've sided with Prince Qing again? Is he reliable? Even Emperor Xuan is unreliable now, let alone a mere prince like him. Are you going to help him rebel?"
Bai Zilin was amused by her words. He pinched her cheek with his big hand and said, "What are you thinking? How could I possibly help Prince Qing rebel? We are just cooperating for the time being because we each have our own needs. The Zheng family has the Empress Dowager's support, and some things have been hindering Prince Qing, so we are cooperating for the time being."
After listening, Liu Ye suddenly understood something: "On the same night, the Zheng family was wiped out, and assassins entered the Empress Dowager's palace. Could that assassin be you?"
Bai Zilin smiled and nodded: "My silly girl is still the smartest. I didn't really want to kill the Empress Dowager. I just wanted to scare her. I didn't expect that there were experts hidden in her palace. Ten of us couldn't beat two of her secret guards. If we hadn't run fast, we would have been surrounded by the Imperial Guards."
"Fortunately, I achieved my ultimate goal. The Empress Dowager was shocked by the assassination attempt and, upon learning that her entire family had been wiped out, she suffered a stroke. That was my objective."
Liu Yewan wasn't surprised. She had already guessed it. Only he could come up with the idea of scaring the Empress Dowager into illness. Anyone with a brain wouldn't do that; it was too risky. But she couldn't say that. She had to pamper her man and flatter him. Men, after all, care about their pride.
"Brother Bai, you're really amazing. You even came up with this idea. The Empress Dowager is sick now, and the Zheng family is all dead. The imperial decree for the marriage is invalid. She definitely can't force me to marry anyone anymore. We should hurry up and put our marriage on the agenda. I'm afraid things will change if we delay. We also need to inform the Emperor."
Bai Zilin nodded and said, "I'll find an opportunity to talk to the Emperor. I'll go through the motions in the Zheng family case. I'll be going now. By the way, the Empress Dowager might invite you to the palace. The Emperor asked me if you still have any ginseng, and I said no."
Liu Ye curled her lips with sarcasm and said, "Even if I had it, I wouldn't give it to the Empress Dowager. If I cured her, she would still harm me. That old hag is very wicked. Brother Bai, you go ahead and do your work. I'll handle it."
The next day, someone from the palace came to invite Liu Ye into the palace. The Empress Dowager's personal nanny led Liu Ye to the Empress Dowager's bedside: "Empress Dowager, the princess has come to pay her respects."
The Empress Dowager leaned wearily against the bed, glancing sideways at Liu Ye and extending her hand: "Sit down~, hey, I'm sorry to have wronged you~."
Liu Ye held the Empress Dowager's hand with a hint of disgust and sat on the bed. She looked at the Empress Dowager with concern and said, "Mother, please don't say that. I have nothing to be aggrieved about. It's just that you suddenly fell ill, which worried me a lot. I hope you get well soon. My marriage is still waiting for you to decide."
Seeing that the Empress Dowager's mouth was crooked and her eyes were slanted, and she couldn't even speak clearly, she was actually very happy. Humph, serves you right, you messed up the marriage!
The Empress Dowager looked at Liu Ye's insincere concern and thought, "Keep pretending. I don't believe you didn't know Bai Zilin tried to assassinate me, you two ingrates! Don't think that just because I'm sick I can't control you. Your lives are still in my hands!" First of all, she had to get better.
The Empress Dowager nodded with tears in her eyes: "Uh, life... does a child have a life?"
The Empress Dowager's mouth was crooked and her speech was unclear. She could only say these two sentences, with saliva dripping down her chin and onto her chest. It was incredibly disgusting to watch.
Two pages compressed into one chapter
The Empress Dowager's mouth was crooked and her speech was unclear. She could only say these two sentences, with saliva dripping down her chin and onto her chest. It was incredibly disgusting to watch.
It took Liu Ye a long time to understand what she meant: "You still want ginseng? I won't even give you shit."
"Does Mother mean there is still ginseng?" The Empress Dowager nodded vigorously, looking at Liu Ye with expectant eyes, hoping to hear what she wanted to hear. However, she was disappointed. Liu Ye spread her hands helplessly and said, "There is none left. I gave all the ginseng to the Emperor. I didn't keep a single piece. The major hospitals should not lack ginseng, and the pharmacies outside can also sell it. I will go out of the palace to buy some for Mother right away."
"Zhang Mama, please take good care of the Empress Dowager. I'll be leaving the palace now."
Just as Liu Ye was about to leave, the Empress grabbed her hand and said, "Don't elbow me, stay here and keep me company."
Liu Ye had no choice but to sit down again: "Alright, then I'll stay with Mother a little longer. I'll leave when the palace gates are about to close. Mother, is there anything you'd like to eat? I'll make it for you."
The Empress Dowager squinted and shook her head, saying indistinctly, "You... you're just being a shrew with the goose."
Liu Ye smiled and nodded, but she was extremely annoyed. The room reeked of the Empress Dowager's saliva, which was disgusting!
