Chapter 182:
Ye Beiyao didn’t explain the details clearly to Luo Zhi’er either.
She basically understood!
She wasn’t stupid; it seemed like another exciting fight for the throne.
One thing at a time; logically, this matter had nothing to do with her, but in reality, it affected her business.
She was opening a lipstick shop and still needed to borrow Ye Beiyao’s influence. Taoyuan Town was remote, and everyone was naturally unaware of the twists and turns in the Marquis Changle Mansion; just hearing the name of a marquis’s mansion was enough to scare them into shivering!
But her dream for this lipstick tube was to open shops in the capital city and spread them across the country, which would inevitably be affected. Moreover, seeing Ye Beiyao so dejected made her feel a bit unwilling to let him suffer.
This Marchioness Du Zhichan was too vicious; it was clearly Sima’s intention.
She could seize it, but she even took all of his mother’s things for herself—that was going too far.
As for the marquis, he might have had some real feelings for Ye Beiyao’s mother before. After so many years, with a beauty by his side, children of both genders, and Ye Beiyao being disobedient with no support from his maternal family, that little affection from back then had long faded.
“The recipes I sent back earlier, they claimed as their own, but completely denied they came from here. Instead, they said they were old recipes from Yumian Tower that were only recently brought to market!”
This was completely stealing the credit for themselves.
They wouldn’t acknowledge the credit from Yumian Tower in Taoyuan Town and wouldn’t let Ye Beiyao get involved in the other restaurants.
The recipes, decoration style, business model—all unchanged, with only Yumian Tower in Taoyuan Town. How big a splash could one shop make?
“Damn, Ye Tuotuo, looks like you fooled me!” Luo Zhi’er only now realized that the one-third she got was merely one-third of Yumian Tower in Taoyuan Town.
What a miscalculation, what a miscalculation—what was the point anymore? She still wanted to be the top Empress Merchant of the Dongli Kingdom!
Previously, because she trusted him and was blinded by his identity as the young master of the marquis’s mansion, she hadn’t inquired clearly. Now, wasn’t this a huge loss?
“Heh! Too late, you’ve already boarded the pirate ship. Hurry up and think about how to get the operating rights for the other thirty-six shops.”
“What? Th-thirty-six shops?”
That’s right!
Luo Zhi’er swallowed her saliva.
This was after closing quite a few shops; back when his mother was alive, there were up to fifty-five.
She couldn’t figure it out—what kind of person was Ye Beiyao’s mother, really? Logically, someone who could run shops so well should be very shrewd, yet she failed to see people clearly, nearly leaving her son with nothing.
No wonder it made the little concubine’s daughter of the Old Xianyang Marquis Mansion envious!
Not only could she marry the marquis in glory, but she could also get wealth she’d never even seen. Even if she had to grovel and act like a dog, she had to pretend.
No wonder Ye Beiyao’s mother was deceived.
Speaking of Ye Beiyao’s mother Gu Qingqing, her identity was not simple either. She was the legitimate eldest daughter of the famous Earl’s Mansion and the only young woman in the earl’s mansion.
Because her parents loved each other deeply, she hadn’t experienced any scheming or filthy deeds from childhood, so her thoughts were pure, and she was full of fantasies about love.
Her dream, besides finding a partner to grow old with, was also quite interested in doing business.
Perhaps it was because her own mother—Ye Beiyao’s maternal grandmother—had been a merchant’s daughter!
Gu Qingqing also had a younger brother named Gu Jingyan, handsome as Pan An. By his generation, he should have inherited the title.
In the twenty-eighth year of Tianqi in the Dongli Kingdom, disaster struck from the heavens. His maternal grandmother’s Liu clan was implicated in Prince Zhan’s rebellion, leading to confiscation of property. The earl’s mansion was also implicated and abolished, turning them into commoners!
Her mother Gu Qingqing had already married by then and was spared punishment. But upon hearing the news, she was devastated and fell ill, never recovering.
Ye Beiyao’s maternal grandfather died on the road to exile in Mobei. His maternal grandmother couldn’t bear the blow and passed away soon after. His uncle Gu Jingyan, originally a celebrity, was exiled to Mobei for labor. After many twists and turns, he was released and returned.
“Upon returning, he found that his once harmonious wife had been forced to remarry with her daughter for survival. His mother had also passed away. Unable to accept reality, he drank daily, muddled through each day, and one day finally died in his residence!”
Currently, there’s only one cousin, who is already married. He returned wanting to find her.
He heard she went to see him six years ago, but at that time he couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, listened to that vile woman Du Zhichan, sent people to drive her away, and didn’t recognize her!
Luo Zhi’er sought him out for business cooperation and heard this long old story.
It seemed he was too busy with his own troubles.
“So, are you already plotting how to find the next partner with a background?”
“Do you think I’m trouble, Ye Beiyao, that I can’t give you what you want, so you’re backing out and thinking of how to kick away this big trouble without getting implicated?”
Ye Beiyao said mockingly.
“Hey! Ye Beiyao, what’s your deal? You look decent, so why is your mouth always so venomous?”
Luo Zhi’er wasn’t having it. She put her hands on her hips and unleashed her signature scolding.
Damn it, this guy deserved a scolding!
Actually, she’d long been displeased with him for always thinking the worst of people!
Ye Beiyao fell silent. His unspeakable past should have been kept secret, yet for some reason he’d told her. His intuition told him she wasn’t that kind of person.
“Why do you always think so badly of me? If you think that way, don’t drag me into it! Yes, my ultimate goal is to earn silver, but a gentleman loves wealth and takes it properly. Though I’m just a peasant woman, I, Luo Zhi’er, understand this reason and won’t stoop to being a petty person!”
Ye Beiyao looked at the fat woman before him. Her chubby face was flushed with anger, and for some reason, he felt relieved and inexplicably happy.
Her chubby hand slammed on the table.
“Hmph!”
“Forget it, there’s nothing more to say to you. Think about this lipstick shop matter first and give me a reply soon. Otherwise… hmph! Let me go back and think about the rest!”
Luo Zhi’er stormed out of the door of the second-floor private room in a huff and charged downstairs aggressively.
Seeing the beaded curtain at the private room doorway sway violently with a rustling sound, the smile in Ye Beiyao’s eyes completely melted away…
This fat woman dared to threaten him?
He wanted to know—what would she do otherwise?
Li Sanmao saw his wife come down, her face looking extremely unpleasant again. He itched to rush up and argue with Ye Beiyao right then.
His wife was so good; each time she brought huge profits to Yumian Tower, filling his pockets. He couldn’t bully people like this.
Luo Zhi’er quickly pulled him back and advised him not to argue with an immature little friend. They still had to go to the marketplace to do bread business—with harmony comes wealth!
Thinking about it, he felt his wife was too kind and too tolerant to others. In the end, it was all because he had no power or influence.
Miaomiao watched her parents, her eyes flickering. She didn’t understand why her mother was unhappy! Pulling at her father, she somehow felt that things between her father and mother weren’t the same as before.
After selling the bread, it was only noon. The three strolled around Chunxi Road.
They even went to Wang Mazi Knife Shop, where with a grand wave of the hand, she bought that Turkic curved knife she’d been longing for…
Then they went to the restaurant together for a big meal. Though called a big meal, Li Sanmao felt it was far inferior to his wife’s food.
