There is a happy inn in the capital.

Previously, when Li Shuchen served tea, he happened to see her chatting quite amicably with Madam Li.

Never mind, it's all a personal choice.

That evening, Li Shuchen looked at the wall of keys. There were only a few keys left, and all four rooms in the top-tier section were booked.

Li Shuchen's price is 50 taels of silver per night, but there's a 20% discount for the first seven days after opening, making it 40 taels of silver per night. A deposit of 10 taels of silver per night is required.

Some guests who couldn't book the top-tier rooms ended up booking the bottom-tier rooms instead.

The fact that all rooms are fully booked is a good sign, but it remains to be seen how long this positive trend will last.

We still need to think of ways to retain talent.

Li Shuchen spent three days thinking before coming up with the voucher program (Li Shuchen was being lazy). Spending 100 taels of silver would earn him a seasonal meal set.

To refresh her mind, Li Shuchen decided to relax at Yaqingxuan (she just wanted to have fun).

I leisurely strolled in with the grapes, found a good spot to sit, and had just settled down, cracking some sunflower seeds, when I heard shouts from the crowd.

"Look! Young Master Jiuqing is making his appearance!"

"Wow~ It's Young Master Jiuqing, Young Master Jiuqing!"

"Young Master Jiuqing, look here! Look here!"

Hearing the enthusiastic shouts, Li Shuchen couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, is this Young Master Jiuqing that popular? He has so many fans!"

He then looked at the young master on the stage, dressed in white as snow, with a gentle yet not sinister appearance. His flute playing was clean and crisp, and his smile was as soft as melting snow. He was a man of gentle and refined beauty.

Li Shuchen nodded. It was indeed good; he deserved to have fans. Coming to Yaqingxuan was worthwhile.

Grape asked, "Miss, what are vermicelli? Is it tasty?"

Li Shuchen replied, "The vermicelli is quite delicious, but as I said before, 'fan' means liking him, following him, taking him as a role model, and striving to be like him."

Grape nodded, seemingly understanding, "Oh, I see."

Then she added, "Miss, grapes are always your fans, but where did you eat the delicious noodles you mentioned?"

Li Shuchen: "Oh, I'll make it for you another day."

Grape: "Hehe, okay."

The conversation ended, and the two focused intently on watching the young master of the Ninth Prince play the flute.

Li Shuchen was completely absorbed in listening to the young master of the Nine Ministers playing the flute when he faintly heard a few shouts—the voices of a young girl.

"No, no, help!"

"Help, Help"

"Please let us go, we beg you."

The sound was heart-wrenching and filled with fear.

Li Shuchen turned to Grape and asked, "Grape, did you hear any strange noises?"

Grape pointed in the direction of Young Master Jiuqing and said, "I heard it, he's behind Young Master Jiuqing."

Li Shuchen muttered to himself, "Behind should be the backyard of Yaqing Pavilion."

Li Shuchen: "Let's go out and take a look."

Following the sound, Li Shuchen brought grapes to the alley behind Yaqingxuan.

There were three men and two girls. One of the older, middle-aged men stood there like a bear, while the other two younger men each grabbed one of the girls.

The older, middle-aged man cursed and said to one of the girls, "You slut, what are you yelling about?"

After saying that, the middle-aged man with a large mole on the corner of his mouth slapped the thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl hard across the face, leaving five clear red handprints.

A little girl who looked exactly like her was struggling to break free from her restraints.

Looking at the little girl who had been hit, he cried out, "Sister, please don't hit my sister!"

Both sisters were very pretty, with delicate and charming features; they were clearly destined for beauty. Just then, the middle-aged man's hand was about to land on the other girl's face.

Li Shuchen shouted, "Stop!" his eyes fixed on the man's hand.

The man's hand froze in mid-air, then pointed at Li Shuchen.

The middle-aged man said menacingly, "Damn it, who are you, mind your own business, or I'll make you regret it."

Li Shuchen laughed, crossed his arms, and said, "Since you've said I'm a busybody, then I'll meddle in other people's business."

If Li Shuchen wasn't mistaken, they intended to sell the two young girls to Jiqingxuan to earn some money.

He then said, "I happen to be short-handed; I wonder if I could take these two girls with me?"

The sisters' eyes lit up when they heard this, but they didn't dare look at Li Shuchen; they just gazed at each other.

The man with the large mole sneered, "You think you can just take it away like that? I paid twenty taels of silver for it."

Li Shuchen was dressed casually today, not bothering to dress up much; she was still wearing the same plain cotton orange-green dress as before. No wonder the man with the big mole looked down on her.

"Big Brother," a henchman said, pulling the man with the large mole aside.

The man with the large mole then looked at Li Shuchen with a wicked grin, rubbing his chin as he said, "You can take him away if you want, but you'll need one hundred taels of silver. Otherwise, there's no room for negotiation."

The older sister looked at her younger sister, exchanging glances. One hundred taels of silver—too much; there was probably no hope. Then both sisters lowered their heads.

Li Shuchen thought to himself, "This guy is really asking for an exorbitant price," but he had no choice but to swallow his anger for now.

"Okay," Li Shuchen said slowly.

Grape pulled out a hundred-tael silver note, and the man with the large mole stared wide-eyed at the money.

Li Shuchen: "I'll give you the money, you give me the person."

The man with the large mole readily agreed, "Here you go, here you go."

He then pushed the two girls over, threw down their indentures, and quickly took the silver notes from Grape's hand.

Li Shuchen said coldly, "Take the money and get out of here."

The man with the large mole said, "Brothers, let's go."

They disappeared in an instant.

"Thank you so much, Miss, for rescuing us."

The older sister and younger sister were about to kneel down to thank Li Shuchen.

Li Shuchen quickly stopped him: "From now on, you're all my people, so you have to listen to me."

The two little girls replied in unison, "We'll listen to our mistress."

Seeing that Grape had put away the indenture, he said, "Let's go back to the inn."

Grape: "Okay, miss."

On the way, Li Shuchen asked the two women, "What are your names, and how did you end up like this?"

"My name is Zhang Lingyu, and my younger sister's name is Zhang Yuling."

The little girl who was speaking had a mole near her left ear, while her younger sister did not; Li Shuchen used this to distinguish them.

Zhang Lingyu: "We came here as refugees. Our families are all gone. My sister and I were forcibly detained and forced into indentures."

"If it weren't for Miss's timely appearance and rescue, my sister and I would have had a very difficult time in the future."

Li Shuchen patted Zhang Lingyu on the shoulder: "Yeah, don't be afraid. Just live well here with me from now on."

They arrived at the inn as they were talking, and Li Shuchen led the two of them to an empty room in the backyard: "Grape, ask Aunt Wang to prepare some rice porridge, make it thin."

Then he said to the two sisters, "Let's eat first, and then we'll talk about other things."

Zhang Lingyu, Zhang Yuling: "Thank you, Miss."

The two sisters were very well-behaved; they hadn't eaten for who knows how many days, and were extremely thin, their clothes thin and tattered.

Grape: "The food is here!"

Grape brought in two large bowls of rice soup.

Li Shuchen explained, "You've been hungry for too long. You can only drink some rice porridge first, and then slowly resume eating solid food. Otherwise, it will harm your stomach and intestines."