Chapter 40: Using the Emperor as a Shield

The room fell silent for a while until the old madam broke the tranquility.

She looked at Gu Yunfeng with a cold frown and asked, "Why did the Emperor summon you to the palace yesterday?"

Ziling's smile faded slightly.

Gu Yunfeng had already returned, and it was too late to ask after a whole night. It seemed more like curiosity than genuine concern.

A perfunctory question.

An indifferent response.

"The Emperor inquired about the robbery on the streets. He found out that Ziling opened a shop, and he was delighted. Not only did he promise to take care of Ziling's business, but he also personally composed a poem," Gu Yunfeng replied.

That was the truth.

Even if he hadn't said it, they would have found out anyway.

But hearing it from his mouth was particularly infuriating.

The Emperor's favoritism towards this female bandit knew no bounds!

Mrs. Three said coldly, "It seems that Young Mistress indeed spent sixty thousand taels to purchase the Tianxiang Tower and the charcoal business."

There was a hint of anger in her tone.

"Tianxiang Tower?" Mrs. Two raised an eyebrow. "Is that the one where Third Sister-in-law's brother and sister-in-law bought a twenty percent stake?"

"There's only one Tianxiang Tower in the capital!" Mrs. Three said angrily.

Ziling remained silent.

What a coincidence.

"That shop is worth eighty thousand taels, but Young Mistress managed to buy it for sixty thousand taels. It's no different from robbery!" Mrs. Three couldn't contain her anger.

Ziling was speechless.

Who would rob someone and still pay sixty thousand taels?

After a moment of silence, Ziling said, "Consider it saving face for Aunt Three. I won't buy that shop. Tell the owner to bring the sixty thousand taels, and I'll return the property deed. I'll buy the restaurant next door instead."

Mrs. Three's face twisted.

"You selling charcoal next to Tianxiang Tower is practically forcing it to close down!" Mrs. Three exclaimed in annoyance.

Ziling's face darkened, taking a step back while others took two steps forward.

"So, I'm not allowed to buy Tianxiang Tower, and I'm not allowed to buy the neighboring shop either?"

Her eyes gleamed with a cold light.

The maids and servants in the room felt their hearts in their throats.

It's over, it's over. Mrs. Three has angered Young Mistress.

Young Mistress is about to lose her temper.

Only to hear Young Mistress say, "Thank goodness my husband is afraid that I would bully others. When Aunt Three becomes overbearing, even I, the female bandit of Qingyun Mountain's Flying Tiger Bandit Group, must submit!"

Mrs. Two laughed and said, "It seems that Young Mistress knows about the neighboring shop being sold at a low price and intends to save some money."

Ziling remained silent.

Gu Yunfeng remained silent.

Ziling looked at Gu Yunfeng.

Gu Yunfeng shook his head.

He didn't know about this.

Ziling touched her nose, curious. "How low is the price being sold for?"

The location was good, and if the price was cheap, she planned to buy it as well.

"I heard it's fifty-eight thousand taels."

"..."

Qianqian looked at Ziling and said, "Miss, we bought it at a higher price yesterday."

Two thousand taels could buy a lot of delicious food.

Qianqian's face showed a pained expression.

Ziling remained silent.

Gu Yunfeng "..."

Mrs. Three's face turned green with anger.

She was already disgusted that the shop was selling cheap goods, and now they were complaining about the prices being too high!

Next to Tianxiang Tower was an inn. They knew that the bandits had bought Tianxiang Tower, which usually had good business. But last night, not a single guest stayed at the inn, and even the guests who were already inside ran away.

Did they not know?

The innkeeper had no choice but to reluctantly sell the inn at a low price!

They even gave her three thousand taels to persuade her to give up buying Tianxiang Tower!

Ziling blinked and discussed with Gu Yunfeng, "That location is better, and the price is cheaper. If we buy it, we won't have the reputation of robbing people. How about we secure the inn and give up on Tianxiang Tower? It works out well for everyone since the owners of Tianxiang Tower don't want to sell either."

Gu Yunfeng "..."

Why did he feel so powerless against their win-win situation?

