I was a concubine in Legend of Zhen Huan

As soon as I entered the inn, Aunt Xiao came up to me with a happy face: "Meet you, young lady! Congratulations on your selection, young lady, good luck."

Before An Lingrong could say anything, the bloated man following Aunt Xiao also bowed to An Lingrong with a flattering look on his face: "I, the owner of Yingbin House, Tong Shishi, and everyone in the house are here to congratulate you, young lady. It is a great joy that you have been selected."

An Lingrong first helped Aunt Xiao up, and then called the shopkeeper Tong in a gentle voice. Yes, this was the shopkeeper of the inn who wanted to "make a living" when she first came to the selection, but they didn't have much interaction at the beginning. After she won the selection, she was taken to Zhen Huan's home, so she didn't remember him for a while.

Is rare commodity worth buying?

If I can give him enough bargaining chips, what would it matter even if I regard him as Lu Buwei?

The shopkeeper welcomed her into a private room. He asked the waiter to make tea and sent away the idlers. He really started his investment: "When the young lady first came to my Yingbin Tower, I could see that she was not an ordinary person. As expected, the young lady won the favor of the emperor and the empress dowager and was chosen as a concubine."

After saying this, he motioned for the waiter who had just returned from making tea to come forward, took the silver from the waiter, bent down, raised his hand and respectfully handed it to An Lingrong: "This is the room fee that the young lady spent here before. I saw that Aunt Xiao did not reward the person who came to announce the good news, and I guessed that the young lady's family is a bit far from the capital, and the money she brought with her may not be much left. I am incompetent and can only do my best to help the young lady with accommodation. The waiter has prepared a superior room for the two of you, and I only hope that the young lady can live comfortably before entering the palace."

An Lingrong looked at the silver handed to her. She knew without counting that the money here must be much more than what she had paid for the room before.

The waiter tactfully left when the shopkeeper said those words. Now there were only Shopkeeper Tong, Aunt Xiao and himself in the room, so it was a place where they could talk.

An Lingrong did not take the silver. Aunt Xiao just acted according to An Lingrong's wishes and sat behind An Lingrong, not daring to move.

"What is Shopkeeper Tong doing? I just won the election and I want to get my room fee back. If this gets out, won't people say I've become arrogant right after I succeeded?"

"My lady is right. I was not thoughtful enough. These are the small gifts I would like to give you to congratulate you on being selected. I hope you will accept them?" Shopkeeper Tong tried again.

An Lingrong was a little annoyed. She had just been reborn and had a lot of things to do. She didn't have that much time to waste on these meaningless temptations, so she simply spoke frankly.

"I understand what Shopkeeper Tong wants. He just wants to make a good relationship with me now that I have been chosen. I have just arrived in the capital, and as you can see, my family is not well-off, so I really need some help. I just don't know if Shopkeeper Tong just wants to make a good relationship with me today or if he wants to take advantage of this favorable opportunity to make further progress?"

"My lord, since you are straightforward, I will not beat around the bush. May I ask, my lord, if you only want to make a good relationship, what do you think? What if you want to go further?" Shopkeeper Tong asked tentatively.

"If you only consider this as a good relationship, I will return Manager Tong's gift today double when I have established myself in the palace. If it is the latter -"

An Lingrong smiled at Shopkeeper Tong, her voice full of temptation: "I heard that you have a little girl at home, she is only sixteen years old. If you are willing, I will bring her into the palace. There is a saying that goes 'It is better to marry a maid from a rich family than a wife from a poor family'. When she reaches the age, she will be a close maid of a concubine. How about I find a good marriage for her? Besides, I heard that the eldest son of the shopkeeper had a son not long ago. If I am lucky enough to give birth to a prince, even if I cannot make all the decisions about the prince's children and study companions, I can still have a say."

When An Lingrong first talked about her daughter's future, Tong Laoshi showed gratitude on the surface, but he didn't take it seriously in his heart.

I have to support her with all my money and effort, and my own daughter has to serve her as a slave. Is this a repayment or revenge?

Entering the palace sounds good, as it means seeing the world and enjoying wealth and splendor, but my daughter is not going to be a concubine, but a slave. Even if she can get a good marriage in the end, it is only because of my daughter's ability. My daughter will get married, and it is hard to say whether the married girl will still think of me as her father. Even if she does, I will not benefit the most. Why spend all my family wealth on these things?

But the second half really made Tong's blood boil!

The prince is reading with him!

If I could really become the prince's companion, then it would be time for my family to change its status!

but--

"How can you guarantee that you will be favored?" After all, he is a businessman at heart, and businessmen value profit. An Lingrong's big promise did not make him go crazy.

But this also made An Lingrong feel more at ease. She would be afraid if the shopkeeper really got carried away by a few words. It was a good thing to have an ally with brains.

An Lingrong took a sip of tea slowly, "This young lady has her own ideas to gain favor. Even if this young lady loses favor, Shopkeeper Tong will at most lose some money and the future of his daughter. Using this little price to gamble on a chance to change the family, this deal is definitely not a loss for Shopkeeper Tong, right?"

"But once you enter the palace, it's like entering a deep sea. My daughter was raised and pampered at home. How can I bear to let her go into the deep palace to make a living at such a young age." Shopkeeper Tong still looked like a kind father.

When An Lingrong recognized Tong the shopkeeper, she remembered this person's information. She was always careful. In her previous life, after moving into the inn, Aunt Xiao had asked about Tong the shopkeeper's family. In addition, she had occasionally met Tong's family. After carefully observing the clothes and mental state of his family, it was not difficult to find that Tong the shopkeeper was particularly fond of boys over girls.

She had heard Aunt Xiao talk about how Manager Tong behaved on a daily basis. He was a typical businessman who put profit first. Seeing that his inn was so far away from the Forbidden City, she knew that his family probably didn't have many connections.

Being so far from the Forbidden City, the inn's facilities were not very sophisticated, which meant that most of the people that Tong the shopkeeper usually interacted with were civilians, and at most some minor officials. Ladies who were a little more particular about appearances would not stay in this inn, and even if they did stay in this inn, they would not pay attention to Tong the shopkeeper. Nowadays, people pay attention to the social classes of scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans, and merchants, even the imperial merchants, are inferior to others, let alone Tong the shopkeeper of a shabby inn in a remote place.

Therefore, I am the only noble person that Tong can contact and who is willing to help them change their family's status. As long as Tong has the ambition to climb up, I have the confidence to make him work for me.

Right now, Shopkeeper Tong's behavior is just to get more benefits.

"I am naturally aware of Shopkeeper Tong's love for his daughter. It's just that parents love their children and have long-term plans for them. If a temporary hardship can bring a family a lifetime of glory, then the hardship is worth it. What do you think, Shopkeeper Tong?"

"My lord, that's right. But it's a big deal for me to bring my whole family to join you. Can I have some time to discuss this with my family?"

After Shopkeeper Tong said this, An Lingrong knew that the matter was most likely settled. She said in a very easy-going manner, "Of course. But the aunt who teaches in the palace will be here in two days. Shopkeeper, please make a decision as soon as possible so that I can make plans early."

Make plans early? Could it be that Miss An has a backup family?

Shopkeeper Tong's expression remained unchanged, but he was actually feeling uneasy.