Chapter 470 - Money Squandering Den?
Some officials looked at Royal Prince Yang with eyes filled with questions. How old was Official Yu? Twelve or thirteen? A few years ago, the little girl was even younger. Could Royal Prince Yang be into the young type? Was that the reason why he never even glanced at the other young ladies from noble families in the capital?
Zhu Junyang, who was affectionate, devoted, and deeply in love, didn't know that he had become a frivolous and perverted pedophile in the eyes of some people. At the moment he was looking at the little lass reclining leisurely on the back of the chair with eyes full of doting——only this girl would have the nerve to sit so leisurely and carefreely in front of all the civil and military officials like there was no one else, right? Maybe, the lass was currently thinking if there was a cup of hot sugared ginger water in front of her, then it would be even better!
In actuality, at that time Yu Xiaocao was dizzy with shock! How did she become a feudal princess in a moment of carelessness? Shouldn't a feudal princess be the title of the daughter of an imperial prince or a royal prince who was regarded with importance by the emperor? She was just a small peasant girl, so how did her status rise so much? Reaching the sky with one step couldn’t be this easy, right?
There was more; there was more! The deeds of the former dynasty's Grand Tutor was something she had learned from the storyteller in the teahouse. He was a big corrupted official! It was said that he had everything the emperor had, and he even had things that the emperor didn't have! Allegedly, the floors of his home were paved with gold bricks; the trees in his garden were carved with green jade; the furnishings of his home are extravagant and luxurious!
Such an estate, even if it went through the war and the emperor's confiscation, a skinny camel was still bigger than a horse. This residence should still be something that everyone was aiming towards, right? There were so many meritorious officials and they were all staring at this fat meat. Why did it drop on her head? When she left today, she didn't step on any dog poop, so why was she so dog-gone lucky today?
Until she stepped out of Jinluan Hall, Yu Xiaocao's head was still in the clouds, not knowing what time of day it was. Zhu Junyang, who was beside her, saw that her steps were unstable. He thought she had been freezing outside the hall for too long and had caught a cold. When Xiaocao was walking down the steps, he offered her a hand in concern and softly asked, "Do you feel uncomfortable? I already sent someone back to the estate to invite Imperial Physician Zheng over. Once we get to the Fang Estate, he should almost be there!"
When he finished speaking, he moved his hand toward the little lass's forehead. Unexpectedly, before he could touch the clear and beautiful forehead, he was slapped aside by Fang Zizhen, who was watching hostilely, "What are you doing! You are taking too many liberties. Do you consider me, her father, to be dead at this moment ah?!”
At this time, Yu Xiaocao, who had been a bit lost in her head, finally moved. She grabbed Royal Prince Yang’s hand, put it in her mouth, and bit down hard. She left deep bloody teeth impressions on his flesh. She raised her head, looked up at Zhu Junyang seriously, and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Zhu Junyang looked at the neat little teeth impressions in his hand. This was the mark left by the little lass and those tiny teeth marks looked incredibly cute to him. He raised his wrist and did something that made everyone’s chin drop——he put the wound in front of his mouth and gently licked the blood beads that came from the teeth marks.
The scarlet blood droplets and the perfect outline of his lips made him even more attractive. It added a sense of temptation to his handsome appearance. Yu Xiaocao's face suddenly became red and couldn't lift her head under the strange looks of the officials who just got off from court.
"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt!"
‘Who's worried about you? You’re so shameless!’
Zhu Junyang stroked the little lass's head and softly said, " Don't worry, you aren't dreaming! The former Grand Tutor's residence will be yours from now on! Didn't you want to open a health club? The layout of every yard there has its characteristics, which is all in line with your requirements!"
Yu Xiaocao finally came back to herself and looked up at Zhu Junyang suspiciously and fiercely asked, "Talk! Did you ask the emperor to give it to me as a reward?"
"Don't worry about that. Won't it be alright as long as good things are in hand? The emperor gave it anyways, so there’s no use in not wanting it! For residences like the former Grand Tutor's, even if it's just an empty shell now, you still wouldn’t be able to buy it back even if you had ten thousand taels on hand. Furthermore, even if you had the money, you may not be able to find a place like this for sale! Just think of how much money you’re saving now, right?”
Zhu Junyang knew that the little lass had a money-grubbing personality, so he went to the heart of the problem. He hoped she wouldn't worry about where these rewards came from. However, he didn't expect that his cousin, the emperor, would also award the fifth rank title of Feudal Princess Jinan to the little lass.
Although he didn't care about the world's view of him or the difference in their family status, he was worried that the comments of outsiders would make the little girl uncomfortable. Now it was fixed. The marriage between a feudal princess and a royal prince could be considered a marriage of equal status, right?
Sure enough, after hearing his words, the little lass's eyes brightened and she eagerly said, “Then let’s go to that estate today, shall we?"
"What's the hurry? That residence is right there and it can't run anywhere! What matters most right now is going back to the estate and let Imperial Doctor Zheng take a look at you!" Zhu Junyang quickly rejected her suggestion. She was just sneezing and coughing in the audience hall. He didn't know if she had a fever. The little lass's health was the most important thing right now!
