On the street, a young woman was crying and wailing as she publicly smashed an ivory fan, drawing a crowd of onlookers. The commotion alerted the Shuntian Prefecture, and a large group of constables hurriedly approached from afar.
Yan Erlang hastily led the imperial guards away.
Yan Seventh Young Master stood at the entrance of a shaded alley, thoughtfully watching the imperial infantry and cavalry disappear at the end of the main street.
"Has he always spoken to you like that?" Seventh Young Master asked Ying Xiaoman.
Ying Xiaoman immediately recalled the spine-chilling phrase "brother will cherish you," and became furious.
"He used to put on a fake polite act. If he dares to say that to my face again, I'll slap him so hard his teeth will scatter all over the ground."
"So this was the first time he spoke such nonsense to you? That's not a good habit, we should help him change it."
Yan Seventh Young Master walked out of the alley, staring at the retreating figures. "If he likes to feel pain, let's make his body ache a bit."
Ying Xiaoman was more concerned about whether there would be any more "accidental encounters" in front of her house in the future.
"After today's commotion, will he be arrested and imprisoned?"
"He may not be imprisoned, after all, he's the legitimate son set to inherit the marquis title. But he'll certainly be confined to reflect on his actions, awaiting the results of the impeachment. A family punishment behind closed doors is inevitable, and he won't be bothering you for at least a month."
"A month is enough." Ying Xiaoman contentedly walked side by side with Seventh Young Master along the street.
At the transition between spring and summer, the wind was strong in the capital. The street was filled with shops selling pinwheels. They bought two pinwheels, one for each of them, which spun merrily in the wind.
Ying Xiaoman imagined their future: "When we have time, let's discuss our revenge plan again tonight. We'll scout again within three days, and kill our enemy Yan Rongshi within half a month. Hopefully, we won't alert the dogs at the Ministry of Justice, and they won't be able to trace it back to us. Then we can relax for a few days, and we still have half a month to deal with Yan Erlang slowly. No rush."
Yan Seventh Young Master: "..."
What a great plan. Apparently, he only had half a month left to live.
The pinwheels continued to spin in their hands.
"Isn't it a bit too soon to start discussing revenge plans tonight?"
He reached out to spin the pinwheel, sighing softly, "We just dealt with Yan Erlang, we should at least rest for a few days to see the effects..."
That made sense.
They agreed to rest for three days. They would meet to discuss the revenge plan at night three days later.
Yan Seventh Young Master's mood improved from cloudy to sunny.
The fresh fish about to be placed on the chopping block had been released back into the water, able to swim freely for three more days - truly one of life's pleasures.
"What shall we do today?" He looked up at the sky, still before noon, his peach blossom eyes narrowing with pleasure as he blew on the pinwheel in his hand.
Ying Xiaoman thought for a moment and said, "Let's go look at shops. I heard from a broker that there's an old shop of several decades that's changing hands. It wasn't originally a butcher shop, but the owner is old and not particular about many things. As long as the price is right, it can be converted into a butcher shop. The owner wants to negotiate the price in person."
Surprisingly, the broker was the same one who had helped rent the house in Seven Scholars Lane.
Seeing his old customer, the broker's face lit up with a flattering smile: "Miss Ying, one look at you and I can tell you have great fortune! Last time you were just renting a courtyard, and in just a few short months, you're already buying a shop. Your life is prosperous and on the rise!"
"The shop we're going to see today is in an excellent location! It's on West Gate Inner Street, near the Ministry of Justice. Many official customers patronize the business, so Miss Ying can be a hundred percent assured that no ruffians or troublemakers would dare to cause any disturbances..."
As the broker continued his introduction, the group gradually approached the shop's location. The more they heard, the more familiar it sounded, and the more they looked, the more familiar the shop ahead appeared.
Ying Xiaoman stopped in confusion.
Wasn't this the meat bun shop where she often patronized?
