Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

On the third day after Shen Jingxun arrived at Jialing Pass, Zhao Bei led a thousand soldiers to escort more than a hundred people who had dealings with the rebel king back to the capital.

Shen Jingxun stood beside the carriage, speaking to Xia Yu inside through the carriage wall.

“Princess, I was presumptuous that day, but every word I said was from the heart. I hope you can give me a chance.”

Faced with Shen Jingxun's renewed confession, Xia Yu's face flushed again, but thankfully he couldn't see her. So she whispered...

"Although I have been granted the title of Princess by the Emperor's grace, I still have to listen to my parents and the Emperor regarding my marriage."

Shen Jingxun was listening intently to the gentle, pleasant voice in the carriage, but unexpectedly, it ended with just one sentence. He waited a moment longer, making sure Xia Yu really had nothing more to say to him, before speaking.

"This humble general understands the princess's meaning and will certainly not cause her any further trouble." Having said this, he bowed deeply to the carriage again.

"Respectfully seeing off the princess, may she have a safe journey."

"Thank you General!"

As Jialing Pass receded further and further behind the carriage, it became a tiny black dot before disappearing on the horizon. Xia Yu's heart, which had been racing because of Shen Jingxun's words, slowly returned to a normal beating.

Lifting the carriage curtain to gaze at the vast, desolate land outside, they realized that when they first arrived, it was lush and vibrant with life. Now, three months later, in late autumn, all they could see was barrenness. A gust of autumn wind blew by, and the few remaining leaves on the trees drifted away into the distance, creating a scene of bleak desolation.

Zhao Bei only took a thousand soldiers back to the capital, while the rest remained stationed in the cities to prevent Zhou Ji from returning, although the possibility was very small. Moreover, apart from the portion he brought from Zhongzhou Prefecture, most of the soldiers at Jialing Pass were originally stationed there, and there would be nowhere to house them if they were all taken to the capital.

They were not moving slowly, because they were also escorting more than a hundred prisoners. Zhao Bei was also afraid that something might go wrong along the way, so apart from normal meals and rest, they were traveling non-stop.

But autumn had finally arrived, and as the saying goes, "one autumn rain brings one chill." After traveling for a day in the light rain, more than twenty people fell ill. Among them were prisoners, soldiers, and even the twenty-ninth person who was with Xia Yu fell ill.

“Princess, there are too many sick people now. Why don’t we rest here for a few days?” Zhao Bei, dressed in a straw raincoat, stood in front of Xia Yu’s courtyard and discussed with him.

This was the same Zuixiaolou Inn they had stayed at on their way to Jialing Pass. When they entered today, the innkeeper and the young waiter recognized Xia Yu and her companion immediately. But seeing the dozens of armored soldiers following behind them, they were terrified, their legs nearly giving way. They also realized that Xia Yu and her group were no ordinary people. Trembling with obsequious smiles, they greeted Xia Yu...

"Are you staying at an inn or having a meal tonight, sir?"

"We'll stay at the inn, innkeeper. How many rooms do you have? We'll book them all," Zhao Bei said casually.

"Sir, our inn only has about twenty rooms, including two in the courtyard. But five rooms are already booked. We run a business to make money peacefully, not to turn away customers."

With a "smack," Zhao Bei slammed a ten-tael, gleaming gold ingot onto the counter, squinting as he asked the shopkeeper...

"Is this enough?"

The shopkeeper glanced at the large gold ingot, swallowed hard, and although he was afraid of the general exuding murderous intent before him, he still carefully picked up the ingot and secretly weighed it in his hand before smiling obsequiously.

"That's enough, that's enough. I'll go and clean all the guest rooms right away. General and Miss, please go upstairs to the private room and have a seat. Hot soup and dishes will be served soon." After saying that, the innkeeper was about to personally lead them upstairs.

"Wait a minute!" Zhao Bei suddenly called out, stopping the shopkeeper again.

"Tell the kitchen to make more hot soup and rice and send it to the square in the center of town. There are still about a thousand people waiting there." As he spoke, he produced another gold ingot and told those who didn't have enough rice and flour to go and buy some more.

"Yes, yes, I'll take care of it right away." He then beckoned over two young assistants and gave them instructions.

"Did you hear what the general said? Hurry up and go to the grain stores in town and buy all the grain they have. Then go and tell Butcher Zhang to send over a pig, a fat one."

Zhao Bei nodded in satisfaction upon hearing his arrangement before following his directions upstairs.

The few people who were originally eating in the inn, seeing their commotion, all wanted to pay their bills and leave. However, the innkeeper stood at the entrance of the inn, apologizing to each of the departing guests one by one, and then waiving their meal fees for the day. Those who were initially somewhat resentful about the incident, seeing how tactful the innkeeper was, all calmed down, and left with smiles, saying they would come back in a couple of days.

Looking down at the scene below, Zhao Bei returned to the private room and recounted everything he had seen and experienced to Xia Yu. He then praised her.

"The owner of this restaurant is really nice; he made us leave happy. But the name of this inn sounds strangely familiar; I feel like I've seen this name in other places before."

Xia Yu put down her teacup and nodded.

"Yes, the owner of Zuixiaolou has indeed opened stores in many places, and the business is quite booming."

"Does the princess know the owner of this shop?" Zhao Bei gulped down a cup of hot tea, instantly feeling the dampness on his body lessen. He wiped the tea stains from his beard and asked Xia Yu.

"Hmm, how could I not know them? My family has always had business dealings with them! Besides, you should also know the owner of Zuixiaolou."

"Oh, I know them too. I wonder who they are? I don't think I've ever heard of this before!"

"Shen Jingheng, Lord Shen."

"Pfft...cough cough...cough cough" Zhao Bei, who had just sipped another cup of tea, suddenly heard this name. He forgot to swallow the water in his throat and couldn't help but spit it all out. Luckily, there was no one sitting opposite him, otherwise he would have been sprayed all over his head and face.

Seeing his expression, Xia Yu moved away to the side with some disdain.

"You know perfectly well that Lord Shen is in business. Is there really any need for this?"

Zhao Bei tried to speak, but water got into his trachea, and he coughed until his face turned red. He waved to Xia Yu. Xia Yu didn't understand her sign language, sighed, and instructed Nineteen to take the cups and teapot on the table out and replace them with a clean set.

After a series of heart-wrenching coughs, Zhao Bei, his face flushed, said...

"Princess, why didn't you say earlier that this was the property of Grand Tutor Shen's family?"

"What difference does it make whether you told me sooner or later? You expect to stay for free?" Xia Yu looked at him, her eyes full of shock.

"Ahem, it's not that I wanted to stay for free. I just... I just..." Xia Yu looked at him patiently, waiting for him to explain.

He scratched his head, unable to think of any excuse. To avoid giving the princess the impression that he was opportunistic, he had no choice but to tell the truth.

"If I had known this was the property of Grand Tutor Shen, I wouldn't have scared that shopkeeper. If this gets to the Grand Tutor's ears, he'll probably think I'm someone who bullies others by abusing my power."