The merchant's rebirth led to the complete downfall of the Marquis's mansion.

It seems that because of her advice, Chen Yiru chose a different path from her previous life, and things changed accordingly.

The scholar who was supposed to visit next year is probably coming soon.

"Have you sent someone to keep an eye on that scholar?" Qin Yao asked.

“They’re keeping an eye on him, Miss! When I came back, they were hiring a tutor for the scholar; they’re probably going to give him a good training.” Liu Da replied respectfully.

When the young lady told him, he was still a little skeptical, saying he had seen it with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears.

Liu Da didn't quite understand this. Even if he wanted his daughter to marry in his place, he didn't need to find someone with such a terrible character!

If you find someone decent and of good character, can't you achieve your goal?

This is how you harm your own niece...

Thinking about what that scholar had done in the village.

Liu Dadu couldn't stand it anymore.

Qin Yao knew, of course, that the scholar she knew in her previous life was a good young man praised by everyone.

If that weren't the case, Chen Yiru's father probably wouldn't have been willing to marry off his daughter.

"Go and keep an eye on him yourself, and it would be best if you could get close to him. Report back immediately if anything happens."

"Yes, Miss." Liu Da said, immediately turning around and leaving.

After Liu Dayi left, Qin Yao took two maids and went out to a teahouse in the east of the city.

The teahouse has been open for many years, and I heard that the owner behind it is a high-ranking official, so no one dares to cause trouble.

In reality, when it comes to doing business, you either need to be a big company or have powerful connections. If you have nothing, you're likely to only be a small-scale operation.

Qin Yao understood this best.

In her previous life, wasn't it because Lina had the support of the Third Prince that she was able to build her business?

Without anyone's protection, any random shop in Kyoto could easily crush all her ideas to the bottom of the moat.

I had only been sitting for a short while when Chen Yiru arrived.

"Why were you in such a hurry to ask me out?" Chen Yiru sat down opposite Qin Yao and asked curiously.

It's always best to send a message in advance to give the other party time to prepare.

It's extremely rare for someone like Qin Yao to suddenly send someone to her door to ask her to come out.

Unless there is something particularly urgent.

Qin Yao did not answer.

Instead, he was looking around the teahouse.

The teahouse has three floors. One floor is the main hall, where ordinary people usually come to drink tea, and the prices are cheap.

The second floor has private rooms, which offer excellent privacy; they are currently on the second floor.

As for the third floor... well, Qin Yao had never been up there before.

I heard that only people of high status are qualified to go up there.

"What do you think of this teahouse?" Qin Yao turned around and asked.

Chen Yiru was puzzled, but still replied, "Of course it's the best."

Although this place is low-key and can't compare to the one run by the Qin family, they have powerful backers!

Privately, everyone believes that this is the best teahouse in Kyoto.

"What do you want to do?" Chen Yiru asked, her eyes narrowed slightly.

“This place is…” Chen Yiru pointed upwards, “Don’t get any funny ideas.”

Qin Yao smiled, picked up her teacup, and took a small sip.

"Good sister, of course I know, how could I dare?"

"Then what do you mean?"

Qin Yao composed herself before speaking.

"The older sister thinks this place is good because the business is good here, and it's backed by a big tree. The younger sister thinks this big tree is nice too, and wants to rest here for a while?"

Chen Yiru frowned, "Stop keeping me in suspense!"

Qin Yao then smiled and explained her thoughts.

This teahouse is great. In my past life, a girl named Lingna opened a hot pot restaurant here.

But she can't do it!

Why should the Third Prince give her the shop?

Let alone now that she's just an ordinary citizen, even in her past life, when she was the wife of the Grand Secretary, she had no connection with this younger brother left behind by the late emperor.

Therefore, if you want to do business, you still have to find another way.

Her idea was to open a shop next to this teahouse.

Firstly, this place has a large flow of people, so it can quickly gain exposure. With people coming and going, there are always people willing to try it.

Secondly, a new store, especially a food store, will definitely be suppressed by established stores, even if it's owned by the Qin family.

But it's a different story if you live next to this teahouse. Who would dare offend the Third Prince?

That was the Yama who decisively defeated the Xiongnu five years ago and slaughtered an entire Xiongnu city.

In his past life, he lent the teahouse to Lingna. No matter how strange or novel her ideas were, he never interfered. Those who wentssiped or tried to make sarcastic remarks were all dealt with by him.

This is what made hot pot, which was originally not very popular, suddenly become a hit throughout the city.

She thought that if she drove next to him, no one would dare to risk offending the Third Prince by frowning at her.

The garment building next door is about the same size as this place, perfect for a hot pot restaurant!

“But…” Chen Yiru thought for a moment, then prepared to say, “Then the one next to it is also…”

Before Chen Yiru could finish speaking, a middle-aged man rushed in.

"Miss, it's done!"

The man, beaming with delight, handed Qin Yao a land deed.

Qin Yao took it and smiled.

"What land deed?" Chen Yiru asked.

