Chapter 166 Clever

Words : 1382 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Duke Chong’s Mansion, study room. Duke Chong sat there, his expression gloomy. The steward stood beside Duke Chong. The door was pushed open with a squeak. The Duchess walked in and saw Duke Chong looking cold and solemn. She glanced at the steward. The steward shook his head. The Duchess then said, "It seems the Emperor is determined to keep General Xie’s recovery a secret, only in the Buddhist Hall for chanting and praying. Even if General Xie recovers safely, Princess Nanzhang praying for him is only appropriate, why should the Duke be concerned?" Chanting and praying in the Buddhist Hall is indeed not a big deal, but Princess Nanzhang can’t swallow this grievance. She punished that female bandit to kneel in the Buddhist Hall, and before she even knelt for a while, the Emperor came to her rescue, and when it was Princess Nanzhang’s turn, the Emperor still protected that female bandit. Princess Nanzhang ended up harming herself, spending a few days in the Buddhist Hall, and wouldn’t that female bandit laugh behind her back for days? Duke Chong looked at the Duchess and said, "The Empress Dowager already knows about this." Princess Nanzhang was practically raised by the Empress Dowager, is her favorite; to make the Empress Dowager happy, one must help Princess Nanzhang. The Duchess smiled and said, "I do have a plan." "Let’s hear it," Duke Chong replied. The Duchess leaned over and whispered a few words in his ear. The gloom on Duke Chong’s face dispelled, and he praised, "A brilliant plan, Madam." At this moment, the door was knocked, and a servant outside said, "Chief Manager Wang." Chief Manager Wang quickly went to open the door, asking, "What’s the matter?" The servant replied, "Your distant nephew wants to report on the ice shop matter." Chief Manager Wang glanced back at Duke Chong, then said, "Let him in." The ice shop belongs to Duke Chong’s Mansion, and Chief Manager Wang’s distant cousin is merely responsible for keeping the accounts. The ice shop business is excellent, just looking at the upcoming summer, it’s time to make big money from the ice shop again. Before long, Chief Manager Wang’s nephew Wang Cheng arrived. After he paid his respects to Duke Chong, Chief Manager Wang asked, "What’s wrong with the ice shop?" Wang Cheng quickly replied, "Today, Prince NanAn sent someone to the ice shop to buy ice, asking for four hundred blocks right away. I caught the hint and asked, only to find out Prince NanAn is buying it for the new shop of the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion." Chief Manager Wang frowned, "Did you sell?" Wang Cheng shook his head, "How dare I sell, I said at once that one block of ice costs ten taels of silver and sent them away, Prince NanAn’s servant almost got into a fight with me." The Duchess stood beside Duke Chong and said, "Isn’t the shop of the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion selling coal? Why do they want so much ice?" Wang Cheng shook his head, "I don’t know, but the amount of ice they want is so large that other than our ice shop, she can’t buy it anywhere else. Other shops could gather the ice, but I’ve already given notice, and no one will sell to her. I’m here to ask if the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion agrees to the price of ten taels of silver per block, should we sell it to her?" The Duchess coldly laughed, "The Duke Chong’s Mansion isn’t short of that money." Wang Cheng repeatedly responded affirmatively. The Duchess smiled and said, "Chief Manager Wang, your nephew is quite clever, reward him with ten taels of silver." Wang Cheng repeatedly expressed gratitude. Agarwood Pavilion, backyard. Xie Jingchen, Chu Shun, and others were sitting at a stone table drinking tea. Prince NanAn finished a cup of tea, picked up the teapot to pour tea for himself, but the teapot was empty. The Hidden Guard was not around. Xingxing went to the kitchen. Su Jin was in the bamboo house, and no one was there to refill their tea. From a distance, Xingxing was carrying a porcelain basin over, with small porcelain basins inside. She walked over and placed the porcelain basin on the stone table. Prince NanAn looked at her and asked, "What’s this for?" Xingxing shook her head, "I don’t know either; the young lady asked me to fetch them from the kitchen." The Heir of Marquis Beining tapped the porcelain basin. The sound was crisp and pleasing. In the bamboo house, Su Jin sat at a desk, dipped her pen in ink, writing and drawing. The Hidden Guard brought a bag into the house and said, "Eldest Young Madam, I bought what you asked for." Su Jin put down her pen, pressed the paper with a paperweight, and stood up. She walked to the bag, opened it, looked inside, and grabbed some to grind in a stone mortar with force. She carried the stone mortar outside. By the time she reached the stone table, Xingxing had already followed her instructions to place the small porcelain basins inside the large porcelain basin, both filled with water. Chu Shun saw her walking over and asked, "What is Sis-in-law going to do?" "You’ll know later," Su Jin teased. She poured the crushed powder into the large porcelain basin and stirred it with a wooden stick. Chu Shun and the others watched quietly. Then— They saw small ice blocks floating in the small porcelain basin. Prince NanAn thought his eyes deceived him and reached out for the ice block, but as soon as his fingers touched the water, he withdrew his hand. "What’s the matter?" the Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion asked. "This water is so cold," Prince NanAn exclaimed. Chu Shun reached in and took out the ice, astonished, "This really is ice!" Over an hour ago, Su Jin said she would cause Duke Chong’s ice shop to close down, and they all thought she was boasting. Su Jin only smiled and said, "If you aren’t busy, stay a bit longer." They were idle and stayed till now. As they chatted, the ice in the small porcelain basin increased. Prince NanAn and the others looked at each other in disbelief. Chu Shun swallowed and asked, "What’s going on?" Su Jin laughed, "I just had Di Qing buy some saltpeter, and when it’s dissolved in water, it absorbs a lot of heat, thus the water in the small porcelain basin turns into ice." Prince NanAn looked at the ice in the porcelain basin and said, "No wonder Sis-in-law has the confidence to shut down Duke Chong’s ice shop." "How did Sis-in-law know this can make ice?" the Heir of Marquis Beining asked curiously. "From reading books," Su Jin replied. "...." A blow. A heavy blow. A complete blow. Maid Xingxing mentioned that their Eldest Young Madam doesn’t like reading. Yet this female bandit who doesn’t like reading knows more than all five of them. Is there anything more demoralizing? Absolutely not! Xie Jingchen looked at Su Jin and asked, "What’s your next step?" "Buy the shops around Duke Chong’s ice shop to sell ice blocks," Su Jin said seriously. "...." "Duke Chong’s ice blocks sell for two taels; I’ll sell for one tael," Su Jin said. "...." Chu Shun quietly said, "Within three days, Duke Chong’s ice shop will certainly close down." Su Jin wants exactly this outcome. Xingxing went to the kitchen and brought lotus seed soup. Su Jin chilled it in the porcelain basin, serving a bowl to each person, refreshingly cold, utterly delightful. After they finished, Su Jin brought some papers. They were shares papers she had prepared: one share each for Xie Jingchen and the others, with Su Jin keeping two shares and the remaining three shares for the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion. Chu Shun looked at Su Jin and said, "Sis-in-law is giving us free money." This was clearly a profitable business, and it was guaranteed to succeed without any loss. Su Jin smiled and said, "Take it for now. If I lack money, I’ll rob you." Chu Shun, "...." Prince NanAn, "...." The Heir of Marquis Beining, "...." The Eldest Young Master of Duke Dingguo Mansion, "...."

Chapter 166 Clever

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