Several large steamers at the entrance were billowing with steam, the signature of this famous bun shop. The shop owner was greeting customers as usual, but the owner's wife, unlike her usual busy self, was just sitting beside the bun steamers, lost in thought.
Seeing the broker bring a young man and woman to look at the shop, the owner's wife hurriedly wiped her eyes and retreated to the back kitchen.
The broker led Ying Xiaoman around to look at everything.
The shop wasn't large, with a storefront in front, a kitchen in the back, and a small courtyard behind the kitchen. Most customers usually bought their food to go, with very few dining in. There were only two tables and chairs by the shop entrance for eating and drinking.
The shop owner silently followed behind, and when asked about the reason for selling, he repeatedly said, "We've earned enough, earned enough. My wife and I plan to sell the shop and return to our hometown for retirement."
Ying Xiaoman regretfully said, "I just came to buy buns from your shop a couple of days ago. They're big and delicious, with thin skin and plenty of meat filling, and only twenty wen for four. After you return to your hometown, where will we find such cheap and good meat bun shops in the capital?"
The owner's wife chimed in softly from the kitchen, "Exactly. We haven't raised prices in twenty years. Doing business at a loss, where else in the entire capital would you find another place like ours—"
The shop owner laughed awkwardly and called out to the kitchen, "We've already agreed on this, can't you say a bit less!"
Seventh Young Master's expression changed slightly, and he confirmed with the owner, "The meat bun shop hasn't raised prices in twenty years. With soaring costs in the capital, the business isn't profitable, so that's why you want to sell the shop and return to your hometown?"
The shop owner couldn't even force a smile now, his expression turning bitter, "Young sir, please don't ask anymore..."
The shops near the Ministry of Justice on West Gate Inner Street had many regular customers who were officials, so they didn't dare to raise prices easily.
Fortunately, property and shop prices in the capital were expensive, so even if the business wasn't profitable, selling a prime location shop after a few years could still earn quite a bit.
But this meat bun shop's elderly couple were out-of-towners who had come to make a living in the capital when they were young. They had taken over this shop twenty years ago, using the front as the storefront and the small courtyard behind the kitchen as their living quarters. This saved them the expense of buying another residence.
Back then, they thought it was economical and convenient, but they hadn't anticipated that property prices in the capital would rise year after year. By five or six years ago, when the meat bun business gradually started to become unprofitable, they realized with shock that if they transferred the shop, they would have nowhere to live. If they continued the business, selling four meat buns for twenty wen could barely cover costs.
They struggled on for five or six more years, finally managing to raise their two daughters to adulthood and marry them off in the capital. Now that they themselves were getting on in years, the couple decided to sell the shop and return to their hometown for retirement.
This shop, with its storefront and back courtyard, occupied quite a large area, and the couple was determined to sell it for a good price. The previous seven or eight potential buyers had all been scared off by the asking price.
Ying Xiaoman was still looking around when she heard Seventh Young Master calmly negotiating with the shop owner:
"The shop does occupy a large area, but the actual storefront that can be used for business isn't big. I see you've even placed tables and chairs outside the shop entrance, and there's only room for two tables. Isn't asking for two hundred strings of cash a bit too expensive?"
Ying Xiaoman had just finished touring the kitchen and was about to head to the back courtyard when she suddenly froze in her tracks.
Two... two hundred strings of cash...
"We won't sell for less than two hundred strings," the shop owner said firmly. "Two hundred strings isn't just for the storefront and kitchen, it includes a good-sized back courtyard too. Property in the capital is expensive, you young couple could live in the back courtyard."
A smile immediately appeared in Yan Seventh Young Master's eyes, and he glanced meaningfully towards the kitchen.
The next moment, Ying Xiaoman emerged from the kitchen, tugged on Seventh Young Master's sleeve, and led the way towards the door.
The broker called out repeatedly behind them, "Miss Ying, there's still the back courtyard! You haven't seen the back courtyard yet—"
The shocking three words "two hundred strings" had already struck Ying Xiaoman from head to toe. The excitement from outwitting Yan Erlang earlier that morning had dissipated by eight-tenths, leaving her feeling cold all over.