It was only for her sake, wasn't it?

Gu Yunfeng remained silent.

Ziling looked at Mrs. Three again and asked, "What do you think, Aunt Three?"

Mrs. Three was so angry that her lips were trembling, and she couldn't speak.

Can Tianxiang Tower be given up?!

If they give up, it would just be another inn.

It's likely that they wouldn't even be able to sell it for fifty-eight thousand taels!

Since she didn't speak, Ziling took it as her consent.

She said, "Aunt Three, please inform the owner of Tianxiang Tower. I'll wait for him at Tianxiang Tower until noon. If he's late, I won't wait any longer."

Princess Nan Ting frowned, "As the Young Mistress of the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion, how can you appear in public every day like this?!"

With a single sentence from Ziling, Princess Nan Ting was almost left breathless, "The Emperor has high expectations for me to run the shop. I can't just be a figurehead. I have to be hands-on."

There was nothing more satisfying than using the Emperor as a shield.

From now on, if they tried to stop her from going out, she would say she's inspecting the shop.

With the Emperor protecting her, what could they do to her!

She didn't know what the Emperor was thinking. Even if she had saved him, so what? It was the duty of a subject to come to the Emperor's aid when he was in trouble!

No one spoke anymore.

Ziling took her leave.

Before leaving, her gaze lingered around Wang Mama, who was standing by the old lady's side.

The more she looked, the more satisfied she felt.

Wang Mama's back chilled.

It seemed like the Young Mistress had her eyes on her.

She hadn't done anything to provoke the Young Mistress.

They arrived at Tianxiang Tower after leaving the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion and stopping the carriage.

A foul smell reached them.

"Miss, Tianxiang Tower has been pelted with rotten eggs," Qianqian said, covering her nose.

She was a little worried.

The shop hasn't even opened yet, and it's already being pelted with rotten eggs. Who would dare to buy from us when we finally open?

Ziling got off the carriage.

She received a glare from the innkeeper and the inn's waiter next door.

A sign was placed next to the inn.

Qianqian went over and glanced at it, happily saying, "Miss, the inn has lowered its price again. It's now selling for forty-eight thousand taels."

Ziling: "..."

Gu Yunfeng: "..."

The exuberant cheer.

Ziling was afraid that the inn's servant boys would surround her and beat her up.

She felt like she was rubbing salt into their fresh wounds.

Qianqian ran over and said, "Let's wait a little longer. If no one buys it, they will definitely have to lower the price again."

Innkeeper: "!!!"

Inn's waiter: "!!!"

If looks could kill, Qianqian would probably have been thrown back to Qingyun Mountain.

Qianqian turned her back to the inn, unaware of other people's desire to hit her.

All she knew was that the stench of rotten eggs made her a little dizzy.

She pinched her nose and said, "With Tianxiang Tower smelling so bad, would you still go inside, Miss?"

Ziling wanted to approach, but her feet seemed to be nailed to the ground.

"Under the Emperor's rule, why is the public security so bad?" she complained.

"..."

"Who is responsible for this area?"

"..."

"The city patrol officials."

Ziling didn't know what kind of official they were, so she said, "Let them come and clean up the rotten eggs, and find out who threw them. If Tianxiang Tower gets hit by rotten eggs again, don't blame me for going to retaliate."

Bodyguard: "..."

Gu Yunfeng: "..."

The bodyguard glanced silently at Gu Yunfeng.

Gu Yunfeng sighed and said, "Do as she says."

The bodyguard went to find the city patrol officials.

The city patrol official was speechless and angrily said, "I've been a city patrol official for so many years and never encountered such a situation. Now they want me and my men to clean up the rotten eggs? Is there any reason for that?!"

The bodyguard looked at him.

"Is Master Chen trying to reason with our Young Mistress?"

"..."

"Master Chen, please."

"..."

"You, and a few others, go and help Young Mistress of Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion clean up the rotten eggs. From now on, you will be responsible for this area. If anyone dares to throw rotten eggs again, only you will be questioned." Master Chen calmly changed his tone.

The designated constable: "...".