In the East Courtyard of the Pingning Marquis Mansion.
Not to mention having the fortune to see Pei Qing'an, ever since Jiang Fuyue tried to sell Yuehua and was discovered by the Pingning Marquis's wife, who then told Pei Qing'an, she had been constantly ignored.
For a full ten days, Qing'an refused to see her even once!
Even when having lunch and dinner with her at the same table, he wouldn't even give her a side - glance!
On the contrary, that seductive vixen Yuehua had won Qing'an's deep affection, and Qing'an had even stayed in her room for several consecutive days.
Jiang Fuyue was jealous, so jealous that she was almost going crazy: "Why can she capture Qing'an's heart! Why?!"
Chunhua and Qiuyue stood beside her, not even daring to breathe loudly, for fear of incurring her wrath.
"Qing'an used to love me the most!" Jiang Fuyue kept roaring.
For some reason, she inexplicably felt that Qing'an in this life was much more unfamiliar than in the previous life.
Jiang Fuyue clenched her handkerchief tightly, looking indignant.
In the previous life, after she finally managed to outlive Jiang Fuying, just one day away from the wedding ceremony with Qing'an and becoming his legal second wife.
But on the day before the wedding ceremony, when she went out for shopping and stepped off the carriage, she stumbled and died accidentally.
Fortunately, God had mercy on her and gave her a chance to live again, allowing her to successfully marry Qing'an.
However, she just couldn't figure out which part had gone wrong?
Why was Qing'an treating her so coldly now?
Jiang Fuying didn't know where Jiang Fuyue had gone wrong. She only knew that the shop was about to open, and she was extremely busy.
She had to take care of the shop's decoration and meet with various shopkeepers.
But this time, it wasn't that she was turned away. Instead, the shopkeepers of each store came to visit her on their own initiative.
After more than two months of cooperation, the shops in Bailu Alley had all tasted the sweetness.
Especially Manager Meng of the rouge shop.
The more reluctant he was at the beginning of the cooperation, the more eager he was to visit now.
"Miss, this is already the fifth consecutive day that Manager Meng has come to visit. This time, he even brought a large number of gifts. Do you think I should find another excuse to turn him away?" Caipu asked.
For the previous four days, the miss had ignored Manager Meng and only ordered her to send him away.
She thought that the miss still wouldn't see Manager Meng today.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Fuying shook her head with a smile: "There's no need today. Take him to the side - room."
Caipu's eyes widened in surprise.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Fuying gave a faint smile.
"In ancient times, there was the story of the three visits to the thatched cottage. I've ignored him for five days, but he still hasn't given up. It's enough to show his sincerity. It's okay to meet him."
Caipu recovered from her surprise and immediately said, "I'll bring him in right away."
In the side - room of the Zhennan Duke's Mansion.
As soon as he saw Jiang Fuying's figure, Manager Meng eagerly stepped forward.
"Duchess, several new and novel rouges have been made in the shop. I think they suit you very well, so I specially brought them for you to try."
Manager Meng's attitude was respectful and his tone was obsequious, which was completely different from the arrogant and proud shopkeeper before.
Jiang Fuying glanced at him indifferently for two seconds and casually took a sip of the green tea.
"Manager Meng, you might as well speak your mind."
The gift - giving and flattery didn't work, and Manager Meng's smile became a bit stiff: "Duchess, to be honest with you, I've come today with a humble request."
"Oh?"
"The glass mirrors you made are very popular among the customers. Many customers have asked me which store the glass mirrors were ordered from. Even the owner of the shop has spoken highly of your glass mirrors and is very interested..."
The owner of the rouge shop?
Jiang Fuying raised her eyebrows slightly.
She remembered the topic she had discussed with the Duke of Zhennan the night before.
All the shops around were old stores that had been in business for more than ten years. The owner of the silk shop was the Wen family, the top family in the south of the Yangtze River. The jewelry shop was the property of the prime minister's mansion, and this rouge shop -
was the property of the Beian Prince's Mansion!
Speaking of which, the Beian Prince's Mansion had a very special status in the capital.
