The cruel little princess

When she walked out, she saw Liu Jianye waiting for her outside the tent.

"Princess Ruian!" Liu Jianye bowed.

"Brother Liu, you don't have to be so polite!" Shen Youyou waved at him, "I wonder what brings Brother Liu here today?" She remembered that he had taken his baby and Liu's sister-in-law to the hospital yesterday. Apart from the baby having a little jaundice, there were no other problems! She really couldn't figure out what he came here for today.

"County Lady Ruian, can I have a word with you for a moment?" Liu Jianye looked at the guards standing next to him and the little medicine boys who were faintly visible behind the tent, and wanted to talk to Shen Youyou alone.

"Then come with me back to the tent." Shen Youyou said frankly. Anyway, she and Liu Jianye had no secrets.

"Please come in, Lady Rui'an!" Liu Jianye bowed. Shen Youyou led Liu Jianye through the military camp for half a cup of tea before arriving at her tent. Chuntao was behind a screen making clothes for her young lady. Seeing a guest arrive, she hurried to serve tea. But then, realizing her young lady and Mr. Liu had something important to discuss, Chuntao consciously went back behind the screen to make clothes. This was also to avoid suspicion; at least her young lady wasn't alone in the same room with him.

Liu Jianye cleared his throat. "County Lady Rui'an, I came here for two reasons. The first is that the medicine you prescribed for my son yesterday was very good. I also asked the wet nurse to hold them and bask in the sun for a while in the morning and afternoon. I also had the wet nurse take the medicine you prescribed and feed it to my son. My son's skin is working quickly and he's not so yellow anymore! I didn't expect that the county lady would help me again and again! I'm afraid I'll never be able to repay you for saving my life! The second is that my wife's scar cream is almost used up. My wife said that this scar cream is very effective. I haven't seen any sold in town, so I'm shamelessly asking you for some today. I wonder if you can part with it?" Liu Jianye took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve pocket. "I can't repay you for your kindness. Please accept this small gift!"

Shen Youyou pushed the banknote back without even looking at it. "Brother Liu, you're too polite. This scar cream isn't worth that much. I only sold it to Hongyan Pavilion for ten taels of silver per small jar. You're giving me so much. It's really embarrassing!" She waved her hand to signal Liu Jianye to put the banknote away.

"Let's be clear. The county lady cured my son's illness, so you still have to collect the consultation fee." He pushed the banknotes over. "The county lady, please don't refuse. As for the scar-removing ointment, since Hongyan Pavilion sells it, I can just go to Hongyan Pavilion and buy a few extra bottles when I return!"

"Brother Liu, you should take a few cans from me and take them back for your sister-in-law! They are probably sold out at Hongyan Pavilion, and I won't supply them anymore in the future. You can't buy them now." Shen Youyou said.

"What does the Ruian County Lady mean? Why is she no longer supplying such a good thing?" Liu Jianye was a little confused. "Could it be that the County Lady doesn't have time to make medicine anymore?"

"That's not the case. The female shopkeeper said that the person behind her is the Fifth Prince, and she wants to buy out my recipe from me for 10,000 taels of silver. So I don't plan to cooperate with her. This transaction was originally a matter of mutual consent, and how could I kill the donkey and get the chicken to get the eggs? If I sell my recipe to him, how will I make money in the future? At worst, I can find another seller after a while. What's more, we didn't sign any contract, so I can still sell this to someone else." Shen Youyou said calmly, "I don't believe that the Fifth Prince can openly rob a little woman like me for a recipe?"

Liu Jianye was secretly delighted upon hearing this. "Since the County Lady is still pursuing this business, why not consider me? I'm not being overly arrogant, but I have shops in almost every prefecture within the Golden Dragon Nation, and I'm also planning to open one in the capital. While I can't claim to be the richest man in the Golden Dragon Nation, I'm still definitely in the top ten. Besides, I sincerely want to be friends with the County Lady of Rui'an. Your scar cream is so effective, everyone should know about its efficacy!" Liu Jianye praised Shen Youyou, genuinely believing that Shen Youyou's scar cream was excellent and would have great market potential. Even in modern times, women and children are the easiest to profit from. Furthermore, as the ancients said, the love of beauty is universal. Women dress to please themselves. Whether they're the mistress of a wealthy family or a concubine, anyone with a little money wouldn't want to look glamorous and dazzling to keep their husband's heart. Therefore, he sincerely hoped to work with Shen Youyou.