Yu Xiaocao protested fiercely, "I can be counted as half a doctor, so how could I be unclear of my body's situation? I'm alright; I want to see the estate where the former Grand Tutor lived!"
“That residence already belongs to you, so you can go anytime. Why does it have to be today? You said that you can be counted as half a doctor. Doctors don't heal themselves. Today you must let the imperial physician take a look at you!" In front of Yu Xiaocao, Zhu Junyang was rarely so insistent, but he was not giving her any chance to play around.
The officials passing by looked at the way the tall and short figure got along and were all shocked. The small and petite little Official Yu was like a fearless kitten constantly teasing the whiskers of the mighty lion. In front of this little kitten, the cold and tyrannical Royal Prince Yang became a big dog with a good temper, letting the little one chew on his head, not bearing to shake her off.
This truly was an example that every pot would have a fitting lid. Royal Prince Yang was really like what the rumors claimed as it was obvious that he had taken a fancy to little Official Yu, who didn’t have the appearance of a daughter from a noble family. Was that why he could tolerate her provocations? If it was anyone else, he would have sent them flying with a palm strike!
In the end, little Official Yu still couldn’t defeat Royal Prince Yang and was carried into the carriage by him. The maidservant serving inside had already made a cup of tea for her master using a pot to boil water on a small clay stove. The charcoal within her handwarmer, which had been slowly cooling, was also replaced. This evil feudal society was not without its merits. After all, look at how thoughtful the servants were.
As she held her cup of hot tea, Yu Xiaocao still felt infuriated! That wretched guy, she just wanted to see the residence she just got. Why didn't he let her? Too domineering, too strict, point deduction! Severe point deduction!
"Alright! Don't be angry anymore!" Zhu Junyang seemed to notice the sadness and anger coming from the carriage. He quickly tried to remedy the situation, "What are your requirements for the estate’s repair and furnishing? I'll take care of it. Take it as an apology for this, okay?"
That was more like it! Yu Xiaocao wasn't polite, so she told Royal Prince Yang the appearance of the beauty and health spa she had in mind through the walls of the carriage. When she spoke about the exciting parts, her hands would start gesturing, and she even stuck her head out of the carriage as if she was afraid that he wouldn't understand her explanations.
"That's it for now. I haven't seen the residence so that's all I can do for now!" Yu Xiaocao, who had spoken till her mouth was parched and her tongue dried, took a sip of the tea that had become lukewarm. Her expression showed the fact that she had wanted to continue.
In her previous life, she had once worked in a large-scale beauty and health club and became the store manager. If it wasn't because she met the lady boss who taught her how to braise food, then she would've probably opened a beauty salon after making enough money. Her wish that wasn't fulfilled in her past life could now be realized in this ancient era!
Along the way, Royal Prince Yang became a loyal audience. He made sure to engrave the strange things that came out of the little girl's mouth deeply in his heart. As long as it could be found on the market, no matter how hard it was, he would find it. If he couldn't find it, then he would make it for her no matter how many obstacles he had to push aside.
Even he was moved after hearing the description of the beauty and health spa that was currently in the little lass's imagination. Consequently, how could those women in the pursuit of beauty resist this place? Even if the spa was only a tentative plan, he still believed that in the near future it would become the most popular money squandering den in the capital!
"Only serving women? Isn't that a bit too biased?" Zhu Junyang put forth a small objection.
Build a money squandering den for men? The words 'Heaven and Earth" suddenly appeared in Yu Xiaocao's mind. This was the ancient era and it was permitted by law, could she...However, she soon dismissed the idea. If she were to make a place like a high-ranking brothel, not only would it be difficult to get the idea across to her friends and relatives, but it would also be difficult to get it across in her own heart. It was better to honestly open up a beauty and health spa and then pursue other things!
"If you’re interested in the idea then you can make a similar place, just for men. Besides some Thai-style massages, you can also build some medicinal baths, medicinal fumigation, and some other facilities that can treat chronic illnesses. Also, those who are more into literary pursuits can enjoy flowers, listen to music, and have tea; those who are more open can participate in entertainments such as playing cards, mahjong, horse racing, pot throwing, and so on. It's a pretty good idea to build an entertainment place that keeps people coming!"
Yu Xiaocao kept egging him on. She was a girl, so doing these things might not be very appropriate for her but it was different for Royal Prince Yang. On the principle of making money together, she decided to give him this suggestion as repayment for him asking the emperor for her reward!
Zhu Junyang was also good at business. Presently, the most profitable business in the capital——foreign goods stores were established by him. Also, the most popular vegetable and fruit shop were made by him and the little girl. From the few words Xiaocao just said, he saw infinite business opportunities.
That being said the little lass could make so much money. He needed to work harder to avoid being regarded as a good-looking young man who could only live off a woman when he proposed marriage to her! He had to find time to have a good talk about the so-called entertainment club! Just the horse racing and horse betting that she mentioned were enough to make men become full of excitement!