Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Little Rich Woman

Upon hearing Liu Yu's name, Lu Yu's voice immediately dropped.

Ji Meiqing was still deep in thought when she stood up and reminded Lu Yu, "It's time. There's only one incense stick's time left before curfew. Let's go first."

"Mm." He picked up his coat and followed her out of the room.

As soon as they stepped out of there, the cold wind immediately dispelled their body heat. Ji Meiqing shrank her neck and sighed, "It's so cold."

Lu Yu draped his coat over her shoulders. Ji Meiqing was taken aback for a moment before slowly saying, "Thank you."

"It's alright, it's just a bit chilly at night." He said, going along with her words. Ji Meiqing looked at the road ahead. Although it was shrouded in lanterns and she had walked this road many times before, she still felt a little uneasy.

As the two approached the city gate, a group of burly men appeared before them. "Are you Ji Meiqing? The illegitimate daughter of the Ji family who was expelled?"

Her heart sank immediately. "You were sent by her?"

"She's offended our lady and still acting arrogantly. Brothers, tie this little wench up and send her to some remote mountain valley to be someone's wife."

They swarmed forward, and Ji Meiqing was ready to run away when Lu Yu suddenly pulled her behind him.

"Don't move. I won't let them hurt you."

A warmth involuntarily welled up in her heart. Ji Meiqing looked at the large group of people in front of her from behind him, her hands clenched tightly. They simply couldn't win; Lu Yu didn't know martial arts and naturally couldn't fight five people at once, but time was running out. Seeing that they were about to close the door, Ji Meiqing swiftly threw the powder in her hand into the air, and before they could react, she grabbed Lu Yu and ran.

The powder wasn't anything rare, just ordinary itching powder. Ji Meiqing, who wanted to get into this business, knew she'd inevitably offend some people. So she specially prepared this stuff; it wouldn't kill anyone, at most it would just confuse their eyes and distract them.

The two ran out of the city gate at the last moment, and looked at the gate closing behind them and smiled at each other.

They've escaped a disaster for now.

"Do you know those people?" Lu Yu stared at her intently, and Ji Meiqing didn't bother to make excuses, admitting it directly.

"Yes, some enemies. You're not angry about the enemies I just made."

Lu Yu shook his head. "No."

Hearing this answer, Ji Meiqing was overjoyed. She had thought Lu Yu would be angry and scold her for it.

I felt a sweet feeling in my heart.

"Let's go," Lu Yu said.

Tomorrow will be terrible. Ji Meiqing thought to herself that if nothing unexpected happens, there might be some trouble in the next few days.

Do you know where the Qi Wei Prince's Mansion is?

"Are you going to the Qi Wei Prince's residence?" Lu Yu glanced at her. "The Qi Wei Prince's fiefdom is not here, it's in the capital."

"It's a bit far," she sighed.

Lu Yu added, "King Qi Wei will be staying here for a while, so we'll have to make do for now."

"No need," she laughed. "I have a way."

Lu Yu didn't ask any questions, but quietly walked forward with her.

"Tell me, is that eldest princess particularly fierce?"

"I don't know about that, but King Qi Wei treats her like a precious gem."

That would be perfect; they went home.

"By the way, we're running low on cash. We should go collect the payments tomorrow."

Ji Meiqing stretched and said, "So get some rest."

She went back to her room, took out the medicine packet she had on her, and noticed that her hands were red. It was her first time using it, and she wasn't very familiar with it, so she instinctively scratched them.

Her entire hand was swollen like a pig's knuckle. She brought over some cold water to soak it, and her hand felt a little better afterward.

Ji Meiqing will be ready as soon as it's light tomorrow.

After preparing breakfast and reiterating the tasks, she pulled Lu Yu away.

After entering the city, the scene changed completely. What happened yesterday seemed like a dream. She pulled him directly into the brothel through the back. People were still resting at this time, and she didn't care, going straight to Madam Hu's room.

While resting with her client, Madam Hu was startled awake. She was about to get angry, but when she saw that it was Ji Meiqing, she immediately lost her temper.

"It's you." She got out of bed, put on her clothes, and walked outside. "Let's talk next door."

The three moved to a different spot, and as soon as they entered, Ji Meiqing asked, "How was business last night?"

Mentioning last night, Mrs. Hu's eyes lit up, "It was incredibly popular, even more popular than since this building opened."

"As long as it's a hit, that's fine. I'm here for something else."

"Please speak," Mrs. Hu said, calming down and looking at them with a conciliatory expression.

She frowned. "Actually, we're short of operating funds and want to get an advance of about one-tenth of what we had last night."

"This..." Mrs. Hu looked at her with difficulty, "I'm afraid I can't agree to that, young lady."

“Without funds to buy spices, the supply of alcohol will probably be cut off. If Madam Hu is still unwilling, then we can go elsewhere. We just finished negotiating with a place a few days ago, let’s go see if it’s still available.” She smiled, took Lu Yu’s hand and said to her, “In that case, goodbye.”

Mrs. Hu thought about it. There were indeed a lot of people last night, especially when it came to alcohol; almost all the delivered alcohol had been used up. And now that it was a place where alcohol was being used, if they changed the business, they would definitely lose business.

One-tenth it is, she said through gritted teeth, "Wait a minute, it's not an advance payment, that's simple."

Ji Meiqing turned to look at her, then looked at Lu Yu triumphantly, as if to say, "See? There's nothing I can't handle."

Lu Yu simply smiled and said nothing.

Madam Hu handed them two thousand taels of silver notes. She took them readily, but seemed a little reluctant when giving them away. Ji Meiqing took them, counted them, and then said, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, but if Miss Ji has any other good ideas, please let us know."

"That's for sure." She waved the money in her hand; as long as there was money, everything was negotiable.

The two came out of the building, intending to go to the spice shop to buy some things.

Once inside, the two went their separate ways. Ji Meiqing went to find spices that might be used in the ingredients, while Lu Yu went to find some spices that could be added to the wine to enhance its flavor.

As soon as they entered, someone followed them in.

The visitor was Tian Cuiwei, and she slowly followed Ji Meiqing as she strolled around. After a while, she went to pay the bill, and Tian Cuiwei saw her take out an exquisitely embroidered purse from her bosom. Her eyes immediately reddened. She hadn't realized that her departure had actually created an opportunity for them, and now they were even giving her such a delicate sachet.