Ch64 - He was probably about to be inextricably intertwined with this person (2/2)
In addition to the rouge powder and cosmetics, Xue Ling also sold some fabrics for clothing that were provided by the Imperial Palace. It was an opportunity that he and the Empress obtained after much coaxing and pestering, using the excuse of helping the back palace earn some revenue when they pleaded with the Emperor in order to get his approval, and finally taking quite a few things from the Imperial Palace storage.
They wrapped it up with pretty words, saying that she was helping her brother the Emperor to save money for the Imperial Treasury.
The Emperor had always loved her, and as it was rare for her to take the initiative to do anything, he had no intention of denying her. In fact, it was because of her actions that he also began to have the idea of selling some things in order to fill the treasury.
One must know that just maintaining the back palace costed a lot, and sometimes even an Emperor would worry about these things.
Good things were stored in the storehouse, but if nobody wanted them, they would just be left there to be looked at. The idea of taking them out to resell sounded great, and the key point was that it could all be passed off as the Royal Princess amusing herself, and would not be criticized by the previous generation’s ministers.
At most, he would only need to scold Zhan Shaoxi a couple more times and it would be fine.
Because they had the backing of the Emperor as well as the General’s Manor, business in this shop was very good. Nobody dared to covet their business or question anything.
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince blew a fuse, furiously flipping over a table and smashing the cups all over the ground. He angrily said, “You said that it would definitely make a profit, but now we have lost it all. We produced these products but nobody is buying! What are you going to do?!”
The shopkeeper knelt on the ground with his head down, not daring to speak at all.
Bai Changyan stood to one side. He took a step forward and spoke, “Your Highness, right now the General’s Manor’s products are only being sold in the Capital. Although there is no market for our things in in the Capital, they can be taken to other cities to be sold. We can still recover our losses.”
The Prince stopped his actions upon hearing his words. His expression was ugly as he said, “Ha, Wenren Yingyue almost harmed me to death this time. If this investment can’t be recovered in a timely manner and ruins my grand plan, I will probably have to disrespect my Imperial Uncle’s spirit in Heaven and make a move against that mother and daughter pair.”
Bai Changyan was the son of the current Prime Minister Bai and the second man in the book. Originally, he was hooked by the heroine when he was sent over by the Prince, and from then on he began to take the path of silent guardianship over the Princess. But now, Xue Ling had stirred things up with the hand that he played, and his first impression of Wenren Yingyue was somewhat negative.
“Fine.” The Prince nodded and said, “I’ll leave this matter to you. Don’t let us miss out on this business.”
“Yes.” Bai Changyan looked down and said, “We still need to have a clear discussion with the Royal Princess’ side. Although we are not opposing them on the surface, we can still be considered an invisible opponent. It is not worth offending the General’s Mansion and the Royal Princess over a person like Wenren Yingyue.”
“Royal Aunt’s side… I will speak with Zhan Shaoxi after morning court. You should go and look for people from the store and tell them that we have no intention of competing. We must not make them get suspicious of us. There are some places where we can still cooperate in the future, and we must ensure that problems will not arise.”
“Good. I’ll go there myself.”
Xue Ling had been monitoring them through the system, and when he heard their arrangements, he rolled around the bed laughing before asking for a youth to be called over.
In the past, this youth had always been responsible for carrying out his orders, but today, Xue Ling hypnotized him to change into women’s clothes and arranged for him to replace Xue Ling in his rooms. Xue Ling changed into menswear, and with the help of the system, straightforwardly left the Manor and made his way to the store.
The shopkeeper knew Xue Ling, and Xue Ling also did not plan to hide his own identity. Upon seeing him, the shopkeeper greeted him in a panic and somewhat disapprovingly frowned as he asked, “Why did the Royal Princess come in person?”
“Later, a distinguished guest will arrive, and I want to talk to him about some business matters.” Xue Ling smiled wide and knocked on the table. “When someone arrives in a while and asks to see the person in charge, you can just bring him in to meet me.”
All the staff in the shop had been hypnotized by Xue Ling, and would not say a word even if he did something even more strange. After agreeing, they turned around and went out.
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
Xue Ling was dressed in men’s clothing, but because he was still young and had not reached adulthood, he only used a hair band to tie up his long hair. Although it was still the same face, after he had changed into men’s clothing, his body’s original temperament became more prominent and it was completely impossible to see any hint of femininity. If one had to praise him, one could only say that he was like a jade tree facing the wind, handsome and elegant.
It was fortunate that Her Highness the Royal Princess had had very few opportunities to show her face. She has been raised in deep in the back palace and stayed there all year round, so many people have never seen her, which helped facilitate Xue Ling’s activities while dressed as a man.
Bai Changyan came for a visit shortly after Xue Ling arrived.
He handed over his identity token, and the manager acted according to Xue Ling’s orders and brought him inside directly.
Bai Changyan had looked into the operator of this store before he came over. It was a young man, and it was unknown how he had gotten lucky enough to be noticed by the Royal Princess and sent here to run the business. He originally thought it would be easy to discuss things with this person, but when he entered the room and saw him in person, he immediately overturned his initial idea.
An elegant and graceful youth with an extraordinary appearance was carrying a teapot, pouring the water contained within into a potted plant. When Bai Changyan entered, the youth turned and looked sideways at him.
Just one glance was enough to throw Bai Changyan’s thoughts into disorder.
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When he was a teenager, Bai Changyan was definitely considered elegant and graceful. Because he had both looks and talent, he was ranked first amongst the gongzi of the Capital. The two words ‘handsome’ and ‘elegant’ seemed to have been created just for him. His every move, every word, and every deed was the perfect reflection of what a young gentleman should be; both elegant and tranquil.
At that time, his appearance could be considered at the peak of the Capital, but compared with the youth in front of him now, Bai Changyan suddenly felt a little ashamed of himself.
Both of them were dressed in white, but the young man wore his clothing more gracefully than he did, even just a simple turn of his head was executed perfectly and could not be criticized.
Just looking at him made him feel a little foolish. Bai Changyan suddenly had a strange premonition that his life was probably about to be inextricably intertwined with this person’s.
“It seems that I guessed correctly.” Xue Ling put down the teapot in his hand and smiled. “This should be the Bai gongzi of the Bai Prime Minister’s Manor, Bai Changyan, right?”
Bai Changyan suddenly regathered his wits and felt that his thoughts just now had been rather funny.
He did not come here today in order to stare at people in a daze.