Shi Zhenxiang saw her daughter's expression and knew she had heard some gossip. She smiled and explained, "Your mother has you five, that's enough. Sons and daughters are both treasures. I just love the five of you."
Hearing this, the princesses' eyes showed happiness.
They immediately pledged their loyalty. "Imperial Consort Mother, in the future, your son-daughter will support you in your old age."
"I will also support you in your old age."
"And me too."
Shi Zhenxiang loved that they cared for her so much—it was worth not playing favorites and treating every child equally.
See, the effect was already showing.
"Alright, alright, alright. In the future, your Imperial Consort Mother will go live with each of you in turn to be supported. Don't be disgusted with me then."
The four daughters all said they wouldn't.
When they ate dinner, because Shi Zhenxiang was still in postpartum confinement, the Shi family simply set the dining table in her courtyard. The entire family of over thirty people squeezed in there to eat.
Shi Zhenxiang was...
Fortunately, her courtyard was the largest in the entire mansion, otherwise it really wouldn't have fit.
Because the nephews had all returned, just the children's table needed three tables.
This generation of the Shi family's grandchildren were all grandsons. Only the five princesses were granddaughters, so the boys were all very friendly to the five princesses. They all wanted to sit next to their younger sisters.
The Eldest Princess stood up like a little adult to take charge. "Cousins, don't worry. This time we will stay home for a month. Today I will sit with Eldest Cousin and the others, and tomorrow with Second Cousin and his group."
After all, by rotating a group every day, everyone would be covered.
Shi Zhenxiang found it amusing, but also felt her eldest daughter was good at handling things—she immediately straightened out the chaotic scene.
The boys now obediently waited for their numbers.
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi placed a small square table on Shi Zhenxiang's bed and sat down to eat with her.
"This is roast duck from the North Gate, just out of the oven. Quickly, try it."
Shi Zhenxiang also loved to eat, so she immediately gnawed on a duck leg. "Crispy, fragrant."
The skin of the roast duck was crispy, but the meat inside was quite tender.
The servant soon brought the second dish. "This is steamed sea bass—a premium item from the dock. They say it nourishes the body."
Shi Zhenxiang also ate a big piece, praising repeatedly, "Delicious."
Indeed, her family knew how to eat—it was much better than the unchanging food in the Imperial Palace.
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi saw her wolfing down the food and couldn't help but wonder, "Ninth Sister, weren't you able to eat enough in the Imperial Palace?"
Otherwise, why would she be so hungry?
Shi Zhenxiang was gnawing on a braised pork hock and sighed. "His Majesty advocates frugality—only two meals a day, and each meal has only two dishes."
If the Emperor ate like that, how dare we Imperial Concubines be extravagant? So we naturally couldn't get enough food either.
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi immediately felt sorry for her. "I said your face had gotten so thin—so you weren't eating enough."
The Emperor really was something—how could he let a pregnant woman go hungry?
But she couldn't say that, so she just kept putting more food on her plate.
"Now that the border pass is stable, the Old Madam sent a letter home a few days ago. She means to let the women of the family start up the shops again."
Otherwise, such a big family relying on that meager salary would never eat enough.
Before, when there was fighting at the border, the Imperial Court was unstable, so the family's shops were all closed.
Now that the situation is stable, naturally we need to start making a living.
Shi Zhenxiang's return to her maternal family was also due to this thought.
"I heard rumors before—the Prime Minister's family has started buying up shops in large quantities, wanting to open more stores to earn money."
Since it was first-hand news, she naturally had to rush back and tell her maternal family so they could quickly join the big money-making bandwagon.
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi agreed with her opinion. "The Old Madam's idea is for us to spread out—open shops in every province."
For example, the wives of Fifth Child and Sixth Child are from the south, so they can open shops in the south.
Seventh Brother and Eighth Brother are from North City, so they can open shops in North City.
As for her and Second Child and the others—they are locals of the Capital City, so they can open shops inside and outside the city.
Shi Zhenxiang immediately joined in. "I want to open a shop too."
She had already thought it through: people live by food, so she could open a pastry shop or a breakfast shop.
For a higher-end option, she could open a restaurant.
She had even chosen the location: the pastry shop would be at the dock. Many people unload goods there early in the morning, and most of them would buy some baozis or mantous to eat.
She could also run the pastry shop on two tracks: one dedicated to selling to high officials and nobles, and the other to selling to ordinary commoners.
As for inns, they could also have two types.
Still a luxury version and a commoner inn.
After hearing this plan, Eldest Sister-in-law Shi approved. "But do you have enough money for it?"
Although their parents had given Ninth Sister a considerable dowry, compared to wealthy families, it could at most open two small shops—anything more and it wouldn't be enough.
After all, the Shi family was a lineage of honest officials.
Shi Zhenxiang grinned slyly, then took out a large bundle of gold and silver jewelry from her bag.
"Hey, is this enough?"
Besides the gold, even the egg-sized luminous pearl alone was priceless.
And the red coral—each piece was a treasure.
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi hastily covered these things up and whispered, "Ninth Sister, you didn't steal things from the Emperor, did you?"
Shi Zhenxiang was embarrassed. "Of course not—these are all gifts from the Imperial Palace."
Some were awarded by the Emperor, some by the Empress Dowager, and some by the Empress.
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi hesitated. "Taking awarded items to pawn—that's punishable by death, isn't it?"
Shi Zhenxiang had already investigated. She leaned in and whispered, "I heard recently that a group of foreign merchants are collecting local treasures. When the time comes, I'll sell these items to them, and the capital will naturally come through."
"And that group of foreign merchants only comes once every few years."
"Once the items are bought, who knows which distant country they'll be sold to."
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi was still uneasy. "What if the Imperial Palace asks about them?"
She couldn't just say the treasures were lost, could she?
Shi Zhenxiang gave a crafty smile. "Last time, I told the Emperor that I took the gifts he gave me and exchanged them for money to use as disaster relief silver, and donated them in his name."
That made the Emperor very pleased, and he awarded her some more.
It was the same with the Empress and the Empress Dowager—I pawn their rewards for cash, then do good deeds in their names. Doesn't that achieve three things at once?
As for the money, I definitely pocketed some. But then I used that money to buy other treasures and kept pawning them.
After going through a few cycles, the items were no longer imperial gifts, but the silver was plenty.
So now I have quite a bit of cash on hand.
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi was amazed and gave her a thumbs up. "You're something else."
No wonder the Old Madam always said to listen to Ninth Sister when the men of the family weren't around—seems Old Madam was right.
"Fine, I'll handle the shop opening for you."
"When the time comes, will the shop be under your name or...?"
Shi Zhenxiang had already planned it out. "Put them under the princesses' names—two shops per princess."
Consider them as their future dowries.
After all, it's still many years before they marry, and in that time, I can earn a pretty penny from these shops.
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi teased her for being a shrewd calculator.
Shi Zhenxiang responded with a grin. "Women—especially married women—should still make more money."
Although she felt in her heart that her daughters would support her in old age, it never hurt for a woman to have more money.
Who knows? In the future, she might even be the one supporting her daughters.
Eldest Sister-in-law Shi laughed, then asked with concern, "When you came back this time, didn't the Emperor even mention it?"
Could it be that Ninth Sister had fallen out of favor with the Emperor because she gave birth to five daughters in a row?
Shi Zhenxiang waved her hand dismissively. "I'm not close with him."
Far away in the Imperial Palace, Sheng Jinyan sneezed suddenly.
Could he have caught a cold?
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