Chapter 17: Unsoiled by the Light (17)

Chapter 17: Unsoiled by the Light (17)

Mama Tang's departure caught everyone off guard. Mama Yu hurriedly wrote a letter to inform Lady Zhe of the situation, but Lady Zhe did not come to reprimand Zhe Wan in person.

She was too ashamed. She had lost face in front of the Zhao family!

Li Concubine did suffer some consequences, but she didn't mind. On the contrary, she was quite pleased and told her little servant girl, "Zhe Wan is just like me. Her tactics are quite impressive."

The servant girl sharply retorted, "But she doesn't care about you."

Li Concubine froze for a moment. Whether it was from sadness or happiness, her lips twitched into a proud smile as she said, "I have my own methods too."

A few days later, Master Zhe came to Li Concubine's chambers. For now, Lady Zhe had no means to deal with her.

Zhe Wan wasn't overly concerned with the happenings in the Zhe household. Instead, she took out an abacus to calculate their finances.

She discussed with Su Shan, "To run a food stall, we need a prime location. But for our flower shop, that isn't necessary. People strolling on the main street won't benefit us much, so it's fine to find a secluded alley. That way, we can save some silver."

Su Shan was still dwelling on the incident with Mama Tang and responded in a disconnected manner, "Oh... then how much silver will we need?"

Zhe Wan responded without much thought, "Even the less desirable ones would cost four to five hundred taels of silver."

Su Shan was startled and immediately focused, "How could they be that expensive! This must be a shop in front of the Yiwu Gate, right?"

That was where prices were the steepest.

Zhe Wan was taken aback by Su Shan's words but then cheerfully said, "Yes, they aren't that expensive yet. How much can one buy it for now?"

Su Shan found her words odd and replied cautiously, "A hundred taels would do! Miss, where did you hear about five hundred taels? Were you deceived?"

Did she not pay a deposit yet?

Zhe Wan answered, "No, I'm just making inquiries."

Su Shan heaved a sigh of relief and dared not let her mind wander, "We don't have much silver on us, so we can't afford to waste it. I don't trust others with this, so I'll go out and inquire myself this time."

Zhe Wan was surprised by Su Shan's initiative, "You're really willing to go out and investigate alone?"

Su Shan had no choice but to be brave, grumbling, "You dared to say that a shop could be bought for five hundred taels, so why wouldn't I dare to run some errands?"

Zhe Wan burst into laughter. "Then I'll teach you where to look."

The once expensive streets were now very affordable, and she had to seize the opportunity. It was like buying land in Minnan for tea cultivation – a surefire profit. Unfortunately, her current silver reserves were insufficient, only enough to purchase two or three shops. But that would suffice.

She wasn't greedy.

Zhe Wan took out a piece of paper and wrote down the names of three streets: "Sihuan," "Guayan," and "Qingming."

"Go scout these three places first. If you find anything suitable, come back and tell me. If you think the shop is good, you can buy it on the spot."

With her decisive actions, Su Shan grew anxious. "Is it really that simple? Just these few streets? Aren't we looking elsewhere?"

Zhe Wan replied, "Buy them. You won't regret it."

After some thought, she added, "While you're at it, check out some houses too. I'll gather more silver in the next few days, and we can purchase a large courtyard there."

Su Shan, accustomed to her mercurial ideas, smiled and said, "Anything else to buy?"

Zhe Wan instructed, "Go to the bookshop and buy some books. I'll make a list for you."

One must read more books to gain knowledge. Nowadays, there are even books discussing business, even if most of it is mere rhetoric. But reading is never a waste of time.

Suo Shan's eyes crinkled with laughter. "We've never been fond of reading since we were young. I didn't expect you to continue reading even after marriage."

Chanyue, who had just entered, heard the last sentence and curiously asked, "Young Lady, what do you mean by reading?"

Zhe Wan replied, "I'm asking Suo Shan to read more books."

Chanyue expressed her admiration. "This servant only knows a few characters and can't understand books."

Zhe Wan was about to head to the flower greenhouse but paused at Chanyue's words. "Do you want to learn how to read? Suo Shan knows how. She can teach you."

Of course, Chanyue was willing. For the first time, she smiled from the bottom of her heart. "Young Lady, can that really be possible?"

Zhe Wan spoke gently, "Why not? If you know how to read, you could assist me in many matters."

Chanyue's heart pounded with excitement as she saw the potential for advancement. She immediately knelt down. "Young Lady, this servant will surely study diligently and carry out tasks well. I won't bring shame upon you."

Zhe Wan was startled and quickly helped her up. "It's good enough that you have the determination yourself."

He continued, "Do Qiuyue and the other three girls also not know how to read? Since they're going to learn, they might as well do it together."

She treated these young maids with the utmost kindness: "There are writing brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone in the room. You can use them to practice writing on your own."

Upon arriving at the Flower and Plant Pavilion, the matrons inside greeted her with glowing eyes, eagerly vying to showcase themselves before her. This was a stark contrast to their indifferent demeanor when she first arrived.

