Chapter 61 Concubine Jing’s Oral Instructions
Zhiqiu and the Second Grandma talked about opening a pharmacy. Zhiqiu told the Second Grandma that they were still short of 400 taels of silver to open the pharmacy. He suggested that if it really didn't work out, they should find a smaller one. When Mengxi heard that the silver was not enough, she thought of modern ways of raising funds, such as bank loans, issuing stocks and bonds, and raising funds for shares. There probably were no such things in ancient times, but there should at least be silver shops, right?
"Let Li Du ask if there is a silver shop in Pingyang City where we can borrow some money."
"Second Madam, there are silver shops, but they all require guarantees and the procedures are complicated. Not to mention that we can't find anyone to guarantee, the interest of this silver shop is compounded, and it is frighteningly high. If we fail to pay it back on time, they will probably come to the Xiao Mansion soon, and the Second Master will know everything. If this is the case, it is better to discuss it directly with the Second Master and let him pay the money."
Zhiqiu looked at her Second Grandma as if she was an idiot, wondering how could her Second Grandma, who was so smart, not understand such a simple thing.
Mengxi rubbed his temples, thought for a while and said:
"Oh, right, when I first got married, the old lady, the great master, and the concubines gave me a lot of things as rewards. Except for the mutton-fat jade bracelet and silver hairpin given by the old lady, let's pawn them all. The jade pendant given by the eldest master should be very valuable, so it may be enough. If it is really not enough, we can pawn the mutton-fat jade bracelet given by the old lady, and redeem it when we make money later."
"Second Grandma..."
"When we have money in the future, we can add more treatments. Now is a rare opportunity. There are a lot of medicinal materials, which is also a good thing. We can buy it and run it. Otherwise, if we sell the store, we will also need to have cash to run it."
"Yes, I will do it right away."
"By the way, tell Li Du that the pharmacy should be called Yichuntang. The first floor should sell medicines that ordinary people can afford. The second floor must be decorated exquisitely, the more luxurious the better, and it should specialize in selling tonics that only the rich and powerful can afford."
Zhiqiu glanced at the Second Mistress and said, "The more luxurious, the better!" As if that didn't require money.
"Okay, I'll ask someone to pass the message right away. Once the contract is written, I'll ask someone to bring it to the mansion. After Second Madam signs it, we can take it out."
"That's it. Tell Li Du that he will be the head of the pharmacy from now on. He will have full authority over external affairs. Announce to the public that the owner of Yichuntang is Li Mengtan, who has been traveling around the world for many years and only returns to Pingyang occasionally."
Her real name was Mengxi, so she took a pseudonym, Li Mengtan, which together means exactly what Shen Kuo meant by Mengxi Bi Tan.
"Second Madam, this..."
As he was speaking, Zhichun came in hurriedly and reported:
"Replying to Second Madam, Second Master sent a message saying that the Empress Jingfei in the palace has sent a verbal order, and Second Madam, please go quickly to receive the order from the Empress."
"Go and tell the Second Master, I'm still under house arrest and can't go out. Let him pick it up himself."
"My great-grandmother, please stop being so angry. How can this family law be compared with an oral order? You have offended the Empress, and you really don't want to live anymore." After hearing this, Zhiqiu hurriedly persuaded the second grandmother.
Mengxi thought about it and felt a little vindictive. She sat in front of the dressing mirror unwillingly. Zhiqiu quickly made her hair into a stunning bun and inserted the silver hairpin inlaid with flower filigree given by the old lady. Then he inserted a silk flower on her temples. Only then did she nod with satisfaction. Zhichun had already found a bright red peony palace satin wedding dress and helped her change into it. After everything was ready, he helped Zhiqiu out of the east wing.
It was the first time she had walked out of the front door of the east wing in three days. The sun was shining brightly outside, and there was a faint scent of flowers everywhere. Mengxi took a deep breath, adjusted her mood, and walked towards the main hall holding Zhiqiu's hand. After entering the door and turning around the screen, she saw Xiao Jun waiting there, so she stepped forward and bowed:
"Hello, Second Master. I wonder what the imperial concubine Jing has told you about?"
"I don't know either. The old lady is there with the eunuch and has sent a message for us to go over quickly to take charge."
Xiao Jun glanced at Mengxi, then stood up and walked out the door while speaking.
Mengxi waited until the Second Master passed by her before turning around and following him. They went out of the gate and found a sedan chair waiting there. They got into the sedan chair. Hongzhu lowered the curtain and shouted, "Lift the sedan chair."