Without realizing it, she had walked out onto the main street. The hot wind of late spring and early summer blew past her, and the few beads of sweat on her forehead felt as cold as ice. She stood dazed at the side of the street.
Why was it so difficult to open a shop?
A gentle breeze blew past, and the pinwheel spun with a whirring sound. In her daze, she turned her head to find Seventh Young Master walking beside her.
"You left in such a hurry, we left the pinwheels and the broker in the shop," Yan Seventh Young Master handed her a pinwheel. "I told them to wait a bit, let's discuss it ourselves first."
Ying Xiaoman took the pinwheel and walked slowly along the street, thinking as she went.
"It's easy to make a living in the capital. But to actually own a shop and run a long-term business, it's really difficult."
"The beginning is always the hardest," Yan Seventh Young Master consoled her.
Ying Xiaoman remained silent. She had actually suffered quite a few setbacks these past few days. When people heard that it was an unmarried young woman who wanted to open a butcher shop, eight out of ten immediately refused, one had ulterior motives, and the last one asked for an astronomical price.
"Opening a shop is harder than sneaking into our enemy's house for revenge."
She mumbled, "Maybe we should stop looking at shops for now. Let's change the order and take our revenge first."
"..."
Yan Seventh Young Master felt a chill on his head as he walked silently along the street for a few steps, trying to persuade Ying Xiaoman to change her mind, "All beginnings are difficult—but once you find the key, it's not that hard."
The two walked slowly along West Gate Inner Street. Many officials were coming and going from the Ministry of Justice office, so Yan Seventh Young Master pulled his bamboo hat down a bit lower.
Yan Seventh Young Master said, "In terms of business, two hundred guan isn't a large sum. I can raise it for you by tomorrow."
Ying Xiaoman shook her head, "My mother won't agree."
"If you're hesitant about accepting it as a gift, how about a loan?"
She still shook her head.
"My mother has always worried that you might abduct me... If you lend me such a large sum for business, who knows what she'll think of you."
Yan Seventh Young Master looked himself over in bewilderment: "Do I look like someone who would abduct young women? Does your mother have some prejudice against me?"
This topic was clearly going nowhere. The two tacitly agreed to change the subject.
"What about finding another shop?"
"One too far from home won't work. This one is in just the right location."
Yan Seventh Young Master walked a few steps in thought, considering from another angle.
"The shopkeeper is losing money on the meat bun business, that's why he wants to sell the shop at a high price and return to his hometown. Both his daughters are married in the capital, and it would be hard to see them again after he leaves. If it weren't for being unable to make ends meet, how could he bear to go? If the meat bun business could sustain daily expenses, he should be able to keep running the shop."
Ying Xiaoman said, "It would be good if the bun shop could keep going. I can look for another location for my meat shop, but the dogs at the Ministry of Justice only like the meat buns from this shop."
Yan Seventh Young Master: "...Let's not talk about the Ministry of Justice dogs for now."
He began discussing the shop layout he had noticed earlier.
Large plot, small storefront, facing the main street to the north and a small alley to the west.
The storage room on the west side was currently sealed off with wooden planks. If they cleared out that room and put in a storefront facing the western alley, they could actually split the meat bun shop in two, creating a separate meat shop facing west.
"The owner can adjust the price of meat buns, selling four buns for thirty wen. The meat shop can then pay a monthly rent. This way, the business can break even, the shopkeeper won't have to sell the shop and return home, Ying family's meat shop can successfully find a location to open, and they can support each other. Xiaoman, what do you think?"
As Ying Xiaoman listened, her eyes gradually brightened.
It was truly a good idea. She immediately turned and eagerly walked back.
But halfway there, she suddenly remembered a serious problem.
"The old couple who own the shop are honest people. They haven't dared to raise prices for twenty years, afraid of offending their official customers and ruining the shop's reputation. How can we persuade them to adjust the price?"
