Looking at Tai'an from the full moon

The next day, everything in the palace was functioning as usual. The ministers were attending the morning court in the main hall, and the servants and eunuchs in the palace were also busy with their work.

At this time, the Qing King and the Ministry of Revenue were busy preaching on the streets to let more people really understand "pensions". Of course, this was also Liuli's idea.

At this time, Xiao Zuochen and Chu Yao were preparing to leave the mansion and go shopping in the East Market.

"Why did you decide to take me out to play today?"

Chu Yao was very happy. He hadn't really walked around since he came to Tai'an City. He was not familiar with the place. Except for the last time he drank, and oh yes, the time he went to Yuxian Tower.

"If it weren't for picking out a gift for Princess Jiashan, I wouldn't have left the house."

Xiao Zuochen told the truth.

Chu Yao curled his lips and didn't listen to what he was saying. He just looked at it by himself. When he came across something he had never seen before, he would pester Xiao Zuochen to buy it for him.

"I'm really impressed by you~"

Xiao Zuochen was also speechless. Yun Wei had already loaded the items into the car. Xiao Zuochen had only seen ladies and young ladies doing this on the street before. But Chu Yao continued to buy. Xiao Zuochen couldn't help but sigh that it was fortunate that his family was rich.

"You follow him first. I'm going to the Mijin Pavilion."

"Yes, master."

Zhizuifang and Mijin Pavilion are both Xiao Zuochen's businesses. Xiao Zuochen is involved in almost every industry, such as medicinal materials, food, wood, ironware, etc.

As soon as I stepped into the Maze Gold Pavilion, the shopkeeper came to greet me.

"Your Highness Prince Yun!"

The shopkeeper naturally knew that this was his boss, but Prince Yun didn't want others to know his other identities.

"Well, let's pick out a set of jewelry. It's Princess Jiashan's birthday on the first day of next month. She's sixteen years old and likes plain clothes."

Xiao Zuochen briefly explained the situation. The shopkeeper thought for a while and extended his hand to invite Xiao Zuochen to the other side.

"Your Highness, please follow me~"

Although the name of Mijin Pavilion contains the word "gold", it actually has gold, silver and jade. The entire first floor is divided into four venues, which can accommodate hundreds of people at the same time. In addition, there are second and third floors. The higher you go, the more distinguished the guests are. However, usually dignitaries only stop at the second floor.

At this time, there were other ladies in the pavilion who were choosing birthday gifts for the princess. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they forgot there were other people around them.

Xiao Zuochen heard their conversation clearly.

"Have you heard? The princess gave away one of her shops some time ago."

"Give it away? You must have heard it wrong. It was the princess who lost the shop to someone else."

"Did you make a bet?"

"Of course not. The princess used to love gambling, and this time she lost to the owner of the gambling house. Hush, let's keep our voices down..."

"It seems that the princess is counting on Princess Jiashan's birthday to make a small fortune~"

"..."

The shopkeeper brought Xiao Zuochen to the place where jade was sold and took out a set of jade head ornaments.

"This is a newly made set of headgear. This style is definitely the only one of its kind in the capital!"

Xiao Zuochen picked it up and took a closer look. Each ornament on this headdress was inconspicuous individually, but each one was small and exquisite. When the whole set was put together, it looked like jade butterflies faintly dancing in the bushes.

"Well, the style is nice and the feel is good. Just..."

"Hey! Isn't this the Sixth Brother?"

Xiao Zuochen looked over and saw the Third Prince walking towards him. The last time he met Xiao Zuoming was when he was drunk the night before yesterday. It seemed that he was criticized by the Grand Tutor the next day. I wonder if the Queen scolded him or not. However, the Queen must be too busy to take care of herself now.

"Third brother."

The third prince walked up to Xiao Zuochen and immediately saw the headgear in his hand.

"This headgear is quite nice. Sixth brother has good taste! How about giving it to third brother?"

"this..."

The shopkeeper was naturally reluctant. If this set of headgear was taken away by the third prince, then any other gift his master chose might not be as good as this one.

"If Third Brother likes it, I will naturally give it to him. But Third Brother should also realize that there is no other store in the entire Tai'an City that can sell this set of jewelry. This set is not cheap. I wonder if Third Brother can afford it?"

Faced with Xiao Zuochen's blatant provocation, the third prince instantly got angry.

"The entire Tai'an City belongs to my father. Is there anything I can't afford? Pack it up for me!"

"Third brother, you haven't asked the price yet~"

"how much is it?"

Seeing that his master agreed to give it to the Third Prince, the shopkeeper had nothing to say and obediently quoted the price.

"Fifty ounces of gold."