Four servants carried the sedan chair and walked slowly towards Shouxi Hall.
The two of them sat side by side in the sedan. This was the first time that Mengxi sat so close to Xiao Jun. Listening to his heavy and steady breathing, she actually became a little nervous, and a blush crept up her cheeks.
Xiao Jun smelled the faint body fragrance coming from Meng Xi, which was different from the fragrance of other concubines. He felt that this fragrance was pure and beautiful. He stole a glance at her blushing cheeks and felt excited. For a moment, he wanted to hold her in his arms and protect her well. A different emotion was lingering between the two of them:
"Well, um, Xier, you..."
"Second Master, Second Madam, we have arrived at Shouxi Hall."
Xiao Jun was just about to talk to Mengxi when Hongzhu's words came over.
When Xiao Jun came to his senses, he found that the sedan chair had stopped in the courtyard of Shouxi Hall. Hongzhu had already opened the curtain of the sedan chair. He looked up and saw six young eunuchs standing at the door. They must be people from the palace. The servants and painters were waiting anxiously at the door. When they saw the sedan chair stopped, they hurried forward and said,
"Second Master, Second Madam, hurry up, the father-in-law who delivered the oral message, the old lady, the eldest master, and the eldest mistress are all waiting in the hall."
Xiao Jun stepped out of the sedan chair and turned around to help Mengxi get out, but Zhiqiu had already stepped forward and held her up.
The two men walked into the hall one after the other, and saw that the old lady, the eldest master, and the eldest wife had all arrived and were standing in the corridor of the hall. The incense table had been set up, and the eunuch who was delivering the oral instructions was sitting there drinking tea. When everyone saw the two men come in, they all knelt in front of the incense table and delivered the oral instructions. The eunuch put down his tea, walked forward, stood facing south, and said:
"Convey the oral order of Concubine Jing. A few days ago, the palace's Soft Sky Observatory observed the stars at night and predicted that May 23rd would be an auspicious day. Therefore, the original date of worshipping the ancestral temple by Second Master Xiao Jun's wife, Li, was changed to May 23rd. Because Xiao Jun is weak, Xiao Jun and Li do not need to come to the palace to express their gratitude."
Everyone kowtowed to express their gratitude. The eldest master and Xiao Jun stood up and sent the eunuch who delivered the message to the door. The eldest master took out a silver note of one hundred taels and stuffed it into the eunuch's hand, asking him to buy some tea and other polite words. The eunuch who delivered the message took it, smiling, and said sorry for disturbing him, then left with the eunuch at the door.
The eldest master and Xiao Jun returned to the hall. The maids had already cleared the incense table. After the eldest master came back, everyone sat down again. They were all confused and didn't understand why Concubine Jing would give such an order. But they all knew in their hearts that the second wife had Concubine Jing as her protective umbrella and could not be easily touched.
It turns out that before Concubine Jing entered the palace, she knew that the eldest wife liked Miss Xiu and wanted to marry her as the second wife, but she had been delaying it because the old master had already arranged a marriage for the second master when he was alive. She heard from the Xiao family that the old lady cancelled the second wife's visit to the ancestral temple, and thought that the old lady must have listened to the eldest wife's instigation and wanted to divorce the second wife and marry Zhang Xiu instead. Concubine Jing was deeply loved by the emperor. Ordinary people thought that Emperor Jin was a little ambiguous about the matter of Prince Yan's succession to the throne. Concubine Jing knew that Emperor Jin had always given his advice to the prince and had never wavered. The empress dowager was not Emperor Jin's biological mother. Seeing that the power of the empress dowager's family was growing, she had long wanted to eradicate them, and was secretly planning, waiting for the opportunity.
Zhang Xiu's father, Zhang Yushi, was a close friend of Prince Yan. He noticed that his mother wanted to marry into the Zhang family, and thought that his mother was confused. It would be fine if Jun'er was not the head of the family, but he was the next head of the Xiao family after all. If the two families married, the Xiao family would be ruined once the prince ascended the throne. So he hurriedly gave an oral order to make his attitude clear. She did not like the second wife, but just hinted to the old lady not to let the second master divorce his wife and remarry easily.
The old lady sat there silently, no one knew what she was thinking about. The usually calm eldest wife now had a gloomy face. If looks could kill, the second wife would have been killed by her hundreds of times. Only the eldest master had a happy look on his face.
