The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 456 - 455 Price Hiking (Second Update)

Chapter 456: 455 Price Hiking (Second Update)

The shopkeeper nodded.

Li Xianyun paused for a moment, then continued, "There’s a woman in Murong Ce’s harem who has a deep hatred for Murong Ce. Has someone made contact with her yet?"

The shopkeeper replied, "You sent a message to Yan Manor yesterday. I suppose someone has contacted her by now. If there is any news, it will be sent to you immediately."

"Good."

"Recently, keep an eye on whether any suspicious individuals appear around the pharmacy. If there are any, move to another location quickly."

The shopkeeper’s eyes darkened slightly, "Hall Master, are you suggesting that someone has betrayed us?"

Li Xianyun nodded, "Based on Qu Tangzhu’s martial skills and the poison that can incapacitate the enemy, even in unexpected situations, it should be enough for half of the people to escape. However, the complete lack of news now can only indicate that there is a traitor among us, causing the poison to lose its effectiveness."

The shopkeeper respectfully said, "Alright, if we find suspicious individuals, we will immediately move to a secret location and then make contact with you."

"Hmm."

When Li Xianyun left Benchu Pharmacy, she was in a very bad mood. If people from Ji Shi Tang were in danger, how could she be at peace?

However, before receiving definite news, she still harbored a slight hope.

Youlan saw that Li Xianyun was not in good spirits, "Master, you don’t look well. Do you want to return to the palace to rest?"

Li Xianyun shook her head; she had many things to do.

She couldn’t stay still before getting definite news.

Li Xianyun first went to Xuanyi Pavilion to treat patients.

Wu Mu had contacted several pharmacies yesterday, and just as Li Xianyun had said, they lowered their prices significantly at the slightest hesitation.

Therefore, the negotiations with these pharmacies went quite smoothly.

Early this morning, people from the pharmacies started delivering the medicinal materials.

When Li Xianyun arrived at the pharmacy after seeing her patients, Wu Mu had just finished inspecting the medicinal materials.

Wu Mu saw that Li Xianyun’s face was somewhat pale, with dark circles under her eyes.

"Sister, are you not feeling well?"

"No, I just didn’t sleep well last night," Li Xianyun said. "Have all the medicinal materials been delivered?"

"Yes, just as you said, they lowered the prices a lot." Seeing Li Xianyun approach the medicinal materials, Wu Mu said, "I’ve checked these materials once already. You can check them again."

Li Xianyun hummed in acknowledgment, "Better safe than sorry, an extra person double-checking can reduce a lot of risks."

She was worried that Wu Mu might feel uncomfortable, thinking she did not trust him, so she said this on purpose.

Li Xianyun checked all the medicinal materials again, and they were of acceptable quality, with no counterfeit or defective goods.

"We can start using these materials. The first time the pharmacies delivered, the materials were of high quality, but there’s no guarantee that as time goes by, some may seek to take advantage and substitute inferior goods. So we need to be even more careful and cautious later on."

She had encountered such situations when she first established Ji Shi Tang, which taught her valuable lessons now applied to running Xuanyi Pavilion.

Wu Mu immediately agreed to her instructions.

After arranging affairs at Xuanyi Pavilion, Li Xianyun went to West Market to buy two shops.

Yesterday, Li Xianyun had Bater investigate several shops she was interested in, and discovered that one she liked was heavily in debt and often the scene of disturbances, with debt collectors roping in local thugs to cause chaos inside the store.

Seeing no one dared to rent it, the owner wanted to sell the shop and find a scapegoat to take over.

A shop like that must certainly not be bought; no one could tolerate trouble every other day.

Luckily, she hadn’t settled the deal immediately yesterday, or she would have regretted it now.

Li Xianyun first secured a shop and intended to check another one.

Bater stepped up to Li Xianyun’s side and said, "Master, we are being followed."

"Who is it?"

Bater shook his head.

Li Xianyun had no choice but to take a gamble.

She deliberately took a detour to that debt-ridden shop and negotiated with the owner about buying it.

The shop owner was delighted, quickly calling someone to draft a contract, but the young servant took a long time to return without success.

"Slacking off again," the shopkeeper said. "Sir, please wait here for a moment, I’ll be right back."

After the shopkeeper left, Bater worriedly said, "Master, do you really want to buy this shop? Not only does the shopkeeper owe a lot of debt and is pursued by many, but there is also considerable controversy over the ownership of the shop. If you sign a contract with this person today, and tomorrow their family claims the shop is not theirs, I’m afraid the shop will have to change hands."

"Really? Well, that’s great," Li Xianyun smiled.

At her words, Bater froze, not understanding why the master would want to buy a shop that was clearly a hornet’s nest. Wasn’t this pushing oneself into the fire pit?

Youlan also chimed in from the side, "Master, even if you want to buy it, you don’t have to drive up the price voluntarily. We’re truly at a loss here."

Li Xianyun chuckled. "The loss isn’t ours, what’s there to fear?"

Bater and Youlan were both stunned.

After a while, the shopkeeper returned with a proud look on his face, void of the joyous expression from earlier.

When he came closer, the shopkeeper said, "You can leave, the shop is no longer for sale to you."

Li Xianyun glanced at Youlan, who, albeit reluctantly, said, "But you clearly agreed to draft a contract and finalize the deal just now. How can you go back on your word so quickly? That’s not how to do business."

The shopkeeper, an old hand, said, "Plans cannot keep up with changes, and there’s nothing one can do about emergencies."

Li Xianyun watched him with a cold gaze. "So you found another buyer."

Youlan and Bater exchanged glances, wondering what was happening.

Seeing that his ruse was exposed, the shopkeeper no longer concealed the truth.

"Indeed, someone offered double the price to buy the shop."

Li Xianyun looked at him and spoke calmly, "Then I will buy it for triple the price."

The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up, as if he had encountered two gods of wealth that day.

"Sir, please take a rest here while I inquire, I’ll be back shortly."

What followed was an amusing scene, with the shopkeeper bustling to and fro between the two parties like a spinning top.

Li Xianyun kept inflating the price of the shop to ten times its value, turning a shop which could have been bought for a few thousand taels into one that went for tens of thousands.

This left Bater and Youlan gobsmacked.

Ultimately, Li Xianyun appeared to reluctantly compromise, "I really can’t afford ten times the price, please let the esteemed guest inside have it."

Li Xianyun prepared to leave with Youlan and Bater.

A woman’s voice came from behind, "My lady, to think we could bump into each other here, what a coincidence."

Li Xianyun smiled, "Coincidence? Didn’t Princess Jinyu follow me here on purpose? How can you say it’s a coincidence?"

Princess Jinyu walked down the staircase, smiling, "My lady, please don’t be angry. I just really fancy this shop and couldn’t bear to part with it, I ask for your understanding."

Li Xianyun smiled, "It’s the gentleman’s joy to contribute to the success of others. Since the princess likes it, I will let her have it."