The heavy snow blanketed everything.
Overnight, the entire capital city turned into a world of glass and jade.
The Princess of Ning hadn't slept a wink all night.
She could hardly stop crying. "My lord, our Jingnan... is safe!"
The Prince of Ning put his arm around her shoulder, his eyes also growing hot. "Yes, my lady. He's safe!"
After all these years of worry and fear, the couple finally let go of their burdens. They felt as if a thousand - jin weight had been lifted off their shoulders, filled with the joy of surviving a disaster.
"My lord, since Jingnan is out of danger, should we still keep it a secret from Wanming?"
After getting along with Li Wanming for some time, the Princess of Ning had completely accepted her as a daughter - in - law. She couldn't bear to deceive her any longer. She always felt as if her family was deceiving Li Wanming into marriage.
"My lady," the prince stroked his beard and smiled. "Let the younger generation handle their own affairs. We old folks just need to give them a hand when they need help."
Xiao Jingnan had once mentioned to him that he had subtly probed Li Wanming, but her attitude remained the same: she would never marry into a noble family!
In that case, it was better not to say anything for the time being.
Maybe when Li Wanming realized that not all noble families were so pedantic and selfish, and not all sons of noble families were idle playboys, she would change her mind.
The Prince of Ning held his beloved wife in his arms and watched the heavy snow falling outside the window.
"If Jingnan is interested, he will surely find a way."
He himself had a soul - mate. As for his son's wife... let him chase her on his own. He couldn't manage it anymore!
The 11th lunar month passed, and before they knew it, the 12th lunar month arrived.
The business of the Li Family's wine shop became even busier. The combined storefront of the three shops couldn't handle the enthusiastic customers.
Even with more than a dozen rows of koji pools working at full capacity, they still couldn't meet the drinking needs of the people in the capital.
Even Muyun Pavilion, a top - level restaurant that only sold its own wine, started to place orders with them.
So, Li Wanming wanted to expand her business territory.
She took a fancy to a shop in Anye Square.
The shop was spacious and bright, with a regular shape. If the courtyard was included, it was even twice as large as the three shops she had in Pingkang Square!
Moreover, behind the shop was the Tongyuan Canal.
This canal had been widened just a year ago and could be used for water transport. It was originally used to transport furs from the northwest, so the water was deep and wide enough for boats.
Although it was the 12th lunar month and the canal was covered with ice, one could imagine how bustling it would be when spring came.
If the wine shop was opened here, it would be much more convenient to transport grains and raw materials in the future!
Even better, the main entrance of this shop was right on Changming Street!
Although it wasn't in the very center, it was at the intersection of the fourth cross - street from north to south, a place where all roads converged. It was the most prosperous area, a prime location!
Even the appearance in front of the door was different from others. There were more than a dozen columns on both sides, inlaid with layers of dragon and cloud patterns, looking quite festive.
There was a saying in the capital that the success of a business depended on whether there was a shop on Changming Street.
The Li Family's wine shop would truly gain a foothold in the capital if it opened a store here!
However, such a good shop naturally came with a high price.
Not to mention anything else, the annual rent alone was a thousand taels of silver!
Fortunately, Li Wanming had saved a lot of money before. Now, a mere thousand taels of silver was nothing to her.
The boss of the real - estate broker was overjoyed to see Li Wanming so wealthy. He personally accompanied her to sign the contract.
After paying the money and getting the official seal from the Ministry of Revenue, the matter was finally settled.
The boss of the real - estate broker grinned from ear to ear and kept complimenting her.
"Miss Cheng has really good taste. This shop used to be a fur business. The son of the old owner was appointed as a high - ranking official in a distant prefecture, and the whole family went with him, so it became available. Otherwise, it would really be difficult to rent a shop on Changming Street!"
Li Wanming suddenly remembered and asked, "Do you have any elegant mansions? It doesn't need to be too big, but it should be convenient to get around, quiet in the midst of the hustle and bustle. It's best to have several side rooms separated, which can be used for living or reading."
"Elegant ones..."
The boss thought for a moment and asked with a smile, "Does Miss Cheng want to open a private school? There is a mansion in Yong'an Square in the south of the city... Although it's not a commercial shop, it's extremely elegant and quiet. It used to be the residence of an official family..."
Li Wanming's eyes lit up. "That's great! I'm busy today. You take me to have a look tomorrow!"
She had been looking for a location for the academy recently but hadn't found a suitable one.
It was much more difficult to open an academy than a wine shop!
First, the rooms should be bright and not too dark; second, the environment should be quiet and not too noisy; second, there should be different side rooms for the students to live and eat; and then there should be a spacious yard for teaching students to make wine and grow vegetables...
She had been looking for a long time but hadn't found a suitable one.
Now, hearing what the real - estate broker said, she immediately became interested.
But she couldn't go now because she had an appointment with someone at Hongbin Restaurant.
As the New Year was approaching, it was time to give Pei Yanqi his share of the profits as promised.
After saying goodbye to the real - estate broker, Li Wanming got into the carriage and headed for Hongbin Restaurant.
...
In the private room, Pei Yanqi was holding a stack of silver notes, completely in disbelief.
"Li Wanming, it's only been half a year, and you've made so much money? You didn't go robbing, did you!"
Li Wanming sat on one side, poured herself a cup of tea, and said calmly, "I specifically changed them into 20 - tael silver notes to satisfy your pleasure of counting money. Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied! Satisfied!"
Pei Yanqi was overjoyed.
He spread out the silver notes one by one, counted them over and over again, and kept muttering, "Haha, these 20 taels will buy clothes, these 20 taels will buy delicious food, these 40 taels will buy a nice mansion..."
Li Wanming couldn't stand it anymore and frowned. "Are you guys in the Imperial Academy so poor that they don't even give you decent clothes?"
"What do you know?"
Pei Yanqi gave her a disdainful look. "Our Imperial Academy is a place of nobility and elegance... Nobility! Do you understand? We don't get tainted by the smell of money!"
Li Wanming stood up and snatched the silver notes from his hand. "You don't want to be tainted by the smell of money, right? Then I'll take this money back. I don't want to soil our honest and upright top - scorer..."
Pei Yanqi quickly hugged the silver notes in his arms. "You can't! These are all mine! We agreed on this before. You can't go back on your word!"
Li Wanming put down the silver notes and curled her lips. "Look at how petty you are."
She saw that Pei Yanqi had finished counting the money, carefully folded all the silver notes, and stuffed them into his bosom, then she said, "I came here today for another thing."
She wanted to open an academy. Besides lacking a suitable mansion, she also lacked teaching staff.
Think about it. What could be more attractive than a top - scorer when it came to recruiting famous teachers?