Although the Beian Prince himself was the youngest son of the former emperor, he was obsessed with flowers, birds, mountains, and rivers and didn't care about worldly affairs. He left the huge prince's mansion entirely to the Beian Prince's heir to manage. In terms of power, the Beian Prince's Mansion was simply no match for the Duke of Zhennan, who had great military achievements.
So at first, after Manager Meng was bought by the second and third branches, he spoke so arrogantly. Later, he was afraid that Lu Huaizhou, the Duke of Zhennan's heir with a reputation for being a playboy, would come to settle accounts with him.
As for the Beian Prince's heir who was in charge of the Beian Prince's Mansion, he was an eccentric who was solely interested in business and was extremely profit - oriented.
Glass mirrors were rare in the world. As a businessman, it was no surprise to Jiang Fuying that the Beian Prince's heir could see the business opportunity of the glass mirrors at a glance and was interested in them.
Jiang Fuying had already guessed Manager Meng's intention, but she didn't expose it. Instead, she asked knowingly.
"Have you finished speaking, Manager Meng?"
Manager Meng wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead: "Duchess, the owner's intention is to be willing to return all the rent you paid before. We only beg to cooperate with you. Just as you initially said, you can give our shop a 10% profit margin..."
The more he spoke, the less confident Manager Meng became.
At first, when the duchess came to discuss cooperation with them and proposed to give them a profit margin, he took the money from the second and third branches and immediately blurted out his refusal.
At that time, how could he have imagined that the glass mirrors would be so popular?
Yesterday, the owner had called him in for a scolding and given him a firm order: "Manager Meng, if you can't negotiate the cooperation with the person selling the glass mirrors, you can just pack up and leave."
After hearing his words, Jiang Fuying curved her lips.
"Still expecting me to give you a 10% profit margin?"
Manager Meng nodded heavily, his eyes full of hope and eagerness.
But with a light opening of her red lips, Jiang Fuying refused firmly: "Absolutely impossible."
The situation had already reversed!
Previously, she was willing to propose a profit - sharing plan to promote the glass mirrors, but now it was different.
The glass mirrors were popular even before they were sold. Why should she compromise and give in to these shops?
"Manager Meng, I think you should remember that there is only half a month left until the three - month period we initially agreed on."
Manager Meng tried to persuade her: "Duchess, although the three - month period is almost over, our rouge shop can still continue to cooperate with you..."
Jiang Fuying raised her hand, indicating that he didn't need to say any more.
"Manager Meng, I can give you two options."
"Either, you take the greatest initiative to show your sincerity, and we continue to cooperate."
"Either, once the three - month period is up, we stop cooperating."
Jiang Fuying paused for a moment and specifically reminded him: "There are plenty of shops outside that want to cooperate with me. If our cooperation with your rouge shop stops, I can choose another rouge shop to cooperate with at any time."
All his hopes were shattered, and Manager Meng's eyes were filled with gloom.
He had already heard that during this period, not only in Bailu Alley but also many shopkeepers from other shops in the capital had specifically come to visit the duchess.
The reason was very simple. For these shops, the glass mirrors didn't delay their normal business and could also provide a better experience for their customers, so they were very popular among customers.
Therefore, shops eager to cooperate with the duchess came in droves.
He didn't even dare to think about how angry the owner would be if the duchess really stopped cooperating with their rouge shop and chose another one...
"How have you considered it, Manager Meng?" Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Jiang Fuying deliberately asked.
A cold sweat broke out on Manager Meng's back. He didn't dare to make a decision on his own: "I'll report to the owner, Duchess. This matter is of great importance, and I need to ask for the owner's opinion."
This was exactly what Jiang Fuying wanted.
Of course, she knew that Manager Meng couldn't make such a big decision.
What she wanted was the answer from the Beian Prince's heir, the real decision - maker behind the rouge shop!
"Okay, I'll give you three days. If you don't give me an answer within three days, we won't continue to cooperate."
"I'll go back and report to the owner right away."
Manager Meng left dejectedly.