CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 264: UPGRADE

Jiang Lin mentioned in the letter to Yu Xiaolian that the Crown Prince, Jun Tingye, had somehow managed to facilitate a temporary peace agreement between Great Liang and Great Meng Country.

Currently, the Crown Prince is enjoying the spotlight, while Prince Jin is gravely injured, and even Prince Huainan’s Princely Heir is now living in drunken stupor, consumed by the sorrow of Yu Yanran’s sudden passing.

Jiang Lin noticed that Great General Yu, who once had high hopes for Prince Jin, is gradually losing faith in him and has begun to distance himself, maintaining a neutral stance.

Seeing Great General Yu’s withdrawal, Prince Jin approached the Jiang family father and son, hoping they would become his insiders within the military to serve his purposes.

If Jiang Lin agreed to Prince Jin’s request, it would mean betraying Great General Yu and switching allegiance to Prince Jin.

The Jiang father and son are not cold-hearted or ungrateful, and naturally couldn’t betray Great General Yu, so Jiang Lin promptly refused Prince Jin.

Yu Xiaolian continued reading, finding Jiang Lin’s mention that Crown Prince Jun Tingye had presented Princess Consort Dai to the Emperor, who is now deeply fond of her.

Aside from Princess Consort Dai, the Emperor no longer interacts with any other concubines in the harem, including Jun Tingye’s own mother, the Empress; all the women in the harem have become mere decorations.

Now that Princess Consort Dai is pregnant, the old Emperor caters to her every whim, refusing her nothing.

As Princess Consort Dai’s pregnancy made it inconvenient for her to serve the Emperor, she purposely brought her clan sister into the palace to serve him as well. It is said that her sister is even more enchanting and beautiful than Princess Consort Dai, making the Emperor extremely pleased, and he directly conferred the title of Luo Fei on Princess Consort Dai’s sister.

Both Princess Consort Dai and Luo Fei were gifts from the Crown Prince to the Emperor. Given their level of favor, as long as they have the Emperor’s ear, the throne is as good as the Crown Prince’s possession.

Jiang Lin implied that the Crown Prince had a favorable situation in the court, and it seemed that Prince Jin’s influence was waning.

Prince Jin wanted Jun Mobai to continue the search for the Longevity Gu, but Jun Mobai was so lost in debauchery that he ignored Prince Jin’s orders.

Prince Jin’s plan to turn the tables by finding the Longevity Gu seemed doomed to fail.

Yu Xiaolian frowned as she finished reading the letter, crumpling it in her hands.

In the story, Jun Tingye went to the Southern Border to quell unrest, but died there. Now, not only didn’t Jun Tingye die, but he also successfully negotiated peace with Great Meng Country. Is Jun Tingye blessed with extraordinary luck?

Could Jun Yian actually lose to Jun Tingye?

In fact, it didn’t matter to her who became Emperor; after all, she was just a commoner.

Ah, has the script changed that much? If only the novel could continue to be read.

A sudden idea flashed in Yu Xiaolian’s mind, and she abruptly stood up from her chair.

Upgrade, she needed to upgrade her space. Maybe after upgrading, her phone screen would no longer be a frozen page.

But how could she quickly amass fifty thousand taels?

It seemed she’d have to sell some glass cups or plastic products; only in this way could she upgrade her space as quickly as possible.

Without hesitation, Yu Xiaolian remembered that Escort Zhao mentioned once that the auctions and black markets in Luocheng belonged to the Zhao family. So, to gather fifty thousand taels quickly and without drawing attention, she needed to seek Zhao’s help.

Yu Xiaolian cautiously decided to first auction one Mei Yangyang as a test, even if Escort Zhao asked about its origin. She could openly claim it was a reward from Prince Jin.

Escort Zhao assumed Yu Xiaolian needed financial turnover for her business and asked what her shortfall was, offering to help her out.

He even suggested that royal gifts were rare, and Yu Xiaolian should keep Mei Yangyang as a family heirloom to pass on to future generations.

Yu Xiaolian didn’t elaborate further, simply declining Escort Zhao’s kind offer and insisting on selling Mei Yangyang.

Having no choice, Escort Zhao agreed to help Yu Xiaolian by taking Mei Yangyang to the auction house, promising not to reveal her identity as the seller.

Yu Xiaolian thought that one Mei Yangyang selling for a few thousand taels was already astronomical, not expecting that these plastic products had already been inflated several times over by the collectors in Great Liang.

One Mei Yangyang sold for a staggering thirty-three thousand taels. When Escort Zhao handed the silver note to Yu Xiaolian, she was utterly shocked.

She still remembered when they left Yangcheng, they had sold a whole set of Sheep Village toys for only thirty thousand taels.

Seeing Yu Xiaolian’s amazement, Escort Zhao explained, "Those merchants, upon hearing that this item was Prince Jin’s personal treasure, bid aggressively to buy it back and offer it to Prince Jin as flattery and currying favor."

"Oh!" Yu Xiaolian nodded. "So that’s how it is."

She was just saying, this item wasn’t worth that much. Some merchants without any backing would resort to all sorts of tactics to connect with Prince Jin Mansion. Now, with something unique from Prince Jin’s sachet circulating in the market, they certainly wouldn’t miss this chance to please Prince Jin.

Yu Xiaolian contentedly put away the thirty thousand taels silver note, taking out five to place on the desk. "Consider this as my little sister treating Brother Zhao San to some tea."

Escort Zhao ranked third in the Zhao family, so Yu Xiaolian had always called him Brother Zhao San and referred to the broker Zhao Zhijie as Brother Zhao Er.

Escort Zhao pushed the silver note back, his voice rough and domineering as he said, "If you’re short on money, hurry and take it for your turnover. No need for formality between siblings!"

Yu Xiaolian wouldn’t take it back and after a brief push, she excused herself from the Escort Agency while moving backward.

Still lacking twenty thousand taels!

It seemed she had to leave Luocheng for a trip to the surrounding regions and counties.

Yu Xiaolian decided to head to Zheng County, disguising her intentions by bringing Sun Manjin and Sun Manyin along, as well as a few other grandsons responsible for transportation from Grandpa Sun’s family.

They brought several large carts loaded with hotpot base to Zheng County.

Following the suggestion of Shopkeeper Zhao from Meishan Building, Yu Xiaolian sold the hotpot base to Tianxiaj Residence in Zheng County.

The owner of Tianxiaj Residence was friends with Shopkeeper Zhao, who had already sent a letter before Yu Xiaolian arrived, so once she got there, the hotpot base was swiftly sold.

Yu Xiaolian then spent a few days teaching the chefs at Tianxiaj Residence how to use the hotpot base.

She instructed verbally while the chefs practiced hands-on.

But it turned out that fish and meat simmered with hotpot base proved to be especially spicy and appetizing.

Yu Xiaolian signed a long-term supply contract with Tianxiaj Residence, agreeing to send five hundred pieces of hotpot base to Zheng County every month, each priced at five hundred wen.

At Meishan Building with Shopkeeper Zhao, Yu Xiaolian calculated at four hundred wen per piece, as Shopkeeper Zhao was her very first large client, and since his demand was significant and could introduce her to more customers, she had to offer a discounted price.

Busy with hotpot base matters during the day, Yu Xiaolian also spent many evenings scouting for the location of Zheng County’s black markets and auctions.