"Fifty taels of gold!?"

The third prince was completely shocked.

"Fifty taels of gold is not as good as buying a golden headpiece!"

At this time Xiao Zuochen took over the conversation.

"Well, I also think that it's not a good idea for you to spend fifty taels of gold on this set, Third Brother."

"Really? It's too expensive! I didn't give my grandmother such an expensive gift for her birthday~"

Xiao Zuochen's words were exactly what the Third Prince was thinking. Princess Jiashan was not close to him, so there was no need to spend so much money to buy her a gift.

"Well, will the third brother still buy it?"

"No, no, I'm not a big enemy."

"Well, wrap it up for me~"

After Xiao Zuochen finished speaking, he rummaged through his body and prepared to pay.

"Eh?"

The third prince stopped him immediately upon seeing this.

"Didn't you say that fifty taels of gold was too expensive? Why did you buy it?"

"Third brother, you are wrong. What I just said was, 'Third brother, you spent fifty taels of gold to buy this set, it's not good enough', but I am fine."

The shopkeeper nearby turned his head and secretly suppressed his laughter after hearing this.

"You mean to look down on me!?"

The third prince understood what Xiao Zuochen meant and looked dissatisfied.

"I'll take this one!"

As he said this, the Third Prince waved his hand and asked his follower Li Lei to take out his purse. There were indeed several gold bars in it. It seemed that Xiao Zuoming took all his belongings with him when he went out.

"Here! Fifty taels of gold!"

The third prince slammed twenty-five gold bars on the table with an expression that said "I'm rich".

The shopkeeper glanced at Xiao Zuochen, waiting for his signal.

Xiao Zuochen smiled faintly.

"Don't be impatient, Third Brother. I wanted to give it to you just now. The store owner said fifty taels of gold, so it was fifty taels. But now I don't want to give it to you anymore. These fifty taels are not very useful~"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that whoever offers the highest price wins. If Third Brother wants this headgear, he can only offer a higher price."

"you--!"

The third prince was so angry at Xiao Zuochen that he was about to die. It was obvious that he did it on purpose.

Buy it or not?

The Third Prince glanced at the purse in Li Lei's hand. His own and his mother's annual salary did not even have ten taels of gold, but there were other outsiders in the shop, so he had to save face. Besides, this set of jewelry was really good, and it would definitely make people proud as a gift.

"I'll give you fifty-one taels!"

The third prince said while gritting his teeth.

"Sixty taels."

The third prince was stunned. He thought that if he paid a little more, Xiao Zuochen would give him the jewelry, but he didn't expect that he would raise the price with him. More and more people came to watch the fun, and the man's self-esteem took over at this moment.

"Sixty-one taels!"

"Seventy taels."

"Seventy-one taels!"

"eight..."

"Xiao Zuochen, don't go too far!"

The third prince almost squeezed out these words from between his teeth.

Xiao Zuochen thought that this was the only amount of money he had, so he stopped bidding. He raised the corner of his mouth slightly, took a step back, and bowed to the Third Prince.

"Third brother is really a generous person. I'm sure the princess will be very touched to know that third brother has taken so much trouble for Princess Jiashan's birthday. Shopkeeper, why don't you pack it for third brother quickly~"

"Yes! Third Prince, seventy-one taels of gold, please settle the bill."

The shopkeeper was also very happy at this time. It turned out that his master was trying to trick the Third Prince and earned an extra 21 taels of gold for no reason. The Third Prince was really a big victim.

Although dozens of taels of gold were not much for the royal family, there were many dignitaries who had birthdays this year. If you had to give dozens of taels of gold gifts to every family, then there would be no point in celebrating the birthday.

But the people around did not know what had happened before. They only knew that the Third Prince had spent a lot of money to buy a set of headgear, and they could not help but sigh that the Third Prince was really rich.

The Third Prince heard this and thought it was a compliment to him, and his heart suddenly swelled.

After the third prince left, Xiao Zuochen said to the shopkeeper.

"Take out one or two ounces of gold and give them to the waiters as this month's drinking money. Find a suitable time and go to Zhizuifang for a meal. Put it on my account."

The shopkeeper was also very excited. Although it was only one tael of gold, each of the employees got two taels of silver. But you have to know that their monthly salary for working for a month is one tael of silver, which is equivalent to tripling the monthly salary for this month.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

The master has always been generous to them. The monthly salary is already quite high, and there is often extra money for wine. Who would not work hard for such a generous master?

"Your Highness, the princess's gift..."

"It's okay, I've already thought of what to give~"

Although it is Princess Jiashan’s birthday, this gift must naturally be delivered to the eldest princess’ heart!