Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Lady Zhang finally agreed to Prince Ding'an's idea and wrote two letters on the spot, one to the Xie family and the other to the Wang family. She also gave him a jade bracelet and a jade pendant that she was wearing.

“This bracelet was part of the betrothal gifts from the Wang family, and the jade pendant was given to me by my mother before I got married. They will naturally believe what your people say when they see these two items. But I have one more request.”

"Please speak, Madam. I will not hesitate in the slightest if it is within my power." Holding the letter and token, Prince Ding'an was filled with confidence. Now that his biggest problem had been solved, he would soon be able to lead his troops north again.

"Regarding the matter of the Xie and Wang families contributing money, I hope that this news will not be leaked before Your Highness's great cause is successful."

Hearing her words, Zhou Ji narrowed his eyes, a faint anger rising in his heart. He naturally understood her intention; she was simply afraid that if he lost, both families would be purged by the imperial court for helping him.

Although somewhat displeased, he readily agreed. As long as this woman remained in his hands, those two families would be his cash cows. He also feared that if word got out, something might happen to either family before his grand scheme was complete. Finding two such wealthy individuals again wouldn't be easy then.

Having made her decision, Lady Wang had no more interest in enjoying the moon and wine. She gave a perfunctory reply and took her leave. However, Prince Ding'an was in a very good mood. He immediately ordered his servants to bring out more than a dozen jars of fruit wine from the wine cellar, load them onto his carriage, and follow Lady Wang's carriage all the way to her inn.

That night, Consort Lu lay in Zhou Ji's arms and softly said...

"My sister is so good to me. She has no sisters in her family, so she really treats me like a younger sister."

"Hmm..." Prince Ding'an stroked Consort Lu's smooth back with his hand, responding in a low, somewhat hoarse voice.

"When I first heard that she was arrogant and domineering, I thought she would be a very difficult person to deal with. But after getting to know her, I found that she was actually quite innocent."

"Hehe... Min'er is trying to say she's stupid, isn't she?" Zhou Ji chuckled softly, revealing the unspoken words of the woman in his arms.

"Your Highness, you're making things up! That's not what I meant at all!" Lu Min'er was immediately displeased upon hearing Zhou Ji's words.

"Yes, yes, Min'er didn't mean that. I misunderstood." Zhou Ji quickly patted her back reassuringly. Then he continued...

"Although the Xie family is extremely wealthy, they are ultimately just merchants. Their shrewdness and insight are still somewhat different from those of young ladies raised by officials. It must have been very hard for my beloved concubine to have Min'er deal with her these past few days. I will certainly reward you handsomely."

"What does Your Highness intend to reward me with?" Lu Min'er looked at the man in front of her with seductive eyes.

Zhou Ji looked deeply into Lu Min'er's eyes and said in a low voice...

"How about we reward Min'er with a son?" After saying that, he turned over and covered her with his body, and the two became entwined.

While the prince was enjoying a romantic night at the palace, Xia Yu was playing cards with several maids at the inn.

"Princess, when are we going back to Jialing Pass? Two twos!" Twenty-two didn't forget to ask Xia Yu about the next plan when he played his card.

"No, it'll be soon, in the next three or four days," Xia Yu said, looking at the cards in her hand, none of which she could beat.

"Aren't we here to kill that guy surnamed Hua? Why are we still involved with that prince?" Twenty-nine looked at the cards in his hand and, finding none that he could play, shook his head to indicate that he didn't want to.

"You'll find out in a couple of days. Now, just play cards with me."

The two girls wisely shut their mouths, focused on playing cards, and stopped talking.

In the following days, Madam Wang frequently visited the Prince's residence. Zhou Ji perhaps thought that Madam Wang was now on his side, because she clearly sensed that there were fewer spies secretly monitoring her these past few days. The maids who often accompanied Madam Wang also became increasingly familiar with the maids serving Consort Lu. Sometimes, when their mistress was speaking in the room and not allowing them to serve her, Consort Lu would specifically instruct her maids to take Madam Wang's maids for a stroll in the Prince's garden.

"Sister Pearl, Sister Jade, these are some melon seeds and snacks I brought for you. These two flowers were a gift from our mistress, and I brought them especially for you to wear." The round-faced maid, who used the pseudonym Jiu'er, explained the origin of the items as she took them out.

"Oh my, these flowers are so beautiful, they look just like the real thing. What are they made of?" Pearl asked, examining the flowers that Jiu'er had taken out.

"I don't know, I heard they're called bionic flowers, bought at Cuihua Tower. Madam gave each of us two, and as soon as I got them, I felt they were especially suitable for the two of you to wear. Madam was coming to the Prince's Mansion today, and I shouldn't be serving her, but I specifically begged her to let me come out, just to bring these two flowers to you." Jiu'er smiled, her eyes crinkling, watching the two people in front of her hold the flowers up to their heads, seemingly very happy.

"You bought it from Cuihua Tower? That must be expensive! Jiu'er, you should take it back and wear it yourself. This was a gift from your mistress. When everyone else has one, but you don't, your mistress will probably be angry if she asks about it."

"Not expensive at all, only one tael of silver per flower. Besides, when I came here today, Madam saw me with flowers, and I already informed her that I was going to give them to my two elder sisters, and she didn't say anything." Jiu'er said nonchalantly while cracking melon seeds.

"One tael of silver per flower?" The two maids exclaimed in surprise upon hearing the price Jiu'er quoted.

Their voices were surprisingly loud, startling Jiu'er who was eating melon seeds. She stood up from the stone bench, somewhat bewildered, and stammered...

"These two flowers aren't expensive, sister. I just thought they were quite delicate, so I thought I'd give them to you. If you think they're too cheap, then I'll give them to you next time..."

When Pearl and Jade saw her like this, they knew she had misunderstood. They exchanged a glance, and Pearl quickly spoke up to explain.

“Jiu’er, we really like these bionic flowers, but we didn’t expect that one of them would cost one tael of silver. This price is a bit beyond our expectations.”

"Does Sister mean that one tael of silver per flower is too expensive?" Jiu'er seemed to understand what the two meant at this moment.

"Yes," the two nodded in unison. After saying that, Pearl couldn't help but ask Jiu'er...

"Jiu'er, how much monthly interest do you receive?"

"Huh?" Jiu'er looked up at the two of them in confusion, seemingly not understanding why she would ask such a question.

Seeing Jiu'er like this, Pearl blushed, glanced at Jade, shook her head, and was too embarrassed to ask any more questions.

"I think it's five taels of silver?" Jiu'er thought for a moment and said, then continued...

"However, our lady is very good to us. She often rewards us as long as we do well. The exact amount of the reward is uncertain."

"What do your wives usually reward you with?" Emerald asked tentatively.

"Hmm, let me think, that's not necessarily true. There are all sorts of things, like silver ingots, gold and silver coins, gold melon seeds, gold leaves, gold and silver cakes, jewelry, rouge and face powder." Jiu'er pouted and thought for a long time before coming up with this long list.

Her words left Pearl and Jade speechless, their eyes wide with astonishment. Comparison is odious; they were both maids, yet how could she be so wealthy? Compared to Jiu'er, they were like beggars. With so many rewards and such a high monthly allowance, no wonder she didn't care about a mere tael of silver for a single artificial flower.