Chapter 9 The flowers are signed by Jiang Yanli
The young man seemed to be walking on light clouds, with sunlight shining behind him, making her outline soft, like an immortal in a painting. Her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, and there was a smile on the corners of her lips. She was clearly a pretty young lady.
"Mr. Luo." She called softly, her voice clear and no longer as deliberately lowered as before, and it was obvious that she was in a good mood.
She approached the window, half crouched down, and looked up to speak to the person inside: "Where are you going, Master Luo? I was just about to visit you at your house."
Luo Yunchu lifted the curtain a little wider, his eyes inadvertently passing over her slender jade-like neck, and subconsciously turned his gaze away, looking forward, "What's the matter with you looking for me?"
"Well, I want to..." Lu Tingwan was about to hand over the flowers in her hand, but was interrupted by Luo Yunchu before she could finish her words.
"Get in the car, I'm going home now." Luo Yunchu lowered the curtain and didn't give her a chance to evade.
Lu Tingwan took a step back and got on the carriage from the front. Luo Yunchu made room for him slightly, still sitting in the upper seat, while Lu Tingwan sat by the window.
As soon as she sat down, she pushed the porcelain vase in her hand over and said, "These flowers were just delivered today. They are in full bloom. I picked them especially for you."
Luo Yunchu glanced down at the flower. The fragrance filled his nostrils, but it made him frown slightly. He never liked overly strong floral scents, so he said calmly, "Why did you send me flowers?"
Lu Tingwan said with a hint of apology, "If it weren't for Mr. Luo's help, business in Zhichunli wouldn't be so prosperous. Besides, I used your little portrait before, so I'll take it as an apology. I hope Mr. Luo won't take it personally."
Luo Yunchu secretly looked at her. She was flexible and adaptable, worthy of being the shopkeeper Jiang Yanli Jiang.
"Then accept Manager Jiang's kindness." Luo Yunchu said.
Seeing that he had accepted the flowers, Lu Tingwan realized that her goal had been achieved and was about to get out of the car. As she stood up, Luo Yunchu called out, "Manager Jiang, are you leaving?"
"Yeah, I have something else to do in the shop, so I won't bother Mr. Luo anymore."
Luo Yunchu also stood up. In the carriage, he could only bend over, stretch out his long arms, and use the folding fan in his hand to lead her back to her seat.
"Don't worry, Manager Jiang. We're already at Changqing Street. Come to your house for some tea." His tone was gentle, but he didn't tolerate any refusal.
Lu Tingwan thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Luo Yunchu's invitation meant she was interested in getting closer to her, so Lu Tingwan couldn't miss out on this relationship.
The carriage slowly drove down Changqing Street, passing through a quiet area. The hustle and bustle outside gradually faded away. As the driver stopped the horse, they arrived at the Luo Mansion. Compared to the Cheng family, it was naturally less grand, but the mansion was unique, and the layout of the Jiangnan garden was elegant.
It can be seen that Luo Yunchu is a person with extremely high taste and elegance. Those who don’t know him would think that he is a literati, but who would have thought that he is actually a businessman.
"Manager Jiang, there's no need to be so reserved. Just treat it as your own home. My mansion is quiet and sparsely populated. False etiquette is just a useless lock used to regulate people. You can just open it and enjoy it." He paid attention to Lu Tingwan's every move.
She then withdrew her gaze from the beams on the roof, "Mr. Luo, is this beam made of mortise and tenon structure?" Lu Tingwan asked with interest.
Luo Yunchu was stunned at first, but then smiled again, "Manager Jiang is also interested in architecture?"
"In my hometown, houses built with this structure are common. I was quite interested in machinery when I was young, but I only had a superficial understanding." Lu Tingwan's tone was filled with nostalgia.
Luo Yunchu motioned for her to sit down, and the servant brought her hot tea. He instructed the servant to put the flowers in the porcelain vase in the study and then return the porcelain vase to Lu Tingwan.
Lu Tingwan said quickly, "Wait a minute, Master Luo, this porcelain vase is not valuable. It just complements the bouquet. You can keep it and use it."
Luo Yunchu nodded slightly and no longer refused.
"The flowers used in Zhichunli are fresher and of superior quality than those in the city west market. I wonder where Manager Jiang gets these flowers from?" The tea was fragrant as Luo Yunchu took a sip with a deep gaze.
Lu Tingwan seemed not to hear, and just lowered his head to sip the tea. The fragrance of the tea spread, a mixture of sweetness and bitterness, and the aftertaste was long.
Luo Yunchu didn't know whether she didn't hear it or was pretending not to tell him.
"Miss Jiang," he changed his usual address, "You are a woman, and disguising yourself as a man to run a flower shop may save you a lot of trouble, but if you attract too much attention and break the rules of the market, I'm afraid disaster will come."
Lu Tingwan then raised his eyes, gently turning the tea tray in his hand, and asked tentatively: "Market rules? What do you mean, Mr. Luo?"