Shen Youyou had originally planned to sell the scar-removing cream after this incident had calmed down a bit, and she'd be selling more than just the scar-removing cream. She'd noticed that the loose powder, lip balm, and rouge in Hongyan Pavilion weren't very good-looking, yet they were actually quite expensive. Humph, while she didn't really focus on looking good, making a few small creams, lipsticks, and face masks was no big deal! Just wait! When she had the time, she was definitely going to open a modern-day beauty salon that integrated beauty and wellness services! Just thinking about it was enough to give her a boost of motivation!

Shen Youyou pondered for a moment and decided that Liu Jianye's proposal was quite feasible. At this stage, she had no connections, no money, and no time, so she couldn't launch her own business. The best solution was for her to collaborate with others, making everything she could, and then having them sell it. That way, she could slowly build up her capital. As the saying goes, money makes the world go round, but without it, nothing can move a muscle.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Youyou decided to tell the truth, "Brother Liu, the female shopkeeper of Hongyan Pavilion said that her master is the Fifth Prince. This time, I didn't sell her the recipe for Shuhen Cream. I guess I offended him. If you launch Shuhen Cream now, will it indirectly offend the Fifth Prince and affect your business?" She added, "Or should we wait a while?"

Liu Jianye laughed heartily after hearing this. "Rui'an County Lady, you are such a down-to-earth person! Everyone else would love to have their things sold at a high price. As long as someone is willing to buy, they will sell it immediately, not caring whether the buyer will lose money or not. But you, on the contrary, are even considering me. For this reason, I very much agree with your character! However, Rui'an County Lady, please rest assured that since I dare to say this, I must have come prepared! He has a backer in Hongyan Pavilion, so why wouldn't I find a backer? Find someone who is on par with him, then what are we afraid of?"

Shen Youyou thought it made sense, but who could she urgently turn to for support now that the situation had come to a head? That was the Fifth Prince. To be on par with him, wouldn't someone at least have to be the Prime Minister or something like that? But who could guarantee they weren't all in cahoots? Besides, who could possibly be the one to connect them?

Seeing her frowning in thought, Liu Jianye gave her a slight hint, "County Lady, have you forgotten? There's also a prince in the military camp! Isn't this someone who is both far away and right before our eyes?"

"Your Highness Prince Jin?" Shen Youyou asked in surprise. She had truly forgotten about him for a moment!

"Yes, although the Fifth Prince is in the limelight now, the Ninth Prince, His Royal Highness Prince Jin, is not bad either!" Liu Jianye saw that Shen Youyou knew nothing about the affairs of the capital, and knew nothing about the relationship between the court, especially the princes, so he analyzed it one by one for Shen Youyou, "The Fifth Prince's mother is Concubine Shu, and his uncle is the current Left Prime Minister, Lord Zhang Qixian. It can be said that except for the emperor, he has the highest official position among all the civil and military officials in the court, and he has many disciples, so he can call the shots in the court. Although the Ninth Prince's mother died early, Concubine De was the most favored in the harem at that time, and Concubine De was assassinated while following our Majesty on a hunt. In order to save our Majesty, she stood in front of His Majesty. "The Empress Dowager was shot dead by an arrow in front of her. His Majesty deeply loves her, and Defei's brother is also His Majesty's right-hand man. Although his current position is slightly lower than that of the Left Prime Minister, he is also the Minister of Personnel, in charge of the selection, appointment, assessment, and conferring of honors on officials in the Jinlong Kingdom. Even more enviable is that his two sons, the Ninth Prince's two cousins, are the Left Vice Minister of Rites and the Left Vice Minister of Justice. Ordinarily, the father and son should serve in different dynasties, or the two princes should be sent to serve in other places, but His Majesty, remembering Defei's life-saving grace, allowed them to remain in the capital and granted them high positions and generous salaries. This kind of favor is unmatched by ordinary people!"

Shen Youyou understood immediately. Prince Jin's mother was the Emperor's true love. She died at the height of their love, saving the Emperor, tragically dying in his arms. With such a double blessing, who could possibly compete?! Even the Emperor felt nothing but heartache and guilt at the sight of his own son. So, it seemed like he wasn't much worse than the Fifth Prince.

Shen Youyou had never heard His Royal Highness Prince Jin talk about his mother, and she was not the type to like gossip, so she didn't know what Liu Jianye said and the conflicts of interest involved. Now, after listening to him, she felt as if she understood His Royal Highness Prince Jin a little better.