Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 152
Chapter 152 - Welcoming Guests at the Hot Spring Manor
Consort De cast a cold glance at Xie Ping.
That she did not have Xie Ping chased out was merely the display of magnanimity expected of an imperial consort, and it by no means signified that she accepted Xie Ping as her daughter-in-law.
That she spoke affectionately while holding Secondary Consort Shi's hand also did not mean she actually liked Secondary Consort Shi.
Between these two women, one had schemed her way into the position of primary consort while the other was a choice made out of sheer helplessness. It would be a miracle if she could like either of them.
The Xie family claimed to be of humble scholarly origins and provided no dowry—she could let that slide.
The Shi family was even more ridiculous. That Lady Shi had claimed she feared overshadowing the primary consort, and thus prepared merely that pitifully meager amount following the Xie family's example.
The only reason she gave Secondary Consort Shi a shred of face was to force the Shi family into coughing up the dowry that rightfully belonged to Secondary Consort Shi in the first place.
"A hot spring manor has recently opened in the suburbs of the capital. In a few days, you will accompany me to the manor to soak in the hot spring pools," Consort De said with a smile. "I've heard that those hot springs are exceptionally good for a woman's health. You should soak in them often so you can conceive a child for Fourth Early on—that is the proper priority."
Secondary Consort Shi found herself unable to agree, yet equally unable to refuse.
Xie Ping was clenching her teeth so hard they were practically ground to pieces.
She, the primary consort, hadn't even conceived a child yet; how dared Consort De let a mere secondary consort get pregnant!
However, she dared not vent her inner dissatisfaction and could only force a smile.
By the time Consort De brought Secondary Consort Shi to the hot spring manor, the place was already familiar to the vast majority of people in the capital.
"I heard there's a hot spring manor in the suburbs of the capital called Chuyun Zhi Shang, and it's much larger than the imperial hot spring pools."
"Larger than the imperial hot spring pools? Then why hasn't it been offered as tribute to the Emperor?"
"That hot spring is a bit far from the capital. Even if it were offered to the Emperor, he probably wouldn't visit it often. Besides, I heard from people that the person behind this hot spring resort is the Prince of Pingxi. As a father, the Emperor isn't going to snatch a business venture from his own son, is he?"
"A hot spring manor established by royalty is meant for the amusement of noble aristocratic families anyway. Ordinary commoners like us don't stand a chance; we might as well just watch the excitement."
"That's where you're wrong. A cousin of mine works as a odd-job laborer at the manor, and he told me long ago that the hot springs at Chuyun Zhi Shang are exceptionally, extraordinarily vast. Because of that, it's divided into two separate manors—one exclusively reserved for nobles and aristocrats, while the other has been turned into an open-air, oversized hot spring pool where ordinary commoners like us can spend a few coins and go in to enjoy ourselves."
"Really? Commoners can soak in hot springs too?"
"Of course it's true! If you don't believe it, let's go check it out together."
"..."
The idea of dividing it into two separate manors was proposed by Yun Chu.
The wealthy and influential could soak in hot springs, but ordinary folks with a little idle cash naturally wanted to enjoy themselves as well.
Building specialized pools and courtyards for the wealthy provided strong privacy and commanded a higher price.
Meanwhile, for ordinary people, there was a massive open-air hot spring pool, separated only by gender. Although the price was cheap, the sheer volume of ordinary people meant that by the end of the day, it still generated a handsome and substantial revenue.
After the ice shop closed its doors for the season, the Chuyun Zhi Shang Hot Spring Manor officially opened for business.
Through the cooperative efforts of Manager Cheng and Chen Defu, the hot spring manor made a name for itself in the capital on its very first day of business.
The private courtyards required reservations in advance, and they were already fully booked through the end of the year, with deposits alone exceeding ten thousand taels of silver.
As for the ordinary hot spring pools, the price was cheap—even in the dead of winter, it only cost two hundred copper coins per person. Since it was just the beginning of autumn, the price was naturally lower still, and eighty wen was enough to enter and experience what soaking in a hot spring felt like. Consequently, from dawn to dusk, a constant stream of people came and went before the gates of the hot spring resort.
Although the two manors were separated by nothing more than a single wall, both sides of this wall were planted with vast groves of peach blossoms, and their main gates opened in opposite directions, ensuring they did not interfere with one another.
Tingshuang arrived at the Xie residence carrying the account books for the first half-month of business, detailing the situation at the manor during this period.