Seventh Young Master, holding a pinwheel, walked leisurely beside her, "Have you forgotten about my brother, Eighth Young Master Yan?"
"Ah?"
"Fifth-rank official of the Ministry of Justice, overseeing hundreds of subordinates. I'll have a word with Eighth Young Master, and on the day the meat bun prices increase, I'll ask him to sit outside the shop and lead by example, eating meat buns for three days."
Ying Xiaoman imagined the scene and burst out laughing.
With a superior from the Ministry sitting guard outside the shop eating meat buns, which subordinate would dare to go in and make a fuss?
"You and Eighth Young Master get along well, right?" She tilted her head, pushing up her bamboo hat to reveal a pair of bright, clear, beautiful eyes.
"Last time when Eighth Young Master 'saw injustice on the street and drew his sword to help,' it was you who went to persuade him."
Seventh Young Master twirled the pinwheel and said casually, "With over thirty brothers in the family, my relationship with Eighth Young Master... well, it's alright."
*
When the two returned, the broker thought the deal had fallen through and was preparing to leave.
Ying Xiaoman stopped the broker, the shopkeeper removed the wooden planks, and everyone gathered around the table to discuss Seventh Young Master's proposal in detail. The shopkeeper's wife was so moved she began to cry on the spot.
"We knew asking two hundred guan was too high. But we were afraid! After returning to our hometown, our two daughters would be left alone in the capital. One's husband is still saving money to buy a house, and the other just had a grandson. If we don't leave them enough money, we're afraid they might be bullied by their in-laws, and we wouldn't be at ease in our hometown... This idea is good, old man, we don't have to leave now."
The shopkeeper was still worried, "The meat buns haven't changed price in twenty years, old customers are used to it. Suddenly raising it to sixteen wen for two buns, thirty wen for four buns... Young sir, can you really invite the official from the Ministry of Justice to come and support our small shop?"
Yan Seventh Young Master's words dispelled his worries.
"The storage room on the west side will be converted into a meat shop storefront, with rent paid monthly. As for the day of the price increase, if you're not at ease—when Eighth Young Master Yan, wearing the fifth-rank official uniform of the Ministry of Justice, sits down in front of the shop, that's when you start the new prices."
"Ah, good, good!" The shopkeeper was also moved to tears, "Let's do it this way."
Without the broker's mediation, the old couple had already voluntarily lowered the rent for the western meat shop, agreeing to only two guan per month.
Long after leaving the shop, Ying Xiaoman's face still wore an expression of disbelief and joy.
"Paying only two guan a month for a prime location on West Gate Inner Street... Can I really open a meat shop now?"
"Get ready, within a month, Ying family's meat shop can open. You can go back and discuss with your mother what name to give the meat shop."
Stunned by the enormous surprise, Ying Xiaoman murmured, "Seventh Young Master."
"Hmm?"
After a moment, Ying Xiaoman called again, "Seventh Young Master!"
Yan Seventh Young Master replied with a smile, "I'm here."
The young woman beside him held the pinwheel, her steps now bouncy, drawing surprised glances from a few passersby, though she hardly noticed. Yan Seventh Young Master didn't mind either.
Even the bamboo hat couldn't hide Ying Xiaoman's elated mood. Yan Seventh Young Master walked leisurely beside her, listening and watching, his eyes unconsciously filled with a smile.
Ying Xiaoman walked faster and faster, getting ahead by several dozen steps, then ran back holding the pinwheel.
"Seventh Young Master, I've saved about twenty guan, which I was planning to use as capital to open the meat shop this year. I was worried I might have to use my mother's private savings she's been accumulating for over ten years. Now it's fine, I don't need to touch it at all, what I have is enough!"
She grew more excited as she spoke, "Seventh Young Master, it's my treat today. What kind of fresh fruit do you want? Sweet preserved fruits? I have money now!"
They began to browse shops and make purchases.
People in the capital love to eat, and along the street were dozens of food shops. In no time, they had bought a large pile of roasted chestnuts, sweet yams, colorful fried buns, chicken skewers, lamb skewers, and a big string of sweet and savory dumplings in various colors.