Ming Mama was absent from the management at Cangyun Pavilion today, and the other matrons seized the opportunity to vie for her position. Zhe Wan, desiring to cultivate oriental cherries in the greenhouse, approached a familiar matron with a question, "The weeping cherry blossoms are currently suitable for transplantation. Do you know where I can acquire them?"

The matron immediately stepped forward with a smile and asked, "Certainly, Madam, how many would you like?"

Zhe Wan said, "Let's start by purchasing ten vases to test them out."

She picked some more peonies to add to the basket, for she had recently developed a great fondness for flower arrangements. After she left, one of the servants approached another who was busy preparing to go out and buy weeping cherries, "Impressive! You kept it quiet—when did you mention to Madam that you know the flower farmer who sells the cherries?"

The old woman was taken aback, realizing that she had never mentioned it at all. She smiled and said, "It must have been Mother Ming who spoke kindly of me to Madam."

"Be that as it may, when it comes to knowledge of Begonias, no one in this entire estate surpasses me. Madam, your discerning eye has truly recognized a treasure!"

...

The next day, Su Shan left early to gather information. Now that there was no Mother Tang at Cangyun Pavilion, they were in charge of all matters and no one was watching over them. Su Shan could come and go as she pleased without needing to hide from anyone. She felt incredibly liberated.

Leaving with joy, returning with a defeated expression, he held a handful of roasted chestnuts in his hand. "My lady, they were quite expensive!"

Even though I had anticipated it to be costly, I never imagined it would be this extravagant.

Naturally, the land prices in the Capital City were exorbitant. But they would only get more expensive in the future! Buying now would ensure a substantial profit without even having to do anything later on. Zhe Wan poked her cheek, chiding gently, "Don't be so defeatist. Even if we can't afford many, surely we can manage to purchase one shop and a residence, can't we?"

In the Capital City, it was customary to include a substantial sum of ready silver in a daughter's dowry, symbolizing her prestige and value to her future husband's family. Thanks to this tradition, the Zhe family had also bestowed upon her a dowry of nine hundred and ninety-nine taels of silver, imbued with the auspicious meaning of everlasting prosperity and unity.

This was her capital.

She told Su Shan, "Don't be stingy. First, buy a fine residence, then use the rest to purchase shops."

The residence for Su Shan, and the shops for herself.

But she couldn't tell Su Shan now; if she did, Su Shan would surely refuse. She would wait until the time came to make the purchase, and then intimidate Su Shan a bit. Su Shan would undoubtedly comply obediently.

Su Shan was already in a daze! She was dizzy with confusion, "Is that true?"

Zhe Wan: "Indeed."

Though Su Shan had been out for the whole day, it still felt like a dream to her; there wasn't a sense of reality until her lady's confirmation that they might truly be acquiring a shop and a residence.

So soon?

Zhe Wan prodded her cheek again. "What do you mean 'so soon'?!"

They had waited an entire lifetime.

In the evening, He Chun returned, drenched in sweat with a pale face. Song Ting fetched hot water for him to bathe. Zhe Wan sat outside, engaged in flower arrangement, and only asked after he finished, "Where did you have your dinner?"

He Chun glanced at her but didn't respond. Zhe Wan, having spent over a decade with him, naturally understood that he intended to stay for the meal. In the past, when he was practicing his speech, she would always try to guess his intentions. Now, even if she could still guess, she didn't want to indulge him and found his behavior a bit pretentious - wasn't this how truly taciturn people behaved?

She smiled and dismissed him, "Then I won't trouble the kitchen to prepare your food."

He Chun: "...I'll eat here."

Zhe Wan: "Very well, I'll ask them to add more dishes to the meal."

He Chun had come with a purpose. He said, "In three days, it will be the full moon celebration for the fourth son of the Song family's eldest son. Mother just mentioned that she wants us all to attend… You should make preparations."

Otherwise, they might embarrass themselves.

Zhe Wan was puzzled. "Mother didn't mention this before. Why is she suddenly asking me to go?"

This reminded He Chun of what Ayan had told him.

"I thought she sincerely invited me to visit the Song family, but all she did was boast. I know her family background is impressive. She looks down on me because my family's status is lower than hers, wanting to humiliate me."

As she spoke, she laughed again. "How can Third Sister-in-law be so childish? You don't know, she took out some sticky rice elm-flavored cakes and asked if I knew about them. Of course, I didn't, as they're from the south, how could I have known?"

"Luckily, her sister-in-law is kind-hearted and kept helping me out of the situation. In the end, she couldn't take it anymore and directly slammed the table, asking Third Sister-in-law to leave. That's when it stopped."

He Chun vaguely recalled that it was the full moon celebration for the second child of the Song family's eldest son back then.

Now, it was already the fourth child.

He grumbled, "I suppose Third Sister-in-law must have mentioned it to Mother."

Zhe Wan understood. Yet, at this moment, she recalled Madam Song, the eldest young master's wife.

Actually, she had never particularly liked this person before. After all, she was the elder sister-in-law to Third Young Master's wife. However, Zhe Wan didn't despise her either. This woman had an excellent reputation and conducted herself with sincerity and openness.

Zhe Wan remembered that after her death, it was this woman who genuinely mourned at her coffin.

She nodded and said, "In that case, I should pay my congratulations."