Chapter 358: The Shop Is Too Expensive

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“As for Prince Huaiyin, I will deal with him as 1 deem fit. Don’t act rashly for the time being.

“Now that the Great Jin State and the Great Liao State have already signed a peace treaty, there should be no war at the border in the short term.

“Empress Jia is also bent on wooing you. I’m afraid she won’t let you leave.

“In that case, you can stay in the capital in peace. Enjoy your life as Marquis Xiaoyao. Don’t get too close to Prince Huaiyin, and don’t take the initiative to approach the officials in the Imperial Court.”

Qin Xiaoyao nodded.

“That’s what His Highness told me. He said that as long as I don’t get close to him or form cliques for personal gain, Empress Jia won’t deal with me.”

After all, she was now a peace restoration divine weapon in the eyes of the Great Jin State.

As long as she did not have ulterior motives and did not favor anyone, Empress Jia could actually tolerate her.

Song Que looked at Qin Xiaoyao again.

“Er… Prince Huaiyin is smart to think of the same thing as Hubby!” Qin Xiaoyao quickly added.

Song Que couldn’t help but laugh.

He hugged his wife and started talking about other topics.

The afternoon passed quickly.

When the two of them left the room, it was already evening.

Granny Hu was busy in the kitchen at this moment.

She heard some movement outside and came out to see what was going on.

When she realized that the two of them were leaving, she hurriedly tried to persuade them to stay and only leave after dinner.

The couple looked at each other and agreed after a moment of hesitation.

Then, they waited until the sky was dark before leaving the courtyard separately.

Qin Xiaoyao left later. On the way back, her mood was happy but a little depressed.

She was happy that she found her husband and confirmed that he was still devoted to her.

What made her depressed was that what her husband was going to do next was extremely dangerous.

The two of them would definitely struggle in the quagmire for a long time.

After returning to the Marquis’s residence, Qin Xiaoyao had just entered when a servant went up to her to report.

Then, Madam Liu and the others came out to welcome her.

Every single one asked with concern where Qin Xiaoyao had gone and why she had only returned at this hour.

“I just met an acquaintance and went out for a drink. I thought that 1 would come back earlier, so 1 didn’t send anyone to inform all of you.

“Next time, don’t wait for me. You guys can go ahead and have dinner at the residence when it’s time.

“I’m already an adult. I know how to take care of myself outside,” Qin Xiaoyao said.

When she found out that Madam Liu and the others had not eaten yet and were all waiting for her, she felt a little guilty.

“What are you waiting for? Why aren’t you bringing the food out?” As she spoke, Qin Xiaoyao looked at the servants not far away.

“Yes, Lord Marquis!” The servants answered and left quickly.

Qin Xiaoyao then supported Madam Liu and walked towards the hall.

As she walked, she promised that if she couldn’t come back in time in the future, she would definitely send a message back in advance.

She then chatted with the others for a while before returning to her courtyard.

After getting the servants to bring hot water to wash up, Qin Xiaoyao lay down.

Sigh! That was great! She had already found her husband.

Next, she should not act rashly. She would start her business first.

After all, money was the foundation of survival. If she wanted to establish a foothold in the capital, starting a business and investing in property were a must.

As she mulled over her plans in her mind, Qin Xiaoyao was preparing to sleep. She did not know when she fell asleep.

The next day, Qin Xiaoyao woke up early.

In the morning, she went to the army camp to settle the military affairs. After instructing Huang Fei to train her big brother well, she went to Cloud Scent Court.

The clingy Princess Xiangyang also tagged along.

After this period of interaction, the young girl was now more interested in her master per se than learning martial arts from her.

When she learned that her master wanted to buy some property and start a business, she volunteered to help.

Qin Xiaoyao didn’t reject the idea of having more people to give her more help.

When she reached her destination, Qin Xiaoyao didn’t wait long before Yun Niang arrived.

After learning that Qin Xiaoyao wanted to buy or rent a few shops, Yun Niang enthusiastically offered to help.

“The shops on Rong Hua Street are the most expensive in the entire capital. Based on Lord Marquis’s request, a shop would cost at least 5000 taels of silver,” Yun Niang said after hearing Qin Xiaoyao’s description.

Almost all the people living on Rong Hua Street were high-ranking officials and nobles of the capital.

There were many restaurants on the street, and all of them were well-known restaurants in the capital. The customer spending on the entire street was very high.

Even though the shop that Lord Marquis wanted wasn’t large, the price wouldn’t be cheap given the location.

Moreover, one couldn’t simply buy a shop on this street just because one wanted to. There were actually not many people who were willing to sell their shops.

“I do know a landlord who happens to have a shop on Rong Hua Street that he wants to sell.

“If Lord Marquis really wants to buy it, I can help you arrange a meeting. At that point, you two can talk face to face.” As for the price, she probably wouldn’t be able to help much.

Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes flickered.

“Five thousand taels is a bit over budget. If I were to rent instead…” she said.

She only had slightly in excess of 11,000 taels of silver in her start-up fund.

Opening a shop, hiring staff, buying materials, and so on all required capital.

If she spent more than 5000 taels to buy a shop, the remaining money was too little.

Yun Niang smiled.

“Renting is fine too. If it’s a long-term rental, I can help to ask around.”

“It is definitely a long-term rental,” Qin Xiaoyao hurriedly said.

Yun Niang nodded.

Following that, she introduced Qin Xiaoyao to two more reliable brokers from other streets.

“The owners of these two brokerages are considered my old customers. If Lord Marquis send someone there and mention my name, they will definitely arrange for the task to be carried out properly.”

“Thank you, Yun Niang!” Qin Xiaoyao hurriedly cupped her hands in thanks.

“Lord Marquis, you are too polite!” Yun Niang replied with a smile.

“It’s difficult for me to repay Lord Marquis’s great kindness. Furthermore, when I help Lord Marquis, I am actually helping myself.

“When I introduced Lord Marquis to other patrons, the patrons will take better care of me in turn.”

She had been in Cloud Scent Court for many years, and she was able to secure her position as the Top Courtesan not only because of her looks and talent.

What many of her clients saw in her was her social skills.

Not everyone had those base thoughts about her. Many people, or even most people, looked for her to embellish their own reputation or to get to know some valuable people through her.

And Lord Marquis herself was an extremely valuable person.

When Lord Marquis asked her for help, it wasn’t so much that she helped Lord Marquis. Rather, it was Lord Marquis who had helped her.

With such a figure backing her, her status in the brothels of the capital would be even higher.

Even if someone wanted to touch her, they would have to consider the person backing her.

Qin Xiaoyao nodded. Although she agreed with Yun Niang’s words, she was still grateful to her.

She had just arrived at the capital. She couldn’t get close to Prince Huaiyin, and she could not make friends with the nobles in the court.

Even if her identity was not ordinary, it was not easy to carry out her business directly.

No matter what, Yun Niang had given her a breakthrough.

“In another ten days, my first batch of century eggs will be ready. At that juncture, 1 will definitely send some over for you to have a taste, Yun Niang,” Qin Xiaoyao quickly said.

The tasting was secondary. Primarily, she wanted Yun Niang and Cloud Scent Court to help promote it.

The workshop made so many century eggs every day, and it cost her a lot of money.

When the finished products were ready, they had to sell well outside to form a healthy cash flow cycle..