"The Kyoto Flower Shop is led by the Chamber of Commerce. As far as I know, the Kyoto City Fair has not purchased flowers from flower farmers outside the city this year. Then Miss Jiang's Zhichunli has the freshest flowers every day, no need for me to say more." Luo Yunchu stood up and sat down on the chair beside her. This time he seemed to be a little closer, so close that Lu Tingwan could clearly see the lines on his beautiful eyebrows.
The girl's heart was pounding with love, and she felt that Luo Yunchu in front of her had a handsome face and a bright look, like the warm spring sun, but she felt that this man was such a stranger to her.
Luo Yunchu was caught off guard by being stared at. She was a woman staring at a man like that, and there was no shyness on her face at all.
What did she mean? Luo Yunchu couldn't guess and coughed twice.
Lu Tingwan withdrew his gaze openly. From the implication of Luo Yunchu's words just now, it can be seen that he knew that merchants were suppressing flower farmers. But when he rented the shop in the morning, he knew that her shop was used to deal in flowers. Knowing that she would face difficulties in purchasing goods, he was still willing to rent it to her. Could it be that he really did it for the 30% profit?
Lu Tingwan was unable to discern his true intentions for a moment, but remained expressionless, "Mr. Luo is a man of great talent and profound knowledge. I believe he already knows where this flower of mine came from."
"Apart from the flower farmers outside the city who can provide you with goods, I really don't know which other merchants in Kyoto can provide you with high-quality goods. If you can't make a profit, why would you promote it at a low price?" Luo Yunchu looked at her. She was a person who had to save even twenty taels of rent, so why would she increase the cost when purchasing goods? This was not difficult to guess.
Luo Yunchu was indeed meticulous. Lu Tingwan wasn't afraid that he would guess it. She fixed her gaze on Luo Yunchu and asked, "Mr. Luo, do you know why the merchants in the city are suppressing the farmers? Do you think the Chamber of Commerce knows about this?"
You are really brave. How dare you ask this?
Luo Yunchu raised her chin and fanned the bamboo fan nonchalantly, the wind swept into her pupils, and Lu Tingwan turned her head away with sore eyes.
He reminded: "Just focus on your business. If you are too ostentatious, the saying "a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger" is a good saying, but it is definitely not a good saying."
Luo Yunchu mentioned this to her three times, and Lu Tingwan humbly said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master Luo. However, there is one more thing I want to discuss with you."
Luo Yunchu tilted his head and looked at her: "What's the matter?"
A sly look flashed in Lu Tingwan's eyes. "We still need your little statue."
Luo Yunchu closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and agreed.
In Jinhua Palace, Queen Mother Jiang was reading files behind a curtain, while the palace lady Hong Zhanggong was standing in front of the curtain and bowed deeply to Lu Mingqian outside.
"Lord Lu, the Queen Mother summons you."
Lu Mingqian nodded, walked slowly into the hall, and bowed respectfully: "Your humble servant pays respects to the Empress Dowager."
From behind the curtain came the steady voice of Empress Dowager Jiang: "Master Lu, please excuse me. Please take a seat."
"Thank you, Queen Mother, for your grace."
"I summoned you here today for no other reason," said Queen Mother Jiang, in a lazy yet dignified tone. "Cheng Xianzhi has been behaving himself at court recently. If there's any mishap with the Ministry of Revenue's property tax this time, you, the Minister of the Left, will be held responsible. If His Majesty investigates, you will be the first to bear the brunt of the blame. That's why I'm forced to grant the position to Cheng Xianzhi. Do you understand my intention?"
"I dare not rashly comment on the Empress Dowager's thoughts and concerns." Lu Mingqian was confused. "There's a problem with the housing tax at the Ministry of Revenue. Cheng Xianzhi has been asked to investigate thoroughly. If any clues are uncovered, the Ministry and even the government will be implicated. If we're not careful, we'll cause unnecessary trouble. Isn't the Empress Dowager's move too radical?"
Queen Mother Jiang chuckled softly, "Since this involves so many people, it's a hot potato. Whoever takes it on is like a jackal or tiger to Cheng Xianzhi. They're like ghosts who stay away from him. Cheng Xianzhi's goal in marrying into the Gongsun family is nothing more than the position of Shangshu. A mere young boy wants to compete with you, Lu Pushe. Can you swallow this insult?"
"Cheng Xianzhi was among the top three in the imperial examination, and later became a disciple of Gongsun Yin. In just a few years, he rose rapidly to prominence. Everyone in Kyoto sighed that he was a rare genius that only appears once in a century. What a pity." Lu Mingqian was quite appreciative of his talent.
"Even though you're a prodigy, what good is that if I can't use you? Your daughter from the Lu family has been married into the Cheng family for quite some time now, but there's been no movement. Now's the time to put her to use." Queen Mother Jiang picked up the jade ruyi, her already noble demeanor complementing the jade's elegance. "I heard your daughter returned from Jiangling?"
Lu Mingqian felt a tightness in his heart. The Empress Dowager had already been unhappy about the secret replacement of someone into the Cheng Mansion, but the matter was done. No amount of criticism would be effective and would only hurt the feelings of the monarch and his subjects and create a rift between him and her.