"I sent someone to ask the shopkeeper yesterday, saying I wanted to take over his shop. He said he would give me an answer today, and sure enough, I had the steward go and ask, and it actually worked out!"

Qin Yao originally thought the clothing store business was doing well, but was worried the owner wouldn't agree. Unexpectedly, she managed to secure the deal.

None of the methods she prepared worked.

Chen Yiru looked at the land deed in Qin Yao's hand, hesitated, and finally kept quiet.

Perhaps her information is incorrect?

"The tea is good!" Chen Yiru picked up the teacup, took another sip, and then asked:

"You called me out just for this?"

Qin Yao: "Of course not!"

After putting away the land deed, Qin Yao continued, "The shop I want to open is a completely new model. I'm a businesswoman, so of course I have to make money, but..."

Qin Yao changed her tone abruptly, saying, "After all, I'm a businesswoman, and I still need someone to help me out."

"Are you trying to leverage the Chen family's influence?" Chen Yiru asked.

Qin Yao nodded, "And the Yu family too."

The Chen family is the best she can find right now, and the most likely to help her. With Chen Yiru around, the Yu family will also take care of her out of consideration for Chen Yiru.

“That’s no problem. Once you open the shop, I’ll show up every now and then.”

Qin Yao smiled and suggested, "How about we become shareholders?"

"Huh?" Chen Yiru didn't react.

"It means we open a shop together, invest money, put in effort, and make money together."

Qin Yao knew that a woman's foundation, besides the power of her maternal family, lay in the money she had.

Having one's own private property will earn one more respect from the husband's family; this is the essence of a dowry.

"But I don't have that much personal savings. How can we cooperate?" Chen Yiru asked, troubled.

She's not married yet, so she doesn't have much money.

"Just a token gesture is fine. The important thing is that you're providing the manpower!" Qin Yao said with a smile.

“Okay!” Chen Yiru readily agreed.

She didn't care how much she got; she trusted Qin Yao's judgment and was sure to make a profit.

Besides, she doesn't have to do anything; just showing up a few times is no big deal.

"Sister, you helped me, so I'll return the favor with a gift."

Qin Yao took out a letter and placed it in front of Chen Yiru, "Take a look."

Chen Yiru opened the envelope with a lot of questions in her mind and began to read it carefully. The more she read, the more alarmed she became.

After a long while, Chen Yiru put down the letter, her face showing a panic she had never seen before, and asked Qin Yao about it.

"What...what does this mean?"

"Sister, the letter made it very clear, you should know that." Qin Yao looked at her with a serious expression.

"No! How could this be! How could my mother not be my mother..." How could she not be his mother?

"Sister Chen, don't you wonder why your mother favors Jiang Qianqian? Don't you wonder why your marriage, as the eldest daughter, is being delayed? If so, then it's not surprising!"

Chen Yiru held the letter tightly, her lips pressed together.

"Where did you get this letter?"

Qin Yao raised her eyes and looked directly at her, "I investigated!"

Chen Yiru was surprised by her candor.

Qin Yao continued, "When I saw Jiang Qianqian and my aunt interacting that day, I felt something was off, so I asked someone to keep an eye on Jiang Qianqian. They couldn't find anyone following her, but they accidentally intercepted this letter."

In fact, this letter was written by Jiang Qianqian's mother to the Jiang family. How it ended up through Jiang Qianqian is not important.

The important thing is the content of the letter.

Jiang Qianqian's mother wrote down Jiang's identity, including her relationship with Jiang Qianqian's father as siblings, and also information about their elder sister.

Her intention was to remind Jiang to remember her place and not to forget who her biological brother and niece were just because she had raised Chen Yiru.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yiru saw the letter directly, and after reading it, she understood the relationship between the people.

"No wonder!" Chen Yiru put down the letter in her hand, her face showing dejection.

However, everything has its reasons.

Her mother treated her differently than she treated her younger brother, and she had seen how her father treated her brother in the same way he treated her.

Only the mother is different.

Before, she always thought she wasn't good enough, but now, everything has an answer.

She's not her biological child at all, so how could she possibly treat them all the same?

What chilled her heart was her mother.

She had called her mother for over 10 years. Even if she wasn't her biological mother, there was still a bond of nurturing, and the two were related by blood.

She actually made herself give way to Jiang Qianqian.

"Miss, look!" Qiu Liu exclaimed in surprise, pointing out the window.

The group looked over and saw Jiang Shi and Jiang Qianqian getting out of the car. Jiang Qianqian, holding Jiang Shi's hand, walked into the clothing shop with a smile on her face.

It's not the change of season yet, what can I do at a clothing store?

All I could do was take Jiang Qianqian to "broaden her horizons!"

Moreover, their expressions made them look like mother and daughter to anyone who saw them.

Qin Yao didn't look at Chen Yiru's unpleasant expression.

"Didn't you say you were going to my shop to pick something out? When are you going?"

Chen Yiru also thought of that.

"Go! I'll go in a bit!"

Doesn't Mother like Jiang Qianqian? Then let's make her bleed a lot!