The three of them sat down, but Wen Qing knelt before Lan Jin, leaning against her knees and murmuring, "I've finally waited for you to come to the capital. Last night, I finally slept well."
Lan Jin looked down at her. Among these people, Wanyin managed the cosmetics business, Biyue oversaw the jewelry shop, and Wen Xi not only managed the general store but also held the capital's personnel in his hands. Only Wen Qing was different.
Her name appeared elegant, but she was an official courtesan.
Once, she too was the daughter of an official family. Before she even came of age, countless noble sons sought her out, trying every means to catch a glimpse of her. Yet in the end, she fell into that disreputable place as a courtesan.
When Lan Jin received the news, she happened to be not far from the capital. Feeling pity for her and recognizing her potential usefulness, she sent someone to strike a deal with her.
Over the past two years, Wen Qing had provided many useful pieces of information.
That Lan Jin could return to the capital nine years later was partly thanks to Wen Qing's contributions.
"Wen Qing slept soundly, but I, who usually sleep well, couldn't rest last night. Miss, do you know? Your impressive display at Chengenhou Manor yesterday has already spread throughout the capital."
Biyue took over the conversation. Her face was as round as a silver plate, her hair elegantly coiled high, adorned with a Buyao hairpin that swayed gently—the most fashionable style in the capital at the moment, perfectly befitting her identity as the proprietress of a jewelry shop.
"With Marquis Chengen as the stepping stone, you made 'Feng Deng's' reputation resound throughout the capital on your very first day back."
Wanyin smiled warmly as she poured tea for Lan Jin. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but her fair skin added considerable charm. With such a good foundation, any makeup she applied looked lovely. Whenever the cosmetics shop launched new products, her face became the best advertisement.
"This commission came at just the right time—coinciding with Marquis Chengen and my planned return to the capital." Lan Jin lifted her teacup and took a small sip. "If Marquis Chengen were a marquis with real power, I wouldn't have targeted him. But even when I was still in the capital, I heard my grandfather say that the Chengen marquisate had reached its end with Yu Qing. For my grandfather to give such an evaluation shows how unimpressive he was. If not for Madam Qi marrying into the family, the Marquis Mansion would have long been unable to make ends meet. Using him as the sacrificial banner is just right."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Lan Jin helped Wen Qing up and seated her beside her. "In the past, we communicated only through letters. Now that I'm in the capital, we'll meet more often. Set aside your worries—aside from easier message delivery, nothing between us will change, including the businesses you currently manage. I won't interfere with them. A helmsman doesn't concern herself with how her rudder-hand lives daily, as long as they remain loyal and don't neglect their duties."
Lan Jin's gaze swept over each of them. "In other words, I allow you to have personal interests, but these must not interfere with our main affairs. If anyone jeopardizes my plans for personal reasons, you know the consequences."
They all rose and acknowledged in unison.
Biyue and Wanyin secretly breathed sighs of relief in their hearts. The young lady was too perceptive—she had seen through their hidden concerns as soon as they met.
They certainly hadn't developed disloyalty. As people burdened with many responsibilities, they would never forget what mattered most. But they feared the lives they had grown accustomed to might change.
At their age, they feared nothing more than changes to the status quo.
Lan Jin gestured for them to sit down and asked the question she was most concerned about: "Is there still no news about where the remains of the Du family are?"
This was the matter the four of them most dreaded their lady asking about. The Du family incident happened nine years ago, and ever since she arranged for them to come to the capital five years ago to open shops, she had issued this command.
But there was a gap of four years in between. They had investigated through various channels, only finding out that someone had indeed collected and buried the bodies of the Du family men. Yet, who that person was seemed to have been deliberately erased from records, and to this day, they had no leads.
Seeing them shake their heads, Lan Jin didn’t feel disappointed. If they hadn’t found anything after several years, it indicated that the person who did this had considerable influence. It also indirectly suggested that the remains of the Du family members had not been thrown into the mass burial ground, which was good news for her.
After sipping some tea, Lan Jin asked again: "Has there been any recent news from the deposed Crown Prince's residence?"
"Not long ago, the fourth aunt of the deposed Crown Princess’s family brought her young daughter to our shop to buy jewelry. The family she’s marrying into is only a fifth-rank official, not particularly high status," Biyue promptly informed. "I’ve already shared this news with them."
Wen Xi, who hadn’t spoken since entering, added: "Fifth-rank Zhong San Da Fu, a literary official without fixed duties, formerly part of the Crown Prince’s faction."
Formerly, but now that the Crown Prince has been deposed, they still willingly bind themselves to the deposed Crown Princess’s family, clearly showing they remain loyal to the Crown Prince.
Compared to the level of official rank, loyalty is obviously more important.
Among these officials in the capital, not all high-ranking ones are capable; a sixth-rank official’s abilities might not be inferior to those of a second-rank official.
"There’s another matter," Wen Xi continued: "Yesterday, the deposed Crown Prince’s residence submitted a request for an imperial physician. The emperor sent the Chief Steward to escort the physician there. Later, the Chief Steward returned to the palace, and the palace dispatched another imperial physician. So far, there has been no news of the physician leaving."
Lan Jin thoughtfully rotated her teacup. Over the past few years, she had been closely monitoring the deposed Crown Prince and naturally knew that only in the year he was deposed did he become despondent and request imperial physicians several times.
Later, somehow he came to understand and resumed living as before. Since then, aside from regular well-being pulse checks, every request for an imperial physician had nothing to do with him personally.
After three years of house arrest, no disgraceful behavior had been reported about the deposed Crown Prince. Even the most prone issue—lust—he had not fallen into. To this day, he still only had one son and one daughter born by the Crown Princess. One secondary consort died a year ago, while the other had a daughter, and no other news had emerged so far.
"Wait. If it’s bad news, someone will surely spread it throughout the city for the deposed Crown Prince. If it’s good news, his own people will promote it for him."
The others acknowledged, unsurprised that their lady remained so composed.
After all, she was a student taught by three great masters in that place—how could she be like them?
"These matters aren’t urgent. Right now, this issue requires more of your help in thinking about it."
Lan Jin picked up the teapot to refill their cups, speaking slowly: "Yu Zhi Yue, daughter of Marquis Chengen, is the person explicitly requested to be protected by this client. She is young and also worried about being controlled or retaliated against by Chengenhou Manor. She wants ‘Feng Deng’ to manage her mother’s bridal dowry for her, offering us twenty percent of the profits annually. ‘Feng Deng’ originally didn’t offer this kind of service, but I think it might be feasible. The capital is different from other places; such transactions might become more common in the future. What do you think?"
Wen Qing chuckled lightly, her already stunning beauty blooming like a peony: "This child is truly clever, knowing to cling tightly to our lady without letting go."
"She does have a fair bit of quick wit, and she even used it to become my little maid."
Wen Qing's expression shifted: "The young lady agreed."
"Feng Deng never refuses such people." Lan Jin picked up her teacup, looking down at her reflection in the tea: "It is only with such people that 'Feng Deng' can truly be the 'lamp encountered in a dark room'."
Wanyin nodded in agreement: "If the little sister grows up by the young lady's side, influenced by her, perhaps in the future she will become the brightest lamp within 'Feng Deng'."