Lan Jin opened a trunk. It contained many items, all quite miscellaneous—books, sachets, a flute, even stones, and various other things—but none could truly be considered her personal belongings.
Each of these items had its own story. Some were tokens from this or that family, while others could serve as bargaining chips in transactions.
During her four years in Qianzhou, she had gathered an immense amount of information. Coupled with five years of running "Feng Deng," she had woven a web that was already quite extensive.
Although women were confined to the inner quarters, which mistress of a household was unaware of the family's affairs?
With determination, even if one never stepped beyond the inner gates, it did not mean they were completely ignorant of the outside world.
Over nine years, she had come to know far too many secrets.
She did not treat these things as treasures to be hidden away. Instead, she casually scattered them throughout the room—not concealed, yet not placed in overly conspicuous spots. Even if a thief with ulterior motives entered the room, they would find it difficult to easily uncover her secrets.
With her arrangement, the once somewhat empty room now felt full.
Lan Jin walked around the room. With more familiar items around, the space no longer felt strange, and her mood immediately improved.
Afterward, she went to open another trunk. Inside were old clothes, old books, old brushes, old paintings, and other such items.
Sitting beside the trunk, Lan Jin gently stroked the contents inside for a long, long time.
"Miss, I'm back."
The voice arrived before the person—a typical habit of Zhao Tang.
Lan Jin stood up, closed the trunk, sat down, and poured three cups of tea just as Zhao Tang entered with Yu Zhi Yue.
Yu Zhi Yue hurriedly bowed in greeting: "Zhi Yue pays her respects to the Miss."
"There's no need to be so formal. As long as you fulfill your duties, there aren't many strict rules to follow by my side."
Lan Jin looked at Yu Zhi Yue. She was dressed in plain clothes, with only a small pearl hairpin adorning her hair. "I don't lack people to serve me. For now, focus on sending your mother back to her clan for burial."
"This little girl now has her own ideas," Zhao Tang said, pulling her to sit below the Miss. She picked up a teacup and drank it all in one go. "She donated a large sum of incense money to Baiyun Temple and placed her mother's coffin there. Monks chant sutras for her every day."
Lan Jin didn't need to think much to understand Yu Zhi Yue's intention. For a woman to be buried back in her maiden family was no small matter.
When this branch of the Qi Family was thriving in the capital, those guarding the ancestral home naturally treated them with respect, allowing them to do as they pleased. But now that this branch had fallen, it would not be easy for Madam Qi to be buried back with her family.
"These matters should be handled by your uncle. You don't need to worry so much."
"I know my uncle cares deeply for my mother and will surely handle this properly. But if my mother were still alive, she would not want my uncle to lower himself before those people for her sake." Yu Zhi Yue pursed her lips. "Miss, you once said the Qi Family was innocent. I wish to wait until my uncle is reinstated before sending my mother home. By then, even in the afterlife, my mother won’t have to endure their cold glances."
Lan Jin fell silent for a moment. "Granted. Later, write a letter explaining the situation. I will have it delivered to your uncle."
Yu Zhi Yue nodded repeatedly in delight. Sister Zhao Tang was indeed right—the Miss was not sentimental. Appealing to old affections or making a scene in front of her would only annoy her. But the Miss valued reason above all. As long as one could clearly explain their reasons, she would handle matters with discretion.
Lan Jin didn't dwell on such trivial matters and called Aunt Chang in, saying, "The previous commission can be settled now. She has placed a new commission—twenty percent of the net profit annually. Go prepare the deed for her to sign, explain all the businesses clearly, and arrange the rest, Auntie."
"Young mistress truly is the reincarnation of the God of Wealth. Commissions keep coming one after another—I can already smell the silver." Aunt Chang took the young girl's hand, smiling like a great benefactor. "Don't worry, Miss Yu. Even though we'll be taking twenty percent of the profit, with the shops in my hands, the eighty percent you receive will certainly not be less than the full hundred percent from previous years. At 'Feng Deng,' we value integrity above all and would never let you suffer a loss."
Yu Zhiyue was now certain—everyone around the young mistress was truly remarkable. She clasped Aunt Chang's hand in return and said, "Auntie, you can just call me Zhiyue. I'll be troubling you to take care of things."
"Good, good. From now on, I'll call you Zhiyue."
Lan Jin didn't expose how Aunt Chang had completely charmed the young girl and added another instruction: "Since you're taking her benefits, make sure to teach her properly. These businesses will need her own management in the future—don't just focus on counting money."
"Yes, yes, yes. Young mistress, you can rest completely assured. Since Zhiyue trusts me so much, I'll treat her like my own child. How could I ever let her down?"
Aunt Chang's words were as deceptive as a ghost's.
Lan Jin didn't believe a single word of it. When dealing with outsiders, the sweeter Aunt Chang's words, the more one had to take them with a grain of salt. For now, Zhiyue still counted as an outsider to her.
Still, since she had reminded Aunt Chang, she wouldn't go too far. She had said that Zhiyue's eighty percent wouldn't be less than the previous full hundred percent, and it certainly wouldn't be. But how thick 'Feng Deng's' twenty percent would be—that was another matter entirely.
Aunt Chang loved nothing more than profit without investment. Using others' shops to earn money for 'Feng Deng' was her favorite kind of business. Moreover, she guarded the silver earned through her own skills fiercely.
Lan Jin never said much about this, as the silver ultimately ended up in 'Feng Deng's' treasury.
For Qi Xincheng's sake, Lan Jin subtly reminded his niece: "Learn earnestly from Aunt Chang. It will benefit you."
Yu Zhiyue didn't fully grasp the weight of these words, but she still responded enthusiastically. She wanted to grow into someone like the young mistress—even a third of her abilities would be enough for a lifetime.
Aunt Chang patted this head that seemed to drop gold ingots and, as the young mistress wished, put in a little more effort: "Young mistress, let's have Zhiyue stay in the first room of the left wing on the first floor. I've already tidied it up."
"Arrange it as you see fit."
"Perfect timing, then. I'll take her to that room to settle the accounts." Aunt Chang led Yu Zhiyue in a bow and excused herself. The previous commission entitled her to ten percent of the total business assets, which, given Yu Zhiyue's wealth, was no small sum. She could already faintly hear the sound of silver entering the accounts—truly a delight.
Zhao Tang waited until Aunt Chang had eagerly left before daring to speak: "I thought you would stop Aunt Chang, young mistress!"
Lan Jin picked up her teacup, took a sip, and raised an eyebrow to look at her. "Yu Zhiyue is quite capable. It only took one night for you to take her side."
"Don't wrong me, young mistress! I just thought that once we reached the capital, you would have Aunt Chang rein it in a bit."
"Why should she rein it in?" Lan Jin finished her tea. "'Feng Deng' is open for business. If we didn't prioritize profit, could we even call ourselves merchants? Without Aunt Chang, 'Feng Deng' wouldn't have its nine shops today."
Zhao Tang picked up the teapot to refill the young lady's cup, saying as she poured, "Surely you don’t think I have a problem with Aunt Chang, do you? How could that be! Even though I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, I know perfectly well that without the money Aunt Chang earns, I wouldn’t get to eat so much meat. It’s just that Zhi Yue is, after all, Qi Xincheng’s niece—half one of our own, you could say. If Qi Xincheng were to find out, wouldn’t he make trouble for Aunt Chang?"
"He wouldn’t. If Qi Xincheng knew Aunt Chang was willing to teach his niece a thing or two, he’d only be pleased."