Yun Chu listened while nodding along. With Manager Cheng's brisk and decisive management and Uncle Chen's meticulous attention to detail, everything at the hot spring manor was running smoothly. Of course, the primary reason was that the man behind the manor was nonepressing—the Prince of Pingxi, whose very name struck terror into the hearts of countless fierce bandits. Not a single person dared to stir up trouble.
"Madam, an incident occurred the day before yesterday," Tingshuang reported. "Consort Yuan in the palace received the Empress's grace to leave the palace for a trip, and she specially brought people to the hot spring manor. Passing by your private courtyard, she wanted to go in and take a look, but Manager Cheng stopped her. Consort Yuan raised her hand and slapped Manager Cheng right across the face, then entered the hot spring pool in your private courtyard to soak..."
Hearing of this event, Yun Chu did not find it strange in the slightest.
Her private courtyard was entirely different from all the other courtyards. The entrance was filled with exotic flowers and rare herbs, and the pool was embedded with multicolored stones.
Originally, the courtyard had been planted entirely with crabapple blossoms, but because she disliked crabapples, the Prince of Pingxi had ordered them replaced with orchids and jasmine.
Such a unique courtyard would naturally catch Consort Yuan's attention.
Tingfeng gasped in astonishment, saying, "Didn't Consort Yuan know that the person behind the manor is the Prince of Pingxi? How could she dare to barge uninvited into a courtyard that clearly doesn't receive guests?"
"Consort Yuan assumed this courtyard was prepared by the Prince for Consort Yin. Consort Yuan considers herself of higher status than Consort Yin, and as the birth mother of the Sixth Prince, why would she ever care about the Prince of Pingxi?" Tingshuang explained. "Just as Consort Yuan was in the middle of soaking in the hot spring, Manager Cheng invited the Prince of Pingxi to the manor. The Prince of Pingxi brought two senior matrons along with him. Completely disregarding Consort Yuan's face, the two matrons hauled Consort Yuan straight out of the pool..."
Tingsue covered her mouth in shock: "The Prince of Pingxi is far too bold..."
Even Yun Chu was stunned.
Although Consort Yuan was no longer a favored consort in the inner palace, she was still one of the Four Consorts, one of the Emperor's women, and had given birth to imperial offspring. For the Prince of Pingxi to pull such a stunt meant not only stripping Consort Yuan of her dignity, but also grinding the Emperor's face into the dirt right along with hers.
However, so many days had passed, and she hadn't heard of any upheaval erupting within the inner palace. Presumably, Consort Yuan had not dared to blow the matter out of proportion. Or perhaps it should be said that between Consort Yuan and the Prince of Pingxi, the Emperor had chosen the Prince of Pingxi, so the matter had naturally been swept under the rug.
Yun Chu changed the subject: "Tingshuang, take these fifty thousand taels of silver and give them to Uncle Chen. Have him commission someone to build a large sea-faring ship."
Tingshuang asked in surprise, "Is Madam planning to..."
"Once the ship is built, I intend to dabble in some overseas trade."
She couldn't pin all her hopes of making money entirely on the hot spring manor; should any unexpected accident occur, everything would be wiped out in an instant.
She remembered that in her past life, certain merchants had traveled overseas and brought back numerous rare marine goods to sell in the capital, and every single one of them had made a fortune.
Novelties from overseas were forever the hottest commodities in the capital. Merchants without ships could only purchase inventory from traveling traders, which slashed their profits right in half. It would be far better to build her own ships, procure her own goods, and transport them across the entire country.
Tingshuang nodded, accepted the order, and left to execute it.
Yun Chu tallied up her remaining funds: pure profits from selling ice had yielded two hundred and thirty thousand taels of silver, building the hot spring manor had cost close to twenty thousand, she had given fifty thousand to her father, and she was allocating another fifty thousand for shipbuilding, leaving her with one hundred and eleven thousand taels in hand. This sum of money would be considered a massive fortune by any household's standards.
She flicked the beads on her abacus and said, "Tingshuang, see if there are any quiet and elegant small courtyards with two or three courtyards deep in the capital. Buy one before winter sets in, and find skilled artisans to thoroughly renovate and tidy it up."
Once the Xie family affairs were settled, she would need a place of her own to live.
Although she could return to the Yun family and her older brother and sister-in-law wouldn't mind, staying too long might breed unnecessary complications.
Tingshuang committed every detail to memory.
Just as they were speaking, a servant came to report that the eldest young lady had returned.