Now, Jiang Haiyi, a member of Jiang's faction, has been ordered by the emperor to guard Shanhaiguan, and Queen Mother Jiang wants to control the government. In the past few years, the emperor has been close to Gongsun Yin and promoted Cheng Xianzhi, so there are very few people who can be used in the court.
"In reply to the Queen Mother, that's right. My daughter Tingwan has been raised in Jiangling since she was young. She has a pure heart, is well-behaved and sensible, and there's no need to bother with her training."
"He has a pure heart," Queen Mother Jiang said thoughtfully, "He grew up in the countryside, and his mind is shallow. He's sixteen?"
"Almost seventeen." Lu Mingqian replied.
The jade ruyi rolled from the cheekbone to the jaw. Although Queen Mother Jiang was over forty years old, her skin was as smooth and delicate as a woman in her thirty.
"Well, pick a suitable day and have her come to the palace to talk to me."
The pretext was to entertain the Empress Dowager. Since she was young and simple-minded, she was the easiest to discipline. Some words had to be said in person to be remembered, and whether she could use them for her own benefit, she had to see it with her own eyes to believe it.
"I obey your order." Lu Mingqian left Jinhua Palace.
***
For ten consecutive days, business at Zhichunli was booming, with all the flowers sold out before 9:00 a.m. each day. Seventeen people had already registered to collect ten handkerchiefs with different patterns.
It is inevitable that some people will exchange handkerchiefs to collect ten bouquets. Lu Tingwan cannot avoid this, but the number of places is limited to the first thirty, and each handkerchief will be collected and the name of the person it belongs to will be registered. After that, specific tags will be distributed according to the agreement. Every time you enter the shop to buy a bouquet of flowers, you can enjoy an 80% discount with the tag, and it is limited to once a day.
If you spend more than thirty taels in Zhichunli after one month, you can return the handkerchief.
The purpose of customers collecting handkerchiefs in the beginning is to get a place in the upper class. At the very least, if they collect ten handkerchiefs after reaching the top thirty, they can get a place in the upper class and enjoy a 90% discount.
After the handkerchief is returned, it is only used to wipe things.
Lu Tingwan announced publicly, "The ten handkerchiefs of the highest rank are of higher quality than the gifts I will give you in a month. If you are not satisfied with the gifts I, Jiang Yanli, give you, how about you do with them?"
Everyone heard this and said, "Manager Jiang, is this handkerchief really that useful?"
"Of course, since you are willing to come to Zhichunli, Jiang will definitely repay your sincerity." Lu Tingwan raised his hand and showed everyone a notice full of rules.
The signature was her, Jiang Yanli, and she stamped it with her personal seal.
Everyone carefully read the rules written on the rice paper. This was the first time they had seen such a way of keeping guests in Fenglin Lane.
Not to mention Fenglin Lane, it would be hard to find a shop like this even in the entire Kyoto.
"Manager Jiang's trick is brilliant." Tianshu, leaning on the door frame, glanced at his young master.
Luo Yunchu had to admire her courage and ambition, and her ideas and methods were endless.
I had warned her that day at Luo Mansion, but her momentum was growing rapidly, and even Changqing Street was spreading the story of this shopkeeper Jiang.
Farmers supply Zhichunli with a load of flowers every day, which barely solves the urgent needs of the village.
In the second month, the farms would gather more flowers and send them to Zhichunli. Although Lu Tingwan only needed one load a day, the flowers that were not sent to the city were made into dyes, rouge, and sachets by the villagers.
The merchants who came to the farm to lower the price heard that the villagers' flowers had gone into the city, so they asked around. The merchants threatened to kill anyone who bought the flowers. Their outrageous remarks aroused the anger of the villagers, and they attacked them in groups, grabbing hoes, shoulder poles, and other usable farm tools.
The two groups had a dispute and the situation became so bad that the Jingzhao Prefecture had to step in to mediate and put the villagers who had gathered to beat the villagers into jail.
The merchants were resentful and bribed the Jingzhao Prefecture's Criminal Justice Department to severely punish the villagers and detain them for a few more days before releasing them.
It was only after Lu Tingwan entered the farm that she realized that the farm was filled with gloomy atmosphere. Even the flower farmers who were often seen in the fields in the past were now few and far between. It was not until she entered Uncle Zhang's house that she saw a little girl dyeing her hair in the yard and she looked up and saw Lu Tingwan.
She was stunned for a moment, then dropped the dye in her hand and flew over.
"Brother Jiang, you are finally here."
Lu Tingwan squatted down according to her height.
"Well, what happened on the farm recently?" Lu Tingwan was perceptive and noticed something was wrong.
"Brother, my father and the village chief were all arrested by the bad guys and thrown into jail. Many people from the village came and beat people up." She wiped her tears, her cheeks instantly wet, and the dye that was originally on her little hands was all over her face.
Lu Tingwan felt distressed and amused, but when he heard that someone was injured in the village, his brows became serious again.
"Do you know who it is?" Lu Tingwan tried to get more information from the child, but the goods in Zhichunli have never stopped in the past few days, and the villagers who delivered the goods did not mention this matter. It seems that they are deliberately concealing it because they are afraid that she will worry about the supply of the farm and the power of the merchants.
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