High-class maid

“No need for that. As you know, Mr. Ouyang and my mother are old acquaintances. His lessons have benefited me greatly. Now I don’t have much energy to study anything else. I can just focus on the questions he left me,” Song Wenyang politely declined.

It's a joke. If the Second Prince's tutor were to teach him, not only would it be easy for someone with ulterior motives to make trouble, but if he accidentally revealed his secret, that would be a real loss.

Of course, the Second Prince was unaware of Song Wenyang's ulterior motives. He patted Song Wenyang on the shoulder again and said, "Good brother, I feel much more at ease with you here! But you're not in Jinling, what about the Lin family?"

"It's alright. Send someone to tell my page that I've been suffering from a splitting headache lately, and I haven't been able to sleep well at night. I've fallen ill and I won't see anyone," Song Wenyang said.

"You mean... to turn the tables on them?" the Second Prince asked.

“Exactly. We haven’t been able to find the person Duan Laohu mentioned in Jinling. I suspect that person is in the capital. Now I’m pretending to be sick, and I’ll use this trick to escape to the capital to find that person. Maybe I can catch him off guard,” Song Wenyang said.

"Brother Song is indeed very thoughtful."

"But in that case, I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye out for me in the palace, Brother Rong," Song Wenyang said apologetically.

"What's so difficult about that? Don't worry, I'll do everything in my power to save your life!" the Second Prince said.

It wasn't just that Song Wenyang could be an asset to the Second Prince that made him so attentive. Rather, in a sense, the two shared similarities; rather than helping each other, they were mutually redeeming.

After the two finished their heart-to-heart talk, Song Wenyang followed the Second Prince and took a shortcut to escort Duan Laohu away.

By the time the two of them were sitting on the boat drinking tea, it was already 9 PM. To avoid attracting attention on this trip back to the capital, the Second Prince had specifically chosen a small boat. Apart from his two personal bodyguards, there were only Song Wenyang, Duan Laohu, and the Second Prince himself.

"Brother Song, thank you so much for helping me out of this predicament! I'll offer you a cup of tea instead of wine," the Second Prince said gratefully.

Song Wenyang smiled and took a sip of his tea. He noticed a gaze fixed on him and, following the gaze, saw it was Duan Laohu.

For some reason, Song Wenyang felt a pang of pity and placed the pastries on the table in front of Duan Laohu. Duan Laohu was taken aback; he hadn't expected the young man to be so kind. Then, he chuckled self-deprecatingly and picked up the pastries from the plate, eating them without any hesitation.

"Xing'er, your mother is here to see you," Shan Tao called out.

"Mother, what brings you here?" Shen Xing'er asked with delight upon seeing Wang Shi. She and Wang Shi hadn't seen each other for three days since the young master's engagement. She had thought their next meeting wouldn't be until the end of the year, but unexpectedly, she saw Wang Shi again in just a few days.

"This is a reward from Madam to you. The other one is for Jinglin. Give it to her later." Madam Wang took two purses, the contents of which were the same, so she didn't mark them and casually tossed them to Xing'er.

"Yes, I'll give it to her as soon as I see Jinglin," Shen Xing'er said, carefully wrapping the purse.

"By the way, after we bought the shops, your father asked Pang Bo to keep an eye out for who wants to rent them. Now there are three people who want to rent shops, and your father asked me to ask for your opinion." Wang lowered her voice and asked softly.

Shen Xing'er looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to her and her mother, said, "My father makes the decision. Why do you have to ask me? I'll listen to you."

Wang felt a warmth in her heart and continued, "This is also what your mother wanted. Your father and I are busy with our work all day and don't have time to teach you how to manage a household. Now, let's give you some practice."

Shen Xing'er nodded without refusing. Although she was a person of the new era, this was ancient times, and she was still just a little maid. Therefore, she was not arrogant and would never be wrong to listen to her parents.

"Keep this, and tell your mother when you've made up your mind." Wang handed her three pieces of paper, which she knew without a doubt contained the information of the three tenants.

"I understand, Mother." Shen Xing'er put the papers away.

Seeing this, Madam Wang did not linger any longer. She simply said that she needed to go find her if she had something to discuss, and then returned to the First Madam's courtyard.

After giving the purse to Jinglin in the afternoon, Shen Xing'er took advantage of the fact that no one was in the room to look at the information on the paper.

The first tenants were an elderly couple who lived in Beijing and wanted to rent the place to open a restaurant.

The second tenant was a family of six. They lived in the east of the city, and because their pastry business on their street was not doing well, they thought about moving to the luxurious Chang'an Avenue.

The third tenant was a middle-aged couple. Their home was not in the capital, but in a village on the outskirts of the capital. Their son had passed the imperial examination at a young age, and now, in order to see him more often and take care of him, they planned to move the whole family to the capital.

"Why don't we rent it to that middle-aged couple?" Shen Xing'er said to Wang Shi the next day after she had some free time.

"Oh? Why do you think that?" Wang also liked the tenants, but she still wanted to hear her daughter's opinion.

“First, the elderly are not as clean as the young, and they are also more pedantic. If anything happens in the future, it will be easier to communicate with the younger generation.” Madam Wang nodded, signaling Shen Xing’er to continue.

"Secondly, more people mean more problems. It's definitely not as bad as having two people. Their pastry shop is not doing well. What if it doesn't do well in another place? What if they, a family of six, can't afford the rent in the future?"

"And the third?" Wang asked.

"Thirdly, since they came to the capital for their son's studies, they must be ambitious people. If there are any changes in the rent in the future, there won't be any arguments. Because I like this middle-aged couple the most, I just don't know what you think, Father and Mother?" Shen Xing'er asked Wang Shi after she finished speaking.

“That’s right, you’ve thought it through thoroughly, even considering the possibility of raising the rent in the future. Your father and I think the same way,” Wang said.

"That's good, but I wonder what kind of business they'll be doing? They still have to support their students, where will they get the money to do business?" Shen Xing'er asked.

“You don’t need to worry. Your father found out yesterday that the money spent on this scholar’s ​​degree was raised by his clan. The couple will first open a small restaurant in the capital. If business is good, they will bring their clansmen to the capital one by one to make a living,” Wang said.

Shen Xing'er nodded. In ancient times, it was not uncommon for an entire clan to support a single student. Moreover, he was young and had passed the preliminary examination. If he were to bet on him and become the top scholar in the imperial examination, it would be a great honor for his family.

"I trust my father the most when he does things!" Shen Xing'er said, flattering him.

Wang tapped her forehead with her finger and said, "We're not buying your act! Go back to your work!"

Shen Xing'er chuckled and went back to the old lady's courtyard.