The hazy moonlight filtered through the latticed window, casting a glow on Qi Huan's face. Her expression slightly stiffened as she parted her red lips, refusing, "Li Shuchen is my boyfriend. You can only be my cousin."
Ximen Ye cast a fleeting glance at her, his competitive spirit ignited. "I'll be both your cousin and your boyfriend."
"Just my cousin," Qi Huan glared back at him glumly. She watched as he flicked his sleeves and sauntered away.
The courtyard returned to silence, the night growing deeper. Drowsiness washed over her. Qi Huan yawned several times, then took out a night pearl to light her way. She returned to her room, removed her shoes and clothes, and climbed into bed.
As she unwrapped the scarf around her neck, purple-red finger marks were revealed.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the window.
Just as she warily reached for her crossbow, a jar of ointment was tossed through the window gap.
Ximen Ye's irritating voice sounded from outside, "Consider it a gift from your boyfriend. It's a healing salve – get rid of those marks on your neck soon."
Qi Huan's delicate brows furrowed. She opened her mouth to retort, but the shadow by the window had already vanished...
Only the jar of medicine remained, sitting quietly on the floor.
She got up to retrieve it, opened the lid, and applied a thick layer to her neck. The cool sensation was soothing.
After applying the medicine, she buried herself under the covers and fell asleep.
The next day, as usual, she went to pay her respects to Old Lady Song at Qingsong Court.
After accompanying her for breakfast, Qi Huan revealed her true intention: "Grandmother, it's a rare clear day today. I'd like to go out for a walk, see the prosperity of the Capital City, and broaden my horizons. May I?"
Faced with her eager gaze, Old Lady Song was defenseless and quickly agreed, instructing Nanny Wu, "Bring fifty taels of silver."
It wasn't that she was stingy, but over the years, Che'er's medicine had cost a considerable amount, and Cheng'er was still studying at the academy. The costs of paper, brushes, ink, and tuition were not insignificant.
The Song Family wasn't particularly adept at business, and their shops weren't doing well. Apart from the harvest from their estates, they barely made ends meet with the meager salaries of Old Master Song and the eldest Song son.
Old Lady Song sighed deeply, pressing the silver note into Qi Huan's hand. "Huan'er, take more guards with you. Buy whatever you like, and enjoy yourself."
The silver note felt like a hot potato in her hand, and Qi Huan was unsure whether to take it or return it.
It was Old Lady Song's goodwill.
But Qi Huan also understood the Song family's situation.
"Song Jingche" had entrusted her to deliver gold ingots, and she hadn't figured out how to do so yet. Now, Old Lady Song was spending more money on her, making her feel guilty.
After a moment's thought, she smiled gently, "Thank you for your kindness, Grandmother, but I've saved some money in Mo County. I have enough to spend. When I run out, I'll ask you for more. Please keep this for now."
"When an elder gives, one must not refuse. Keep it," Old Lady Song insisted, pushing it back.
No matter how difficult things were, she wanted to give Huan'er as much love as possible.
With the silver note back in her hand, Qi Huan had no choice but to accept it temporarily. After receiving the permit to leave the mansion, she hurriedly boarded the carriage.
The coachman skillfully wielded his whip, smoothly navigating through the streets and alleys, finally stopping in front of the Mingyu Tea House.
A waiter came out to greet them, exchanging a glance with the undercover guard among her escorts. He led her to the most soundproof Tian-character room upstairs.
Qi Huan walked to the window, casually glancing left and right at the street below, then returned inside. She poured a cup of clear tea and said to Tao Su, "There's a pastry shop on this street. Do you want to go buy some walnut cookies to try?"
Tao Su was immediately moved to tears, touched that her mistress remembered her wish. She nodded immediately, "Thank you, Miss!"
Shortly after she left, Xiu Yuan came in under the pretext of delivering tea and snacks. Qi Huan arranged for Yan Qing to stand guard at the door.
The two began to talk.
"Miss Qi, the master has already told me about your ideas. I plan to buy a quiet estate first and arrange for some literate people of our own to try the movable clay type printing you mentioned. The shops near the academy street are always in short supply, so it might take some time to acquire a bookshop."
"There's no rush. Typesetting also takes time, so it's fine if the bookshop progresses slowly," Qi Huan said as she untied the package on the table.
"Besides the Four Books and Five Classics, we can print other books, like these medical texts. You can also collect various other types of books. Print some of each kind, trying to make our bookshop's selection as comprehensive as possible."
Then, Qi Huan took out a stack of silver notes from her satchel and handed them to him. "This is three thousand taels as initial capital. Let me know if it's not enough."
"Miss Qi, His Highness has already allocated funds."
"His Highness also said that what's his is yours, and you shouldn't feel burdened. Consider it... a small part of the betrothal gift he's giving in advance."
Hearing this, Qi Huan's ears turned red, and she quickly drank another cup of tea.
She soon composed herself and asked, "Do you have writing materials?"
"Yes, please wait a moment."
Xiu Yuan, knowing that Miss Qi was the prince's chosen future princess, was very respectful and quick on his feet.
Before long, he returned with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, arranging them on the table for her.
Qi Huan picked up the brush and wrote out a profit-sharing agreement.
It was reasonable for Li Shuchen to receive five tenths of the profits, as he was providing the initial capital for the printing factory and using his influence to protect the bookshop.
She contributed the crucial technology and medical books. In the future, she planned to search for other books, such as agricultural texts and storybooks, to copy and supply to the printing factory. So her five-tenths share was also fair and reasonable.
However, she intended to set aside one-tenth of her earnings as a bonus. Half would go to Xiu Yuan for management, and half would be used as an incentive for shop assistants who performed well in book sales.
She always adhered to the principle that if you want the horse to run, you must feed it grass. If she had meat to eat, she would also share some soup with her subordinates.
Profit was always the strongest bond.
After writing the contract in triplicate, Qi Huan signed each copy and affixed her fingerprint. She kept one for herself, gave one to Xiu Yuan, and asked him to deliver the third to Li Shuchen.
After discussing the bookshop matters, Qi Huan didn't take back the three thousand taels. Instead, she instructed Xiu Yuan, "Use this money to buy some farmland for me."
Since Li Shuchen had assigned Xiu Yuan to her, she knew he must be trustworthy. Therefore, she didn't say much more.
Trust those you use, and don't use those you distrust.
She simply instructed: "After purchasing the farm, inform the tenant farmers that we will provide the seeds for next spring's planting."
At this stage, the grain production in Li Country was far behind that of future generations, so she planned to search for improved grain varieties from the express delivery warehouse that had been refined over generations, and give them to the tenant farmers to plant.
After the tenant farmers harvested, she would select the best seeds and open a grain seed shop, aiming to enable as many citizens of Li Country as possible to grow high-yielding crops.
From then on, there would be no more hunger in the world.
Most of Li Country consisted of dry land, so her current plan was to first plant high-yielding wheat and corn.
If Li Country were to expand to the south in the future, she would then introduce rice seeds.
Qi Huan pulled herself from her thoughts and, seeing it was getting late, stood up to say goodbye.
After leaving the tea house, she didn't immediately return home, but instead planned to detour to the Capital City's most famous food street.