At this moment, Young Master Zhao and Zhao Xinbao also arrived at the entrance of the General's Mansion. Zhao Xinbao looked at the Princess's Mansion next door with a bitter feeling. It turned out that Princess Liu Ye's Mansion was next to Bai Zilin's General's Mansion. They were quite capable. One became the Empress Dowager's goddaughter and was granted the title of Princess, while the other followed Prince Xuan and was granted the title of General. "Brother, why don't you have such good luck? Didn't you know Prince Xuan before?"
Young Master Zhao rolled his eyes, not wanting to hear it, and ignored her. He walked to the gate of the General's Mansion and knocked lightly. After a while, the door opened from the inside. The gatekeeper, Da Tou, looked Young Master Zhao up and down and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Young Master Zhao politely clasped his hands in a fist and said, “I am General Bai’s friend from Xiancheng. I have only recently arrived in the capital and have come today to pay my respects to General Bai. I would be grateful if you could inform him that my surname is Zhao. If you say ‘Young Master Zhao,’ General Bai will know who I am. Thank you for your help.”
Da Tou nodded, but he didn't go in to announce the arrival, because General Bai wasn't home and Steward Li was out on business: "I've noted it down. Young Master Zhao, please come another day. General Bai isn't at home. He's busy with official business and it's uncertain when he'll be back."
Zhao Xinbao hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "When will General Bai return? We're not in a hurry to leave. Please let us go in and wait. We are the General's good friends. If you neglect us, General Bai will definitely punish you!"
Big Head was also perceptive. As soon as he heard Zhao Xinbao speak, he knew she was a brainless idiot. He immediately frowned and said in an unpleasant voice, "It's not appropriate for us to bring guests while the general is not here. You two should wait for the general to return. Goodbye."
Da Tou turned around and slammed the door shut, which infuriated Zhao Xinbao. He vented his anger on Zhao Gongzi, yelling at him, "Big brother, are you mute? Why aren't you saying anything? You used to be so eloquent, but now you're mute when we need you. You don't even say a word when I'm being bullied by a guard dog. Humph, no wonder you're so useless!"
"Bai Zilin used to be a hunter, and he became a general. How come you are not as good as him? It seems that you are not capable enough, and your whole family suffers because of you!"
Young Master Zhao's face was frighteningly dark, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and a murderous glint flashed in his eyes. Zhao Xinbao was completely unaware that Young Master Zhao had already harbored murderous intent towards her, and was still talking non-stop.
"Big brother, Brother Bai isn't home. Let's go find Liu Ye. She abandoned me last time, but this time I'm coming in person. Let's see if she still has the nerve to refuse me!"
As Zhao Xinbao spoke, he arrived at the entrance of the Princess's residence. Young Master Zhao remained standing still. Zhao Xinbao knocked on the door of the Princess's residence, and Zhang Wei opened the door. He looked at Zhao Xinbao warily and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Zhao Xinbao quickly smiled and said, "I'm here to see your princess. I'm a friend of your princess's from before. My name is Zhao Xinbao. Princess Wushuang's name is Liu Ye, right? I really am her good friend. Please go in and inform your princess that my elder brother has also come. My elder brother is also a friend of your princess, and he is also a friend of General Bai."
Zhang Wei looked at Young Master Zhao in the distance. Young Master Zhao nodded to Zhang Wei, and Zhang Wei immediately said politely, "The princess has entered the palace. It's uncertain when she will return. Why don't you two come earlier tomorrow? I will inform you that the princess has been here when she returns from the palace."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xinbao immediately became unhappy and her face fell: "Brother Bai isn't home, so why isn't the princess home either? You're not all conspiring to trick me, are you!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei thought, "What kind of bastard is she talking about? Who's trying to fool her? The princess and General Bai aren't even home. He's starting to suspect she might be a friend of the princess. If she really is, why is she talking like this? It's like she's got bubbles in her head!"
"The princess has already entered the palace, if you don't believe me, fine!" Zhang Wei said, slamming the door shut. He muttered irritably, "Where did this idiot come from!"
Seeing that they were all like this, Zhao Xinbao stomped her feet in anger: "Watchdogs, wait until I become a general's wife, and see how I deal with you!"
Young Master Zhao snorted and turned to leave. Zhao Xinbao's words had just reminded him that he not only knew Prince Xuan, but also Prince Qing. Moreover, Prince Qing appreciated him. However, because his father sided with the Crown Prince, he did not dare to get too close to either Prince Qing or Prince Xuan, thus missing a golden opportunity and allowing Bai Zilin to benefit.
However, it's not too late for him to side with Prince Qing now. Prince Xuan is the emperor now, but that doesn't mean he will be in the future. As the saying goes, fortune changes, and emperors take turns!
As soon as Zhao Xinbao saw her older brother leave, she quickly chased after him, saying, "Big brother, wait for me! Why are you walking so fast!"
Young Master Zhao snorted coldly and deliberately quickened his pace, disappearing from sight in no time. However, he did not go home but went to Prince Qing's mansion and successfully met Prince Qing. When Young Master Zhao came out of Prince Qing's mansion again, he was beaming with confidence and composure.
Young Master Zhao squinted at the setting sun in the west, a bright smile on his face. He was now a strategist for Prince Qing. He would go home and tell his parents that he would move into Prince Qing's mansion.
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