Ying Xiaoman went ahead buying, while Seventh Young Master followed behind carrying the purchases. Soon his hands were full with seven or eight packages. Ying Xiaoman squeezed in front of a fresh fruit stand and asked the vendor curiously,
"I saw cherries for sale a while ago, why aren't there any today?"
The vendor smiled and said, "A while ago, cherries were sour-sweet, and people only bought a little to taste. Now cherries are at their sweetest, and wealthy families are buying thirty to fifty jin at a time, pre-ordering for home delivery. There aren't any left to sell at stalls."
"Oh," Ying Xiaoman said disappointedly.
The vendor looked the young woman up and down, then opened a bamboo cover and held up a bunch of purple grapes.
"If the young miss doesn't mind the high price, here's a bunch of newly available grapes. Would you like to buy some to try?"
Ying Xiaoman: "How much for a bunch?"
The vendor chuckled, "Western Crystal Grapes, sent exclusively to the capital from thousands of miles away. This is a rare delicacy! The introductory price for the season is one guan flat, no bargaining. Would you like some, young miss?"
Ying Xiaoman: !!
She hesitantly asked, "Are they sweet? The newly available cherries were very sour. Your newly available Crystal Grapes are so expensive, they're not sour enough to make your teeth ache, are they?"
Hearing potential interest, the vendor eagerly plucked off a purple grape, washed it in water, and handed it over, "Try it, young miss. How could grapes sent thousands of miles to the capital at such a high price be sour? They're very sweet!"
Ying Xiaoman cautiously tasted it, and her eyes lit up. Indeed, it was sweet upon entering the mouth, not sour at all!
One guan for a bunch of Crystal Grapes was indeed expensive... but they were truly sweet.
Ying Xiaoman felt the ten guan in paper notes she had brought from home, thinking of the shop deal they had successfully negotiated today and the meat shop that would soon open...
She happily said, "I'll take them!"
Holding the Western Crystal Grapes sent exclusively to the capital from thousands of miles away, she stepped lightly out of the crowd and ran back to where Seventh Young Master was waiting.
"I originally wanted to buy some cherries, but the shopkeeper said they had all been pre-ordered by wealthy families. So I bought a bunch of newly available purple grapes to let Mother and Zhi have a taste. You should come too, we can eat them together."
Yan Seventh Young Master gladly agreed.
He looked up at the sky, "It's getting late. I took leave today, but I need to go back to handle some urgent matters. How about I come to your house to eat grapes after dinner?"
Ying Xiaoman naturally agreed, but cautioned, "Don't come too late. Be careful of that greedy little cat Zhi, she might sneak one grape after another and finish them all. These are expensive purple crystal grapes costing one guan per bunch, transported all the way from the Western Regions to the capital. I might not buy them a second time."
A slight frown flickered across Yan Seventh Young Master's lips.
He quickly glanced at the so-called "Western Regions purple crystal grapes" in his arms.
The purple crystal grapes specially sent from the Western Regions to the capital were all tribute items, bestowed by the palace to meritorious noble families. How could they be sold in the market? Recently, many estates around the capital had started growing grapes that were now ripe and on sale...
His thoughts raced, but then he considered: These were grapes Xiaoman had bought.
Grapes priced at one guan per bunch - an astronomical price - and Xiaoman was willing to buy them. Not only to share with her family but also specially saving some to share with him.
A bunch of grapes from a dishonest vendor, through Xiaoman's generous purchase, seemed even more precious than the real Western Regions tribute...
A warm current seemed to flow through him, and he tasted an inexplicable sweetness in his heart.
Yan Seventh Young Master looked back at the unscrupulous merchant's shop, memorized its location, and said casually, "I'll try to come over early. Help me keep an eye on that little girl Zhi, save me a few grapes."
Ying Xiaoman's eyes curved into crescents, "Don't worry, I'll save some for you."